Why media agency professionals are attending tech events in greater numbers as AI disrupts their businesses

Agencies Move Beyond Marketing-Specific Tech Partnerships

Media agency executives are re-evaluating traditional technology partnerships as AI capabilities advance. Historically, agencies collaborated with marketing-specific software providers like Adobe or Salesforce. However, generative AI and advanced computing have prompted a strategic shift toward partnering with foundational technology companies providing underlying infrastructure, software platforms, and AI models. True differentiation requires access to core AI capabilities rather than just end-user applications. As WPP's CTO Stephan Pretorius noted, agencies must work with infrastructure and foundational model providers to develop proprietary systems competitors cannot easily replicate.

This realignment is evident in increasing agency presence at conferences traditionally dominated by hardware manufacturers and enterprise software companies. Events like Nvidia's GTC and CES are now critical venues for understanding AI development trajectories and identifying collaboration opportunities. Agency leaders attend not only to observe technological trends but also to engage directly with providers about applying emerging capabilities to advertising challenges, such as scaling personalised creative production or improving measurement accuracy across fragmented media landscapes.

Building Proprietary AI Tools as a Competitive Imperative

Agencies are moving beyond using publicly available AI tools toward developing proprietary systems integrating their unique data, processes, and client requirements. Media.Monks exemplifies this through its Monks.Drift initiative—an AI-driven suite combining automation with marketing activities across touchpoints. The agency has also invested in human-to-robot projects, including animatronic systems and digital avatars, to explore practical AI applications for immersive brand experiences. These efforts demonstrate experimentation with AI for innovation in creative execution and customer engagement, not just efficiency gains.

WPP's approach similarly emphasizes proprietary development, leveraging its 2021 acquisition of AI evaluation firm Satalia to build internal capabilities for assessing and refining AI systems. Pretorius highlighted that success requires more than plugging into open-source applications; it demands constructing 'glossy pipelines' incorporating advanced data science practices to manage challenges like hallucinations and bias. The focus is on creating highly skilled, compact teams capable of building sophisticated AI systems working seamlessly across traditionally siloed functions like design, production, and analytics.

This drive toward proprietary tool development stems from recognizing that competitive differentiation in AI-enabled advertising comes from tailoring technology to specific brand needs rather than deploying generic solutions. By owning their AI infrastructure and workflows, agencies aim to offer clients unique capabilities combining technological sophistication with deep marketing expertise.

AI's Impact on the Marketing Value Chain

Agency leaders anticipate AI will transform every stage of the marketing value chain, creating new pressures and opportunities for integration. Pretorius identified the end-to-end marketing process—spanning design, creative development, production, and measurement—as the next battleground for competitive advantage. True value comes not from isolated AI applications in individual functions but from building systems operating fluidly across domains while leveraging data from each stage to improve overall performance.

The challenge lies in overcoming historical silos between creative, media planning, production, and analytics teams. AI systems sharing insights and workflows across these functions can unlock efficiencies and enable more responsive, data-driven campaign execution. For example, generative AI tools learning from performance data could dynamically adjust creative elements during campaign flight, while integrated analytics could provide real-time feedback on how different audience segments respond to specific messaging approaches.

To realise this vision, agencies must invest in both technology and organisational change. This includes developing AI models trained on proprietary marketing data, creating interfaces allowing different specialist teams to collaborate effectively with AI systems, and establishing governance frameworks ensuring outputs align with brand safety and effectiveness goals. Agencies succeeding in building these integrated capabilities will be better positioned to offer clients comprehensive, AI-enhanced marketing services adapting quickly to changing market conditions.

Practical Applications Already Emerging in Client Work

Early examples of agency-AI collaborations deliver tangible results for major brands. Pretorius cited partnerships with Lowe's and L'Oréal illustrating how Nvidia's Omniverse platform and enterprise AI tools enhance customer experiences. L'Oréal Groupe enables marketers to use AI combined with augmented reality to improve creativity and efficiency in beauty product offerings and customer interactions. These applications show AI serving as a creative catalyst rather than merely a production tool, helping brands innovate in consumer engagement.

Media.Monks' work with Amazon Web Services and Nvidia's Omniverse Audio2Face platform highlights another practical application: using AI to streamline broadcast content and fan engagement material creation. By automating aspects of audio-driven facial animation, the agency aims to reduce production timelines while maintaining high-quality output, allowing agile responses to cultural moments or sports events. Such capabilities are valuable where brands must produce large volumes of personalised content across multiple digital channels.

These real-world implementations show agency investments in AI moving beyond experimentation into production use cases delivering measurable value. As technology matures and agency teams develop greater expertise, the scope and sophistication of these applications are expected to expand, potentially transforming how brands approach everything from product development to post-purchase engagement.

What this means

The growing presence of media agency professionals at technology conferences signals a fundamental shift in how the advertising industry responds to AI disruption. Rather than viewing AI as a distant threat or a simple efficiency tool, agency leaders actively engage with technology providers to shape how these capabilities can be applied to marketing challenges. By investing in proprietary AI systems, focusing on end-to-end value chain integration, and learning from early client implementations, agencies position themselves to thrive in an era where technological fluency is as critical as creative excellence. For businesses navigating this transition, competitive advantage will increasingly belong to those combining deep marketing expertise with sophisticated AI capabilities to deliver innovative, data-driven solutions meeting evolving consumer expectations.