MediaPost spotlighted a new 4As report cautioning White advertising agencies that using AI to replace new hires could adversely impact next-generation leadership growth.
Given entry-level hiring has served as global performative DEIBA+ initiatives, choosing AI over newbies shuts down a critical talent pipeline to underserved and underrepresented candidates.
In Adland, AI fortifies exclusivity and systemic racism.
How Cutting Entry-Level Agency Jobs Impacts The Entire Industry
By Steve McClellan
The ad agency world has long fretted over entry-level positions and how to get to the best talent to fill them.
The industry accepts that it probably won’t be the highest paying sector in the economy and that it has likely lost many potential candidates to higher-paying fields like tech and finance.
More recent developments have complicated the issue further, including hybrid workforces that have put a damper on career-mentoring channels.
And advancements in artificial intelligence are now enabling agencies to cut staff—particularly entry-level posts that don’t involve much, if any, strategic thinking—to further reduce expenses.
But a new report from the 4As and consultant DBC urges agencies to carefully consider their use of AI to replace new hires, noting that such a strategy could stunt the growth of next-generation leadership.
“By treating these roles as short-term costs rather than long-term investment, agencies risk creating a ‘hollowed-out’ middle management for the next decade,” the report, written by DBC President Bill Daddi, states.
The report quotes several industry leaders and cites a Forrester study that projects that U.S. ad agencies will automate 7.5% of jobs by 2030, most of which will be entry-level positions.
4As CEO Justin Thomas-Copeland states that pressure on entry-level jobs in the industry has been steadily increasing in recent years, but that AI has “hyper-accelerated that progression, where it feels much more aggressive than in any sort of disruptive time that I’ve been in the industry.”
One of the report’s recommendations: Rethink and build mentorship exposure and career development into the industry’s hybrid workforce culture.
“We’ve quietly killed the apprenticeship model where talent learned by being around the seasoned pros at their agencies,” states Caroline Winterton, former CEO at DDB. “If we don’t replace it with something intentional, we’ll end up with leaders who know the tools but don’t have the taste, judgment or people skills the industry needs.”
With fewer people at agencies, there is also more pressure on mid-tier players to drive growth versus their traditional roles of managing teams and completing projects, the report asserts.
The industry needs to redefine what skills entry-level positions require. Traditionally, those roles have focused on executing repetitive tasks.
“Future junior employees must be better equipped to connect strategy, creativity, analytics and AI-enabled systems,” the report asserts.
“AI literacy matters,” states Witherton. “But so does critical thinking, storytelling and knowing when not to use the tool. We need to invest in both sides of the equation.”
More from the report, “Redefining Entry-Level Agency Positions in the Age of AI,” can be found here.
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