Beyond In-Housing: Can GenAI Close the Expectation Gap, or Will It Create a New One?
Introduction to the paper
GenAI is changing what internal teams, agencies and technology partners can contribute to marketing. Building on the 2023 study, the paper explores what organisations need to turn that potential into better marketing outcomes. Decisions about in-housing remain part of this, alongside changes to workflows, partnerships, technology and skills.
The paper focuses on three connected areas:
- Value: How GenAI can make marketing more effective, and how organisations can demonstrate that contribution. This includes using the capacity it releases to improve insight, briefing and creative decisions, while understanding whether gains in individual tasks translate into benefits across the whole marketing process.
- Operating Model: How organisations translate their ambitions for AI into workable processes, clear responsibilities and effective partnerships. This includes understanding the wider consequences of implementation, the commitments behind technology choices and how commercial arrangements need to evolve.
- Capability: How organisations develop practical skills and judgement, then turn individual experience into shared, repeatable capability through learning, reusable methods and agents. It also considers the expertise needed to assess what agencies and technology partners propose.
Group discussion
An opportunity for members to share their experiences and perspectives on these themes, helping us understand where the thinking reflects their experience, where it needs challenging and which topics would benefit from further exploration in the paper.
Please email markw@isba.org.uk to book your place.