MAM
Pressure for outsourcing may dilute BBC’s position
MUMBAI: BBC is, by far, the biggest programme maker in Britain what with almost 20,000 people employed in production-related jobs. But its position as the dominant force in British television production is under great pressure. As a result, it would not be surprising to see its position getting diluted.
Critics say it is too big. Independent producers have long believed that the size of the BBC’s production division puts them at a disadvantage. It is because the commissioning executives are under pressure to keep in-house staff occupied, despite a legal obligation on the corporation to source a certain number of shows from outside.
According to media reports, relations between the BBC and the “indies”, as the independent producers are known, deteriorated under the previous director-general, Greg Dyke, who said it was not his job to make them rich. Some of the independent producers – including ex-BBC staff such as Big Brother guru Peter Bazalgette – actually became millionaires.
Independent productions for the BBC include: Spooks (Kudos); Have I Got News for You (Hat Trick); Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (Open Mike); and Restoration and Fame Academy (Endemol).
Fences have been mended between the corporation and the indies with a deal on new terms of trade, and the indies are now arguing for the BBC to spend much more externally, commissioning shows on merit , not through the need to keep BBC employees in jobs.
At the moment, the BBC is obliged to commission 25 per cent of its programmes from outside, although certain genres, such as news, are exempt. The BBC said last week it had commissioned more than 2,300 hours from independents in 2003-04.
Jana Bennett, the BBC’s director of television was reported as saying, “I am committed to staying well above the quota in this current year and in the years to come.”
Pact, the trade body for more than 600 indies, wants the BBC’s in-house productions limited to 50 per cent of output, with 25 per cent reserved for indies and the rest open to all. This would favour producers outside the BBC, who do not qualify in law as indies, such as Granada, the programme-making arm of ITV. Pact also wants the quotas measured by programme cost, as well as length.
Such a shift in power would inevitably lead to significant job losses at the BBC, although many of these people would probably set up their stall in the expanding indie sector. There are fears in the BBC of a bloodbath; independent producers say it would be more akin to a blood transfusion.
One of the first acts of Mark Thompson, when he took up his post as director general in June, was to commission a review of the BBC’s commissioning and production structure. Although he was at pains to say he had an “open mind”, few believe he would have ordered the review had he believed the system was sound.
Thompson hinted in a speech on his first day that the coming months would bring significant changes to the BBC’s structure. “A BBC, which is big in terms of services is essential. But how deep should the BBC be? How big, in other words, in terms of vertical integration, of departments, in-house operations and commercial subsidiaries? … We face a much tougher financial environment going forward – and some testing questions about our size and shape as an organisation.”
Pact’s chief executive John McVay, said that he is arguing for a “level-playing field” and for programmes to be commissioned on merit, regardless of who made them. “The only way the BBC is going to survive in future is by making the best programmes,” he said.
The BBC’s review is likely to be completed this autumn, before the green paper on the renewal of its royal charter. ent.
Brands
Creative Intelligence: Using AI to Predict Which Ads Will Actually Convert
Priyanka Aeron, Director & Co-founder of Thrive Global AI
MUMBAI: In a heavily populated digital landscape, simply being creative with your advertising will not guarantee that your ad will be successful. In fact, brands today are producing more content than ever. However, very little of that results in actual engagement or sales. However, Creative Intelligence, powered by AI, is fundamentally transforming the advertising industry.
Creative Intelligence utilizes data, machine learning, and statistical behavioral insights to analyze and predict how well a creative asset will perform prior to it being published. Therefore, marketers no longer have to rely on either their gut instincts or post-campaign analytics for making informed decisions before production. That said, AI-powered creative intelligence greatly improves results and decreases wasted dollars spent.
Moving Beyond Guesswork
In the past, making ads was a mix of gut feeling, experience, and A/B testing. These methods were useful, but reactive by nature. People have already spent their budgets by the time the results are looked at. AI models can find patterns that are linked to higher engagement and conversion rates by looking at huge datasets. These datasets can include things like past campaign performance, audience behavior, and visual elements like color, composition, and facial expressions. This helps marketers guess which ads will do well even before they go live.
Decoding What Truly Drives Conversions
AI-powered creative intelligence allows for an evaluation of advertisements that is not limited to the basic data but also explores the elements of an effective advertisement through subtle reactions; clarity and directness of the ad message and how well the ad captures audience’s attention in the first three seconds. AI can also provide insights into the successful use of advertisements directed to human faces, which connect through eye contact based on media channels, and how advertisements that utilize shorter but clear calls to action may produce more clicks from certain populations. The insights, provided through AI, provide marketers with the ability to think beyond creating more advertising material and additionally create more effective ad campaigns that actually convert.
Personalization at Scale
Consumers expect relevance more than ever. Irrelevant mass messaging is not going to work in a society inundated with information. Hyper-personalization, using AI, allows companies to create content that suits individual segments within their target markets based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors. Rather than having one single message that aims to reach everyone, brands can have many versions of their messages tailored to each segment within the market. Such flexibility is what makes campaigns successful nowadays.
Faster Iteration, Better Results
Another advantage to using AI in creative decision-making is speed. Companies must improvise because their campaign cycles are shorter than ever before, and having the ability to iterate rapidly is more important than it has ever been. There is no greater way to do this work than through AI, as new technologies give brands the ability to test multiple creative avenues and figure out which ones are working well. This reduces a lot of the testing that companies would otherwise have to do and makes the process faster.
With AI, brands can also make creative changes in real-time during a campaign, allowing the, to make vital decisions and adjust their creatives, rather than waiting out. This allows for faster adaptability, well-tested campaigns and reduced lost ad spend.
The Human-AI Collaboration
Even though AI is capable of performing certain tasks, its purpose is not to eliminate human creativity. Successful campaigns require human collaboration with computer intellect since both complement each other. While computers are capable of dealing with massive amounts of information, discovering patterns, and providing predictions, humans are the one to inject stories and emotions into campaigns.
The Future of Advertising
As the complexity of advertising becomes harder with the passage of time, Creative Intelligence will play a significant role in helping marketers formulate a strategic approach. The yardstick that will set standards for determining whether a marketing firm has fulfilled its responsibilities will be the forecasting of future outcomes, as well as personalized content and optimization of creative elements in real-time. In contrast to the existing scenario where the campaigns remain fixed, these campaigns will be capable of adjusting themselves according to the customer interacting with the brand, as well as other trends on social media channels. This will enable brands to offer customers an engaging experience that will exceed expectations. The biggest hurdle marketers will face will be finding ways to utilize these capabilities without compromising branding and enhancing the creativity of the team involved.
