"For us, AI is a catalyst for creative brand management" - Sarah Safri and Fabian Biedermann on the SMG campaign
Sarah Safri, Group Marketing Director at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, and Fabian Biedermann, Managing Director at Freundliche Grüsse, speak with m&k about their new AI-driven campaigns for ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24.
Sarah Safri, from SMG's perspective, what was the overarching goal of the two campaigns for ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24?
Sarah Safri: "Our ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24 brands are among the Internet pioneers in Switzerland and are already very well known. With the current campaigns, we want to further sharpen their positioning and at the same time raise awareness of our product innovations. It is important for us to show that we are continuously developing our services with the aim of making them even easier, more efficient and more relevant for all users."
What role does artificial intelligence already play in SMG's marketing and communication work?
Sarah Safri: "Artificial intelligence (AI) has been an integral part of our strategic thinking for many years, including in marketing. As digital platforms, data and technology are at the heart of everything we do. We have been using AI operationally for a long time, for example to optimize our marketing planning. With the latest developments in the field of generative AI, we have started to use it specifically in content creation and visual creation (from image editing to video production). This opens up new opportunities to tailor content even more closely to our target groups. Our current ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24 campaigns are examples of how we consciously use AI in photography and moving images to effectively combine innovation and creativity."
Fabian Biedermann, why was it important to you to use AI not only functionally, but also creatively?
Fabian Biedermann: "Because we are convinced that brand communication will not only have to be rethought efficiently in the future, but also visually and narratively. The creative use of AI, for example in image design, set design or dynamic moving images, gives us the opportunity to create worlds that could not be realized with traditional means. For us, it's not about seeing AI as a replacement, but as an extension of creative forms of expression."
What was particularly exciting or challenging for you when working with AI technologies in campaign development?
Sarah Safri: "What was particularly exciting was the enormous creative freedom that the use of AI gave us. But this is also precisely where the challenge lies: as a brand, you have to be very aware of how you want to present your own brand. Distinctiveness and the visual language consistently anchored. Because with AI, almost anything suddenly seems possible. It was therefore crucial to define clear creative guidelines together with the agency in order to safeguard the brand identity at all times."
To what extent is AI changing the requirements for brand management and marketing teams at SMG?
Sarah Safri: "AI projects not only require in-depth technological understanding, but also expertise in brand management, ethics and creative processes. This is precisely why consistency is crucial if the uniqueness of a brand is not to be compromised by the new
to dilute the possibilities. Our teams are continuously building up new skills to meet these requirements. At the same time, we are convinced that people are always needed to shape the attitude, tonality and vision of a brand. For us, AI is therefore not a replacement for existing tools and processes, but a valuable addition to the creative palette. To ensure that AI is not only used creatively but also sensibly, we have developed our own 'AI principles' for the teams and introduced an 'AI label' across SMG that makes the use of AI transparent."
What does collaboration with external partners like Freundliche Grüsse mean for a group of companies like SMG, especially in the context of AI projects?
Sarah Safri: "Working with external partners like Freundliche Grüsse is essential for us, especially when it comes to pioneering projects in combination with new technologies. We value their creative courage, technological expertise and willingness to explore new avenues with us. At the same time, as a client, we not only bring a strategic perspective and an understanding of the target group, but also approaches on how our brands can be further strengthened in a creative way - coupled with the openness to try out new approaches in production. This combination of internal know-how and external innovative spirit works very well."
How do you rate the impact of such hybrid AI campaigns compared to traditional productions?
Fabian Biedermann: "We see several clear advantages in this. On the one hand, we benefit from enormous agility in content production: we were able to respond quickly, flexibly and much more cost-efficiently to different formats, channels and target groups. On the other hand, the creative use of AI allows us to achieve a new visual quality that positions the brands in a fresher, more modern and more innovative way. Of course, we also analyze the performance data very closely. However, it is not yet possible to derive any concrete findings as the campaigns have only recently been launched."
What role do you think AI will play in the brand communication of tomorrow - and what will remain "human"?
Fabian Biedermann: "AI is already an integral part of modern brand communication. Above all as a tool for producing content faster, more efficiently and more diversely. But what remains, and must remain, is human intuition: an understanding of social moods, of nuances, of attitude. More than ever, brands need a face, an opinion, emotional relevance. And no machine can replace that."
