Generative AI is not a replacement for creatives. It’s a super tool for innovation. For brands to maintain their creative edge, embracing GenAI—combined with the deep industry knowledge of experienced creatives—is not just advantageous but a strategic move. Discover five key questions every creative leader should ask to better harness the power of GenAI.
In the rapidly evolving digital era, GenAI is driving a significant transformation across the creative landscape. This shift is more than a trend; it's a fundamental evolution in how brands communicate, interact, and grow. GenAI can offer a sophisticated, data-driven approach to implementing creative strategies, presenting a path that helps drive efficiencies and improve the quality of creative output.
GenAI is changing the creative industry, and it’s important that creative professionals—from designers to copywriters, videographers, creative directors, and more—adapt to excel in this new environment. GenAI is not just a tool; it’s a transformative force that is redefining the development and execution of creative strategies. The objective is to use GenAI to augment creativity rather than supplant it.
Are your creatives ready to tap into the power of GenAI?
Here are five questions to consider:
Question 1
Do my creative teams “speak GenAI”?
Integrating GenAI into creative workflows introduces a new skill set, altering how creators interact with technology. Understanding how to collaborate effectively with AI, especially in generating images, videos, and copy, is key. This includes learning the nuances of prompting for each GenAI platform to achieve effective outputs. This skill extends beyond technical knowledge to learning how to refine AI-generated outputs using human creativity. How can marketing leaders help their teams learn these vital skills?
Exploring the principles of effective prompt engineering is crucial to yielding higher-quality results. Both precision and creativity in language use can significantly influence the quality of AI-generated content. Effective prompt engineering also requires a mindset of experimentation and adaptability given the unique characteristics and strengths of different AI technologies. GenAI never generates the same output twice, and it can be quite surprising which words and phrases will generate the results your creators are hoping to achieve.
Marketing leaders should encourage their teams to continually engage in an iterative process of testing and learning to refine their prompts. This strategy emphasizes the value of viewing AI as a collaborative partner, enabling a deep dive into the capabilities of these tools through hands-on practice. Such a culture of innovation and continuous improvement aims to integrate AI tools more effectively into the creative process.
Question 2
How can I help my content creators become AI prompt pros?
As GenAI transforms the creative landscape, it's important to recognize its limitations and the irreplaceable value of human insights. This can help ensure a balance between the speed of GenAI and the intuition, emotional depth, and cultural sensitivities that only a human can contribute to the creative process. At Deloitte Digital, we take a humans + machines approach. We use our team’s expertise in fields such as art history, creative writing, and design to draft detailed prompts for GenAI, resulting in outputs that combine the best of both human and machine insight. For example, a basic prompt can be turned into a detailed and descriptive request that then leads to more innovative and creative AI-generated outputs that are closer to the strategic goals of the project...
A basic prompt: a flower arrangement on a table.
A creative prompt: Craft an Ikebana-inspired flower arrangement on a dark wood table, using season-specific blooms and branches to evoke the serene discipline of Japanese aesthetics. Balance asymmetry and harmony in a minimalist setting, highlighting nature's transient beauty and the contemplative interplay of shadow and light.
The precision of a well-crafted creative brief helps guide GenAI's potential toward coherent and strategically aligned designs. The specificity of the brief can help ensure that an AI-generated piece of content serves the overarching vision. By articulating concepts with clarity and depth, creative leaders can make technology an amplification of human creativity, rather than a replacement for it.
Question 3
What strategies can I use to mitigate risk?
GenAI opens new horizons in advertising, design, and content creation, but it also introduces challenges, especially in navigating copyright and intellectual property laws. Creative leaders will need to determine if GenAI outputs comply with existing regulations, requiring an understanding of the tools' capabilities in respecting IP rights. The role of creative leadership in evaluating outputs and applying human oversight will be necessary in this evolving scenario.
Developing a framework that includes knowledgeable risk assessments and appropriate guidelines is important to help effectively managing these challenges. By maintaining an awareness of the dynamic landscape surrounding GenAI, and implementing thorough checkpoints for brand safety, consistency, and differentiation from the competition, creative leaders can unlock the boundless potential of the technology while safeguarding the interests of the stakeholders involved.
Question 4
How can I prioritize ethical AI and fair futures for creators?
Integrating GenAI into the creative process elevates the importance of ethical considerations like the implications for derivative works and equitable representation in creative outputs. For creative leaders, the responsibility extends beyond compliance to a proactive engagement with these ethical challenges. This is important in shaping a creative landscape where innovation is balanced with ethical integrity.
Developing a framework for ethical GenAI usage requires a holistic approach, embedding checks and balances that reflect brand values. This could involve creating a workflow that respects intellectual property through licensed and permissioned content and champions equitable representation and ethical considerations.
Moreover, instilling a culture that prioritizes ethical considerations at the heart of the creative process can help ensure that your engagement with GenAI amplifies creativity responsibly. This includes the equitable training and refinement of future learning models, mitigating bias, and balancing representation in creative outputs. By considering these principles, leaders can promote a future where GenAI boosts creativity, while still adhering to ethical standards and social responsibility.
QUESTION 5
Are humans still leading the projects?
The ultimate challenge lies in balancing technological efficiency and human creativity. Despite GenAI's ability to generate diverse options at scale, the human element—crucial in storytelling, emotional resonance, editing, and understanding a brand’s identity and strategy—remains indispensable. This balance emphasizes the need to leverage GenAI's capabilities while retaining the nuanced understanding and emotional intelligence that is uniquely human. This blend of technology and human insight enables the creation of content that can not only resonate on a personal level but also stand out in a saturated digital landscape.
GenAI’s successful integration into creative strategies hinges on a humans + machines approach, underscoring the irreplaceable value of human insight, ethical considerations, and emotional intelligence in the creative process. The combination of GenAI with creative professionals can not only enhance outcomes but also redefine storytelling and engagement.
How ready is your marketing organization for Generative AI?
Get started on your AI-ready creative strategy
Here are a few considerations for what to invest in now, experiment with soon, and aspire to in the future.
Identify pivotal areas within your brand for GenAI application and training programs. Assess the GenAI tools and skills needed for integrating accelerators into your brand’s creative and production processes.
Deploy workflow models and GenAI tools to craft experimental design, creative campaigns, and personalized brand experiences, refining these innovations based on real-world performance and engagement data.
Scale GenAI integration across your brand’s ecosystem, delivering creative solutions, increased production volume and speed to market, and quality brand standards.
How can GenAI be further implemented into your creative process? Reach out, and let's discuss.
See how Deloitte Digital's design team put these principles into action for our GenAI-accelerated brand refresh.
About the authors
Tracey Arcabasso Smith, US head of design and a creative fellow at Deloitte Digital, focuses on the intersection of design and storytelling as a catalyst for organizational growth. Her creative work ranges from global brand campaigns to immersive digital experiences to short and feature films. She is dedicated to creative authenticity and meaningful connections between humans and business.
Michael Milligan, design director at Deloitte Digital, brings decades of expertise in developing iconic cultural brands that focus on business growth and customer interaction. As a creative lead on numerous GenAI initiatives at Deloitte focusing on creativity, he employs strategic thinking, design, and storytelling to craft deeply functional creative experiences.
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