This week in our Customer Value Management (CVM) course at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), we had the privilege of welcoming Judith Meidl, Creative Designer at PwC Austria. She provided our marketing master’s students with an eye-opening perspective at how generative AI is revolutionizing the creative industry.

Through real-world examples and hands-on demonstrations, Judith showcased how AI-powered tools can enhance creative workflows and streamline the design process of visual advertising. She walked us through a step-by-step approach where AI acts as a co-creator in designing visual advertisements:

1. Using generative AI for creative brainstorming and ideation: Using OpenAI’s GPT, marketers can quickly generate a range of advertising ideas and visual concepts. Instead of spending hours in brainstorming sessions, AI helps spark inspiration by providing suggestions that align with the brand’s message.

2. Creating high-quality concept visuals: Once a creative direction is chosen, AI-powered tools can generate realistic candidate images based on a desired theme, significantly reducing the time needed to explore different iterations. For example, a bird’s-eye view of a grocery market can be instantly visualized, helping teams explore different angles, compositions, and styles without relying on traditional stock images or costly photoshoots.

3. Refining & personalizing with Photoshop: AI-generated visuals often need adjustments to better match branding, tone, and emotional appeal. After selecting the most promising AI-generated image, Judith used Photoshop to refine and steer the generated visual into a desired creative direction. By tweaking colors, modifying details, and reshaping elements, creatives ensure the image resonates with their target audience.

4. Bringing the scene to life with AI video generation: In a final step, Judith transformed the static, refined and personalized image into a dynamic video using RunwayML. AI-powered video tools can animate the scene, creating a seamless transition from concept to production-ready advertising material – without the time and costs of traditional video shoots.

 

The key takeaway? AI is not replacing creativity – it’s amplifying it. By speeding up ideation, enhancing visuals, and reducing production time, AI enables creative teams to work more efficiently and explore new possibilities in marketing. Specialists evolve into creative generalists, seamlessly navigating across AI-driven tools.

A huge shoutout to Judith Meidl and PwC Austria for sharing these invaluable insights with our students!