Digital disruptions are a consequence of the sheer speed of the digital economy and the breakneck speed at which we are navigating the digital economy in route to the autonomous age. Analytics are a core component of activities in the digital economy and will increase their prominence as a core component of the autonomous age. Digital interactions happen without the benefit of human hands. Ultimately, the selection from the various strategies and tactics launched to influence disruptions will be decided by consumers, who through processes of their own devise will internalize content to make their collective choices. Disruptions occur when innovation, competitive, operational or other activities in the marketplace alter the anticipated outcomes in the marketplace. Disruptions occur in waves. The primary tool available to market participants during disruption waves is to influence the outcome of those waves through persuasive content. However, it is consumers that will ultimately collectively decide the winners and losers during a disrupted market, and their decisions will ultimately be based on content intended on influencing their decisions and their preconceived notions based on their individual views of the marketplace. Content is the vehicle that market participants wield with intentions to influence consumers, but for content to achieve the intended goals, particularly during times when markets are disrupted, content must be clear and appear to consumers to either support their preconceived notions or appear to be so much of a benefit to consumers that they are willing to forgo any preconceived notions to achieve the intended benefits. The delivery of this content is just as important as the contents of this content. If consumers cannot find the content or find it at times when they are not likely to give it the attention it deserves, then the intended outcomes are unlikely to be realized. Analytics controlled by self-learning intelligent algorithms are, if available, viable solutions to deliver content at the optimal time and through the optimal media. These algorithms, if effective, must be cognizant of the disruptions and what the potential influences the various actions of market participants will have on the behavior of consumers. This writing is intended to provide guidelines on how to derive appropriate content to influence disruptions and how to deliver it in ways to influence its outcome in the marketplace.

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Abstract
Digital disruptions are a consequence of the sheer speed of the digital economy and the breakneck speed at
which we are navigating the digital economy in route to the autonomous age. Analytics are a core component of
activities in the digital economy and will increase their prominence as a core component of the autonomous age.
Digital interactions happen without the benefit of human hands. Ultimately, the selection from the various
strategies and tactics launched to influence disruptions will be decided by consumers, who through processes of
their own devise will internalize content to make their collective choices.
Disruptions occur when innovation, competitive, operational or other activities in the marketplace alter the
anticipated outcomes in the marketplace. Disruptions occur in waves. The primary tool available to market
participants during disruption waves is to influence the outcome of those waves through persuasive content.
However, it is consumers that will ultimately collectively decide the winners and losers during a disrupted
market, and their decisions will ultimately be based on content intended on influencing their decisions and their
preconceived notions based on their individual views of the marketplace.
Content is the vehicle that market participants wield with intentions to influence consumers, but for content to
achieve the intended goals, particularly during times when markets are disrupted, content must be clear and
appear to consumers to either support their preconceived notions or appear to be so much of a benefit to
consumers that they are willing to forgo any preconceived notions to achieve the intended benefits.
The delivery of this content is just as important as the contents of this content. If consumers cannot find the
content or find it at times when they are not likely to give it the attention it deserves, then the intended
outcomes are unlikely to be realized. Analytics controlled by self‐learning intelligent algorithms are, if available,
viable solutions to deliver content at the optimal time and through the optimal media. These algorithms, if
effective, must be cognizant of the disruptions and what the potential influences the various actions of market
participants will have on the behavior of consumers.
This writing is intended to provide guidelines on how to derive appropriate content to influence disruptions and
how to deliver it in ways to influence its outcome in the marketplace.
Market Scenario Consumer Storyline Content Information Media

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Introduction
We are living through a rapidly transforming marketplace, one from which there was a high touch model with
consumers to a more hands‐off consumer engagement model executed on internet enabled and mobile devices. This
current state is commonly a largely digital palette in which business is conducted through a weave of platforms or a
more traditional “brick and mortar” environment. While most experts agree that these will mesh, many miss the level
of disruptions plaguing participants and what they should be doing to survive these disruptions as the transformation
changes the very core of how business is conducted through at least seven enablers. Example enablers are:
1. Internet of things devices, which will integrate the physical and digital environments into one marketplace.
While the internet of things has received much market attention, the use of highly intelligent devices and the
information hubs necessary to utilize these devices to integrate the physical world into the digital environment
is still evolving.
2. An inexpensive, high speed, always accessible network which can be used at any time in any place at the benefit
of the consumer (5G is reportedly in the short time horizon). While the battle with network providers to provide
fixed cost inexpensive data, the speed and cost will still evolve for some time to come.
3. Maturation of technologies such as augmented reality as the consumer interfaces that stitch digital and physical
environments into one cohesive environment for the consumer to interface.
4. Elevation of content from king. It will be expected that all content will be just in time personalized content
devised for a specific consumer for a specific purpose will be available at any time the consumer requests it.
Done properly, it will influence consumers to adopt the message intended by the supplier.
5. Artificial intelligence enhanced business processes orchestrated through a robotic process automation suite. For
AI to enhance business processes, the business process must be fully understood. Today, for the most part,
some of the business as usual business processes have been codified, there is a long way to go to define the full
sphere of business processes and how to identify when things have not gone to plan.
6. Expansion of algorithms used in the seamless digital / physical economy. These algorithms will be used in robotic
process automation suites.
7. Management of information and content as intangible assets used to generate commercial transactions. A
value must be applied to all information just as there is a value to fixed assets, receivables and other assets. A
new way of thinking and new organizations must evolve to measure information as the catalyst for generating
organizational value. This topic is an entire document unto itself, including determining a cost benefit and a
cost‐based algorithm for the fabrication of information and content necessary for driving commerce. This cost‐
based algorithm is specifically important in navigating disruption waves.
When these and other enablers not yet defined become commonplace, the framework for conducting business will
require a means to identify and react to unexpected market conditions, or disruptions, and influence the market from
benefiting other participants. Ray Kurzweil and others predict that these changes will occur before the 22nd
century.
The rate of change and hence the disruptive nature of the economy will continue to perplex those unprepared for this
onslaught.

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Figure 1 | The accelerating rate of change
Disrupting the very engagement model with Consumers
The digital retail experience is a glimpse into what should be anticipated in all industries through the digital economy
and into what is coined in this writing the autonomous age, in which autonomous algorithms orchestrated through what
is now, although in its most primitive form, robotic process automation (RPA). There are several tollgates that must be
navigated before we can consider our current state of commerce to what will be commonly accepted as the
autonomous age. The journey towards this autonomous age will be highly disruptive, particularly as consumers
embrace these autonomous agents to manage a portion of their daily activities, at least to the extent they are
comfortable turning over their activities to these agents. Cultural changes like this take time to emerge as the defacto
engagement model for consumer interactions.
Robotic automation disruptions of the consumer engagement model are currently in play and is not a futurist fantasy.
One such disruption, Zenplace, has launched an internet of things fully automated agent (and robotic process enabled
infrastructure) to change the status quo of the consumer engagement facets of their property and rental real estate
business. This model delivers several things to the consumer engagement model,
 an uptick of 300% to responsiveness with consumers, including rental, maintenance and repair requests, but
also faster rent collection turnaround,
 a reduction in maintenance and repair costs,
 a 100% owner happiness guarantee,

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 a 50% reduction of typical tenant placement fees and
 a significant reduction in full service property management fees.
In a totally different market, Nvidia launched Xavier, their next generation of robotic software to enable the release of
their next generation of its autonomous driving stack. Coupled with Drive IX, sensor data collected from inside and
outside the automobile will provide intelligence assistance to both driver and passengers recognizing clues on their
faces, voices and gestures. Expect some of the intelligence to spill over into other markets.
A third example, introduced by Intel at the 2018 CES, is a quantum computing solution on a chip. Tandem Lake, the
name assigned to the first quantum computer on a chip is composed of 49 qubits (quantum computing components).
Intel also introduced another research project, Loihi, which is the closest solution to mimic the basic operations of a
human brain and provides both training and inference on a single chip, a great stride for intelligence used by Robotic
Processing Automation (RPA) solutions. Expect technologies capable of much more to be used in the RPA Stack.
The photographic market has gone through several disruptions during the past 30 years with the introduction of digital
cameras, the replacement of digital cameras with smart phones, and most probably a thirds wave of disruptions to
market cameras capable of augmented reality (some recent entries into the 360 degree and 3D cameras are beginning
to show glimpses of such a disruptive force.) 2018 will see an emergence of 100‐megapixel medium format cameras for
use by professionals and prosumers and significant improvements in cameras capable of producing content ready for
augmented reality (the Rylo, the GoPro 6, and many other 360‐degree cameras who integrate into mobile devices). At
the extreme high end, expect massive disruptions in the cameras supporting the professional development of content
intended to influence consumers (available on YouTube, Vimeo, Patreon, Instagram, Facebook and other venues), such
as the RED camera, commonly costing more than $50,000. The photographic market, being the producer of one of the
primary vehicles used for the creation of digital content, will continue to be disrupted for the foreseeable future through
the entire spectrum of products in lockstep with other innovations (innovations effecting networking, innovations
effecting displays, innovations effecting the production and publication of content, etc.)
Finally, an example of a market coming under attack most probably in 2018 is the battery market, from the onslaught of
solid state batteries and graphene (declared the miracle material of the century) infused solid state batteries. Such
batteries will have longer lives, greater power densities (they will need charging less often) and shorter recharge times.
Two industries under attack are the automotive industry, which will electric cars with 1000‐mile ranges and 15‐minute
cycle times will be commonplace, and micro technologies, such as internet of things technologies, where miniscule
batteries with smaller, greater power densities will be introduced to allow for much smarter devices to stitch the virtual
and physical worlds. Expect profound changes to the engagement models derived from changes in the battery market.
Clearly, the historical way of orchestrating a committee to determine which content can be used, engaging an agency to
create insightful and sticky content and launching the content as these disruptions bombard the marketplace is not a
viable strategy. Such as strategy lacks the nimbleness required to react to the onslaught of attacks intended to influence
the behaviors and preferences in the marketplace, all of which are intensified during disruptive times.
A new approach to having a variety of content ready to engage consumers when such times is necessary, this content
must be available for robotic process automation facilities described below to utilize at all times so it can be launched

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just in time to react to the phases of a disruption wave. The appropriate content selected and delivered based on clues
received from the marketplace and behavioral information collected about consumers is the future, all orchestrated
through robotic process automation facilities. Some key decisions need to be made for the RPA environment to work,
namely what is appropriate content, which consumers is it appropriate for and what are the specific market conditions
fitting selection of the content being considered for distribution.
What are Robotic Processes | Being Ready for non‐business as usual conditions
Robotic processes use software robots which synthesize interactions from both the physical and digital world and use a
new class of software, Robotic Processing Automation (RPA) to orchestrate business processes without the benefit of
human hands. These processes have a level of artificial intelligence to make decisions that are coded into the
orchestration layer, and the success of the RPA solution is dependent on five things:
 An understanding of the market which is orchestrated. The view of the market is the business model and the
processes incorporated into the business model.
 An understanding of how to identify disruptions and changes in phases of a disruption (aka, the disruption
wave).
 An understanding of the consumers participating in the market. The level of influence on the needs and desires
of consumers will be greater if the granularity of the information available for depicting the activity of
consumers, which is used as a surrogate for the needs and desires of consumers.
 The content available to influence the needs and desires of consumers.
 A model used to predict the outcomes of the influence on the market achievable by each content component
available to be launched into the market.
 A series of metrics used to measure the outcomes of content and adjust the model predicting outcomes where
appropriate.
These robots are algorithms orchestrated through a new breed of software, Robotic Processing (RPA), which is enabled
with artificial intelligence to be able to react to small deviations from expected activities. Today, while these
orchestration tools have been used in the marketplace, for the most part, they are engaged to orchestrate business
transactions when expected outcomes are achieved, or business as usual market conditions. For them to be used for
much more, an effort to describe the business models depicting marketplaces, the assumptions used to depict the
marketplace and the information available to orchestrate the processes encapsulated in the business models must be
taken. Most of the implementations to date concentrate on the technical aspects of the solution and for the most part
have not yet linked back to the highly fluid business models and the identification of non‐business as usual and
disruptive conditions nor have the implementation of early warning systems which interrogate deviations of the
assumptions used to fit business models as representative depictions of marketplaces.
Expect much more activity in improving the capabilities of these platforms, plus the introduction of determining what is
a potential disruption in the mix, which requires additional activities described throughout this writing. If these robotic
solutions are not in your current plans in a way that impact the information and content arsenal you have at your
disposal and their linkages to your strategic initiatives, then you are lagging your market leading competitors.

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Figure 2 | Conceptual Potential view of the workings of the Autonomic Age, InfoSight Partners, 2018
There are some cultural changes that need to be accepted for consumers to embrace this new approach to everything.
Consumers have shown little resistance to giving up control to the various applications imbedded in their cell phones but
have shown disdain for the onslaught of robocalls hawking everything from new credit cards, vent cleaning, changing
phone plans, out and out scams and a host of other activities. This new world has brought on the reduction in value of
do not call lists, the need to protect credit cards from skimming and a renewed fear of identity theft. Regulatory actions
taken to put privacy concerns of consumers into the forefront (i.e., GDPR) is a step in the right direction to mitigate
these automation fears.
A glimpse into this future state | Amazon Key
Many of you will find this extremely creepy, but for a small fee, Amazon will change the lock on your door with their new
Amazon Key. This service is available only to Prime members and only in select markets. The initial cost to participate in
Amazon Key is $249.00, which is for the acquisition and installation of the Amazon Cloud Cam (Key Edition) and a
compatible smart lock. The final component of Amazon Key is subscription of the Amazon Cloud Cam plan, which is free
for the first 30 days, but is then billed at $69 ‐ $199 annually, depending on the level of service desired.
For subscribers of Amazon Key, if the recipient of a package is not home, Amazon will use the Amazon Key to open the
door and place the package inside the house or apartment. Amazon will leave a short video of the parcel drop off, which

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will be viewable real time or afterwards via the Amazon Cloud Cam application installed on a mobile device with an in‐
service Amazon Cloud Cam subscription.
The reactions to such as service have been mixed, many have focused on the convenience of such a service, but equal
numbers have focused on the concerns of privacy invasion. Ultimately, consumers will take in the press about such
services, with many technology pundits and early adopters spotlighting the convenience aspects of such a service, while
others will spotlight the privacy and cost attributes of this offering. Content issued by Amazon and so‐called experts,
whether incented or not to deliver content, will be utilized by consumers to build an opinion on whether such a service
is desired or loathed.
Content Factories | Identifying business conditions are not business as usual
Contact factories are environments specifically configured for the management of digital content assets with sufficient
tagging of the content assets to identify when the deployment of specific content is advantageous and what actions are
expected. The construction of the content manufactured for inclusion in a content factory should always follow a
formula, so it would be useful in influencing consumer behavior, perceived wants and perceived needs. These rules are
similar to what determined engaging content in the past, the difference now is that specific content is instrumental in
influencing a subset of consumers under specific market conditions, and all of this can be interpolated by robotic
process automation orchestration facilities.
Figure 3 | The formula for Engaging Content

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Data Driven Creative, the Content Factory and Robotic Process Automation
Robotic process automation (RPA) is algorithm driven, through software robots orchestrated by the RPA engine. Content
orchestrated by the RPA engine must be data driven and indexed in such a way that the RPA processes can determine
which content is viable for a specific situation and why it is more suitable than other content that is available for a
specific individual or segmented group of consumers. That means the attributes that drive a storyboard are the hooks
that an RPA process can use for scoring specific content for use at a particular moment under specific market conditions
for either a specific individual or a specific segmented group of consumers.
The mathematical term for determining the suitability of content for a specific situation is dynamic content optimization.
Figure 4 | The Dynamic Content Optimization Process
Programmatic creative, or the processes of creating content in such a way that it is devised with the necessary linkages
for software assisted processes to deliver content under the specific conditions intended during the creative process, is
exactly the content management processes devised for use with robotic process automation facilities. Dynamic creative
optimization is the rules‐based machine optimized facilities for managing content that uniquely meshes with a Robotic
Process Automation environment. Some key decisions to be recorded for a Dynamic Creative Optimization process to
be orchestrated are:
 Placement, or what are the physical descriptions of your content, such as does it include pictures, what is the
size of the content for placement into digital frameworks, what are the languages that the content can be

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displayed in, what are the descriptive hooks that the RPA orchestration engine can use when requesting content
from the Dynamic Creative Optimization environment.
 Presentation, or how does your content interface with the consumer, is it devised for JPEGS, is it optimized for
Facebook or Youtube, can consumers share copies, and other issues of how content will be viewed.
 Optimization, or what ensures that the creative linkages used for the content is available runtime for dynamic
creative optimization.
 Measurement, or how will you measure the success of the Dynamic Creative Optimization process.
 Privacy, or how do you ensure that you are enforcing the privacy wishes of consumers.
 Workflow, or how will you orchestrate the exchange between the Robotic Process Automation facilities and the
Dynamic Creative Optimization facilities.
 Administration, or how will you administrate the Dynamic Creative Optimization facilities and related
components of the Robotic Process Automation facilities.
 Valuation, or how will you apply a value to the content managed through the Dynamic Creative Optimization
(DCO) process, and if the content managed by the DCO is made available to others, what settlement processes
will you use.
Information that drives the content used in Dynamic Content Optimization
There are four discrete types of information that drives the Dynamic Content Optimization processes. All of these
driving components are necessary for the overall content optimization process to work effectively.
 The Data to Information Factory is accountable for the fabrication of all information made available to the
software robots which orchestrate the dynamic content optimization processes sensed by other robots
distributed through the overall environment.
 The Robot Software Factory is accountable for the fabrication of all software robots used in the Dynamic
Content Optimization processes.
 Content Authors are accountable for the fabrication and attribution of all content made available to the
Dynamic Content Optimization processes.
 The Metrics Factory is accountable for the fabrication of all metrics will be used by software robots and
personnel to manage the overall Dynamic Content Optimization processes.
It is important to note that early warnings, a specific type of software robot, are accountable for the identification of
departures from the status quo, identified by assumptions in the business models driving the organization not fitting the
information and patterns being interrogated at a specific time. These robots are the vehicles available for identifying
both the initialization of a disruption and the phase shift of a disruption wave.

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Figure 5 Disruption Wave phase configuration template
Dynamic Creative Optimization and the Storyboard
The storyboard is a primary vehicle to determine the value propositions of a business model that are influenced through
content in such a way that the deployed content is persuasive, memorable and aligned to a specific story intended to
influence consumer behavior in a specific way.
The storyboard is a primary vehicle for:
 Delivers one and only one memorable message, thereby eliminating ambiguity.
 Imbeds, doesn’t bury a memorable message aligned to the storyline that fosters the ability for consumers to find
supporting links and presents the compelling argument with supporting numbers.
 That the delivered content compels one position and one action, again eliminating ambiguity.
Figure 6 |Persuading through Content

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The content delivered should
 Entice the visual senses of the consumer
 Deliver a single, simple and accurate message
 Be sufficiently ambiguous to avoid details which would most probably be met with objections
 Be aggressive in the demands made on the consumer, with a clear understanding that there will be negotiation
or settlement of less than the aggressive stance
 Provide an image of what the consumer will benefit from after they are persuaded
 Be willing to trade unobtainable goals to obtain real concessions
 Match the behavior of the consumer in ways physically and verbally consistent with the consumer
 Keep content out of the weeds to avoid situations where the consumer loses the image because of the detail
clouding the real intentions
Figure 7 | Content Pitfalls to be avoided
Assessing your DCO capabilities and devising a DCO roadmap
The digital economy demands a new way of interfacing with consumers and addressing the needs, wants and desires of
consumers at a greater pace. Creative teams must be able to fine tune content to meet the needs of consumers at a
specific time and hone the technologies used to optimize the deployment of content across all instruments available for
interacting with the consumer. The window of time available is inadequate to follow an all too often tried and true

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process which attempts to determine what content would fit consumer needs, wants and desires, then create and
launch the perfect content.
Moreover, the technologies which orchestrate processes across the digital canvas and inform practitioners of
interactions with consumers after the fact requires a paradigm shift from the tried and true methods of old. However,
there are infrastructure, business aware software and cultural issues which must be overcome before such a shift can be
accomplished. The following short questionnaire is meant to serve as a platform to ask the right and difficult questions
of your organization to determine which priorities must be addressed to make the shift to digital content optimization.
Figure 8 | Content Management Optimization Readiness Self‐Assessment
It should be noted that the CMO readiness self‐assessment will be viewed by organizations differently based on their
tolerance for risks and potential failures. Many organizations are more innovative and have a higher tolerance for
innovations that do not have the pre‐perceived outcomes and will be comfortable with a lower readiness score if they
can agree on priority initiatives that will result in obtaining a higher CMO readiness score. This risk tolerance is a
component of maturity in the digital economy and assumes a highly formulated risk tolerance model to prioritize the
dispensation of risks introduced through disruptions, unexpected responses to content made available by you and
others (including viral social media) and other means.

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About the Author
Mark Albala has been one of the early practitioners in wielding information as a competitive weapon and has
served as an advisor to vendors and analysts serving the information insight industries.
Mark has served much of his career in devising insightful ways to deliver information that is most usable to
deriving and executing action plans. Mark has concentrated a significant portion of his career in ensuring that the
information made available is usable by eliminating the reasons for not using information when it counts.
Mark currently serves as President of InfoSight Partners, L.L.C., which is a firm whose mission is to help
organizations facilitate their focus into wielding the value of their information assets.
Mark has served in a variety of information strategy, architecture and governance roles and has been an
influential futurist in defining ways in which information could be wielded and has been an active advocate of the
disciplines of information economics and the acceptance and management of information as an organizational
asset.
Mark currently serves as an advisor to companies and analysts and can be reached at
mark@infosightpartners.com.