Global companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) at their India-based capability centres to bring more advertising and creative work in-house, reducing reliance on external agencies and accelerating campaign production.
Companies including Kimberly-Clark, Catalyst Brands and Target India are deploying AI tools across marketing functions, from generating product images and videos to identifying influencers and optimizing campaigns. According to Reuters, the trend reflects a broader push by major advertisers to lower marketing costs while increasing speed and scale.
Speaking at a Reuters summit in Bengaluru, Kimberly-Clark India head Deena Dayalan said the company’s India-built AI platform has dramatically reduced content production timelines.
“Content creation two years back took 24 days but now it only takes two hours” due to AI, Dayalan said, quoted by Reuters.
The platform also helps the company identify suitable influencers and localize campaigns for different markets.
Catalyst Brands is testing AI-generated product images and videos for online listings, a move that could reduce the need to transport inventory across countries for photography and content creation.
Copywriters at Roundel, Target’s advertising business, are using AI to generate advertisements faster and respond more quickly to changing consumer trends.
“Our business partners are actually seeing more value come back through that flywheel because we’re able to move more,” Reuters quoted Target India President Andrea Zimmerman to have said.
She added that AI was opening up opportunities in areas such as loyalty and personalization.
Industry analysts said growing adoption of AI could put pressure on the traditional advertising agency model while helping companies overcome talent shortages that have slowed efforts to build internal creative teams.
Reuters reported that a Gartner survey of 405 senior marketing leaders conducted last year found that nearly all respondents were using AI to some extent, with investments in the technology accounting for more than 15% of marketing budgets and continuing to rise.
However, some analysts believe traditional agencies will remain relevant, particularly for clients with large advertising budgets and specialized requirements.
“If mediocre is all you need, then absolutely you can do it yourself. But that’s not where the money is anyways,” said Brian Wieser, CEO of advisory firm Madison and Wall, quoted by Reuters.
“The question remains, is there value to expertise?”
The growing use of AI is reshaping the advertising industry by enabling companies to produce marketing content more quickly and efficiently, while prompting debate about the future role of traditional agencies, Reuters reported.
