Why “Creative” Replaced Targeting as Performance Marketing’s Growth Engine

For years, performance marketing success was driven by precision targeting. Erin Kok, Associate Director of Performance Marketing at Klook, says that rule no longer applies.

“With Gen AI, creative is the new growth engine,” she explains. “Targeting used to be the lever, now, resonance is.”

Creative Is the New Growth Engine

For Klook’s global “The Best You” campaign, the team didn’t stop at one hero asset, they built 80 Gen-AI-driven ad variations, each localized and tailored to different audience interests.

The result: 1.6× engagement uplift and brand-lift scores exceeding travel benchmarks.

💡 Retail takeaway: Predictive AI has commoditized targeting. The new competitive edge lies in creative that speaks to shifting user mindsets — not in chasing the “perfect” audience segment.

The Human vs Machine Growth Test

How does Kok decide what to automate? “If a task builds machine efficiency, automate it. If it builds human skill, keep it.” Gen AI now handles high-volume creative scaling, while teams focus on storytelling, experimentation, and strategy that drive compounding returns.

💡 Retail takeaway: Automate volume, not vision. Let AI do the repetitive work so humans can focus on creative differentiation.

Skill Over Substance: The Dangerous Trap

Kok cautions that Gen AI is not plug-and-play. Without structured testing, brands risk producing flashy ads that overpromise and underdeliver. “The brands that will truly win long-term are those focused on substance over skill.”

Klook documents every prompt and iteration, turning experimentation into institutional knowledge and early access to innovations like Google’s Image-to-Video and TikTok AI Avatars.

💡 Retail takeaway: Competitive advantage doesn’t come from using the same tools — it comes from learning faster and applying AI with intent.

Building for Long-Term Growth

Kok’s perspective reframes what “performance” really means in the AI era. Growth now depends less on who targets best and more on who resonates fastest.

Watch the full interview with Erin Kok to see how Klook turns Gen AI from a buzzword into measurable creative performance.