Marketers – how to prepare for an era of enhanced productivity

By Kate Ross, Co-Founder, eight&four

No-one in the marketing industry is immune from the changes GenAI is bringing, and its pressure on productivity and output.

Whether it’s the traditional billing hours model of agencies or the value that marketing teams can deliver on ever-tightening budgets, the rules of the game are being rewritten. While it may be impossible to outrun the proverbial bear (AI), your goal should be to outrun other marketers to remain relevant.

No matter your role or position within the industry, get ready.

1. Employees

Regardless of whether you’re agency side or inhouse, a significant productivity jump is going to be expected of you. The rapid advancements in GenAI technology are setting new benchmarks for efficiency and output. If you fail to grasp and implement productivity-enhancing measures, you risk becoming exposed.

Here are some core areas to focus on: 

• Tool understanding – not just knowing which buttons to press but understanding how they process data, predict trends, and could personalise marketing efforts. For instance, knowing the algorithms behind recommendation systems could help you tailor campaigns more effectively. Understanding the intricacies of machine learning models and how they can be applied to marketing analytics will also give you a competitive edge. You’ll need to delve into the mechanics of these tools to leverage their full potential.

• Application of tools to your role – think specifically about your role. What’s the breakdown of your responsibilities? What aspects of your role could benefit the most from GenAI tools? How could these tools expand your role and make you more indispensable? Consider how AI can automate repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic initiatives. 

• Become an AI advocate – Get up to speed, and then leverage that knowledge to help others. Take the initiative to offer training sessions or write best practice guides – this could involve anything from organising workshops to creating content that demystifies AI for your colleagues. AI’s biggest challenge is the overwhelm it creates so help reduce the overwhelm for your team and the company and you’ll raise your profile and increase your value to the company.

2. Agencies

Agencies broadly work on an hours billing model. A client asks for a service, we estimate how long it will take our staff to do that service, and then quote accordingly.

GenAI represents seismic shifts in ‘how long it takes’ to do a wide variety of things; ideate, design, animate. It therefore radically changes established rate cards for certain services.

1. Reassess billing models – With GenAI’s ability to expedite processes, agencies need to rethink how they charge for their services. The focus might shift towards value-based pricing rather than time-spent pricing.

2. Innovate or lose – Integrate GenAI swiftly and strategically into your service offerings. Those who hesitate will find themselves at a disadvantage as others capitalise on the opportunity to offer faster, economically smarter solutions to clients.

3. Take clients on the journey – Clients might have questions or reservations about this shift (never mind broader concerns around the technology). They may question the quality of AI-enabled work so you’ll need to educate and reassure them about how the technology is shifting creative production norms.

3. Internal Marketing team leaders

Your strategy needs to be two-fold – ensuring effective value is being driven by your agency partners, and upskilling internal teams. Your team needs to be able to ask the right questions, for the latter to deliver on the former.

1. Foster discernment – Educate your team to carefully consider which tasks and projects can benefit most from GenAI. It’s not usually a straightforward answer.
2. Positive encouragement for your team – Give time and resources to your internal teams to upgrade their skills to utilise GenAI tools effectively.
3. Encourage curiosity – discovery needs to be ‘always on’. Things change week by week in the GenAI space. Praise those who are curious and are innovation advocates, raising education levels across the team.
4. Build a culture of debate – GenAI is fraught with hype and failed silver bullets. Encourage your team to think critically, and ensure they keep that critical spirit when interfacing with your agencies.

Being cross with AI, shouting about the machines taking over, burying your head in the sand are all options here, of course they are. But I promise you the developments will continue, the changes will come and the industry will evolve – with or without you on board.

Establishing how best you – or your clients – can navigate the changes ahead, and ensuring your business, or those of your partners, are agile enough to lean into the bends as the journey takes unexpected twists and turns, will be imperative. No one is immune, so it’s best to be ready.