Make way, ‘Mad Men’, AI will now rule advertising

By Aakash Mishra

In simple words, advertising is the way to grab public attention towards  a  certain  product  or service via different ways of  communication. Earlier, newspapers were the only  primary medium for advertising.  Subsequently, radios  came  into  existence, and both newspapers and the radio became a  good way to advertise a wide range of products.  However,  in  the  1930s,  the  invention  of  television  changed  the  course of advertising and slowly television commercials (TVCs) entered the advertising space. 

Cut to today! In addition to all the above mentioned mediums, social media is an emerging way to advertise. In fact, the ongoing pandemic acted like a catalyst in making social media a great medium for brands to market and advertise their products and services. 

Another interesting fact to note is how advertisers in the current time are armed with data and information. Not just that, one cannot miss the role of technology that has taken the centrestage in all aspects when it comes to marketing and advertising.

Today, with the availability of massive data and information, marketers and advertisers can devise creative, interesting and impactful campaigns. In fact, ads  are  now  being made using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). The new technology systems are acting like a powerhouse of information and thereby aiding in the strategic development of multiple ad campaigns. 

Just like everything else,  the  ad  feeds are  also  being customised based on the target audience. Thus, with data empowering the world, it is also empowering the creative  minds in the world of advertising. It won’t be wrong to mention that though the era of Mad Men is  long gone, a new era of ‘Mad AI’ is gradually taking over  the world. Yes, the idea of ‘Mad AI’ sounds insane but it’s the inevitable future.

Today, advertisers are powered by artificial intelligence that is helping them gain  insights  about  the  audience  and  cater  to  their  needs  accordingly. In turn, marketers run various versions of an ad through different channels and pursue the audience in a better manner. You may have noticed that the very next  minute you talk about a product or search about them,  you get ads of it even when you are done researching or discussing the product. These personalised ads on social media are a result  of cookies that track the information that you search on the Web. For instance, a single like on Netflix’s tweet sends a direct message to your inbox from where you can get a direct link to watch trending shows based on your mood instantly. 

Furthermore, marketers are also using Machine Learning (ML) tools for  various marketing purposes.These tools are helping them make accurate analysis thereby enhancing their decision-making and predicting processes about a campaign. Moment marketing has become a necessary tool for most companies now and staying on pace with whatever trend is happening on social media has become the way of increasing the goodwill of a brand.  

As David Ogilvy says, “What really  motivates consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of  your advertising, not its form.” Gradually, the ways of  advertising  may  have  evolved  but  the  core  idea  always  remains intact ‑ to pursue the consumers in taking a step to  form a stronger connection with the brand. However, this  grand  change  in the  way  of  advertising may  seem good or bad to different people but as Don Draper says,  “Change is neither good nor bad, it simply is. It can be treated  with terror or joy.” So why not embrace this new  way of advertising and use it in the best manner possible.