Page 48 - #195 Dec2024/Jan2025

* Pictures: Created by Scott Waldron,
AI-generated conceptual images for
inspiration and reference purposes only;
they do not represent actual stores.

SPECIAL FEATURE - AI

How Retailers

can use AI in the

than one idea can be explored, so that the
decision maker has multiple options to choose
from. It also means that the weakest ideas can
be ruled out at the early stage before time and
Creative Process money is invested in developing them further.
creative teams to imagine new ideas, which they
There is still a degree of confusion, misinformation and fear regard- BRIEFING AND BUY-IN then execute using their skill and experience.
ing AI, with regular headlines about the risk it poses to jobs, as well One of the key benefits to AI in the creative One example of how this partnership between
as safety concerns and worries about its potential misuse. But, when process is that it is an efficient way of getting AI and human skill can work best is in the
handled correctly, AI can open up a world of possibilities and act as a an entire team on the same page from the very photography stage of a creative campaign.
The fashion brand Mango recently shot and
beginning. Traditional methods are dependent
vital tool in the creative process. In this article, Scott Waldron, Head on a person or team’s ability to communicate released a new product range using AI, which
of IPOS CREATE, explains how AI can be used to spark creativity in an idea to the decision makers then continue on first look was hard to distinguish from a real
the retail sector. the concept through to completion. What photoshoot. One option would be to take this
might make perfect sense in the creative’s back a step and use a similar approach, but
n the retail industry, boundaries are Mood boards are traditionally used at this own mind can be open to interpretation and purely for the planning stage. The creative team
Iconstantly pushed to allow new ideas to early stage to collate inspiration and present mistranslation in the process. With AI, images could use generative AI to spark ideas for the
come to life. Retailers pivot with every season, options for the direction of the campaign. of the concept can be seen and discussed styling, location and lighting, in a similar way
adapting to ever-changing consumer needs and However, these are typically based on existing before any work begins, ensuring everyone is to mood boards but with a real-life illustration
interests to captivate their target audiences assets and use other brands as reference aligned from the start and allowing agencies to of the end result. This can help the team to
and win a bigger share of the market. New points. Generative AI is a fantastic alternative bring clients into the process at a much earlier curate the photoshoot so that the shoot itself
ideas have been vital to the sector’s evolution for mood boards; it enables creative teams stage. is more efficient and impactful, helping to show
since the beginning, but coming up with a new to present a bespoke example of how the It can also improve buy-in, as decision makers the model, stylist, director and the entire team
concept in an increasingly crowded market can campaign is going to look and lets them play on the client side can see what the campaign what they are working towards.
be difficult and executing a campaign through with different ideas, tailored to the DNA will look like before they invest time and money Seeing AI as a tool in the creative process,
to launch can present even more challenges. of a brand as well as giving multiple options into creating it. This allows brands to take bigger rather than as competition, can help creatives
The following tips showcase how AI can help to choose from. It also gives creatives the risks with bolder campaigns that they might have the theme could exist and retailers to start new conversations
at each stage of the journey, from concept to freedom to conceive and art-direct the seed of otherwise avoided, as well as helping to create a across every touchpoint of the and spark new ideas. AI only works from a
completion. an idea as well as refining it before sharing with smoother creative process without any surprises consumer journey, without the need finite number of resources - but the human
others. It is possible to enter a relatively messy, as concepts begin to take shape. to produce an expensive photoshoot or build imagination is limitless. AI should never be
USING AI FOR IMAGINEERING early-stage concept into a generative AI tool, One example of this was in the campaign AI ALLOWS US TO REFINE IDEAS physical prototypes. This meant that everyone used to replace a skilled human during the later
The ideas phase of a new creative campaign then extract it and apply human knowledge to concepts IPOS created for the ‘Fila Love’ BEFORE THEY EVEN LEAVE THE was aligned and bought into the campaign stages of a process, as this is what keeps things
can be one of the most time-consuming and refine it and rework it. campaign. We wanted to demonstrate how DRAWING BOARD, ALIGNING from the beginning. exciting, authentic and helps to feed future data
TEAMS AND FREEING UP
expensive parts of the process for brands. Generative AI can bring a concept into the theme of ‘Fila Love’ could be applied to CREATIVE ENERGY FOR BOLD, sets that are vital to the evolution of AI models.
Whether this is handled by an in-house creative fruition in a way that would otherwise take retail outlets, shop windows, digital campaigns, GROUNDBREAKING CONCEPTS.” COMBINING AI WITH HUMAN SKILL But, by combining the two together, new
team or a specialist agency, coming up with a many weeks or months and a large team to adverts and social media. Using AI, we created Rather than being seen as a threat, AI should concepts can come to life, pushing boundaries
new idea presents a number of challenges. achieve. The time it saves means that more a series of images that demonstrated how Scott Waldron be viewed as an evolving tool that can help and ultimately achieving greater results.
Head of IPOS CREATE

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