While many in the industry experiment with AI, SwellShark has established a human-machine balance over the past year that has already contributed to business growth.

SwellShark uses AI to help identify audience segments for each client that fall into the categories of current, occasional and future consumers. These are then fed through a newly developed AI tool called the Charybdis Decision model. Named after the sea beast of Greek mythology, the Charybdis Decision model determines the best spend allocation across media channels based on target audiences and the marketer’s campaign goals—and re-optimizes the mix every four weeks based on performance.

The planning process, however, is completed by human insights. SwellShark’s team determines the creative utilization of each channel to reach the client’s audience and stand out to them. Custom algorithms and client dashboards then measure and report results to clients throughout the campaign. 

SwellShark’s process has delivered improved results for existing clients as well as contributed to new business wins, such as its first work for PBS in 2023.

Virgin Atlantic turned to SwellShark for help after nearly three years of pulling back on U.S. advertising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline, which had worked with SwellShark since 2015, wanted to restart its marketing to increase bookings.

SwellShark’s AI tools identified audiences likely to travel abroad, with an emphasis on luxury spenders and people who value reducing the environmental impact of travel. The campaign ran within event content such as recordings of famous concerts on YouTube, a James Bond content hub on Amazon Fire and during March Madness basketball games.

After seeing ads on TV, CTV and YouTube, audiences were retargeted on social media platforms to connect with ticketing websites.

The campaign contributed to a 156% increase in bookings and a 176% increase in return on ad spend, according to the agency.