Submitted by Susan Griffin, Principal, Griffin + Skeggs Collaborative
There are those of us who have been around the world of MRX sufficiently long to have seen any number of inflection points driven by technological change.
So too in all things punk, I guess. Garage bands could be their own recording studios with introduction of desktop tools (even video apps on their phones) and they could build fanbases with TikTok and Instagram. The barrier to entry collapsed.
The pattern is always the same. New tech emerges, early adopters put themselves out there with unfamiliar innovations that make them stand out in the first wave. At least very different – often better – value propositions are demonstrated, mass or broad adoption takes place, and suddenly the new tech is ubiquitous and ceases to be a differentiator.
Where have we seen this before?
Like I said. We can point to many, many inflection points in MRX but let’s take one that will even seem like ancient history to younger punks. Online research.
I am old enough to remember when online research was controversial, then cool and eventually the expected foundation for research. At first mostly quant, now for sure some percentage of qual. But talking about research in the context of online now is almost another “Q” word: QUAINT!
Decades ago, my first real job in marketing for an agency was at a place whose tagline, when I got there, was “The Fastest Growing Online Agency in Europe.” Quickly we understood that the world really cared less about the religious war of online versus offline. Yes, the early years required a lot of fancy dance moves to defend the how, to deflect objections around representation (“But not everybody is online or has access to a computer!”) What we learned was that clients cared about which business problems we could address and how we could solve them better than the old solutions that were leaving them wanting.
Enter AI
As recently as two years ago, generative AI was still a novel term that needed to be explained. Still does, really, for those who must dig below the taglines and the surface to understand functionality, limitations, liability and potential areas where it can deliver value, while avoiding risk.
If you were delivering a product with AI at its core in 2023 you were inevitably the new kids, the cool kids, (maybe even the kids with and enviable investment, just a proof of concept and no real recurring customer base) and you were the unknown performers taking the stage.
And lots of folks panicked (“But what if the AI hallucinates? And the models aren’t trained on broad enough unbiased data! And what about exposing proprietary data to open-source LLMs?? And what about all the jobs that are going to be eliminated… like maybe MINE?”)
And at the other end of the spectrum, many agencies and researchers leapt into the mosh pits.
Then we all heard that our jobs wouldn’t be taken by AI, rather by some other agency player who knew how to use AI.
And suddenly . . . . the companies NOT somehow using AI, are the relics. The exceptions. Not the rules.
But like the other inflection points… AI is NOT a defensible differentiator!
It is now arguably table stakes. It has become commoditized. Incorporating it better, deploying it reliably, leveraging it through deep domain expertise specific to clients’ business models to deliver better results and outcomes than its predecessors… these are all significant.
But as AI has become ubiquitous, agencies are back to the same dilemma of differentiation: what do we do better than our competitors, addressing mission critical business challenges for our clients that contribute to solutions that drive growth?
Said another way, bakers don’t differentiate by listing butter, flour and ovens as their “how”. Bakers drive discovery and repeat customers because their stories demonstrate that they deliver affordable sustenance, indulgent treats and accompaniments for celebratory moments, better than the baker across the street or across town. Otherwise even bakers struggle with brand loyalty!
Honestly . . . if I have a prediction this year (or maybe this is just my hope) it is that there will be a huge wake up call for agencies trying to build awareness and credibility by simply invoking AI.
What you do better for clients is paramount to how you do it. How you do it should be reliable, cost effective and bullet proof. But it is that “what” you do with a “proof of potency” will be what helps you stand out.
My challenge to agencies as you develop and deliver your 2026 narratives is to fight the inclination to “lean into AI”. Rather lean so far into what your offerings deliver, that competitors are not likely to match, that it will be that client business need that sets you apart. And fills your inbox with inquiries.
Stay punk and reach out if we can help you build that differentiated brand story for 2026.
