In my previous article, I explored how generative AI is reshaping the landscape of marketing content creation—accelerating production speed, dramatically cutting costs, and enabling unprecedented levels of personalization at scale.
However, with this explosion of AI-generated content, maintaining brand consistency and quality control has become more critical than ever.
What Does This Mean for Our Agencies?
A question I often encounter is: “What does this shift mean for our agencies and external production partners?”
Having led content operations at Nestlé with major agencies, I firmly believe their roles aren’t disappearing — but evolving significantly. In fact, the relationship between brand teams and their agency partners could become even more strategic, moving beyond creative ideation toward deeper technical and governance collaboration around AI.
Agencies Are Already Repositioning
Forward-thinking agencies are already adapting:
✅ Delivering bespoke generative AI models
✅ Offering training and strategic support
✅ Building brand-specific systems — your own “Brand GPT,” with pre-approved prompts and workflows
Agencies are shifting to deliver intellectual property in the form of models and templates, becoming strategic partners rather than executional suppliers.
Production Companies Are Evolving Too
Instead of exclusively filming footage, production companies are:
📦 Creating virtual assets and AI-generated video templates
⏱️ Delivering contentfaster and cheaper
📸 Maintaining pixel-perfect, on-brand visuals
➡️ Less time on repetitive tasks = more focus on strategy and high-end creativity.
But Strategic Creativity Remains Essential
Of course, the role of agencies as creators of impactful, emotionally resonant concepts remains crucial.
AI can handle scale — but human creativity still leads on insight, storytelling, and originality. Agencies are already building teams with:
- AI Prompt Specialists
- Data Curators
- Creative Technologists
From Outsourcing to Co-Creation
This shift represents a move from traditional outsourcing toward co-creating new capabilities.
Brand teams and agencies are collaborating on:
- Internal training
- AI output quality audits
- New performance metrics
Contractual relationships may shift toward outcome-based models, focused on results, not billable hours.
Why This Matters Now
The pace of AI integration in marketing is accelerating fast.
⏳ Global leaders can’t afford to “wait and see.”
✅ Those who act now will gain a competitive edge.
❌ Those who delay may get overwhelmed — or outpaced.
How to Harness AI Effectively
✅ Redesign your content creation workflows
✅ Identify where AI can automate vs. where human input is indispensable
✅ Invest in hybrid talent: marketers fluent in data, AI, and storytelling
✅ Foster partnerships across IT, data, agencies, and AI tech providers
📊 BCG: 70% of CMOs are testing GenAI, but 63% cite lack of talent as the key barrier to scale.
What’s Next?
👉 In my next article, I’ll explore one of the most pressing questions brands face today: Should we build internal content capabilities powered by AI, or continue to rely on agencies and/or freelance creators?
Stay tuned!
