Beyond Polish: James Stephens on Trust, AI, and the Future of Brand Aesthetics

James Stephens, EVP, Global Head of Brand at Monks, shares his views on brand building in today’s fast-paced digital world. He says traditional brand development cycles are a thing of the past as audience choices and platform dynamics change daily. Monks’ approach is all about curiosity and flexibility across strategy, creative and media planning so brands can get instant insights and adapt their messaging to connect with consumers in real-time.

Stephens highlights a big shift in content effectiveness: Highly produced, award-winning content can sometimes be less trusted than more social native or handheld-style content depending on the platform (e.g. YouTube’s lean back environment vs TikTok’s intimate skits). He says brands are multidimensional and should present different facets of themselves across different digital channels.

A key advantage of Monks, according to Stephens, is its integrated approach with strategy, creative, media, data and technology all under one roof. This allows for faster learning and the application of insights to create what he calls “real-time brands” that learn, apply, interact and understand their audience. While acknowledging AI’s role in democratizing content creation, Stephens says the agency’s role is to provide platform specific insights and guide brands to understand what resonates with their target audience. Ultimately, he believes technology can unlock endless creative possibilities, and brands can achieve big ideas and deeper connections with consumers in a crowded market.