Join us on a fascinating journey with Steve Dunlop, the visionary behind A Million Ads, as we uncover the seismic shift from old-school broadcast to the digital storytelling revolution. Steve takes us through the transformative era of digital ad inventory sales and the birth of DAX, right up to his lightbulb moment that sparked the innovation of personalised digital advertising.

In a world where AI is rapidly becoming the new creative partner, we tackle how these advances are shaping the future of branding and advertising.

We also take a moment to highlight the voiceover industry's resilience in the age of synthesised voices, weighing the pros and cons of this evolving technology.

Lastly, we reflect on the nuanced human interactions with voice-activated AI devices, considering the gendering of AI and the media's influence on our expectations of these technologies.

Takeaways

• Dynamic creative advertising can be more engaging and effective in communicating with audiences.
• AI and machine learning are often used interchangeably, but AI refers to a broader concept of machines performing tasks that require human intelligence.
• AI can be used in the creative process to generate ideas and improve workflow productivity.
• The use of synthesised voice in advertising can provide cost-effective solutions and enable real-time personalisation.
• Automation in newsrooms can streamline processes and generate content for repetitive tasks. AI can be used to generate templatised stories and news articles based on stock market performance.
• AI-generated TV stations exist, but their viewership and popularity are uncertain.
• The radio industry has evolved, with many shows being pre-recorded and automated.
• AI is being used in music and radio to create personalised playlists and DJ-like experiences.
• Dynamic creative optimisation in audio advertising is challenging due to the lack of strong signals for optimisation.
• AI has the potential to optimise advertising and attribution modelling in the future.
• AI is expected to have a significant impact on businesses, automating mundane tasks and improving efficiency.
• Politeness and kindness in interactions with AI can shape its behaviour and responses.
• Naming AI personal assistants can create a more personalised and human-like experience.
• There is a balance between cynicism and excitement about AI, with both positive and negative implications to consider.

Links relevant to this episode:

• AMA - A Million Ads
• Is there a ceiling on what our brains can understand? — Wait But Why
• The Future of Podcast Advertising & Audio Creativity with Steve Dunlop, AMA - AdTech Heroes - Interviews with Advertising Technology Executives | Podcast on Spotify
• 11ElevenLabs - Generate realistic, captivating speech in a wide range of languages

Thanks for listening, and stay curious!

//david

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Tools we use and recommend:

Riverside FM - Our remote recording platform

Music Radio Creative - Our voiceover and audio engineering partner

Podcastpage - Podcast website hosting where we got started