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The era of generative AI: Driving transformation in financial services

By
Grace Cooper
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The era of generative AI: Driving transformation in financial services

This week we are joining financial professionals at the Sibos 2023 conference on September 18 to 21, 2023 to discuss how we can tackle global challenges using the power of partnerships and technology. Today, I had a fireside chat with Dmitri Sedov, Global Group Head of Data Intelligence at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). We shared how we are reshaping the future of global finance through our 10-year strategic partnership. 

Financial markets are changing rapidly, creating new challenges and opportunities for all participants. For our customers, there is demand for the right data at the right time with reduced complexity and increased flexibility. LSEG’s comprehensive data and analytics and Microsoft’s trusted and secure global cloud platform and AI capabilities enable us to co-innovate solutions for the financial markets eco-system. These innovations will evolve how customers gain value from their data to unlock opportunities by combining LSEG’s data and content sources in Microsoft Fabric, integrated into the enterprise-wide data catalog and governance framework of Microsoft Purview.

Innovating to meet customer needs 

Analytics and modeling are now critical to success as the increasing demand for diverse data fuels business decisions and drives the need for a simplified approach that meets business needs. In addition, as regulations become more quantitative, it has created substantial challenges in terms of lost time and capital for customers who don’t have the necessary data and analytics infrastructure in place.   

Historically, Microsoft provided our horizontal cloud platforms to our customers such as solutions for developers—Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Teams, notably among them—while LSEG separately delivered financial market infrastructure, data, and analytics. The burden largely fell on our mutual customers to map those building blocks to their business problems and to bring these assets together in a coherent way. That forced our customers to bear the cost and complexity of this integration. 

With our partnership, we seek to help our customers climb the value chain by bringing these complementary assets together. We will transform financial services workflows to help finance and investment professionals improve decisions, communications, and productivity while maintaining regulatory compliance. Together we will offer customers a simpler and more connected solution with:   

  • Cloud-based data architecture that consolidates LSEG datasets on one, flexible infrastructure that is simple, responsive, and efficient, and built to meet the data needs of the enterprise. 
  • Cloud analytics and modeling services built on Microsoft Azure Machine Learning. 
  • A comprehensive security approach enabling preventative and detective controls to meet the security, privacy, and compliance needs of this regulated industry.

Customers will be able to use the combination of Microsoft Fabric powered by LSEG data, analytics, and data management capabilities to enhance their workflow and bring greater efficiency and productivity to their organizations. To bring that to life, you can see in this workflow illustration how LSEG and Microsoft’s collaboration will drive significant productivity by simplifying the whole process of finding, managing, and distributing massive content sets.  

Speaking about enhancing productivity, we also discussed how the LSEG-Microsoft partnership will evolve the customer experience at-scale across global financial markets to deliver the most advanced, easily accessible financial data and insights through: 

  • A single point of access to financial markets data that reduces time and cost for financial institutions to discover, integrate, manage, share, and derive insights from petabytes of financial and alternative data. 
  • Intelligent analytics solutions that reduce the time and cost for creating, distributing, and running complex analytic models across APIs and through the Microsoft productivity suite. 
  • An integrated financial services workspace that empowers customers to make informed decisions with confidence and greater speed through seamless workflows and increased productivity. 

The uniqueness of this partnership is in LSEG’s data and analytics, coupled with the Microsoft cloud platform, data platform, and Microsoft 365 collaboration suite. In this way, we meet customers where they are, while creating vertical industry value. Unifying data with Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services can make data and analytics much easier to discover and use—whether that is finding pricing analytics in Excel, connecting with counterparties through Microsoft Teams, or using Microsoft 365 Copilot in Microsoft productivity apps to access LSEG financial markets data. Together, we will benefit customers by increasing productivity while offering greater efficiency, resilience, and scalability across all workflows. 

Moving ahead with generative AI 

The benefits of AI and machine learning have accelerated the rate of change in financial innovation enabling frictionless customer experiences, empowering employees to apply their creativity and talent rather than focusing on tedious work while enabling deeper insights to drive better decisions.

AI enables technology to understand and speak the language of industry. Generative AI will enable organizations to better take advantage of technology, collapsing data barriers and decoding the complex landscape of macroeconomics, markets, and regulations. 

“Microsoft AI improves the way we work, and we are making AI tools a better fit for financial services. We are combining Microsoft’s dependable and scalable infrastructure with the breadth and depth of LSEG’s trusted high-quality data and IP safeguards. Together we are shaping a future where technology supercharges our customers’ workflows and insights reliably, effectively, and responsibly.“

—Dmitri Sedov, Global Group Head, LSEG Data Intelligence. 

Microsoft AI tools are making work easier, and LSEG is making AI more valuable to financial services. AI is only as good as the quality of the data it consumes. LSEG brings a unique capability to demonstrate data trust with a breadth and depth of aggregated, cleaned, and codified financial markets data as well as extensive data management knowledge and understanding of what regulators and the world’s largest financial institutions need. These capabilities sit alongside Microsoft’s Responsible AI commitments, including our recently announced Copilot Copyright Commitment to protect our customers from copyright claims arising from their use of our copilots.

The benefit of AI for customers and clients will be in how quickly and easily they can access the right data to generate insights with AI that are both reliable and relevant to the task at hand.

Microsoft Fabric and the embedded generative AI capabilities in Fabric present another great transformation for financial services. Microsoft Fabric will be the cornerstone of LSEG’s Data Platform, and their financial markets intelligence will help enable the financial markets ecosystem to leverage generative AI and other capabilities. We will also use AI to address the data discoverability challenge itself by using AI models to better understand user preferences, predictively surfacing relevant data, and categorizing vast datasets into intuitive segments. All of LSEG’s data available through Microsoft Fabric will also be published in Microsoft Purview, enabling this data to be discovered in the enterprise data catalog and governed centrally alongside other proprietary and commercially acquired data sets.

LSEG’s quantitative and engineering talent and proven ability to provide the right data for the financial services community bring the credible expertise needed to ensure generative AI provides the optimal yet secure experience for our customers. There is a profound opportunity for our customers to unlock new value and we are excited to deliver this value together with LSEG. 

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Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services

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Maryland lawmakers announce $120 million investment in mental health services for students

By
Grace Cooper
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0
Maryland lawmakers announce 0 million investment in mental health services for students

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland officials on Tuesday highlighted the availability of $120 million in grants for behavioral and mental health services to help K-12 students over the next year and a half.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, described the funding as a historic investment that is critical to the state’s 900,000 school children at a time when kids are facing the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on learning and socialization.

“We can’t just put it all on teachers. We can’t just put it all on principals,” said Ferguson, a former high school teacher. “We need the supports that are in the community to come into the school buildings and work in partnership to really provide the level of engagement and support that kids need to be their best selves.”

Ferguson made the announcement with Laura Herrera Scott, the state’s health secretary, and members of the Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, a 25-member panel that has been working on developing a statewide framework to expand access to services for students.

The grants have been set aside to provide counseling, as well as behavioral health services in school and in communities.

Herrera Scott said the idea is for schools to partner with community-based providers to deliver services before children and their families are in crisis.

“We envision a system that operates as a seamless health care continuum that includes prevention, primary behavioral health care, culturally competent crisis services and addresses ongoing mental health and substance abuse needs that support children and help them thrive in their communities and their schools,” the health secretary said.

Del. Eric Ebersole, a Baltimore County Democrat who worked as a teacher in the county for 35 years, described the funding as a first step in efforts to expand access to high-quality mental health and wraparound services outside of schools.

“The community partnerships that we’re forming and are strengthening through this process will ensure that we’re connecting to — and in some cases creating — innovative and collaborative ways to improve the behavioral health of our children and by default improve their education,” Ebersole said.

David Rudolph, a former state legislator who is chairing the consortium, said it’s hoped grants will begin to be awarded in December.

“We encourage service providers throughout the state to be involved and working with the school system so that we can address what I consider the No. 1 issue facing our young people today and that’s the mental and behavioral health that they’re facing in our school systems,” Rudolph said.

Also visit : https://www.denti-e-sorrisi.com

ID5 Collaborates with Microsoft Advertising to Empower Publishers to Embrace the Cookieless Era

By
Grace Cooper
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0
ID5 Collaborates with Microsoft Advertising to Empower Publishers to Embrace the Cookieless Era

ID5, the identity solution specialist, today (September 20th, 2023) announced a new collaboration with Microsoft Advertising using Microsoft Monetise, one of the largest supply platforms in the industry. 

Microsoft Monetise is now distributing the ID5 ID, the most adopted ID on the publisher side according to independent source sincera.io, to better support their publishers’ addressability goals. The collaboration aims to empower publishers as they navigate the challenges of the cookieless era while enhancing their ability to effectively monetise audiences. 

With the impending phasing out of third-party cookies and the growing emphasis on user privacy, publishers face the critical task of finding innovative ways to deliver personalised ads without compromising consumer trust. In response to this challenge, Universal IDs have emerged as a key alternative to empower publishers to navigate cookieless environments effectively. Supply-side platforms play an integral role in the adoption of Universal IDs, by aiding media owners to generate demand for cookieless traffic and distributing Universal IDs to the buy side.  

This collaboration empowers publishers using Microsoft Monetise to enhance the addressability of their cookieless inventory, thereby increasing its appeal to potential buyers. This will enable media owners to bolster their monetisation efforts today in cookieless environments like Safari, while simultaneously preparing for the anticipated sunset of cookies in Chrome by 2024.

As consumer concerns around privacy grow, it is imperative to develop and implement alternatives that put data protection at the forefront. ID5’s Universal ID was designed with the GDPR in mind. In practice, this cookieless identifier respects users’ privacy preferences and enforces them in the advertising value chain. ID5’s universal ID encryption mechanism also ensures that publishers’ data is protected and only accessible by their monetisation partners.

“The collaboration with Microsoft Advertising is set to further increase the availability of the ID5 in Microsoft Monetise enabling more buyers to access publishers’ valuable audiences in Safari and Firefox today and across all browsers in 2024,” said Mathieu Roche, co-founder and CEO at ID5. “We want to equip publishers with the tools they need to confidently embrace the cookieless landscape, and build valuable audience connections with integrity,” added Roche.

Ewa Maciukiewicz, principal group product manager, Microsoft added, “The collaboration with ID5 reinforces our commitment to empowering publishers with solutions that align with evolving consumer privacy expectations. With Microsoft Monetise, we are keen to deliver impactful solutions that cater to both the present and future privacy-centric advertising landscape.”

The ID5 and Microsoft Advertising collaboration signals a new era that aims to drive growth, innovation, and sustainability within the digital advertising ecosystem. Publishers can anticipate a seamless transition to the cookieless landscape and a renewed ability to connect with their audiences while respecting their privacy.

The CDC Uses Digital Advertising To Reframe The Narrative Around Flu Vaccines

By
Grace Cooper
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0
The CDC Uses Digital Advertising To Reframe The Narrative Around Flu Vaccines

In the past few years, flu vaccination rates have decreased by 16 percentage points for pregnant people and seven percentage points for children.

It’s a worrying public health trend. Pregnant people and children younger than five are among those at elevated risk for severe flu cases, hospitalization and death.

To combat the pervasive misperception, amplified online, that the flu vaccine doesn’t work, and to reach these high-risk populations in areas with historically higher caseloads and low flu vaccination coverage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a digital flu vaccine campaign in early September.

The “Wild to Mild” campaign aims to “reframe the discussion and expectations” around what the flu vaccine can and can’t do, said Erin Burns, associate director for communications for the CDC’s Influenza Division.

The messaging emphasizes how a flu shot can “tame” flu’s symptoms, taking them “from wild to mild.” The visual assets juxtapose wild animals against nonthreatening counterparts, like a shark and a goldfish, a tiger and a kitten or a grizzly bear and a stuffed teddy.

The medium is the message

In the CDC’s focus groups, people talked about how they still got sick after going in for a flu shot.

“People become discouraged and subsequently don’t get vaccinated again,” Burns said. But while the flu vaccine can prevent infection, its main strength is reducing the severity of an infection.

The campaign, which will run through the end of January, targets pregnant people and parents with paid placements in the digital environments where they’re spending time and seeking out health information, according to Burns.

While the federal agency is primarily running ads on Facebook and Instagram, it’s also producing a series of digital radio spots for Pandora, running search ads and looking to collaborate with Peanut, an app for pregnant women. The CDC doesn’t have a TikTok presence, but it’s working with a vetted group of microinfluencers to share the campaign message on their channels.

To allay any concerns about vaccines, the CDC found influencers to speak candidly about their personal experiences with the flu vaccine and why they chose to vaccinate themselves and their kids. The agency also addressed some of the main concerns “upfront in our messaging,” Burns said.

For instance, many expectant parents are apprehensive about their baby’s safety, so the CDC focused on the message that flu vaccines, safely administered to millions of pregnant women for more than 50 years, have “a very good safety record,” Burns said.

The messaging also stresses that a flu vaccine during pregnancy grants babies immunity to the flu for the first few months after birth, when they’re too young to receive their own vaccines. This information came as a surprise to many focus group participants.

“It was eye-opening for them,” Burns said. “They’re like, wow, if this is something that’s going to protect and help my baby, I would reconsider my decision not to get vaccinated.”

Calling the shots

The CDC tested four concepts with supporting text in its focus groups before settling on the “Wild to Mild” concept.

Scare tactics and “wording that comes off as shaming or judgmental” didn’t land with focus group participants, Burns said. Early on, the agency ruled out one ad option because it evoked a “visceral reaction” from parents, she said, who “felt like they were being told that if they hadn’t vaccinated their children, then they weren’t good parents.”

The remaining three concepts all tested fairly well, but the winning concept presented new information that felt “motivating” and “truthful” to focus group participants, Burns said. Also, the CDC came across as “forthright and transparent” in this creative option, making the participants feel better about the agency as a whole.

The CDC could use the brand lift – and the goodwill.

The past three years have seen a “tarnishing of public perception” of the institution, Burns said. Increasingly, people have reacted to the CDC and other government organizations with cynicism and lack of trust.

The CDC plans to measure not only performance metrics for its flu campaign, like reach, click-through rate and time spent on the designated CDC landing page, but also the quality of the engagement.

Often when the CDC engages on social media, “professional anti-vaxxers who spend their time trying to torpedo vaccines” take over the discussion, and it turns negative very quickly, Burns said.

But the tone tends to be markedly more positive in response to content from microinfluencers, who are “already trusted spokespeople,” she said. The CDC was so struck by the success of its microinfluencer pilot last year that it expanded the program.

“We’re continually looking at where we’re getting the most bang for our buck in terms of paid placements and refining that to find the greatest efficiencies,” Burns said.

In addition, the CDC is translating the campaign into Spanish and considering A/B testing different versions of the creative to ensure it resonates with Spanish-speaking audiences. For instance, how much does the rhyme in the “Wild to Mild” campaign slogan really matter? “You want it to be colloquial, but you also want it to be accurate,” Burns said.

Accuracy is everything for this campaign. Getting it right – finessing the information, the tone, the wording and the presentation to draw people in, not alienate them – is a matter of life and death.

Since flu deaths in kids are “nationally notifiable,” the CDC receives a report every time a pediatric death occurs.

“As a mom myself, to see those is heartbreaking,” Burns said. “And as much as possible, the hope is that this campaign will help people make a decision that prevents those kinds of tragic events.”

Soaring PPC Tools Market Boosts Advertising

By
Grace Cooper
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0
Soaring PPC Tools Market Boosts Advertising

A comprehensive analysis of the global Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Tools market indicates a promising growth potential in the upcoming years. The market’s value, initially evaluated at USD million in 2022, is expected to reach USD million by 2030. This growth is driven by an increasing demand for effective online advertising strategies and the need for businesses to efficiently attract their target audiences. Innovations in PPC tools, offering better insights and optimization capabilities, are expected to fuel the market’s expansion further during the 2023 to 2030 forecast period.

Competitor Strategies, Sales Data, and Market Dynamics

The extensive study covers various factors, including trends in competitor strategies, sales data, customer demographics, production expenses, and distribution channels. Additionally, it evaluates the growth drivers of prominent industry players such as iSpionage, Leadpages, WordStream, AdEspresso (HootSuite), Buzzsumo, CallRail, Microsoft, and Unbounce. The research also examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector and offers projections up to 2030.

In-Depth Analysis and Key Insights

An in-depth analysis of the collected data yields valuable insights, enabling businesses to formulate more effective marketing and expansion strategies in today’s competitive landscape. Furthermore, the report highlights the resilience and adaptability of major industry players when faced with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, their ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities as the market evolves is emphasized.

Market Segmentation and Industry Applications

The report explores multiple segments of the PPC Tools market, comprising PPC Management Tools, PPC Keyword and Competitor Research Tools, PPC Call Tracking Tools, PPC Analysis Tools, and PPC Landing Page Tools. Industry applications range from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large corporations. The study highlights key players in the market, their product offerings, and strategic partnerships shaping the competitive landscape.

The report also identifies emerging trends and technological advancements driving innovation in the PPC Tools industry. Crucial insights from the global Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Tools market report include market size projections, market trends and dynamics, and the impact of macroeconomic factors and regional conflicts on market segments. Furthermore, regional market assessments and country-level studies are provided.

Recommendations and Competitive Landscape Evaluation

Valuable recommendations for market players are offered, alongside a detailed evaluation of the competitive landscape. The report also covers critical insights into mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations. Additionally, prevalent innovative technologies and strategies adopted by key industry players are highlighted, addressing challenges and potential growth opportunities within the PPC Tools market.

Global Inflation and Russia-Ukraine Conflict Effects

The report discusses the influence of global inflation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Tools market. Additionally, the analysis stresses the need for advertisers to adapt their approaches in response to these macroeconomic factors to ensure continued growth and stability within the market. As the global situation evolves, businesses must stay informed of emerging trends to make informed decisions and optimize the effectiveness of their digital advertising campaigns.

Market Value, Sales Volume, and Regional Prospects

The analysis delves into market value and sales volume by type and application, along with regional market scenarios and prospects in key regions such as North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Furthermore, the article elaborates on the competitive landscape by providing in-depth information about prominent industry players, their market share, product offerings, and business strategies. It also emphasizes recent developments, potential growth drivers, and upcoming opportunities that may significantly impact overall market growth shortly.

In conclusion, the provided analysis offers crucial information and insights for stakeholders and businesses wishing to capitalize on the growth opportunities of the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Tools market and adapt to the evolving market dynamics. As the digital landscape continues to expand, understanding the key aspects of the PPC tools market is more important than ever to optimize marketing strategies and achieve improved ROI. By staying informed about the latest industry trends and developments, stakeholders can make informed decisions and ultimately gain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving world of online advertising.

What is driving the growth of the global PPC Tools market?

The growth of the global PPC Tools market is driven by an increasing demand for effective online advertising strategies, the need for businesses to efficiently attract their target audiences, and innovations in PPC tools offering better insights and optimization capabilities.

Who are the prominent industry players in the PPC Tools market?

Some prominent industry players include iSpionage, Leadpages, WordStream, AdEspresso (HootSuite), Buzzsumo, CallRail, Microsoft, and Unbounce.

Which market segments are explored in the report?

The report explores multiple segments of the PPC Tools market, including PPC Management Tools, PPC Keyword and Competitor Research Tools, PPC Call Tracking Tools, PPC Analysis Tools, and PPC Landing Page Tools.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the PPC Tools market?

The report examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Tools market and highlights the resilience and adaptability of major industry players when faced with challenges posed by the pandemic.

The report identifies emerging trends and technological advancements driving innovation in the PPC Tools industry, including new tools and optimization capabilities that help businesses improve their online advertising strategies and target their audiences more effectively.

How does the Russia-Ukraine conflict influence the PPC Tools market?

The report discusses the influence of global inflation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Tools market, stressing the need for advertisers to adapt their approaches in response to these macroeconomic factors to ensure continued growth and stability within the market.

Why is understanding the PPC Tools market crucial for businesses and stakeholders?

Understanding the PPC Tools market is crucial for businesses and stakeholders to capitalize on growth opportunities, optimize marketing strategies, achieve improved ROI, and gain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving world of online advertising.

First Reported on: benzinga.com
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Jonas Horsch; Pexels; Thank you!

 

Starbucks Facing Lawsuit Because Mango Refreshers Don’t Contain Real Mango—Latest Fast Food Advertising Case

By
Grace Cooper
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0
Starbucks Facing Lawsuit Because Mango Refreshers Don’t Contain Real Mango—Latest Fast Food Advertising Case

Topline

Starbucks must face a lawsuit arguing it has violated consumer protection laws by misleading customers into believing its popular “refresher” drinks contain all of the fruits in their names, a judge ruled last week, marking the latest lawsuit over food advertising techniques.

Key Facts

The class action lawsuit filed in New York District Court argues that Starbucks is able to charge more for its “refreshers”—a line of fruit drinks made with green coffee extract, water and fruit juice—because customers have been tricked into falsely thinking the Mango Dragonfruit, Strawberry Açaí and Pineapple Passionfruit drinks contain real mango, açaí and passion fruit (the drinks do contain real dragonfruit, strawberry and pineapple, though).

The plaintiffs say they “paid a premium price”—refreshers usually cost between $3.95 and $5.95—based on their reliance that the drinks contained what was in their name; plaintiff Joan Kominis, who initially sued last year, said she wouldn’t have purchased a refresher or would’ve paid less if she knew it only partially contained real fruit; the original lawsuit alleged at least $5 million in damages, according to Reuters.

Starbucks requested the case be dismissed by arguing in part that “no reasonable consumer would be misled by the products’ names into thinking that the products contain the missing fruit,” that the drink names described the flavors rather than the ingredients and that baristas could clear up confusion for customers.

U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan denied Starbucks’ request, determining the plaintiffs—Kominis and Jason McAllister of New York and California, respectively—adequately alleged that “a significant portion of the general consuming public could be misled by the names of the at-issue beverages,” according to the ruling.

He wrote that because some Starbucks drinks are named after what they actually contain—like an iced matcha latte containing matcha—it’s reasonable to assume the refreshers would contain the fruits in their names.

Cronan did dismiss two of the 11 claims brought by the plaintiffs: a fraud claim alleging Starbucks intended to defraud consumers and an unjust enrichment claim, which was dismissed because he said it was “entirely duplicative of [Plaintiffs’] other claims.”

In a statement to Forbes, a Starbucks spokesperson said, “The allegations in the complaint are inaccurate and without merit. We look forward to defending ourselves against these claims.”

Key Background

This is not the first time a food company has faced a lawsuit over its advertising practices alleging it’s promising more than is delivered. Louis Tompros, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, said earlier this month that sometimes these cases keep advertisers honest and “serve an important purpose,” but they can also be opportunistic. Arby’s, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and more have all faced class action suits alleging that they falsely represented the size of their products or amount of meat included. In July, a lawsuit was filed against Taco Bell alleging false advertising over the amount of food in the Mexican Pizza and Crunchwrap Supreme, saying the amount of ingredients in advertisements was “at least double” what customers received. Last month, Burger King was told it would have to face a lawsuit alleging its Whoppers were too small after trying to get it dismissed, similar to Starbucks.

Contra

In 2017, an appeals court dismissed a class-action settlement between Subway and plaintiffs over claims that Subway was misleading customers by selling footlong sandwiches that were less than a foot long. A customer sued after ordering a footlong and receiving a sandwich he said was 11 inches, and Subway settled and agreed to adopt quality control measures. An appeals judge called the case “utterly worthless” due to its tiny payments to aggrieved customers, Reuters reported, and said a class action case that only seeks “worthless benefits for the class and yields only fees for class counsel” should be dismissed.

Further Reading

ReutersStarbucks to face lawsuit claiming its fruit drinks are missing fruitU.S.‘Worthless’ Subway ‘Footlong’ sandwich settlement is thrown out: U.S. courtMORE FROM FORBESTaco Bell Sued For False Advertising Of Amount Of Filling In Crunchwraps, Mexican PizzasBy Molly BohannonMORE FROM FORBESBurger King Faces Lawsuit Over ‘Smaller Than Advertised’ Whoppers-As Customers Challenge Fast Food Giants Over Portion SizesBy Robert Hart

How AI Is Changing the Advertising Agency Business

By
Grace Cooper
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0
How AI Is Changing the Advertising Agency Business

As the generative-AI craze grips the corporate world, advertising agencies have been eager to demonstrate to their clients — and shareholders — their AI expertise and deep relationships with the likes of Google, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Microsoft.

As agencies guide the world’s biggest companies in adopting AI, they’re beginning to consider how their own businesses too are being disrupted by the technology, including what to automate, where to source AI talent from, and balance potential revenue uplift with business risks.

Some of these challenges, like avoiding copyright infringement issues and disclosing when content is AI-generated, are well-known — but the ad world is also facing a handful of new problems many hadn’t anticipated before.

Here are some of the newest challenges agency leadership teams are discovering as they race to lead AI in advertising.

Some ad agencies fear GPU shortages could delay client work

The rise of companies deploying artificial intelligence has led to a surge in demand for graphic processing units, or GPUs — chips that can process large amounts of data and media simultaneously and at speed. Companies are increasingly being divided into the GPU haves and have-nots.

For now, most agencies with demand for GPUs are simply renting compute power via their cloud service providers like Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure, and Google Cloud.

As Big Tech and VC-funded startups like OpenAI look to capture market share with case studies, agencies are reaping the benefits of this competitive environment, said Nick Coronges, global chief technology officer at the ad agency R/GA.

“The benefit for us is that this stuff is relatively cheap,” Coronges said.

But as the market matures, some agencies expect those prices to rise. And as agencies promise clients that they can rapidly generate thousands of creative assets using generative-AI, many will need to start sourcing their own compute.

If they aren’t planning for that now, they could find themselves at the back of the line amid monthslong waitlists, said Lewis Smithingham, svp of innovation at the digital agency Media.Monks. Already Media.Monks is booking GPUs six months in advance for some projects, he said.

“Agencies might find themselves being overcharged for use and purchase, or even more likely, they’ll realize they can’t deliver on their pricing because their in-house compute is out of date, or they underestimated the amount they need to produce the content they have promised,” Smithingham said.

Productivity gains from AI risk undercutting agency fees

Many agency bosses have touted the productivity efficiencies AI presents to their companies — from creating lists of search keywords to making tedious work like cataloging invoices less time-consuming.

But those productivity gains could also end up cutting agency fees.

Agencies typically charge on a “full-time equivalent,” or FTE model, based on the number of hours, equivalent to full-time employees, they spent working on a client’s business.

“With the level of automation now possible through generative AI, it does start to question how sustainable those traditional time and material based compensation models are” said Ryan Kangisser, managing partner for strategy at the consultancy MediaSense.

Analysts at the research firm Forrester have suggested that agencies may need to adapt from an FTE to HTE — “human plus technology equivalents.”

“What is being delivered is not simply human hours, it’s augmented human hours, processing, AI, and all that enriched with a lot of data and expertise,” said Jay Pattisal, vp and principal analyst at Forrester.

Agencies haven’t figured out what to do with the AI talent they’ve hired

Much like heads of digital, heads of mobile, and heads of programmatic before them, agency heads of AI are now having their time in the sun.

But once such AI talent is sourced, agencies are presented with another dilemma: Where in the organization should a “head of AI” sit? Most businesses have started with this being part of the chief technology officer or the IT department’s responsibilities, said Ruben Schreurs, chief strategy officer at the marketing consultancy Ebiquity.

Schreurs and other experts said the AI remit is much broader than technology alone, given the future business impact and the corresponding legal and compliance risks.

As the tech matures, more agencies will move to what Richard Robinson, managing director of the Xeim Engage consultancy describes as “a singular leader armed with the fiscal responsibility and decision-making authority to deliver the necessary recommendations and decisions on agency structure, culture, and purpose.”

FWD Insurance secures two international awards for Product Innovation and Global Marketing Campaigns

By
Grace Cooper
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0
FWD Insurance secures two international awards for Product Innovation and Global Marketing Campaigns

Business

FWD Life Insurance Plc. (“FWD Insurance”), has proudly clinched two prestigious awards on the global stage, recognising its achievements in product innovation and marketing campaigns. These accolades have been granted by two renowned international platforms: the Global Business Outlook and the International Finance Magazine. These acknowledgments further emphasise FWD Insurance’s dedication to spearheading innovative trends within the life insurance sector and offering customer-oriented solutions that resonate and propel industry growth.

Ms. Alisa Areepong, Chief Proposition Officer of FWD Insurance, shared, “We are immensely proud that FWD Insurance has been bestowed with 2 prestigious international awards from the United Kingdom: The Global Business Outlook Award 2023 for the Most Innovative Life Insurance Product in the CI Fixed Pay category and the International Finance Award 2023 for the Best Marketing Campaign in recognition of the FWD Modular Series campaign. Both awards validate the excellence of our innovative life insurance products, which are meticulously crafted through consumer research and data analysis to yield successful product innovations and marketing strategies. These endeavors are grounded in our customer-led approach, aligned with our unwavering vision of changing the way people feel about insurance.”   

The CI Fixed Pay with Lifelong Critical Illness Protection is the pioneering insurance plan of its kind that offers comprehensive life and critical illness protection. It stands out due to its distinctive early-stage critical illness coverage, enabling policyholders to waive premium payments while still enjoying uninterrupted coverage throughout the policy duration. Furthermore, it provides a lump-sum benefit of 25% of the sum assured upon the diagnosis of one of the four critical illnesses and covers any of the 19 critical illnesses from early to late stages up to 90 years of age. The success of the FWD Modular Series campaign has empowered customers to tailor their own insurance policies in a manner that aligns with their personal understanding of life. This is facilitated by the flexibility to extend, add to, customize, and arrange additional benefits and protections through the innovative FWD Modular Series products. The marketing initiative aimed to enhance awareness, establish effective communication, and engage consumers, targeting both online and offline channels. It even cleverly employed the Tangram symbol (a geometric puzzle) to eloquently convey the concept of the FWD Modular Series products.

The Global Business Outlook Award 2023 is organised by the Global Business Outlook magazine, while the International Finance Award 2023 is presented by the International Finance Magazine, a leading business and finance publication in the United Kingdom. These awards recognise exceptional achievements in expertise, innovation, industry excellence, and international recognition for outstanding businesses.

Source: Neo Target

Neo Target

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