In the midst of the noise surrounding AI’s impact on marketing and advertising, the past year has witnessed a significant transformation in how brands and advertisers gather consumer insights. AI has swiftly become the focal point of discussions in ad-town across global markets. Ad agencies have been quick to embrace the technology, through strategic partnerships to tap into its intelligence.

To build a comprehensive view of their campaign performance, most marketers are still reporting at the channel level, requiring them to pull heavy amounts of data from multiple platforms which is a time-consuming and inefficient process. Yet, in spite of the resources that are expended in collecting and normalizing data for traditional measurement tools – which can cost upwards of $2M a year – 80% of marketers say they still struggle with multi-channel measurement and attribution.

Plus Company becomes the first of the few to launch an original state-of-the-art intelligence tool – Plus AIOS. The tool uses predictive intelligence to reverse-engineer customer journeys to focus on business outcomes instead of analyzing the reach of individual channels. Extracting patterns from existing data, Plus AIOS offers an extensive prediction that can help brands further analyze and measure ROMI.

This innovative tool, unveiled at an exclusive event hosted by Socialize, Plus Company’s strategic partner in the Middle East, promises to revolutionize marketing performance. By providing a comprehensive and real-time view of the customer journey, Plus AIOS aims for unparalleled return on investment. The results speak for themselves, with over $2 billion in marketing spend optimized, leading to a remarkable 29% reduction in cost per conversion and a 23% improvement in campaign efficiency.

Akanksha Goel, Regional Lead at We Are Social, Founder & CEO of Socialize said, "In this dynamic, fragmented media landscape the role of technology and specialized advisory teams that lead its implementation is pivotal. Solutions like AIOS embody predictive intelligence, and transcend traditional methods & offer a nuanced, real-time view of marketing effectiveness. We’re thrilled to be able to showcase the platform for the first time in the Middle East."

Michael Cohen, Global Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Plus Company, highlighted the significance of this leap forward, stating, "The AI we encounter today, whether it’s in the form of large language models or simple forecasting, essentially relies on statistical prediction. The fundamental concept involves identifying something we want to predict and determining factors that we believe are indicative of it. These factors are then fed into a machine, allowing us to discern the nature of their relationship. That’s the basic premise," he explains.

"However, the specific structure of AI varies depending on what we’re aiming to predict. Whether it’s forecasting the next word in a sentence, like LLMs are able to do, or predicting the next touchpoint in a journey, which is what AIOS seeks to achieve, the arrangement of this predictive relationship will differ” Cohen adds.

From left to right: Brett Marchand – CEO at Plus Company, Akanksha Goel – Founder & CEO at Socialize; Regional Lead across ME & India, We Are Social, and Michael Cohen – Global Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Plus Company.

During the event, Brett Marchand, CEO of Plus Company, echoed this sentiment citing how digital media companies have effectively employed AI to enhance their products significantly, whether it's Google refining search algorithms, optimizing content on YouTube, or enhancing recommendations for e-commerce platforms. This utilization has proven immensely profitable, creating substantial value for these companies.

“It’s crucial to recognize that AI fundamentally revolves around prediction. What has been lacking, from the perspective of marketers, advertisers, and even agencies, is the effective utilization of AI to forecast the performance of marketing strategies. AI possesses the capability to precisely determine optimal spending, identify target audiences, and recommend campaigns to maximize the efficiency of marketing dollars. 

The current landscape is dominated by digital media and tech giants, wielding considerable influence and controlling the majority of value. Notably, these entities are inherently biased towards promoting their own platforms. For instance, Google is naturally inclined to encourage advertisers to allocate their budgets within the Google ecosystem.”

Marchand explains how the untapped potential lies in leveraging AI to guide marketers in allocating their budgets strategically, identifying the most effective campaigns, and targeting the right audience.

“This represents a genuine opportunity for marketers to harness the full power of AI, transcending the current paradigm where digital media and tech companies wield disproportionate control over advertising spend,” said Marchand.

This piece was first published in Communicate's inaugural Best Places to Work 2023 issue.