For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Adverting Week was filled with panels and sessions about the communications and media industries. But as we all know, there was so much learn and so little time to hear all the great conversations taking place – so to help with that we asked our Ad Council staff members to share their top takeaways. Read on to see what their top highlights were and what you should keep in mind for the future of our brands and organizations.

AI in the Arts

During a thought provoking session “AI as Creative Collaborator,” panelists covered everything from synthetic media created by AI including music and digital influencers like Lil Miquela, to questions around ownership as in the case of the AI artwork that sold for half a million dollars at Christie’s.
The consensus was that AI relies on human input and the meaning we give it, that creative outputs from AI are different than creativity, and that no AI-generated music will ever replace seeing Prince sing Purple Rain live at the Super Bowl in the rain.
Provided by Anastasia Goodstein, Senior Vice President of Digital Product Management

Be Intentional about Diversity and Inclusion

While attending “Beyond Diversity: A Workshop on Turning Intention into Action, Now,” hosted by Tiffany Edwards, Engagement & Inclusion Director at Droga5, we came to learn that diversity is not and should not be an extracurricular activity. Diversity should be at every major company’s forefront and should be a defined goal until it’s the norm and the culture of each respective industry.
During the talk “Accountability For All: How To Really Support Women Of Color in the Workplace,” Cid Wilson, President and CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Social Responsibility, drove that point home with a memorable moment.
“Diversity & inclusion need to be multiplied by intentionality,” she said. “What is something multiplied by zero? Zero. We need to be intentional when talking about diversity.”
Provided by Jazmine Brown, Assistant Media Manager

The Business Case for Diversity

Brands that are diverse internally and externally are outperforming brands that are not diverse.
Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance and belonging is being able to curate the playlist – which is ultimately the most important. You can have strong diversity numbers but that doesn’t make a difference if those numbers are leaving.
Executive leaders are the gatekeepers of diversity and if they do not reflect the workforce that they are trying to build, then there is no longevity to diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Provided by Alini Walker, Assistant Campaign Manager

Attribution is Evolving

Attribution is the ability to tie ad exposure to a marketer’s goals (store visits, brand lift, sales, etc.). Unlike the past, publishers now have the proper data, so they can integrate it in far more beneficial ways. Bottomline: we are now able to understand how media drives consumers’ perceptions and actions.
You can begin with insights into marketing messages and activities, and then you move into behavioral insights or impact the brand is trying to measure.
For example, a retail brand needs to know who is seeing their ads and where they are seeing them (across all platforms). The brand then focuses on the data that reveals who is walking into their stores, and more importantly when.
Provided by Dana Borne, Director of National Accounts

A New Era of User Empowerment

Over the years, the mobile marketing and advertising industries have been internally focused (data, data, data), paying less attention to consumers attitudes about how that data is used to deliver ads (they don’t like it).
Consumers are aware of the value of that data (free content) but they want control over how it’s used.  According to Ogury’s The Reality Report: Consumer Attitudes Towards Mobile Marketing 2019, “When consumers choose to share their data in exchange for free content, the usefulness of ads will be recognized above their annoyance based on the cognitive bias known as choice-supportive.”
As we move into a new era of user empowerment — GDPR and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) – the industry can be more successful by offering choices, asking permission and building trust with consumers.
Provided by Sarah Kayson, Director of National Accounts

The Future of Advertising: Gen Z

I was fortunate to serve as a judge for the Advertising Futures competition, where high school students from all the New York City boroughs showcased campaign ideas based on a brief for our “She Can STEM” campaign.
The poise, confidence, and ideas that came from these students was amazing. Throughout Advertising Week, panels focused on Gen-Z and how to reach them, but I think it’s the other way around: Gen-Z is changing how we think, how we operate and they’re paving the way for a more inclusive, social justice-minded culture. Ending the week with these students for a few hours was a good reminder that sometimes the best way to continue to change culture is to listen to the young people who are doing it.
Provided by Mary Zost, Campaign Manager
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