• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, September 3, 2024

Advertising works differently today. Understanding the nuances of what makes good advertising has always been a challenge, but it’s especially difficult these days with so much access to data. Much of it brands still do not use today.

While it has become a complex process, Ipsos engineered a generative AI (GAI) model with specific features that pulls from decades of survey-based research and data from testing ads, along with best practices. The global research firm rolled it out last June in the U.S., and continues to deploy it worldwide.

Pedr Howard, Ipsos head of creative excellence, says the tool can predict the performance by using AI prior to the launch of an advertisement.

“It’s based on what has worked in the past and what we know works in certain channels,” Howard said.

The method and the tool optimize content before launching the ad by simulating how consumers respond, rather than launching it and optimizing as it runs.  

Howard said advertisers no longer need to “throw things out into digital to see what works and what doesn’t.”

Ipsos analyzes about 10,000 different data points from that ad, and then triangulates that against the database of 40,000 ads that have been tested in the past.

Brand marketers that have worked with Ipsos in the past and have tested a lot with the company can build their own database with the company and could begin to get more specific models for their own brands, with models they could use repeatedly.

Howard said the platform took two years to build. The biggest challenges were in determining how to make the model accurate, and then how to make the model understand how advertising works.  

As advertisers spend more to run the media, they will want to know in advance what works and what doesn’t. They also will want to ensure their brands are the center of attention, which is another way that all types of AI can help catch failures before they occur.

When asked what advertisers should do that they are not, surprisingly Howard said they “forget” to “feature their brand” in entertainment and content -- especially for those using influencers. He said it’s easy to make it about the influencer and not about the brand being featured.

“What you're really doing is promoting this celebrity influencer as opposed to promoting your brand,” he said.

Ipsos has access to interesting data models. The company can look at all of the ads of those 40,000 that have run in the past and isolate those that include celebrities. And of those, what are more likely to be remembered.

If they are remembered, they might be less likely to drive impact for the brand that is advertised because the attention is driven to the celebrity instead of the advertised product.

There is a balance that brands need to achieve between the entertainment content that people want to watch and finding a natural role for brands or products in the spot, he said.