I wrote code to understand how they feel and which kind of environment they operate and the challenges. I think this empathy is very important but apart from that I think tech is sometimes overrated.
Serhat Akkilic is CEO of Havas Creative Group Turkey, a full-service agency based in Istanbul offering digital and marketing solutions. Akkilic also oversees Project House, a start-up created by Akkilic and later acquired by Havas. He is a PhD candidate in Communications and Social Sciences at Istanbul Bilgi University as well as a lecturer.
In this episode of Velocitize Talks, Akkilic shares his insights on branding experiences, AI and contextual moments.
MarOps is the new DevOps (1:40)
It’s sort of marketing people, technology people, operations people working together, which is a very different combination. That’s one of our biggest value propositions because normally they would not even be in the same room together but we created a team.
Akkilic created and manages Project House, a global digital hub providing digital marketing and branding services to almost 20 countries. Havas coined the phrase MarOps to refer to the new breed of cross-disciplinary teams working together as an operating system for organizations.
Speaking at a MarTech conference, Debbie Qaqish, the chief strategy officer for the Pedowitz Group, listed three main challenges for today’s CMO: digital transformation; business accountability; and customer experience.
What are the key things you’ve learned about AI? (4:34)
The media is tackling AI as a bipolar thing—utopian or dystopian—but it’s all contextual. I think there is merit to deconstructing all the conversations and understanding, depending on where it’s used and how it’s used in the culture.
A recent report, Artificial Intelligence: American Attitudes and Trends, from the University of Oxford Center for the Governance of AI, found that 82% of Americans believe that AI and robots should be carefully managed. More Americans think that AI will be harmful as opposed to those who think it will be beneficial.
However a presentation at the World Economic Forum highlighted the good that can come out of AI and machine learning.
What resonates (7:07)
There are thousands of faces of it in each and every contextual moment that technology can now enable us to target people.
Last year Havas conducted a study on the future of digital entertainment and its impact on creating compelling content, from podcasts to videos. Over 80% of people say they consider entertainment to be a “vital need.”
Experiencing brand (8:16)
In today’s digital world, when you produce something digitally, you actually put the elements of marketing right into it.
In Akkilic’s opinion, the marketing is the product. When encountering experiential marketing, 90% of consumers say they have increased positive feelings toward that brand. On the flip side, according to Havas and its 2019 Meaningful Brands study, people wouldn’t care if 77% of brands disappeared.
To learn more about Havas Creative and Serhat Akkilic, visit their website. Follow them on Twitter at @havas.
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