DECODE - December 21, 2023

READS

Meet Kai, the Adorable AI Agent Who Powered the Kettle Holiday Gift Exchange (Adweek)

Gone are the days of using Google to find a good present for someone when you have Kai! Instead of a traditional white elephant gift exchange, the experience design team at Kettle, a Code and Theory Network agency, turned to AI to match everyone with the gift they would love. Their designs took the shape of Kai — a gift-obsessed, neo-futuristic mouse that uses inputs offered by each employee (hobbies, likes, interests, location, etc.) to make gift matches. Kai deploys GPT models to populate a matrix of probabilities and executes a matching algorithm that selects the most satisfying gift for each person. Read about Kai and how other agencies have used AI during the holidays in Adweek.?

RealClearPolitics and Stagwell Launch Polling Platform for Readers and Advertisers (Little Black Book)

In an era dominated by spin and besieged by disinformation, where can you get the most clear, credible news? RealClearPolitics’ (RCP) new polling experience, RealClearPolling, offers a solution. This week, RCP, the independent, nonpartisan media company, launched a first-of-its-kind polling experience in partnership with Stagwell that offers an aggregated, unbiased look at the 2024 election cycle. Code and Theory led the strategy, development, and implementation, which included a variety of custom and programmatic advertising units and innovative email content opportunities. "It's a special time to be doing this kind of work with RCP, especially ahead of the next presidential election,” says Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “Code and Theory's advancements have already upgraded the overall digital experience, and we know there's a lot more coming." Read more about the launch in Little Black Book.

Have We Reached Peak Immersive Art? (It’s Nice That)?

Immersive art is booming and its popularity has transformed the art world, for better or worse. Some of the most popular attractions now are immersive exhibits, from Las Vegas’ Sphere to London’s Frameless. “I believe immersive art is a gateway into the art world ... [it] complements traditional galleries, sparking enthusiasm for the art movement,” says Ryan ‘Woody’ Atwood, creative director of Frameless. According to It’s Nice That, these exhibits elicit mixed feelings. While immersive exhibits have added more diverse audiences, experimentation and accessibility, there’s concern that they dilute the experience of traditional artistry. Read the article.

Why Brands Urgently Need to Rethink CX (Ad Age)

Customer service in the digital age may be missing the mark. According to Ad Age, scanning a QR code for a restaurant, speaking extensively with a customer service bot and using self-checkout doesn’t always mesh with what humans actually want. “Some technology is well-intentioned but misused by companies that lost the plot.” It begs the question: Are brands really improving the customer experience CX, or are they just checking boxes on an arbitrary list of digital best practices?? Read the article.

FAKE FACTS

Moving on from Figma, Adobe shifts focus to QuarkXPress.

The metaverse will affect business more than AI in 2024.

MEET

See You at CES

We’re coming for you, 2024. First stop, CES! From January 9-12, we will join Stagwell live in Las Vegas for custom floor tours, live content studio interviews and networking events. We can’t wait to see you there. Learn more about the event!