# How Gen built a 12-part YouTube series with generative AI in 3 months-and reinvested $1M in what comes next > Gen built a 12-part YouTube series with AI in under three months, calling out holiday scams with a cheeky bot, Deceivus. They saved $1M and put it back into quality. - Type: AI news - Page: https://completeaitraining.com/news/how-gen-built-a-12-part-youtube-series-with-generative-ai/ - Published: 2025-12-24 - Updated: 2026-02-18 - Author: Jeroen Erne - Jobs: Marketing - Reading time: 3 min ### How Gen built a 12-part YouTube series with generative AI in three months Cybersecurity firm Gen produced a full YouTube campaign - "The Twelve Days of Scam-mas" - entirely with generative AI. Twelve shorts, released like an advent calendar, each one tackling a holiday scam with a mischievous robot character, Deceivus, who is thwarted by Gen's security tools. The punchline for marketers: what used to take nine to twelve months was done in under three. The team estimates around $1M in production savings - with a clear stance that those savings should be reinvested to push quality and performance higher. #### The creative idea: education with a character and a clock Each short spotlights a seasonal scam: sketchy ecommerce sites, [Social Media](https://completeaitraining.com/tag/social-media/) cons, and even already-claimed gift cards. The series pairs emotion with utility - it's timely, useful, and memorable, not just another "be careful" email. This approach feels right for a crowded December feed and helps distinguish Gen's family of brands (Norton, AVG, and LifeLock by Norton) with a lighter, more approachable voice around cyber safety. If your audience faces recurring seasonal threats, this format travels well. For context on holiday scams many consumers face, see the FTC's guidance [here](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/holiday-scams?ref=completeaitraining.com). #### "AI at the center, humans around it" Gen's CMO Krista Todd pushes a simple mandate: AI is the core engine, and human strategy and taste shape the final output. That mindset turned a big idea into shippable work - fast. - Speed: concept to final video in under three months. - Scale: a 12-episode arc built entirely with generative tools. - Savings: ~ $1M redirected from production to learning and quality. #### How Gen accelerated adoption without losing the plot - Show-and-tell sessions: teams share what worked, what broke, and why. - Tool exploration at breadth: 40+ AI tools in rotation, no long contracts, keep what solves real problems. - Cross-brand collaboration: small teams build, then syndicate learnings across Norton, AVG, and LifeLock by Norton. - Clear principle on budgets: don't "give savings back" - reinvest in better performance and higher quality. #### Why this creative lands - Emotion + timing: a character (Deceivus) makes risk feel relatable, right when scams spike. - Utility first: each short teaches one practical behavior to avoid loss. - Distinctive brand memory: consistent character and tone across episodes creates recall. - Category contrast: a lighter voice stands out in a space known for fear-based messaging. #### A fast, repeatable playbook for marketers - Pick a seasonal problem your audience actually feels. Keep it narrow and time-boxed. - Create a simple character or motif as the anchor. Consistency scales faster than variety. - Write with AI, edit with humans: use generative models for first drafts, then tighten for brand voice and clarity. - Prototype visually in days, not weeks. Lock tone and format early, then batch episodes. - Ship like an event: release cadence, clear hooks, and a daily teachable moment. - Treat savings as R&D: reinvest into testing formats, improving prompts, and upgrading model quality. #### Tooling and guardrails that keep you fast and safe - Stack diversity: keep multiple models and creative tools in play; swap out anything that stalls output. - Rights and compliance: confirm licenses for voices, music, and imagery; document AI usage where required. - Brand safety: human review on claims, tone, and character consistency before publishing. - Knowledge sharing: a short internal debrief after each episode - what to repeat, what to cut. #### The leadership message "AI is going to take your job - it's going to take your job to the next level." That line from Krista Todd sums up the operating model. AI does the heavy lift; humans set the direction, add taste, and push the work from acceptable to memorable. #### If you're building an AI-ready marketing team Upskill your team so they can move from experiments to repeatable systems. A focused path for marketers is here: [AI Certification for Marketing Specialists](https://completeaitraining.com/certification/12b-ai-certification-for-marketing-specialists/). Leaders driving cross-team adoption can follow the [AI Learning Path for Business Unit Managers](https://completeaitraining.com/learningpath/ai-for-business-unit-managers/) to align strategy and execution. The takeaway is simple: put AI at the center, keep humans accountable for strategy and quality, and treat every dollar saved as fuel for the next leap in performance. --- This is the Markdown form of https://completeaitraining.com/news/how-gen-built-a-12-part-youtube-series-with-generative-ai/. The whole site is mapped at https://completeaitraining.com/llms.txt.