Accenture Song’s David Droga on the future of creativity

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, creativity and technology are becoming increasingly intertwined. For Accenture Song, the global tech-powered creative group, this fusion is at the heart of its approach. As the company continues to push boundaries in the realm of creativity, technology, and AI, its vision for the future involves elevating the human element of creativity while embracing the transformative power of AI.

In an exclusive interview, CEO of Accenture Song and founder of Droga 5 David Droga shares insights on how technology is transforming creativity, the role of AI in shaping marketing strategies, and what sets Accenture Song apart as a driving force in the industry.

Accenture Song is the world’s largest tech-powered creative group. How do you envision the intersection of creativity and technology evolving in the next five to 10 years?

Creativity has always had a robust relationship with technology. Every time there’s a technology breakthrough; an argument inevitably follows about how it’s going to devour all jobs and then eventually humanity. Those working in the creative industries have an unhelpful reflex where craft is pitted against tools in an adversarial way. We’re seeing that precise dynamic play out right now with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools.

My view is the opposite. Technology will make creativity more effective and more human. Creativity needs technology to make it real, and technology needs creativity to make it human. It always has.

On the one hand, AI will provide opportunities for individuals from all circumstances and backgrounds to become creators. And AI-powered algorithms will play an ever-greater role in how we discover brands and products. The risk that comes with this democratization of tools is that it precipitates a wave of creative mediocrity.

Great marketing gives way to a flood of ‘slop’ (a catch-all term for low-quality content). The challenge for creatives is to keep pace with technology while striving for excellence, making sure that we’re surpassing the ‘average’ and using technology as a tool to elevate our craft.

What gives me confidence is that originality, curiosity, and morality cannot be outsourced. In a landscape where everyone has access to similar tools, it’s ultimately taste and context that sets creative output apart.

Over the next five to 10 years, while we might see some existential tussling, we’re also going to see technology enabling creativity – but not replacing it. Yes, technology drives change. But technology alone is blind. It neither dreams, nor reflects. It is humanity – the insight, empathy, playfulness, ambition and adaptation – that gives it purpose.

Your approach integrates design, marketing, commerce, and customer service. How does this holistic strategy drive growth and relevance for your clients in a digital-first world?

When clients come to Accenture Song, they are not just walking in through the marketing door. Every challenge comes back to the customer – from awareness and conversion to customer service and the aesthetic of their stores. And that’s a good thing – businesses need to act holistically because that is ultimately how their customers think. Nobody is standing in a supermarket aisle thinking “I’m currently in the conversion phase of my relationship with this brand”!

We offer an integrated approach because consumers live integrated lives. So, it only makes sense that it’s the key to accelerating sustained business growth. For a business to achieve growth, it needs to be relevant, and relevance depends on everything from product innovation to marketing, commerce, sales and service. Our unique position within a consulting giant means we’re equipped to deliver on that for clients.

We’ve found that clients are looking for multidimensional partnerships that go beyond surface-level solutions in pursuit of longer-term growth. In a complex customer landscape where inaction poses the greatest risk, we’re bringing our expertise to every aspect of a business’s relationship with its customers so that they can navigate that complexity with confidence.

With generative AI playing a central role at Accenture Song, can you share some examples of how it has delivered tangible business results across marketing, sales, and customer service?

In 2023, Accenture announced that it’s investing $3bn in our AI and data practice to help our clients navigate this seismic transformation. And it’s paying off: Accenture saw bookings in a total of $3bn for generative AI for FY24. It’s paying off for our clients, too.

For example, we developed a pioneering gen AI solution for hotel chain, Radisson, that involved creating personalised ad content based on hotel and guest characteristics. Now Radisson employees can identify the most effective messaging for each hotel location, highlighting the relevant features to each audience’s interests throughout the year. This not only improved the relevance of the ads but also increased the likelihood of attracting the right audience. The end result: The company boosted the productivity of its ad teams by more than 50 per cent, while increasing revenue from AI-powered campaigns by more than 20 per cent.

Accenture Song is often compared to traditional advertising companies. What do you believe sets your offering apart, particularly in combining AI with creativity?

Our main industry buyer has evolved from the CMO to the chief growth officer to the CEO. The CMO’s role has greatly expanded too. It’s no longer just about business marketing but about the company’s entire ecosystem and ultimately growth. Who drives that growth? The customer.

In some corners of the market, they still think of us as being just in the ‘attention’ space (advertising) but what we do is so much broader than that. Song is responsible for everything related to the customer – from attention, motivation and inspiration to buying, conversion and scale. And we’ve organised our business around meeting each one of those touchpoints.

The way we apply creativity goes beyond traditional marketing. As the world’s largest tech-powered creative group, we’re infusing it in novel ways that are unique to Song. For example, we’re pioneering the use of advanced generative AI and real-time graphics capabilities with JLR’s Defender using NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform.

Accenture has made significant investments in data and AI. How do these investments shape your creative strategies, and what new opportunities do they create for clients?

It’s true that we’ve been transforming our organisation. By rapidly and responsibly embedding generative AI into our services, we’re demonstrating the steps businesses can take to both drive profitable growth and fuel reinvention at the pace of the customer. An example of that is our AI Refinery platform developed with NVIDIA to help the world’s enterprises rapidly scale their AI adoption.

We’re working with clients across many industries to leverage generative AI in creating new products and services; re-invent marketing and commerce by powering, creating, and scaling content and building intelligent sales and services.

We want our clients to realise the opportunity to set themselves apart by using these technologies to understand their customers better and create content that resonates with specific audiences. Innovative and ethical applications of AI that maintain a strong human element with storytelling and customer interactions will stand the test of time.

It’s this AI-powered human creativity that people see and experience in the world that is critical for continued relevance.

You’ve been recognised with prestigious awards like Cannes and the Emmys. How does this creative success shape the future direction of Accenture Song, and what project are you most proud of?

The awards are of course an honour and validate the hard work and creativity that goes into client work, but the ultimate accolade is when our work sets new precedents. Having such recognition helps inspire us all to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity and makes us a magnet for the absolute best talent in any market.

There are many projects that I’m proud of. But it is the diversity of our accolades that sets us apart from anyone else. As an example, last year we won the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix for our beautiful film for the Sydney Opera House. Being great wherever necessary is a powerful mandate.

With AI becoming more integral to creative industries, how do you ensure the human touch remains a core part of the process, especially when it comes to customer experience?

There’s no doubt that technology is going to raise standards and turn what we might currently see as ‘best practices’ into the norm. But that opens up a space for the ‘next’ and ‘fresh’ practices that only imagination, audacity, irreverence, care and exploration can create.

Those human qualities are still necessary to steer technology, ensuring that creativity is relevant and meaningful to people’s lives. Technology is an ever-more sophisticated tool, but as tastemakers and curators, humans still make a difference.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about Accenture Song’s future, and how do you see the company continuing to lead at the intersection of creativity, technology, and AI?

We’re excited about the future because we recognise the transformative shifts in consumer behaviour and values. Businesses are facing such a huge variety of headwinds on a scale I don’t believe we’ve seen before. But Accenture Song is built to help clients reinvent – navigating consumer behavior and anticipating and adapting to change is what we do best. There’s no problem too large that we can’t solve. Our clients don’t seek machines, they seek meaning. Their problems are as complex and kaleidoscopic as the modern world itself.

Global competition regulatory quagmires, volatile markets, technological changes and the ever-elusive and shape-shifting consumer. They don’t just turn to us for answers but for the confidence to ask better questions.

Our advantage is that 100 per cent of major tech firms are both clients and partners. With these unique relationships we can look around corners to understand the next phase of technology-based acceleration.  We represent relevance, ideas and growth. Our remit is to grow business into the future and we’ll keep doing that.

Read: Global digital creative economy to reach Dhs27tn by 2030, finds study