Big FMCG Companies Debut AI-Driven Design Unit to Wean Brands Off TV-First Model

TV was the main idea and the hub of the commercial world not too long ago. The 30-second time slot. The media purchases. That was the whole game. However, that game has changed and big FMCG companies know it.

They recently introduced agile creative units, which may seem like simply another internal content team, but they're actually rather significant. These units are designed to produce original material for social media rapidly, often within a few hours. Their decision was motivated by their desire to abandon the old-fashioned, costly, and time-consuming practice of preparing for television first. Commercials are no longer the reason people wait around. They may be found on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Additionally, if your content isn’t there right now, they’ve already scrolled past.

So What Do These Teams Actually Do?

FMCG companies are looking for tools to be able to respond to trends fast. By leveraging generative design tools that quickly create images, video concepts, and digital assets, they dramatically cut down on production time. Instead of going through long timelines, the team can have something live on social the same day an idea pops up.

And this isn’t just theory, they’ve already tested it. For example, they created a TikTok campaign during Ramadan in Jakarta using this agile content approach. The result? A 22.5% increase in visibility. For a team built for speed, that’s a solid return.

Why It Matters

This is a clear sign of where things are headed. These are some of the biggest consumer goods companies in the world, and if they’re reorganizing their creative process around social platforms instead of television, that says a lot. It means this isn’t just a trend, it’s a shift, and we’re not living in a TV-first world anymore, we’re in a scroll-first world.

For Smaller Brands

The budget of big FMCG companies may not be available to smaller brands, which is not a problem. The takeaway here isn’t “go build your own in-house AI content unit.” It’s this: if you want to stay relevant, you have to be faster, more flexible, and more focused on where your audience actually spends their time.

It means:

• Letting go of perfection if it slows you down.

• Creating content that feels present instead of polished.

• Building lightweight systems so your team can act quickly instead of waiting for sign-offs and edits.

You don’t need fancy tech for that. You just need the mindset.

Final Thoughts

Big FMCG companies are changing. To keep up with the current manner that people consume content, they are changing entire methods of working, and not slowly. "How do we get back on TV?" isn't the question for anyone working in marketing today.

It's "How do we show up where people already are, and do it in time for them to care?" That is the ultimate challenge, and the brands that figure it out are the ones people will still be talking about a year from now.