Ken Allard

Services as a Product (SaaP) is becoming central to how IT services create repeatable value and scale outcomes. Looking forward to the conversations at IDC Directions on how IT services continue to evolve in an AI‑driven economy. #IDCDirections

8

When data science and insights teams work together, the results speak for themselves. In this post, my TRC Insights colleagues share why that collaboration is so important—and how it leads to sharper, more useful outcomes. We saw this in a recent healthcare project. Our initial insights were based on what consumers told us—but when claims data was added later, it provided a new lens. It didn’t change the story, but it made the picture clearer.

12

"While some challenge the fractured and oversaturated media landscape, here's some thoughts on how it is benefitting a new breed of marketers: " Thank you Mike Tankel and Forbes for raising awareness of the innovative approach that Amagi is taking. Being cloud native with the platforms that we have we are not hamstrung with legacy but free to use the same platform for multiple uses saving time and effort in the workflow. #Amagi. #marketing #streaming #broadcast #FAST

8

As #CTV spend accelerates, so too does the urgency to resolve its structural flaws. In Performance Marketing World, Dan Black, Teads' Head of CTV, outlines why fragmented protocols and inconsistent frequency capping threaten both brand outcomes and viewer experience — and what the path forward looks like. https://lnkd.in/gwxDaSFe

7

The excitement around large language models and AI-generated content is real, and so are the risks. This piece from TechTarget breaks down 8 of the biggest ethical concerns, from bias and misinformation to data privacy and IP rights. What stood out to me is this: Ethical AI isn’t just a technical challenge, it’s also a leadership one. How we design, deploy, and govern these tools will shape public trust, brand integrity, and long-term value. AI that isn’t accountable, explainable, or inclusive isn’t ready for scale. #AI #GenerativeAI #AIEthics

8

🚀 Telcos Are Racing to Become AI Infrastructure Powerhouses 🚀 Fascinating insights from my colleague Julia Schindler's latest Omdia webinar on "Telcos' Strategic Investments in AI Infrastructure" - the transformation happening in our industry is remarkable. The numbers tell the story: 📈 AI network traffic expected to reach 2,380 exabytes/month by 2033 💰 Telcos projected to generate $15B from GPU-as-a-Service by 2032 🌍 EU's €200B investment plan for sovereign AI infrastructure What's driving this shift? ✅ Geopolitical tensions favoring local AI infrastructure ✅ Explosive AI compute demand ✅ Telcos leveraging their trusted national provider status ✅ Revenue diversification beyond traditional connectivity Standout examples: 👉 Deutsche Telekom - €1B AI factory in Munich with 10,000 NVIDIA GPUs, boosting Germany's capacity by 50% 👉 SK Telecom - Targeting 5 trillion Korean won in AI revenue by 2030, positioning as "AI company" 👉 China Mobile - Building 100,000 domestic AI chip cluster by 2028 👉 Ooredoo Group - Launching sovereign AI cloud, targeting 12% revenue from digital infrastructure 👉 Bell - Six AI factories planned, projecting $1.5B CAD in AI revenue by 2028 The message is clear: telcos aren't just connectivity providers anymore - they're becoming critical AI infrastructure partners. The question isn't whether to invest, but how fast to scale. #AI #Telecommunications #Infrastructure #DigitalTransformation #5G #CloudComputing Webinar link (customers only): https://lnkd.in/ee7yang6

44

Highlights of 3 Waves of Enterprise AI via Lumen Technologies with Kate Johnson CEO and Palantir Technologies with Alex Karp CEO View the 64-second Video News Story and in the largest LinkedIn Group for AI MSPs, GTM and others https://lnkd.in/dCmsYdH and on ChannelPartner.TV the largest video AI news network now with 3,270 videos. + You are cordially invited to join the largest Linkedin Group with 24K+ members with more than 3,270 quick business news, product and sales short-form videos. Curated for MSPs, AI MSPs, AI Data Centers, CEOs, CMOs, CROs, Chief Channel Officers, VARs, Resellers, Channel Partners focused on GTM, cybersecurity, AI, data centers, customer experience, contact centers, cloud, IoT, AI Laws, UC, video, and other emerging tech channel partners. And, the largest Linkedin group for GTM, AI MSPs and more. https://lnkd.in/dCmsYdH #MCP #AI #AIagents

5

The efficiencies AI offers are not just operational gains, they’re invitations to prioritize deeper introspection. The maxim “Know Thyself” is no longer a philosophical ideal – it’s a strategic imperative. Marketers must understand their brand through the eyes of their real consumers, not idealized personas or aspirational brand positioning statements. My Mediaplus Group colleagues Rose Huang and Chenoa Cunningham joined me, and a suite of global thought leaders from across our group, in offering our insights on this topic in Serviceplan Group's annual collection of thought leadership, our magazine TWELVE. Our reflections, predictions, and recommendations for marketers are available here. Happy reading! https://lnkd.in/eKtf54V5

21

In this episode of The Yield Doctor, I sit down with Alanna Laforet—CEO of Laforet Productions and former head of the IAB Tech Lab—to unpack where AI is actually transforming digital advertising today, and where it's headed next. With experience spanning DoubleClick, Google, Omnicom, and Conde Nast, Alanna brings deep insight into how AI is reshaping media planning, creative optimization, and the ad tech stack itself. We explore: * What’s real vs. hype in current AI implementations * How startups and holding companies are approaching AI differently * Whether AI will democratize the industry or entrench the big players * The potential for AI tools like ChatGPT to act as publishers * The risks of fraud, fake content, and over-optimization in a post-AI world https://lnkd.in/dJMDzTHX

5

Great article by Andrea Badder on Schema Markup, Entity Linking, and Content Knowledge Graphs. The real-world case studies (Brightview's location disambiguation, Wells Fargo correcting AI hallucinations) make this a practical read, not just theory. The insight that clicked for me: this isn't just an SEO/AEO play. When you build a structured, connected knowledge layer across your content, you're also building a better knowledge hub for your own AI agents. Better inputs, better outputs. https://lnkd.in/gqM4-_iK

4

1 Comment

Great insights on a critical issue. While AI is the driver, modernization is the key task for IT leaders in 2025.

9

If you are curious about synthetic data and what’s next for market research join Amy Basile, MDRG, Inc. and Yabble™ tomorrow. #marketresearch #insights

4

1 Comment

Last week I attended The Paley Center for Media’s Media Council discussion on the New Rules of Streaming, and honestly, the biggest takeaway was this: No one in this industry gets to stand still. What struck me wasn’t just how fast things are changing. It was how openly leaders acknowledged that success now depends on embracing change, not managing around it. One executive described it as running toward the mayhem, which feels like a pretty accurate description of media right now. A few things that stayed with me: • The companies winning aren’t the ones with the most content. They’re the ones delivering the most value. • Bundles aren’t dead. Bad bundles are. Smart, relevant ones will return in new forms. • Discovery is about to shift dramatically toward predictive, conversational experiences. • Time spent isn’t the end metric. It’s the starting point for understanding why audiences choose you. What resonated personally is how consistent this consumer-first shift is with what I learned years ago in cinema. Success depended on understanding the full audience journey, from deciding to attend, to selecting a theater and showtime, to what people did before and after the movie. That mindset is now becoming the standard across streaming and television. The platforms that win will be the ones that understand people best, not just content best. #FutureOfMedia #ConsumerBehavior #Streaming

42

5 Comments

"Advertiser perceptions of AI don’t align with consumer attitudes. 82% of ad executives believe Gen Z/Millennial consumers feel very or somewhat positive about AI-generated ads, nearly double the 45% of consumers who actually feel that way. This gap has widened from 32 points in 2024 to 37 points in 2026."- IAB In an industry where authenticity has always been king, this doesn't come as a surprise. If consumers have a negative sentiment towards the use of AI in creative, how are brands using it going to cut through? And more importantly, for those in the media world, how is it going to affect performance? We already struggle to get strong view-through on highly produced content, if consumers can snuff out AI and turn their heads to it, then our jobs as media professionals just got a lot harder. Sure there are AI led media tools to help us optimize, but I would argue that we may lose the efficiency we gained from the creative cost reduction. So what is the solution? I definitely do not have the answer, but a few thoughts: 1. Human touch may not be enough. I think AI creative is going to need a re-brand itself. We have to find a way to prove that there is authenticity, in the process and in the output. 2. We're going to need to rethink our media strategies; if younger consumers are the most negative towards AI, maybe we only tap into creator led content for Gen Z but utilize AI for older segments that aren't as opposed to it. 3. We include consumers in the process; let them tell us what's working and what's not and maybe even give them the opportunity to create with us. If we are giving creative hands over to AI, why should we be scared to give it to consumers? https://lnkd.in/eJRGUNnu *these views are my own #ai #aiinmarketing #aiinmedia #thoughtleadership #authenticity

33

Kicking off IAB ALM week in Palm Springs and this new piece from the Cognitiv team focused on predictions for 2026 couldn’t be better timed. After a couple of years of hype, I love that it focuses on AI actually becoming the "Brain Behind the Brands." We're moving past shiny wrappers into systems that can truly evaluate, price, and optimize every impression in real time. It also calls out an important distinction: AdCP will make our workflows smoother, but the real performance lift still comes from how deeply we embed intelligence into the buying stack and activate first-party data in a way that’s unique to each brand. Enjoy the read and feel free to comment below. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/eUD-sdYg

23

1 Comment

Google's Gemini 3 is out today, and while it's a little early to say much about the new model itself, what I'm playing close attention to is how it will affect search. AI Overviews and AI Mode have already driven big shifts in user behavior: referral traffic to news sites and company pages is way down as more users simply rely on AI commentary. By bringing Gemini 3 directly into search on day-one of its launch, Google is making a play to capture even more of that user experience. AI Overviews are moving from basic content summarization to full in-depth custom content creation using Gemini 3, and Google is making a compelling case for users to simply stay on-platform. The TL;DR for clients: Optimizing your content for AI discovery gets more important every day. Your stakeholders won't see your website, they won't see that great article you landed in the WSJ, they won't see that 3rd party activation. They'll see what Google and other AI platforms decided to show them. And those platforms are working incredibly hard to keep those stakeholders' attention on-platform. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GEO #SEO #Search #Google #Gemini3 https://lnkd.in/erZ2g9dv

33

3 Comments

Excellent insights from Shaun Modi on the future of journalism and AI. Capitol is working with enterprises to help them move faster with AI and create more value from their data. https://lnkd.in/etpzmiYn

6

I don't disagree wtih Katy Nelson that faster data-driven decision-making is important and I'm all in—and genuinely excited—about what AI can do for the market research and insights industry. We're already seeing the benefits: AI is accelerating many of the repetitive, brain-numbing tasks that used to stand between researchers and the data, freeing them up to do what they do best—uncover the story within the numbers. That said, the notion that our goal should be “AI agents that can be queried, observed, and experimented with to model real human behavior” misses the mark. It reflects a misunderstanding of what real human behavior actually is. Yes, we should embrace tools that enhance our ability to query, observe, and model. But human involvement will always be essential—both from the respondents who provide the data and, just as importantly, from the researchers who interpret and bring that data to life.

5

Epsilon's Mike Ng said it best at Cannes Lions: "We may, for the first time in the industry, have a shortage of ideas-not engineers." As AI accelerates execution, creativity becomes the real differentiator. His take on predictive AI, connected identity and the rise of Retail Media is a must-read. Link here: https://lnkd.in/g_wdxcT9 #AI #MarketingLeadership #PredictiveAI #RetailMedia #ConnectedIdentity #Epsilon #PublicisGroupe

11