Worried about AI? Then add these books to your summer reading list

But artificial intelligence has caused a rethink about where the advertising industry is headed and, more specifically, what kind of people digital media agencies will need as AI takes over operational decision-making across investment optimization and measurement.

Artificial intelligence has fueled much debate about the future of media agencies and what those employed in media investment will actually do as decision-making automation gradually takes over. Despite the cowards who say that automation means only AI specialists will be needed, the most sought-after talent will actually be those who understand basic marketing principles.

The story of the ‘new’

When I started in digital advertising some seventeen years ago, digital advertising was an exciting new medium, but the operational framework was just treated as another product channel for media agencies. Over the course of fifteen odd years, something very strange happened: the conversation and focus of the overall industry became mostly about the mechanic, not the product.

When programmatic automation went down, this went turbo. People could stand out by supporting the “new”. Advertising conversations were dominated by click-through rates (CTR), cost-per-acquisition (CPA) on an ad network purchase, bidder queries per second (QPS), and bid response times – simple things at the bottom of the funnel. With 20/20 hindsight, these things have very little to do with the business of influencing people.

When the bubble burst and we all started hearing about ad fraud, viewability, cookie bombing, supply chain margins, bot traffic, and so on, everyone tried to clean up the mechanics and business of advertisements. But that magical combination of human understanding, creative thinking, and identifying the right place and time to interact—the basic act of serving an ad to influence a response—seemed to fall even lower in the pile of things to do. which could be spoken.

The phoenix of advertising principles

However, in recent years, the tide is turning, the Phoenix of advertising principles is slowly rising from the flames. Despite the current influx of digital innovation, new home operating models and, there is a sense that yes, we must have a powerful, dynamic and complex technology stack. Yes, we must use first party data. Yes, we must constantly move with the times.

Capabilities such as analytics, IT and data management should sit alongside ad management, but these exist within a framework of marketing principles that have stood for decades and actually deliver against what the marketing team is trying to do.

Advertising and marketing have often been described as art and science. Science can be automated, but true creativity – the act of creating something new – is not yet something AI can manage. Art and science are not separate realms; it’s more of a Venn diagram with 100% crossover, making it very difficult to tell the two apart. You will still need creative thinkers. The problem is that we’ve been focused on science for so long, we’ve lost sight of that.

Summer reading list

To help balance this out, here are some essential additions to a digital marketer’s reading list:

How Brands Grow, by Byron Sharp. The findings of this book are often stated as irrefutable principles of marketing fact, although they actually remain controversial and debated. This book forces you to question some basics and think differently about what you are doing.

The Long and Short of It, by Les Binet and Peter Field. Champions of sensible, evidence-based advice, Binet and Field’s findings should be the starting point for how advertisers juggle brand and performance marketing.

Purple Cow, by Seth Godin: This book is a great inspiration for those looking to stand out a little more in their marketing efforts.

Hegarty in Advertising, by John Hegarty. Part autobiography, part general thoughts, part great advice, this is sage advice from an advertising titan.

Anatomy of a Humbug, by Paul Feldwick. This book looks at the history of advertising, albeit primarily from a creative perspective, to help understand the rules we must follow today.

Artificial intelligence will transform media agencies, making the art of human marketing more vital. While digital marketing will still need its technologists and specialists, they will require a broader perspective and deeper levels of marketing expertise. This blend of art and science will shape the future of advertising, ensuring that the human touch remains at its core.