Ever wonder what happened to the Mad Men days when creative agencies spent countless hours developing a few choice pieces of content. Digital happened, and it has transformed the creative landscape in never before seen ways. MDG, a full-service advertising agency, put together an infographic, How Digital Has Transformed the Creative Landscape, to showcase just how much digital has already revolutionized the creative landscape and how those changes are impacting creatives.
1. The Drive for More Formats and More Platforms
First off, creatives are now having to create content that brands can use to engage with audiences on a variety of platforms. With numerous possibilities available for creating engaging content, and the demand for multiple formats increasing, creatives are going to be creating more of the following very soon:
- Short-form videos
- Interactive Experiences
- External websites
- Paid social media
- Paid search
- Email newsletters
- Owned websites
- Long-form texts
- Images and slideshows
- Long-form videos
- Organic social media
- Organic search
- Display advertising
- Social posts
- Infographic
2. Personalization and Programmatic Ad Buying = Increased Demand for Creative
- 65% of creatives are creating more content than 5 years ago
- 60% of respondents say they spend more time developing content
This demand for more content is being driven by the need for brands to personalize creative. When over 70% of creatives agree that it’s important to personalize content, specifically around the customer journey, most agencies and brands start to seek out that personalized content.
Increasing demand for personalization is also largely influenced by programmatic ad buying, which makes it cost effective to target specific audiences. And, if you aren’t already doing this, you should seriously consider investing. It’s a good, strong signal when 81% of agencies now engage in programmatic buying of digital advertising.
3. New Data and Digital Tools Translate to Increased Efficiency
With the influx of data and tools and changes to how content is made and distributed taking place, creatives are being tasked with more responsibilities as demand for multi-disciplinary teams grow When compared to five years ago,
- 28% of creatives spend more time on meetings and administration;
- 38% spend more time getting approvals and iterating designs; and
- 40% engage in more collaboration and asset management.
Even though creatives are now performing varied activities, new advances in hardware and software are making it easier for creatives to develop content that is dynamic and fluid. More tools also make collaborating much easier, a big plus for those creating content. Compared to five years ago, 69% of creatives are using different tools and 73% believe collaborating in increasingly important.
4. AI and Automation Are Increasing Important in the Creative Landscape
Already, 69% of creatives think their use of AI will increase in the next five years and 45% believe that AI will eventually take over some of their responsibilities. Increasingly, consumers are searching for dynamic experiences, and AI helps them deliver.
However, AI is not the only star in the room. Automation has rapidly expanded among creatives. In fact, just look at the high percentages of creatives using automation to help with activities:
- 46% templates
- 40% photo/design retouching
- 34% file naming
- 31% style guide implementation
- 20% smart grids
- 18% localization
5. Creatives Are in High Demand!
When production moves from artisanship to scale, it can be easy to think that skilled and talented people are no longer as necessary as they were before. With creative, this is exactly the opposite of what is happening.
Think about this for a moment, people online complete the following actions every minute:
- Share 2 million snaps;
- Watch 4 million YouTube videos
- Post 50 thousand Instagram photos
- Publish 80 thousand Tumblr posts
When you think about the sheer content of creative on the web, it can be easy to see why thoughtful pieces win over consumers. In a recent study of Instagram users 13-24 years old, the participants made it very clear that they wanted to see posts that featured rich and authentic narratives and were artfully presented, thoughtfully composed, beautiful and engaging. This is great news for creatives because their expert skills are still very much in demand.