AI and creativity in advertising agencies: From the acceleration of workflows to transformation of value dynamics
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping creative work in advertising agencies, yet most research focuses on performance metrics. This paper examines how AI integration alters creative development processes and value dynamics for agencies and clients. It draws on 22 semi-structured interviews with senior agency and client-side professionals in Germany. Using a hybrid inductive–deductive content analysis and a phase model derived from it, the study explores how AI tools are embedded across the major phases of briefing, research, ideation, internal review, client presentation, and feedback. Findings show that AI significantly accelerates research, idea generation, and content drafting, increasing efficiency and expanding creative exploration; however, the fundamental structure of the creative workflow remains stable. Rather than replacing established processes, AI intensifies them. While agencies benefit from faster iteration and data-driven insights, clients increasingly expect quicker turnaround times and lower costs. At the same time, concerns about generic outputs, brand misalignment, and legal risks require human oversight. The study demonstrates that AI simultaneously enables value co-creation and co-destruction through enhanced knowledge integration and risks value erosion through rising expectations and quality tensions. Transformation therefore occurs less through structural disruption than through accelerated processes and shifting client–agency dynamics. These findings provide practical insights for managing hybrid human–AI creative workflows in service-based industries. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Dr Castulus Kolo is the President of the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences, where he is also a professor of media management. He holds a doctorate in physics, earned through research at CERN, Geneva, and an additional doctorate in social anthropology from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. After extensive practice in applied research with the Fraunhofer Society, Castulus gained management experience in strategy consulting and as a board member of a leading German publisher’s digital venture. His publications are mainly focused on preconditions, diffusion, and effects of media innovations. His current research studies the impact of artificial intelligence on the creative industries. Castulus served as President of the European Media Management Association and is a board member of the International Media Management Academic Association.
Dr Melanie Herfort is an Interim Professor at the Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart. She holds a doctorate from the University of Bayreuth, where her research focused on the co-creation and co-destruction of value in the media agency industry. Her research interests include media management, advertising agencies, and marketing. Melanie has almost 20 years’ experience working within the media and entertainment industry.
Natalia Kniazeva is a practising marketing professional and graduate of the Master’s programme in brand management at Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in Munich. Her professional experience includes qualitative consumer research, strategic planning, and brand marketing across both agency and client-side environments. Natalia’s work centres on understanding the relationship between human behaviour, brand communication, and creativity.
