ONLINE SPIN
by Gord Hotchkiss on May 31, 11:26 AM
One of the more interesting movies I've watched in the past year has been "Ex Machina," a tightly directed, frighteningly claustrophobic sci-fi thriller that peels back the moral layers of artificial intelligence one by one. In the movie, the source of the robot Ava's intelligence "software" comes from search data. I think "Ex Machina"'s writer/director Alex Garland may have tapped something fundamental with this idea. If the data we willingly give up in return for online functionality provides a blueprint for artificial intelligence and understanding human thought, that's a big deal -- a very big deal.
ONLINE SPIN
by Kaila Colbin on May 27, 9:49 AM
We are officially inundated with content. Content is coming out of our ears and crawling from the drainpipe and dripping from the ceiling. We don't need more content. We need to know what to read. And although the algorithms may be getting better and better, for now, I still prefer a good old-fashioned recommendation from someone else. Here are a few Web ones from me.
ONLINE SPIN
by Ted McConnell on May 26, 2:41 PM
The notion of cross-screen media is well-heeled by now. There are different names for it. "People-based" is good, since that would make it "consumer-centric." A "single view of the consumer" works, too. Of course, once you have "it," you have to decide what to do with it: fill reach gaps, or boost cross-device frequency? There are fancy use cases, too: sequencing cross-device, using creative optimization to exploit learning from one device to another, TV sync-ing, reading behavior on one device and responding to that on another. Basically, though, it's about having more choice about when and where to communicate to …
ONLINE SPIN
by Cory Treffiletti on May 25, 11:47 AM
Do consumers at this point expect a personalized experience with brands? I don't think they expect it, but I think they're pleasantly surprised when they get one, and they tend to reward the brands that go that extra mile. Building a stronger connection for both sides has a positive impact -- a fact I can confirm by looking at personalization in the offline world of local coffee shops.
ONLINE SPIN
by Gord Hotchkiss on May 24, 1:26 PM
Marketers love Malcolm Gladwell. They love his pithy, reductionist approach to popular science: his tendency to sacrifice verity for the sake of a good "just-so" story. And in doing this, what is Malcolm Gladwell but a marketer at heart? No wonder our industry is gaga over him. We love anyone who can oversimplify complexity down to the point where it can be appropriated as yet another marketing "angle."
ONLINE SPIN
by Maarten Albarda on May 23, 11:17 AM
I attended the 10th edition of the Global Festival of Media in Rome last week, and I was fortunate to host the marketer-exclusive sessions that went out under the Brand Learning Program banner. There were no agencies, media owners, tech companies or other non-brand marketing representatives allowed in the room. And that allowed for lots of honest and open discussions.
ONLINE SPIN
by Josh Engroff on May 20, 1:29 PM
Of all the art forms, few have the power to stir strong emotions as music. And few have had such an easy and fruitful relationship with advertising.
ONLINE SPIN
by Dave Morgan on May 19, 5:42 PM
As Peter Drucker taught us, marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of a business. But how come so many advertisers don't seem to make marketing a core competency?
ONLINE SPIN
by Cory Treffiletti on May 18, 11:47 AM
Is search dead? Realistically, the answer is no, but I hear fewer and fewer brands talking about search in a way that signals a focus on innovation or growth. Is it possible that search is just like that friend of yours who always shows up when asked, will do whatever he can to help, and is consistently taken for granted? Is search the utility in-fielder for your team?
ONLINE SPIN
by Gord Hotchkiss on May 17, 10:49 AM
Humans are hunch-making machines. We're gloriously good at it. In fact, no one and nothing is better at coming up with a hunch. It's what sets us apart on our planet -- and, thus far, nothing we've invented has proven to be better suited to strike the spark of intuition.