By Aditya Soni and Haripriya Suresh
BENGALURU, May 27 (Reuters) - Global companies are using AI at their Indian hubs to bring more creative work in-house, cutting turnaround time and their reliance on external agencies for advertising as the new technology reshapes the ad industry.
Executives at Kimberly-Clark, J.C. Penney-parent Catalyst Brands and Target India told Reuters that their global capability centers in the country are using AI tools across marketing functions - from generating product images
and videos to selecting influencers and optimizing campaigns.
For major advertisers across industries, from consumer goods to truck manufacturing, AI's ability to speed up and scale campaign creation is proving appealing as they look to rein in marketing costs.
Kimberly-Clark, for instance, has cut content creation time from nearly a month to two hours using an India-built AI platform, which also helps it identify suitable influencers and localize campaigns across markets.
Content creation two years back took 24 days but now it "only takes two hours" due to AI, Kimberly-Clark India head Deena Dayalan said at a Reuters summit in Bengaluru.
Catalyst Brands is piloting computer-generated product images and videos for its online listings that can cut the need to ship inventory around the world for photo shoots, India Managing Director Nihar Nidhi said.
"Bangalore is at the nose of the rocket in terms of piloting and creating certain prototypes," Nidhi said, adding that "we are very close to being able to put some of these into production."
Copywriters at Roundel, Target's ad business, are using AI to generate ads faster and help the company respond more quickly to changing trends, India President Andrea Zimmerman said.
"Our business partners are actually seeing more value come back through that flywheel because we're able to move more," she said, adding that AI was opening up opportunities in areas such as loyalty and personalization.
RISING AI AND TRADITIONAL AD AGENCIES
Some analysts said rising AI use could pressure the traditional agency model. It will also help ease talent shortages that have hobbled companies' efforts to bring more ad work in-house.
"Right now, we see a significant trend in building in-house agencies – partially driven by the promise of AI," Gartner analyst Jay Wilson said.
"Agencies that once competed on size and scale can no longer differentiate on that," he said, pointing out that strategic and creative thinking would be key differentiators going ahead.
A Gartner survey of 405 senior marketing leaders last year showed that nearly all of them are now using AI to some extent, with investment in the technology accounting for more than 15% of marketing budgets and growing.
Still, some analysts said that growing public distrust of AI and the specialization that ad agencies bring would ensure that the model sustains, especially for clients with large budgets.
"If mediocre is all you need, then absolutely you can do it yourself. But that's not where the money is anyways," said Brian Wieser, CEO of advisory firm Madison and Wall.
"The question remains, is there value to expertise?"
(Reporting by Haripriya Suresh and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Sweta Singh and Anil D'Silva)
