AI. AI. OH!
This is the transcript from ChatGPT when I asked it to summarise a presentation we gave to the team at the Brisbane City Council, in 2024 — to a packed-out room — about the emergence of AI in our industry, and others. I think it did a remarkable job, given it was highly visual — with most images generated by a generative AI. If you’d like a copy of the original, just email mike@edisonagency.com.au
Here’s a concise summary of your Brisbane City Council presentation, “Maximising Creative Opportunities and Effectiveness in an Automated, Machine-Learning Multi-Channel World”:
Summary
The presentation explored how AI is reshaping creativity and effectiveness in media, arguing that the future of impactful communication depends on reuniting creative and media disciplines after decades of separation.
1. Media consumption and creative disconnect
Each medium (TV, outdoor, radio, print, digital) has a distinct mode of audience engagement, yet most creative work fails to prioritise this.
Attention varies dramatically — e.g., low attention for TV, contextual relevance for outdoor, and interactive potential for digital (which remains mostly static).
The result: declining effectiveness and “banner blindness.”
2. The Great Unbundling (1994)
Separation of media from creative agencies eroded creative effectiveness.
Media kept commission-based revenue; creative became time-based — leading to risk aversion and loss of conceptual strength.
Digital agencies emerged focused on design conformity and user experience over provocative, stand-out creativity, often without true copywriters or art directors in the traditional sense.
3. The importance of creativity
The first rule of advertising: “Get noticed.”
Creativity drives competitiveness and media effectiveness — up to 70% of results according to McDonald’s global head of media.
Historically, every new medium (print, radio, TV, digital) starts with basic production before evolving toward greater creativity.
4. Consistency vs creativity
Brands have leaned toward visual consistency rather than emotional consistency (“matching luggage” syndrome).
True brand strength comes from delivering a consistent feeling, not a uniform look.
5. The new opportunity: AI + human intelligence
AI enables hyper-targeting — understanding what audiences are actually interested in, beyond demographics.
This reconnects creative and media strategy, allowing tailored messages with far greater precision and efficiency.
AI-driven automation and generation frees creatives to do more.
Key Message
AI doesn’t replace creativity — it amplifies it.
The greatest opportunity lies in combining machine intelligence with human imagination to restore creative effectiveness across every channel.
