• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, February 29, 2016

First it was that Boston Dynamics robot getting the sh*t kicked out of it by a lowly human. Now it's the whole of Turner Incite handing its sales operation over to IBM Watson technology. I mean, seriously. In 20 years or less all of advertising -- no, all of everything -- will be handled by Terminators...uh...computers. The poor human race will have nothing left to do.

So yes, Turner Incite -- the company’s platform for advertising sales -- will now be powered by advertising sales technologies of the IBM Watson platform along with advanced predictive analytics from MarketShare. The partnership is said to be a first for broadcast advertising sales.

Of the move, Turner EVP of Client Strategy and Ad Innovation Michael Strober said: “Turner is investing in innovation that allows our partners to have access to real-time intelligence leading to faster and smarter business decisions. By fueling Turner Incite with Watson Technology and MarketShare, and continuing to enhance our content and data solutions, we are further enabling clients to achieve their goals across an array of next generation portfolio capabilities.”

Turner Incite is an "advanced intelligence platform" built by Turner and now powered by IBM Watson and MarketShare to provide client insights and industry intelligence. The tool fuels a recommendation of best advertising solutions aimed at achieving the highest ROI for marketers.

Explaining the approach further, IBMCognitive Business Solutions VP Adam Steinberg added: “This solution addresses one of the timeless objectives of marketing leaders -- infusing new levels of data and science into advertising decisions. Armed with deep, fact-based recommendations, Turner will hone the precision of every advertising recommendation, and in turn, lift the impact of the customers who place advertising on Turner’s award-winning programming.”

What would Arnold Schwarzenegger say?

The new approach will be overseen by James Russo, who was recently appointed to the newly developed role of senior vice president, Client Strategy & Development. Reporting to Strober, Russo will work with Turner’s Client Insights group to make recommendations to clients based on the new insight-driven selling approach.