Sky Media, the sales arm of Sky has announced the launch of a new programmatic Creative Optimisation capability aimed at performance and response focused TV advertisers. In partnership with Adalyser and using Sky’s ability to directly link TV ad viewing and web activity, Programmatic Creative Optimisation dynamically matches the most suitable ad creative to the most responsive audience, all while the campaign is live. The optimisation tool looks at genre, channels, time-of-day, day of week, and automatically updates the spot schedule and creative deployed to optimise response. Ad selection is adapted based on message, product or call-to-action depending on campaign creative supplied. The tool does this as close to transmission as possible to ensure it’s using the latest and most relevant data. Sky Media has been testing the tool with brands and have seen campaign response rates increase by around 18% with the programmatic tool active. Sky’s Web Attribution tool is instrumental to this as it can link spot placements to website activity and purchases. With this knowledge, an airtime schedule can be adapted to deliver the most effective campaign for clients. As an example, one creative may work better in the daytime, versus another in peak; or one call-to-action may drive a better result from viewers of food programming or Sky Arts, while another works better for motoring content and Sky Sports.
The Evening Standard has announced the return and expansion of SME XPO, the exhibition and conference dedicated entirely to SME founders and leaders, for its third year. SME XPO in 2024 will see 30% more exhibitors on the show floor and a 50 percent rise in visitor numbers, with over 6,000 SME leaders expected to attend over the two days of the show. Launching alongside next year’s exhibition, a brand-new event, The Office, will offer a one-stop shop for organisations that are rethinking their approach to workplace design and experience. As employers need to meet the changing needs and diversity of their employees, The Office will offer free education sessions, partner-led workshops and exhibition space and an opportunity for key buyers and purchasing influencers from the UK’s top employers, commercial real estate professionals and managers to come together and share insights and solutions for the workplace environment. All three events will take place on 23rd and 24th April 2024 at the ExCel, London, with an exciting roster of speakers and sponsors joining business leaders, entrepreneurs, suppliers, buyers and influential decision-makers for two days of learning, insight sharing, networking and exhibiting.
Cognizant has announced the official launch of its groundbreaking training initiative, Synapse, aimed at empowering more than one million individuals with cutting-edge technology skills—like generative artificial intelligence (AI)—for the digital age. Together with governments, academic institutions, businesses, and other strategic partners, Cognizant’s program will leverage evolving AI technology and the company’s premier tech services to up-prepare individuals for the future workforce. Cognizant also intends to build a consortium of partners for training and jobs which then will employ individuals who are upskilled through the Synapse program. The initiative draws on Cognizant’s longstanding expertise on training and educating a global workforce and expansive expertise across global geographies and digital technologies. By reaching underserved communities, marginalised groups, and individuals with limited access to traditional education, the initiative was created with the goal of driving meaningful change and create pathways to success that were previously unreachable for many individuals. Cognizant’s Synapse will provide training ranging from basic digital literacy to generative AI.
Amperity, the AI-powered enterprise customer data platform (CDP) for consumer brands, has announced more than 50% of its customer base has adopted Amperity for Paid Media. The rapid adoption of this new application of Amperity demonstrates the important role first-party data will play in informing paid media strategies. Since its launch in May 2023, Amperity for Paid Media has used industry-leading ad connectors and first-party data to deliver more than 11 billion unified customer profiles each day. These are delivered to the ad platforms of Amperity customers, across a range of industries, including retail, quick-serve restaurants (QSR), consumer packaged goods (CPG), travel and hospitality, sports teams and leagues, and financial services.
Onfido, a specialist in automated identity verification, has released the results of a study surveying over 1,500 business leaders from industries including financial services, gaming, retail, healthcare, transportation, legal and telecoms, across the US, UK, and Italy to examine perceptions, challenges and usages of AI. The research shows that as interest and investment in AI technology soars, leaders are concerned about the growth of AI-powered cyber threats. Still, a staggering 73% are failing to act, putting their businesses and the global economy at risk. This disturbing news revealed by the survey shows that almost seven in ten business leaders (68%) recognize the threat that AI and, more specifically, Generative AI presents for accelerating the speed and quantity of fraud attacks, but under one in three (27%) are prioritizing its use in fraud prevention. Instead, almost two in five (39%) leaders are focusing on using AI as a catalyst for reducing operational costs and enhancing digital services, creating a blind spot that could upend their businesses.
An overwhelming 3 in 4 (74%) CMOs have stated that the past six months have proven to be more stressful for brand management than even during the peak of the pandemic. This revelation sheds light on the heightened challenges faced by marketers amidst ongoing economic turbulence. The research, commissioned by brand management platform, Frontify, further exposes the repercussions of challenging economic conditions, as marketing leaders have resorted to reduced external agency support (46%) and departmental budget cuts (45%) – which they say is impacting their brand building initiatives – whilst price hikes on products pose additional challenges for marketers (47%).
