As Generative AI continues to accelerate, some agencies will be
better positioned than others to reap the benefits. Our Europe
Media & Entertainment analyst, Laura Metayer, explains.
----- Transcript -----
Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I’m Laura Metayer, from
the Morgan Stanley Europe Media & Entertainment team. Along
with my colleagues bringing you a variety of perspectives, today
I’ll discuss what the future may hold for advertising agencies
amid fast-paced Generative AI developments.
It’s Wednesday, July 31, at 2 PM in London.
Right now we’re still in the early stages of GenAI’s impact on ad
agency offerings; although the debate around technology removing
the need for ad agencies is not new.
Soon after the release of ChatGPT in early 2023, my colleagues in
North America started mapping out the potential impact of GenAI
on the ad agencies. They concluded that GenAI should represent an
opportunity for the ad agencies, at least near-term. First, Gen
AI would lead to productivity improvements from automatable tasks
in creative, media, digital transformation consulting and central
functions like HR and Finance. Second, GenAI would boost client
demand for advice from agencies to help navigate the coming
evolution in digital advertising.
Fast-forward to now and the impact of GenAI on the ad agencies
has become an active investor debate, with concerns centering
around the Creative business. Many eyes are on the Gen AI-powered
text to image/video tools, which could disrupt the ad agencies'
Creative & Production business. We this has weighed on agency
stock prices recently.
Essentially, the bear case has been – and is – that technology
would devalue agencies’ offerings and agency clients may rely
more on tech platforms and in-house services. That bear case –
twenty years into online advertising – has not played out. We
think that in these early days of AI’s impact on marketing, there
may be more upside to agency equities than risk over the next 12
to 18 months.
On the one hand, the introduction of Gen AI tools may mean
reduced pricing power and challenged top-line growth. At the same
time, replacing creative personnel with software may increase
earnings power, even with less revenue. We think it's likely that
a key value-add of the ad agencies' Creative business would be
campaign personalization at scale, powered by data and
technology.
Looking back, technology has been commoditizing certain areas of
creative and production for years, well ahead of AI; and yet
creativity and creative services remain core value propositions
by agencies to brands. Overall, there is as much – if not more –
opportunity than risk for ad agencies over time.
So let me leave you with two key takeaways:
First, we see the larger ad agencies as better positioned to
remain relevant to customers in the GenAI era. However, we would
caution that their large scale may also lower their ability to
adapt quickly to evolving customer requirements when it comes to
GenAI.
Second, we expect GenAI to drive more consolidation in the
industry. We think it’s likely that some of the large ad agencies
take market share from other large ad agencies.
As these trends play out over time, we’ll continue to keep you
updated.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a
review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with
a friend or colleague today.
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