Originally from Ecuador, David Wellisch came to the United States in 1988. He graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree and then went on to Harvard Business School. He spent seven years at America Online and in private equity. At American Online, he founded a division called AOL Latino, which targeted business opportunities driven by the demographic landscape shift the United States was undergoing. That led him to launch the Collage Group in 2009.
Wellisch’s newest technology, AdRate by Collage Group, is built on data. It uses machine learning and facial tracking to predict crucial differences in emotional response to ads in different demographics for marketing leaders.
Some of the key insights that Adrate collects for marketers include distinguishing which ads have been risky, using its “Groundswell” and “Backlash” metrics that help decipher the factors that make or break an ad.
Adrate data also shows that humor and inspiration are key to a positive reaction from some consumers, but are not as important for others. So how do machine learning and facial tracking create insights around purchase intent?
“Adrate is a very innovative solution that allows us to understand better the differences in resonance in engagement across demographics, both ethnic and generational,” Wellisch says. “We’re using a combination of facial tracking and sentiment analysis powered by machine learning to understand what works and what doesn’t,” he explained. “Machine learning allows us to understand the key drivers and advertising effectiveness.”
The more they test, the more robust the machine learning gets and the better they get an understanding of consumer behavior.
“Facial tracking only happens in an opt-in basis as they look at the ad for thirty seconds,” Wellisch said. “Everything is survey-based. We have leveraged the latest survey and research methodologies (with partners) for years to understand the consumer better.”
As co-founder and CEO of the Washington, DC group, Wellisch leads what he calls “a suite of solutions” offered by the member-based consumer research and strategic advisory company that helps brands understand culture and generations.
Currently, the Collage Group supports over 200 brands, including Twitter, Hulu, Intuit, and Disney, US Bank, Coca Cola, and Nestle. Wellisch is looking to grow his client base as e-commerce grows in leaps and bounds.
A recent LinkedIn report identified Machine Learning and Data Science among the top 10 fastest-growing jobs. So how can you get the skills and knowledge to work in this field?
In a recent interview with MastersInDataScience.org, Lillian Pierson, a data scientist, engineer, and author of the book Data Science for Dummies, said the fields of data science and analytics are exploding with opportunity.
“For men and women alike, there are plenty of opportunities,” she said.
In the fall of 2016, computational science researchers at the University of California, Merced won a multimillion-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation (NRS) to train graduate students over five years.
“UC Merced is working on research questions emerging from the ‘big data’ revolution we find ourselves in,” said one professor.
Programming includes boot camp, custom courses, lab rotations, and industry networking opportunities with industry mentors and community outreach partnerships.
This spring, students from Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other minority colleges took part in Google’s Tech Exchange. The program hosts students at Google’s Mountain View campus and engages them in a variety of applied computer science courses. The curriculum includes machine learning, product management, and database systems, all co-taught by university faculty and Google engineers.
According to the University of Texas-El Paso’s Department of Computer Science’s website, they have broad expertise in data analytics, computer vision and machine learning, and autonomic systems.
UTEP leads the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), one of the oldest grassroots efforts to increase the number of Hispanic students who pursue and complete baccalaureate and advanced degrees in the Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) areas.
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