I recently read a fairly disturbing analysis about a large global media holding company that was reportedly trying to sell a significant chunk of assets and struggling to find buyers.
The headline narrative was predictable. AI was positioned as the culprit. The implication was simple: these businesses are being hollowed out by technology, and therefore their value is evaporating.
I don’t buy it.
I use AI every day. I embrace it fully. In exactly the same way I once embraced Google, email, data platforms, programmatic buying and every other technological shift that was supposed to “change everything.” Tools evolve. That’s not the story.
And I have been reading about the demise of the ad industry for 38 years and counting.
Uncomfortable question
If a company genuinely loses its value because AI can replicate what it does, then the uncomfortable question isn’t about AI. It’s about what that company was really offering in the first place.
The strongest defence against AI or any other tech, has never been production or process. It’s relationships. Trust. Strategic insight and judgement. Commercial understanding. Pattern recognition earned over years. And original creative problem-solving that is rooted in context, culture, relevance, psychology and sales expertise.
Marketing money exists for one reason. To deliver return on investment. To grow a brand’s top line. To increase its market share. To build desirability and brand equity. AI can absolutely be used in service of that. It can drive efficiency. Strip out complexity. Accelerate execution. That’s a good thing.
‘Unpredictable’ agencies
But if someone believes AI replaces the need for strategic advice, business judgement or original creative thinking, then what they are really saying is that those things were never present to begin with…
Years ago, when I was financing a business, a banker told me ad agencies were “unpredictable” because they were supposedly project-based. I pointed out that most law firms, consultancies and architectural practices operate project to project, and no one questions their legitimacy.
Meanwhile, we were working with many big blue-chip clients on long-term engagements, with deep relationships and valued partnerships. If anything, our model was more predictable and less transactional.
Adapt, evolve
The best agencies in the world have been around for decades for a reason. They adapt. They evolve. They integrate technology. But they don’t outsource their thinking.
Anyone can use AI. That’s the point. And when everyone uses the same tools in the same way, you don’t get differentiation. You get variations of beige.
The companies that will thrive are the ones that combine human intelligence with technology. Human curiosity. Human creativity. Human judgement. Human accountability.
This story was first posted on LInkedIn and is republished with the permission of the author.
Mike Abel is the executive chairman and founder of the Up&Up Group (M&C SAATCHI ABEL, Levergy, Connect, Razor, Black& White, 2Stories & Dalmatian). Patron of The Street Store, the world’s free clothing store movement for those in need.
