Media Planners versus AI’

Posted In: Media by Connor,
March 5, 2024

Michael Zervos, Media Account Director

With the announcement of Open AI’s frankly mind-boggling text-to-video platform Sora in the last few weeks, it got me thinking… AI can now easily produce (almost) human level copy and content, imagery and with the advent of Sora, video assets too; how long until it can pull together a media plan and render the entire marketing industry redundant? Logging into our trusty friend Chat GPT I gave it a very basic media brief, and asked it to devise a media strategy for an imaginary client selling garden gnomes to the green fingered members of the public in Yorkshire.

What it suggested wasn’t wide of the mark and was a fairly comprehensive marketing 101…

Identify Key Channels:

• Local Newspapers and Magazines: Advertise in local publications. Feature stories about the benefits of gardening and how garden gnomes can enhance the experience.
• Radio Advertisements: Utilize local radio stations. Sponsor gardening segments or create engaging ads that highlight the charm of garden gnomes.

Online Presence:

• Social Media: Focus on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Share engaging content, such as garden gnome decorating ideas, gardening tips for Yorkshire, and customer testimonials. Use targeting to reach the Yorkshire region.
• Email Marketing: Build an email list through your website and local events. Send out newsletters with promotions, gardening advice, and stories about satisfied customers.

Traditional Marketing:

• Direct Mail: Create visually appealing brochures or postcards promoting your garden gnomes. 
• Flyers and Posters: Distribute flyers in community centers, libraries, and local businesses frequented by the target audience.

Monitoring and Adjusting:

• Regularly monitor the performance of your media strategy through analytics.
• Collect feedback from customers and adjust your strategy based on their preferences and responses.

I won’t include all the detail here as it also included suggestions for CRM, UGC, SEO and all the other marketing acronyms imaginable. But suffice to say, the foundations of what it proposed were sound and for a marketing Lehman, it would definitely be a good start.

However, planning an effective media campaign isn’t all about the fundamentals of media channels.  So much of media revolves around relationships. Even on it’s best day, a generative AI model can’t compete with my skills as a conversationalist (my colleagues might argue this point is highly debateable). At Boutique we have decades of experience working with suppliers, contractors, TV stations and publishers, negotiating media rates on a plan-by-plan basis, eking out every penny of value for our client to maximise their campaign plans.

Effective communication isn’t only important for relationships with contractors. Deep dive conversations with clients about their business goals and objectives allows us to find detail in a brief that sometimes they’re not even aware of themselves; identifying key potential audiences they hadn’t considered for example. In terms of channel selection, not every medium is appropriate to every campaign and any budget. Years of sector specific experience allows us to zero in on the most efficient and effective channels quickly based on what we know works, getting campaigns live quicker and anticipating potential stumbling blocks before they happen.

Finally, AI hasn’t made an aesthetically pleasing media plan yet as far as I’m aware, and we’re pretty good at those too. 

Based on the above I have come to the inescapable conclusion that real life, 100% human, media planners are essential to every successful campaign. Our jobs are safe, at least until Chat GPT 4.0 is released…

Want to have a real life human conversation with us? Drop us a note hello@weareboutique.co.uk and we will get the kettle on.