A foundation of diverse, AI-connected data halts the marketing ‘arms race

[jrineakter]

WPP, the largest advertising agency in the world with over 100,000 employees, is leveraging these capabilities to provide users with the relevant datasets required for projects – to help spur and suggest potential creative campaigns. By incorporating data-driven insights into its pitch preparation, WPP not only showcases its creative solutions but also demonstrates its ability to effectively address clients' challenges.

As Vip Parmar, WPP’s global head of data, puts it: “AI is changing the way we work, but its outcomes are only as good as the data that’s put into it. That’s why it’s key to have a foundation of diverse, connected data that’s contextual and relevant and works in conjunction with AI.”

Like any good company, we are applying the innovations we are providing to our customers to our own organization, helping to improve how we as employees find and use data.

data.world’s Brandon and Bryon, who as I mentioned have led on this idea, liken our evolution to Byron’s metaphor of the Agora. When one ancient salesman found a successful formula to market his bronze axes and nails, others quickly adopted the same techniques. This adoption curve has been happening in the marketplace ever since and now happens at digital speed. Fast forward to our day. We’ve seen this pattern time and again: flyers, direct mail, catalogs, door-to-door sales, cold calling, personalized offers, inbound marketing, sales email automation, third-party intent data, social signal aggregation, etc. It’s a kind of “arms race” in Brandon’s phrase.

And we’re calling a halt to the escalation.

Now, instead of navigating through drop-down menus, CTAs, gated assets, and complicated forms, the buyer (or merely curious prospect) is interacting with Archie and can get the information they need for evaluation in a fraction of the time. And they can do so using a user interface with which they are familiar because it is so like ChatGPT. Type. Chat. Learn. The customer is now in control as never before. Check it out.

Meanwhile, internally, our "AI Hacks" library is more than just a resource; it's a living ecosystem currently built on Google Sites. Initially, the library started as a crowd-sourced collection of videos from our own employees, sharing their AI "hacks" and innovative ways to leverage generative AI tools like ChatGPT. These videos serve as a catalyst, encouraging even the AI novices among us at data.world to integrate these tools into their daily workflows. We've also provided comprehensive guidelines on the secure, ethical, and effective use of AI, ensuring everyone is informed and responsible.

In data.world's hybrid-forward work environment and the broader work-from-home landscape, our library has been a game-changer for standardizing the onboarding experience, ensuring every new hire starts off on the right foot. Additionally, we use AI to summarize transcripts from Zoom meetings and Loom video recordings, quickly brazil whatsapp number data distilling key takeaways. To assess our employees' grasp of training content, we can swiftly launch AI-created quizzes—a process that used to take hours is now reduced to mere minutes.

But we're not stopping there. Our AI Hackathon has enriched the library with presentations showcasing new, innovative ways to utilize AI tools within our organization. We're in the process of adding role-specific Prompt Libraries that will offer tailored AI prompts based on specific job roles and use cases, making the library even more relevant and actionable. As we continue to evolve away from traditional training methods, our focus remains on empowering our employees to excel in their roles, armed with the best AI tools and knowledge at their fingertips. The lift in productivity has been incredible – one of our best engineers produced 15,000 lines of code in the past two months. He’s one of those fabled 10x engineers and used to produce around 10,000 lines of code in a year.

So in conclusion, a few words of thanks to the community of readers, my circle of friends and colleagues. I appreciate you joining me on this writing and reading journey on topics so near to my heart as a father, and central to my mission and work as a long-time technologist – education, learning, and the future. We’ve explored the global polycrisis of education, better termed as the crisis of learning. And how AI can fix much of that. We’ve worked through the Strangers in a Strange Land (apologies to Robert A. Heinlein) of schooling almost everywhere. You have indulged me in my invention of a new word, “linearalism”. Our 19th century schooling model just doesn’t fit well in the 21st, does it?