Interpublic Group (IPG), a global marketing services giant, has forged a strategic partnership with AI startup Aaru to elevate its campaign planning with AI-driven predictive simulations. This development marks a significant leap in data-informed marketing, offering brands a faster, smarter way to tailor creative assets and messaging to diverse audience segments.
A Transformative Partnership
Under the collaboration, IPG will integrate Aaru’s AI simulations into its Interact platform, allowing marketers to anticipate how audiences might respond to campaigns—before they go live. The simulations are grounded in human behavior modeling, enabling teams to test creative concepts, brand narratives, earned media, and even influencer activations across hypothetical scenarios.
Aaru’s AI operates on a multi-agent infrastructure, where thousands of virtual human profiles—trained on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data—simulate real-world audience reactions. This capacity to model responses in advance helps IPG to identify predictive performance triggers, optimize messaging, and reduce guesswork.
Data Meets Creativity
IPG sees Aaru’s simulations as an augmentation—not a replacement—for creative talent. As Aaru founder Cameron Fink puts it: “We move the needle for creatives, not replace them.” By placing predictive insights at the outset of campaign design, marketing teams can focus on creative nuance, guided by real-time feedback curves.
The collaboration also deepens IPG’s data capabilities by using Aaru’s insights to enhance Acxiom’s strengths in identity resolution and audience segmentation. Together, these tools help IPG forecast who is most likely to convert, upsell, re-engage, or respond positively to campaign alternatives.
Campaign Design, Accelerated
The combined technology will become a native feature within IPG’s Interact platform—allowing users to run simulations while designing marketing assets and workflows. The rollout includes immersive Simulation Studio Sessions, where clients can engage directly with real-time simulations demonstrating how campaigns might perform across global markets.
IPG Chief Solutions Officer Jayna Kothary, who will join Aaru’s advisory board, calls this a significant shift. “Aaru’s predictive simulations empower us to be proactive—optimising campaigns on the fly and delivering personalised experiences that resonate.”
IPG’s CEO Philippe Krakowsky lauds the move as a "distinct competitive advantage," driven by the convergence of AI speed and Acxiom's data richness. The goal: turn creative uncertainty into campaign precision with unprecedented speed.
Industry Momentum Builds
Already piloted across financial services, healthcare, and consumer brands, the partnership has shown early signs of stronger campaign performance. With predictive simulations, IPG hopes to streamline campaign validation, reduce media waste, and sustain creative momentum from strategy through execution.
Marketing leaders are increasingly leaning toward AI not just for analytics, but for foresight. Interactive simulations align with this trend, enabling brands to test and adjust messaging before release—closing the gap between creativity and effectiveness.
Context in a Competitive Landscape
IPG’s move follows the advertising industry’s push toward AI-led decision-making. The upcoming merger between IPG and Omnicom underscores the need for unified operational platforms. With AI tools like Aaru embedded in core systems, large agencies can drive efficiency and scale across campaigns and geographies.
As AI influences more marketing workflows, firms that embed prediction into design—rather than retrofitting analytics afterward—may gain a lasting edge.
Upholding Ethics in AI
Aaru emphasizes an “ethics-first” approach: all AI models are trained only on licensed datasets. This addresses growing concerns about data sourcing, bias, and compliance. Ethical model development is core to IPG’s brand and a key reason for choosing Aaru as a partner.
What’s Next?
Pending full integration, the partnership is expected to expand across IPG’s global client base, across media types and channels. The Simulation Studio rollout will continue refinement of both technology and workflow practices—pushing predictive simulation from novelty to industry standard.
If successful, IPG and Aaru’s work could set a new precedent: creative campaigns that are informed, optimized, and delivered in real time, based on simulated audience insights.