In the latest of our Spotlight Series interviews we chatted to Jon Pittham, MD at Karman Digital, Stephanie Fisher, Founder of Hello Earth, James Lawton-Hill, Marketing and Agency Director, APS Group & Sam Rowlands, Group Strategy Director at stm_grp
We discussed their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing them and the creative & digital industry in the year ahead and there were some stand-out issues for them:
Digital Environmental Impacts
Stephanie kicked us off with some startling facts about the environmental impact of the digital sector, did you know that:
Websites, on average, generate 1.76g of carbon (CO2) emissions per page view. High-traffic websites can equate to the annual emissions of an average petrol car.
Email communications, especially with attachments, can emit as much as 50g of CO2 per email, making email campaigns a significant contributor to carbon footprints.
Social media platforms, such as Instagram, contribute to digital carbon emissions, with each photo upload resulting in about 0.15g of CO2e emissions per minute.
As Stephanie says, “Considering the global internet user population, digital carbon emissions now exceed those of the entire aviation sector, making the internet one of the largest global carbon emitters.” To address this challenge, businesses like Hello Earth are taking action to reduce their digital carbon footprint. “This includes identifying key digital channels, measuring and assessing emissions, improving sustainability processes, and collaborating with partners to offset remaining emissions. This aligns with the urgent need to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Hello Earth has developed the Digital Carbon Tool, now in beta mode, to measure and reduce digital carbon emissions.”
AI
Recent research from McKinsey suggests that “Generative AI is poised to boost performance across sales and marketing, customer operations, software development, and more. In the process, generative AI could add up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy, across sectors from banking to life sciences.” But how do our contributors think this will impact the creative & digital sector?
Jon believes that, “The rise of AI presents both challenges and opportunities for the creative sector. While it streamlines processes, enables better insights and personalises customer experiences, it also necessitates a shift in skills, emphasising creativity and strategy over routine tasks. In our sector, it enables more data-driven decision-making and targeted marketing campaigns, but it also requires us to educate and inform clients so they can adapt and benefit from new ways of working.”
Sam explains how they embrace AI, “We use AI to help the human kick-start thinking, develop copy and imagery, and use AI data insights to enable ideas and strategies to be nurtured….AI can automate mundane tasks, making production processes more efficient so that the human emphasis can shine when it comes to developing relationships, providing strategic thinking, connections, and the knowledge of platforms and technology partners that clients value. We encourage our humans to work hand in hand with AI – as though it’s a third person in a creative team – to trigger creative thinking and even realise new creative possibilities, by providing new ways of showing concepts and even greater explorations of visual ideas.”
AI and the Workforce
There’s no doubt that AI will have an impact on the workforce, so how are our contributors engaging their own staff?
James says; “APS have an AI innovation working group which has grown to over 30 people across the company and who feed in the latest possibilities around AI that we then test and look to embed to support our client’s work. The threat to people’s roles is understandable but we aim to position this as just one of many tools to help support our growth as an agency and the human element is always needed at the core of this activity.”
And Sam? “STMGRP is fully embracing the benefits and opportunities presented by AI. Our human-machine-human philosophy is designed to give our people clear direction around how to best utilise AI capability. I’m leading our AI task force across the group. It’s massively exciting to be working with our passionate team of AI evangelists, who are charged with identifying how AI will improve the agency and the teams within it. They’re looking at embedding new platforms, changing processes, and delivering lunch and learn sessions to pass on best practices – ensuring that the power of AI is harnessed across everyone in the agency, from Account Management to Data Analysts.”
What skills do the next generation need?
Jon comments “There’s no surprise that the next generation, like those before them, needs a blend of technical and soft skills. Importantly, this increasingly leans into proficiency in digital tools and platforms, data analysis, and an understanding of AI. Prompt engineering is already a must have skill! Equally important are creativity, strategic thinking, adaptability, and communication skills to effectively interpret and act on digital insights. It’s an exciting time to be entering the digital space.”
Sam believes “The industry is in a state of constant evolution by its very nature – this will only accelerate with the adoption of AI. It will not be enough simply to be a skilled creative, or skilled analyst… You need to display high levels of initiative and have a mindset that is comfortable with constant change – adaptability is key. It’s essential, too, to be technically and creatively literate, but these qualities need to be combined with the soft skills necessary to communicate with each other, clients, and partners. Finally, it’s important to reiterate that AI skills will soon be required across almost all roles. A clear grasp of AI platforms and how to work with them, prompting and probing skills, and an understanding of AI limitations will soon become valuable skills across the sector.”
Legislation
A final word on AI from James; “There’s no doubt that AI will continue to have a big impact on the creative industries but rather than see it as a threat, it should be embraced and act as a catalyst for agencies to creative great work at speed and scale for clients. However, I still believe there are certain areas of AI around IP and legislation that still need to be made a lot clearer to ensure it is being used effectively alongside more traditional methods and ways of working. As can be seen from the recent AI EU legislation reforms that are being pushed through to control this space, it’s important that we ensure the creative industry have a voice in these developments. “
With special thanks to our contributors for Spotlight #3 Creative Industry Challenges – AI & Digital Environmental Impacts:
Jon Pittham, Managing Director, Karman Digital
Karman Digital specialise in helping businesses unleash the power of digital on the HubSpot platform. Through demand generation, revenue creation and customer experience tools and knowledge they deliver compelling outcomes to meet the evolving needs of their clients.
Stephanie Fisher, founder of Hello Earth
Hello Earth are an award-winning eCommerce Marketing Agency specialising in high-performance strategies for socially responsible brands. They harness digital marketing to drive exceptional results while championing a better future.
James Lawton-Hill, Marketing and Agency Director, APS Group
APS work together with their clients to make more possible through engaging digital content and creative outputs across print, animation, video, or digital.
Sam Rowlands, Group Strategy Director, stm_grp
Shoot the Moon are a branding agency with multiple studios spanning the North, driving engagements through strategic insight, creative, digital, social, photography & video.
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