Spark Intelligence—the AI news creatives need to know #017

Greetings earthlings,

Welcome to Spark Intelligence – your AI navigator in the creative and marketing world. Emma here, reporting back from last week’s buzzing floors of Advertising Week Europe.

What struck me at Adweek was there was no "next big thing" this year. But there was something arguably more important - a quiet consensus that AI is now an operational norm. So now we need to move our mindset to rethinking how we work with AI, how our businesses will evolve with it, how the relationship between agency and client will change and ultimately how we as creatives and marketers can lead conversations on all these areas.

This newsletter breaks down what matters most for marketing and creative teams trying to move with purpose (not just panic) through the shift.

In this edition:

1. News from Adweek: AI as the new operating system

2. Adobe GenStudio: AI for performance marketing, on demo

3. What the data says: AI boosts performance & idea quality

4. Spark POV: The evolving agency–client relationship

1. News from Adweek: Meet your AI operating system

It was clear from the many, many generative AI talks at Adweek that AI is now firmly the invisible infrastructure for media planning and creative deployment:

• Reckitt’s internal AI stack cut go-to-market time by 60% and they’ve completely transformed their global marketing processes, organisation structure and ways of working around it.

• Empathy Lab builds agentive systems that replicate full campaign workflows

• Adobe is launching its own AI enabled performance marketing platform

For CMOs: Expect orchestration, not just automation. AI is taking over admin so your team can focus on creative effectiveness and brand impact - and get set to lead an AI business transformation.

For agency leaders: The same message as for CMOs - but you are often more nimble than your clients can be - so experiment with where agentive systems (like AI planners or brief generators) can reclaim billable hours without losing creative control.

💡 Try this (inspired by Adweek!): Ask ChatGPT to act as a media planner with your last 3 campaigns. What would it improve?

2. ChatGPT's new image generator took over LinkedIn

Just days before Adweek, OpenAI rolled out a major upgrade: ChatGPT now includes a native image generator with built-in editing and feedback loops. You can’t have missed it - nearly every LinkedIn post was family portraits in a copyright-breaking Studio Ghibli style.

The differentiator between this ChatGPT image upgrade and a other diffusion model image generators like Midjourney is ChatGPT lets you have a conversation with your image.

• Tweak layout, lighting or composition mid-flow

• Accurately render text in images (great for signage, menus, mockups)

• Maintains context across iterations (flip a camera angle and it keeps reflections consistent)

• Generates images from code or data - not just prompts

• Understands real-world logic (e.g. how a wine glass fills or why San Francisco is foggy)

• Replicates style and branding with consistency (fonts, colours, layout) - key for mockups

Early experiments show some success in guiding layout, font and tone, but it’s still an area to watch. Take a look at what it’s capable of in our What’s New in Creative AI podcast (at 2min 40sec):

🛠 Use case tip: Create variations of social assets for AB testing, or mock up UI components from your dev team’s code base in minutes.

Spark POV: This changes how fast and flexibly you can go from idea to asset. As execution gets easier, idea quality and curation are your edge. It’s not about what the tool can do, it’s what you choose to do with it. As models mimic style better than ever, curating distinctive, well-crafted ideas matters more than ever. (Don’t forget that all the same IP and copyright nuances remain.)

By the way, you can subscribe to our podcast on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

3. Tech to watch: Adobe GenStudio for performance marketing

We saw it demoed live at Adweek. It’s one of the clearest examples of AI-enabled creative workflow built for real-time marketing impact.

• Plan, create, manage and measure content in one AI-driven system

• Brand-safe templates + creative versioning at speed

• Real-time tracking of what’s live, what’s working, and what’s stuck

For CMOs: This is the new benchmark. Your team will want tools like this.

For agency leaders: Clients are watching. Are you ready to match this level of visibility?

👉 Check out GenStudio

4. Quick tip: use this in your Monday meeting

5. What the data says: AI boosts performance & idea quality

The first major study of it’s kind by Harvard & Wharton (the inimitable Ethan Mollick) with over 700 P&G staff found:

• Individuals with AI tools performed as well as expert pairs without AI

• Teams using AI completed tasks 16.4% faster

• AI helped people think beyond their job silo—boosting idea quality across disciplines

👉 Read the full study or hear us talk in much more depth about this on our podcast (at 27min in) on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

What do you think - do you see this playing out in your business?

6. Spark POV: The new agency–client relationship

As AI shifts how work gets done, it’s also reshaping how value is judged.

Brands want faster execution — but also expect clarity on ownership, originality, and the thinking behind the work.

For agencies: This is the moment to take the lead in the conversation. You’re likely to be further ahead with AI adoption than your clients, and that gives you a chance to shape not just campaigns, but how your own agency evolves too. AI is forcing transformation from the inside out — from service delivery and pricing models, to team structure and IP strategy. Use this moment to rethink how your agency creates, delivers and captures value — and support your clients in doing the same.

👉 At the end of year I spoke to Luke Taylor co-founder of UnitedUs (who really are AI Pioneers in how they are seeing it as a business transformation opportunity), alongside Ben Rickard, sought-after data and AI consultant and ex-WPP and one of our treasured board advisors. It’s just as relevant now, if not more so. Watch the webinar here.

For CMOs: This is your leadership moment. Make AI your edge, not your risk. The transformation isn’t just about campaigns — it’s about how your marketing team works, collaborates and delivers impact. Use this time to redesign roles, re-skill your people, and reimagine how marketing contributes to the business.

👉 Are you a CMO unsure where to start? Our comprehensive playbook offers marketing leaders a clear roadmap for harnessing AI's potential – from strategic planning to practical implementation. Check out the Marketer’s AI Playbook for 2025.

That’s all for today!

Cheers,
Emma 
Co-Founders of Spark AI

AI isn’t just tools - it’s a business shift. Spark AI helps agency leaders and CMOs lead strategically, not reactively, with confident teams and a clear roadmap for the future.

Learn more 👉 Explore AI for Marketers | Explore AI for Agencies