Generative AI in its current form hasn’t been around for long, but it has already completely reshaped the way marketing campaigns are conceived, created, and deployed.
From real-time optimisation and audience segmentation to content generation and insight discovery, it has redefined what is possible.
While many organisations have zeroed in on automation, the most forward-thinking CMOs see something more powerful: a chance to amplify human creativity and unlock entirely new ways of working.
Agile thinking
The rise of generative AI means that marketers are under more pressure than ever to move faster and think smarter.
“Marketing is sped up. It’s faster than it’s ever been before,” says Arjun Singh, global creative operations director at Team Lewis, a leading global marketing agency.
He points out that campaigns that once took months can now be launched in days, or even hours.
Speed, however, isn’t the only thing that has changed. The nature of the competition has changed drastically too.
Until relatively recently, brands’ main competitors were other large organisations with substantial budgets and extensive teams.
Today, they’re also contending with the growing wave of self-taught content creators who can now shoot, edit, and upload videos from their smartphones in a matter of minutes.
“Nike’s not just competing with Adidas anymore — it’s up against creators filming viral content in their bedrooms,” says Singh.
“The speed at which that content is created often makes it more relevant to audiences than anything a big brand with layers of teams and processes can produce.”
Speed and agility are now essential in a world where attention is fleeting and creators are everywhere. But they’re just small pieces of a much bigger picture.
The risk of volume without vision
Simply learning how to use AI tools to churn out content isn’t enough. To drive real value, marketing leaders must go beyond surface-level adoption and learn how to harness the technology strategically.
As AI becomes more widespread, Singh warns of a growing “sea of sameness” among brands.
This is where the ease of production leads to a flood of fast content, which is above all else, forgettable.
The real challenge today is to figure out how to stand out amid the clutter. “If everyone has access to the same tools, how you show up becomes your only true differentiator,” says Singh.
He argues that creativity still needs to be rooted in the enduring principles of insight, audience understanding, and storytelling that have distinguished truly great marketing for decades.
“Generative AI has brought back the fundamentals, like sharp insights and strong briefs, that have been lost in recent years,” he says.
“It lets creatives test and learn quickly and gives us more options, helping us reach that top 1% of ideas faster.”
In other words, the real opportunity with generative AI isn’t in pumping out more content. It’s getting better content, faster.
Sparking creative innovation
Despite the opportunities AI adoption offers, its arrival has understandably sparked real concern within creative industries, where employees worry that their skills could become obsolete.
Research from KPMG shows that 66% of executives believe AI adoption requires both retraining and new hiring, yet nearly half of employees (47%) report feeling anxiety about what it means for their roles.
While Singh acknowledges these fears, he sees things differently. “Every time a new technology has come along, from the printing press, to the television, to the internet, we’ve had the same fear. But each time, it’s only advanced creativity,” he says.
Rather than seeing AI as a threat to human jobs or a replacement for creative talent, Singh frames it as a collaborator that can help marketing leaders enhance existing ideas and unlock new possibilities. “You bounce ideas off it the same way you would with a creative partner,” he says.
By positioning AI as a creative counterpart instead of a competitor, Singh believes marketers can foster a culture that values experimentation and embraces new thinking, and allows people to unlock new dimensions of creativity.
“It’s like discovering a new colour,” according to creative director Shona Heath, “It opens up parts of the creative brain that are often hard to access.”
“Without your prompt — your idea — there’s nothing. GenAI simply improves and accelerates what’s already there,” he says.
One of the most purported benefits of AI is its ability to reduce human error. But in some industries, Singh suggests that the most impactful creative work emerges from those very imperfections that AI is trying to eliminate.
“It’s those human errors and moments of serendipity that often make the work better,” he says.
With this in mind, he is clear that AI is not a substitute for original thinking, and emphasises that humans are still an essential part of the process.
“Without your prompt — your idea — there’s nothing. It simply improves and accelerates what’s already there,” he says.
What marketers can do next
For marketers just starting their AI journey, the best approach may be the simplest: start small and explore with curiosity. “You can’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” says Singh.
That might mean experimenting with AI during low-stakes tasks such as creative ideation, image generation, or content versioning. It also means creating space for teams to simply play, learn, and iterate without fear of failure.
To build confidence and reduce anxiety, organisations should also invest in upskilling their employees, especially in areas like prompt writing, AI-assisted strategy, and content workflows.
As Singh points out, “prompt engineering” is already becoming a sought-after skill. “I’m seeing that develop as an entire new job market”, he says.
“I’m as excited as I’ve ever been since walking into my first agency 22 years ago,” says Singh.
The future belongs to those who see generative AI not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a catalyst for original thinking and creative reinvention.
For more information, please visit: www.teamlewis.com
Generative AI in its current form hasn’t been around for long, but it has already completely reshaped the way marketing campaigns are conceived, created, and deployed.
From real-time optimisation and audience segmentation to content generation and insight discovery, it has redefined what is possible.
While many organisations have zeroed in on automation, the most forward-thinking CMOs see something more powerful: a chance to amplify human creativity and unlock entirely new ways of working.
