By Dona Bouloud
Communication, information access and media consumption habits perpetually shift, creating a continuous need to adapt, adjust and optimize strategies to stay connected with our audiences. Navigating funnels and customer journeys is increasingly complex, making the art of obtaining relevant data and turning it into valuable insights an essential asset for every communication team.
Allison takes this seriously and at the 2024 AMEC Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, presented a unique opportunity for industry data professionals to discuss priorities, exchange ideas and establish best practices in the wake of AI (Artificial Intelligence), permacrisis and the polarization of ideas.
- AI-ready data: AI in the media landscape
AI is a powerful tool to mitigate data inaccuracy, helping analysts getting a better quality of their data and unlock insights closer to the truth, further away from estimations and indicative insights. It enables greater efficiency, where we can integrate accuracy and integrity as KPIs, fortifying measurement framework.
Use case: Sentiment analysis, Capturing Tone vs. Emotions.
AI proposed a “Data Integrity Initiative” for media and social data, which goes along the line with what other panellists highlighted around cognitive bias.
Reminding us of the cognitive bias we are all subject to, Senior Consultant Sofia Tzamarelou1 suggested the use of Structured Analytic Techniques (SATs) to mitigate bias in AI utilisation. The New P&L Brand Purpose Institute2 founder Paul Spiers also reflected on the need to reignite our sense of curiosity in this rapidly evolving use of new technology. While we experience micro and macro challenges as citizens, decision-makers and business leaders, the solutions we will come with should not be outsourced to an algorithm, but from our own consciousness and creative thinking. AI comes handy in enhancing those ideas.
- Data-done-right pushes your audience further down the funnel: Measurement at the centre
“Data is the new oil” is pinned to Mathematician Clive Humby in 2006. A complementary part of this statement gets however forgotten, as he continued: “But if unrefined, it cannot really be used.” AMEC speakers this year made sure to remind the crowd that data alone is not enough, but rather needs to unlock strategic insights, sales and optimisation.
LinkedIn Director, Customer Insights North America Nicole Moreo noted dwell time as an attention metric is essential to identify the topics that captivate your audiences the most. Broadly, we tend to use impressions and reach as an all-purpose metric, as big numbers provide that feeling we must be doing something right. But focusing on time-related data indicate what truly matters to our stakeholders, and therefore where more marketing efforts should be spent.
Use case: Advertising, Owned content, first- and third-party integration mix
Another place to focus on while trying to understand audiences’ interest is AI, as consumers increasingly rely on chatbots for products or brands recommendation. We know about SEO, but the optimization of the future will shift from search to GenAI. VP of AI Innovation Sven Winnefeld said we can apply existing methodologies to influence product-related answers provided by the likes of ChatGPT. This is a direct representation of the human-tech relationship we mentioned earlier that unlocks actionable data via the right combination of tools and human application to PR.
Use case: Brand awareness, Sales, Earned Media Relations
Other panelists summarized the endless possibilities unlocked by the correct use of data. They dived into specific case studies to illustrate the “data-done-right” motto. These included Zara’s social listening3 and the identification of fake profiles polluting real conversations with misleading content and Redefine Meat4 relying on media intelligence to identify misinformation.
Conclusion:
Your capacity to understand AI technologies and extract maximum value and insights from them is your true competitive advantage – not the technology itself. While AI cannot replace the “Relations” in PR, your data analysts should work closely with your communication experts and business leaders to go beyond volume and impressions and unlock intelligence that will guide all your efforts and strategies. Allison Worldwide has a wide range of AI-enabled and Machine Learning tools integrated into its communications solutions, as well as the expertise and strategic partnerships to make the most of them.
Dona is a passionate data wizard, providing actionable insights to some of Allison’s biggest clients, including Amazon and Dexcom in the EMEA market. She is specialised in BGIQ – Allison’s Culture Cristal Ball, Social Listening, Web Analytics and Integrated Dashboard Reporting. Fluent in English and French, Dona is expanding data literacy and data-driven analytics solutions in EMEA.
