Tag: marketing

In the past two years, AI innovation has swept through all facets of the marketing world, from hiring to deployment. While AI has always run in the background, now it’s become front and center, raising potential for efficiency and innovation — alongside concerns and frustrations. Employers who prioritize the intersection of human potential and technology will not only keep pace—they’ll lead.

Integrating a Human Touch in Talent Recruitment

Tech tools were supposed to make it easier and more efficient to hire best-in-class talent. And yet, both talent and employers still face frustrations over applicant tracking systems (ATS) which are used by nearly all Fortune 500 companies. LinkedIn and Reddit boards are full of stories from talent and recruiters alike, frustrated that the best talent can sometimes be overlooked, including a viral story of a manager whose own resume was rejected by the ATS, leading him to realize a code error was auto-rejecting all applicants.

Relying on applicant tracking systems alone can also open employers to vulnerabilities: AI platforms can raise bias, fairness, and equity concerns, with one hiring platform even facing a lawsuit alleging the platform’s AI-based hiring tools are discriminatory. And candidates too, can use AI tools to enhance and tailor their resumes for positions they might not be qualified for: According to one 2023 survey conducted by resume services company Standout CV, nearly three-quarters of job candidates would consider using AI tools to “embellish their resumes.”

To address these challenges, organizations should invest in hybrid recruitment models that blend AI efficiency with human oversight. This helps to ensure fairness, reduce errors, and align hiring practices with organizational values.

Having a Strong Tech POV for Maximum Results

Generative AI has significantly disrupted and impacted creative work, from ideation to execution, and the results have hit mainstream conversation. For example, an AI-made update of a classic holiday Coca-Cola commercial generated controversy, and AI integration into the popular Spotify Wrapped has also drawn mixed reactions. Ultimately, the outcome still matters, and the most successful teams in the future will likely be the ones that can integrate AI tools to boost efficiency and innovation, while using a human touch to ensure projects align with core values.

There’s also the concern over “non-authorized AI use;” Creatives who are bringing AI tools into the office without disclosure or approval, raising concerns over privacy, copyright, and more. One 2024 report published by LinkedIn and Microsoft found that 78% of workers — especially those at small and mid-size companies — are bringing their own AI tools into work, and more than half of them are reluctant to admit to using it, due to concerns that doing so might make them seem replaceable.

Employers can mitigate these risks by developing clear guidelines on how and when AI tools should be used. This not only fosters transparency but also empowers employees to leverage AI responsibly for better results.

Building a Holistic Tech-Integrated Strategy for Everyday Tasks

Tech tools can be invaluable — but it’s key that all parties feel confident using them to enhance the KPIs and goals of the department. While AI potential has only increased, new data from Slack’s Workforce Index Study has found that there has been stagnation in AI adoption, partially due to lack of training.

Marketing departments also face the problem of too much tech, not enough talent. One 2023 study found that marketers only use about one-third of their stack, partially due to a skills gap within their teams.

To bridge this divide, organizations can continue to prioritize ongoing training and bring in outside experts to maximize the stack.

Looking forward, thoughtful tech adoption can parallel alongside robust talent development. By fostering a culture of innovation and integration, employers can transform AI and tech tools into catalysts for creativity, efficiency, and growth.

hand pointing forward towards 2025 graphic

Talent and Tech: The Path Forward in 2025

Our new report, Finding the Human Edge: Where Talent Meets Technology, explores key trends at the intersection of talent and technology. With more tech advancements on the horizon, it’s clear that AI and human talent are complementary. The companies who are poised to succeed will be prepared to integrate AI efficiencies alongside human innovation.

At Creative Circle, our human recruiters identify the right candidates and teams for your marketing and creative projects. By forging transformative relationships, we ensure your pain points are solved with top-tier talent, backed by deep industry expertise. From building creative teams to evolving marketing strategies and maximizing tech stacks, we help you exceed your goals and drive meaningful results.

The contours of the media landscape are ever-changing. What was once ubiquitous is now far less so. By the end of 2022, 39.3 million US households cut the cord on traditional cable, a number expected to hit nearly 47 million households by the end of 2024.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that so many are saying bye (or never saying hello) to traditional cable with a plethora of streaming services like Netflix, Prime TV, Hulu, Apple TV+, Disney+, and more, which allow viewers to watch what they want, when they want, for less than the cost of a traditional cable subscription.

What is CTV?

In this rapidly shifting landscape, digital marketing is experiencing major change, with Connected TV—or CTV—emerging as a pivotal player, transforming how audiences engage with content. CTV is any television set that connects to the internet and streams digital video content through built-in smart TV functionality or external devices like streaming sticks like Roku, set-top boxes, or gaming consoles.

With this technology, viewers can access a wide range of content that goes far beyond traditional broadcast channels, like streaming services, on-demand video, and internet applications. All of this is causing major shifts in how brands advertise to their audiences, with CTV advertising in ascendancy and changing the TV advertising game. Let’s dig in.

The What and the Why of CTV Advertising

CTV advertising refers to video ads delivered through a streaming service while a viewer watches a TV show, movie, or other video content on an actual TV set via a connected device like Firestick or Roku or directly from a smart TV. For most streaming services, CTV represents over 80% of all viewing, the remainder occurring on other internet-connected devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

Unlike traditional television advertising, CTV advertising leverages viewer data like demographics, viewing habits, and interests, allowing for a more targeted and personalized ad experience. Advertisers gain improved measurement and tracking abilities, allowing for smarter and more efficient ad spending — and the ability to reach more niche audiences with greater precisions.

Evolution of TV Advertising

Traditional or linear TV advertising lets advertisers reach millions of viewers all at the same time. Linear TV advertising is what you see when you watch broadcast or cable TV — the traditional, old-school TV advertising that’s been around for decades. Linear TV ads reach everyone watching a particular program rather than just their intended audience. And measuring the success of a linear TV ad campaign is more nebulous — it’s hard to know if anyone went to go buy something after watching the ad.

With changing viewer behavior as cable and satellite TV use continue to drop, advertisers are instead following their viewers over to CTV, lured by more measurable ad performance metrics and better-optimized campaign management overall. As linear advertising spend declines, CTV ad spend is fast on the rise.

Ad spending for CTV is expected to reach $21.45 billion in 2024, an increase of 16.2% from 2023. In 2025, it is forecast to hit $24.4 billion, growing year over year by 13.9%.

CTV Advertising vs OTT Advertising

OTT means “Over-the-Top,” referring to content that goes “over” your cable box, providing access to TV content via an internet connection instead of with a cable cord or satellite. While OTT and CTV are often used interchangeably, and can refer to the same thing, it’s important to note that OTT is how video content is delivered to viewers — it can stream content across all devices, like mobile and desktop. CTV only streams content onto smart TV screens, which is why it is often referred to as streaming TV advertising.

OTT ad inventory tends to differ from CTV, which typically has premium network content similar to what you would find on traditional TV. In contrast, OTT offers a much wider range of inventory.

So, Why Use CTV ads?

If you want your ads to help you find users who actually want your products or services, CTV ads are the way to go. As streaming services like Hulu and Netflix adjust their pricing models to an ad-supported tiered system that displays more ads to folks on less expensive plans and fewer or no ads to those on higher plans, marketers can now zero in on their demographic with far more precision.

Here are a few other perks that come with CTV ads:

  1. Multiple precision targeting methods

With linear TV, targeting is limited to finding shows that best index against ratings — the system network television uses to make programming decisions and to price advertisements. But Nielsens’ typically can only offer broad age and gender demographic metrics, like women 25 – 54 and men 18 – 49. But CTV advertisers can leverage similar digital targeting to Google and Facebook, which means audience segments can be based on everything from income or education level to personal interests and more.

Some of the top CTV targeting options to get familiar with include:

  • Geolocation targeting
  • Contextual targeting
  • Retargeting
  • Time-of-day targeting
  • Lookalike targeting

  1. Hyper-local targeting

With CTV ads, it’s far easier to pinpoint consumers based on their IP address, which means ads can be hyper-localized and served to viewers in far smaller geographic areas than with linear ads. Messaging can be highly customized based on where the viewer is located. For example, a spa with four locations can send the right commercial to the right viewers closest to each location.

  1. High Video completion rates

Superior targeting means that CTV ads are far more likely to be truly relevant to those viewing them—which means they are more likely to be interested in the ad and engage with it until completion. Using automatic content recognition technology, or ACR, CTV providers can provide real-time, second-by-second completion rate data, which helps advertisers hone the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

  1. Detailed attribution measurement and accuracy

CTV ads allow advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their brand campaigns more accurately via conversions — they can see who came to the brand’s website and completed a purchase after viewing an ad. With time and increased data, advertisers can learn what creative worked best and which publishers, dates, times, and other factors had the greatest impact on conversions.

 

BOTTOM LINE
Marketers, if you want to lead your company’s CTV marketing innovation charge but need help figuring out where to start, Creative Circle can provide the talent and build the teams to help you perfectly craft and precisely target your brand to shine on the TV screen. The media landscape is fast evolving — to succeed, it’s important to prime your business to be in step with the times.

Creative Circle is thrilled to announce the release of our 2024 Client Pulse Report, offering a comprehensive analysis of artificial intelligence’s impact on creative and marketing teams. This year’s report illuminates how AI has rapidly become embedded in daily workflows, but leaders still seek support in deploying the groundbreaking technology to its full potential.

To develop the report, Creative Circle collected survey responses from 463 creative and marketing leaders. The survey was conducted in March 2024 and received a near-record response rate, demonstrating business leaders’ continued investment in the subject more than a year after AI entered the mainstream.

The Results Are In

Resounding consensuses emerged around several of the topics addressed in the survey:

  • AI is now a staple in creative and marketing teams, with 82% using it to some extent and 45% using it daily or weekly.
  • Leaders would like to further implement AI into their work, but 89% face barriers to increased adoption.
  • The necessity of AI today is undisputed, as 83% of leaders say they need to develop new AI skills and competencies in order to achieve their goals.
  • Businesses are eager to close their AI gaps, with 66% of respondents seeking AI-specific training, hires, or consultants to upskill their teams.

“This study makes clear that marketing and creative leaders recognize AI’s extraordinary potential. But for the most part, they’re only scratching the surface,” says Creative Circle President Matt Riley. “Teams need direction, training, and subject matter expertise in order to fully integrate AI technology and realize its many benefits.”

Creative Circle’s insights and solutions offer an ideal set of skills and knowledge that marketing and creative teams need to realize the benefit of today’s AI technologies.

Katherine Forbes, Creative Circle’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, states, “We are actively partnering with our clients to bring out the full potential of AI within their marketing and creative teams. Our people have the right solutions at their fingertips and the necessary insights to implement AI effectively and securely.”

Read the full report for all the detailed findings on topics including the top AI use cases, barriers to adoption, and upskilling strategies. And, if you’re ready to harness the power of AI for your team, contact Creative Circle to tap into a wealth of resources and expertise.

About Creative Circle

Creative Circle provides marketing and creative services for companies looking to solve business challenges of all sizes. Our strength comes from our talent community, and our power lies in leveraging this network to provide flexible custom solutions for our clients.

Creative Circle is part of the Commercial Segment of ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN). To learn more, visit creativecircle.com.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements made in this news release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty. Forward looking statements include statements regarding our current and future support of client AI needs, claims pertaining to internal and client efficiencies created using AI tools, and statements about how marketing and creative professionals may leverage AI tools within their own organizations. All statements in this news release, other than those setting forth strictly historical information, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results might differ materially. For a full list of risks and discussion of forward looking statements, please see ASGN’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on February 23, 2024. We specifically disclaim any intention or duty to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release.

Influencer culture has taken over the world — but has it completely conquered the marketing world? In this fast-paced space, brands continually seek smart ways to connect with their target audience. In recent years, the advertising world has been marked by a massive transformation — moving away from traditional advertising methods to embrace increasingly digital avenues for promotion. The rise of influencer marketing is one of the more significant trends helping reshape the ad industry in the last decade.

The Meteoric Rise of Influencer Marketing

Using celebrities and public figures to sell products is nothing new. After all, brands have long hired famous actors, athletes, and musicians to endorse their products and services on television, billboards, radio, and print.

However, the rise of social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and more recently, TikTok has minted a new class of social media celebrities — with massive followings and influence over their fans — commonly referred to as “influencers.” These influencers have become a marketing juggernaut for brands looking to promote their products and services to a younger, more digital demographic.

Influencer marketing strategically uses social media stars to promote brands, products, or services to their audience on their social channels — an approach that has grown exponentially in popularity, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z. As social media platforms thrive, influencers wield significant influence over consumer behavior.

Here are some of the top reasons influencer marketing has such an outsized influence on advertising.

Where Influencer Marketing Excels

Niche Audiences and Targeted Reach

One of the main advantages of influencer marketing is its ability to precisely target niche audiences. While traditional advertising can reach a mass audience, it often lacks relevance to more specific demographics. By leveraging the power of influencers, who have amassed loyal followings within particular niche groups, brands can connect with audiences who are genuinely interested in their wares or services — creating a more meaningful and significant engagement. This is a departure from the more traditional approach of reaching as many people as possible, whether they’re interested in the product or not.

One-Way vs. Two-Way Engagement

Traditional advertising is a bit of a one-way street, offering limited engagement opportunities with a brand’s target audience. Companies produce ads and hope people will see or hear them and act. Influencer marketing has upended that mono-directional approach by creating a space where brand promotion is more engaging, authentic, and relatable — letting brands partner with influencers who have cultivated a loyal following that essentially hangs on their every post, purchase, and stylistic whim. And this often enables them to promote a brand’s offerings more organically than traditional routes, making influencer marketing a go-to advertising tool because it offers a more tangible (and measurable) connection to their target audience.

Not Just for Big Brands

Influencer marketing has also disrupted the traditional advertising model by making it easier for smaller brands to compete with major industry players. In the past, large brands with big advertising budgets were able to dominate the market. Influencer marketing has upended this status quo, allowing smaller brands to work with influencers who actively engage their dedicated following and ultimately reach their target audience more effectively.

Measurable ROI and Engagement Metrics

In traditional advertising, success is typically measured by the reach and frequency of ad views but often struggles to measure the direct impact of its marketing and ROI. In contrast, influencer marketing offers more transparent, measurable outcomes, letting brands analyze performance, track conversions, and measure direct impact on their bottom line. Success is typically measured by engagement, such as likes, comments, shares, and saves — a more data-driven approach that empowers brands to make increasingly informed decisions which has led to a greater emphasis on creating engaging and shareable content.

However, there are also profound benefits to more traditional forms of advertising that we should keep in mind.

Benefits of Traditional Advertising

Broader Reach and Wider Audience

Traditional advertising excels at achieving a broader reach and vast audience because television, radio, and print — despite digital incursions — have retained sizable viewership and listenership. Recent studies have underscored the enduring power of television, with 88% of people watching TV daily, which means brands that advertise via traditional commercials can reach diverse demographics — including those less engaged with digital platforms.

Trust and Reliability

Consumers see TV advertising as more trustworthy, with 63% acknowledging its reliability. This legacy of trust is built from the presence of reputable brands on TV and print media, conferring a deeper sense of legitimacy.

Emotional Impact and Brand Building

Traditional advertising has a unique capacity to evoke emotions that can leave a lasting impression on viewers. TV commercials craft memorable experiences with masterful storytelling, visuals, and curated music choices. This kind of potential outsize emotional impact can help cement brand recognition, fostering deeper connections with consumers. When TV advertising is part of an omnichannel campaign, with print ads and out-of-home signage, the brand message can reach consumers at key touchpoints in their daily lives.

It’s a Complementary World — Traditional Agencies Are In a “Yes, And” Frame of Mind

Instead of choosing between marketing modalities, agencies are leaning into the strengths of both traditional and influencer marketing, finding ways to stitch cohesive, blended strategies together. By combining the two, brands can leverage the strengths of each approach, maximizing impact. While traditional methods cast a wider net, raising brand awareness, working with influencers can provide a more targeted approach that reaches specific niche customer segments more successfully.

Many traditional advertising agencies have created social-focused teams that specialize in leveraging influencer marketing and other social-based marketing. These teams sometimes partner with influencer marketing agencies, whereas others are beginning to manage their own influencer engagements. Perhaps unsurprisingly, every major agency holding company has been on “a shopping spree,” snapping up influencer marketing firms, revealing how forecasting gurus see the trajectory of the industry. Traditional agencies are learning to adapt more quickly to technological shifts in the landscape, and buying up companies with specific expertise has proven to be the fastest way to get up to speed — or, at the very least, not fall woefully behind.

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Bottomline

Brands are approaching advertising by shifting focus from a brand-first approach to one increasingly centered on the individual, revolutionizing how success is measured. With the growth of digital-first marketing, smaller brands are better able to compete with larger ones, and smaller niche audiences are increasingly feeling more seen, with brands increasingly recognizing the value of leveraging influencers and even micro-influencers). New features, tools, and guidelines are helping make influencer marketing a more transparent and accountable avenue, ensuring that brands can engage across the spectrum and feel safe as they do so.

The more things change, the more critical it becomes to position your brand for future success. If you need help navigating the increasingly complex waters of advertising today, Creative Circle has social media and traditional marketing experts ready to help craft cohesive strategies for your brand — ones that will move the needle.

One of the hottest questions in marketing these days is: are you in, or are you out? Many brands are setting up in-house teams to do work traditionally done by external agencies, giving birth to a new advertising and marketing model that may just have staying power.

The Association of National Advertisers, or ANA, has been doing a study every five years called The Continued Rise of the In-House Agency. The 2023 edition shows that 82% of marketers now have in-house agency teams — up from 78% in 2018, 58% in 2013, and just 42% in 2008.

What is an “in-house agency”?

For the ANA study, “in-house agency” was defined as “a department, group, or person that has responsibilities that typically are performed by an external advertising or other MarCom agency.”

In-house agencies, sometimes called IHAs, center on an internal marketing team that handles advertising exclusively for the company. IHA employees leverage their in-depth knowledge of the brand and its needs to create marketing strategies and craft campaigns without the help of an external party.

The ANA report “definitively shows that in-house agencies have become a firmly entrenched part of the holistic marketing ecosystem and are now a mainstay among a majority of marketers,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. But he hedged, “Agencies still play an important role for marketers, witnessed by the fact that 92% of respondents still use them. But the growth of in-house capabilities has clearly changed the client/agency relationship over the past 15 years.”

In-house versus External

Moving advertising and creative in-house is one of the most popular trends in marketing — but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Some companies may find the initial time and investment to set up an in-house team outweigh the possible benefits. Two distinct IHA models have emerged: in-house and hybrid in-house agencies.

The completely in-house agency builds out all the digital marketing functions within the company, which gives the business total control of its data, the ability to shift tactics quickly, and confidence that privacy regulations are being followed with data. Contrast that with agency marketing — the traditional model — where marketing and advertising work is outsourced to an external team that manages all a company’s marketing and advertising work. Agencies theoretically have the strategy, connections, resources, and know-how to successfully promote a business. They often have teams dedicated to specific tasks like strategy, media buying, copywriting, design, project management, and account management who interface with the client.

Somewhere in between, we have a hybrid in-house agency model, where critical data is owned and lives with the brand. The brand usually also owns the media accounts, adtech accounts, and data management and has a small team dedicated to managing external agency activity with clearly defined goals. Marketing campaign infrastructure and accounts live with the in-house company team, while an external agency runs campaigns and handles digital data. This model often works well for companies with small digital marketing teams that need more resources and know-how to manage data in-house. Brands will often outsource media buying, especially programmatic buying, which helps explain the growing popularity of the hybrid model.

In-house marketing and external advertising agencies each have positive and negative aspects; the utility of each option varies depending on your business. Here are some pros and cons of each.

First, the pros of in-house agencies:

  • Cost — Companies often find that having an in-house agency costs less to fund and maintain, particularly for small companies. A different ANA study showed that cost efficiency is the top benefit that brands with in-house teams cite, followed by brand knowledge and nimbleness.
  • Communication improvements – An IHA bolsters communication internally between the marketing team and other departments, allowing for better cross-functional sharing of information and resources and boosting collaboration. This can help the marketing team complete projects faster, sparking new ideas and opportunities.
  • Brand knowledge — An IHA is steeped in knowledge of the brand they work for and is familiar with all aspects of the industry, enabling them to fully assess the company’s needs and craft marketing strategies that best fit at any given moment.
  • Control — Having transparency into costs and operations, especially in media buying operations, makes it much easier to identify and implement optimization tactics.
  • Data/tech ownership — As first-party data ownership becomes increasingly critical in a cookie-less, privacy-first world, there are advantages to having marketing technology and adtech in-house.

And now, some cons of IHAs.

  • Talent acquisition timeline — Building an in-house marketing team takes time. It may require an extended period to recruit, identify, interview, hire, and onboard new candidates.
  • Recruitment costs — Whether companies pay outside recruitment agencies or hire an in-house recruiter, there is a cost associated with talent acquisition.
  • Stagnant creative — An in-house team may come to rely on just a few creative styles and strategies, which can impact the ongoing success of your company’s marketing.

Here are the pros of working with an external agency:

  • Advertising fluency — Ad agencies have typically worked with hundreds and sometimes thousands of clients, which means they’ve pretty much seen it all. An ad agency may suggest activations or concepts that a brand has not considered, opening the door for innovative engagement and messaging.
  • Resources — Ad agencies have access to resources like software, high-end printers, digital equipment, and other tools that in-house marketing teams often can’t afford.
  • Connections — You know the adage, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” — and that holds especially true for ad agencies, which typically have connections to production companies, advertising platforms, and high-level execs that can elevate exposure for a company.
  • A plethora of creativity — With many employees and specializations, ad agencies have a leg up on offering cutting-edge marketing strategies and activations.

And now, some cons about working with traditional ad agencies.

  • Less in-depth knowledge of your brand — Agencies have many clients, so they must learn many different brand stories. Businesses must teach their agency about their products, audience, culture, goals, and future vision. This takes time, and time cost money.
  • Many clients (sometimes too many) — With numerous clients and multiple campaigns to manage simultaneously, an agency may be unable to dedicate sufficient time or resources to a specific company’s needs, which can translate to long wait times for deliverables.
  • Less creative control — Because you have less direct oversight, it can be difficult to guide an external team to produce deliverables that fit your vision.

How to choose between an in-house agency and a traditional ad agency

Here are some considerations when deciding which option is best for your company.

  • How fast does your company need to improve its marketing strategies?
    An ad agency can be a more time-effective way to move the needle on your company’s brand presence. If there’s time to build a top-tier in-house marketing team, that could be a better option.
  • What’s your marketing budget?
    Budget is a crucial consideration, as it determines what kind of team can be hired in-house and what kind of services the company can afford with an outside agency. Hiring an in-house team will typically cost more, as you’ll pay salaries rather than hourly rates. Compare and contrast costs and balance them with your timeline to help you decide.
  • What are your organization’s needs?
    Determine the short- and long-term goals for marketing efforts and assess which areas need improvement. If just a few components of your marketing campaigns require management, perhaps an in-house option is right for you. But if the brand requires a complete rethink of its advertising efforts, an ad agency may be the right choice.

Many companies like to have their cake and eat it too by choosing not to choose between IHAs and traditional agencies.

For organizations interested in dipping their toe into the world of in-house agencies, without all the time and initial financial outlay to set up an IHA team, there are companies that can provide ready-to-go creative in-house marketing teams. Creative360, Creative Circle’s services division, delivers fully packaged solutions powered by a team curated for your specific needs. You can step right in with a brand-ready team of creative specialists who provide bespoke solutions to expand your team’s capabilities and extend team capacity.

 

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Takeaway

Marketing is one of the main drivers of a brand’s success. Some companies find working with external marketing partners simpler, while others prefer to manage their brand’s presence in-house.

Whatever choice is right for your business, it’s clear that companies are pivoting how creative, adtech, data, and operations are structured into a more collaborative model. Brands are handling more of the tasks historically managed by external agencies in-house — redefining how and where advertising and branding messages are crafted. External agencies continue to be big players, but a realignment is taking place.

If you want to see what a consulting-based IHA can do for you, please reach out so we can discuss your creative marketing needs.

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