Microsoft AI luminaries series: Equipping clients with AI tools for sustainable growth

This is part of the "AI Luminaries series" which highlights how global executives are embracing AI and the steps their companies are taking to integrate AI within their organisations.

Dentsu is a people-centered transformation partner. We are the network designed for what's next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy.

Our UK&I team comprises around 3,500 specialists across seven locations (London, Manchester, Leeds, Stafford, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Dublin), serving as a leading innovation hub for our global and local clients. Innovating to Impact is the constant we strive for, partnering to navigate the most significant challenges of our clients to achieve long-term, sustainable growth - a commitment dentsu has upheld for over 120 years.

As a creative-led organisation backed by consumer intelligence, this is achieved through the combination of marketing, consulting and technology and applied through the lens of Sanpo Yoshi - good for people, good for business and good for society.

Over the past few years, significant economic headwinds have affected most industries. This period of relative instability has forced a rethink of strategy, business models and talent. It has compelled businesses to maximise the potential of their key competitive assets in more innovative ways, whilst planning for a more sustainable future. It has also highlighted the importance of continually reassessing the role and value of technology investments and the impact on organisational effectiveness. As consumer demand evolves and the competitive landscape shifts, so do the types of talent and capability needed to be future ready.

This is not just about sweating existing assets - there are huge opportunities presented by emerging platforms to enrich organisational capabilities. This includes embedding AI to achieve automation, develop new skills, create speed and effectiveness to enable new, innovative solutions, increased speed to market and improve profitable performance, as well as the critical role of first-party data strategies in navigating uncertainty.

The advancement of automation and generative AI (gen AI) affirms that people-centered strategies will be fundamental to supporting brand and business growth, in addition to societal advancement. We know that AI has the potential to improve our lives, however, we must ensure that we guide the development of AI, rather than allowing AI to dictate our direction, so that people and societal impact remain central to business transformation. As regulation and consumer preference evolve the shapes our engagement with AI, we must act ethically and responsibly in how we choose to harness the power of this technology.

Generative AI as a strategic asset

Although gen AI presents an unparalleled opportunity, adoption is not a straightforward leap. Rather, it is a strategic journey marked by testing and learning. There is a fundamental disconnect in board risk appetite for AI and the speed with which our industry is moving to try and create advantage. Companies must align AI initiatives with their growth strategies while managing risks effectively. This approach goes beyond mere efficiency, impacting organisational design, talent acquisition, and training requirements, all crucial elements in business transformation.

Gen AI use cases are varied and complex, and its successful implementation depends significantly on an organisation's maturity. At dentsu, we recognise the importance of tailoring AI solutions to fit the unique needs and maturity levels of our clients. By doing so, we help businesses leverage AI for sustainable growth, addressing challenges and seizing opportunities in previously untapped white spaces.

Operational innovations at dentsu

Our long-standing partnership with Microsoft and the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot have revolutionised content production and collaboration at dentsu. From summarising multiple email threads and meeting actions, to drawing out key points in long-form documents and technical decks, we're using Copilot to assist us daily to save time on administrative tasks and foster creativity and multimarket collaboration in new ways. We're also using Copilot to enhance and compile content across Microsoft Office apps, meaning we're able to draw multiple information sources together quickly.

Our view is that AI augments our people and their work to enable greater levels of innovation, proactive problem solving, productivity and performance. Ultimately to create more valuable business outcomes for our clients, faster and more sustainably.

AI innovation for clients

Our innovative application of AI for our clients extends further. We are specifically investing in technologies to enhance our clients' operations, such as enhancing predictive analytics with explainable AI to achieve more effective customer insights with greater accuracy, improvements to data visualisation to make decision making easier and faster, introducing 'digital twin' avatars that drive better customer service and experiences, and overall AI-driven automation to streamline business processes.

Across the world at dentsu, AI combined with our creative innovation is being used to solve social challenges for a better tomorrow. From a digital tool that enables Parkinson's patients to control their social media feeds using facial movements, to an inflation cookbook, a grocery shopping tool that predicts the biggest price drops of the week and generates chef-inspired nutritious recipes. We are always considering problems that can solve more than an immediate business or consumer need - and can also help create a positive societal impact.

In the UK, our AI use is wide-reaching. Whether it's integrating our data, identity and insights platform Merkury with Quantcast to provide AI-fuelled media planning and targeting; creating a world-first gen AI-powered 3D avatar to deliver an exceptional digital brand experience for a major travel brand; or launching our new rapid R&D capability 'dentsu Lab' in London, we are using AI to solve for the never before.

We've also developed GenCX, which uses the power of gen AI to deliver more impactful customer experiences. This solution applies AI to a brands' first-party data to drive connected customer experiences by better understanding customer interactions, behaviors, sentiment, and engagements. It ultimately makes it possible for brands to engage with their customers on a human level and gain a distinct competitive advantage.

Some of the successes we've already seen include:

• We're optimising creative assets using AI, leading to 8% higher video completion rates.
• We're helping teams save time in generating audience segments, from one week to 120 seconds.
• We're driving three times higher conversion rates for our clients through AI powered chat experiences.
• We're saving brands over 200 hours in copywriting time through text generation tools.
• We're spending more time focused on future proofing our clients' business with them and for them to create faster, more effective paths to market, new sources of growth and more meaningful customer and talent experiences.

Societal good and AI

While AI is already being used by forward-thinking businesses to create operational efficiencies, dentsu is laser focused on leveraging the power of these emerging technologies to change lives. This may include working with leading brands to implement AI that can identify early stages of early stages of life-threatening diseases; forecast the next natural disaster; calculate the optimum place to start putting out a forest fire; and even identify the best way to help children engage with learning.

When ethical AI is embedded into business strategies, there is a sustainability dimension to consider, particularly in areas such as energy consumption and resource utilisation. Sustainable AI development involves not only optimising algorithms for efficiency but also ensuring that the entire lifecycle of AI technologies, from production to disposal, adheres to environmentally friendly practices. Dentsu is committed to integrating sustainability into its AI initiatives, promoting sustainable practices for ourselves and our clients, and adopting green standards and policies, ensuring that our technological advancements contribute to a better future for society.

Innovating to Impact

Our client promise is to innovate to impact, always focusing on the ultimate outcomes for our clients and their communities. For some businesses, this may involve achieving a significant return on marketing investment or increasing revenues, while for others, it could mean driving behavioural change, building a positive culture, or bridging gaps between communities.

In a diverse world, there are things that can't be done alone. So, in navigating the complexities of people-centered transformation, we are focused on leveraging our global partnerships to solve our clients' most pressing challenges. We can now connect countries, cultures, and capabilities like never before. These collaborations enable us to blend various disciplines, from marketing and transformation to technology, ensuring that we stay at the forefront of the industry as entrepreneurial and innovative leaders.

The convergence of economic challenges and technological advancements presents a unique opportunity to transform, testing and learning as we go. By enabling brands to harness the power of generative AI and other emerging technologies, we are creating new paths to growth in a rapidly changing landscape.

Watch to find out how dentsu is embracing AI here.

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