Use AI to Make Better Creative Decisions with Anastasia Leng

What We Discussed with Anastasia

On this episode, host Eric Dickmann interviews Anastasia Leng about using AI to make better decisions on your creatives. Here are some highlights of our conversation:

•  [00:04:00] The Evolution of Content Creation - Looking at marketing content 10 or 20 years ago, it was mainly focused on television, radio, and print advertisements. However, things have changed with the rise of websites as content platforms, SEO, SEM search ads, and social networks. Anastasia explains that, especially in COVID-19, customers desire more engaging content and active interaction with businesses.
• [00:06:11] The Major Struggle of Marketers - There is so much information and so many tools that it seems almost impossible to integrate data and technology. Leng believes that the major challenge for many businesses is applying that knowledge at scale right and utilizing that knowledge in real-time to deal with customers and prospects.
• [00:12:26] Technology will NEVER replace creativity- Keep in mind that that technology can never replace creativity. Anastasia shares  that most brands that she works with want to become "better brands." For that to happen, these brands have to be consistent with their content and creativity.
• [00:14:33] Representing your brand is a multifaceted journey - In the process of developing and enhancing your brand, there is a lot of AB testing and consideration that need to be applied to make processes come together. 
• [00:20:56] Applying data and science to the creative aspect of your business - In the past,  the creative, research, and marketing teams sat on opposite corners of the room. As times changed, these groups are slowly recognizing the need to collaborate and synchronize their data and marketing strategy to the creative aspect to better reach their target market. Anastasia emphasizes the business' need to humanize their brand because there is no tool or software that explains how to establish an emotional connection with customers.
• [00:23:23] The problem with good imagery and dated references - People can get tired of your content especially if the graphics have been literally used a thousand times. Sometimes, the real purpose of the creative gets lost because people don't register with the image at all. Leng explains that customers may suffer from visual fatigue when it comes to imagery and trends, which is a significant reason for them to stop going back to regularly-visited sites and find something new and fresh. 
• [00:28:23] Watch out on how your content is presented!- Social platform often require unique image aspect ratios, file sizes or file formats which makes it more difficult to use automation tool to push content to multiple channels at once. Make sure you understand how your creatives are being displayed across platforms. 
• [00:31:06] Finding the right kind of humor - We are in the Tiktok era where thousands of people around the world make countless attempts to be go viral or provide entertaining content. Companies have also joined the trend and incorporated humor in their ads, some more successfully than others. Anastasia points out that even AI can't make people laugh. Humor is subjective, but according to studies, funny content helps the audience become more receptive to sales and calls to action. 
• [00:36:02] What is the future of advertising? - Brands are starting to recognize that there is no single best methodology to market their products or services. Businesses are starting to become more diverse in not only highlighting their products or services but also putting their customers at the center of their brand story. Authenticity has also become a focal point as people expect more from the brands they're considering.