Festive Seasons Sparkle: Gen AI Breathes Life into Campaigns

In a ground breaking year for advertising, two standout campaigns shared a common thread – the magnetic influence of Shah Rukh Khan and the scalability offered by Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Following last week's celebration of India's biggest celebrity birthday, exchange4media shifts its focus to explore the transformative impact of AI on festive advertising.

AI in Action: Use Case Scenarios

Generative AI has emerged as a linchpin in recent marketing and advertising endeavours. The amalgamation of increased investments and heightened social engagement during festive seasons showcases the potency of Generative AI. Uday Mohan, Managing Director at Havas Media India, details various use cases, including content creation, language translation, chatbots, predictive analytics, inventory management, and fraud detection, emphasizing the surge in investments and social engagement during festive periods.

Mohan elucidates on how Generative AI fuels media efficiency by leveraging data and algorithms, enabling advertisers to craft more precise and engaging campaigns. The focus on automated customer segmentation, predictive outcomes, and real-time bidding underscores the role of AI in optimizing media efficiency during festive seasons

Generative AI Takes Center Stage in Festive Campaigns

This year's festive campaigns are witnessing a pivotal role played by Generative AI, seizing the growing consumer optimism as Diwali, the grandest celebration of the year, approaches. Mitesh Kothari, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at White Rivers Media, shares insights into the adoption of AI among Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), heralding a new era of personalized campaigns, AR/VR integration, and CGI-driven initiatives. Notable examples include an AI-powered Ganesh Chaturthi campaign in collaboration with Pulse Candy, narrating Lokmanya Tilak's efforts on a nationwide scale.

The integration of Generative AI in campaigns has resulted in increased efficiency and reduced ad spending. Kothari highlights how Generative AI tools continually experiment with keywords, ads, bids, target audiences, and budgets to automate focused ad campaigns, enhancing lead optimization in real-time.

AI's Impact on Pricing Strategies and Data Optimization

AI's prowess extends to generating and testing unconventional ad ideas, optimizing pricing strategies in e-commerce, and offering advantages in data analysis. Kothari emphasizes that by ensuring pricing accuracy through real-time data analysis, AI can enhance price accuracy by up to 20 percent, facilitating swift adaptation to market fluctuations. Personalized pricing strategies based on AI analysis further enhance customer loyalty.

Industry Voices on Generative AI's Role

John Paite, CCO (Hub) India, expresses optimism about brands getting more value from their spending through AI integration. He notes the potential for a successful multi-platform campaign through digital, emphasizing the Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS).

Raghav Upadhyay, Head of Performance Marketing at ROIsted, underscores that while generative AI can lead to more effective and possibly lower ad spends, its real impact depends on various variables, including campaign goals, data quality, and implementation approach.

AI's Growing Role Despite Swift Adoption

Experts agree that Generative AI is an emerging force in festive campaigns, contributing to strategic planning, content creation, customization, and a seamless consumer experience. Despite the swift adoption of AI use cases, major ad budgets seem less impacted than anticipated, with brands prioritizing ROI-centric marketing.

Shivam Ranjan, Head of Marketing at Motorola-APAC, emphasizes the brand's commitment to ROI-centric marketing, combining impact and performance marketing properties for measurable outcomes. The concurrent ICC World Cup hasn't significantly altered festive spending plans for Motorola.

As Generative AI's role continues to grow, industry experts anticipate its impact on ad strategies and spends to become more evident in the coming quarters. Uday Mohan humorously notes that spends may not reduce, as brands aim to extract more value from planned marketing budgets in the era of performance media with rising baselines each month. The industry is gearing up for a faster turnaround time than in previous years.