By Leanne Prewitt – President & CEO
By now, it’s pretty obvious: AI is here, and it’s changing how marketing gets done. As the leader of Ervin & Smith, I see that as a good thing. Like the first design programs that “threatened” to make designers obsolete, generative AI is a powerful new set of tools that allow us to work smarter, explore faster and solve harder problems for our clients.
But with all the hype around AI-generated ideas, automations and chatbots, there’s a growing theme out there: If AI is doing the work, shouldn’t marketing cost less?
The short answer is no. (And this is not just because I own an agency. Hear me out.)
I believe marketing expertise should actually cost more. Because integrating AI into our agency doesn’t just mean plugging in a tool and hitting “go.” It means rethinking workflows, upskilling our team, investing in new technologies and, most important, bringing more strategic oversight to everything we do. The real value isn’t in what AI can do for free. It’s in what experts do with it. Let me break it down.
AI is a tool. You still need a craftsperson.
Yes, AI can generate ideas. But those ideas are only as good as the prompts they’re given — and only as useful as the business problem they’re meant to solve. A list of 20 campaign ideas spit out by ChatGPT isn’t a marketing strategy. It’s a starting point.
What we bring to the table is the ability to evaluate, refine and contextualize those ideas through the lens of decades of experience, cross-industry insight and business acumen. We’re not using AI to replace thinking; we’re using it to accelerate it.
For example:
- We can use AI tools to analyze thousands of customer reviews in minutes, then layer in human interpretation to uncover insights that truly shape a brand’s voice.
- We can generate 20 ad copy variants in seconds but then apply testing strategies, psychology and market nuance to choose the one that will actually convert.
- We can use AI-assisted audits to uncover gaps in SEO, but it’s our strategists who know whether your content strategy should lean educational or emotionally resonant.
- Or, most relevant in this moment, I can use my well-trained custom “Leanne Prewitt” GPT to help me go from outline and brain dump to 90% correct on an article (like this one!) in 15 minutes instead of an hour.
AI doesn’t reduce the cost of labor — it raises the bar for expertise.
At Ervin & Smith, we haven’t replaced roles with AI. But we’ve certainly enhanced them. Our team still does what it does best: crafts compelling stories, builds smart strategies and solves complex business problems. What’s changed is how they’re able to use AI to move faster, explore more and push creative boundaries with greater precision.
Because our team is made up of experienced professionals, we bring more than technical execution to the table. We bring the kind of perspective, pattern recognition and strategic thinking that only comes with time in the trenches. AI might surface 100 options. We know which one works — and why.
We’ve invested in learning how to use these tools well, ethically and effectively. That’s not about lowering costs. It’s about raising standards.
We’re not selling time. We’re selling thinking.
If all you want is content, then yes, you can get that cheaper than ever before. But content without context is noise.
Our clients don’t come to us for volume. They come to us when:
- A merger changes everything and the brand needs to unify
- A new CEO brings a bold vision and marketing must rise to the challenge
- A legacy business is ready to modernize and needs help earning relevance, not just impressions
Those are complex business moments. You don’t need AI output. You need smart input. You need a partner who can guide decisions, clarify messages and tie it all back to outcomes. That’s what we do. And that’s what hasn’t changed — even as the tools have.
So no, we won’t be lowering our prices. We’ll be increasing our value.
We’re committed to giving our clients more — more strategic insight, more creativity, more speed and adaptability. And yes, AI plays a role in that. But if you’re hiring us, you’re not just buying hours or deliverables. You’re buying access to a team that knows how to turn AI into real advantage without losing the human spark that great marketing demands.
So if you’re ready for cheaper, faster content — I can point you to a robot.
If you’re ready to outsmart your competition?