AI and Productivity

August 2, 2024in Salesforce

AI and Productivity. Agencies and brands often find themselves tangled in tasks that don’t add much value. Enter AI—a tool that might just bring some much-needed order to this chaos. AI won’t eliminate the intensity of agency life, but it can transform that intensity into something valuable.. Grace Meldrum from Salesforce has some ideas on how AI can streamline operations.

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Imagine working at or with an agency. For many marketers, it’s a rollercoaster ride. On a good day, it’s all about creativity and pushing boundaries. On a bad day, it’s chaotic and stressful.

Stephen Quinn, CEO of Atomic, recently likened it to “air traffic control”—only with more turbulence. Campaigns are constantly taking off, changing direction, and landing in unexpected places. With marketing budgets slashed by 15% over the past year, making the most of these moments is crucial for agencies—it can mean the difference between landing new clients or losing key accounts.

Fortunately, progress is on the horizon. Emerging AI tools are set to make life easier for agencies and their brand partners. Communication platforms have already improved global team connectivity, and integration with other apps has facilitated smooth cross-functional work. Now, AI is ready to take things to the next level.

Powered by AI – AI and Productivity

In a world where time is always running short—whether it’s a looming deadline, a product launch, or a quarter-end—AI can help reclaim those precious hours. Many of us find ourselves bogged down with repetitive tasks that don’t really add value. Here’s where AI steps in.

Take recent experience coordinating a world tour event. The event was a complex puzzle of moving parts. While oversight was crucial, keeping track of every detail manually would have been impossible. Enter AI.

Using Slack’s AI-driven recap and thread summary tools, we received daily updates highlighting key insights and decisions. It was a game-changer. We didn’t have to dig through endless emails or ask agencies to provide recaps. AI saved us a whopping 373 minutes of reading time—over six hours that we could reinvest into delivering an exceptional event. Multiply those savings across teams, and the impact of AI becomes even more apparent.

Keeping It Human

While AI can boost efficiency, it’s not here to replace creativity. Sam Pepper, group creative director at Wasserman, aptly describes AI as “the enemy of the mundane.” AI excels at handling repetitive tasks, but creativity remains a human domain.

Creativity thrives on human elements—brainstorming, collaborating, and sometimes making mistakes. AI should complement these processes, not replace them. By offloading mundane tasks to AI, we can focus more on the messy, iterative process of crafting standout campaigns.

Jumping into the AI Era

Marketers are no strangers to change, from the advent of TV to the rise of social media. When it comes to AI, the best approach is to dive in. Start small—experiment with a few use cases. Many AI tools, like the recap feature in Slack, require minimal setup. AI and Productivity.

Moreover, centralizing your data can maximize AI’s effectiveness. Tools like Slack bring together your resources and team, providing AI with the insights it needs to deliver real value.

AI won’t eliminate the intensity of agency life, but it can transform that intensity into something valuable. By reducing administrative drudgery and freeing up time, AI can shift the focus from stressful days to moments of creative brilliance.

Ready to elevate your marketing game? Explore the possibilities with Slack today.