We’ve now done projects across a wide range of categories for a number of global clients. Seeing a client challenge going from question to brief to insights (consumer, cultural and expert) to platforms and then ideas and concepts in a matter of hours is really exciting.
One of our pilot clients said…
"These 100% AI virtual insight, strategy and innovation projects aren't just the traditional projects done much faster... in many ways they're better"
He was right, but we hadn’t been thinking of it that way.
We tend to pitch the ONE strategy studio in terms of aiming to match the quality of insights & creativity of traditional agencies, but faster. It felt like a tough enough challenge without trying to be better.
But in aiming for this goal we’ve found that our 100% automated insight, strategy and innovation projects exceed what’s possible in a traditional project. I captured this thought in a recent LinkedIn post, but I thought I would expand on it in this newsletter.
Here are some thoughts based on feedback from our pilots about the ways that 100% automated insight, strategy and innovation projects can not just match but exceed what you get from a project from a traditional agency…
We can go WIDER & DEEPER in terms of sources of insight
When you run a traditional project you often have to make difficult choices about where to look for insight or creative inspiration. If you want to go wider or deeper it normally costs in terms of time and cost.
With automated projects you don’t have that trade off. You need to be focussed about what sources you want to harness, why and how - but there are few restrictions on where you go. You can let the brief guide the sourcing.
We can be more OBJECTIVE with how we approach each challenge
Much has been written about the biases of AI and it’s an important topic. We need to be mindful of these biases when we run and interpret projects and do all we can to mitigate the impact of unwanted bias.
But traditional agencies also have bias that impacts how they run and deliver a project, based on their own lives, experiences and expertise. Sometimes these biases can help a project, but not always. An AI model in some ways can have a more objective take on a challenge, and take you to places that a human agency might not have considered.
The AI team fuse BEST IN CLASS EXPERTISE in one place
Most if not all agencies have strengths and weaknesses. If they are great at robust sourcing and strong analytics they might not be so good at insight or narrative storytelling. They might be great at insight and strategy but not creativity. It’s rare to find an agency best in class across all areas. And that expertise can be lost to an agency when people leave.
We’re building a virtual team of 5 brains to over time create best in class expertise across SOURCING (Sammi), ANALYSIS & INSIGHT (Hayden) STRATEGY (Skyler) STORYTELLING (Oli) and CREATIVITY (Finn). We’re just at the beginning of our journey of building these brains, but they are already strong and will get stronger and stronger. Best in class across all areas of expertise is a viable goal and one that will always underpin our Virtual Studio
CONSUMER, CULTURAL & R&D are integrated seamlessly
It’s not uncommon for traditional insight, strategy and innovation agencies to integrate different perspectives into their projects. And sometimes this creates great results. But there are frustrating limits to when and how you can do this the traditional way. Anyone who has tried to organise expert interviews or do deep and meaningful technical research that truly connect with the consumer and cultural context will know these limits and frustrations.
In an AI driven virtual project we can explore these perspectives with breadth and depth and combine them seamlessly to drive truly innovative results, time and again, across all projects, without adding to project costs and timescales.
There's a relentless CONSISTENCY & THOROUGHNESS
People are illogical, inconsistent and unpredictable. They can be distracted, get tired, they have emotions, they crave variety and change. That’s a good thing of course, it’s about being human. But it can make managing large scale projects and processes difficult, especially when these human qualities are magnified across a team and at an organisational level.
When you have a virtual team running a virtual project, things get done… as you’ve briefed it, completely consistently and thoroughly. That can be hugely powerful.
What about the human spark of inspiration?
Maybe the models will never replicate that, but with so much of the journey from brief to insight, opportunity and ideas automated you’re going to have more people with more time and more energy to get those sparks flying.
We can get to NEW THINKING that traditional approaches don't get to
This wasn’t something we necessarily anticipated when we started developing our models and the virtual team… but they get to some great breakthrough thinking that traditional agencies don’t. At least, that’s what our pilot clients have told us. Particularly when it comes to how consumer, cultural and technical insights are combined to define opportunity.
If you’re used to Chat GPT giving average and uninspiring answers to your questions it’s hard to imagine what a more sophisticated model is capable of until you see it.
We can ITERATE the results instantly by changing brief or focus
Have you ever got to the end of a big project and thought “if I knew then what I know now I would have briefed this differently”? With the project process 100% automated you have the power to back to the brief change it and start again - with results in just an hour instead of weeks. You use the learning from the first full deliverable to refine your approach. Real iteration at work.
As with all technological breakthroughs, It's easy to compare what's new to what's gone before. And there's nothing wrong with that. But the more we embrace what's different about virtual projects, and how that might be better, the more we will benefit.
100% Virtual projects are here and they are going to be a game-changer. They won’t take humans out of the loop, but they will transform the way we add value
If you want to know more about ONE Strategy Studio and our vision for AI driven virtual projects in the insight brand strategy and innovation space then please do get in touch.