On Thursday 8th May, we hosted a panel discussion in London, Tower Hill. The event focused on our Bionic Ecosystem concept; building a future-facing marketing ecosystem that harmonises the relationship between technology and human talent. We were joined by two brilliant panellists, Michelle Raubenheimer, Global Data Transformation Lead at Google and Alex Dalman, Head of Innovation & Social at VCCP and Managing Director of faith, VCCP’s AI Agency. Here are our key takeaways:
- People first, technology second
There are many brands who are still unsure of where to start when it comes to implementing AI, do you start by identifying the technology itself first (of which there are many!), or is it about the people and processes? It was clear any successful technology implementation is still heavily dependent on people. Michelle Raubenheimer from Google said that research shows, about 70% of transformation efforts hinge on people-related factors, such as skills, culture and governance. The other 30% is the technology itself.
- Experimentation vs. execution
Although there is a widespread culture of experimentation, many initiatives lack a clear business objective or roadmap. The word ‘pilot’ is becoming increasingly misused. Businesses are forming AI committees and working groups without anchoring them to strategic objectives or clear use cases. Legal teams are often underprepared or reactive. There’s a need for proactive education and involvement in AI strategy. Michelle spoke about the AI ‘bubble’ last year where many brands were jumping on the hype – around only 30% of these brands actually succeeded. They were all brands that could clearly articulate their strategic business objectives and where they could see AI transforming their business.
- Don’t be afraid to take risks
Brands have to be willing to take risks and test and learn. Faith work with O2, who are a great example of this. Alex spoke about instances where tests fail – and that’s normal, it’s all part of the learning process. It’s also important that while brands are testing and learning, they have the right governance in place. At Google, it is advised to set up committees and break down the silos between legal teams, procurement teams and marketing. Committees need to be made up of the right people asking the right questions who are taking into account all of the risk factors.
- Data as a critical barrier
When approaching transformation of this scale, brands need to think about how their data is structured and the quality of data. Many brands face persistent issues with outdated or incomplete data infrastructure despite years of effort. Alex Dalman from VCCP highlighted that it’s not just about customer data, it’s about what your brand stands for, look and feel, custom characters, illustration styles etc. Do you know who owns the usage rights to this?
- Where can AI deliver the best value?
Brands need to identify where they see AI having the most impact across their business, it may not just be on the creative side, it could be on the operational side or the data side. The panel spoke about brand brains as an example of this, where brands use custom AI models to store all their brand information, to become one consistent source of knowledge. Alex also spoke about AI helping to sell ideas – although the core of the idea still comes from human creativity, AI can bring concepts and story boards to life for clients to buy into the vision.
Alex referenced O2’s Daisy the AI Granny, an example of a fully AI-driven campaign using a character trained on real human traits and voice, demonstrating how AI and human creativity can blend to create impactful storytelling whilst still respecting artist contributions.
- The clear winner? A clear vision
We asked our audience what they thought the most important ingredient of the Bionic Ecosystem was, out of the following options:
- Clear vision
- The right people / resources
- The way the organisation is set up
- Understanding the data
- The culture
- The costs / proving ROI
- The technology itself
Our audience voted their top three as: ‘Clear vision’ 50%, ‘The right people/resources’ 22% and ‘Understanding the data’ 9%.
What do you think plays the most important role? If you’d like to get in touch with us, or hear more about our upcoming events globally, please fill in the form below.
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