Beware of the AI 'hype curve', says LoopMe general manager, Pete O'Mara-Kane: Programmatic Punch APAC

According to eMarketer, digital advertising accounts for roughly half of the global ad market. Digital has drastically changed the landscape of the advertising industry in many different ways. Personalised, relatable and highly engaging ads are fast becoming the norm for consumers. As a result, marketers are increasingly more reliant on data to reach their target audience, allowing advertisers to uncover deeper audience insights and deliver highly targeted campaigns.

In APAC, arguably some markets haven’t seen 25 years of digital advertising, it’s been shorter, but maturity has (or is currently) catching up. Some would call it leapfrogging, particularly for mobile. Are we investing enough in digital in APAC now, have we caught up to where we need to be with digital?

Despite the fact that some markets in APAC haven’t experienced 25 years of digital advertising, advertisers have definitely caught up with global standards. In fact, it was recently revealed in Dentsu Aegis’ latest advertising spend report, that APAC contributed 42% towards the growth of global advertising spend.

The pace of change that we need as businesses has certainly increased. How do you manage that?

As digital technology evolves, businesses will continue to find themselves in a position where they must adapt to change, or risk falling behind.

At LoopMe we embrace change. Our team of 100 developers and data scientists ensure that we are continually evolving our product solutions to better address the challenges that advertisers face.

And what about measurement? How do we do that now? Does digital really make things easier to measure?

Being able to measure the effectiveness of digital campaigns in real-time means that marketers don’t need to wait to see how their campaigns perform. However, while there may be a greater ability to track digital activity, it’s important that advertisers are measuring the metrics that matter. In order to truly measure the success of campaign performance, we need to look beyond traditional metrics such as clicks and views, which often fail to correlate with real world outcomes.

This was one of the main drivers behind the launch of our PurchaseLoop Product suite. We wanted to close the loop on brand advertising and help brands deliver real world outcomes.

PurchaseLoop uses survey, location and purchase data to optimise campaign delivery in real-time toward brand outcomes, only showing ads to the consumers most likely to undergo a change in opinion, visit a store or make a purchase.

What will the impact of AI be on advertising in the next 25 years?

In the past few years alone artificial intelligence has had a huge impact on the advertising industry. It’s clear that AI will continue to revolutionise advertising over the course of the next 25 years.

With all technology, we tend to experience a type of hype curve. Some have even gone as far as describing this period as the “New Industrial Revolution”. The effects of the mainstream adoption of artificial intelligence will impact all industries, not just advertising.

What is your hope for digital in the next 25 years?

Over the next 25 years, we hope that digital advertising will become more transparent, clearer to navigate and continue to enhance customer experiences. It’s indisputable that artificial intelligence will play a pivotal role in delivering these changes.

O'Mara-Kane is set to take part in a panel session, 25 Years of Digital Advertising, at Programmatic Punch. With a full quarter-century of digital advertising under our belts, we'll set the tone with a look at what's behind us and what lies ahead.

Tickets are available now for the event taking place on October 3 at The Pavilion, Far East Square, Singpapore.