Last month, we held our first live podcast event in our London office in partnership with Campaign Magazine – CTRL, ALT, CREATE. In this blog, we take you through three key takeaways from the discussion moderated by Lucy Shelley, tech editor, Campaign, between Mike Antwi, head of social media and viewer engagement at ITV, Karen Campbell, head of social at Tour Brands Marketing Lab for Contiki, and Simon Richings, executive creative director at We Are Social.
Recognising the Effort in Low-Effort
In the era of the infinite scroll, memes and reactive content cut through the noise. They land because they’re fun, relatable, and offer a quick way for people to say, “this is so me.”
While this kind of content can sometimes appear low-effort, the posts that truly resonate are usually backed by sharp creative thinking and smart cultural insight. Success comes from more than just speed; it’s about moving fast and moving well. That means having processes in place to jump on trends before they go stale, and a deep understanding of culture to avoid tone-deaf or try-hard moments.
The best brands don’t just reflect culture — they help shape it. That requires a balance of fast reactions and slow thinking: investing time in understanding communities authentically, then acting with speed. Listening to the audience isn’t just helpful, it’s the foundation for meaningful, authentic engagement.
Why human taste still matters
AI is another paintbrush in the creative toolkit, but it is unlike any other industry change before it.
It’s not just changing how work is made; it’s reshaping who gets to make it.
This democratisation of creativity allows anyone to generate impressive results based purely on an idea. But with this flood of content comes a new challenge: avoiding a sea of sameness. That’s where human tastemakers come in. The people with distinctive perspectives, creative courage, and the ability to separate the brilliant from the bland. Often, their taste is hard-earned, shaped by traditional disciplines like copywriting, design, and direction.
While most brands haven’t yet fully embraced AI, the potential is growing. Simon Richings points to We Are Social’s “Beat the Bot” tool – a ChatGPT-powered idea generator that gives creatives ten starting points for a brief, daring them to outdo the machine. It’s a reminder that AI can be a useful partner in the process, not a replacement for creative instinct.
Building Trust in the Age of AI
For brands navigating this landscape, simply disclosing AI use is a good first step, but likely not enough. To truly foster trust, a deeper level of transparency may be necessary. Imagine it like food product labelling: stakeholders need specific details. Brands might need to provide more granular information about how and where AI is being utilised to build trust with their audience.
Beyond authenticity, traditional industries grapple with the significant legal ambiguities surrounding AI-generated content. Questions of ownership and intellectual property (IP) are paramount. Who owns content created by an AI? What are the implications for copyright? This lack of clear legal frameworks is a primary reason why many organisations are hesitant to fully embrace AI, leading to a slower adoption rate in sectors where these concerns are particularly acute.
For the full conversation, watch the recording of the live podcast here on We Are Social’s YouTube channel, or listen on Campaign’s podcast feed.
