Consumer attention is a prized commodity. Being able to capture that attention – and keeping it – is essential for any brand looking to succeed. To do this, crafting innovative and compelling campaigns that stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression is paramount. So, if creativity is the key to brands differentiating themselves from their competitors, how can they do that in the most effective and efficient way possible?

When thinking about creativity, many would associate the word with the aesthetics of an ad. However, good creative goes far beyond how advertising looks. Advertisers should explore how they can leverage contextual capabilities in combination with strong content that resonates with diverse audiences. With the emergence of various technologies, including generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), there are now several opportunities for brands to create memorable, attention-grabbing campaigns that deliver the best possible results for the business.

A creative resurgence

Creativity has always been one of the most important aspects of advertising but the advent of digital advertising and in particular, programmatic, meant that the focus shifted away from the creative as technology came to the fore. But now, with perhaps the most significant changes the industry has ever seen occurring, creativity is really making its comeback and finally getting the recognition it deserves for driving campaign effectiveness.

This effectiveness has been supercharged over the past few years. Thanks to the proliferation of GenAI, creative can now be taken to new levels that could only have previously been imagined. And focusing on it in the right ways will ensure that advertisers gain the attention and engagement they are seeking from their campaigns.

Getting someone’s attention, in the first instance, isn’t much of a challenge. The difficulty lies in figuring out how to keep the consumer engaged with the ad and, ultimately, the brand. And that’s where GenAI becomes so powerful.

GenAI expands and enhances creativity, helping to generate more personalised, meaningful content that users are interested in and can identify with. The technology can make this happen by analysing context and ensuring the user is only met with content that is most relevant to them in that moment.

Delivering creativity the right way

At the heart of it, GenAI can help brands to be closer to the consumer, because it’s able to create content that meets them at a deeper, more human level.

Creating this emotional connection and/or cultural relevance with the consumer not only captures their attention in the small window of opportunity that brands have but also positions the brand to make a lasting impression and encourage further interaction in the future.

A great example of GenAI in action is when the Costa del Sol tourism board was looking to boost the effectiveness of digital ads served to the modern-day tourist. EXTE identified the need to meet consumers with personalisation and real-time interaction at the point of their initial holiday searches.

The campaign leveraged emerging tools and formats, such as 3D ads, to encourage engagement and interaction. Where GenAI came into play was in the creation of backgrounds, featuring generated imagery, which changed depending on the time of day the consumer was seeing the ad.

The AI-backed ads reached more than 600,000 unique users, producing over 7,000 interactions and a 1% engagement rate. An average dwell time of 12 seconds was also achieved.

Keeping the creative in context

By harnessing creativity and AI, advertisers will be better equipped to navigate the rapidly changing world of digital advertising. GenAI, and its ability to inform creative, provides the means for brands to adapt to changing consumer preferences, quickly identify and capitalise on emerging trends, and ensure they are able to get ahead of the competition.

Importantly, because it doesn’t require any personally identifiable information, contextual targeting can be used to seamlessly engage with audiences on almost any vertical by tapping into data that’s respectful of user privacy, while still providing the consumer with relevant content.

Contextual targeting is the reemergence of creativity as the currency that differentiates brands within advertising. Context, creativity, and content are the three key areas that advertisers should be investing in, seeking out AI-backed solutions that can elevate all three to their maximum level.

Creativity is the biggest factor in determining how successful a campaign will be, and that fact isn’t going to change any time soon. Ads need to be reaching the right audiences in the right contexts and at the right time, but they need to make sure they’re doing this with the right creatives. Then, and only then, can brands truly begin to differentiate themselves from the competition.