Ewan Morgan, National Luxury Ambassador and Head of Whisky Outreach at Diageo North America, told Fox News Digital how SmokeDNAi technology is being used to understand the aging process of whisky. For two years, Diageo analyzed various Scotch whiskies using AI and algorithms. Diageo, an alcohol beverage company, invested 230 million into a portfolio of whisky tourism projects. Of this lump sum, more than 44 million was dedicated to the exploration of whisky maturation using technology called SmokeDNAi. Using SmokeDNAi, teams tested and analyzed the flavor profiles and mouthfeel of non-identical twin whiskies distilled in different casks – one remnant and one original.

Instead of cutting marketing budgets, Diageo decides to invest in marketing but to remove inefficient expenditures, and thus improve profits by shifting money investments. Two years ago, the company launched the platform Catalyst, whose main goal is to provide instant data to marketeers and help them create investment-worthy strategies. According to Diageo's global marketing effectiveness director, Adam Ben-Yousef, they have "achieved a more profound shift at the highest level in the belief in marketing investment. Marketing is no longer the first spend to be cut when a market wants to deliver its annual plan." It does that by solving issues and helping companies reach customer satisfaction.

Drinks supplier Diageo has launched a new AI Whisky Selector to help customers discover their favourite Single Malt Scotch whisky. 'What's Your Whisky' uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to analyse a user's personal flavour preferences and matches them with a Single Malt whisky that the AI thinks they will love. The new digital experience can be accessed via mobile or internet-connected devices and asks consumers eleven questions to understand their individual flavour preferences, such as "how often do you eat bananas?" and "how do you feel about chillies?". 'What's Your Whisky' then analyses the user's preferences for a variety of sweet, fruity, spicy and smoky flavours found in Single Malt whiskies to create their personal "Flavour Print" and recommends a Single Malt whose flavour profile most closely matches the user's. Commenting on the launch, Dr Adeline Koay, principal scientist, research and development for Diageo said: "We are using our extensive consumer knowledge, whisky expertise gathered over hundreds of years and AI technology to help consumers discover, explore and enjoy Scotch in new and exciting ways."

Nutella-maker Ferrero is trying out voice commerce. The advertiser is one of the first in the U.S. to use the "send me a sample" application, which delivers a free sample-sized jar of its Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread to people who have it installed in either their Amazon or Google voice assistants. Whenever someone repeats the "send a sample" phrase followed by the name of the brand, an order is made by the app, which pulls delivery information either from the Amazon or Google account linked to the voice assistant. Diageo used the app in the U.K., last year, and whereas Diageo was experimenting with calls to action and aspects of sonic branding, Nutella wants to use the intel to gauge whether voice could be the commerce driver it anticipates. Should enough deliveries come via the app -- Diageo's trial had more than 6,000 requests in its first week -- then Nutella will explore other options, said Ferrero's head of e-commerce in the U.S. Rachel Tetreault, who said voice search could be something it looks into later this year.

The need to pull purpose directly into storytelling has never been greater. Consequently, an ability to marry creativity with technology to create experiences that convey a brand's purpose emerges as a competitive advantage. As this new paradigm ensues, leading marketers are experimenting with a multitude of storytelling media including VR AR, to bring brand purpose to life, in authentic and engaging ways. Ask the CMO: Diageo's James Thompson On Democratizing Data Harnessing Emotional Intelligence For my most recent Ask the CMO column, a series dedicated to analyzing the latest trends and disruptions in the marketing landscape, I had the pleasure of speaking with James Thompson, CMO of Diageo North America, about the company's most recent foray into purpose-driven VR storytelling. We discussed a wide array of topics ranging from the revolutionary marketing technology he empowers his team with to democratize the use of data, to the rise of emotional intelligence as a new strategic imperative.

Robotic process automation has the potential to deliver significant cost efficiencies to many businesses, but those efficiencies could be wiped out – or worse – if the robots are not properly licensed to work with the organisation's existing software estate. Every conference this year contains a dead human genius reincarnated as software system or a robot. Yes, there is a lot of hype, but there is real worth in AI and Machine Learning. Read our counseling on how to avoid adopting "black box" approach. You forgot to provide an Email Address.

United Spirits, a Diageo Group Company, is launching artificial intelligence powered chatbot that offers bartending solutions. Simi – Your Personal Bartender is a Facebook Messenger chatbot, developed by Yellow Messenger, a Bangalore based start-up that has developed Digital assistants through botplatform.iotechnology. A recent report on artificial intelligence published by MarketsandMarkets said that the overall artificial intelligence market is expected to be worth $16.06 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 62.9 percent from 2016 to 2022. Simi – Your Personal Bartender chatbot will offer over 200o DIY cocktail recipes which can be made with ingredients like juices, mint, lime, cola etc. and mixed with USL – Diageo's brands like Black Dog Whisky, Black & White Whisky, Johnnie Walker Whisky, Smirnoff Vodka, Tanqueray Gin and Captain Morgan Rum among others. The chatbot is expected to gain intelligence through conversations and will start by offering bartending recommendations based on combination of ingredients and alcohol preference.