AI transparency at dentsu is taking shape with a concrete regulatory step: The company is the first global marketing and advertising holding company to sign the EU Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content, which went into effect on August 2, 2026. With this move, dentsu joins a group of initial signatories that also includes Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

Binding Standards for AI-Generated Content

The voluntary code of conduct requires companies to comply with the requirements of the EU AI Act, which dentsu joined as early as 2025. Specifically, the EU Code of Practice is currently the only recognized standard that requires organizations to implement the provisions of Article 50 of the EU AI Act and demonstrate compliance with them. Today, high-quality images, videos, and text can be generated automatically and are often virtually indistinguishable from human-created content—a fact that is particularly relevant for marketing and communications professionals as well as content creators, according to the announcement.

Dentsu is to work with clients and partners to establish processes for clearly labeling relevant AI-powered or AI-edited content. This includes new workflows, technical solutions, and targeted training programs for employees. The goal is to permanently embed these standards into everyday work and to systematically integrate the use of AI into processes, decisions, and content, rather than viewing it solely from a regulatory perspective.

AI Transparency at Dentsu as Part of Its Growth Strategy

According to the press release, the signing marks another milestone in Dentsu’s «AI for Growth» strategy. The company views AI not only as a tool for improving efficiency, but also as a driver of innovation, growth, and sustainable business success. In addition, dentsu aims to deepen its collaboration with regulatory authorities, technology partners, clients, and industry representatives to advance common guidelines for the use of AI.

Lara Jelinski, CEO of Media Switzerland and Chief Growth Officer for Central Europe, comments: «Transformation can only succeed when innovation and trust come together—and that is precisely what this signing is all about. With this global commitment, dentsu is setting a uniform standard for the group that will also benefit our clients in Switzerland: unambiguous labeling, clear processes, and trained teams for handling AI-generated content.»

Will Swayne, Global Practice President of Media and Integrated Solutions at dentsu, adds: «The future of marketing will be significantly shaped by AI. This makes clear standards that promote transparency and accountability all the more important. By signing the EU Code, we are reaffirming our commitment to actively shaping the development and application of AI.»

For more information on dentsu's AI strategy, visit https://www.dentsu.com.

AI and Brand Trust Take Center Stage in a Global Study on the Future

How is artificial intelligence changing the relationship between people and brands? What role do originality, trust, and personal growth play in an increasingly automated world? The new Dentsu Consumer Vision Report, «Mothers of Reinvention,» provides answers to these questions. The topic of AI and brand trust is at the heart of a global assessment based on more than 30,000 consumer interviews as well as insights from experts in the fields of technology, culture, and society. The study aims to provide companies with guidance for the coming years and to highlight key changes early on.

Four Future Forces as a Framework for Guidance

The report identifies four key future drivers that, according to Dentsu, will have a significant impact on social and economic change.

The first force, «Symbiotic Systems,» describes how technology is evolving from a tool into an intelligent companion. AI agents are expected to increasingly take on tasks independently, prepare decisions, and support people in their daily lives. As a result, the relationship between people and technology will become closer and more collaborative—with new demands for transparency, trust, and control.

The second force, «Ingenuity Awakened,» focuses on culture: The more easily AI can generate content, ideas, and creative works, the more human originality, creativity, and authenticity gain in importance. In a world of unlimited content, individual perspectives, cultural relevance, and genuine human creativity would become key differentiators.

Under the heading «Infinite Reinvention,» the report summarizes how people will shape their identities, skills, and life paths more flexibly in the future than ever before. New technologies make it possible to learn faster, develop professionally and personally, and pursue individual goals. Consumers therefore increasingly expect support in their ongoing personal development and reinvention.

The fourth force, «Wayfinder Brands,» describes an expansion of the brand’s role: from a mere provider of products and services to a guiding partner. Consumers expect companies to provide not only relevant offerings, but also inspiration, guidance, and credible values. Successful brands will be those that help people make better decisions and achieve their long-term goals.

High Expectations for AI and Brand Trust

A key finding of the study: Consumers increasingly view AI as a partner in personal development. According to the report, 70 percent believe that AI will help unlock human potential. At the same time, 88 percent of respondents believe that true creativity will become even more important in the future.

Expectations for brands are particularly high in this regard: 87 percent say that brands will be especially memorable if they inspire people and support their personal growth. The demand for consistency is even more pronounced: 91 percent expect a consistent alignment between a brand’s values and its actual actions—a clear signal that credibility is becoming a core competency for brands.

The «Mothers of Reinvention» Consumer Vision Report is available at https://www.dentsu.com retrievable.

Today, many advertising budgets are primarily driven by short-term signals: quick responses, low-cost contacts, and immediately measurable results. It is precisely this focus that can prove costly in the long run—because it gradually erodes brand strength, trust, and pricing flexibility. The dentsu study «The Brand Reset» now provides solid evidence on how companies can break free from this mindset. The video advertising study shows that video advertising in digital environments can not only have an immediate impact but also measurably contribute to brand strength—with effects that resonate for years to come.

First-of-its-kind industry-wide study links attention, brand value, and revenue

The report was compiled by dentsu in collaboration with Kantar and Lumen, and for the first time, on a large scale, it links the actual attention paid to advertising materials with changes in brand metrics and modeled revenue impacts. Based on these findings, the study derives practical implications for planning, creative development, and budget management. According to dentsu, «The Brand Reset» is considered the industry’s largest video dataset to date that links attention, brand value, and revenue impact.

The data set includes ten so-called next-gen video platforms—including Snap, Pinterest, Teads, Spotify, and TikTok—as well as linear television. For each platform, 3,600 respondents were included, of whom 2,600 had been exposed to advertising and 1,000 had not. A total of 20 brands from nine categories in the U.S. and the U.K. were included in the analysis.

Five Key Findings from the Video Advertising Study

According to the study’s findings, digital video formats have a long-term impact: Even short-form content can generate effects lasting several years on brand strength and long-term demand—challenging the widespread assumption that linear television is the only channel for long-term growth. Specifically, digital video generates a long-term revenue increase of 2 percent, while linear TV generates 4.5 percent.

Advertising in streaming environments on TV sets (Connected TV) can have a long-term impact that nearly matches that of linear television. Connected TV achieves a long-term revenue increase of 3.2 percent, compared to 4.5 percent for linear TV—a structurally significant shift in the media market.

Another finding concerns voluntary attention: formats that can be skipped are not automatically less effective. When users decide to stick with them, the impact increases significantly and surpasses that of formats that cannot be skipped. Voluntary attention proves to be more effective than forced attention, second by second.

Furthermore, the study shows that more attention does not automatically lead to greater effectiveness: after 20 seconds, additional attention has virtually no further impact. What matters, therefore, is not the length of the commercials, but the moment at which key messages are conveyed clearly, early on, and in a contextually relevant way.

Finally, the study shows that even a single exposure to an advertisement can have an impact: Depending on the context and format, long-term sales boosts can be modeled over a period of up to three years—in addition to short-term effects of up to 15 percent within three months.

Specific Approaches to Planning and Implementation

Dentsu translates the study’s findings into a practical planning approach. This includes attention-based media planning, in which channels and formats are selected based on whether advertising is not only delivered but actually noticed. This is supplemented by scenario analyses that map out both short-term effects and long-term brand contributions. Instead of operating in silos, the plan is to develop a holistic video mix across linear television, streaming, and digital video formats—tailored to the objective, message, and required exposure time. Creative and media coordination will be more closely integrated so that the message and brand are recognizable early on.

Katja Brandt, CEO of dentsu Germany and Media Practice President for Central Europe, puts the findings into perspective: «Many companies today are under pressure to demonstrate short-term results—while at the same time strengthening their brand for the long term. The study underscores that video can be a reliable driver of brand-building and business success even in digital environments, provided the quality of the viewing experience is right.»

Dentsu uses attention as a measure of quality, realistically evaluates budget and media mix options, and derives concrete recommendations for channels, formats, timing, and sequencing «so that brand-building becomes predictable while simultaneously supporting measurable business results,» Brandt continued.

Marketing and media experts who would like to learn more about «The Brand Reset» and dentsu’s attention-based planning approach can find additional information on the dentsu website: https://www.dentsu.com/

The international media and marketing landscape is undergoing radical change: while traditional influencers are increasingly losing relevance, creator marketing is establishing itself as one of the most important drivers of modern brand communication. The reasons for this are changing user expectations, declining trust in heavily promotional content and a clear shift towards creative, authentic and specialized content offerings.

With «The Creator Catalyst», Dentsu X and Meta are publishing a comprehensive guide that shows brands how they can use creator marketing in a systematic, scalable and impact-oriented way.

Creators stand for fundamental change in influencer marketing

In a media landscape that is increasingly shaped by algorithms and in which attention must be earned through creative quality more than ever before, creators are increasingly moving to the center of modern brand communication. They are characterized by their ability to develop original and high-quality content. The focus of their work is creativity, their expertise in the respective subject area and a clearly recognizable personal style.

In contrast to traditional influencers, whose impact is primarily based on reach and personal appeal, creators are defined by the quality and substance of their content. For brands, this creates a particularly credible, target group-oriented environment that is based less on pure visibility and more on the relevance of content and added value for the community.

Current Dentsu data shows: Up to 85 percent of Generation Z regularly interact with creator content and 89 percent of CMOs plan to further increase their budgets for creator marketing. However, despite increasing budgets in this segment, the results often fall short of expectations.

Casting: From one-size-fits-all to orchestrated roles

«The Creator Catalyst» makes it clear that the key to success cannot be based on individual protagonists, but lies in building a creator ecosystem based on the target group. The playbook provides CMOs with answers to three central areas of tension in modern brand management: casting, culture and commerce.

The study makes it clear that creators are not interchangeable influencers, but fulfill different roles - from brand ambassador to trend translator to pure community expert. The playbook takes the collaboration between brands and creators to a new level: it presents a practice-oriented casting model that goes far beyond conventional selection mechanisms.

The clever combination of cultural fit, data-based analysis and thorough reputation checks creates a reliable and transparent basis for decision-making - for campaigns that are both strategically and creatively convincing. With the Creator and Trends Studio (CATS), Dentsu X is expanding this approach with a powerful platform that combines all steps of creator activation in a single system - from identification and evaluation to final activation.

Culture: From content element to cultural engine

Brands often lose speed because creators are only involved in the development process at a late stage. Yet the most effective and attention-grabbing campaigns are created precisely when creators are involved at an early stage as creative sparring partners - and their perspectives are incorporated into the brainstorming process from the outset.

«The Creator Frame» is a process developed together with Meta that combines creative control and cultural relevance. The playbook also illustrates how brands can recognize cultural signals and trends at an early stage and use them to their advantage in the form of forward-looking planning. Case studies show that brands can use platform-native creator content to increase their reach and perception as likeable, trustworthy, relevant and attractive.

Commerce: From impact to demonstrable business growth

Creator marketing is now a key growth driver across all stages of the customer journey. 71 percent of consumers buy a product they have previously seen on Creators within a few days. The Creator Catalyst Report shows how creators trigger direct buying impulses with shoppable content, live commerce, limited drops and personalized formats.

Building on this, Dentsu X presents the ICON framework - a measurement model that makes influence, conversion, opinion formation and network effects visible and comparable across short-term and long-term KPIs. Case studies prove that strategically managed creator marketing contributes measurably to increases in sales, a higher return on advertising spend and a stronger brand impact.

Outlook: Creator as a growth factor until 2030

The playbook assumes that the creator economy will grow to around 528 billion US dollars by 2030 - an indication of the extent to which this ecosystem is becoming more professionalized and economically significant. In a digital world in which discovery, entertainment and commerce are increasingly taking place on the same platforms, creators are becoming the central link between brands and consumers.

Carsten Kollmus, Managing Director Dentsu X Germany, comments: «Many brands are doing creator marketing today - but only a few are doing it right. As long as creators are treated as interchangeable influencers, their impact and business success will remain limited. The Creator Catalyst makes it clear: only when casting, cultural relevance and commerce work together systematically does creator marketing become scalable and measurable. This is precisely where the decisive competitive advantage for brands arises.»

Andrea Biebl, President Dentsu X, iProspect & MW Office, adds: «The decisive success factor in creator marketing today is not the individual talent, but the ability to systematically manage creativity and make it economically effective. This is exactly where our solutions come in: We combine cultural intelligence, data-based selection models and performance measurement into an integrated approach. This enables brands to involve creators in the development of ideas at an early stage, orchestrate content in line with the platform and transparently demonstrate impact across all phases of the customer journey.»

More information: www.dxglobal.com

The study of 1,950 CMOs in 14 markets conducted in October 2025 makes it clear how profoundly marketing organizations need to reposition themselves in the area of tension between technological disruption, changing consumer expectations and a dynamic media ecosystem.

Growing marketing budgets and new priorities

Nine out of ten CMOs worldwide report rising sales for the past year. And the optimism continues: Many expect marketing budgets to grow significantly - increasingly even with double-digit growth rates. This shows that the marketing mandate has become broader. The redesign of marketing in the age of artificial intelligence is now just as important as customer satisfaction or the acquisition of new segments. Nine out of ten CMOs confirm that AI has already permanently changed their strategic planning.

Media as a strategic growth driver

86 percent of CMOs rate media as a critical or very important driver for their own company's growth. However, marketing managers are facing new challenges: Closed platforms reduce transparency, new technologies need to be integrated more quickly and creator ecosystems are developing rapidly. At the same time, attention is establishing itself as the new key currency in marketing. A clear majority of CMOs have already firmly anchored the topic in planning, creation and media optimization - a trend that is also gaining momentum in Switzerland, as brands are increasingly looking for reliable measurement models beyond traditional reach.

Entertainment and gaming are developing into further important growth areas for brands. Against this backdrop, many CMOs are significantly increasing their investments in sports, entertainment and gaming IP. According to the study, 91% of them are planning to expand partnerships with strong brand and content rights - from established sports leagues to music and entertainment franchises and growing gaming ecosystems. Their aim is to better exploit reach potential, tap into new target groups and anchor brand messages in high-quality curated environments.

Opportunities for the Swiss market

There are particular opportunities here for the Swiss market: the high affinity with global sporting events such as football and winter sports, the rapidly growing gaming community and premium and lifestyle brands with an above-average Swiss market share are benefiting disproportionately.

Perceptive CMOs as growth drivers

The group of so-called perceptive CMOs is currently experiencing particularly dynamic growth. It now accounts for 17% of those surveyed and is considered a clear growth driver. This group is characterized not only by above-average sales growth, but also by a pronounced willingness to invest in new media, technology and cultural ecosystems at an early stage.

While many companies are still waiting, perceptive CMOs are focusing on innovative formats, data-driven tools and new cultural touchpoints in order to anchor brands more quickly and more relevantly in the market. Companies under their leadership not only grow noticeably faster than the average, but also plan budget increases much more frequently - often in the double-digit percentage range.

Strategic investments pay off

For Swiss companies, this means: Early investments in AI, measurement models, creator ecosystems and entertainment IP pay off strategically - especially in a small, highly competitive market.

Lara Jelinski, Chief Growth Officer Central Europe & CEO Media Switzerland: "The latest CMO Navigator clearly shows the extent to which technology, media and consumer culture are realigning marketing. In Switzerland, too, we are observing that brands are increasingly seeking guidance in this environment - especially when it comes to the integration of AI, the measurability of media and the use of new cultural touchpoints. Our job is to guide companies through this development and help them to remain visible and effective in a complex market environment."

Further information can be found on the Dentsu website.

In its "Accelerating Media Impact with AI in 2026" report, Dentsu Central Europe shows how artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a key growth driver for brands. The analysis makes it clear that conventional methods of planning, activation and measurement are no longer sufficient in today's fragmented attention economy. Brands that use AI not just selectively, but as a strategic lever, tap into new efficiency potential, strengthen their operational performance and increase their relevance in an increasingly competitive communication space.

Attention as the hardest currency of communication

In a media landscape in which touchpoints, content and platforms are increasing exponentially, attention is becoming the hardest currency of communication. The analysis shows that traditional planning and measurement methods are increasingly reaching their limits in this fragmented attention situation. People encounter around 84 minutes of advertising every day - but only around 9 minutes of this makes it into the consumer's actual "relevant set". This remaining span is the decisive moment of advertising impact, because only messages that are perceived attentively can trigger brand awareness, emotions or buying impulses.

The Attention Economy thus acts as a strategic framework that illustrates why AI-based technologies are no longer "nice to have", but a real competitive advantage: They help brands to identify, use and maximize precisely those scarce moments of attention. The decisive factor here is not just that advertising is played out, but whether it is noticed - and whether it is remembered. The report shows that brands that measure perception instead of just playout can predict their branding success up to three times more accurately than companies that continue to rely exclusively on traditional viewability metrics.

AI as a strategic lever for the entire marketing value chain

Around 56% of marketing professionals worldwide already use AI tools - primarily in content creation, social media management, email optimization and personalization. However, this use to date has only scratched the surface. Only now is AI beginning to unleash its full potential across the entire marketing value chain and fundamentally transform marketing organizations.

Agentic and generative AI enable a completely new quality of marketing planning. AI-based forecasts, scenario simulations and dynamic budget allocation enable teams to make informed decisions - no longer based on outdated reports, but on models that are constantly learning and adapting to market changes. This transforms the planning phase from a static annual process into a reactive, continuous decision-making cycle that reduces risks and identifies opportunities earlier.

In the activation phase, AI ensures a new form of precision and efficiency. Automated bid optimization, target group models, highly granular segmentation and creative rotation in real time mean that campaigns are not only created faster, but are continuously improved - based on thousands of micro-signals from user behavior. What used to be optimized manually in weekly cycles now takes place every second and is fully automated, which contributes significantly to increased performance.

Generative AI transforms content with measurable effects

Generative AI enables a radical acceleration and professionalization of creative processes. Where teams used to need days or weeks to create different versions of texts, images or videos, complete creative variants can now be produced, tested and optimized in just a few minutes.

Personalized creatives, dynamic image and video creation as well as automated text creation create a new form of creative scaling: content is not only produced faster, but also adapted to target groups, moods, contexts and channels in real time. This ensures demonstrably higher relevance when addressing users - and therefore significantly better performance along the entire funnel.

The effects are measurable: up to 41% higher conversion rates because creatives are tailored more precisely to user needs and more frequently set the right emotional triggers. 32% lower production costs, as time-consuming manual work steps are no longer necessary and content variants can be generated automatically. Over 25 percent higher engagement rates because dynamic content performs better, can be iterated more quickly and is continuously developed in A/B tests.

Agentic AI: 89 percent of CMOs expect a strong impact

Marketing managers worldwide expect enormous transformative effects from so-called agentic AI - AI systems that independently prioritize tasks, prepare decisions and orchestrate processes. The potential is high, but challenges such as data quality, integration, transparency and the responsible use of AI must be consistently addressed so that Agentic AI can develop its full value creation potential in a secure, scalable and trustworthy manner.

AI allows previously fragmented data sources - from media KPIs and customer signals to CRM data - to be linked to form a central intelligence hub. This creates a complete, consistent view of the customer journey and enables attribution models that go far beyond simple last-click logic. The result: better control, more robust decisions and measurably higher marketing efficiency.

"We are at a decisive turning point: artificial intelligence is making our media strategies more precise and measurably more effective. At a time when attention is scarce, this is a significant advantage. The technology uncovers hidden inefficiencies and consistently protects budgets from wastage. What drives me in particular? AI does not replace our intuition for brands. On the contrary: it gives us back the space we need for strategy and bold ideas. This creates communication that really moves people. For brands, one thing is clear: those who integrate AI intelligently today are not relying on a brief hype. Instead, their own foundation grows healthily with the new requirements. This creates real value and a competitive advantage that will last into the future," comments René Schaub, Group Head Web & App Development at Dentsu.

Following the uncertainty caused by the sale of the Migros specialty stores, one thing is now certain: Micasa will remain the only former specialty store brand to continue operating and will be run independently by the existing management team starting in September 2025. With support from Team Connect and the agencies INGO, Ogilvy, and Hogarth, Micasa is focusing on a strong new brand identity and aims to keep the public fully informed.

The campaign centers on a modern, double-stacked logo and a memorable headline structure. The message: micasa remains human, sustainable, optimistic, durable, and progressive. Products like the innovative cardboard bed or the weatherproof garden table bring these values to life—for a broad target audience.

The campaign is now visible throughout Switzerland via out-of-home, digital out-of-home, and digital channels. The new line is also evident in the stores themselves; the sales team is wearing buttons featuring the slogan «micasa stays micasa.».

Fabian Röthlisberger, Head of Marketing & E-Commerce at Micasa, explains: «Many people assumed that Micasa would no longer continue. Now we need to quickly and clearly show that the brand is here to stay.» Bruce Roberts of Ogilvy also highlights the optimism and spirit with which the new Micasa is moving forward.

Through this strategic repositioning, Micasa aims to establish itself as a forward-looking brand in the Swiss furniture sector and to symbolize both consistency and innovation.

Contact person at micasa: Fabian Röthlisberger, Melanie Stanelli, Domenica von Dach, Xenia Artho, Corina Hollenweger, Olivia Zogg. Responsible at Team Connect: Bruce Roberts, Julia Staub, Michael Gallmann, Felicia Aepli, Marianke Santjaka (Creative), Petra Zehnder, Franziska Saxer, Kira Vaterlaus, Susi Martin (Project Management), Kathrina Seiler, Manfred Bonewitz, Thomas Weiss (DTP, image editing), Swen Morath (CEO/CCO). Responsible Media: Dentsu International Switzerland AG

On the beach of the Croisette, between shadow and light, m&k met Yoshihiro Yagi. The multi-award-winning Japanese art director had just won a Gold Cannes Lions for his project with Nikka Whisky. What he told us was more than just a success story - it was an aesthetic and philosophical assessment.

Yagi, whose artistic influence goes back to the arts of his home town of Kyoto, believes in design as an expression of inner attitude. Reduction, not volume, is the way to the essence of a brand. Emptiness - a central principle of Japanese aesthetics - plays a key role in his work: it leaves room for interpretation and opens up inner resonance spaces. "Emptiness has a power that attracts people," says Yagi. He uses this power not to fill brands, but to liberate them.

This also applies to the case for Nikka Whisky: Instead of product shots or testimonials, the campaign is dominated by Silhouetteswhich appear as light projections over unlabeled whisky bottles. They are distorted, fleeting shadows of people - no faces, no status symbols, no attributions. What remains is an invitation to projection. "Whisky that loves life" is the accompanying claim.

The project deliberately defies the conventions of classic alcohol advertising - and also Western expectations of brand aesthetics. Nikka, a traditional Japanese whisky brand, is not presented as a prestige product, but as an expression of an attitude to life. A drink that draws no boundaries between genders, age groups or social classes.

Yagi's aim is to turn business into art - and vice versa. This requires more than just beautiful design. It requires, as he says, "an inner compass". This compass is particularly important today when numbers and efficiency fail. Brands need to express meaning again, "their will, their pride, their culture". Not as an image, but as substance.

For Yoshihiro Yagi, creativity is a means of connection - with customers, with consumers, with the world. Whether as a lecturer at the Kyoto University of the Arts or as the father of two sons, he searches for meaning, not just visibility. The bottles he lights up are also a reflection of his attitude: transparent, permeable, clear.

The focus is on implementing an integrated, data-driven media approach that is supported by a shared vision: even stronger strategic management of the brand in the region. "We are delighted that Douglas has placed its trust in us. The joint further development into a DACH-strategic collaboration is a strong sign of partnership-based agency-client relationships - and an exciting challenge that we are tackling with great commitment," comments Robin Jansen, Chief Client Officer Media Dentsu DACH.

"The collaboration with Carat is of great importance to us - the strong focus on target group and brand consistency sets the course for the future. Together we are sharpening the
core of our brand and bring them together with the people we want to reach. Carat has understood this and has impressed us for years with its strategic precision and expertise. In addition, we are looking forward to utilizing cross-border synergies in DACH and to further expanding our
more effectively," adds Cristina Donescu-Podzun, Vice President Marketing & CRM Douglas DACH.

Carat, a Dentsu company, employs 10,000 professionals across 120 offices in 51 markets worldwide and works with some of the world's most recognizable brands, including General Motors, Heineken, Kraft Heinz, Kellogg's, MasterCard, Vodafone, IKEA, Microsoft and P&G. Carat is pioneering the future of media by focusing on consumer empathy, pushing the boundaries of what's possible and advocating for people, businesses and society in everything they do. For scaled brands, Carat is the trusted partner to accelerate growth and pave the way in modern media.

Dentsu is a growth and transformation partner for leading companies worldwide. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, dentsu is now present in over 145 countries and regions. The company has a proven track record of driving and developing innovation, combining the talents of its global network of leading brands to create impactful and integrated growth solutions for its clients. Dentsu offers end-to-end Experience Transformation (EX) through the integration of its Media, CXM and Creative services. With its Business Transformation (BX) approach, dentsu is not only pushing the boundaries of transformation for brands, people and society, but also paving the way for more sustainable growth. Dentsu, Innovating to Impact.

The global agency group Dentsu has become the first global marketing and advertising holding company to sign the EU AI Pact - a voluntary initiative of the European Commission to promote the responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence. With this step, the company is not only positioning itself in a forward-looking regulatory manner, but is also responding to increasing concerns on the part of advertising companies, as a recent survey by the World Federation of Advertisers shows: 80 percent of the brand companies surveyed expressed reservations about the use of generative AI by agencies.

The EU AI Pact is aimed at companies that want to voluntarily align themselves with the basic principles of the upcoming EU law on artificial intelligence (AI Act). The focus is on governance structures, the risk assessment of AI systems and the development of expertise within organizations.

As part of the pact, Dentsu is committed to introducing company-wide training, implementing high-risk mapping and expanding existing AI governance models, among other things.

Implementation is based on existing collaborations with technology partners such as Microsoft, Adobe, AWS, Google and Salesforce. Dentsu has already developed over 80 AI-based product solutions as part of prototyping initiatives and hackathons. The aim is to create business solutions that are both brand-effective and compliant with data protection and ethical standards.

Dentsu is also driving forward its own AI ecosystem with the support of start-ups such as Inworld, Fidder and VidMob. With projects such as GenStudio dentsu+ - a content workflow solution with Adobe - the Group is demonstrating how creative processes can be efficiently scaled using AI.

André Andrade, CEO of Dentsu EMEA, emphasizes: "Signing the EU AI Pact is a natural step for us. At Dentsu, we see AI as a tool to increase creativity and efficiency and achieve better results for our customers. Our commitment to the responsible use of AI not only keeps us one step ahead of regulatory requirements, but also fulfills our promise to deliver innovations that make a real impact."

On Wednesday, the Winner Talk took place in Zurich following the Award Night of the "Best of Swiss Apps" Awards 2024. Giancarlo Palmisani, Head of Association Services at the Swico trade association, welcomed the guests to the premises of Dentsu Switzerland.

From the virtual to the real world

Valentin Holzwarth, one of the three founders of AtlasVR, presented the "Bitumen VR" app, the world's first VR training app for flat roof welding. He spoke about the development path of the virtual training technology. This led the creators of the app through many rounds of brainstorming, the consultation of technical experts and the final development and programming. AtlasVR and the client Suissetec took a critical look at the added value of the app to be developed, the opportunities and risks and the gos and no-gos. Before the idea of "Bitumen VR" was born, they had already considered a number of other options, such as welding simulators or press loops, to teach trainees how to weld. However, none of these ideas came to fruition due to the high material and disposal costs. "Then - rather unexpectedly - we ended up with Bitumen VR," says Holzwarth. And so began the development of "Bitumen VR" and with it virtual welding.

The client Suissetec also waved the proposed app concept through. This also solved the cost problem. According to Holzwarth, 27 tons of material costs can be saved annually with Bitumen VR, and disposal costs are also eliminated.

23 weeks - according to the AtlasVR co-founder, that's how long it took to develop the app that brings welding from the real to the virtual world. After a few sleepless nights during the development phase, the app was finally rolled out. But that wasn't the end of the story: A Switzerland-wide app launch, instructor training, tech support - all of this is also part of the process, says Holzwarth. Daniel Stamm, Head of Training at Suisstec, emphasized that convincing instructors and apprentices to recognize the added value of the virtual welder application should not be underestimated. "All levels have to be brought on board, which is a challenge," he said.

However, Suissetec and AtlasVR are confident that "Bitumen VR" will soon be used in many inter-company welding courses. The fact that the app won gold in the Extended Reality category at the Best of Swiss Apps 2024 Award Night is certainly a good starting point for development. AtlasVR is aiming to develop further applications with similar added value. One thing is particularly important to the young company: focusing on added value right from the start.

Making the sun tangible

The development team of the "Helion One App" and Winner of the Master of Swiss Apps also offered guests at the Winner Talk a "deep dive" into his experiences during the project. The new development, which also won gold in the Customer Experience, Design and Functionality categories at the Award Night in addition to the Master title, replaces the old app with the Helion 2.0 version. Milo Peter, Experience Director at Dept, explained that the reason for this upgrade was that the first app version came from the category "By engineers - for engineers". The aim was therefore to work with Helion to build a new app that all customers would find easy to use. The development team immersed themselves in the topic by investing a lot of time in research and gathering customer feedback. Peter showed the guests at the Winner Talk some of the different approaches they were considering, particularly for the new design of the app. With many discussions, the team was "going in many directions". However, they often heard feedback along the lines of "the design is too abstract, too technical, not emotional enough".

"Based on this feedback that we should make the whole thing more emotional and make the energy transition tangible, we moved away from the abstract elements and tried to visualize the sun," said Peter. In the app, the sun is representative of solar production. The aim of visualizing the course of the day in the app is to show users how much energy they consume. At its core, however, is the optimization of the solar energy consumed. This was the starting signal for the app's creators to launch the main project. After setting up the design system and making many changes and simplifications, the app was ready to be used by all target groups. "We want to pick up the retired grandpa just as much as the IT geek," says Ramon Müller from Helion. In summary, Müller said that the app is now "more colorful, emotional and modern than the previous version". The focus is on Helion's differentiation strategy: standing out from the competition and offering real added value with the new app. In conclusion, he added: "Ultimately, we want to get closer to our goal and create a 100% renewable Switzerland". (Dylan Windhaber/rja)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

According to the study, global advertising investment could increase by 5.9% in 2025. This would correspond to an expected net investment sum of 817.7 billion US dollars. In retrospect, the forecast global growth for 2024 has also been revised upwards - from 5.0% to 6.8%, which corresponds to USD 772.4 billion. Major sporting and political events have had a greater impact here than initially assumed in May of this year. In addition, the outlook in the USA, the UK, Brazil and France has improved once again.

A closer look at the development for 2025 shows that the pace of growth is likely to slow somewhat, as there will be no major global events such as the UEFA European Championship and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the new year to boost investment.

Signs of growth

Nevertheless, the signs continue to point to growth and the assumed figure of 5.9% will exceed the growth rate of the global economy by 2.7 percentage points. In terms of advertising growth in the strongest regions of the global market, the American continent is once again the leader in terms of advertising expenditure (8.0% for 2024 / 6.3% for 2025). In Germany, a cautiously positive trend in advertising expenditure is emerging. The Dentsu analysts assume a figure of 3.1% for 2024. However, growth would have been significantly higher had it not been for the slump in Q4 of the current year. The conspicuously weak Q4 thus overshadows what was actually a good 2024. These could already be the first negative harbingers for 2025.

High tariffs on US imports, an already weak growth forecast for Germany and a general election with potential problems in forming a majority are causing noticeable uncertainty and restraint. In this respect, the forecast 3.3% growth in advertising expenditure in Germany is currently the best case scenario and offers a lot of hope. Looking at the forecasts for 2024 in comparison to the other major European economies, Germany is in fifth place behind the equally rising growth prospects in the UK (7.5%), France (5.6%), Italy (6.2%) and Spain (4.8%).