Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing processes across virtually all industries, and the media world is no exception. In the constantly evolving media buying and selling landscape, AI can help streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and optimize campaigns. A Gartner survey found that 63% of marketing leaders plan to invest in generative AI in the next 24 months, while Dentsu found that 91% of CMOs believe AI is the future and not a fad. In reality, though, most marketers, media buyers, and media sales professionals already use AI, even if they’re unaware of it. Built into mar-tech and ad-tech platforms that are already part of many tech stacks, AI is already playing a role in media transactions. But we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of its potential impact, from data analysis used in planning and proposals, to automating post-campaign reporting and invoicing, and almost every step in between.

Using Real-time and Predictive Data in Planning and Proposals

In virtually any industry, crafting proposals that align with the client’s objectives and budget is critical to closing a deal. Typically involving extensive manual research and data analysis, AI can transform this process using real-time and predictive data.

AI systems can process and analyze historical data related to audience interactions and market trends, including information about past advertising strategies, audience demographics, and the performance of different channels.

By examining this historical data, AI can identify patterns and trends in audience behavior. This analysis helps advertisers understand what has worked well in the past and what hasn’t, allowing them to make informed decisions for future campaigns. Advertisers can use these predictions to optimize their media buying strategies to reach the right audience with the right message at the right time, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.

On the sell side, AI can play a crucial role in setting optimal pricing for advertising proposals. Sellers can leverage AI-driven insights to set dynamic and competitive pricing based on audience demographics, campaign objectives, and market conditions, ensuring that the proposed pricing aligns with the perceived value and potential return on investment for advertisers while maximizing yield for the seller.

AI systems can analyze market trends, audience behavior, and competitors’ strategies in real time. This information is critical in creating proposals that are not only data-driven but also forward-looking. With predictive analytics, sellers can anticipate future trends and generate proposals that meet their own business objectives, as well as those of their buyers. As AI continues to evolve, generative AI will also make its way into buying and selling solutions, automatically generating campaigns goals and creative materials for advertisers, and cross-media proposals for sellers, based on the patterns and structure of past data inputs.

More Precise Targeting

AI can analyze user preferences, viewing habits, and demographic information, enabling advertisers to create highly personalized ad experiences. With more granular audience information, advertisers can tailor their messages and content to specific audience segments, improving the relevance of their advertisements.

AI can also optimize ad targeting by continuously learning from viewer interactions to refine recommendations for improved engagement. By targeting audiences more likely to respond positively, advertisers can maximize the effectiveness of campaign budgets. With personalized advertising, media buying efforts become more efficient as ads are more likely to resonate with the target audience, leading to higher engagement rates.

Automating Mid-flight Performance Analysis and Campaign Optimization

Once a campaign has launched, continuous monitoring and optimization are essential to achieving optimal results. AI-driven algorithms can process vast amounts of data from various sources in real-time, including performance metrics, audience engagement, and competitor activities. AI can automate mid-flight performance analysis and campaign optimization, and identify trends and anomalies, allowing advertisers to make timely, data-driven decisions.

For example, if one ad creative is underperforming with a specific audience segment, AI can allocate more budget to better-performing creatives or adjust targeting parameters to reach a more receptive audience. This kind of dynamic optimization can help ensure the campaign is on track to deliver the desired outcome.

Automating Post-Campaign Reporting and Invoicing

Once the campaign is complete, the final step is reporting on performance and invoicing the client. These processes often involve painstaking manual data collection and compilation.

AI-driven reporting tools can automate post-campaign reporting. These tools can consolidate data from a variety of sources to generate comprehensive performance reports. AI can also create customized dashboards that highlight key metrics and insights. Additionally, AI can streamline the invoicing process by automating the generation of invoices based on predefined billing parameters, reducing the risk of error, and ensuring that clients receive accurate invoices promptly.

AI can also track payments and send automated reminders for outstanding invoices, improving cash flow management. The technology can also be tasked with predicting which accounts will become overdue based on payment history and pre-empt that by nudging those clients to pay their bills on time, or by recommending payment plans that increase the likelihood of on-time payments.

By automating post-campaign reporting and invoicing, AI enables media professionals to focus on strategic planning and client relationships rather than administrative tasks, improving efficiency and client satisfaction and increasing accuracy.

The media industry is already feeling the impact of Artificial Intelligence on buying and selling processes, and with 98% of marketers already using AI in some way, that impact can only increase from here. From planning and proposals to post-campaign reporting and invoicing, AI streamlines processes, improves efficiency, and optimizes campaign performance. By harnessing real-time and predictive data, automating mid-flight optimizations, and simplifying reporting, AI empowers media professionals to deliver more successful and data-driven campaigns.