IBM VP/Competitive & Big Data Analytics Teams Paul Zikopoulos painted a picture for the '17 AXS Sports Facilities & Franchises conference of a future filled with “mass one-to-one marketing” -- all powered by AI, big data and analytics. Zikopoulos fronted a presentation titled “Artificial Intelligence: How Big Data is Shaping the Future" and said, “Analytics and big data allow people to go where they don’t belong.” As examples of marketing driven by big data and AI, he cited Coca-Cola's recent launch of Sprite Cherry based on data gleaned from the company’s ”design-your-own-flavor” fountain dispensers. Mobile devices that warned drivers they were in danger if being distracted and insurance companies using AI to warn car owners to move their cars under cover in advance if a hailstorm were also cited as applications in use today. Following the success of data-driven companies like Uber, Facebook and Airbnb, Zikopoulos noted that nearly all big brands are collecting data 24/7, yet, “not all (corporate) decison-making is data led.” That he said will change with even data being collected as the “Internet of Things” mushrooms, providing even more data. As an example, he cited BNSF, one of the largest freight carriers in North America, using AI to “listen” to the sound of rail car wheels, to avoid derailments, by determining if they are cracked. He said that the environment is shifting from text-expressive to visually expressive. In terms of devices, that will mean much more video, with device interfaces powers by AI. Applications which translate voice to text are now 94% accurate, he said, “Once they get to 99%, keyboards will disappear.”
Other intriguing data points:
*Millennials rate their mobile phones as one of the most important things in their room. "It actually tied with their toothbrushes and beat deodorant in importance.”
*Evidence gathered from the WhatsApp messenger app is used as evidence in divorce cases with almost half of Italian adulterers.
*Big data is creating new banks. “Facebook has a banking license in Ireland and you can already transfer up $1,000 over (Facebook) messenger. The result: Western Union will be out of business in the next three-to-five years.”
*Weather is the most underused piece of data with the biggest impact on consumer behavior and supply chain. “People buy differently and travel differently because of weather. ... What about a hyper-personalized app that said, ‘There's a high chance weather will make this a bad hair day. Here’s a product for that.'" This approach is already being used by Procter & Gamble’s Pantene brand, he said.
