In our new series The AI 5, we ask five questions to explore the impact of AI through the eyes of some of the world’s leading figures in advertising. We discuss how AI is changing workflows, collaboration and creativity.
First up is Mansoor Basha, Chief Technology Officer at Stagwell Marketing Cloud.
During our conversation, Mansoor discusses the development of AI-driven tools like Propellers, predicts significant growth for the sector, and offers his insights on human-AI partnerships.
He also delves into ethical considerations, shares some of his favorite AI tools and, as an associate professor of marketing at New York University, offers advice to aspiring marketers in this rapidly evolving field.
What impact will AI have on your team’s workflows and processes?
Integrating AI into our teams’ workflows and processes has been transformative, delivering significant time savings and efficiency gains. By leveraging AI, we’ve been able to rethink our entire workflow, shifting our focus from traditional, time-consuming processes to more innovative and exciting experiences. This paradigm shift perfectly illustrates how Stagwell is harmonizing the art and science of marketing: AI integration has not only streamlined our operations, but also enabled our teams to spend more time on high-value tasks that drive creativity and growth.
“Integrating AI into our teams’ workflows and processes has been a transformative experience, delivering significant time savings and efficiency gains.”
A great example of this is the development of Propellers, an advanced creative agency tool built on Google Cloud’s AI capabilities. This platform allows us to innovate quickly and generate diverse concepts for multiple audiences, creative briefs and multimodal experiences. It enables us to deliver high-quality marketing results to clients, at unprecedented speed.
In what ways has AI changed collaboration within your team and with customers?
Integrating AI into our workflows has significantly changed the dynamics of creative collaboration. By using AI as a baseline, we can effectively demonstrate the value we bring to clients. This in turn facilitates deeper discussions and a freer flow of ideas – allowing our teams to collaborate more effectively with clients, and deliver a more personalized and efficient experience to clients.
In addition to streamlining our internal processes, the AI-driven ability to rapidly generate concepts and iterate on ideas has also sparked a new sense of excitement and possibility. Our team members are empowered to explore new avenues and push the boundaries of what’s possible at scale, leading to more innovative and effective solutions for our customers.
“In addition to streamlining our internal processes, the AI-powered ability to quickly generate concepts and iterate on ideas has also created a new sense of excitement and possibility.”
What kind of future do you see for human-AI collaboration in advertising? And what ethical considerations should we keep in mind?
Human-AI partnerships will significantly change the future of marketing. By automating routine tasks, AI unlocks our potential to focus on high-value activities that drive innovation and creativity. By embracing AI, we free advertising professionals from routine while enabling them to deliver exceptional results for clients.
A crucial part of the journey towards a symbiotic future for humans and AI is prioritizing ethical considerations. It is essential that we ensure that we do not compromise on our values: protecting against bias, safeguarding data and ideas, and promoting responsible AI development and deployment. This requires collaboration with LLM providers and other stakeholders to establish clear standards for ethics, transparency, and accountability.
“It is imperative that we ensure we do not compromise on our values: protecting against bias, protecting data and ideas, and promoting responsible AI development and deployment.”
What’s your boldest prediction about how AI will transform the industry over the next five years?
My prediction is about how AI will drive significant growth and innovation in the marketing industry. I foresee the emergence of at least two new marketing channels, leading to a 2x growth in marketing teams: to support the increased demand for marketing enablement and new offerings. This growth will be fueled by the need for more advanced marketing strategies and will require a highly skilled workforce, capable of leveraging AI and machine learning technologies to drive business success.
With the capabilities of AI rapidly increasing, what advice would you give to a student starting university and aspiring to a career like yours?
I am an adjunct professor of marketing at New York University and I have also seen firsthand how AI is revolutionizing our industry. My advice to students entering college with a career goal similar to mine is to get familiar with AI quickly.
“My advice to students entering university with a career goal similar to mine is to get familiar with AI quickly.”
In my master’s level marketing class, I dedicate 25% of the curriculum to AI because it’s no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. My message to students is to stop worrying that AI will replace them and think about how they can use it to enhance their skills and bring something new to the table. Don’t just learn about AI, learn to think creatively about how you can use it to make a real impact – to stand out in a crowded job market and potentially make a name for yourself in this industry.
Fast results:
What are your favorite AI tools for work or play?
For personal use – I use Poe because it gives me access to multiple models at once to test, see the differences in results, and also learn which one fits which use case best. This is especially useful for specialized tools or models focused on specific interests, such as business or politics.
For my work I use them all – no favorites, because for this job we need to be up to date on which tool to use for our use cases. We also have partnerships with the hyperscalers, so we get access to their trusted tester programs. That way I stay up to date on what’s going to happen with some of their new models.
What is a favorite or frequently used prompt?
I use AI tools extensively to rewrite long emails or summarize key points from long articles when I don’t have time to read them all the way through. I also use image generation to understand how creative concepts can be considered new ideas.
If you could use AI to do something it can’t do today, what would it be?
A personal real-time diet and exercise coach: he could monitor my intake and act not only as an informant, but also as an instructor!
