The advertising and marketing industry has been on an anxiety loop ever since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022 and the industry’s obsession with artificial intelligence (AI) took on a new form.
The AI industry is set to reach $2 trillion by 2030, with Goldman Sachs claiming that AI’s growing prevalence in business could lead to around 300 million obsolete jobs. Creative industries are among those set to be impacted by automation. There is room for concern, but how concerned should copywriters be? MediaCat attended Fix Fest, ‘the most ambitious copywriting event of the year,’ where the crowd was asked by Next Big Thing’s Founder Lauren Ingram if they were scared of the looming AIpocalypse. Not many hands shot up.
The second edition of Fix Fest, organised by founders of The Fix, Glenn Fisher and Nick O’Connor, focused on the impact of AI on copywriting. Titled Fix Fest 2: AI or DIE, the event brought together dozens of copywriters and marketers at Clerkenwell’s Crypt on the Green on 3 July to discuss how AI tools are changing the art of copywriting.
The event featured copywriting legends such as John Forde, Eddie Shleyner and Dave Harland, as well as AI experts from outside the industry.
For an event titled ‘AI or Die,’ the sessions were relaxed. The emphasis was on understanding the tools and the underlying technology, with many of the speakers highlighting the importance of prompt engineering. Walking the audience through a summary of AI history and explaining the strengths and weaknesses of today’s generative AI tools, Ingram mentioned that AI can be a valuable tool for those who know what they want out of it.
Defending the human element in the art of copywriting, The Fix Co-Founder Nick O’Connor stated the people who think AI can replace copywriters don’t understand the craft. ‘Fundamentally, no one will engage with anything we have to say unless they’re curious about it,’ said O’Connor, pointing out that the ultimate goal of good copy is to engage the reader, draw them in and leave them asking questions.
The Word Man’s Dave Harland illustrated this point in his session. Harland walked the audience through different chatbots and gen AI tools to highlight their unique weaknesses by taking one of his brilliantly written copies, asking the tools to make it funnier and watching as they failed miserably.
The event also included a poetry writing session by Mac+Moore’s Natalie Moores, as well as Fix Fest Connector, a custom-made GPT by direct response copywriting legend John Forde, which automated networking during the pub crawl for the participants.
Featured image: Fix Fest