Today, an artificial intelligence tool can write a post, suggest an ad or propose a campaign idea in a matter of seconds. For those of us who work in communication, this raises a legitimate question: if producing has become so simple, where does an agency’s value lie?
I believe the value was never only in production. It lies in the ability to understand a business, to look closely and to translate what a brand is into something people feel. Artificial intelligence has made this more evident, not less.
What AI does well, and what is left to do
AI is an excellent ally. At Republica, we use it to analyse data, draft first versions, test ad variations and research ideas. It saves us time and gives us a faster starting point.
But AI works from what already exists. If every brand uses the same tools in the same way, the results tend to look alike. The difference lies in everything no tool can see from behind a screen.
Three ways to add value
In my experience, especially with restaurant brands, value lies in three places.
1. Understanding what the business wants people to feel
Restaurant owners almost always have an enormous passion for what they have built. Before any strategy, the most important question is: what does the owner want people to feel when they walk through the door?
That answer rarely comes in a brief. You understand it by being there: watching how the team works together, the energy of the room, the way guests are welcomed. Only then can we choose the right tools and use them well. Strategy begins with listening, not producing.
2. Paying attention to detail
For Malacopa’s fifth anniversary, our first idea was to jump on a trend and create viral content. Until we stopped and thought about what makes Malacopa special: its people. The customers, the team, those who are there every day.
We created a video with these people, blindfolded, tasting the house’s food and drinks. Every one of them recognised what they were tasting. Five years of history, told without a single line of self-praise. This content brought more than 300 new followers to the page.
A trend would have worked for a few days. The right detail told the brand’s story.
3. Being present
We have a restaurant client in a fishing bay in the Algarve. When we started, we had a fixed idea of what we wanted to create. Then we went there.
The atmosphere, the surroundings and the restaurant’s relationship with those around it changed everything. We ended up interviewing fishermen, locals and people who are part of the history of that place. That content gave us what the restaurant needed most: a community that follows it all year round, reducing the impact of seasonality.
No online research would have given us those stories. We had to be there.
Technology at the service of people
We don’t see AI as a threat, but as a way of freeing up time. The time we save on repetitive tasks is the time we spend with clients, in their spaces, looking at the details that make the difference.
For anyone looking for an agency, perhaps the most useful question isn’t what it can produce, but how much time it dedicates to understanding the business. That is where we believe the real value lies, and that is where we want Republica to be.
