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As part of the CES 2021 conference, IBM’s Bob Lord attended a panel discussion with executives from CVS and Delta to discuss the importance of marketers using advanced technologies like AI for social welfare and transforming the advertising industry. We sat down with him for a deeper dive.
Last year there was an almost unique focus for most companies and organizations: surviving the COVID-19 pandemic. How have advanced technologies like AI helped you tackle this moment?
bob: We’ve seen the tremendous power AI can have to transform the way industries work – everything from banking to healthcare. And as the pandemic has dramatically changed the way we work, shop and interact, AI has played an important role in helping companies adapt to unprecedented challenges. For example, retailers had to find a way to sell things without being able to open their stores. Restaurants had to find ways to feed people without their dining rooms. Large companies like IBM had to find ways to remove tens of thousands of employees from the office and set them up for remote work.
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Without advanced technologies like AI, none of these transitions would have been feasible in the given timeframe. From chatbots and natural language processing that helped companies meet the overwhelming demand, to AI-powered insights that help employers make informed decisions about re-entry into the workplace and facility management, advanced technologies like AI have been more critical Importance of addressing the most pressing issues raised during the pandemic. Looking ahead to the post-pandemic, we believe these technologies will also play a role in helping companies rethink their organizations and break the cycle of archaic technologies that don’t meet today’s needs.
Are there areas where AI has the potential to play an even bigger role?
bob: We believe that the advertising and media industry will play an increasingly important role when it comes to the use of AI and its application to pressing societal problems. From the challenges of misinformation to the need to promote and empower public health, advertising-driven education will be vital to bringing the pandemic to an end. And with advertising being turned upside down by constant changes to traditional identifiers and tightened data protection regulations, AI is key to the complete transformation of the media and marketing industry. Imagine being able to quickly and continuously evaluate all kinds of data, discover patterns and make predictions – all while privacy comes first? That’s the potential of AI.
You mention “breaking the cycle” in advertising. What does that mean?
bob: The advertising industry has been in a vicious circle for almost a decade and relies on the same traditional identifiers and cookies. When we say “break the cycle” we mean we’re making significant changes to better connect a marketer with their consumer in an open way that prioritizes privacy and addresses four key areas:
- Dependence on the walled gardens
- Trust in cookies
- Over-targeting of consumers
- Tech fees for unnecessary services
AI is key to breaking the cycle and moving the industry forward. With AI in advertising, brands can, for example, use anonymized public or activated data that marketers and publishers can access and gain insights that enable a mutually beneficial exchange of value with consumers. Done on a large scale, these are the practices that will revive and restore confidence in the advertising industry.
How should brands use AI in their advertising? Can AI-based ads still be creative?
bob: AI is one of the most powerful tools in the world to increase human creativity. I’ll give you an example. Last June, as protests against racial injustice spread rapidly across the country, the Ad Council used the IBM Watson Advertising Accelerator to launch the Love Has No Labels campaign to promote diversity, equality and inclusion for all Educate people and make them aware of them.
Accelerator uses AI to better understand a variety of different data sets, which it uses to then serve a unique ad unit with the most welcoming creative. In the case of Love Has No Labels, Accelerator assembled more than 81 unique ad variations in near real-time, encouraging viewers to be biased and encourage inclusion. By ensuring that the messages were more tailored to the recipient, the campaign resulted in a 113% performance increase from start to finish, which ultimately resulted in a 69% increase in conversations on the resources on the Love Has No Labels website. led.
In a climate where misinformation travels faster than real information and where trust is badly needed, the industry has an incredible opportunity to use technology in strong, socially positive ways. AI in particular can make this easier and break the status quo.
What are you most hoping for in 2021?
bob: I hope that we will use this moment to think about what has not served our industry. Instead of sticking to existing practices, now is the time to break the cycle of continuing to do the same things, use the same technologies, work the same old ways, and expect different results at the same time. Whether it’s ending the pandemic or tackling the problems of the future from climate change to food shortages, AI can help us get there.
Read the original article posted on the IBM Newsroom blog.
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