The two companies have begun work on an integrated platform to further enhance their respective offerings for clients across the live event industry 

Activity Stream, the leading marketing platform for live entertainment, and Project Admission, the solution platform that makes buying, selling and distributing tickets for live events simple and intuitive, announced today that they have entered into a strategic partnership to further enhance their respective offerings for clients across the live event industry.

"As we continue our journey to elevate every event, our focus on offering the very best data-centric products for live events is enhanced by strategic partnerships. Project Admission's transactional capabilities and innovative approach will empower our clients to better leverage their data in perfect harmony with our objectives." says Activity Stream CEO Einar Saevarsson.

Adds Project Admission CEO Stephen Glicken, "From the moment we met Einar and the team behind Activity Stream, we knew there were tangible synergies between our companies. We are very bullish on the opportunities ahead for clients in being able to seamlessly leverage Activity Stream's marketing and segmentation tools that have been tactically developed to drive conversion in the live entertainment space."

Activity Stream is a pioneer in data-driven solutions that increase profitability across every stage of the event lifecycle, servicing over 600 clients globally across more than 25 ticketing platforms. Activity Stream launched its Total Marketing Platform late 2021, an unparalleled industry-first marketing suite designed specifically for live entertainment. This groundbreaking platform empowers organizations to monitor sales and marketing effectiveness in real-time, gain deep insights into customer behavior, effectively segment audiences, and execute high-performance marketing campaigns with unmatched targeting precision and results.

Project Admission, launched in 2018 and working with more than 50 professional sports teams across all the major North American sports leagues in addition to other key stakeholders in live entertainment, provides clients with unique monetizing features and opportunities around the life of the ticket, while also adding value and simplifying the commercialization of live events. From its customizable digital storefronts to its unrivaled bulk distribution tool to its season ticket management offerings, Project Admission addresses a breadth of ticketing needs from teams, venues and promoters' across live entertainment.

"Ever since ticketing came online, there have been conversations about the opportunities to leverage data to better serve customers with customized, targeted ticketing offers," says Glicken. "We have finally arrived at the time where those conversations are a reality and it's at the nexus between Activity Stream and Project Admission."

Both companies have shared a period of sustained growth.

To date, Activity Stream is integrated with Ticketmaster, AXS, SeatGeek, Eventim, Tessitura, AudienceView, ShoWare and a host of others. In 2022, Activity Stream announced the acquisition of Yesplan, a venue management platform, and crowdEngage, a mobile and in-venue customer experience platform.

Project Admission is integrated with SeatGeek and Tickets.com with a handful of notable integrations coming near term. The company also acquired Split Season Tickets in 2022 which is currently completing its integration with Ticketmaster as a Nexus Partner.

Concludes Saevarsson, "We look forward to the year ahead with Project Admission as our partnership promises transformative experiences for our clients and their audiences, actioning data into material conversion."

Known as ‘Project Mockingbird,’ McAfee reveals advanced AI-detection capabilities that can empower consumers to discern what’s real and what’s fake in a time of malicious and misleading AI-generated content

• New AI-powered innovation from McAfee is over 90% accurate at detecting and exposing maliciously altered audio in videos.

• With more than two-thirds (70%) of Americans concerned about deepfakes making it hard to trust what they see and hear online, McAfee’s Project Mockingbird will give people a powerful tool to navigate their ever-evolving digital world.

• AI-powered combination of contextual, behavioral, and categorical detection models lays the foundation for safeguarding online integrity as deepfake-driven cyberbullying, reputation manipulation, and investment scams gain prominence.

Today, McAfee Corp., a global leader in online protection, announced its AI-powered Deepfake Audio Detection technology, known as Project Mockingbird, at the Consumer Electronics Show. This new, proprietary technology was developed to help defend consumers against the surging threat of cybercriminals utilizing fabricated, AI-generated audio to carry out scams that rob people of money and personal information, enable cyberbullying, and manipulate the public image of prominent figures.

Increasingly sophisticated and accessible Generative AI tools have made it easier for cybercriminals to create highly convincing scams, such as using voice cloning to impersonate a family member in distress, asking for money. Others, often called “cheapfakes,” may involve manipulating authentic videos, like newscasts or celebrity interviews, by splicing in fake audio to change the words coming out of someone’s mouth; this makes it appear that a trusted or known figure has said something different than what was originally said.

Anticipating the ever-growing challenge consumers face in distinguishing real from digitally manipulated content, McAfee Labs, the innovation and threat intelligence arm at McAfee, has developed an industry-leading advanced AI model trained to detect AI-generated audio. McAfee’s Project Mockingbird technology uses a combination of AI-powered contextual, behavioral, and categorical detection models to identify whether the audio in a video is likely AI-generated. With a 90% accuracy rate currently, McAfee can detect and protect against AI content that has been created for malicious “cheapfakes” or deepfakes, providing unmatched protection capabilities to consumers.

“With McAfee’s latest AI detection capabilities, we will provide customers a tool that operates at more than 90% accuracy to help people understand their digital world and assess the likelihood of content being different than it seems,” said Steve Grobman, Chief Technology Officer, McAfee. “So, much like a weather forecast indicating a 70% chance of rain helps you plan your day, our technology equips you with insights to make educated decisions about whether content is what it appears to be.”

“The use cases for this AI detection technology are far-ranging and will prove invaluable to consumers amidst a rise in AI-generated scams and disinformation. With McAfee’s deepfake audio detection capabilities, we’ll be putting the power of knowing what is real or fake directly into the hands of consumers. We’ll help consumers avoid ‘cheapfake’ scams where a cloned celebrity is claiming a new limited-time giveaway, and also make sure consumers know instantaneously when watching a video about a presidential candidate, whether it’s real or AI-generated for malicious purposes. This takes protection in the age of AI to a whole new level. We aim to give users the clarity and confidence to navigate the nuances in our new AI-driven world, to protect their online privacy and identity, and well-being,” continued Grobman.

McAfee is building on its rich history of AI innovation, the first public demos of Project Mockingbird, McAfee’s Deepfake Audio Detection technology, will be available onsite at the Consumer Electronics Show 2024. The unveiling of this new AI technology is also further evidence of McAfee’s focus on developing a comprehensive portfolio of AI models that are cross platform and serve multiple uses cases to safeguard consumers’ digital lives.

Why Project Mockingbird

Mockingbirds are a group of birds primarily known for mimicking or “mocking” the songs of other birds. While there’s no proven reason as to why Mockingbirds mock, one theory behind the behavior is that female birds may prefer males who sing more songs, so the males mock to trick them. Similarly, cybercriminals leverage Generative AI to “mock” or clone the voices of celebrities, influencers and even loved ones in order to defraud consumers.

Deep Concerns about Deepfake Technology

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the sophisticated nature of these scams, as they no longer trust that their senses and experiences are enough to determine whether what they’re seeing or hearing is real or fake. Results from McAfee’s December 2023 Deepfakes Survey revealed the following:

Deepfake experiences and perspectives

• The vast majority (84%) of Americans are concerned about how deepfakes will be used in 2024.

• 68% of Americans are more concerned about deepfakes now than they were one year ago.

• Over a third (33%) of Americans said they (16%) or someone they know (17%) have seen or experienced a deepfake scam , this is most prominent for 18 – 34 year olds at 40%.

Top concerns for deepfake usage in 2024:

• More than half (52%) of Americans are concerned that the rise in deepfakes will influence elections, undermine public trust in the media (48%), and be used to impersonate public figures (49%).

• Worries around the proliferation of scams thanks to AI and deepfakes is also considerable at 57%.

• The use of deepfakes for cyberbullying is concerning for 44% of Americans, with more than a third (37%) of people also concerned about deepfakes being used to create sexually explicit content.

For over a decade, McAfee has used AI to safeguard millions of global customers from online privacy and identity threats. By running multiple models in parallel, McAfee can perform a comprehensive analysis of problems from multiple angles. For example, structural models are used to understand the threat types, behavior models to understand what that threat does, and contextual models to trace the origin of the data underpinning a particular threat. Utilizing multiple models concurrently allows McAfee to provide customers with the most effective information and recommendations and reinforces the company’s commitment to protecting people’s privacy, identity, and personal information.

Afiniti, a leading customer experience (CX) artificial intelligence (AI) applications and infrastructure provider, announces the appointment of Mike Myshrall as Chief Financial Officer.

“I am delighted that Mike is joining our leadership team as CFO,” said Hassan Afzal, CEO of Afiniti. “His experience with high-growth technology companies will be a huge asset as we continue to expand our CX AI optimization services and infrastructure offering for enterprises around the world.”

Mr. Myshrall is a seasoned CFO with a strong background in both the public and private equity sectors. He is a hands-on leader who specializes in strategic growth and possesses extensive knowledge of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and annual recurring revenue (ARR) business models and metrics.

Mr. Myshrall has a proven track record of driving financial success in dynamic and fast-paced environments, and extensive experience in leading global teams.

“I am thrilled to be joining Afiniti, an extremely innovative AI technology company with impressive talent,” said Mr. Myshrall. “As CFO, I am excited to partner with Hassan and the leadership team to help execute on Afiniti's high-growth strategic plan, as well as to serve its employees, investors and enterprise customers. Afiniti leverages all of the positions I have held and experiences I have had throughout my professional career.”

Prior to joining Afiniti, Mr. Myshrall was CFO at PrimePay, a leading SaaS technology and services provider in the US. Before PrimePay, he spent ten years at Cyren, a publicly-traded global cybersecurity company with Finance and Accounting teams in the US, Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Myshrall has also worked as a management consultant and investment banker in the telecom and software sectors and holds an MBA from Harvard University and a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick.

The integration aims to streamline claims processing through automated AI image and video analysis

TCG Process, with headquarters in Switzerland, an international organization that develops and integrates input management and intelligent process automation software, has announced a new integration available in their DocProStar platform.

The latest integration extends DocProStar's capabilities for insurers. Inspektlabs uses AI to eliminate the need for physical inspections by analyzing photos and videos of the damage to a vehicle, providing faster, more efficient automation of claims assessments and improving fraud detection.

Users can easily include the Inspektlabs technology inside any process, simply by selecting and configuring an activity from DocProStar's activity library, which consists of over 150 drag-and-drop activities that can be built incorporated into a business process with no additional coding required, minimizing complexity and shortening the time to automation.  

"Our integration with Inspektlabs was extremely efficient thanks to their REST interface and webhooks, and DocProStar's integration readiness. Our platform is truly extensible, giving our customers the flexibility they require." said Patrick Ulrich, CTO of TCG Process.

The addition of the Inspektlabs activity further broadens the scope of DocProStar's multi-media capabilities, advancing the platform's efficiency to comprehensively automate claims assessment processes.

"We are excited to join forces with TCG Process to continue to transform the insurance industry's approach to claims processing. By integrating technology that eliminates the need for physical inspections directly into a business process, insurers can deliver a faster, more reliable and technologically advanced service that aligns perfectly with the needs and expectations of the modern customer," said Devesh Trivedi from Inspektlabs.

For an in-depth understanding of how orchestrating multiple AI services can further enhance process automation, join TCG Process for an exclusive webinar with AI technology partners on January 25 at 10AM ET. You can register here.

Survey of 1,000+ leading brands, advertising agencies, media providers, and tech companies signals innovation and creativity will prevail in 2024 as marketers increase spending across all channels

Mediaocean, the mission-critical platform for omnichannel advertising, has released its 2024 Advertising Outlook Report, with all signs pointing to a prevailing focus on innovation and creativity in the new year. Overall, the findings show that despite macroeconomic headwinds holding over from 2023, optimism pervades the advertising industry. Omnichannel marketers, in particular, anticipate an active year, affirming their intent to maintain or increase spending in nearly every channel.

Examining key trends in media and advertising, the survey revealed that certain platforms stand to grow most significantly in 2024. For example, the report shows that not unsurprisingly, social media, digital display/video, and connected TV (CTV) are the frontrunners heading into the year, based on a sustained, surging investment that naturally mirrors consumer engagement and time spent. Specifically, 69% of survey-takers report that in 2024 they will increase social media spending, 65% for digital display/video, and 56% for CTV in 2024. At the same time, the number of marketers maintaining their investments in these channels is 28%, 30%, and 36%, respectively.

“There is a lot to dissect in this year’s survey with regard to the marketing funnel and the consumer journey. For instance, even though direct-response campaign performance remains a top priority for marketers tasked with delivering tangible ROI, brand advertising is gaining momentum,” said Aaron Goldman, Chief Marketing Officer at Mediaocean. “Companies are taking a longer-view approach to driving customer loyalty and lifetime value. Even so, marketers are very aware that a prevalent gap remains between creative and media execution. If not addressed, this gap negatively impacts team workflow, messaging relevance, and market intelligence. So, resolving this gap and embracing the tools and systems required for doing so absolutely will be the largest growth opportunity for brands this coming year. ”

Overall, the highly-anticipated report highlights the forces driving the advertising economy as seen by industry leaders, including the macroeconomic spending trends of 2023. This is the fifth installment of bi-annual market reports produced by Mediaocean and features the largest base of respondents, nearly 1,100 total, delving into key media and technology trends as well as channel-specific 2024 projected advertising investments. Mediaocean primarily surveyed marketers and agencies but also included perspectives from media companies, measurement firms, tech platforms, and other industry cohorts.

"2024 will be a most consequential year and deliver unprecedented innovation in the advertising industry," said Bill Wise, Chief Executive Officer at Mediaocean. "As we navigate the challenges of data deprecation, antitrust regulation, and privacy protection, there is a massive opportunity for brands to reduce their reliance on Big Tech and leverage independent technology for everything from media buying to ad serving to omnichannel measurement. Embracing the scaled tools and systems required for this alignment will be the key to driving customer loyalty and lifetime value."

In addition to illuminating overall optimism and positive spend trends across channels, the survey underscored a rising focus on AI and waning interest in the Metaverse. The report highlights that Generative AI has not only captured everyone’s attention but has also led to a shift in focus and resource allocation. The analysis suggests that 2024 promises to be the year that AI moves from speculative use cases to practical, day-to-day applications, particularly in the areas of data analysis and market research. Respondents indicated that AI will become an increasingly integral part of daily workflows and serve functionals well beyond content generation.

For a full review of all key takeaways, please visit https://www.mediaocean.com/the-2024-advertising-outlook-report to download the complete Mediaocean 2024 Advertising Outlook Report. Additionally, Mediaocean will present the research during a webinar on January 18 with Joanna O’Connell, EVP Innovation at R3, and agency executives from dentsu, Initiative, and Jellyfish sharing their assessments of the imperatives for marketers.

Marketing Leader Brings 18 Years of Experience Building Brand, Demand & Product Marketing for Cloud, SaaS, Telecom Providers and TSDs

Procure IT, a game-changing data-driven IT procurement company, announced today that it has named Brian Leonard, an 18-year technology and channel marketing veteran and former Vice President of Marketing for RapidScale, as its Chief Marketing Officer.

In his new role, Leonard oversees the creation and management of Procure IT's marketing strategy, including digital marketing, strategic leadership, brand management, market research, sales collaboration, customer engagement, public relations, data analytics, budget management, and marketing team leadership and development.

"Brian Leonard and many of the Procure IT team members have extensive experience working together to build and successfully sell RapidScale," said Randy Jeter, Procure IT Co-founder and Managing Partner and former CEO of RapidScale. "We know and respect each other well and can hit the ground running to develop and execute Procure IT's marketing strategy to drive rapid growth and shareholder value."

Leonard is a data-driven technology marketing leader with nearly two decades of experience leading, growing and managing international marketing teams. Previously, Leonard led marketing operations for technology providers, such as RapidScale and ujet.cx, and technology services distributors (TSDs), including Intelisys and AppDirect. Leonard has also consulted with many technology, software as a service (SaaS) and telecommunications firms on marketing strategy and execution.

"I've run marketing on every angle of the technology advisor ecosystem, including distributors, platforms, agents, consultants and technology vendors," said Leonard. "I've spent my career helping small and midmarket companies scale their marketing organizations and positioning. I'm excited to reconnect with Randy Jeter and other members of the RapidScale team to drive revenue growth for Procure IT."

In addition to his role at Procure IT, Leonard serves as an advisor for several SaaS and platform organizations, including the SaaS Ecosystem and Business School (SEBS), Product HQ and Squibler AI. Leonard is certified in MEDDPIC Sales Methodology, Pragmatic Product Marketing, Demandbase ABM and Revenue Architecture School.