How AI can help small businesses to develop better advertisements

Now, a team of researchers led by a professor from the Virginia Commonwealth University in the US has developed a method of using artificial intelligence in ad creation which, the research team believes, could help level the playing field for businesses and lead to more targeted marketing to consumers. 

Visual stimuli such as colour and size are used in most marketing experiments to reveal how consumers think and behave, said Dr César Zamudio, an associate professor at the university and a specialist in marketing analytics. 

“But for decades researchers have struggled to create high-quality ad images for experiments – they either looked unprofessional or were too expensive to make.” 

In a recent article in the Journal of Advertising, which examines theory and practice in the field, Zamudio and co-authors Dr Meg Michelsen of Longwood University and Dr Jamie L. Grigsby of Missouri State University explored iGenAI. They determined that image-generative artificial intelligence allows faster and less costly production of visual stimuli, compared with researcher-generated stimuli. 

Method relies on commercially available tools. 

The authors present RAISE – Rapid Artificial Intelligence Stimuli for Experiments – as a new methodology to generate AI stimuli which requires no programming and relies on commercially available tools.  

“RAISE generates ad images quickly, cheaply and at the same, or higher, quality as traditionally created ads,” Zamudio explains. 

The authors conducted five studies in which nearly 1,800 participants were exposed to visual stimuli generated using RAISE and iGenAI, as well as stimuli generated by researchers. Results showed that participants could not differentiate between them, even with the significantly less time and money spent on the AI method. 

Zamudio believes RAISE can help businesses more quickly test and refine visual ad ideas by providing data-driven insights with more precise results. 

“Instead of spending weeks and thousands of dollars on ad visuals, managers can use AI to generate high-quality drafts in minutes, allowing teams to focus on what truly matters –strategy, storytelling and brand-building,” Zamudio says, noting that small companies also can generate better ads without engaging large agencies to do the work. 

As AI becomes a more prominent tool in advertising and other elements of society, the prospect of such personalisation raises notable issues. 

“How do we ensure AI-generated content remains transparent, fair and responsible?” Zamudio asks.  

“I’m not just a researcher, I’m a consumer and a citizen, too. That’s why, when we developed RAISE, we carefully considered these issues, proposing four AI safeguards – a structured approach to AI-generated ads that ensures we preserve the human element and uphold ethical standards as we move into an AI-driven advertising era.” 

You can find out more about the study here.