Stories about Chaos

On 10 September Digiday ran a piece on agency contracts, and the headline did not hedge. "AI reshapes agency economics, but their contracts are still scrambling to catch up." Keri Bruce, a partner at Reed Smith, described what clients want. "Ultimately, people want disclosure. They want to know what tools are being used." It is a reasonable ask. If your agency contract is up for renewal, it also stops one step short of the question that matters. I owe you a correction first I

Nobody says this out loud A local branch of a bank wants a roll-up banner and a floor sticker for an event they're running Thursday afternoon. Two hours, maybe three. Some clients, some coffee, a local sponsorship activation. They submit the request on Monday. Legal needs to review it. Brand needs to sign off. Compliance needs to check the disclaimer. By Thursday morning, the approval is still pending. So they make something themselves. Canva. PowerPoint. An old template some

There's a tell. Anyone who reads a lot of content online has seen it. The sentence that starts with "In today's rapidly evolving landscape." The conclusion that circles back to "At the end of the day, it all comes down to people." The paragraph that opens with "It's worth noting." We know what this is. We know who wrote it. And we read it anyway. Last year, a CMO at a global FMCG company told me she had rolled out AI design tools across forty-two markets simultaneously. The b