Leslie Walsh, head of product strategy and development at New York-based advertising agency Episode Four, has been vocal about the challenges of maintaining creativity in an age dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT. In a recent conversation, she expressed concerns about the potential for a lack of originality, stating, “If we’re all using ChatGPT, we’re going to have the same ideas — that we’ll get into a sea of sameness.” To combat this, Episode Four has developed RYA, a creative AI tool designed to generate unique ideas grounded in data.
Walsh emphasized the importance of understanding customer engagement when formulating creative concepts. Episode Four conducts a weekly survey asking Americans how they would spend extra time or money, offering insights into consumer preferences across 180 genres and 20 different actions. This approach helps pinpoint “passion points” and ensures that creative strategies are not merely products of whimsy but are instead tailored to what clients genuinely seek.
With the insights gathered from their surveys, the agency has trained large language models to generate creative ideas at a rapid pace, significantly reducing the traditional project timeline. Typically, the agency-client collaboration process could extend over six to eight weeks; however, RYA has streamlined this to just a couple of days. Walsh noted that, in some cases, idea generation can even be completed in a matter of minutes, depending on the client’s desire for refinement.
RYA, however, is not designed for the execution of specific tasks such as creating banner ads or social media posts. Instead, it serves to generate overarching ideas that can eventually be adapted into various formats. “It’s really helping us get to a good starting place, and it’s solving for the bigger picture,” Walsh explained.
In their creative process, Episode Four encourages exploration of unconventional and “weird” combinations, believing that such approaches can lead to superior outcomes. Walsh noted that provoking AI to generate unexpected ideas involves strategic prompting and temperature settings to ensure relevant outputs. “You really need strong inputs,” she advised, echoing the principle that “garbage in, garbage out.” This philosophy has led to innovative projects, such as transforming financial education into a celebrity chef cooking series and creating a treasure hunt for a cruise ship launch that engaged consumers in a game format.
In one particularly imaginative campaign for an auto lending company, the agency developed a dating show that paired singles with both a partner and a vehicle, showcasing the potential for AI to fuel creativity in unexpected ways. Walsh pointed out that the effectiveness of AI tools varies by purpose and domain, stating, “Everyone’s coming up with different AI tools for different purposes.” She highlighted the importance of combining domain expertise with AI capabilities to achieve the best results.
As Episode Four continues to explore the intersection of creativity and technology, Walsh remains optimistic about AI’s role in the creative industry. “There are opinions out there about whether AI can truly be creative. We believe it can,” she concluded. The agency’s approach illustrates a broader trend in the creative sector, where businesses are increasingly leveraging AI tools not just for efficiency but as a means to unlock new levels of creative potential.
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