Every agency is talking about it on LinkedIn it seems. But actually, on closer inspection, it appears many are not elsewhere in their external marketing. There are a few agencies who are really leaning in. But the vast majority of the market still doesn’t have a clear external position on this topic and their website content remains largely unchanged. However, in a world where AI is the topic of the moment, agencies can’t afford to be passive - there is an opportunity to lean in, be intentional and help clients to separate the signal from the noise.

The topic of the moment

AI. It seems that every agency is talking about it on LinkedIn. But actually, on closer inspection, it appears many are not.

Agency by Agency, a specialist in mapping the agency landscape, recently looked at the content of over 25,000 agencies and found that only 23.6% reference it in their online content. And, in a much less scientific survey, I audited a good number of known eCommerce agencies to check out their websites. Almost all had zero reference to AI. A few had the odd blog post. Only one had an AI page (and, to be honest, it was pretty unspecific).

There are a few agencies who are really leaning in - such as Factory Digital led by Lucy Davis and Tim Richardson. But the vast majority of the market still doesn’t have a clear external position on this topic and their website content remains largely unchanged.

It’s remarkable given the times we are in and how much AI is a part of the debate; it’s seemingly unavoidable in so many conversations. Look at the schedule of topics at digital events and festivals and you’ll see what I mean. For example, at this year’s forthcoming Leeds Digital Festival, out of the 234 events, 111 include an AI-related theme, representing just over 47% of the total programme.

Agencies are not telling the (AI) story

Perhaps part of it is the old adage that agencies are generally quite terrible at keeping their own websites up to date (and yes, I put my hand up to that one in the past!). But it represents an opportunity - not just for marketing but for thinking on how you actually do approach AI - and then tell meaningful stories to your clients - new and existing.

So, where to start? Well, here’s my view:

Accepting you need an external position on AI;
An thorough audit to understand the opportunities to both add value, unlock innovation and also efficiencies, and;
A very clear, confident one page articulation of that position.

My view is that you do need an external (marketing) position on AI.

I accept that many clients are (rightfully) still focused on the brilliant basics and perhaps AI isn’t their main focus. However, their boss (or their boss’ boss) will no doubt be reading The Sunday Times and articles about this stuff. So they’ll cascade questions to the organisation about what they’re doing on AI and, as an agency, you’re part of that answer.

As such, you can't - when talking to a client, existing or new - not be clear on it. You can't just kind of talk around it and have an extended paragraph around AI which, ironically, has probably been written by AI. It needs to be - ‘this is our position on AI’. It won't be a position that is fixed because it can't be, but I think you need to have a position and then have a process to refresh that.

So if you have a position, then do make it clear in a meaningful and consistent way in your external marketing. Don’t just keep it for your discovery calls and pitch meetings. Your position on this topic will be a component of the agency selection process - to a greater or lesser extent depending on the brand - but it will be on the list.

If you don’t have an external position, well, read on.

How to develop your AI position

How do you come about a position? Well, ultimately, the AI element is going to have an impact on every component of your business to some degree, potentially to some extent more than others. So from my perspective, I will look at a business through this lens of my 6 P’s: Purpose, Proposition, Pipeline, People, Process and Profit.

*Agency 360 Framework. Copyright: Chapter North*

Audit the segments

How does the potential of AI create opportunities to add value and/or achieve efficiencies? There should be a process of looking through each of the segments of your business, to assess that question and to really deep dive.

This is a brilliant opportunity to bring together your teams - to think ahead and then to collaborate in a workshop. It’s also good to create an ‘AI taskforce’ which brings together thinkers (not just seniors) from across the business. It’s something I have seen, led and been involved in with agencies in recent months.

It could be a great opportunity to really think more deeply about these subjects. It can be overwhelming so I do encourage people to keep it simple. Look at:

What are the things we are doing now?

And for each:

How might we make this more efficient?
How might we create more value for us and/or our clients?

Then we can look to the future too:

What are the opportunities that we could leverage to create efficiency and/or unlock value?

This is a really important step, because in order to be able to get back to the point of having a position (and that’s a real position, not an AI generated headline) you need to have thought about these components and how they interface in your business and with your clients.

What’s next?

When you've thought about that, you will have a view on what an action plan looks like in terms of:

short term things you can do in the next 3 months
medium term stuff that's going to take 6-12 months
and then things that are going to be for 12+ months as future developments.

But actually, what this process allows you to do - this reflection - is to thoughtfully consider the role AI plays.

Articulate your position to the world

You should be able to then articulate a very clear position, to say:

"We are using AI in the following ways to create greater value, for example… We are also using AI as a means of being able to improve our efficiency, for example…”

And then the conclusion should be:

“The benefit for you as a client is this… The benefit of you working with us is this…”

Being intentional and thoughtful can reframe AI from this kind of shiny object, distraction, conceptual thing to a more considered perspective of what it means, this is what we do with it and this is where we believe it adds value. It’s saying:

‘This is where we believe it can support your business - and we are considerate about that. We're also considerate about the limitations here and where we're not going to overdo the AI machine, because actually, there's a value in us doing that here. There's a value in the human element. And you engage with us to be that expert and bring in that perspective which is driven around experience and creativity’

Lead the conversation

Now you have the intentionality - don’t hide it. Make it a meaningful part of your website, decks, external marketing - rather than an incidental mention.

The outcome then is when you go into that pitch, when you go into that meeting, you are on the front foot, you are leading the conversation.

You are saying: ‘we are understanding, considering, thinking, and implementing a thoughtful strategy around AI, which is additive to your business and delivers efficiencies where possible’.

It provides confidence, internally for you as a business that you've thought about this, but also externally to your audience, your clients, they understand that you have a position on that.

And believe me, I think that in itself would be a massive advantage to have, because I don't see that much that level of clarity externally. A lot of noise, but it's about separating a signal from the noise, and it starts with this type of process.

To conclude

So a quick recap:

Accepting you need an external (marketing) position on AI;
A thorough audit to understand the opportunities to both add value, unlock innovation and also unlock efficiencies, and;
A very clear, confident one page articulation of that position.

Do this and you’ll be on that front foot - the ‘thought leader’, leading the conversation. The client feels confident and comfortable and you are separating yourselves out from the noise, being more focussed on being the signal and creating a view of how AI can be practical and impactful - not just another buzz word.

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Everybody’s talking about AI. Or are they?