Go West, Analog Man
Creative craft in the Age of AI
Everyone’s got that text chain. And that one friend in that text chain
In my case, it’s a tech industry buddy who likes to stir up our text chat with messages designed to needle the “creative” workers in the group.
When it comes to technology adoption, I will admit that I probably land in the “late majority” part of the Diffusion of Innovation scale.
Diffusion of Innovation Scale
I’m less anti-technology than I am pro-analog… I enjoy the feel of a new book, the pocketed souvenir of a movie ticket stub, the micro moments of humanity you get ordering at the counter instead of in-app… hell — I’d probably do most of my work on a typewriter if I could in any way justify it in the year 2025.
So while people like my friend are throwing a parade to welcome our new AI overlords, as the “Analog Man” I have been all-too-eager to point out when AI goes wrong— or gets weird.
But progress marches on. When you’re in the business of building Performance Branding Ecosystems it’d be foolish to do anything but embrace performance-optimizing technology.
As much as I may love the old-school ways... I’ll admit there’s not much growth potential in running the last Blockbuster on Earth.
So how can creatives — even the most stubborn pen-and-paper people — utilize and even grow to love AI tools?
Supercharge your process with AI tech
In his look at the new era of brand ecosystem growth, Morning Walk CSO Pat Goggin (Hey boss!) articulated the big idea perfectly when he wrote “Technology is a tool to amplify strategy, it is not a strategy.”
And here is where creatives need to start with new tech, knowing what it can — and can’t — do for you.
As a writer, I first found value in large language model (LLM) AI as a sort of super-thesaurus: an effective tool for finding just the right word. AI allows for quick dialogue to refine searches and enables rapid brainstorming on turns-of-phrase, sentences or concepts.
These use cases highlight what creative professionals can achieve with AI: expediting the side-quests of the creative process that hinder the tackling of larger, more cerebral, and more interesting creative challenges.
Going further, you can use AI tools to perform research (an incredible time saver... just don’t forget to fact-check) or jump-start your brainstorming process. AI-assisted ideation helps you cover well-trodden ground first, so you have more time to explore the creative roads less travelled.
Learning how AI fits into your workflow on smaller tasks helps you see its value for more complicated work. Most exciting: the more you use it, the more doors it will invariably open for you.
The creative limits of AI
While AI can be scarily impressive, in the creative field it has its limitations.
To start, it is only going to be as good as your guidance and input allow it to be. You still need to be the boss.
For copywriters: you know your clients and their brands — their voices, quirks, and what sounds right or ever so slightly off. This is where AI capabilities end, and your creative craftsmanship must take over. The buck stops with you.
Your expertise and experience help you distinguish a good idea from a great one — especially when you’ve hit that lightning-in-a-bottle ‘Aha!’ moment. Only your gut instinct will help you make decisions and defend them.
AI may provide rational reasons why X or Y creative concept will work, but it’s your humanity that knows when something is worth pursuing or leaving in the drafts folder.
Super:Human Labs at Morning Walk
At Morning Walk, it has been invigorating to be able to experiment with our AI tech stack in real time, learning the many ways that machine learning can fuel creativity and accelerate performance. We refer to this company-wide commitment to test and tinker with innovation as our Super:Human Lab.
The Morning Walk array of technology is impressive, evolving, and always growing. Our creative teams use sophisticated AI tools to get places faster, while still using traditional approaches to get perspective and break big ideas. The trusty whiteboard, bulletin board and conference room are all tapped when the moment calls for it.
We’re on this exciting walk together with a willingness to explore every path.
It has been exciting to embrace our core values of optimism, energy, and motion — all while regularly learning and onboarding new technology.
Our progress is a blend of old and new, data and daring, algorithms and intuition.
For the Analog Man, it might just be the perfect balance.
Author’s note: Shout-out to the actual Last Blockbuster on Earth in Oregon which I have 1) visited, 2) rented movies from, and 3) highly recommended for those seeking a true analog entertainment adventure.
About Mark Kosin
Mark is a Senior Copywriter at Morning Walk. With a story-centric career that’s progressed from L.A. backlots to tech startups to performance branding marketing, he has always been driven by one goal: free snacks. Little bags of chips. Trail mix. Grapes. The occasional bagel. Whatever you got. Oh, and in between bites he puts that caloric energy towards rigorous creative collaboration with brands to help them make noise, build trust, spur growth, and stay top of mind with strategic and inventive campaigns.
