With Adobe MAX 2023 just around the corner, I reflect on the incredible strides our Deloitte Digital team has made alongside our Adobe collaborators to understand and fine-tune a world-class approach to one of marketing’s most critical topics today: the content supply chain. In the last month we concluded a study with 650 marketing executives on generative AI and the content supply chain, and I am excited to share some early results.
It will not surprise any contemporary marketer that the demand for content has never been higher. The demand is not simply for any old content—but for increasingly dynamic, personalized, ever-changing content delivered in real time. Our latest research uncovered that the volume of content that companies need to produce to meet demand has increased by 54% on average in the last year, and that companies are only able to meet content demands 55% of the time on average.
So, how are today’s leaders finding unique solutions and adopting new technologies to establish an effective content supply chain? One answer is generative artificial intelligence (commonly known as generative AI). Here are three key ways generative AI is changing the world of content.
1. Developing differentiated content by channel and context
Our recent content supply chain research revealed that the most effective content marketing leaders—who I’ll refer to as frontrunners throughout the rest of this blog—are more likely to use generative AI extensively for content production. The benefit of this automated process is that these frontrunners produce more content, specifically more differentiated and diverse content by both channel and context. This is crucial to providing a sense of personalization and connection with today’s customers.
The variety of content that can be more rapidly produced by generative AI includes social media posts, formal reports, long-form videos, and more. Frontrunners using a myriad of generative AI platforms, including Adobe Firefly and Adobe Sensei, report being able to meet customer content demands 66% of the time. That’s 20+ points higher than lower-maturity companies who have no plans to use generative AI.
Adopting these real-time automated capabilities means that more customers are served content relevant to their consumption habits and preferences, allowing for a smoother brand experience and a higher potential rate of adoption/retention.
2. Driving employee productivity and efficiencies
Another fascinating insight from our research is the workload lifted from employees of frontrunners, who now have more freedom to work on bigger-picture projects and strategies. We found that frontrunners using generative AI save their content marketing workforce an average of 12.2 hours per FTE per week. This data point should also ease some fears about the collaboration between AI and human team members.
When used correctly, generative AI in a content supply chain context is meant to remove tedious, time-consuming tasks from human employees so that they can pivot their focus onto the larger decisions and creative ideas their expertise is crucial for. The improved dynamic personalization of content from generative AI technology also means less redundant follow-up work from employees, since customers have better first-touch experiences with content that feels more relevant to them. Frontrunners using generative AI for content production are likelier to report that their content marketing strategy is highly effective—a whopping 30% versus only 8% of lower-maturity companies.
3. Increasing potential revenue
Last but certainly not least, our research uncovered that 63% of frontrunners saw an increase in their annual revenue due to embracing the transformation of content marketing and making generative AI part of their content supply chain strategy.
With today’s marketing teams constantly expected to deliver more with less, this hard ROI that we discovered is impossible to ignore. It is the data point that is most likely to move decision-makers and budgeting teams, and one that spells an interesting and growing potential future of generative AI’s role in the content supply chain across industries.
Stay ahead of the curve
Content marketing leaders who want to stay ahead and drive new growth should approach their potential generative AI adoption with careful research and analysis. While Adobe is a leader in the space, with 51% of companies surveyed saying that they use Adobe Firefly for content creation, and 45% saying that they use other Adobe Creative Cloud Products towards that same goal, there are dozens of generative AI technologies popping up daily that serve specific needs based on company size, content goals, and audience type.
I look forward to getting more in-depth about how generative AI is changing the world of content in my Adobe MAX 2023 session, where I will break down all our exciting new content supply chain research and explore what today’s marketing teams can do to become future-ready frontrunners. I hope to see you there!
Hear more insights from Deloitte Digital’s latest content research and initiatives with three sessions at Adobe Max, available live or virtually, October 10-12.
Mike Brinker is a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP and a US Deloitte Digital performance marketing leader. He works with talented teams to help clients define their digital strategies and implement the technical solutions to realize their vision. These solutions include a spectrum of digital capabilities woven into proven business and technology consulting.
Source: Gen AI Powers Content Marketing Advantage for Early Adopters, October, 2023.
