Will AI be the creative partner you wish you had in PR?

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Blair Metcalfe

CEO & Creative Lead at The Agency Partnership

 

Ever heard of Turkish-Korean Caesar salad or Cuban lobster bouillabaisse?

Instagram-worthy foodie delights, no doubt. Yet, inspired cuisines that weren’t dreamt up by Gordon Ramsay, but by a machine. A machine that might have our creative dinner in sight next.

IBM’s AI – Watson – created these two dishes (and many unique others) from previous knowledge of 9,000+ recipes, and dexterity in chemical compounds that work well together.

But AI isn’t confined to being creative in the kitchen. Watson, and cohorts, have created movie trailers for Hollywood (Morgan – 20th Century Fox); written film scripts (Sunspring) and created countless works of art.

So, has the day really come where AI can be as creative as a human?

AI may be able to come up with random creations, but it lacks the novel and unexpected. Creative agency teams may heave a collective sigh of relief – it’s just a warning shot for now.

But whilst we clutch defensively at our humanity, it isn’t stopping agencies from dipping toes into AI; investing in everything from chat bots (mislabelled as AI), to intuitive learning tools (that’s more like it).

Already there’s evidence that agency life is going to be affected in some way or other by the ever-forward march of machines.

The problem is: whilst today’s focus is on developing practical solutions to deliver efficiencies, behind the scenes the ‘practical’ is becoming more ‘creative’.

After all, as Apple’s Steve Jobs famously stated: “creativity is just connecting things”.

If this holds true, AI is increasingly more sophisticated at doing just that. It certainly connects things faster.

For Watson, apparently, connecting things seems to be rather elementary.

In a few short years AI has evolved past mimicking other’s creative output to demonstrating independent creative decision-making.

Whilst robots aren’t in creative agency roles just yet, it will be essential for us to welcome AI as a creative partner as soon as we can.

Yes, we’ll have to adapt to, embrace and collaborate with machines.

But, alongside this encroachment lies the key to unlocking better, more informed, insights, and developing more personal brand experiences.

If approached right, AI could be the creative assistant you wish you always had.

Pushing back defensively against the tide will only serve to reveal the creative agencies of the future all the sooner.

Those who hesitate will be left behind.

Cognitive technology, able to process research and conceive of solutions faster than we can read the first line of a brief, is already here. Integrating the power of AI will break the mould; it will change the role of creatives in our industry; it will not de-humanise the creative process.

There will always be human elements to creativity; instinct can still defeat data.

We are on a path to building richer experiences and communications between brands and consumers.

But, it’s a path that can only be cleared by welcoming AI to the creative pool.

For now, it’s almost inevitable that AI is destined to become a creative partner everyone is fighting over.

First published in PR Week

Postcard from Cannes: There were far fewer PR people here than last year

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It’s become a bit of a habit that I attach to my Postcard From Cannes a rather jolly photograph of me toasting the event with a glass of rosé. Well not this year.

Because I don’t think there’s much to toast.

“We have a problem with Cannes. And that means Cannes has a problem too.”

And I say that will all due deference to the winners -as they board their flights home from Nice, they will feel justifiably proud of their achievement. And nothing I write below diminishes those achievements in any way -quite the opposite.

But here’s the truth.

We have a problem with Cannes. And that means Cannes has a problem too.

There were far fewer PR people here than last year. Far fewer than when I first came here, five years ago. Familiar faces like Omnicom’s Gallagher; Golin’s Neil; Ketchum’s Flaherty; and even PRMoment’s Smith were absent. Those absences say something.

The decision not to award a Bronze Young Lion was strange; insulting; self-defeating. I spoke with the judges last night, and while I understand their perspective I still disagree with their judgement. It was, as I tweeted, a slap in the face for the thirty plus national teams who came here at considerable expense of billable time, air fares, hotel accommodation. A bad call.

The results last night were equally bad for our industry. Let’s not say ‘disappointing’. Let’s say bad. Very few winners. Advertising companies still dominating our space.

“Cannes needs to lower its prices”

Why?

I’d highlight two big issues. The first is cost. It costs a lot to enter, and a lot to be here. That in itself is an issue for many. In fact for the majority of PR agencies I know. For so long as costs are so high, the  number of pr entries will remain so low.

Stuart Smith made a great point to me yesterday – in year one of the PR Lions there were 431 entries in total. 28% of them were from PR agencies. Ten years on, there were 2,100 entries. Only 10% of them were from PR agencies. We are simply being outgunned.

Cannes needs to lower its prices. And then more PR agencies need to compete.

Secondly, the format.

The showreel element inevitably makes the playing field uneven. This is how Dynamo’s Pete Bowles put it on Twitter:

“Time to dump the showreel element? Say a small agency works on a brilliant but modest campaign and then entry fee is £1k + a showreel (let’s say £2k min) when up against Ad firms that *have* a showreel already, makes these awards a total loss leader for professional PRs.”

He’s right. Cannes needs to change that too. In a digital age, it’s a curious anachronism.

I remain an advocate of Cannes. Next year, ICCO will be back running the House Of PR, and  promoting the Young Lions competition. PRCA UK will run the UK Young Lions ‘round’, and pay for the winners to attend and compete. PRCA MENA will do likewise for its practitioners.

Cannes remains the key point at which we celebrate creativity in the creative industries. We need to be here in greater numbers. And we will encourage our members to do so. But Cannes need to itself be creative. And to embrace change.

 

Author: Francis Ingham, Chief Executive, ICCO

Listening is most of all a matter of sensemaking

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From EUPRERA news – The Commission on Public Relations Education have delivered a fantastic and very profound report on the essentials in educating entry-level public relations staff (http://www.commissionpred.org/). Yet, on the concept of listening as an essential element, the report has some confusing data. Indeed, a survey among practitioners show that practitioners do believe that listening is an essential ability for entry-level staff (87% strongly agree). Yet, only 32% believe that the ability to conduct research, analyze data and go beyond numbers to identify implications is a desirable ability. So, what does this listening skill mean?

Educators do teach research methods, but educators and practitioners have doubts whether it has its effects. Educators rated the level of research ability of their students after graduation on a B level. Practitioners rated the extent to which entry-level hires actually have research skills even lower, with a 2.69 mean, suggesting that courses are not as effective as they could be. The commission concludes that either the courses are not providing students with the necessary skills to conduct research and analyze data for the public relations practice, or the students are not translating these skills to practice.

On the other hand, we all know that practitioners themselves are not that much interested in doing research. At the 2018 conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) in Prague, a panel of public relations researchers concluded that practitioners are much more interested in speaking and writing than in listening. A culture in public relations practice to systematically gather data and convert these to insights, is not mainstream, they concluded. The Australian public communication scholar Jim MacNamara, even sees listening as the missing element in public relations practice (he is the only one who wrote a book on listening in our field).

So, on the one hand everybody – educators and practitioners – do believe that listening is important and most believe that research and analytic skills are essential for public relations practice, education practice is not sufficient, while at the same time practitioners themselves do not have a professional culture of systematic listening. This looks like a vicious circle. How do we get away from that?

The commission is convinced that the ability of conducting research is necessary, but so is the ability to analyze and make sense of the results of that research. Making sense of data goes far beyond statistics. It requires creative thinking and critical thinking, it requires out of the box thinking and, as Karl Weick concludes in his books on sensemaking (1996), ability to invent and improvise. It could very well be that we, as educators, should reconsider our focus and lean not so much on sophisticated statistics as on the ability of sensemaking itself. What do you think?

 

by Betteke van Ruler,
Professor emerita, The Netherlands

Go the original article on EUPRERA website.

Cannes Musings: What’s Creative?

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When is something truly creative?  The question kept coming up as our jury deliberated over 1,800-plus entries. As you might imagine, the debate was robust.

Just a few years ago, I was spending my evenings during the weeks leading up to Cannes reviewing PR Lions entries online.  I had the honor of serving on the 2014 PR Lions jury, and the creative question was top of mind for me even before I packed my bags.  Once I arrived in Cannes, I found my fellow jury members – 21 professionals from 19 countries — were asking themselves the same thing. The topic found its way into our dinner conversation and daily jury sessions throughout the week.

No one in the normal course of work and life stops to ask themselves: “Is this idea a creative one?”  Rather, it’s a natural reaction you have to something that simply grabs you.  You know it when you see it, as the saying goes.

During my time on the jury, I began to think more intentionally about how I defined creativity. I wanted to have a distinct point of view to help me judge campaigns of all shapes and sizes. Here is where I landed:

  • Something is creative if it has a fresh take, and puts things in a new light.  For example, introducing a new solution to an old problem, which is often seen in fields like technology where innovation really shines and the right insight can spark a truly remarkable concept.
  • A creative approach causes me to stop and rethink how I have previously looked at something, and I become more willing to consider changing my beliefs, perceptions or behaviors as a result.  Creativity can play a crucial role in changing the conversation about pressing and perhaps long-standing social issues, and inspiring people to finally take action.
  • If something is creative, it breaks through the clutter and the mundane.  This can often be seen in the simplest ways such as a tweet, an event, a headline or a photograph.
  • Creative ideas often surprise and delight by connecting the dots between two otherwise unrelated things.  For example, a sponsorship or initiative that brings to life a brand promise or product attribute in a very clever way.
  • A creative approach resonates and is relevant.  Or as some of my friends from the UK have told me, “It’s just bang on.”
  • Not surprisingly, creativity in its finest form evokes an emotional response of some kind, maybe even a visceral reaction.  A good story is one of the most powerful ways creativity spurs emotion, especially when it is about people experiencing the ups and downs of real life such as adventure, conflict, love, loss and resolution.

Based on what won that year – Chipotle Scarecrow — and in the years since, creativity is alive and well in the public relations industry.  We have a gift for infusing creative thinking into whatever we do, whether it’s an impassioned approach to a cause or social issue, a new product roll-out, or a corporate campaign.

Some of the finest creative work is done in the trenches of PR agencies every day. We just need more of it to show up in Cannes.

Question: How do you define creativity?

 

 

By Elise Mitchell

Chairman, Mitchell Communications Group and CEO, Dentsu Public Relations Network

2014 PR Lions Jury Member

Postcard from Botswana

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The APRA conference held recently in Botswana was a melting pot of ideas, commitments, discussions, leadership and creativity.    Bridget von Holdt, ICCO President for Africa gives her view.

 

Ethics remains #1

Robyn de Villiers, Vice President of APRA began with a workshop on ethics and reputation management.  The results from a recent survey undertaken by APRA showed that companies and communicators were thinking about ethics from a personal, organisational and government point of view.

“There isn’t a low level of ethics in Africa at all. There are always things we have to be looking at when working in Africa, we have global standards to adhere to with multi-national companies, but I’ve been working in Africa for a long time and ‘dodgy dealings’ are not the norm. Often misunderstandings arise due to miscommunication, so context is always important about how things are done,” said Robyn.

Robyn has been working in Africa for 25 years, and travelled to over 38 countries. “I love working in Africa, and in 25 years, I can’t think of a single bad experience. Every single place I’ve been to has been inspiring, eager to know more about the PR global environment, engage with other countries and execute an excellent level of public relations.

 

This was followed by a presentation by CEO of ICCO Francis Ingham talking on the Helsinki Declaration which was a direct result of the Bell Pottinger saga.   The audience commended PRCA, and Francis for the role played to bring ethics to the fore.

 

“RePRsending Africa” research and road ahead

This is the first survey of its kind conducted amongst consultants and practitioners who operate on the African continent.  Interestingly, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was highlighted as Africa’s most reputable and ethical individual, while Gift of the Givers and Botswana were recognised as the most admired organisation and country on the continent.  These are just some of the top level results from the research conducted by Reputation Matters for African Public Relations Association (APRA) on African ethics and reputation. According to Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, President of APRA, “We need to start celebrating Africa as Africans, and to take the narrative back, leaders need to walk the talk and talk the walk if there is any chance for development and economic growth.”

Of the 12 countries represented in the survey, 71% of respondents reside in South Africa with Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Namibia and Angola also being represented.

The research revealed that respondents scored 89% for ethics and reputation management on a personal level. Organisations received 84% for ethics and 85% for reputation management, while African countries received 35% for ethics and 34% for reputation management which illustrates big opportunities for growth.

Respondents sighted Botswana as setting the example as the most reputable and ethical country in Africa. The research proved overwhelmingly that ethics and reputation are interwoven and one cannot exist without the other. Respondents felt that behaviour and core values such as honesty, transparency and credibility are the most important elements of a reputation. On an organisational level, respondents felt that their brand’s reputation is actively managed, communicated and prioritised by their leaders. Organisations should focus on getting the internal building blocks in place before engaging in external communication.

 

Time to tell Africa’s story

Talking to the practitioners from the different countries, I am of the belief that Africa is the next wave – the market is wide open for new ventures, business opportunities and growth markets.   Entering this market is about having something to give, to share – rather than just taking.  This is an exciting time for Africa.  The population is young, there are new innovations – a market waiting to be discovered.

While that are great discrepancies from an economic level, the world is looking for good markets as markets in other parts of the world are stagnating. I do think Africa is the next wave, the place to move to if you are looking to open up a new consumer market, even to find young people with potential.

Africa needs to tell their story.  And the world needs to listen and act.

If you would like to find out more about ICCO activity in Africa, please contact rob.morbin@iccopr.com

Robots can’t tell stories

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Artificial intelligence (AI) may transform the way we work, but at its core PR is about relationships and storytelling, and that human element isn’t changing any time soon. This was the message from Nitin Mantri, ICCO Vice-President, PRCAI President, and Group CEO at AvianWE, at the ICCO and APRSR Seminar last week.

APRSR, the Slovak PR association, hosted a forward-thinking seminar in Bratislava on April 19 with attendance from agencies across central Europe and around the world, ahead of the ICCO board meeting the following day.

“Hands-on knowledge of technology can’t be siloed to the digital department. Everyone needs to be tech savvy because this knowledge will help ignore the hype around buzzwords and assess new tech offerings before investing in them” said Mantri before predicting “automation will not eliminate jobs. It’ll instead reduce the burden of mundane jobs leaving us with more time for relationship-building, creative campaigns and smart strategies.”

Mantri’s optimistic view is that AI is turning PR into a science, and this can empower communicators to speak to audiences in an emotional way.

ICCO welcomes EU Commission Strategy for Ethical AI

This week, the European Commission released an AI strategy calling for at least €20 billion to be invested between now and the end of 2020 in AI research and development. As Mantri has described, the technological advancements will lead to socio-economic changes that must be well managed, therefore a series of measures will be introduced to ensure proper ethical and legal framework for AI in Europe that will support the activity of PR practitioners.

Juergen H. Gangoly, ICCO’s European regional president, welcomed the Commission’s proposals and thanked Nitin Mantri for ensuring this important topic remains at the forefront of the ICCO agenda.

“The member states of the European Union have just signed a governmental agreement on cooperation on Artificial Intelligence in all economic areas. This is also a clear sign for the PR industry to quickly get more know-how and to develop an own AI strategy. Nitin’s input been an important for kicking on AI discussion and collaboration within the global ICCO community.”

Also speaking at the ASRPR seminar were Elise Mitchell, President of ICCO, Founder & Chairman, Mitchell Communications Group, CEO, Dentsu Aegis PR Network speaking about the importance of brands and their leaders to be activists; Jean Leopold Schuybroek, Chariman at Interel Group spoke about the shifting responsibilities of a PR agency in Europe; finally a panel from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia discussed the changing political and media landscape across central Europe and PR opportunities are emerging as a result.

US ad tech companies collecting EU data must prepare for the GDPR

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The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable on May 25, yet some U.S.-based ad tech companies still seem to believe (or hope) that it will not impact them. That is potentially a very risky position to take, because the GDPR applies not only to companies located in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA), but to any companies that monitor the behavior of people in the EU and EEA or offer goods and services to them. Because of the GDPR’s broad reach and many nuances, all ad tech companies, regardless of their location, should immediately and carefully consider whether their businesses are subject to the requirements of the GDPR.

The GDPR’s Broad Reach
A number of elements of the GDPR make it applicable to the ad tech community in the United States.

The GDPR imposes new privacy requirements on companies that collect, use or share personal data from consumers in the EU and EEA, whether or not the companies are located there, with little exception. This means that, for example, an ad tech business with offices in the United States that collects or processes “personal data” of an EU resident is subject to the GDPR.

A significant provision under the GDPR is its comprehensive definition of “personal data” as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person in the EU (a data subject). An identifiable natural person is a person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that person.

To be clear, personal data for purposes of the GDPR includes online identifiers such as cookie IDs, device IDs and location data. While the GDPR may not include all possible online identifiers within the definition of personal data, it will certainly include most, even if those identifiers are not considered to be personal data in the United States.

Implications for Ad Tech
One of the primary goals of the GDPR is to give individuals in the EU more control over how and by whom the personal data they share is used. The GDPR generally seeks to do this by requiring that individuals affirmatively “opt in” to consent to the use of their personal data. This opt-in consent standard creates compliance challenges for ad tech companies who have become accustomed to the opt-out approach common in the United States or the implied consent approach sometimes used abroad.

Some may suggest that, in addition to consent, having a “legitimate interest” may provide a sufficient legal basis to allow the processing of personal data for purposes of online behavioral advertising. However, the European Commission does not seem to agree, and at least one member of the European Parliament recently stated that changes in EU privacy law may mark the end of behavioral advertising.

Whether that view ultimately will be proven correct remains to be seen, but as of now, there seem to be a number of steps that the ad tech community can take to address the consent requirements of the GDPR.

Possible Compliance Solutions for Ad Tech Community
As discussed in a previous Davis & Gilbert Alert, the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Technology Laboratory (IAB Tech Lab) has proposed a possible solution for the entire ad tech community. In particular, the IAB Tech Lab solution (which has not been officially endorsed by EU regulators) proposes the use of a signal trans­mitted between parties engaged in an ad call which conveys whether GDPR-compliant consent has been obtained. Companies subject to the GDPR could also consider other third-party cookie consent technologies which promise to help achieve compliance by offering user-centric consent controls.

Additionally, companies can also adopt other GDPR-compliant solutions on their own or by collaborating with others. For example, ad tech companies could consider excluding EU audiences altogether from targeted advertising campaigns. Another possible approach would be to utilize contextual advertising methods, which target ads based on the content of a webpage and not the personal data of consumers that may be interested in such content.

Bottom Line
With fines that can reach up to €20 million or 4% of worldwide annual revenue, the cost of non-compliance under the GDPR could be much more significant than it has been under the prior data privacy framework in the EU. With a little more than one month before the GDPR becomes enforceable, all ad tech companies, even those located outside of the EU, must now find a solution to meet the GDPR’s requirements before collecting, using or sharing personal data from consumers in the EU and EEA.

Author(s): Richard S. Eisert, Partner/Co-Chair, Davis & Gilbert LLP; Gary A. Kibel, Partner, Davis & Gilbert LLP; Justin H. Lee, Associate, Davis & Gilbert LLP

For the original article click here.

WEF: Creating a Culture of Care

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With the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Annual Meeting now in full swing, I noticed a common thread emerge through a number of meetings and sessions: a focus on building inclusive work environments that foster a caring culture. I had the pleasure of serving on a panel on that very topic at the Equality Lounge with a group of smart, successful female leaders from Google, Deloitte, Panorama, and Quartz.

I was proud to discuss some of the programs Ketchum has put into place that sets it culture apart, from our unconscious bias training to our efforts to reward and recognize collaborative behavior. I was equally inspired to hear a wealth of ideas for attracting and retaining talent from my fellow panelists. One of the things I enjoyed the most about this panel was that the idea of inclusivity wasn’t perceived as solely an HR responsibility. The panelists run major P&Ls, but also share a personal passion for employee growth and development.

I heard smart strategies for creating compassionate, caring cultures at events like the opening plenary session with the Annual Meeting’s seven female co-chairs and a breakfast discussion hosted by Mercer.

Here are some of my top WEF-inspired takeaways on the topic…

Professionals carry their values with them.
SAP’s Adaire Fox-Martin pointed out that employees carry their values with them, and that they seek out organizations that align with those values. Nothing is more important than culture when attracting and retaining talent – even competitive compensation isn’t a compelling enough reason for people to stay at a company that doesn’t make them feel included or respected.

Less wishbone, more backbone.
Deloitte’s Terri Cooper shared that her organization has a mantra for encouraging employees to have the courage to make strategic asks for what they want: “Less wishbone, more backbone.” Everyone who has heard me give a presentation on tips for climbing the career ladder will have heard similar advice for negotiating, but I love this brilliant slogan so much that I just might make myself a T-shirt!

Men and women handle negotiations differently.
In a similar vein, Google’s Tara Walpert Levy pointed out that women and men handle negotiations differently. She noted that men will continue to push for something they want until they get it, whereas women will ask once. If they are turned down the first time, they won’t ask again, but instead they’ll go looking for another job. This nuance is an important one for leaders to remember or risk losing valued employees.

The parity paradigm.
Mercer’s “When Women Thrive” report contains a startling stat: 80 percent of business decisions are made by men. But the news isn’t all bad – 40 percent of the registrants for the women-focused discussion were men, who are critically important in helping to level the playing field for women in business. The report also showed that a relatively low 39 percent of employees are engaged in diversity initiatives, but diversity is not just a “women’s issue” – a nearly equal 38 percent of men are involved in diversity and inclusion programs at work.

Building a dynamic workforce from within.
Finally, the topic of continuing education came up in multiple sessions. Unilever’s Leena Nair noted the importance of an educated workforce, stating the critical need to re-skill employees quickly and enforce lifelong learning expectations. And Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, one of the Annual Meeting’s seven co-chairs, said companies can’t just fire employees because they lack skills – instead they should invest in those individuals to make sure they obtain the qualifications to succeed in their roles.

As I noted on the panel, building a strong culture is not easy. It takes humility, dedication and a commitment to culture at the C-suite table. I am pleased to see topics focused on talent like pay equity, diversity and inclusion, paid family leave, and flexible work environments rising to the top of what business leaders are focused on, no matter their industry or where they are in the world. I look forward to hearing more about this and other topics this week and sharing my findings with you!

 

Author: Barri Rafferty

For the original article, click here.

Why WEF Matters: In Your Own Words

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The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, begins tomorrow. Davos is an intense week, with seemingly more events and discussions taking place this year than ever before, on the most important business, political, environmental, and societal issues impacting the world today.

This year’s forum is focused on “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.” As a communicator, it is my belief that communication can play a key role in bridging the divide to build a shared future in a world fractured by geopolitical and ideological divides. This year I will again be posting thoughts on our blog, sharing real-time insights on our social channels, and identifying the key themes in our annual webinar (taking place this year on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 11:30 am ET – I hope you’ll join us!)

Everyone approaches Davos with different goals in mind. For me, I think the “Davos marathon” is a prime opportunity to learn, make connections and uncover opportunities, and my primary goal is to bring back important insights for our clients and colleagues to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities for businesses in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

For the last two years, I’ve asked Davos delegates from our client organizations and our parent company what they are most looking forward to. Their responses have covered a diversity of interests, from personal security and privacy concerns, to inclusive economies, environmental sustainability, refugees and human trafficking. This year some familiar and new themes came up . Here are a few thoughts:

“The Project Management Institute (PMI) has supported the World Economic Forum regional business working groups, with a focus on long-term investing and infrastructure development strategies and delivery. We are excited to be at Davos for the first time. As the CEO of an organization of professionals that specialize in bringing strategic ideas to life, I look forward to connecting with leaders from all over the world to talk about how to move from ideas to action.

As PMI is a founding member of the Brightline™ Initiative, a non-commercial coalition dedicated to helping organizations bridge the gap between strategy design and strategy delivery, I am looking forward to the panel discussion we are hosting with The Economist called ‘The Business Case for Openness: How to Build the Future.’ Dovetailing with Davos’ overarching theme, ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World,’ the discussion will center around how business leaders can collaborate and build agile alliances counter to some of the recent geopolitical developments around protectionism and seclusion.”

̶  Mark A. Langley, President and CEO, Project Management Institute

“At its core Davos is about an exchange in ideas and ideals that drives more purpose into our actions. Being reminded about ensuring our companies are corporations with a conscience is not just the right way to act, it’s good business and what our talent wants from its leaders. So the primary goal for me is education. What are others doing, what can I steal with pride and how can I improve our performance on this front. It’s a fortunate place to be and one I don’t take for granted.

My other goal is to connect. Davos is executive speed dating on steroids. It’s a rare opportunity to sit with multiple CEOs within 72 hours. They’re relaxed, more open and surrounded by other inspiring peers, and in truth, their more ambitious side comes out. That said, it’s also an opportunity to table our aspirations for both their business and ourselves, and to discuss how we can contribute to solving critical global challenges. It’s a condensed timetable with long hours, but in the end one leaves inspired, more knowledgeable, optimistic and with a more informed agenda on our valued partners.”

̶  Troy Ruhanen, President and CEO, TBWA Worldwide

Author: Barri Rafferty, CEO, Ketchum

For the original article, click here.

WEF: The Automation Transformation

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If you’ve read this blog before, you will have heard me talk about the impact of A.I. Unsurprisingly, A.I. remains one of the biggest topics of conversation at the World Economic Forum this year. But what has struck me is a recurring theme of transformation. A.I. is no longer something for the tech industry to consider – it is infiltrating our entire way of life, from self-driving vehicles, to healthcare, to the analytics tools we count on for developing influencer marketing programs. It is transforming the very nature of industries, and we all need to learn to adapt as A.I. takes its rightful place in the mainstream.

This week in Davos I have been intrigued by this theme of transformation – in sessions as diverse as healthcare technology, economic issues and the future of work. Here are a few key takeaways…

1. When it comes to healthcare, speed and efficiency literally saves lives.
Centene Corporation CEO Michael Neidorff discussed the practicality of using A.I. to quickly and effectively analyze data, leading to healthier patients and ultimately reduced costs. He stated that current A.I. platforms have the capability to review a million files in under five minutes – a feat that is unimaginable using simple manpower. Pfizer’s (client) Albert Bourla noted that with the human genome project, there are more than three billion DNA genomes, so it is impossible to sort through them without the use of technology. However, once we are able to correlate specific genes that are responsible for health issues, we can introduce proactive and reactive wellness programs to mitigate those risks and even cure diseases. Nokia’s (client) CEO Rajeev Suri said his company is working on wearable sensory devices that regularly tracks indicators like blood pressure and glucose and can be shared with doctors between checkups. In the near future, he believes similar devices can identify biomarkers that give early detection for cancer and other diseases.

2. Eliminating “routine” jobs will allow us to focus on what really matters.
Sinovaton CEO Kai-Fu Lee discussed how common jobs like receptionists will be replaced by automation, while others will utilize machines more regularly, such as the use of A.I. tools by doctors and lawyers. While some jobs will be lost, he shared an anecdote about working long hours and how he never really “turned off,” until he was diagnosed with cancer and had to reprioritize his life. He noted that while routine jobs dominate our lives, our work ethic is not really based on achieving tremendous client results but on wealth and financial success. If we take routine jobs out of the equation, it will allow us the time to figure out our true purpose and passion. He implored those in the room to think through the lens of, “How will A.I. help us be better humans?”

3. A.I. augments and enhances human intelligence.
In a session called “Future Shocks: Rogue Tech,” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff gave an example of a very practical application of how A.I. helps him determine how to run his company. Salesforce uses A.I. to analyze large databases containing years of company data, and every Monday Benioff holds a meeting to review the analysis. He uses an A.I. system called Einstein that takes part in the weekly meetings, and Benioff asks Einstein what he thinks. “He does not hide things from me, and he always finds things I did not see.” He referenced a specific example that predicted one executive in Europe would not meet his projections, which allowed the company to course correct while there was still time to do so.

4. Our profession will continue to thrive as other fields are threatened by A.I.
It’s likely that A.I. will change elements of every single career, but some will fare better than others, said Sinovation’s Lee. Over time, pieces of all jobs will be done by machines. But there are four main skills that cannot be replicated by machines: complexity, dexterity, empathy, and creativity. This means it will be more challenging to replace human jobs like plumbers, artisans and marketers, which is good news for us. JPMorgan Chase (client) CEO Jamie Dimon echoed this belief, stating, “Marketing is not guessing. It is analytics, data, A.I. – it’s an absolute machine. But at the end of the day, it’s about people and their insights.” This is our core belief at Ketchum as well – there is proof in numbers, and we arm our clients with strategies backed by data. But the real value we bring is our people and their ability to combine the pure facts spelled out by the data with the creativity and strategic thinking that only an experienced human can bring.

A.I. has, and will continue to be, a major topic of conversation at the World Economic Forum and other gatherings of world business leaders. Since I first attended Davos in 2012, A.I. has become so much more than a buzzword – it is beginning to proliferate so many elements of our lives. The pace at which it has evolved is astonishing, and the truth is we don’t fully understand all of the implications it will have in the future. But as Jamie Dimon reminded us, this process is not new, “Technology has been changing the world since mankind has been here.”

Author: Barri Rafferty

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