The Meaningful Media Podcast

More than one year since the launch of ChatGPT, the media ecosystem is working to understand the concrete outcomes that integrating AI tools could provide for businesses.

Emerging #AI tools hold the potential to improve the industry’s understanding of media context and determine the best conditions for a brand to expose an ad.

Specifically, AI media solutions for inclusive machine learning are supporting brand suitability, identifying content for brands to avoid – like fake news, disinformation, gender and racial bias.

Unpacking the impact of these tools on media experience to ultimately drive value and growth for brands, AI heavy hitters Masaki Halle, Head of Data at Havas Media Network, Weilin Ho, Director at Havas Start Up Accelerator – located at Station F, Paris, the largest start up campus in the world - and Daphné Marnat, Co-Founder & CEO of Unbias-ia are in conversation with host Ben Downing.

“What we are trying to improve is the risk parameter that brands should avoid....fake news, propaganda, climate change denial, gender or racial bias and disinformation. These categories are not taken care of in standard brand safety tools. We have to design innovative ways of detecting such content and this requires the use of AI,” underlines Masaki Halle. These AI solutions, suggests Daphné Marnat, are today’s ‘Guardians of Integrity in the Online Galaxy’.

Enjoy!

The Meaningful Media Podcast Team 

🎧 We’d love to hear your thoughts about AI and its evolving impact on media experience. Drop us a line! [email protected].   

 And if you’d like to contact Daphne: [email protected]

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Opening Season 3 of The Meaningful Media Podcast, host Ben Downing sits down with Alex Hase, General Manager and Chief Revenue Officer at software-as-a-service solution provider Mirakl and Molly Hop, EVP Market, Havas Media Network to explore how businesses can deliver digital growth by getting the media experience right from all perspectives of ecommerce. Key themes in this meaningful conversation:

The evolution of Retail Media

“Retail media is not a new concept. Digital retail media is blossoming significantly but it’s really about trying to engage consumers in that path to purchase so you can influence and/or expose them to things they might not otherwise have been exposed to. Whether brand or retailer you are either trying to complement the path to purchase the consumer is already on or you’re trying to identify something that you think they might benefit from,” explains Alex Hase.

Marketplaces & Opportunities for Growth

Customers want to buy everything, anywhere, and have it delivered quickly. To do that retailers need to address that need. “For retailers, they are addressing this new world and how to combine it with in store experience, so they don’t cannibalise their retail experience. For brands, they are asking how they can directly interact with their consumers and help them understand the full portfolio of goods available to them,” says Alex Hase. Marketplaces enable sellers to sell their products on a retailer’s ecommerce site. Another opportunity is 'drop ship' where a retailer brings a brand on board to carry out the fulfilment of a specific product.

Role of Agency for Brands

Amazon has proven to retailers there’s an opportunity to monetize your platform, and your first party data, ushering in a new business model which has driven retailers to expand how they bring in revenue. Support for brands to ensure they are getting the best value on this critical path is essential and a key role for agencies. Our guests discuss the value of first party data as a data targeting opportunity and a layer for consideration in the media experience.

On Brands and Media investment

Consumers’ ability to purchase and shop everywhere is changing the discussion around media plans for brands.“Retail media is a brand experience and in and of itself helps to build brands,” underlines host Ben Downing.

New Ways to Advertise

The conversation turned to seismic shifts, like shoppable ads in connected TVs, carving out new ways to monetize media. Molly Hop shares: “Shopper marketing and in-store bricks and mortar are one of the first ways people were advertised to. Now we’ve had the shift and are able to reach anybody anywhere.”

Social Commerce in ‘test and learn’ phase

Social commerce means expanding into a complex context but one which holds great opportunity. Molly cautions that understanding what consumers want in this context is crucial: “Social Commerce is a ‘big hairy beast’ that we’re all trying to navigate. There are a lot of wins, for example with TikTok, with advertisers being really smart about building a shopping experience that’s organic to the environment it’s in."

 Enjoy!

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Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Havas Group, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Vivendi is Ben’s very special guest for the final episode of Season Two. Exploring the outlook in media for 2024 and discussing how media and entertainment converge in culture to create meaningful moments highlights of this fascinating conversation include:

·     On how global versus local plays a role for brands when creating media that matters, Yannick Bollore underlined when he became CEO of Havas in 2013, “we were living in a world of happy globalization” with much of the world sharing the same values, beliefs, and it was very easy to have a global campaign for brands Since then we have seen the rise of nationalism, war in Europe and the catastrophic situation in the Middle East. “Today, it's becoming increasingly difficult to talk about happy globalization and for brands, we need to adapt to this new reality. To have a global network with very strong local agencies is becoming more and more important.”

·     Today you cannot just pay for people attention. You have to earn it. At Havas, we have gone through a huge shift in our strategic plan. First, creating the Together strategy, with all talent in the group gathered in one place we call the Villages. Creative people working together with the media. A holistic approach to content and advertising.

·     The role of culture to earn attention is key...Brands need to become cultural brands to stay relevant to their consumers or to become relevant to their consumers or prospects.

·     Entertainment, Social Commerce and AI three key trends for the year ahead. On AI Yannick says: “It's creating a structural change for our industry. I believe AI will, in terms of transformation, be as important as the revolution in the eighties or the digital revolution from 2000-2010. This is why we have been investing a lot in terms of money, resources, people. I think it's important that communications group become a best in class to support their clients in their AI transformation.“

·     On the importance of respect, diversity and sustainability brands need to go through a strong transformation, not just to bring a great product at an affordable price, but to do more. “I believe in meaningfulness. I believe in diversity. Three brands out of four can disappear today.* No one would notice or care. When people are shopping today, they want to wear brands, they want to buy products that are creating something bigger than themselves.” * Havas’ proprietary Meaningful BrandsTM Survey

·     The media Yannick turns to when looking to get inspired? The Meaningful Media Podcast!

We’ll be back in 2024 to bring our cherished listeners a host of new interviews with media luminaries for their take on media experiences and hearing directly from consumers on the media that matters.

Until then, take care all and stay tuned in 2024!

The Meaningful Media Podcast Team

🎧 We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].  

Like, share, follow and connect with us on our socials!  

⭐ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havasmedianetwork/  

⭐ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/havas-media  

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People love podcasts! Listeners doubled in four years from over 200m in 2019 to more than 460m in June 2023, and global listeners are set to blow past half a billion by 2024*.

As brands head into this audio space with its channel-specific challenges, they need effective support; to tackle brand safety; and to lock in listeners through meaningful audio media experiences. Trailblazer Dave Byrne, Director, Global Advertising Platform Integrity at Spotify and an expert in brand safety and brand suitability joins our host Ben Downing, Global Managing Director, Ethical Media & Strategic Partnerships, Havas Media Network to get to the heart of effective strategies for brands to create meaningful audio moments which connect, in the right audio context, to engage with listeners.  

Key challenges in the audio brand safety arena discussed during the conversation include: tone of voice, ‘Is somebody saying something as a joke or are they saying something as a legitimate, harmful thing? The evolution of language, an innocuous term today could be a term used to spread misinformation next week; and the nuances of language from one country to the next, with different meanings for the same term or word.

Dave and Ben delved deep into the entire media experience: “As much as we talk about content and brand safety, where we've had to focus on in audio is more about the context versus content,”  said Dave. Some advertisers have negative keyword lists which don’t reflect the broader context of what is being said, rather than focusing on individual keywords or individual pieces of content within the media.

“The concept of brand safety, or sometimes we use the term brand suitability, has become so central. This idea of media experience, because it's not only about content, it's about the context and the connection the audience has from those two things. The connections forged by that context and content,” added Ben.

Bubbling to the service was the notion that brand suitability and effectiveness are often the same conversation. "I have seen multiple, multiple times that when brands get brand suitability right engagement metrics soon follow,” underlined Dave.

On reach Dave added: “Just because you've got a million eyes looking at your ad doesn't mean you're appearing in the right environment, that those million ads, a million eyes are going to make an action, are going to change things. There’s definitely something to be said about bringing it sometimes back to basics of what is good media to buy. I can't tell you how many times in audio medium people are “Oh, we want to be here on this playlist". We ask what kind of audience do you want to capture? And actually that audience is in all these other places. It’s about not sacrificing revenue, profitability, engagement for the sake of other metrics that may be assigned.”

For all marketers involved in, or heading into, the burgeoning audio space this is a conversation not to be missed! Enjoy! 

* Source: DemandSage  

Useful inks

GARM

Spotify Advertising

🎧 We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].  

Like, share, subscribe and connect with us on our socials!  

⭐ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havasmedianetwork/  

⭐ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/havas-media  

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“There are exciting shifts in B2B marketing which is going through a renaissance right now,” underlines Melissa Furze, Vice President, Customer Science and B2B Institute, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, during this fascinating conversation with podcast host Ben Downing as together they examine the shape of meaningful media experiences in the evolving B2B advertising space.

With over 65 million companies on their platform, LinkedIn “sits at a pretty unique space when it comes to understanding what's happening in the professional world”, explains Melissa who leads a multi-disciplined team which includes marketing strategists, researchers, content solutions, engineers, and analysts.

While there are differences in terms of B2C and B2B marketing, notably that B2B buying decisions involve high consideration purchases with typically longer sales cycles and often larger buying committees compared to the individual consumer’s buying decision, during this episode we learn there is definitely a shift towards more emotional, human-centered and ‘story full’ advertising in B2B. At LinkedIn, for example, they have new ad formats called Thought Leader Ads where brands have the opportunity to tell their stories through the voices of employees and their experiences by sponsoring a post from individual employees and executives.

B2B advertising is seeing a shift around creativity. Recent research from LinkedIn found 50% of B2B marketing leaders say creativity is their biggest priority. While B2B marketers are understanding the importance of storytelling. In their recent B2B marketing benchmark report LinkedIn found that “43% of B2B marketing leaders actually say that storytelling will be one of the most important future skills for their marketing team.”  

Press play on this episode to learn how CMOs and their marketing teams are building impactful media experiences in the B2B advertising space to connect and build meaningful emotional connections.  

Useful inks

Further information on the LinkedIn CMO Scorecard mentioned in the episode: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-institute/cmo-scorecard

LinkedIn Collective: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/linkedin-collective/

Good News Network cited by Melissa during her Fast Five: GoodNewsNetwork.org 

Enjoy! 

⭐ We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].  

Like, share, subscribe and connect with us on our socials!  

⭐ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havasmedianetwork/  

⭐ LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/havas-media  

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Fan communities – from gaming and sports to music and festivals – offer unprecedented opportunities for brands to plug into the power of passion – the lifeblood of fandoms.

In this dynamic episode, host Ben Downing sat down with special guests Twitch streamer Vanessa Lopez and Kevin Paskins, Pan EMEA Sales Director, Twitch to explore how creators

and fans interact to build communities, and how to create unique media experiences on live-streaming platform Twitch. Providing valuable guidance for brands, this conversation delves into how creators, brands and platforms coalesce to build meaningful relationships with fandoms.

“That’s the great thing about Twitch, it’s like watching TV but talking to each other. Like watching a movie with a friend, you’re talking about the movie with the friend in real time,” says Vanessa

referring to the social interaction and the live conversations with her community, conversations which pour into real life moments too.

“Fandom is about entertainment,”  underlines Kevin who shares that, on average, there are 7.6 fandoms per person, citing Twitch’s recent Anatomy of Hype report, with ‘happiness’ and ‘connection’ key drivers.

This episode is one of a series recorded during the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity at the Havas Café. Have a listen to our other episodes too: The Newsroom: Disrupted and Social Shopping & The Era of Creative Commerce!

Enjoy!

We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].

Reach out on our socials: LinkedIn and Instagram.

Executive Producer: Lindsey Partos

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In the first episode in our new The Meaningful Media Leader series, Sarah Mansfield, Vice-President Global Media, Unilever & Vice-President, Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) discusses her professional journey in media, shares vital perspectives on the media industry today and outlines valuable insights for the road ahead with our host Ben Downing.

From the benefits and ‘watch-outs’ of generative AI to driving transparency in cross-media measurement through a collective initiative at ISBA, this broad conversation between Sarah and Ben strikes at the heart ofexplores key areas impacting the media ecosystem, the leadership role of ISBA as one single voice representing advertisers in the UK and delves into the path forward for the industry.

“If we work together as an industry we can solve big problems…How we collectively solve big hairy challenges is a partnership with stakeholders; we are better solving them as a collective,” says Sarah during her discussion with Ben.

Enjoy the episode and do keep an ear out for future episodes with further media luminaries in this thought-provoking series!

We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].

Reach out on our socials: LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Between constrained advertising models and dwindling consumer attention, the media landscape continues to experience disruption compounded by the evolution of new storytelling formats to engage audiences and expand coverage areas.

In the second installment of our three-part series of episodes recorded at the Havas Café during the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, host Ben Downing sat down with news and media heavy hitters Ros Atkins, Analysis Editor, BBC News; Carmella Boykin, TikTok producer, The Washington Post; and Joi-Marie McKenzie, Editor-in-Chief, Life division, Business Insider to get an inside look into the world’s newsrooms and to discuss their take on the highs and lows of media experiences today.

Topics covered during this riveting conversation include: the primordial role of storytelling and why voice remains critical; building trust with readers and the deep value of meaningful engagement; why and how journalists’ own branding helps people to connect to storytelling; the potency of facts as the star of the show; the pivotal part played by production teams to build work that connects; and the advent of ‘bad faith’ checks to closely examine content which could be taken out of context.

“The reality is our focus in on good storytelling. Worrying about algorithms is almost secondary,” said Joi-Marie McKenzie, Editor-in-Chief, Life division, Business Insider, during the conversation.

Enjoy!

We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].

Reach out on our socials: LinkedIn and Instagram

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Valued at USD584.91billion in 2021, social commerce is enjoying seismic growth and presenting the fastest growing e-commerce opportunity for brands today. Fundamental to this growth are creators, who provide the right content, in the right context to connect with the right shoppers. But what are the key ingredients to creating engaging, meaningful media experiences? How can brands and creators work hand in hand to build meaningful shopping experiences and successful customer journeys? How can social commerce unlock incremental revenue for brands?

In the first installment of our three-part series of episodes recorded at the Havas Café during the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, host Ben Downing is joined by Sandie Hawkins, General Manager of US eCommerce at TikTok, and Hina, a TikTok creator with 1.7 million followers, to address these questions and explore how brands can meaningfully engage with TikTok creators to build trust with their target audiences and connect them with products that they’ll love.

“Creators are brands in and of themselves,” shares Hina during the conversation. “If I’m lending you my brand, I want to speak in my voice, not your voice. I want to speak about your product, in my voice.”

Enjoy!

We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].

Reach out on our socials: LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Havas Media Network took the podcast out of the studio to the DigiAds stage at London’s MAD//fest event in July 2023 to record an episode before a live audience.

Connecting the festival’s theme of “riders of the storm” the macro reality facing consumers, brands and citizens with the need for and consumer desire for ‘responsible advertising” we brought together leading industry voices Jake Dubbins, Founder, Conscious Advertising Network, Hannah Mirza, Founder of The Responsible Marketing Agency and Laura Wade, Global Head of Sustainability Strategy, EssenceMediaCom, with host Ben Downing, Global Managing Director, Ethical Media & Strategic Partnerships, Havas Media Network, to discuss what responsible advertising is and why it matters now more than ever.

“We need to recognize our influence and recognize our role in what is happening out there,” underlined Jake Dubbins, citing recent communications from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which stated we are facing a rapidly closing window to secure a sustainable future for all.

In light of the global climate and social crises, and from monetized misinformation to rising distrust of media titles, the advertising industry needs to drive and shape a future-facing agenda to build a path forward, carefully examining investment choices and supporting a pluralistic media with diverse voices, heard MAD//fest’s audience.

We invite you to listen to this meaningful conversation.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about meaningful media. Drop us a line! [email protected].

Reach out to us on our socials: LinkedIn and Instagram.

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