The future of creativity in an automated world

Is creativity in the marketing industry on a slow death march? Go to any marketing conference or seminar these days and you are likely to hear someone lament declining creative standards and the loss of'brand magic'. Financial pressures have put a squeeze on marketers' ability to unleash their creative instincts, but of greater concern is the role of technology and automation. The growing influence of programmatic media buying, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have changed the way marketers perform their jobs, potentially putting creativity and independent thought at risk. HSBC's former head of marketing in EMEA Philip Mehl hit on this point in a recent Marketing Week roundtable when he declared: "Marketing used to be a creative challenge but it's a data challenge now."