Advertising Week Panels Agree, AI Is Here to Reawaken Creativity

Creative anxiety was the unofficial theme of Advertising Week, where fear of the unknown and AI dominated conversations. However, one session deliberately reframed that fear as an opportunity. The panel, “AI Ate My Creative Team,”  hosted by MediaRadar, offered this perspective: AI isn’t here to replace creativity but to reawaken it, with the potential to free up professionals to focus on the human-centric work that drew them to the field in the first place.

Championing this idea is Karisa Schroeder, a senior go-to-market leader with experience scaling products for both enterprise and startup companies. As the founder of the Future of Tech initiative and Director of Product Marketing at MediaRadar, Schroeder's experience provides a unique lens on the convergence of technology and advertising. "A lot of people right now have a fear of what's going to happen in the industry with AI. But why did we all get into advertising? It's that Mad-Men type of energy, right? Some aspects of creative strategy building are going to change, but maybe that's for the better. We can be more collaborative and exploratory. We can get new things out all the time, then use that learning to optimize strategy and keep changing the advertising."

• The human element: While the industry fear of AI is very real, Schroeder points out that as technology handles more rote tasks, the distinctly human elements of strategy and connection become even more valuable. Audiences can "get the ick" when they are served obstructive or irrelevant experiences, making authentic connection essential for business. "The human connection has never been more important. You can create all you want, but if it's not relevant or doesn't have the right tone and experience, and you're not actually putting the human element on it, you miss that uniqueness that only we can create in our brains," she explains.

To add that human element back, Schroeder says it starts with understanding the end user. She points to a growing trend within the creator economy, where influencers are becoming more selective about brand partnerships to maintain authenticity. This dynamic can serve as a model for the modern brand-consumer relationship. "Consumers want the advertising to match who they are as a human, and they want the influencers or the creative you're using to actually resonate with them," Schroeder outlines.

• Digital meets IRL: Another Advertising Week session hosted by Snap with e.l.f. Cosmetics spotlighted a prime example of that connected experience. The brand partnered with three-time gold medal winning gymnast Gabby Douglas last year. Douglas, also a creator, wore the makeup during her routine while promotions ran online and on her social channels. After the event, products were handed out to attendees in person. Schroeder calls the blend of digital advertising and real-world interaction a powerful model for the industry, perhaps driven by a collective desire for connection after years of pandemic-related disconnect. "The human experience isn't just something you pull into your advertising. It's actually interactive with people. It's how you can create that connection digitally and in real life," she states.

• Winning time: The palpable energy at Advertising Week signals a fundamental change, according to Schroeder. When she stepped into advertising four years ago, her tech-first perspective naturally prompted her to question legacy practices and explore new ways of thinking. Now, technology and advertising are converging, creating industry-wide pressure on professionals to adapt. "That force made the narratives tech-forward," Schroeder contends, adding that there was a collective sense of urgency. "If you're going to win, you have to move now. This is the time."

This convergence of tech and advertising is dissolving the traditional boundaries between different parts of the ecosystem. Citing the rise of sports-related content and influencer marketing at the conference, Schroeder describes a new reality where all components of a brand are linked. "There's really no line between the influencer, the tech, the monetization strategies, the advertising. It's all one thing. It's an interwoven web across the tech companies, across the data providers, across the advertisers, across the brands, the agencies, and then the influencers and consumers," she explains.

Ultimately, Schroeder believes fewer barriers will lead to a future of frictionless, shoppable experiences. In a recent webinar, a client messaged her directly during the presentation to make a purchase, an event she’d never experienced before in a B2B context. She attributes this immediacy to a cultural change in consumer behavior, influenced by the instant-gratification cycles of platforms like TikTok. "Live has become buy," Schroeder says. "Show, tell, buy—that’s the new cycle."