Month: July 2017

AI : Artificial Intelligence

Shabbir Chunawalla

After all, Artificial Intelligence too is software that examins confusing situations to venture a guess, and learn from what happens when there is action. The line between ordinary software and AI software has blurred and cloud computing has made AI available to both big and small companies.

The earlyy progress in the 1950s was the invention of neural networks. These networks are the software which processes data with some pattern recognition capabilities of the human brains. A refined programme called a perception came later. It would create a talking, walking and thinking machine. In the early years of this millennium, research labs at companies such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook took root. They had large amount of data and computing power. They hired capable manpower to do speech recognition and image analysis.

Will AI benefit only the cabitalists? Anything that cuts labour costs does so. Another issue — if huge data and computing power drives AI, would future economy be controlled by a handful of companies?

In-app Advertising

Shabbir Chunawalla

Most digital advertising happens in-app. There are application publishing platforms which carry an estimated 6.4 million apps live. Smartphone users spend considerable amount of time everyday with mobile apps. Marketers have made app advertising and integral aspect of their marketing strategy. It is thought that this is the best way to reach the youngsters. However, even the senior citizens and women too have seen using the smartphones. Stay-at home mothers too use gaming apps. There are working professionals who use OTT content and sports apps. To begin with, it was believed that it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of mobile ads. Advanced technologies enable now advertisers to track in-app ads. The ads are measured against norms such as impressions, completed views, CPI, attributions etc. in real-time. It is possible to compare the behaviour before and after an app installation. Digital ads are either in-app ads or web/WAP ads. In-app ads have a higher viewability than the web ads. There are app install campaigns of many advertisers. Such campaigns drive the in-app advertising. Digital video ads are popular in-app ads. This video consumption is driven by in-app vide ads. Though gaming apps were to begin with popular with the youngsters, they have now been adopted by all ages and genders. In-app ads will show expontial growth over the next couple of years. Marketers are now designing ad compaigns based on in-app ads.

 

TV Media Planning and Buying

Shabbir Chunawalla

Currently, the planners process a lot of data, choose the channels, place the ads and analyse the impact. There are last minute changes as per the demands of the client. It is a time-consuming and cumbersome exercise. It is also impulsive and intuitive as some decisions are taken on the spot.

The data driven media buying brings buyers and sellers to an automated marketplace. Already, in digital advertising, programmatuc buying is working well. The concept is making inroads into the TV industry. Manual processes are dispensed with.  No endless working on spreadsheets, and lengthy media plans. No requests and orders, and the wait for responses from the TV channels. The process takes a few steps, using a simple workflow.

The campaign is need based. It sets parameters such as audience classification, duration of the creative, GRP objective and genre of channels. The workflows are automated in programmatic TV. It is efficient and transparent. The intelligent algorithms do the e work. The performance is tracked continuously. Apart from convenience, programmatic TV helps exercise better control. It allows immediate remedial action if expected performance in terms of GRP is not delivered. It is flexible.

It is the next revolution in TV advertising. Programmatic TV has already taken its first steps in India.

Industry 4.0

Shabbir Chunawalla

Industry 4-0 originated in Germany. It has touched all businesses — big and small and has become a global phenomenon. There is connectedness of business and customers and it is increasing. The capabilities of analytics and business intelligence are advancing. There is machine human interface and a potential for inter-operability. Digital technologies reduce costs and enhance revenues. The safety for workers has increased. There are reduced risks and human errors. All this creates a strong case for integration with digital ecosystem.

Industry 4.0 will increase the contribution of industry to GDP from the current 15% to 25%. Industry 4.0 will impact SMEs too, as 40 per cent workforce is accounted for by it.

The successful transition to industry 4.0 depends upon adoptation to digital technologies and culture and adoption of design thinking. Instead of workshop in silos, we have to learn to collaborate. The collaboration extends to various functions within the organisation and across the organisational boundaries.

Poiltical Cartoons

Shabbir Chunawalla

In the 1960s and 1970s, political cartooning held the sway in the media. R. K. Laxman’s You Said It for the Times of India lampooned the events of the day. Political cartoons no longer remain prominent in the content of a newspaper or a magazine. Modern editors are reluctant to spare space for the cartoons. Even political leaders are averse to cartoons. There are fewer artists who make impactful cartoons. Internet has enabled the creation of memes and its dissemination. Even a person with no ability to draw can make a cartoon. Malayalam press of Kerala is an exception which has patronised many promising young cartoonists. Cho Ramaswamy’s Tughlak was famous for its political cartoons.Cartoons supplemented the editorial coverage visually from 1960s to 1980s. As we get newsfeeds from TV and the Internet, cartoons have lost their primacy. Cartoons now compete with other visual media for attention.

Cartoons may find new formats, e.g. web space. Cartoons can be used by newspapers for graphic reportage. As political aversion grows, the anonymity in the web space is welcome for the cartoonists.

Some prominent political cartoonists are K. Shankar Pillai known as Shankar of Shankar’s Weekly fame (which shut down during Emergency ), Abu Abraham, Mario Miranda, Vijay Narain Seth khown as Vins who worked for Reader’s Digest, Paresh Nath of National Herald.