Adobe sees a future of digital ads in the driver’s seat

ADOBE Systems Inc has helped companies tackle digital marketing on computers and smartphones.

Now, it wants the next key device: your car. New services unveiled Monday to help businesses analyse data from web-enabled autos thrust Adobe into competition with big rivals such as Alphabet Inc’s Google, which provides software inside vehicles.

Adobe will provide analytics, marketing features and help automate audio ads, enhanced by the company’s artificial intelligence feature called Sensei.

The move puts Adobe on the forefront of efforts to harvest the trove of information being generated by new on-board voice capabilities, infotainment applications and, eventually, self-driving autos. That kind of analysis is just getting under way with cars, as manufacturers such as Daimler AG and BMW AG enable autos to collect real-time data with networking that makes their vehicles more like a mobile phone, says Michael Ramsey, an analyst with Gartner.

“It’s just in its very infancy-and not nearly in the way it’s being done with the phone,” Ramsey says. “But that is the plan.”

Adobe is trying to reach beyond traditional gadgets with its marketing-services arm. After spending about US$500mil (RM2.1bil) on a video advertising startup, TubeMogul, the company announced analytics for Amazon. com Inc’s Alexa voice-activated assistant and similar services. Cars are the next big step and a fierce battleground.

“Just think about the amount of time people spend in their cars,” says Amit Ahuja, vice-president of emerging businesses in the Adobe Experience Cloud. “This is spot-on huge.”

Vehicles today can be linked to the Internet through a smartphone and some automakers such as Daimler AG and BMW AG have begun to enable their cars to collect real-time data-with networking that makes it more like a mobile phone, says Michael Ramsey, an analyst with Gartner. General Motors Co has been more aggressive with a service that connects with retailers.

“It’s just in its very infancy-and not nearly in the way it’s being done with the phone,” Ramsey says, referring to how digital data can be gathered and analysed. “But that is the plan.”

Ford Motor Co has made moves as well-announcing a deal with Amazon for Alexa services in January. The partnership offers consumers the ability to access their cars from homes, and call up other features from their vehicle via Alexa.

Carmakers have been slow to adopt more fully connected vehicles, partly because the costs are significant, Ramsey says, adding that more manufacturers will take on the technology in the future. — Bloomberg