Matthew Bushby, Head of Customer Success at Scibids UK, on why agencies should champion the ‘AI heroes’ within their business. Matthew argues that those who can act like a ‘dog with a bone’ and scale these internal obstacles will be key to agencies aligning themselves with this technological revolution.
Businesses across the advertising industry have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023, building on the hype seen out in the real world. However, for media agencies in particular, embracing emerging technologies hasn’t always been the most straightforward of actions. And that’s something that they are having to once again contend with.
Complex internal structures and processes leave agencies unable to adopt technologies as quickly as they should and, as clients increasingly seek out AI-led results, large agencies are faced with the prospect of being outmanoeuvred and outperformed by their more agile counterparts.
As a result, many agencies are exploring avenues to build their own AI technologies, but implementing this is far from an easy feat, especially when attempting to apply this right across the business. The driving force for any adoption of AI is likely to come from tenacious individuals who have big personalities and character. And these are the people that agencies should be championing in order to succeed.
Obstacles to overcome
The challenges faced by agencies stem from many factors, but perhaps the most notable are their structures and the pressures being placed on them by clients. They have very specific priorities around what they need to do because of this, and that often makes them slow to change.
Kevin O'Shea
This rate of change within agencies isn’t their fault, however. It’s difficult for them. They have many different stakeholders, all of whom have different objectives. And this often blocks the success of their clients, because they can’t implement technologies widely and quickly enough.
When it comes to AI, parallels can be drawn between the rise of programmatic over the past decade or so. A lot of people and businesses were against it, because it was changing the ways they had been doing things for so long. Of course, the majority of digital advertising is now traded programmatically, and the benefits are being seen, but some were left behind at the beginning of the rise.
Significantly, not being able to implement AI swiftly and effectively this time around could leave agencies falling behind more than they’ve ever seen before.
Not all heroes wear capes
To tackle the AI implementation problem – and any other technological advancements that arrive in the future – agencies should begin focusing on championing the so-called “AI heroes” within their organisations.
Agencies need to begin trusting in the right personnel, investing in the talent across the organisation that are able to act as evangelists for data science and AI-based solutions.
Often, a successful test alone isn’t enough to warrant the widespread adoption of changes. Instead, it requires someone – or a group of people – with the character to push through adoption following the results.
Businesses need people that are willing to engage with, and have the knowledge of, technologies, and are able to provide an education to the wider business about why a particular technology is or isn’t right. Not having people in the team that are willing to advocate for developments will mean the agency remaining stagnant, and eventually losing ground on competitors.
Yanis Georges
However, it’s important to note that not everybody has the personality or character to drive these changes within the business. There are some people who are really good at selling ideas around an agency, and there are others that are just exceptional at their normal day-to-day jobs.
Both of these types of people are needed to drive success – even better if people have both attributes. But, to implement change, it’s the ones who are like a “dog with a bone” that will ensure purpose-built AI becomes the norm across the organisation.
There are plenty of hoops to leap through on the way to adoption, but those champions will be more than willing to tackle those obstacles and ensure there is buy-in across the agency.
Holding out for a hero
AI is already proving to be an important factor for many brands, but it’s still not too late for agencies to ensure they are delivering on the expectations of their clients. While adopting the right technologies is the most important factor, before this can happen, the talent needs to be in place to utilise the technology correctly and, in turn, ensure this is being done across the business.
Correctly implementing AI takes more than just plugging in the technology. It has to be backed by the right data and the right people, otherwise even the best technologies won’t deliver the maximum results for the business.
The AI revolution is here to stay, and there are plenty of heroes ready to lead agencies through it.
