Category: Blog

That’s one of the questions Dr Ron Chrisley, Director of the Centre for Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex addressed at Mindshare Huddle.

Interviewed by Jack Edmonds, LoopMe’s Head of Agency Sales, Ron’s experience with Artificial Intelligence mean that he was perfectly placed to educate us about the impact AI is set to have on our society.

 

There is no general AI

At present, general AI doesn’t exist. General AI is the idea that a machine can successfully perform any task that a human being can, whereas narrow AI is focused on just one task.

Even the likes of Google DeepMind – as sophisticated as it is – are still forms of narrow AI.

 

Defining consciousness is problematic

Garfield said that consciousness is the period between naps. But as Ron pointed out, we should probably have a better definition than that.

Current approaches don’t go far enough, such as ones which define consciousness based on behaviour. Ron critiqued this by pointing out that currently chatbots can mimic the ways in which humans talk, but these are far from being conscious, even if users aren’t aware that they’re talking to a robot.

However, there won’t be the need to treat AI as human or conscious for the foreseeable future.

 

Robots won’t take over the world

The core ethical question should not be whether there be a robot takeover. This isn’t something we should consider for the next 50-100 years.

However, discussing robot rights is likely to become more prominent. Ron also welcomed governments and private companies looking into the ethical implications, as this will ensure that AI is not being scapegoated for actions that humans are responsible for.

He added that everyone should be involved in discussing what counts as an ethical deployment of AI, and that it shouldn’t be left to one trade body, company or government to make this decision.

 

Education is needed

Much of the concern about AI is due to misinformation. Jack used a stat that 52% of people get their knowledge of AI from TV and films, so it’s not surprising that many have a less than positive idea about the impact that AI has in society.

 

AI will transform our lives

While there is a lot of negativity around AI (mainly due to a lack of education), Ron was keen to stress the great impact that AI can have. Developments in technology will transform (and are transforming) our lives, from tech, health care and even in advertising.

 

The sky is the limit.

 

Thanks to all who came along! Learn more about LoopMe at www.loopme.com

To celebrate Halloween, we’ve picked out 5 of our favorite Halloween campaigns to get you in to the spirit!

 

Horseless Headman – Snickers

Produced by AMV BBDO for Snickers in 2012

 

Star Wars Halloween – Verizon  

Created by agency Wieden + Kennedy, with the advert last being aired in 2013

 

Gear 360 Captures Ghost in Creepy VR Found Footage 

Created by 1 Trick Pony in 2016

 

The Scariest: LG’s ‘So Real it’s Scary’ Campaign 

Superheroes Amsterdam created this in 2012 for LG

 

Giant Talking Spider – Skittles

Created by DDB Chicago aired in 2013.

Morrisons is next up in our Data Champions series, where we take an in-depth look at companies ‘championing data’. To be considered a data champion companies should be using data in a unique way to help achieve their overall business objectives.

In the first of this 3-part series we looked at how Under Armour is disrupting the sportswear industry, revolutionising the ‘connected fitness’ movement.

In this article we’ll be looking at supermarket chain Morrisons. Founded by William Morrisons in the 1890’s, Morrisons has been a mainstay in the UK supermarket industry for over 100 years. It’s now the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket chain, particularly impressive given that it started as a food market in the streets of Bradford, and where their HQ is to this day.

You may have heard of our AI solution, PurchaseLoop Foot Traffic, which uses AI to drive consumers to stores. This is one way in which retailers are harnessing AI to solve business objectives, however Morrison’s are using theirs to solve another problem – waste. A report should published by Wrap (a UK Government backed charity, set up to reduce food waste) revealed the scale of the issue, with supermarkets wasting on average 235,000 tonnes of food in a year.

Morrisons have teamed up with Blue Yonder, a provider of AI and Machine Learning solutions for companies in the retail sector to improve their customer service and efficiency.

Using data from the last 3 years, Morrisons looked at internal data (peak selling times and best selling products and external data (public holidays and weather forecasts) for each of their 491 stores. This data was then analysed and an algorithm was trained to predict what each individual store needs which product at what time. This is then ordered automatically, in turn freeing up time for Morrisons staff to focus on the customer.

This forward thinking by Morrisons has paid off, in just under 12 months they’ve reduced shelf gaps by 30%. It’s also reduced the amount of days Morrisons are holding stock for, which now stands at 2–3 days. This has had a direct impact on their overall sales figures, with like-for-like sales rising 1.7% in the final quarter of 2016, including their strongest Christmas trading period in seven years.

When supermarkets and other stores introduce Artificial Intelligence systems, there’s often a suggestion that this will lead to job losses. This isn’t the case for Morrisons, as as employees are actually spending more time on the shop floor.

Morrisons CEO David Potts had this to say:

“Our biggest new initiative has been our new automated ordering system. The system is capital light, utilising cloud technology and store-specific historic sales data to forecast stock requirements. It is reducing costs and stock levels, while also saving time for colleagues, and providing a better offer for customers. “

With retailers under a lot of pressure to persuade consumers to come into store, rather than order online, they are looking to improve the in-store experience. This is another example of how big data and the use of artificial intelligence can significantly improve business results.

IAB UK in association with PwC recently released their bi-annual report which measures the size of the UK digital advertising market.

Overall digital ad spend in H1 2017 was £5.56 billion, a £675 million increase from last year. Here are 4 other stats which shows the rapid growth in UK digital advertising.

Mobile is almost half of all digital spend

The UK mobile market totals 43% of all digital spend, an 8% increase from the same period in 2016. As the graph below shows, this follows a general trend seen since 2006 and especially since 2014.

 

Mobile and search are on the charge

Both search and display ads on mobile devices are growing rapidly with a +37% and +40% increase respectively from H1 2016. Display advertising on mobile device was £1144 million, compared to just £157 million in 2013.

Mobile is has taken top spot for display

One of the most eye-opening stats is that ad spend on mobile devices is 57% of all digital ad spend. This is a 53% increase in just 6 years. According to comScore’s ‘Mobile’s Hierarchy of Needs’, 61% of the UK’s total digital minutes is spent on mobile devices. This fact, in combination with how  prominent smartphones have become in day-to-day lives of consumers has seen advertising pounds move to mobile.

Online video is more widely adopted than banners

Not only are mobile ads 5X more engaging than standard banners, but as the ad spend report attests, the industry is now aligned with this. For the first time since ad spend records began, online video has overtaken banners as the most popular display format.

Click here to download the full report.

The LoopMe Awards are fast approaching, and we’re excited to announce that you can now vote for your favourite campaign.

The LoopMe Awards looks to celebrate the best in AI-optimized mobile video advertising. The shortlisted campaigns all used PurchaseLoop to deliver enhanced campaign results and fulfil brand marketing objectives. Voting is open until October 30^th and you’re allowed one vote per email address. Make your vote count!

The final six campaigns for the UK LoopMe Awards are:

Yorkshire Tea & Goodstuff

GoodStuff’s client, Yorkshire Tea were looking to promote their Yorkshire Tree campaign which was supporting their CSR goal of planting one million trees in the UK and abroad within the next five years. Using PurchaseLoop, awareness of Yorkshire Tea’s mission rose by 50%.

02 & Mobext

With two compelling 10-second video adverts, PurchaseLoop was used to increase brand consideration among users who were in-market for a new network provider. PurchaseLoop was responsible for the entire uplift in brand consideration.

Microsoft & The Story Lab

In this campaign, PurchaseLoop optimised to brand affinity and purchase intent in real time, moving consumers further along the purchase funnel through content engagement. This was the first campaign globally to combine AI brand optimisation in real-time with a programmatic buy.

Peugeot & OMD

Peugeot are known for their small cars, but in 2017 the released the 3008, their second car in the hotly-contested SUV category. By utilising PurchaseLoop technology LoopMe identified users within Peugeot/OMD’s target audience who would consider purchasing the 3008 SUV and optimised towards these users in real-time. The campaign ran in 2 phases, and from phase 1 to phase 2 purchase intent rose by 50%, demonstrating how data can be used as part of a long-tail automotive sales strategy.

Fosters & Publicis

Fosters were looking to increase their market share in a competitive beer market during the summer months. Using PurchaseLoop, Fosters surveyed consumers to ask: ‘Is Fosters a brand you are likely to drink?’. Using data from these responses, LoopMe created a bespoke segment that had the highest statistical chance of being positively affected by the advert, with a 97% uplift from control to AI exposed.

Philips & Dentsu Aegis 

Philips and Dentsu Aegis ran two high impact full-screen mobile formats which encouraged consumers to ‘get that healthy mouth feeling’ using the new Sonicare Diamond Clean Toothbrush. Using PurchaseLoop, there was an 18% increase in purchase intent.

What is PurchaseLoop?

PurchaseLoop is the world’s first brand uplift optimizer, driving better results across the metrics which matter in real-time. PurchaseLoop goes beyond campaign metrics to deliver the metrics that really matter. Check out our video to learn about how PurchaseLoop works.

To read a full description of each campaign and vote for your favorite click here. Best of luck to all nominated!

The Super Bowl is a staple in American culture. Although the Super Bowl is largely taken in through TV, it has experienced a huge lift in streamed viewership. Last year, Super Bowl LI was the most live-streamed game to date, bringing in an average of 1.7 million viewers per minute–up 23% from last year. With the high cost of commercials during the game, supplementing your strategy with mobile advertising is key to ensuring campaign success; especially considering the recent research showing that mobile video is more effective than TV.

1. Since 2015, there has been a 224% increase in viewers streaming the game.
2. Phone usage on Super Bowl Sunday increased between 7-10% in comparison to previous Sundays.
3. There was a 30% increase in mobile usage in the first half of the game.
4. The average cost for a 30-second commercial was $5 million in 2017.
5. Over 70% of viewers experience the game across both mobile and TV, while 73% of viewers plan to use at least one device during the game.

Since Super Bowl commercials are such a high cost, you want your alternative mobile video advertising to show real results. Close the loop, maximize your campaign and reach Super Bowl audiences utilizing PurchaseLoop, which uses AI to increase Brand Uplift and Foot Traffic. To learn more about PurchaseLoop, click here.

For more data and insights, download your free Super Bowl one pager here.

Its been well publicised that the world’s most valuable resource is no long oil but data, so in the first of this 3-part series, LoopMe will be taking an in-depth look at companies who are ‘championing data’. To obtain a spot in this all-star list these companies must be gathering and using data in an innovative way to help achieve their business objectives.

The first company we’ll be looking at is Under Armour (UA). Set up in the late 90’s by former college football player Kevin Plank. Under Armour has transformed itself from a traditional sportswear brand that first began selling compression shirts, to a global organisation that is using large sets of data to achieve their mission: Make all athletes better through passion, design and the relentless pursuit of innovation.

It’s this culture of innovation which is at the heart of Under Armour and led by Plank and his team that has seen a shift in their positioning from a sportswear brand to a tech juggernaut. They now compete with the likes of Nike and Adidas but also with Apple and Samsung. This shift was marked more clearly with Plank delivering the keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2016.

Under Armour are betting big on technology, and thus have coined the phrase ‘Connected Fitness’ which is a movement under the Internet of Things umbrella. Plank says that connected fitness looks to solve one simple question; “Why is it that we know more about our own cars, than our own bodies?” He plans to solve this through the combination of apps, gadgets and clothing to improve your health and fitness. This 60 second advert, titled ‘Future Girl’ embodies their connected fitness vision. Maybe it’s a bit farfetched for the immediate future, but we’re closer than you may initially think.

Acquisitions

Eyebrows were raised when Under Armour started their $710 million shopping spree of fitness apps. The first to be bought was MyFitnessPal which was acquired for $475 million dollars in November 2015. The Baltimore based start-up founded by brothers Mike and Albert Lee in 2005, offers a mobile app and website for people to track, learn, communicate and improve their health and wellness.

With a community of over 80 million, UA’s acquisition has proven to be very shrewd, as now UA and MyFitnessPal has the world’s largest digital health and fitness community with over 120 million members.

Shortly after UA snapped up MyFitnessPal, they acquired Endomondo and their 20 million database for $85 million. The Norwegian company is a social fitness and mobile application, which gives users the ability to track their workouts, challenge their friends and analyse their overall training performance.

November 14^th 2013 was a landmark day for Under Armour, as it marked the completion of their acquisitions as they bought MapMyFitness (not to be confused with MyFitnessPal!) for $150 million. MapMyFitness operates a suite of social wellness-orientated websites and associated mobile and tablet applications including MapMyRun and MapMyHike with over 80 million users.

What does all this mean?

With a community of over 200 million active users who log their fitness activity across different apps, UA now has a wealth of first-party data in which to improve and innovate the services that they offer. MyFitnessPal, MapMyFitness, Endomondo and their own fitness application UA Record, accompanied with their wearables are all used to improve the day to day lives of their customer base culminating in Under Armour’s health box.

Under Armour partnered with HTC to develop the HealthBox, which is priced at around $400. The HealthBox analyses the data points from all an individual’s UA devices and applications taking into consideration everything from their calorie intake to sleep duration. It then uses this data to suggest a personalised workout plan and suggests where they can improve.

Kevin Plank had this to say at “CES 2016” ‘If we could contain this amount of data, putting it into one place, and be able to truly empower the consumer, giving them information which will allow them to enrich and enable their lives it will be powerful’. His vision for Under Armour makes them a force to be reckoned with in both the tech and sports industry.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Tom Hunter Smith, I am originally from the Scottish Highlands from a very small, very remote, very Scottish and very unheard of village called Aultbea. If anyone has heard of it please come and see me now. I’ve been working as a Data Scientist at LoopMe for just under 4 months.

Before joining LoopMe, I worked at the Office of National Statistics in Wales for 3 years. It was there I learnt my trade as a Data Scientist, working on outputs including Consumer Prices Index, Social Deprivation Statistics and perhaps more interestingly, on a research project analysing Twitter data as a proxy for measuring demographic change. They say that a career in government is either 3 years or 30 years so I hop, skipped and jumped down to the big smoke to work for PHD media where I worked on developing a set of tools for measuring digital journeys of consumers and evaluating campaign performance.

Why did you decide to join LoopMe?

Having already worked in digital media, I was looking for a place to work which was a bit more fast paced where I could be more involved in the growth and development of the company. LoopMe had been popping up in conversations at work more and more since first moved to London and already had a remarkably good reputation in the media world given the size of the company. The good words I heard spoken weren’t only that of the product (which is of course fantastic), it was also about the people who worked there. You guys all have a good rep – keep it up!

What’s your job role and day to day task at LoopMe?

Our Data Science team is roughly split up into 3 different parts; PurchaseLoop, Real Time and Device Matching. Me and a small team in Ukraine focus our time on the Device Matching – which is exactly what it says it is – matching together an individuals phones, tablets and laptops so that our targeting is more dynamic, relative and flexible. This involves a lot of coding – since we are attempting to match different kinds of device to each other, the models we train each have their subtle differences and require large volumes of data to be engineered to gain the desired level of precision.

What’s been the best moment at LoopMe so far?

Not to make it sound like it has been all downhill since then, but my first day was pretty spectacular when I was whisked out of the office to a posh manor house to eat, drink and play games for LoopMe’s 5^th Birthday Party. It was also my birthday. It could well be the best first day that anyone has ever had ever.

Tell us a fun fact?

Last year I was the subject of a Channel 4 social experiment called “Life Stripped Bare” where they removed all material possessions from my life for 21 days.