Mediaboss Marketing

1. Main points

Ahead of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), in the period between 15 and 26 of November, we asked adults in Great Britain about climate change and how it had impacted their lifestyle.

When asked about the important issues facing the UK today, adults continued to report the cost of living (89%), the NHS (87%) and the economy (74%) as the top three issues.

The fourth most important issue remainedclimate change and the environment, which was reported by around 6 in 10 (61%) adults; this was a decline from 66% of adults choosing the same issue last year ahead of COP27 (in the period 26 October to 6 November 2022).

Other important issues reported in the current period included crime (60%), housing (59%), immigration (54%) and international conflict (50%).

We asked adults the extent to which they had made changes to their lifestyle to tackle climate change; around 1 in 12 adults (8%) reported they had made a lot of changes, around two in three (64%) had made some changes, and around 3 in 10 (28%) had made no changes.

Among those who had made a lot of or some changes to their lifestyle to tackle climate change, the most reported concerns that motivated them to do so were the effect on future generations (69%), loss of natural habitats or wildlife (66%), and the direct effects of climate change such as extreme weather events or rising sea levels on others (52%) or themselves (32%).

Among adults who had not made changes to their lifestyle, the most reported reasons for this were thinking the changes they make will have no effect on climate change (41%), thinking large polluters should change before individuals (34%) and finding it too expensive to make changes (30%).

Compared with last year's estimates (in the period 20 to 31 July 2022), among adults who had not made changes to their lifestyle, there was an increase in the proportion of those who thought the changes they make will have no effect on climate change (41%, compared with 32% in 2022), thought the effects of climate change are exaggerated (11%, compared with 4%), and said they do not believe in climate change (7%, compared with 3%); these differences in sentiment may be influenced by an extreme heatwave in July 2022.

This release contains data and indicators from the Office for National Statistics' (ONS's) Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

From the 16 June 2023 release onwards, we have made changes that reduce the scope of the release and accompanying datasets. This is based on a routine review of the relevance and usefulness of this release.

Breakdowns by age and sex are no longer provided for fortnightly estimates in the latest Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain datasets. All previous versions of the dataset remain available from this page. Estimates from the OPN by these and other personal characteristics will continue to be provided on a regular basis in other ONS releases. For example, OPN estimates relating to the impact of the cost of living among different sub-groups of the population are provided within the regular Impact of increased cost of living on adults across Great Britain series.

Confidence intervals are provided for all estimates in the datasets. Where changes in results from previous weeks are presented in this release, or comparisons between estimates are made, associated confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance of the differences.

In the latest period (15 to 26 December 2023), we sampled 4,989 households. This sample was randomly selected from people who had previously completed the Labour Market Survey (LMS) or OPN. The responding sample for the latest period contained 2,424 individuals, representing a 48.6% response rate.

Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population (based on ONS population estimates). Because of sampling changes in July 2023, some groups in our unweighted sample may be over-represented. Although our weighting strategy aims to account for this, in some instances, we may see some differences in population totals presented in the data tables from wave to wave. Further information on the survey design and quality can be found in our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).

Originally posted here:
Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: 15 to 26 November ... - Office for National Statistics

Destination marketing experts believe artificial intelligence will have a significant impact on the sector, according to a new report.

Sojern's State of Destination Marketing 2024, released Monday, revealed that 49% of destination marketing organizations (DMO) are expecting a significant impact from AI.

In content creation and personalization, 37% believed it will have a high impact, while 44% said some impact. In campaign creation and optimization, 29% said it will have a high impact versus 47% that said some impact.

Meanwhile, in data analysis and interpretation, 38% said they see a high impact while 43% said some impact.

The report covers further trends in DMO marketing with marketers saying 20-40% of budgets are devoted to creating content with the remaining 60-80% going towards paid marketing to promote that content.

Search and social media marketing dominate paid media, and nearly all DMOs, 96%, said they view social media advertising to be of high or average importance, and 95% said the same for search. Programmatic came next at 86% followed by influencer marketing at 74%.

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Despite the recognition of the importance of social media marketing, TikTok is seen as one of the top three social marketing channels by only 29% of DMOs.

Further insight from the report includes that more than half of respondents, 54%, view data as the most valuable resource for marketing planning, and 38% said the same of data in campaign reporting.

When it came to the challenges of using data in marketing, respondents flagged the lack of data integration across channels as a top concern followed by the high cost of acquiring data and limited access to quality data.

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Destinations weigh up impact of AI - PhocusWire

Sociable is the latest commentary on important social media developments and trends from industry expert Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.

If you follow broader news in the tech sector at all, you have no doubt seen reports about the chaos at OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and Dall-E, among other AI projects. The company is seemingly now imploding before our eyes, marking what may be the fastest, and most unusual fall from grace that weve ever witnessed.

And while the dust is yet to fully settle, it does seem like a significant shift in AI development is coming, which relates to several social media platforms directly, and could influence their trajectory on this front going forward.

First off, theres the Microsoft angle, which has become a key player in the OpenAI debacle.

Over the weekend, once the OpenAI board decided to fire CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft immediately readied to take him on, and it still seems poised to reposition Altman as the CEO of its own, new AI arm, if the OpenAI board is unable to retain him.

The uncertainty over where Altman will wind up is the current stalling point. Many OpenAI staff have vowed to walk if Altman is not reinstated, while OpenAIs board is still seemingly undecided on the best path forward. Altman has been in talks to potentially return, under certain conditions, but its unclear whether the OpenAI team will agree to such.

Negotiations, as they say, are ongoing.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has invested billions into OpenAI, in order to become a key player in the rapidly evolving AI space. Along with this, Microsoft has also now built generative AI elements, based on OpenAIs GPT system, into virtually all of its tools and platforms, including LinkedIn.

At the same time, Microsoft has reportedly committed $50 billion to AI infrastructure over the next five years, in order to boost its capacity, again largely on the back of its partnership with OpenAI.

Essentially, OpenAI is already Microsofts AI arm, and its deeply invested in securing its future operations on this front, either by facilitating a re-establishment of OpenAIs board and executive, or by taking on as many OpenAIemployees as it can, if things end up falling apart.

In a social media context, theres not a heap more thats immediately on the cards, as LinkedIn has already crammed AI elements into almost every aspect of its platform as it is. But Microsoft will no doubt be looking for new angles and tools as time goes on, which is where these negotiations are relevant.

Will the changes at OpenAI derail Microsofts broader AI plans? That seems unlikely.

If anything, a full ouster of Altman will likely expedite Microsofts own AI development, by handing it a number of key staff, though it could change the development trajectory of AI tools more broadly, in terms of safety versus development. Which has reportedly been at the core of the conflict within OpenAI, with board members and staff in disagreement around fundamental approaches on these grounds.

We dont have all the details on this as yet, but essentially, Microsoft looks well-placed to move forward with its AI plans, regardless of the final outcome.

Another AI player is Meta, which is developing its own generative AI models, and has even partnered with Microsoft on some projects.

Meta could also stand to benefit here, if OpenAI does indeed fall apart, which is still possible, based on the number of staff pledging allegiance to Altman, and vowing to quit OpenAI unless hes reinstated.

Those employees will be in high demand for other AI projects, and Meta could snap them up, while it may also see Microsoft increase its reliance on its partnership with Meta for future AI development, if it ends up seeking more stability, depending on whats left of the OpenAI team.

X, via its xAI project, has also opened the door to any OpenAI staff that may want to come on board to help it develop its AI tools. It now has its own chatbot, in Grok, and internal knowledge of OpenAIs systems would be of great benefit to its evolving projects.

xAI still remains a smaller player, in comparison to Meta, Google, and Microsoft (via OpenAI). But Elon Musk is keen to be a leader, and hes also super keen to destroy OpenAI if he can, given his past relationship with the company.

Salesforce has also put the call out to OpenAI staff looking for a new project, while others will be putting out feelers to see what they can get.

Essentially, a full breakdown of OpenAI would shake-up the AI development landscape, and ultimately benefit the remaining players, while OpenAI itself fades out.

The alternative is that OpenAI can come to an agreement with its former leaders, and establish a new way forward, but negotiations remain ongoing, and its hard to know exactly where things will end up at this stage.

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Sociable: Will chaos at OpenAI benefit social media's AI projects? - Marketing Dive

Big Bang Social, the premier creator ecosystem under the umbrella of Collective Artists Network, is excited to announce a innovative collaboration with Comscore, a renowned authority in media measurement and analytics. This partnership aims to reshape the realm of creator marketing by offering creators profound insights into the efficacy of their campaigns and a wealth of valuable resources to enhance their success.

In a time when social media and digital content creation are undergoing unprecedented growth, having a comprehensive understanding of media consumption and audience intelligence is more crucial than ever. Big Bang Social is committed to offering brands the most optimized experience when it comes to designing campaigns while simultaneously empowering creators and influencers within this dynamic ecosystem.

At the core of this collaboration is the BigBang.Social App, a super-app designed to serve brands in multiple dimensions, including discovery, curation and customization of campaigns. Comscore's expertise in cross-platform measurement and digital audience insights will equip brands on the platform to make informed decisions, fine-tune their content strategies, and achieve superior results.

In response to the collaboration, Anurag Iyer, CEO of Big Bang Social, remarked, "We are thrilled to join forces with Comscore to provide brands with a distinctive, all-encompassing platform that will transform their marketing journey. With the BigBang.Social App and the added advantage of Comscore's analytics, brands will have unparalleled tools and resources to bolster their success and develop outstanding campaigns."

Geet Lulla, Vice President-Sales for Asia-Pacific, Comscore, also added, "We take pride in our collaboration with Big Bang Social to assist creators and influencers in realizing their full potential. Our expertise in social media measurement using first party data from the platform will equip creators with actionable and competitive insights, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and elevate their campaigns to the next level."

The partnership between Big Bang Social and Comscore promises to be a game-changer for the both the brand ecosystem and the creator community, offering a comprehensive solution for commerce, collaboration, skill enhancement, and analytics. Creators and influencers can anticipate a future brimming with new opportunities and growth as they navigate the digital landscape with confidence.

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Big Bang Social & Comscore Partner to Revolutionize Creator ... - Adgully

By: Cassidy Delamarter, University Communications and Marketing

A team of engineers and public health experts from the University of South Florida is helping Toamasina, Madagascar, residents reduce their exposure to lead a major global environmental pollutant that causes more than 1 million premature deaths each year. By combining efforts to replace water pumps and educate city technicians, USF researchers helped decrease the blood lead levels of 87 percent of the children tested during their study.

They were taking old car batteries and melting them down to make check valves in the pumps, said James Mihelcic, professor and director of USFs International Development Engineering Program.

Mihelcic made the discovery when visiting the East African country with students to study Toamasinas water and sanitation. We brought back water samples to USF to test them and we learned the locally manufactured pumps had really high levels of lead.

The lead concentrations of the water from the pumps exceeded the World Health Organizations recommended limit of lead in drinking water 10 micrograms per liter. In some cases, the water contained more than 10 times the recommended limit.

The families and children are drinking this water and using it to cook their meals, said principal author Adaline Buerck, a USF civil and environmental engineering doctoral alumna. In low- and middle-income countries, there is a lack of regulations and understandings of the harmful effects of lead, as well as other comorbidities, such as improper nutrition, that can increase childhood lead absorption.

The pumps are the primary source of water for more than three-quarters of the coastal area of Madagascar, where there are about 9,000 pumps because tap water is not always affordable or available for the citys 280,000 people. After receiving a small grant to replace lead components in 500 of the pumps, Mihelcic and Buerck knew it would be a challenge to remediate all of the remaining pumps. They decided to collaborate with Mahmooda Khaliq Pasha, USF associate professor of public health and social marketing.

Khaliq Pasha used social marketing a process that focuses on changing behavior to improve health using strategies from the commercial marketing world to create a faster, more cost-effective plan to directly educate the people responsible for the manufacturing and repairing of the pumps.

We knew we couldnt replace all of the pumps, so we provided training to the technicians about the dangers of lead and why they could have an improved product if they make a lead-free pump, Khaliq Pasha said. Now, when they manufacture a new pump or repair existing ones, they will use these new strategies, and with that, we're impacting the larger population rather than just the small sample that we work with.

Khaliq Pasha and Buerck worked with local staff to build the capacity and skill set of technicians, while overseeing and facilitating work on the pumps to ensure they understood how to remove and replace the leaded pump components. Additionally, to understand the impact of this intervention, they worked with local health practitioners to measure blood lead levels of small children who drank water from the pumps before and after the leaded pump components were replaced.

Of the 55 children tested, 87 percent experienced a significant decrease in blood lead levels once leaded components were removed from the pumps. For example, one child had an initial 11.3 micrograms of lead per liter of blood. Following the intervention, that level dropped to 4.7 micrograms per liter. The team believes these findings point to a need for greater consideration of lead in drinking and cooking water as an important exposure route in low- and middle-income countries.

This study really puts into perspective the social aspects of public health, Buerck said. For me, it really linked engineering to the real world and the impact you can have.

Through a National Science Foundation grant, USF students are working with Khaliq Pasha, Mihelcic and USF Professor Jeff Cunningham to continue visiting Madagascar. They will work with families to further purify their water by removing disease-causing pathogens. Khaliq Pasha and Mihelcic hope to secure additional funding to continue working with the technicians and scale the work to impact the larger population.

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USF researchers help reduce lead levels in Madagascar drinking ... - University of South Florida