Why everyone from local NZ restaurants to school fairs is running the same AI-made ads
In New Zealand, local restaurants, school fundraisers and small shops are increasingly running the same AI-generated advertising templates. RNZ reports that visual tools from Canva and OpenAI have created a standardised aesthetic in the small-budget advertising market. Marketing specialists say this creates risk for brand identity.
According to RNZ's investigation, AI-driven visual production tools have grown 340% in New Zealand's digital marketing market in the past 12 months. Sarah Hudson, professor of marketing at the University of Auckland, told RNZ: "The ads have become indistinguishable from each other."
Small businesses use ready-made AI templates on Canva via a 15 New Zealand dollar monthly subscription, replacing the 2,000-5,000 dollar design services traditionally bought from advertising agencies. Tom Lemmens, founder of Wellington-based design studio Lever Room, told RNZ "the bottom of the industry has melted away".
A report from research firm Figure on the Asia-Pacific region shows the Australian market is undergoing similar consolidation. The New Zealand Marketing Association has called for mandatory human-designer collaboration for small businesses. Similar pressure is expected to reach Turkish SMEs in time. This is not investment advice.
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