AI in the Advertising Industry: Cases and Trends

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to systematize information on the impact of AI on the development of the advertising industry based on the analysis of advertising and marketing cases and trends in the use of AI in the industry.

Research methodology. The study was conducted in November 2023 – early February 2024. At the 1st stage, the authors reviewed theoretical sources and conceptualized their own research based on the following theories: diffusion of innovation, use and satisfaction, the «uncanny valley,» social constructivism, motivation, etc. At the 2nd stage, discourse analysis was used to process materials from a number of Internet resources that contain information about advertising messages generated by AI and the prospects for the development of marketing with the help of AI. 27 representative objects were selected, which are samples of advertising products created with the help of AI. They were studied in depth using the qualitative case study method. Based on the contextual data obtained, a broader class of advertising market practices related to the use of AI is comprehended. The trends in the use of AI in advertising are highlighted.

Results. AI is changing advertising messages and advertising market conditions. The trends in the use of AI in advertising include active application of the technology in the classical areas: audience targeting, personalized advertising, increased engagement, increased conversion, scaling, analysis of advertising effectiveness, competitor analysis, simplification of forecasting target audience behavior, advertising labeling, accumulation of social evidence; and in innovative areas: use of computer vision technology, symbiosis of technologies, combination of AI, blockchain and digital advertising.

Based on the case studies, it can be concluded that brands (from businesses to cultural institutions and personal brands) use AI to hyper-personalize, create and promote unique competitive advantages, increase the effectiveness of advertising, engage customers in creating advertisements with AI and engage customer experience, innovate transformations of marketing strategies, save resources, change human resources policies and reassign functions when routine operations are transferred to AI, and human resources are freed up for creative activities; moreover, new job opportunities are being created by the introduction of AI tools in all business processes (reengineering).

Novelty. Based on the data obtained, we can state the following: although the production of advertising content of all types is initiated by brands, for the first time it was observed that brands prefer to deal either 1) with well-known advertising agencies that successfully use AI to implement advertising campaigns; or 2) with advertising agencies that work on the basis of AI; and brands also 3) tend to have staff members (AI creators) who are skilled in working with AI products, which allows them to produce advertising content in-house (relevant departments) and they 4) encourage their consumers (clients/users) to create custom advertising content using AI. Moreover, whatever images or stories are used as the basis for such content, the brand’s image, tone, voice and values should remain recognizable.

Practical significance. The results obtained will be used in the process of further research on the use of AI tools in the marketing and advertising spheres, as well as in teaching such disciplines as «Digital Marketing» and «AI in the Information Market».

Key words: digital advertising, artificial intelligence, advertising image, competitive advantage.