Meta: AI will increase the 'need for agencies'

AI will create “more need for agencies”, according to Derya Matras, Meta’s vice-president of the UK, northern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Asked by Campaign about comments by Sir Martin Sorrell, founder of S4 Capital, that big tech plaforms such as Meta and Google are getting closer to clients, edging out the need for agencies, Matras said: "I think the contrary, there'll be more need for agencies and because I also hear some anxiety in the industry about whether AI is going to take our jobs away, I think definitely marketing is becoming more science. Now, even creative is becoming science."

Matras said people and creative skills would become more important as the “tedious tasks” that take a long time will be replaced by technology.

“It's because of these tedious tasks that we don't have the time to prioritise brainstorming, strategic conversations, ideation and so on," she said. "So those skills are definitely going to be very important because we will have more time to differentiate ourselves through leveraging those skills.” 

She told Campaign that advertisers are spending around 16 hours a week on tedious tasks and that AI provides a “single-button solution”. It can test hundreds of campaigns and find the best formula and the best-performing one to serve.

“AI is not only going to increase our productivity and efficiency but it's also going to open up new areas for growth, like new work and new-business opportunities, because we will be able to take more insight out of the data and make better campaigns.

Matras said this shift would require re-skilling.

“Technological developments in the field of AI are going to empower top marketing professionals to play top of their game. So I think it will become more complex but I definitely believe [there will be] a re-skilling in the industry," she said.

“The magic is going to be creating organisations that are agile, that are able to adapt to these new technologies, learn fast and fail fast and create competitive advantage by leveraging these technologies rather than being scared.”

Nicola Mendelsohn, head of global business at Meta, told a press conference in Cannes that the tech company did not plan on encroaching on agencies' clients. Instead, she said AI's capabilites can give smaller brands, which cannot afford to use big agencies, the ability to use the platform more effectively. 

Meta’s long-term plan is to develop "artificial general intelligence", a form of AI that includes a human-level capability of planning, memory and reasoning. 

Alex Schultz, Meta’s chief marketing officer and vice-president of analytics, appeared in the Palais with Es Devlin, an artist who exhibited in the Reels cinema on Meta beach. They discussed “where art meets science” and the opportunity that can be unlocked by embracing technological change “for better lives and powerful artistic breakthroughs”. 

“AI can assist in generating ideas, analysing trends, optimising campaigns, and even creating artistic content,” Schultz said. “By harnessing AI, we can free ourselves from mundane tasks and focus on the aspects of our work that require genuine human creativity.” 

TikTok also told Campaign it is "not interested" in taking clients from agencies.