AI/ML

The Power of AI for Effective Advertising in an ID-free World

Rachel GantzManaging Director, Proximic by Comscore

Amidst heightened regulations in the advertising ecosystem, Rachel Gantz of Proximic by Comscore delved into a discussion of diverse AI applications and implementation tactics, in an increasingly ID-free environment, to effectively reach audiences. Rachel highlighted signal loss as a "massive industry challenge," to provide a framework for the research she examined. She remarked that the digital advertising environment was built on ID-based audience targeting, but with the loss of this data and the increase in privacy regulations, advertisers have placed their focus on first-party and contextual targeting (which includes predictive modeling). In her discussion, she focused on the many impacts predictive AI is having on contextual targeting, in a world increasingly void of third-party data, providing results from a supporting experiment. The research aimed to understand how the performance of AI-powered ID-free audience targeting tactics compared to their ID-based counterparts. The experiment considered audience reach, cost efficiency (eCPM), in-target accuracy and inventory placement quality. Key takeaways:
  • Fifty to sixty percent of programmatic inventory has no IDs associated with it and that includes alternative IDs.
  • Specific to mobile advertising, many advertisers saw 80% of their IOS scale disappear overnight.
  • In an experiment, two groups were exposed to two simultaneous campaigns, focused on holiday shoppers. The first group (campaign A) was an ID-based audience, while the second group was an ID-free predictive audience.
    • Analyzing reach: ID-free targeting nearly doubled the advertisers’ reach, vs. the same audience, with ID-based tactics.
    • Results from cost efficiency (eCPM): ID-free AI-powered contextual audiences saw 32% lower eCPMs than ID-based counterparts.
    • In-target rate results: Significant accuracy was confirmed (84%) when validating if users reached with the ID-free audience matched the targeting criteria.
    • Inventory placement quality: ID-free audience ads appeared on higher quality inventory, compared to the same ID-based audience (ID-free 27% vs. ID-based 21%).

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CTV Ads: Viewer Attention & Brand Metrics

Rohan CastelinoCMO, IRIS.TV

Mike TreonProgrammatic Lead, PMG

Representing the Alliance for Video Level Contextual Advertising (AVCA), Rohan Castelino (IRIS.TV) and Mike Treon (PMG) examined research conducted with eye tracking and attention computing company, Tobii. The research endeavor focused on the impact of AI-enabled contextual targeting on viewer attention and brand perception in CTV. Beginning the discussion, Rohan examined challenges with CTV advertising. He noted that advances in machine learning (ML) have empowered advertisers to explore AI enabled contextual targeting, which analyzes video frame by frame, uses computer vision, natural language, understanding, sentiment analysis, etc., to create standardized contextual and brand suitability segments. Highlighting a study of participants in U.S. households, the research specifically aimed to understand if AI-enabled contextual targeting outperformed standard demo and pub-declared metadata in CTV. Additionally, they wanted to understand if brand suitability had an impact on CTV viewers’ attention and brand perception. Results from the research found that AI-enabled contextual targeting outperformed standard demo and pub-declared metadata in CTV and increased viewer engagement. In closing, Mike provided the marketers’ perspective on the use of AI-enabled contextual targeted ads and its practical applications. Key takeaways:
  • Challenges with CTV advertising: Ads can be repetitive, offensive and sometimes irrelevant, in addition to ads being placed in problematic context.
  • In addition, buyers are unsure who saw the ad or what type of content the ad appeared within. A recent study by GumGum showed that 20% of CTV ad breaks in children’s content were illegal (e.g., ads shown for alcohol and casino gambling).
  • Advertisers have begun experimentation with contextual targeting in CTV, as a path to relevance.
  • A study conducted with U.S. participants that examined the effects of watching 90 minutes of control and test advertisements, using a combination of eye tracking, microphones, interviews and surveys to gather data found that:
    • AI-enabled contextual targeting attracts and holds attention (e.g., 4x fewer ads missed, 22% more ads seen from the beginning and 15% more total ad attention).
    • AI-enabled contextual targeting drives brand metrics (e.g., 2x higher unaided recall and 4x higher aided recall).
    • AI-enabled contextual targeting increases brand interest (e.g., 42% more interested in the product, 38% gained a deeper understanding).
  • Research to understand if brand suitability had an impact on CTV viewers’ attention and brand perception found that:
    • Poor brand suitability makes CTV viewers tune out ads and reduces brand favorability (e.g., 54% were less interested in the product, 31% liked the brand less).
    • AI-enabled contextual targeted ads are as engaging as the show.

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How AI Will Make Us Smarter

During a recent ARF Town Hall, Professor Russel Neuman explained why he thinks AI will have primarily positive effects. It will make us smarter and more productive. Furthermore, he does not think new regulations are needed to protect humanity from negative consequences of AI development. Read more »

Top Topics at AxS 2024

Our analysis of the presentations during this year’s AUDIENCExSCIENCE conference shows which issues are marketers’ current priorities. 

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How Patients React to AI-Assisted Communications

  • MSI

Generative AI is all the rage, and consumers are interested in interacting with such programs to receive personalized services and products. What is their outlook when it comes to doing so in the healthcare field? Here, the view is not as sunny. In fact, a new working paper put out by the Marketing Science Institute (MSI), at the ARF, found that physicians who use AI to communicate with patients were perceived as less warm and even less competent.

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Retail Media Networks, Generative AI Top JAR’s Industry-Informed Research Priorities

  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

Retail media networks, generative AI across creative, market research and trust, ad effectiveness and attention: These are among the topics highlighted on the Journal of Advertising Research’s list of 2024 research priorities. The list is a result of one-on-one interviews with advertising professionals by Editor-in-Chief Colin Campbell, who asked: "What are your biggest needs and challenges?"

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How to Use Machine Learning to Speed Up the Product Design Process

  • MSI

Aesthetic design significantly affects consumer evaluation of products. Nowhere perhaps is this truer than for the automotive category. However, in this industry, development cycles can be lengthy. As a result, mid-generation “facelifts” periodically occur to maintain appeal. However, this process can be expensive. Recent breakthroughs in machine learning may help speed up the process in an efficient and scalable manner. Not only is this option cost-effective, but it is customizable. For those who wish to infuse nature-inspired elements into an aesthetic design, deep machine learning offers many advantages.

Next Generation Artificial Intelligence

  • TOWN HALL

Professor Russ Newman of New York University does not believe that AI will cause humanity’s extinction. Instead, it should help enhance human intelligence and productivity and our quality of life. After putting the AI revolution into historical context, Prof. Newman discussed aligning AI with human values. At our current stage, he believes the regulatory mechanisms in place are sufficient. He explained how large language models work, what allowed them to come into existence and their future impact, describing the effect on marketing and advertising, as well as what the individual user experience will be like. A democratizing, hyper-personalized experience could take place where AI agents advocate on their owner’s behalf and negotiate each transaction with their owner’s preferences in mind. Over time, he sees a great diversification of models coming into being. Historically speaking, each groundbreaking technology that changed the world has been a net gain for humanity. What makes AI different is that if applied correctly, it could make us smarter. The question is, if AI gives us exceptional advice, will we take it?

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