AI for Media: How to Produce Data-Driven Storytelling
LCP Media’s Anthony Lin on how AI-driven media and real-time insights can boost engagement and keep marketing authentic.
Artificial intelligence is changing the landscape of media creation, and specialized fields such as multifamily marketing are adopting it at a fast pace. From virtual staging and automated video production to personalized content targeting, AI technologies enable marketers to produce more engaging, efficient and data-driven visual storytelling.
Anthony Lin, vice president of product at LCP Media, shares his insights with Multi-Housing News on how AI is transforming media preparation, the benefits and challenges it brings and how to harness these tools effectively while maintaining authenticity and compliance.
How has AI changed the way LCP Media personalizes marketing content for different audiences and property types? What are the main goals with AI-driven media—speed, quality, cost savings, or something else?
Lin: AI has made it easier for us to quickly create engaging, property-specific content that highlights what makes each space unique. With LCP Media’s TourBuilder Clips, AI can take a full virtual tour and automatically generate short video clips or GIFs that spotlight a property’s standout features—whether it’s a resort-style pool, modern kitchen, or cozy resident lounge.
Our goal with AI is to help create efficiencies to speed things up while also improving quality. AI has the potential to break the Iron Triangle of Service by enabling people to be more productive—so we can have our cake and eat it too.
How do you decide which parts of media preparation are best handled by AI versus humans? Where does human creativity or expertise outperform AI?
Lin: AI is similar to a human in that it needs to be trained to perform tasks effectively. That’s why it’s especially well-suited for repetitive workflows—once trained, it can handle them with speed, accuracy and consistency.
READ ALSO: Finding the AI-Human Touch Sweet Spot: Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
How do you ensure that AI-generated media reflects each client’s brand identity and doesn’t feel generic or artificial?
Lin: We make brand accuracy a priority in everything we create, even as we introduce AI into the process. The media used in TourBuilder is either captured on property to reflect each community’s real spaces and branding, or—when we’re producing 3D visualizations—developed by our in-house team of 3D designers working closely with clients. We follow their design plans, finishes and brand standards to ensure the final product looks exactly like the completed space. That level of detail is what makes our visuals feel real—not artificial or generic.
The way we use AI supports that standard, not replaces it. For example, TourBuilder Clips uses AI to automatically generate short-form videos and GIFs from completed virtual tours, giving clients ready-to-use content without altering the original brand visuals.
What challenges or pitfalls have you faced when deploying AI for media creation and marketing in real estate?
Lin: AI needs to learn, and it can only learn from the data that you provide it. One pitfall we’ve encountered while deploying AI is making sure it has a large enough dataset to make the right decisions.
Think of AI like a new team member. If you show them only a few examples of your brand or give vague instructions, they’ll struggle to produce work that fits. But if you provide detailed guidelines, lots of examples and clear directions, they’ll get it right much faster. AI works the same way—it needs the right inputs to deliver results that feel on-brand and accurate.
Based on your experience, what are the key dos and don’ts when using AI to create or edit images and videos for property marketing?
Lin: When it comes to using AI with media, it is very important not to introduce elements that do not exist, as this will misrepresent reality. It’s also crucial to have a large dataset that treats unique items differently. For example, when editing a photo, it’s not advisable to apply the same changes across the entire image. Instead, you should look at the different parts of the image and treat each accordingly. Lastly, it is important to continuously improve your dataset and training so it keeps up with industry changes.
What do you enjoy most about working with AI in multifamily real estate marketing? What is your favorite AI-driven marketing campaign or product you have worked on?
Lin: What I enjoy most about working with AI in the multifamily industry is the increased efficiency it brings and its ability to enhance the quality of content. One of the most exciting AI products I’ve worked on is our current project, presently in beta testing and to be released soon.
This tool is designed to close the quality gap between imagery captured with 360 cameras and those taken with professional DSLR equipment. It intelligently analyzes each image and applies targeted enhancements to specific elements, much like a professional photo editor would.
