Is Anything Real In Paid Advertising?

[00:05.8]
All right, welcome back to "Is Anything Real In Paid Advertising?", the show where agency founders unpack what's real and what's just noise. I'm your host, Adam W. Barney, and today we've got someone who sees behind the curtain of creative chaos and makes it work Anyway. Christina, welcome.

[00:24.2]
Quick gut check between TikTok trends, AI content farms and Canva Magic Design, is anything real and creative anymore? No, no, just kidding. No, actually, I don't think that.

[00:39.2]
Really. I feel like a lot of it is not real anymore. And, actually I just was talking about this today because we had our ribbon cutting and, the news was over and they were filming us kind of like doing, like, BTS and, behind the scenes, and, and they were like, can you move to this computer?

[01:00.3]
And I was like, okay, well, that one's not plugged in, but sure. And I'm, like, pretending and acting that I'm, like, showing my social media manager something, and I'm like, you know what? And we're doing this podcast later today. Is Anything Real in advertising? It wasn't in that moment. Right. And it has nothing to do with AI, but, like, I was literally just acting and moving around.

[01:18.8]
So whenever somebody sees that on tv, they're going to think that we're actually doing something. But we weren't. Oh, that's fantastic. I mean, that shows the realness of how we just, you know, even with all the expertise that we have that we bring with our teams, that we have to make it up sometimes and we just kind of go with our gut.

[01:38.8]
So that's. That's really important. I know. Sort of related to that, you mentioned this in our last conversation, that your team's been navigating the weird world of AI generated visuals. What's kind of your verdict on AI imagery?

[01:54.3]
Do you think it's helpful, Harmful or. Sometimes I think it's just hilarious. My first instinct is to say hilarious because as a creative person, I can totally tell when you're using it. And you can use it tastefully.

[02:11.2]
Right. Especially if you're a business owner and maybe you don't have a high budget for advertising or for a creative team, then, yes, use it tastefully. But when you're using it 100%, someone who is trained in that space can definitely tell that you're using AI.

[02:26.9]
And I would say maybe even someone who isn't in the creative space might be able to tell as well. And it kind of loses that human connection. Right. Okay. And I know last time we spoke also, we were kind of connecting on the idea of tying the, evolution of AI that we're currently in the midst of back to the, let's say late 80s, early 90s with the introduction of CGI in movie making.

[02:52.8]
So when we talk about that journey and we start to think about even things like headshots that are AI generated in ads and then reels, where do you actually see AI working well right now, but also where do you see it going on the path of that sort of similar revolution that we experienced with the incredible leaps and bounds of CGI movement?

[03:16.8]
Yeah. So I always like to say that AI does not have imagination. Right. So that's, that's what as humans, that's something that we have that's real, that I don't know if a machine could ever be able to produce. But, yeah, I would definitely say it's a, it's a very good comparison.

[03:34.0]
And I think back to like the Will Smith video when he was eating spaghetti. Do you remember that? A few years ago, back in like 2020. And it was like really chopp. And he looks like a blob. Like a, like a blob version of himself.

[03:49.6]
It was really, really weird. And yes, that is a great comparison to cgi. That's how it used to be. It used to be all like a blobby and weird and no close ups because it's going to look fake and it's starting to look better, but it's never going to have the imagination that a human does. I like it.

[04:07.3]
You also mentioned in our last conversation that AI writes like it has a 2010 Instagram personality, I believe. Right. So whether we get into emojis, EM dashes, but there's zero soul involved. So when you work with your creative clients there through Modish Creative, how do you coach your clients past the generic AI generated content and guide them in the right direction to make sure that you're in Detroit.

[04:36.9]
Right. So that they keep that soul that's aligned with how you operate and how you vibrantly build it for not just your own business, but the businesses that you empower. Yeah, I mean, for example, we don't have a copywriter on our team, so we definitely end up using ChatGPT for a lot of the copywriting.

[04:57.7]
But one of the dead giveaways will be. Or two of the dead giveaways will be the over usage of EM Dashes for one and number two emojis like you mentioned. So I definitely like to train Our clients, just to make sure that they keep an eye on those specific things.

[05:16.0]
Another thing that AI does is it will, like. It will describe something that it just described. So it's like overly doing it. So it'll say something along the lines of. You know what I mean? Right. It'll say something along the lines of, like, well, it's not just this, it's also that, okay, definitely using AI, so we got to like, train that out of it.

[05:35.7]
I'm assuming that's how AI is working right now. Or chat, at least, where, like, the more you tell it and give it those prompts to now do that, the more it's going to train itself to, be a little bit more on the more creative and not overuse the em dashes and the emojis.

[05:51.0]
Right. I have to say that my wife, you know, considers me to be obtuse and speak in circles. But the way AI does it, I think, is a different way of repeating itself. It's. It's a. It's a. It's one of those things that once you get stuck in it, you don't pay attention close enough.

[06:06.5]
It's. It's going to walk you down that path of repeating. Or even the hallucination side. I'd love to sort of understand, you know, from your perspective there with Modish and the work that you do. Could you give the audience one, let's say, underrated content format or storytelling technique that's converting for your clients right now?

[06:29.3]
Yeah. So I would say always keep in mind, who are you actually talking to when you're writing something, when you're designing something, who is the person that's going to be on the other side of that screen, the person that's using the phone. Make sure that just like you and I are having a conversation right now.

[06:47.3]
Write it that way. You know, put the intention in that way. Otherwise you're speaking to avoid. And that's what chatGPT and AI sometimes does, is that it's just. It's speaking to a void. It's not resonating with an actual human. And do you see that resulting in the physical realm of creative that you're working on?

[07:07.8]
I know you with Modish Creative, you focus on the full sort of business transformation through your creative work. So I also imagine that there are unique challenges and use cases that come into play depending on the medium of where you're working and the creative that you're doing.

[07:25.9]
Because I know you've helped businesses redesign opening, in some of the past work that you've done. But I, think it's really important also that We go back to what you mentioned about thinking about your customers and thinking about the way that they speak.

[07:42.7]
how do you dig into the tools that are saving time, but how do you also avoid the ones that people use these days? Because anyone can jump into canva pretty easy ability.

[07:57.7]
Or you can use Dall-E within ChatGPT, for example. Or there's even some wild tools out there for video creation that everyone says, "oh, this is going to empower me to be a creative and this is a tool that's going to help me save time." But really, they're just slowing down creative momentum overall or alternatively stealing creativity from other people.

[08:23.1]
Yeah, I mean, AI is definitely a very touchy subject in the creative industry or for creatives. I know that we were scared of it at first, but yeah, definitely always using it to enhance your workflow and to not slow you down on the things that you actually want to do.

[08:41.5]
So use it for the things that you don't have the humans on your team to do or if you need to save hours on your day, use it for that. And I always tell my clients the same thing. You have us to do the creative work, use it to do your paperwork, use it to do your sales strategy.

[08:58.0]
Like, use it for those types of things. Right, Right. Don't overextend into the arenas where it's not going to be effective for showing your customers how your business operates or what your business does. Right? Yeah. It's never going to truly understand everything that you have right here.

[09:16.4]
So use it as a tool. It's a tool. I mean, I barely understand everything that lives inside the brain that's on my shoulders. So I can very much appreciate that. to sort of shift gears a little bit. You've also, recently nudged me to lean into TikTok.

[09:33.9]
And I've heard this from a couple other people over the last couple weeks who are using those short form video formats to really elevate their business. Why are you bullish on short form video right now? Especially when it comes to founders and emerging and scaling businesses?

[09:52.1]
I think it's just such a quick way to connect with a viewer and instead of giving them this like long, you know, email or newsletter or you know, two, three minute video, it's just quick information.

[10:09.1]
Things that you can grab in between when you're getting your coffee, when you're getting ready for work when you're, you know, in between meetings or whatever it may be you, it, it's short enough that you can remember that information. If you're giving them something that's 2, 3, 5 minutes, they're not going to remember everything.

[10:25.6]
So you might as well just split up the video and then just shoot it out in those short forms. I think it also gives you an ability to niche in, I would argue. Right. Because that's so critical. I was, for instance, I was on a panel last week where I was speaking with someone who operates a venture capital firm and she was saying that she has actually started using TikTok as a platform.

[10:51.9]
Not sharing confidential information about potential investments that she's going to make in her business, but she gets to pull the threads of what's coming into the forefront of her and talk about that on TikTok.

[11:08.4]
So in that sort of realm, how have you empowered your clients or senior clients successfully cross from Say, creator, to closer in using that strategy? What's the tipping point there? I feel like it's such a great way to set yourself as the expert in that industry when you do something like that.

[11:32.8]
Because right now we're having this conversation. I didn't, I don't know what question you're about to ask me, but if you're actually sure in what you're about to say and you're passionate about it, you're going to, you're going to be able to answer that question. So that's kind of how I envision it a little bit. Is, you know, maybe you were, you had a meeting with someone and you're like, "oh my God, this would be such a great tidbit." Like I should give this information out to a group of people because they're going to find it helpful and of course that's not a paid way to do it unless you're doing that extra promotion on the side.

[12:08.1]
One, one sort of agency related question just because I know that's what you, you operate in the model of, with modish. With all of this AI automation and creative chaos that's happening. What do you think Most agencies are still missing in the evolution?

[12:26.7]
So I. Okay, so a couple of things. So number one, here's a hot take. So in the creative industry we tend to lean really into mood boards, right. Like we're setting ideas and, and moods for the projects that we're doing.

[12:44.4]
And I feel like a lot of projects right now feel the same because we're taking full projects, bits and pieces of full projects. Instead of, like, emotions and feelings and real inspiration, we're taking work that's already been completed.

[12:59.9]
So I do feel like a lot of the work right now kind of feel feels the same. And I know that's how trends work. And. But trends, you know, they come and go. But right now, especially with AI, like, I have seen AI images in mood boards. I don't think that's a good sign, Adam.

[13:15.0]
That is not a good sign. I have to go back, Christina, to some of one of my favorite activities in my early agency days was something that we actually would do in the office that was called PowerPoint Roulette. And this is where we would have the leadership on the team put together a six slide deck with six random images on it, and we would get called up in front of the room to tell a cohesive story, no matter how fantastical it might be in front of the room.

[13:47.8]
And I love to think of that in the fight that we have with all of this amazingly powerful yet also dangerous technology that's emerging. But tools like that can inspire those rooms.

[14:02.8]
I think, you know, getting out of your comfort zone is truly what brings you into that place of evolution and doing things better and getting stronger. Still on the agency realm, though, where do you see the biggest risk is for agencies today? Is it trying to scale too fast or is it sticking to what used to work?

[14:22.1]
Just in general, I do think that the old way or the old agency is kind of dying. I feel like the world moves a little too quickly for that now. And I have seen that even with my team where, you know, we all wear different hats.

[14:39.9]
Of course, we're also a smaller team, but it's. It's just so helpful to be able to know if you're a web designer, to be able to know how social media works, because everything is just so well connected. So I do think we're moving into a new way of agency, I suppose.

[14:59.0]
Interesting. I love it. I love it.

[15:06.2]
Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to AI tools? One that's maybe glitchy or that's kind of brilliant, actually, but it's not as well known as some of the others? I guess I must be old because I still just love chat GPT, but.

[15:24.8]
But I'll trade you because I love to ask it astrology information. Interesting. It can also read your palm. Like, there's a lot of things that it can do that's, like, unrelated to the creative world. I know we're talking about ads, but, like, it.

[15:40.1]
It's just. It's amazing. It's an amazing tool. Definitely. I love it. Okay. All right, so let me. Let me throw another, kind of curveball at you. If you had $10,000 to spend for Modish Creative, would you run ads?

[15:56.7]
Would you revamp your brand? I know you just, you know, did that ribbon cutting on the new office, but also, what would you do and why? I think I would invest it into sales. Some sort of marketing strategy or sales.

[16:14.6]
I would do advertising for our agency, actually. It's a great way to put it. I do think that right now, if you're not putting yourself out there, it. It's really tough. So I would definitely like, you know, we have all the tools that we need. We have an amazing team that's really talented, but I think we would definitely, need to put our name out there more.

[16:37.1]
Stop working kind of in your own silo. right? And start to echo outside of that silo. I love it. Awesome. Where can people find your work? Follow @ModishCreative or see what you're testing next. Yeah, I mean, our website is a great resource.

[16:55.7]
And you can see all of our create. Well, not all of it, but because we don't spend a lot of time working on ourselves, but, but our website is. Maybe that's a takeaway. Spend a little more time working on yourselves. Right? Yes. Yes, Definitely. ModishCreative.com is our website, and our handle on social media is @ModishCreativeCo All right.

[17:18.0]
And if finally, if someone's stuck, caught between, I need to create more, and I don't want it to suck, what's your no BS advice for getting unstuck? Ooh. In terms of. I don't know.

[17:33.5]
That's such a subjective question, Adam. Think about maybe one of your. One of your smallest clients that you have in your portfolio, right? You know, someone who's hungry, but they don't know how quite to get there. Stop getting in the way of yourself.

[17:50.4]
I feel like, a lot of the times we take in information, right? Like, your friend said something, your cousin has, advice about your social media account, and somebody saw a post and they think you should be doing this, and then you get paralysis.

[18:05.7]
So stop getting in your own way and just do it. I think it's better to just do it than to be perfect about it. And I think I've heard you say that before as well. Yeah. It's about trusting your gut also. Right. Taking that. That outside world judgment and the self judgment away.

[18:22.1]
And just trusting your gut is critically important. Yeah. And you could always ask ChatGPT what it thinks. The power. The power is dangerous. Well, thanks again for joining us. Today on "Is Anything Real In paid advertising?" where we separate what's real from what's just noise in the world of funnels, founders and full blown marketing chaos.

[18:45.5]
I'm your host, Adam W. Barney. Stay tuned for the next episode and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you again, Christina, though. Thank you.