Why AI should not be treated as a KPI for marketers right now

In the past 12 months artificial intelligence (AI) adoption rates have tripled, while almost half of businesses have already integrated at least one AI tool into their data management systems. According to many industry predictions, these numbers are only set to increase.

Although AI has proven benefits in specific areas (such as providing marketing insights), vendors are witnessing an increase in requests for proposals (RFP) that specify the need for AI requirement with no...

30 July 2019 | Automation

Getting started on the data-driven content journey: Machine learning models and upskilling SEO

Lee Wilson, head of services and SEO at Vertical Leap, has had enough of organisations putting together elaborate campaigns, content and metrics which ultimately don’t go anywhere. All that wasted effort from businesses who have the right intentions. So what are the biggest mistakes companies can make?

“Fundamentally, this occurs as content is created based on assumption, gut feel, plus broader perceptions that ‘it seemed like the right thing to do at the...

18 June 2019 | Content Marketing

Netflix and machine learning is one thing – but for the rest of TV, AI is just hype

Artificial intelligence (AI) hype is everywhere. But does AI truly have a place in the TV industry? 

Electronics company, LG, is testing smart assistant integration that could streamline TV interaction, meaning it may soon be time to say goodbye to your remote. When it comes to content, the BBC used AI to create programming; with two nights of AI-assisted content for BBC “4.1”. While over in China, in a...

17 May 2019 | Advertising Technology

The SEO/data analyst hybrid: Why you should advocate for data-driven decision making in a content-driven field

The digital landscape is continually evolving—and the major search engines regularly roll out new algorithm updates—so SEO specialists have learned to stay flexible and reactive. As the industry inches closer and closer to relying on comprehensive machine learning, data points, SEO professionals must again evolve with the times. Content was king—and in some sense, it still is—but more and more SEO professionals see the writing on the wall and are expanding their...

30 January 2019 | Data Science

Data strategies: Fix it, don’t stitch it

The quality of (big) data has for a long time been a crux for CMOs. Instead of creating a true view that positions their brand to make sound decisions, CMOs are having to "stitch together" their data from different sources. They’re creating data Frankenstein monsters from different warehouses, assembling disparate findings, and failing to optimise decisions around the customer journey. This isn’t efficient, easy or effective. It’s therefore...

14 January 2019 | Advertising

Yannic Pluymackers, CMO, Lastminute.com: On management and creating moments for users

You don’t have to be a data scientist to be a CMO these days, but it helps.

That might be stretching the idiom a bit – but a data-centric background certainly hasn’t hindered Yannic Pluymackers. The chief marketing officer of Lastminute.com for more than two years – while admitting he is no data scientist himself – studied economics and statistics at university, and feels being conversant in these disciplines is key.

“There is some truth...

6 December 2018 | Advertising Technology

A marketer’s dilemma: Overcoming the challenges of the data disconnect

Few businesses can thrive without using their data effectively these days — and in marketing, data is particularly foundational. Despite its importance, that doesn’t mean the process of gathering and using this information is easy or simple (few things ever are) and it’s certainly not fail-proof. There’s always room for human error.

When collected and analysed effectively, data delivers insights that can help increase marketing ROI and grow brand loyalty....

26 November 2018 | Customer Experience

The five tenets of clean data: Preparing chatbot data for marketing personalisation

Organisations are already using live web chat – and increasingly chatbots – as a critical sales and customer support channel. Gartner says over 80% of companies offer some form of live chat on their website or mobile applications in order to interact with customers, and the chatbot market is likely to grow to $994 million by 2024 according to other market research. Since web chat is both 17-30% cheaper to address questions than a phone call and has the ability to increase...

14 November 2018 | Automation

Could machine learning provide the key to measuring a customer journey?

Customer journeys help to increase positive results in all customer related KPIs, but in large enterprises and public organisations, the rule is if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.  How do we measure commitment to a brand and products – and how do we score KPIs that need to be improved upon?

A recent report by McKinsey indicates that customer journeys are 30% more predictive of customer satisfaction than measuring individual interactions, and that using...

8 November 2018 | Commerce

Consumer data responsibility lies with head of IT, say third of marketers

With consumer data now considered the fundamental bedrock of digital advertising and minds sharpened by the recent introduction of GDPR, you’d think marketers would have a firm grasp on where responsibility for it sits within their organisations. Wouldn’t you?

In fact, while the majority of marketers consider data use a “very important” aspect of business growth, there seems to be an ongoing conflict when it comes to who should be in charge of it.

A...

18 July 2018 | Best Practice