Tag: Entertainment

Setting-Up Generative AI in Media & Entertainment

The global Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry has experienced a 5% revenue increase over the past decade. Conversely, advertising revenues are projected to nearly double in the next era. As the M&E industry continues to expand, market players encounter both risks and opportunities. Changes in consumer preferences, along with the ongoing impact of digital transformation and emerging technologies like Generative AI, are driving a wave of business model reinvention.

One of the most significant developments in the digital age is the rise of individuals creating their brands and cultivating online audiences. This ecosystem is growing for several reasons, including the increase in digital media consumption and advancements in technology that have lowered the barriers to content creation.

New platforms such as TikTok have emerged, while legacy platforms like Facebook and YouTube have also introduced new formats for sharing short-form videos, live streaming channels, and other forms of user-generated content

This growth aligns with estimates for global digital advertising spending during the same period. Analysts expect that spending on influencer marketing, along with platform payouts fueled by the monetization of short-form video platforms through advertising, will be the main drivers of the creator economy. 

The Creator Economy

Goldman Sachs Research expects the 50 million global creators to grow at a 10-20% compound annual growth rate during the next five years. The creator economy earns income primarily through direct branding deals to pitch products as an influencer; via a share of advertising revenues with the host platform; and through subscriptions, donations and other forms of direct payment from followers. Brand deals are the main source of revenue at about 70%, according to survey data.

But the analysts also cite six key enablers for creating a “flywheel effect” in which small gains build on each other over time and create further growth momentum. These enablers are scale, large pools of capital, strong AI-powered recommendation engines, effective monetization tools, robust data and analytics, and e-commerce options. 

Leveraging Generative AI in Media & Entertainment

The global entertainment and media industry has always thrived on technological disruption. To capitalize on various growth opportunities, it must harness the power of new and emerging technologies, such as Generative AI, to reshape its business operations, build new creative models, and enhance advertising efforts.

Many organizations are currently using Generative AI to transform their business models and create new opportunities. However, these deployment strategies come with significant costs. According to Gartner, Inc., at least 30% of Generative AI (GenAI) projects are expected to be abandoned after the proof of concept phase due to issues such as poor data quality, inadequate risk controls, rising costs, or unclear business value. A major challenge for organizations is justifying the substantial investment required for GenAI, particularly in enhancing productivity, as the financial benefits can be difficult to quantify directly.

Marketing Trends in Media & Entertainment

More than half of marketers are successfully personalizing their content across various channels: 57% for mobile messaging, 54% for email marketing, and 52% for social media. The channels that allow for easy testing and quick iteration, such as mobile messaging, email marketing, and social media, tend to see the most advanced personalization strategies.

Marketers’ biggest concern regarding generative AI is data leaks, followed closely by the lack of adequate quality data. To gather enough valuable information, marketers are primarily using customer service and transaction data. This approach demonstrates their efforts to collaborate with colleagues in sales and commerce. However, integrating other types of data, such as unstructured data from emails, remains a significant challenge.        

Industry Applications

Marketing and Advertising

• AI in Targeted Advertising: Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables advertisers to analyze consumer behavior patterns, allowing for highly targeted advertising campaigns. Machine learning algorithms process large volumes of data to identify trends and predict which products or services a customer is most likely to purchase. For instance, Facebook’s AI-driven advertising platform assists businesses in targeting users based on their interests, demographic information, and even browsing habits.
• AI in Content Creation for Ads: AI is also enhancing the creation of engaging ad content. Tools like Copy.ai and Jasper utilize AI to generate ad copy that resonates with specific audiences. These tools analyze extensive data sets to create content that has a high likelihood of converting viewers into customers. Furthermore, AI facilitates dynamic ad creation; for example, Google Ads employs AI to automatically produce different versions of ads and optimize them in real-time for maximum performance. This feature significantly boosts the return on investment (ROI) for advertising campaigns.
• AI in Ad Analytics & Performance Tracking: AI-powered analytics platforms provide advertisers with real-time insights into the performance of their campaigns. These tools track user interactions, predict future trends, and suggest adjustments to optimize campaigns—all of which help maximize the effectiveness of advertising expenditures.

AI-Driven Content Creation

• AI in Content Writing and Journalism: AI tools like GPT-3 and Jasper have opened up new possibilities for content creators. These tools can automatically generate articles, blog posts, and even long-form content in just a matter of seconds. In journalism, AI can analyze vast amounts of data, quickly identifying trends and news stories that may interest readers. While AI cannot replace human creativity and critical thinking, it can assist writers by providing a solid foundation for content creation, allowing them to focus on higher-level tasks such as research and analysis.
• AI in Video and Visual Content Creation: AI has also made its way into video and visual content creation. Several available tools utilize AI to generate videos, animations, and visual effects with minimal human input. These platforms enable creators to produce high-quality content without requiring advanced skills in video editing or animation.

Future of AI in Media & Entertainment

Hyper-Personalized Content Experiences

AI-driven recommendation engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated, enabling hyper-personalized content experiences for consumers. In the future, these systems will leverage predictive analytics to anticipate user needs even before they begin their searches, thereby enhancing viewer satisfaction.

AI-Generated Content

AI in media is set to redefine content creation. Tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL·E are being utilized to create text, music, and visual art. This trend is expected to grow, with AI assisting filmmakers, authors, and musicians in developing ideas, generating scripts, or creating concept art.

AI in Media Localization and Accessibility

As global demand for localized content rises, AI in media will play a larger role in subtitling, dubbing, and translating media into multiple languages. AI-powered tools are already speeding up these processes, making them more accurate and cost-effective. By 2030, it is anticipated that AI will power 90% of all media localization efforts, making global content more accessible than ever.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

Deepfakes

Deepfakes are created with such precision that distinguishing them from real footage can be extremely difficult. This highlights both the potential benefits and the risks associated with this advanced technology. Utilizing the latest generative AI techniques, deepfakes represent a new form of deception. By harnessing artificial intelligence, they produce hyper-realistic videos, audio, and text that can deceive even the most discerning individuals. This has the potential to lead to multimillion-dollar losses for businesses. 

As the capabilities of deepfakes continue to advance, organizations must invest in proactive cybersecurity measures. Doing so is not only a strategic decision but also a cost-effective one. The financial toll of restoring an organization’s reputation and rebuilding customer trust following a deepfake attack far exceeds the costs of implementing strong cybersecurity protocols in advance.

Data Privacy and Security

• Data Collection: Many AI systems collect large amounts of data, which raises concerns about how user data is gathered, stored, and processed.
• Security Breaches: Protecting user data is crucial, which is why it is important to implement measures to prevent hacking and misuse.
• Content Moderation, Filtering, and Monitoring: AI applications in the industry help social networking sites identify and remove inappropriate content, making the online environment safer for users.

Bias and Fairness

• Algorithmic Bias: AI systems can reproduce the biases present in their training data, leading to unfair treatment or representation.
• Diverse Representation: It is essential to ensure that AI-generated content fairly and accurately represents different cultures, incorporating various perspectives and voices.

Intellectual Property

• Content Ownership: Determining the ownership of text created by AI can be challenging, particularly when the content is jointly produced or derived from existing works.
• Copyright Infringement: There are legal concerns regarding the use of AI, as the techniques used may generate content that could potentially violate existing copyright laws.

Wrapping Up

Artificial intelligence is transforming the media and entertainment industry by making content creation faster, enhancing personalization, and enabling new ways to interact with media. While these technological advancements are exciting, they also bring challenges, including ethical concerns and the potential for job displacement. As AI continues to evolve, it will reshape the industry by creating more immersive and personalized media experiences, pushing the boundaries of creativity, and driving the future of entertainment.

The most significant impact of generative AI will be in simplifying complex, skilled processes for a broader audience, especially in areas where outputs can be immediately verified. Media companies should focus on applications that empower creatives to produce more high-quality work rather than replacing them with AI-generated content.

Currently, AI tools are not suitable for completely replacing human-made content. Media companies should maintain strong relationships with creators and have a deep understanding of the creative process and the market for media products. Generative AI systems are less effective for tasks that require precision, involve critical system dependencies, or where the appropriateness of the output is not immediately clear. In many cases, traditional software approaches, human input, or a combination of both will provide the most effective solution for business challenges.