Getting word out in face of AI-made messaging

Manitoba marketing aficionados have named their new agency Plain Language — a nod to what they say they’ll speak.

There’s a lack of plain language around algorithms and outcomes found in online advertising, agency co-founders said. They’ve spent decades working in digital media, placing ads in an ever-changing online landscape.

“There’s a lot of different platforms, and the way that people talk about it can be quite obtuse,” said Anthony Kowalczyk, Plain Language’s chief executive. “I think that’s what we’re trying to move away from.”

He and Jason Hachkowski, Plain Language’s vice-president of digital ad operations and strategy, have worked together for more than a decade. A mutual colleague suggested the pair meet — both men were experts in digital marketing and advertising.

Lunch at Nathan Detroit’s Sandwich Pad, formerly in downtown Winnipeg’s underground circuit, led to the duo launching various iterations of advertising services agencies.

Plain Language is Kowalczyk and Hachkowski’s newest venture, alongside four other partners and staff around North America.

The crew will continue working with past clients, including from their former company, Forward Media. Still, they have a new focus — creative agencies, or firms who make advertisements.

“(Artificial intelligence) has made it pretty easy to just generate and iterate ads,” Kowalczyk said.

“It’s really losing the … tone of voice, tone of character, the care and thought that’s put into every campaign.”

Creative agencies bring care and thought, he continued. He and co-workers aim to place agencies’ advertisements strategically online and use “quality” to get views over artificial intelligence-made messaging.

“A lot of people will just say, ‘I want to be everywhere, and I want everyone to see it,’” Hachkowski said. “That’s not a strategy. That’s called ‘spray and pray.’

“When you try to be everything to everyone, you’re nothing to nobody.”

Budget, target audience and campaign goals will determine where advertisements are placed. Each platform has different metrics, algorithms and artificial intelligence usage, making the ecosystem nuanced, Kowalczyk and Hachkowski explained.

“The platforms deliberately make everything a lot more opaque,” Hachkowski said.

Advertising dollars have largely moved from traditional media platforms to digital — like Google and social media — over the past decade, noted Divya Ramachandran, a University of Manitoba marketing professor who researches digital marketing.

Digital advertising revenue hit US$259 billion in 2024, an Interactive Advertising Bureau report reads. The number has grown every year since at least 2020, where revenue was recorded at US$139.8 billion.

Targeting, personalization, measurement and monitoring have helped drive the shift, Ramachandran said.

“(It’s) a stark contrast from the traditional media buying approach that used to rely on personal relationships and a manual, negotiation-driven process that was directed towards a vast, general audience,” she wrote in an email.

Digital allows for easier evaluation of campaigns and holding agencies accountable, Ramachandran said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com