How Coca-Cola is using generative AI and the challenges publishers say they're facing

In a recent Media Briefing:

In a recent Marketing Briefing:

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Media Briefing: Publishers share their biggest challenges and opportunities at the Digiday Publishing Summit

By Kayleigh Barber

After a bleak start to 2023, publishers were ready to convene to compare notes to see just how bad their advertising businesses have been fairing over the past couple of quarters. And while Q1 ad revenue, sales cycles and payment windows appeared to be equally bad across the media industry, bright spots arose around consumer revenue streams, new tech experimentation and traffic patterns.

At the Digiday Publishing Summit, held in Vail, Colorado, from March 27 through 29, publishing executives worked together to figure out how to get through this economic downturn in closed-door sessions. The discussions were conducted under Chatham House rules so Digiday could share what was said while maintaining the executives’ anonymity. Here is a sampling of our conversations.

— Kayleigh Barber, Sara Guaglione and Tim Peterson

Q1 recap

“We saw a flattening-out in March, which was a very welcome sign because the last nine months have been brutal, comparing on a year-on-year basis. But March gives us a slight bit of optimism that we might start to see some more favorable year-on-year metrics. The banking crisis could mess that whole thing up.”

Marketing Briefing: Coca-Cola and other major marketers enter ‘test and learn’ phase with generative AI

By Kristina Monllos

Last week, Coca-Cola pitched fans on using generative artificial intelligence tools to create artwork for the brand with the chance that something they create could potentially appear on billboards in New York and London. The beverage behemoth is also reportedly working with consultancy Bain & Company to consider how it can integrate AI technologies into its marketing.

Many major marketers like Coca-Cola are asking agencies how they can use generative AI technology. But most are not creating consumer-facing work with generative AI just yet, according to marketers and agency executives, who say that many marketers are in a test and learn phase when it comes to the technology. So far, marketers have leaned mostly on the public relations impact of using AI (i.e., promoting that they’re using the tech to create work), rather than incorporating AI tools without making mention of it, the marketers and agency execs said.

“We’re testing,” L’Oreal Chief Digital and Marketing Officer Han Wen said, when asked about the beauty giant’s use of AI in current marketing efforts. “We are doing a lot of testing in ways that help us be able to meet our consumer goal. As we talk about the acceleration of content creation, we have to think about what the power of generative AI can be to get us there faster.”

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