Alastair Baker.
Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
Alastair Baker: Chief AI Officer at Havas Group, ANZ
Time in current role/time at the company:
5 months in this newly created Village role, with 5 years working for the Havas Media Network prior to that.
How would you describe what the company does?
The Havas Village is a Deliberately Different agency network. Each Havas team offers distinct capabilities, but all are united by a single mindset: In an increasingly homogenised world of messaging, we engineer work that’s designed to challenge category patterns and create measurable value for clients.
What do you do day-to-day?
My day’s divided into learning, analysing and building.
AI is advancing at a breathless pace; the steep learning curve in this role takes me back to being a wide-eyed graduate. The day begins with discovering new developments in AI.
The majority of my time is then absorbed with analysing the data that surrounds our AI rollout: operational data, client data and, yes, assessing the real ROI of our AI decisions.
The most energising part of the role is building new things with AI. I get to work with Havas’ whip-smart craft leaders, developing new solutions for our teams and clients.
Define your job in one word:
Flux.
I got into marketing because:
I’ve always been fascinated by what makes people tick so when my older brother, Doug, explained what he did for a living as a creative strategist, I was sold on a career in marketing. He’s doing a great job heading up strategy at Shift Active Media in the UK.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
The lack of data that exists when dealing with a technology that has recently been popularised. In my previous role as Chief Planning Officer for Havas Media, I had spent 15 years developing a craft that was born 60 years ago – it was clear what levers drive sustainable growth. However, AI in its current guise has become mainstream within the last 5 years. Our understanding of what AI choices drive long term impact is relatively immature. In the absence of proven AI pathways, the choices we make must be strategically sound and relentlessly measured.
What’s the biggest industry-wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
As an industry we consistently prioritise speed over effectiveness. Marketing over-invests in delivering short term gains vs. building long term success - and the emergence of AI threatens to worsen this tendency. We’re in danger of engaging in an AI arms race that prioritises speed over security and impact.
Notable campaigns you have worked on:
Starward – Whisky Done Different
Telegraph – Words Chosen Well
Heinz – It Has to Be Heinz
National Lottery (UK) – Play Makes it Possible
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
Dan Hagan, Global Chief Data & Technology Officer at the Havas Network. He too has trodden the path of transitioning from strategist to technologist, and has been able to share the pearls of wisdom he’s gained along his way.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Beware of certainty. A lot of people in the AI space are selling confidence and absolutes, but the reality is that the AI landscape is complex and volatile. To succeed in this role you’ll need your own convictions, built on data analysis and strategic decision making.
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
A psychologist. I’m fascinated with how we behave and what motivates people.
My mantra is:
“These are the good days.” Stolen gratefully from the awesome Hannah Fry.
My favourite advert is:
MLA knocked it out of the park again with January’s ‘Share the Lamb’ campaign.
Music and TV streaming habits. What do you subscribe to?
We rotate one video streaming service at a time in our house. Currently we’re on Apple TV. ‘Severance’ is flawless and I can’t wait to start ‘Pluribus’. Yes, I’m pretty far behind on pop culture. A lot of my Favourite sport happens when I’m asleep (EPL, NFL, Rugby Union, Cricket) so I also use podcasts to keep up with what I’ve missed in the night.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
When I’m getting into the zone with my headphones on it’s ‘Rage Against the Machine’ that gets me dialled in.
In five years' time I'll be:
Publishing the science fiction book I’ve been meaning to write for about a year now.
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