The Rise of the Machines - AI and Marketing

GroupM, in its 2023 Global Mid-Year Forecast predicts a 5.9% growth in the international ad industry, despite the pandemic and concerns about inflation. And one of the biggest things to hit the advertising marketplace this year is artificial intelligence and its growth. According to the report, AI will touch at least half of all advertising revenue in some way and it will disrupt more than just media optimization this year.

GroupM expects a ‘superboom’ of AI-backed start-ups in the next two to five years, and its forecasts calls for appropriate safety measures to be put in place as the use of AI increases.

According to the report –

GroupM sees the whole industry as being at an “inflection point” – where the trends from the pandemic and cooling, digital is leveling off and other levers of growth are maturing. GroupM has said that the underlying growth forecast over the next five years will be in the mid-single-digit range. Some of the factors that could change things exponentially include AI – which GroupM expects to inform or impact at least half the advertising revenue by the end of the year!

AI truly has the power to revolutionize everything it touches. It hasn’t left anything un-transformed in its wake, thus far.

That AI should have a profound and disruptive touch on advertising is something that goes without saying. Its influence is already felt on various aspects of the process.

And what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

We have seen AI opening up possibilities for better quality and faster ad campaigns that can be produced at lower costs. AI can be used for market research too, making sure each message resonates with its intended audience. it can rapidly sift through mountains of data and segment and target with greater precision than ever before.

Brands, marketers and advertisers are now able to customize campaigns based on a whole range of factors – taking into account things like the demographic of the audience, the geographical location and so much more. All these criteria are used to automatically bid for ads across various exchanges and ad networks that are powered by AI enabling brands to reach the right people and at the right time. Programmatic has risen to a whole different level.

AI can crunch humungous amounts of data in nano-seconds. AI gives marketers deeper, real, actionable insights than ever before. It can sift through piles of customer data and let marketers know what messaging will resonate the most with specific groups of people. It will also help marketers find similar and previously unidentified target groups for them to engage with. Marketers can find out what strategy works and what doesn’t – and it can automatically optimize campaigns for them.

It optimizes the bidding process, getting brands the most bang for their buck - maximum reach with minimal effort, time, and money! Personalization of campaigns and ads is a breeze with AI. It analyzes customer data – everything from social media to shopping behavior and everything in between, based on which, it customizes and personalizes messaging so it resonates with EACH customer.

Of course there is a flip side – less control. Less transparency.

But the positives are plenty – and it is no surprise that marketing dollars are headed the AI way. It is surely the way to staying ahead in a changing, turbulent and highly-competitive landscape and getting the most out of digital advertising investments.