Franck Litewka is the Strategy Director at RTL AdAlliance, the advertising sales house of RTL Group, where he leverages his extensive experience to navigate the evolving landscape of media and technology. With a keen focus on optimizing productivity and creativity through AI, Litewka shares his insights on how AI tools enhance existing skills and offer transformative opportunities in media planning and journalism.
Join us as we hear how RTL Ad Alliance embraces AI in their organization, and how Litewka sees AI risks and opportunities in the future.
IAA Benelux: Has the recent evolution of AI changed anything within your organization, and if so what?
Litewka: Keep in mind that AI tools enhance existing skills, they don’t create them. The more knowledge we possess, the better AI performs. AI simplifies and automates repetitive tasks such as composing emails, which is particularly helpful for non-native speakers. It also streamlines meeting preparation and facilitates faster notetaking.
Different solutions have been tested among other companies:
- Automated answers via AI chat bots
- Content creation or
- Deepfake detection solutions.
On our side, we are currently testing Copilot to improve daily productivity in our different departments, and we are also exploring ad creation solutions for our ATV and SME businesses.
IAA Benelux: What do you see as the risks of AI for your organization and for the industry? as a whole and what is your role / your organization’s role in mitigating those risks?
Litewka: The primary risk I observe lies on the creative side, particularly for creative agencies: In this context, the significant risk applies to copywriting, ensuring that each creative piece remains unique and consistent across all advertisers and their agencies. While AI can foster creativity, there is also a risk of diminishing originality.
Another substantial risk is data leakage. To create compelling content, organizations may need to share sensitive information about their goals and operations on the web.
IAA Benelux: How do you ensure responsibility over AI-systems used within your organization?
Litewka: The Bertelsmann AI essentials are a set of rules developed by the AI council of our group to guide potential users. Here are a few examples. There are five.
- Rethink your business. What are AI benefits and challenges?
- Be transparent to consumers and affected business partners when using AI.
- Build products/solutions in accordance with regulation.
- Understand what AI is doing, control it and don’t let it control you.
- Use AI to augment human creativity, not to replace it.
IAA Benelux: What do you see as the opportunities for the use of AI?
Litewka: Improving productivity, for sure, but AI also sparks creativity: new ideas, fresh challenges, it even converts words to video or audio creatives. AI plays a pivotal role in advancing media planning optimization. New software can provide sophisticated recommendations and select optimal time slots based on a wide range of criteria.
IAA Benelux: Do you see the industry using AI for the collective good, and if so how?
Litewka: The media industry is increasingly embracing AI to benefit society as a whole. AI tools help journalists to verify information, detect deepfakes, and fight misinformation.
The EU AI Act impacts businesses in the EU and beyond. It introduces detailed rules for AI development and deployment, categorizes risks, and emphasizes transparency. While compliance poses challenges, it also fosters responsible innovation.