ITG Brings Adobe Firefly Services Into Storyteq, Doubles Down on AI-Ready Content Operations

Inspired Thinking Group (ITG) is betting that the next phase of AI capability in marketing won't hinge on standalone tools, but whether those tools are embedded into the operational systems teams rely on day to day.

The company has announced it will integrate Adobe Firefly Services into Storyteq, its content marketing platform (CMP). The team say Firefly Services will enhance Storyteq’s existing AI capabilities, giving users seamless access to Adobe’s creative and generative AI models.

“As Storyteq becomes a foundational backbone to enable AI content management and automation, this integration with Adobe allows Storyteq users to incorporate Firefly Services’ generative AI capabilities and models to deliver a seamless experience.

“Adobe’s acknowledged strength in generative AI gives Storyteq users another great tool out of the box to help create better content faster, more cost-effectively and at scale,” said ITG CEO Andrew Swinand.

ITG's proprietary Halo Intelligence will be paired with Adobe Firefly’s generative AI and creative capabilities to help suggest the most effective content to engage customers, using AI data analysis. “Pairing Halo Intelligence with gen AI models such as Firefly means users are not only able to create more content for less but also create content that is optimised and personalised to every customer interaction,” added Andrew.

The integration will also “help drive efficiencies across areas such as content briefing, workflows, approvals and compliance”, says ITG, with Firefly Services set to enhance its global creative services as well as Storyteq itself.

The announcement lands alongside a second strand of third-party validation too. Gartner has named Storyteq a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for Digital Asset Management (DAM) for the second year running, following Gartner naming Storyteq a Leader in CMP. Of global vendors, ITG is now recognised as “#1 for Completeness of Vision” in both categories.

On the ‘Completeness of Vision’ axis, Gartner is essentially assessing how clearly a vendor understands where the market is going, and how well their strategy, product roadmap, and messaging align to what customers will need next, not just today.

In the same background, ITG points to a recent MIT report suggesting many AI projects fail because fragmented systems and workflows do not connect to daily marketing operations – a context it argues makes an AI-enabled content marketing platform backbone more critical.

For ITG clients, Storyteq’s CMP is that backbone, underpinned by an integrated DAM system. AI-enabled Smart Tagging categorises assets by visual elements and brand compliance, helping ensure assets are searchable and accessible to reduce duplicated efforts, maximise content usage and extract greater value from every asset created. Meanwhile, Halo Intelligence uses machine learning to analyse performance data and surface the right content for each channel and customer segment, unlocking highly personalised content delivery at scale.

The third strand of exciting news is organisational, with the recent appointment of Steve Shaw as chief product & technology officer at ITG and Storyteq. As a member of the executive board, Steve leads global product and technology R&D teams across a platform spanning Creative Automation (CA), DAM and CMP.

Steve began working alongside the original founders of Dotdigital when it was established in 1999, before heading technology for UK horseracing’s governing body. He later rejoined Dotdigital, where he led product and technology teams as the company reached $100m in ARR. He also holds certifications in ITIL, Lean Six Sigma, and PRINCE2, and is active in sustainability initiatives.

The throughline is continued dedication to delivering the hard stuff; an integration designed for day-to-day use, third-party validation, and a senior product hire to make it stick.