Keynote speaker Dean Donaldson threw a glimpse into the future on Tuesday at the Goldbach Round Table on “SmartTV”. In an interview with HORIZONT, he explains how Second Screen can be used to measure the range and why the Austrian TV market can be a good playground.
In your opinion, where are the media and advertising industries moving?
Three things will have a big impact on the future: Artifical Intelligence, Blockchain and Genetics. First, AI not only collects information, but thinks and develops it like a human being. So we are moving from an information age to an age of experience.The advertising industry is currently spending a lot of time collecting and analyzing data, so we have no resources to use it. Through AI, we can accelerate these processes and become more efficient. Blockchain, on the other hand, returns power to the individual. In the offline world, we do not have to give away all our data with every purchase. But we can, if we want, as for example in the context of a customer card. With Blockchain, this is being extended to the digital world, turning the entire industry upside down: if a company wants my data, then it has to pay me. The third point revolves around genetics: that’s the key to true personalization. Because the most personalized data about a person is his DNA. It not only tells you whether someone has blue eyes or a strong stature, but also about our tastes and preferences. There are already some companies that use DNA concretely to produce personalized medicine, or even to produce personalized products.The American wine producer Vinome, for example, can use a DNA analysis to determine which wines a person will love or hate.
And how is the way we watch TV changing?
The media industry has a very limited view of the topic. For a consumer, everything can be television, whether at home in the living room or on the go on the mobile phone. He is not interested in the business models of the companies. The problem right now is that there is a large and confusing choice of options. Alone if you want to see a certain program: If you buy it on iTunes, you look at Netflix, is it on Apple TV – and is that even possible with my national settings? TV was actually always easy to use, computers heavier. At the moment, it seems the other way round. There are many different devices and applications that can be used to retrieve information. This frustrates the user. The industry has to react here. We saw that in the music industry and Napster. But we can learn from it and prevent these problems.
Where is the range of TV range measurements going?
The measurements that are currently taking place are not very accurate. This is changed by the mobile phone: People always have their phone with them, even if they go to the bathroom. By connecting the TV to the mobile phone now, we can achieve audience ratings that we’ve never had before. Second Screen can do that: for example, you can watermark content that not only makes the video easier to find, but also acts as a trigger point for your smartphone. If a person says “adidas” on TV, they will also see adidas content on their smartphone. Not only can we generate a better user experience, but we can also count how many times a brand has been used on television and, of course, how many people have seen it.
There is a lot of talk about trends and technological developments. How can one differentiate which ones are worth pursuing and which ones are not?
Innovation can come anywhere, in any company, anywhere and outside. It’s like Apple’s app store: the apps created directly by the customers themselves make a phone so useful. It’s about going out, not just allowing customers to say what they want, but also allowing them to make it themselves. Companies must be open to cooperating with consumers. The problem with advertising is that too many guesses are made about the bit of data one has.That’s why it does not work. All you have to do is ask – and people will answer.
Austria is a country of SMEs. When it comes to new technologies and trends, how can you compete on a small budget?
Every country has its own challenges. But it’s not about the size, but about the attitude.Often it’s even smaller countries that make world-changing things. Sometimes it’s the special culture, not so strong regulation or a different way of thinking. In Austria, for example, unlike other countries, you do not have to pay for satellite television – which also gives you the flexibility to try things out.
As first appeared in Issue No. 15/2018 of the HORIZONT.
Interviewed by Veronika Höflehner & translated from original German by Google Translate
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