23.2.2022: AI is the next big thing in marketing, but marketeers still lack the skills and understanding to deal with it(Aslam)
Furthermore, AI has become “the next big thing,” but stakeholders have yet to develop the right mindset or put in place proper foundational structures. This lack of preparation is, in turn, hurting the ROI side of new AI projects.
“Both digital advertising and AI are extremely important and interesting topics yet also complex ones,” says Doctoral Researcher Bilal Aslam. “The complexity in the digital advertising field often hinders a complete understanding of the field and companies ultimately wonder how they can use digital advertising to market their products and services in the best way possible. On the other hand, there has been a great deal of buzz around AI and people are flocking towards it, without developing a greater understanding of the topic and establishing the proper foundational structures and developing the right mindset.”
“The results showed that most digital advertising is happening in small designated advertising spaces all around the web. The dissertation called them internet paid slots and paces (IAPS). This term has not been used in the literature previously. The dissertation gives a complete account of how stakeholders can run digital advertising in IAPS”.
Bilal identifies context and location are the two most important factors that distinguish mobile advertising versus desktop advertising. A desktop computer remains in the same place, but users carry their mobile phone everywhere they go.
“Therefore, mobile gives advertiser an opportunity to target users according to their location and context,” Bilal explains. “For example, sending a message to people who are within a 10-kilometer radius of a shopping mall can significantly increase the footprints (i.e. number of visitors) entering the mall. This can only be done through mobile phones, not desktops.”
The empirical results in his dissertation also show that there is currently herding behavior in the use of AI technology. Media, blogs and news outlets have made AI out to be the next big thing. Competitive pressure has also compelled most stakeholders to invest in AI without understanding the technology itself.
“Herding behavior is not a bad thing, but the results in the dissertation imply that stakeholders should develop learning centers in their organizations to know the AI technology better. They should also know specifically how and where AI will come in their existing business and what it will change that will bring greater efficiencies, which will eventually give positive ROI.”
The dissertation also points out that organizations’ data collection and management practices are not sound enough. Because data are the basic raw material that AI uses, it is not advisable for companies to invest in AI without having strong data collection and management systems in place.
M.Sc. Bilal Aslam defends his doctoral dissertation in marketing “An Exploration of the World of Digital Advertising and Artificial Intelligence” at the Ģֱ on 23 February 2022. The opponent is Adjunct Professor Timo Koivumäki (University of Oulu) and the custos is Professor Heikki Karjaluoto (Ģֱ).
The dissertation has been .
The public examination event can be attended . The audience can ask questions at the end of the event by contacting the custos at +358 40 576 7814.