115: Injecting AI Into Creativity with Pip Bingemann

Most people think AI is here to replace creatives, automating the magic out of advertising and turning strategists into button-pushers. Pip Bingemann thinks differently.  As co-founder and CEO of Springboards, he's built an AI platform that does something completely different: it accelerates human creativity instead of replacing it.

In this episode of The Marketing Umbrella Podcast, Pip shares the wild origin story of Springboards. How he and his wife, Amy Tucker, got laid off during the tech downturn, moved to a tiny beach town in Australia, and accidentally built a SaaS platform now used by over 250 agencies worldwide, including two of the ten biggest companies on the planet. What started as a freelance experiment teaching themselves to code became a full-blown mission to fight the biggest enemy of great work: mediocrity.

Pip breaks down why the "click button, get ad" approach to AI is fundamentally broken, why he genuinely hates the term "marketing science," and what it's really like to balance a high-growth startup with two young kids and a dog. Whether you're a strategist wondering if your job is safe, an agency leader trying to figure out where AI fits, or just someone who still believes great ideas matter, this conversation will change how you think about the future of creativity.

 

Here are the key takeaways from the conversation:

 

• AI should be a creative co-pilot, not a replacement. The best tools inject inspiration instead of automating everything.
• Stay flexible, even when you're sure you're right. Pip thought chat interfaces sucked, then ChatGPT got better. Being wrong is part of the game.
• Advertising is not a science. The obsession with instant performance and quarterly metrics is killing bold creative work.
• Build what frustrates you. Springboards was born from Pip's frustration with mediocre AI outputs. If you feel the pain, others do too.
• The hardest part isn't the tech. It's funding, hiring the right people, and keeping everyone aligned.
• Your network opens doors. Years of goodwill and relationships gave Pip and Amy early funding and credibility when they needed it most.
• A tool is only as good as who's using it. AI in the wrong hands produces garbage. Empowering the right people is what matters.

Closing thought: "Let's just inject it into a current process to help people explore more ideas. If you can help them explore more ideas, you're going to get better work."

Listen to the full conversation here:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@frintmedia
• Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-marketing-umbrella-podcast/id1564111428
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4CoiR10nazd9zVIStLkcjk

 

Connect with Pip:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pipbingemann/
• Springboards: https://springboards.ai/

Please leave us an honest rating on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.

To learn more about Umbrella and to connect with CEO Itamar Shafir, go to ⁠https://umbrellaus.com