Introducing WAVE: our new series tracking what’s now and next in branding and activation.
Each edition will explore a hot topic through the lens of emerging creative trends, the digital innovation leading them and the cultural context shaping them.
And we start with AI. Arguably the hot topic across every industry. There’s no shortage of talk about it. But what’s often missed is how it’s reshaping creative expression in brand and activation. From the tools and training adjusting how we work to the role of human sensibility in driving the best outcomes, we unpack the changes, the challenges and the creative possibilities.
The context.
Across every sector, AI is rewriting the rules, from how we make decisions to how we make things happen. It’s automating the back office. Optimising supply chains. Digging through oceans of data to surface strategic advantage. According to Stanford’s 2025 AI Index, Generative AI has pulled in $33.9bn in private investment globally, a reality reflected by the 78% of organisations using it as of 2024. That’s up from 55% the year before.
Speed. Smarts. Scale. AI promises a competitive edge so sharp it cuts deep into every industry. But while the hype machine races ahead, according to RAND Corporation, 80% of AI projects still fail. That’s double the failure rate of tech projects without AI.
Promises of optimisation. Tangible results. Or simply chimaeras of success. This nuanced context underpins the trends WAVE tackles.
AI in the creative industry.
AI is already shifting how brands are built and expressed. From identity systems to production pipelines, the pace of change feels relentless, raising questions about the role of humanity at the heart of brand expression. And, like other innovations before it, it’s also exposing friction. Legal, ethical, practical.
Plagiarism, for example. AI models are trained on the internet’s visual and verbal memory, meaning every output is, in some form, a remix. That raises questions over ownership, originality, and how we can protect the creators who laid the groundwork in the first place.
Then there’s transparency. Senior leadership hears “AI” and imagines magic. What they don’t see is the prompting rabbit holes. The legwork behind aligning tools to brand standards. Because, as many can attest, consistency can be a real struggle when using generative AI for large-scale campaigns. And it takes real creative muscle to turn machine outputs into meaningful creative work.
AI also promises speed and scale. Limitless instant versioning and automated personalisation. But that acceleration comes at a cost. As production ramps up, so does energy consumption. The International Energy Agency forecasts that electricity use from data centres will double by 2030, with AI-optimised centres quadrupling their draw. Between now and 2030, AI could generate 1.7 gigatons of global greenhouse gas emissions – the same as the entirety of Italy… in five years. So while the outputs might feel immaterial, the footprint is anything but.
All these factors in the larger creative sphere have trickled down into the world of agencies.
The agency equation.
For agencies, the debate is heated.
Many predict job losses. A recent Newsweek piece highlighted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s belief that AI will soon do “95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists and creative professionals for today.” Bold claim. But it reflects the unease many creatives have been sensing – quietly, instinctively – for the last three years.
Others argue that, rather than replacing us, AI will simply shift our approach to work. The tools might be smarter, but the brief isn’t simpler. AI is changing expectations. Clients want efficiency, value, improvement. All at once. That means agencies are increasingly evaluated not just on creative quality, but on how well we integrate technology. How agile our teams are.
But there’s upside, too. According to the 2025 State of AI in Design Report, 89% of designers say AI has already improved their workflow, especially in research and ideation. Generative tools slash the grunt work, unlocking more time for creative thinking. Moreover, an MIT article argues that many professional creatives use AI as a sounding board for fresh routes they might never have sketched solo. In lab tests, writers’ originality jumped by up to 26% when they co-created with a model. Not to mention the jobs AI will create: human-AI experience designers, prompt engineers and AI ethics specialists, to name a few.
So, there are pros and cons woven into the backdrop of WAVE’s creative exploration.
Why WAVE starts here.
AI is the biggest shift to hit the creative world in a generation. But we’re not here to predict utopia or apocalypse. We’re here to interrogate the real, lived experience of creatives working with AI. Today.
Real projects. Real processes. Real outcomes.
Because while it’s tempting to reduce AI to one story – either mass automation or magical acceleration – the truth is much more layered. And, like every creative revolution before it, the best work comes not from the tool alone, but from how we choose to use it.
Just like Photoshop and desktop publishing before it, AI is another technology that stretches the canvas. But it’s still up to creatives to fill it. To define what’s possible. To use the tool in pursuit of greater brand impact. To stand out more, not less.
Here’s what’s coming.
Over the next few months, we’ll be publishing three WAVE articles spotlighting how AI is distinctly reshaping creativity. How brands behave and what audiences now expect.
- Responsive identities. Brands are shifting from fixed identities to dynamic, responsive systems. Logos that move. Campaigns that evolve. Interfaces that adapt in real time. We’ll explore how AI turns static assets into living, breathing brand experiences.
- Visual sameness vs cut-through. AI tools have supercharged production, but also multiplied design clichés. We’ll unpack how the best work breaks the mould, not blends into it.
- The human response. As AI floods our screens with synthetic content, audiences are hungry for the real. The tangible. The imperfect. The personally meaningful. We’ll look at the return to craft and what it means for brands trying to connect meaningfully in an AI age.
We’ll bring you insights straight from our in-house creatives working with AI every day across all our clients’ industries. These include fintech, medtech, telco, IoT, SaaS, professional services and automotive. What they’ve learned. What they’re questioning. And where they see it heading across these sectors.
Let’s ride the WAVE.
WAVE is a trend report. And an ongoing conversation. One that explores the creative shifts that matter, from people who live them every day.
Our first article on AI brand responsiveness drops at the end of July. And it’s just the beginning. Follow us on LinkedIn / Instagram / BlueSky. Or sign up for our newsletter to get it straight in your inbox.
Built for now. Future-ready. WAVE is where we explore what that really means.