Two DMA events back to back: an awards party & advising the Government!
I am currently on the return to Leeds from London where I have attended two very interesting DMA events. The first, on Thursday evening was the DMA Awards Shortlist 2019 at the very lovely Haymarket Hotel in Suffolk Square. The event was to announce the shortlisted campaigns across 34 different categories. Veracity were not nominated this year, but we fully intend to be so in 2020. My colleague, Mike, and I arrived early to a fantastically decorated event space, interesting located around the hotel swimming pool in the basement. The event was well attended, with over 100 present; we wish all nominees the best fortune – some amazing campaigns there!
The second event, this morning, was a rather more intimate affair. A roundtable on Data, AI and FutureTech with Baroness Neville-Jones and Baroness Sater. Baroness Neville-Jones has led a distinguished career in the field of security and counterterrorism and is knowledgeable about data, AI and tech. Baroness Sater (a recent addition to the House of Lords) has had a long career in marketing and wants to learn more about the technology, data and AI used in maketing. They were keen to learn more about how the industry perceive the state of, challenges and opportunities of these technologies.
The conversation was wide-ranging and open, with important observations made by Baroness Neville-Jones who noted that “Data is where wealth is created” and by Firas Khnaisser – Chair of DMA Scotland and Head of Decisioning at Standard Life, Aberdeen arguing that “Data is the new soil” allowing a whole new range of as yet undreamt of solutions to grow. I was delighted to be invited to represent Veracity, as a fast-growing technology company, and share our knowledge of the impact of bot activity and ad fraud in the martech and adtech sectors, as well as to express our support for the DMA North Initiative “Future Marketing in a Fake World[SB2] ”. We look forward to continuing our close relationship with the DMA and other partners.
Stewart Boutcher