5 Questions with Lynette Saunders

Lynette Saunders, Senior Analyst at Econsultancy will be joining us on Wednesday 18th of April at AI: Advertising & Beyond. Last week we caught up with her to ask her a few questions about her experiences within the industry. To learn more, RSVP here.

 1. Tell us about your role at Econsultancy

I have been with Econsultancy for 3 and half years as a Senior Analyst within the Research Team. My role involves working on delivering industry-leading research, briefings and reports for the digital marketing industry. In particular, I have written a number of Digital Transformation sector reports covering Retail, Financial Services and Pharma and Healthcare. Currently I’m working on a report on Trust, Transparency and Brand Safety.

2. Econsultancy has published several articles and research into how AI is impacting media and society. How have you seen the focus on AI change in the last few years?  

We’ve seen companies using AI or machine learning for marketing for a number of years now, but we are really seeing the focus switching to more applications of AI due to the sheer volume of data that is now readily available to AI machines, which can perform incredibly sophisticated machine learning functions and are available at a fraction of the cost.

One of the most practical recent applications of AI has emerged with chatbots and we have written a number of blogs featuring what companies are doing in this area and the advantage a chatbot provides with an instantaneous response. Consequently, one of the biggest benefits for the consumer is simply a much better overall experience.

Traditionally AI was recommendation algorithms & optimising paid media, but it is now expanding quickly – from optimising email subject lines, advertising copy, suggesting next best actions, identifying look alike audiences to providing continuous feedback on what FAQ information helps to reduce inbound calls, to image recognition (in visual search or social listening).

3. Risks vs Rewards, do you think AI holds more risks or rewards for brand marketers?

This is an interesting question. Whilst we’ve published a number of blogs talking about the exciting ways that companies are using AI we have also highlighted things that say your chatbot should never do. The whole point of chatbots is that they’re supposed to mimic human interaction, that’s not to say that they should pretend to be human.

We are all striving to deliver that personalised experience in real-time and AI can play a crucial role in help companies to achieve this, but there are also risks, as with any technology, of getting it wrong. Given the forthcoming GDPR changes, companies also need to be even more transparent to customers about the data they are collecting on them and how this is being used.

AI offers a huge potential to enhance the customer experience, but key is going to be finding out how to use it in smart and relevant ways. Ultimately when thinking about where AI fits into your strategy it is important to go back to looking at what your business priorities are, and then specifically what the barriers are to achieving success and whether AI can help.

4. Before joining Econsultancy, you were in data and analytic roles at Royal Mail and Cancer Research UK. How do you see AI impacting the future role of marketers?

Looking back at my role in analytics at both places it was still very manual in terms of looking at reports in the various tools and interpreting what the data was telling us and taking action on the back of the analysis, which would always involve some type of time delay. The nature of reporting provided was also very much an historical view of what had happened. AI provides a real opportunity for marketers to use the data they have collected, learn from what has happened, predict what might happen and take action instantaneously. This can only help marketers to make better business decisions and ultimately drive better business results.

5. Aside from its application to marketing, what developments in AI are you most excited to see?

I think some of the areas we are seeing AI being used in healthcare is very exciting whether it be from applications that can give you an instant diagnosis of your symptoms, or provide reminders to people about their medication or alerts about a potential condition that might arise. These have the potential to be life-saving. Even as a fitbit wearer myself I am interested to see the developments that are taking place with fitness devices around helping people live a healthier life.

LoopMe Shortlist Twice at the British Media Awards

We’re proud to announce that LoopMe are finalists at the British Media Awards for ‘Tech Provider of The Year’ and ‘Best Use of Commercial Data’.

Now in their seventh year, the British Media Awards recognise ‘the media owners and companies that are innovating and adapting at a time of unprecedented change in media’.

We’re pleased to be recognised in two categories; Tech Provider of the Year which honours the industry’s best third-party tech providers and for Best Use of Commercial Data for our PurchaseLoop product.

Congratulations to all shortlisted and we look forward to celebrating on May 16th!

Employee Spotlight: Dan Lapinski

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Born & raised in Bruce Springsteen’s homeland, the greatest of states, New Jersey. Proud Penn State graduate. Breakfast sandwiches brighten my day (BEC, strictly). Big music fan, from 90’s hiphop to 60’s rock, always have my headphones in. Nothing better than being at a Yankee Stadium with a beer and dog in-hand, taking in America’s past time.

What’s your job role and day to day responsibilities?

I’m our Director of Client Services, which encompasses all things Account Management, but I have my hands in a few pots. I spearhead our product partnerships, focus on strategic alignment for our sales teams, and help scale our business units to best serve our growing client base. In a few words, LoopMe’s resident problem solver.

What’s been the best moment in your 2.5 years at LoopMe?

The next moment. Being a lead for client services, account management, and partnerships presents new and interesting challenges every day. I love being stumped, finding a solution, and putting it to action. I love being leaned on during hard situations. Nothing’s better than finding a fix that helps LoopMe get from A-to-B, while helping provide our clients with true mobile-focused brand solutions. BRB, fire drill. Seeing the new hires on the team grow to group of rock stars is probably the proudest piece of work I can point to.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

Born 2.5 months early, under 3lbs, heart stopped multiple times, incubator for weeks. Bit of a miracle. NBD. Autographs made available through my agent. I’m also the American definition of a mutt: Lebanese & Egyptian on my mother’s side, Irish & Lithuanian on my father’s side. American head-to-toe, and proud to be it. I’ve had the same Yankees hat since our last World Series win, a superstition to the dismay of many.

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We’re hiring! Check out our open roles and apply here.

SXNY 2018

Last week the New York team brought the spirit of Austin home by hosting the very first SXNY (South by NY). The event was held at Casa Neta, an authentic Mexican restaurant showcasing local art, while serving up cocktails made from their collection of 140 agave-based spirits.

 

Guests who weren’t able to attend SXSW enjoyed many experiences with a similar feel, including Virtual Reality headsets, where users rode virtual roller coasters and hiked mountainous terrains.

 

The vibe was set by our in house DJ, DJ MFS, who kept the energy alive from start to finish. In the spirit of ‘keeping Austin weird,’ we kept New York weird with a tarot card reader to give guests a glimpse into their future.

 

To top it all off, attendees got to create their own mini movies with a gif photo booth. Check out the final products here.
Missed out on all the fun had at SXNY? View the sizzle reel here. Want to stay up to date on all future LoopMe events? Subscribe here.

How to reach the B2B consumer

This week saw LoopMe host a breakfast discussion at the Sky Garden, London, bringing together B2B agency marketers to discuss how ‘data’ can be used to target the B2B consumer.

For those unable to attend, or who’d like a quick recap – read on! To receive invites to our next event, sign up to our events mailing list.

Data is the mobile currency of the B2B consumer 

The morning was kicked-off by Peter O-Mara Kane, GM International at LoopMe discussing how data is the mobile currency of the B2B consumer.

Pete explained that there are several trends that we see in B2B consumers which lend themselves to mobile marketing. First, they’re extremely ‘time poor’ leading to less TV consumption and engage with most of their content on mobile.

Pete then went on to stress the importance for marketers to stop looking at these consumers as an audience segment, and rather as people. This provides marketers with an opportunity to be more creative in the assets used and ‘how’ and ‘when’ we target them.

Riding the waves of intent data 

Next up was Brian Hersholt, Managing Director at Bombora who spoke about how they use intent data to enhance B2B campaigns. According to Brian, only 15% of the target audience is interested in what the product or service a company has to offer. This makes targeting business buyers when they are interested critical.

Why to get excited about GDPR

We rounded off the morning hearing from Paul Snell, Deputy Editor of B2B Marketing who presented on why marketers should embrace May 25th (the GDPR deadline), stressing that it will not be gloom and doom.

Paul is so upbeat about GDPR as it brings a spotlight on marketing and it provides marketers a great opportunity to revaluate their communication strategy and think of new ways to engage their consumers.

Click here to check out Paul’s 5 reasons to embrace GDPR.

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Thanks again to our brilliant speakers for their insights, we hope to see you all at another event soon!

International Women’s Day

At LoopMe, we celebrate the success of women today and every day. On this International Women’s Day we’re celebrating the strong and successful women of ad tech here at LoopMe.

We’ve interviewed LoopMe women across the globe, including Lauren Bigland (Head of Marketing, London), Helene Bouteille (VP of Client Services, London), Evelyn Yan (Digital Planning Sales Manager, New York), Annie McNamara (Head of Sales APAC, Singapore), Amanda McCoy (Account Manager, LA) Nazanin Motallebi (People Operations Manager, London) and Anna Shabaieva (Senior Account Manager, Dnipro).

We asked our Loopers advice they would give to other women looking to break into ad tech and who they look up to as a role model.

One major piece of advice that all of the women had to offer for breaking into Adtech is to stay on trend. Helene Bouteille says “Knowledge is key to be and to stay on top of your game and employment competition. Be assertive and vocal.” She stresses getting your opinion heard and that all opinions matter, being quiet can be misconceived as being unknowledgeable.

Getting your voice heard was also a big piece of advice from Lauren Bigland, “Always value your opinion and ideas – experience is a relative term. The Ad tech industry is fantastic at recognizing young talent and promoting based on merit, so don’t be afraid to share your thoughts – as long as they are backed up with examples, evidence and data.”

Amanda McCoy believes in being proactive to break into a new industry, “Schedule informational interviews with leaders in the field, and ask them smart questions. Read descriptions of roles and find those that align with your current skill set, and take steps to fill in any gaps.”

Nazanin felt that working at a start-up helps to expand your skill set, explaining “You will have an opportunity to wear many different hats and have exposure to numerous parts of the business which would never be possible in a corporate. Be confident and have a voice”

Anna felt that nothing should hold young women back from participating. “Stay informed, fail and learn and find a mentor to guide you. At LoopMe I’m lucky to work with amazing people who are eager to offer advice and wisdom to help me follow in their footsteps.”

A role model for your career can be someone you’ve worked with or someone from your personal life. For Evelyn Yan, it was her previous boss. “She always had a solution for any issue.” Evelyn continues, “She was a great mentor and leader, with a positive attitude with the passion to guide others down the right path.”

“In a way, I look up to so many people everyday yet no one in particular is my role model,” Nazanin commented. “My mother, my father, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Sophia Amoruso, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, Angela Merkel the list is (very) long. They all inspire me and I learn from them in completely different ways.’

Anna felt that working in tech is challenging for women “as it can be difficult to overcome stereotypes that exist around women in technology. That’s why I admire and try to learn from the women who work in our tech team.”

For Annie McNamara her role models were present in both her professional and personal life. McNamara relocated to start up our APAC office in Singapore and was influenced by two women in her life to make this decision.

“When I was a Sales Manager at YuMe (now RhythmOne) I remember meeting Miryana Joksovic VP of Global Growth. Miryana presented at a Europe offsite and I was instantly fascinated with the stories of crazy business meetings in China and go to market strategies for launching a business in new countries. I knew then that I wanted to take a similar path for my own career. When I mentioned I wanted to relocate to Asia, Miryana always encouraged me to stop thinking about it and to make it happen.”

Another role model is a close friend of McNamara’s, Erica Harrison. “Erica has spent the last 4 years in Singapore working for Google as a Developer Relations Program Manager. Erica spends her time helping start-ups and developers across the region. Erica wouldn’t let one WhatsApp conversation go by without insisting I relocate here.”

International Women’s Day is about women’s empowerment and celebrating the strides we have made and continue to make in the workforce. We’re very proud to work with the intelligent and hardworking women featured in this article, and around the globe.

LoopMe’s AI conference returns | AI: Advertising & Beyond

We’re all aware that ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Machine Learning’ have become the go-to phrases in our industry over recent years and these buzzwords are used without any real understanding.

The well-publicised stat from DemandBase that 80% of marketing leaders think AI will revolutionize marketing, but just 26% say they have a confident understanding of it is testament to this. After the success of last year’s ‘AI: The Future Us’ event, the conference returns to the British Museum as we look to further educate our partners and clients on AI’s impact on our industry and the wider world.

Wednesday, April 18th will bring together innovators, thought-leaders and entrepreneurs across a variety of industries to explore AI’s impact. Together we’ll be exploring a number of questions from whether AI can harness creativity, to the role it plays in business transformation. After the success of the last year’s sell-out event, RSVP here to save your seat and avoid disappointment.

For our first speaker announcement we’re delighted to welcome Matthew Griffin, Founder of consultancy 311 Institute.  Often described as ‘the adviser behind the advisers’ Matthew is widely recognised as on the world’s foremost futurist and innovation strategy experts. Register your interest to get the latest on speaker announcements directly to your inbox.

Join in the conversation at #AdvertisingAndBeyond

LoopMe’s #AIFuture 360 Experience at the British Museum from LoopMe on Vimeo.