Whether they’re driving major digital transformation projects or pioneering ways to empower their teams with new technologies, Adobe Experience Maker Awards winners and finalists know how to turn big bets into big wins for their organizations. This year at Adobe Summit, several of them took the stage to share their views on how generative AI is transforming the way businesses work and serve their customers.
It was a privilege to highlight these inspiring individuals and hear their unfiltered takes on the promise of generative AI for enterprises, customers, and beyond. In this first of a two-part blog series, read on as we relive exclusive insights from three of these exceptional Experience Makers, whom I had the pleasure of hosting on the first day of Adobe Summit.
George Cairns, Head of Product and Personalization, Lloyds Banking Group (LBG)
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) is one of the UK’s leading financial groups and the country’s largest retail bank. As the leader responsible for managing its transformation portfolio, George Cairns is incredibly excited about the potential of generative AI to fuel new levels of personalization for LBG’s customers.
For Cairns, successful generative AI initiatives are rooted in three success factors. First, brands must build their projects around customer needs. “Every time we personalize a piece of content or experience, we see a 16–20% uplift in engagement. That creates affinity and growth,” he said. With generative AI, Cairns believes brands will be able to get more granular in their personalization approach by focusing on the key moments that matter for customers, like their first 100 days onboarding with a new bank.
Second, businesses must put people and processes first. That means considering new training requirements and upskilling for their employees, and pacing those initiatives in lockstep with their generative AI deployment to ensure teams can take full advantage of the technology.
“In my 20 years of experience delivering major transformations, success has always come down to having the right people and processes driving the right cultural transformation to take advantage of new technologies like generative AI,” said Cairns.
Finally, sponsorship for generative AI projects must come from the C-suite so employees feel empowered to embrace the technology. In LBG’s case, the primary focus for generative AI is the content supply chain. To that end, Cairns is now working with colleagues across the organization to see how the technology can drive better content processes, better experiences for his colleagues, and better results for Lloyds Banking Group’s customers.
Skipper Lomiwes, Programmatic and Data Activation Manager, Television New Zealand (TVNZ)
Like many broadcasters, TVNZ is transforming from a traditional TV company into a streaming-first platform. It’s an exciting time for New Zealand’s national broadcaster, but as Skipper Lomiwes explained, it also pits his organization against some of the best streaming media companies in the world, including Netflix and Disney+, which have bigger teams, bigger budgets, and a considerable head start in the space.
The advantage for TVNZ is its knowledge of local customers, which is why it uses generative AI to leverage customer data to tailor its content and recommendations to every viewer in the moment. “On average, people take 18 minutes bumming around a platform to find the content they want. TVNZ’s goal is to become the Tinder for content, quickly matching viewers to content they love,” said Lomiwes.
“We live in a world where video content is made for the masses. If 100 people from 100 countries are watching The Lord of the Rings, we’re all having the same experience. But in the future, content will be personalized to our individual interests.” Is that the right direction? Lomiwes doesn’t know, but he is itching to find out.
Nicolás Lozano, Data Strategy Director, PRISA
When it comes to predicting the future, Nicolás Lozano is refreshingly self-aware. “Few organizations could give you a clear statement on the future of generative AI,” he said to introduce himself. “So today I will simply share our perspective and activities so far.”
That’s not to say PRISA is ambivalent about generative AI and its potential to improve experiences for its 240 million customers. The Spanish media giant recently launched a partnership with OpenAI to help train its models and ensure the AI-generated content of tomorrow is of high quality and accurate.
Content innovation is vital to PRISA’s success, and Lozano expects generative AI to play a key role in helping the business create, distribute, and monetize its content in new ways, while simultaneously making its back office more efficient. “We want to keep being a top publisher,” said Lozano, adding, “To do that, we need to work with players like OpenAI and Adobe to keep an eye on what’s coming and integrate new features in our daily operations.”
Want more insights from this year’s most visionary brands and leaders? Check out this article from my colleague Don Bennion, who hosted five more Adobe Experience Maker Awards winners and finalists on day two of Adobe Summit.
And click here to learn how Adobe generative AI solutions can unlock new possibilities for your business.
Gina Casagrande is the Director of Evangelism for Adobe Experience Cloud. She has over two decades of experience in digital marketing, specializing in elevating the customer experience. An expert in personalization and digital experience optimization across the campaign and content lifecycle, she empowers businesses to harness analytics for informed decision-making, resulting in outstanding customer interactions across diverse channels and driving increased conversions and loyalty. Gina is a trusted thought leader, with a proven track record of influencing C-level audiences. She has successfully guided some of Adobe’s largest and most strategic accounts on realizing value, orchestrating transformative shifts in their business strategies, shaping robust personalization and optimization programs, and steering marketing directives toward customer-centricity, ultimately enhancing ROI. As an evangelist and professional storyteller, Gina delivers inspiring product presentations on the Adobe Experience Cloud applications globally.
