EPAM expands AI-native agency
EPAM Systems is expanding its AI-native agency, Empathy Lab, into the North American market following a successful European launch. The agency aims to help CMOs unify marketing, product, and technology through AI-powered platforms. This expansion reflects a growing demand for specialized agencies that can help brands accelerate AI-enabled business growth.
- The name "Empathy Lab" has been repurposed; EPAM originally acquired a digital strategy firm called Empathy Lab in 2012, which had clients like Comcast, AIG, and TJX. The newly launched AI-native agency is a rebranding of EPAM's existing European digital marketing agencies, such as Emakina and The Reference, to unify them under a single, AI-focused brand. - The expansion is a direct response to the evolving role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), who now manages technology, data, and customer experience with greater accountability for revenue. Surveys show that nearly 85% of marketing leaders already use AI tools, and 95% of CMOs consider generative AI investments a priority. - AI-native agencies are emerging to automate creative processes and workflows. For example, teams at Meta are using AI for generating screens and coded components, while Atlassian has built custom workflows that use "instruction files" to guide AI in generating on-brand prototypes. This allows creative teams to focus more on strategy and less on repetitive production tasks. - The creative production toolkit is rapidly expanding with generative AI. Tools like Midjourney and DALL-E are used for generating high-quality visuals from text prompts, Jasper and Copy.ai for marketing copy, and Synthesia for creating videos with realistic AI avatars. This has led to the rise of the "prompt engineer," a role focused on crafting instructions to guide AI to produce on-brand outputs. - As a counter-trend to slick, AI-generated content, many brands are embracing a lo-fi, authentic aesthetic. Brands like Zara, Chipotle, and Duolingo are using raw, unpolished content, often shot on phones, to increase relatability and engagement on platforms like TikTok. This strategy resonates with younger audiences, with 79% of people aged 13-36 stating they are tired of overly polished imagery in advertising. - This agency model reflects a broader industry shift where clients are moving away from traditional agencies toward partners who can provide deep vertical expertise and integrate AI from the ground up. High-growth B2B companies, in particular, are adopting AI-native capabilities to launch hyper-personalized campaigns in days rather than weeks. - Empathy Lab's services are designed to create "omni-modal experiences," "total commerce," and "generative loyalty." This involves using AI to analyze customer data at every touchpoint to understand context and behavior, allowing for hyper-personalized marketing in real-time.
