We're halfway in introducing you to our entire MARCONI team! A perfect moment for you to get to know Anouk Vos, Digital Coordinator at NPO.
Hi Anouk, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Of course, my name is Anouk Vos. I’m 35 years old and I live in Utrecht in The Netherlands. I am a digital native (and expert) and work for the Publieke Omroep (NPO) as a digital manager. At NPO, I help our sub-brands like NPO Radio 2 and 3FM with their digital presence and content strategies. A perfect place for a new media enthusiast with creative and writing skills, and a passion for pop culture, art and music. I have a huge interest in gadgets and online trends, and when I’m offline, I run. This year, for the third time already, I will run the Berlin Marathon. Feel free to check out my social (or Strava) accounts for my progress 😉
“...Before building anything, the (end) users have their say, which is quite essential to innovation. ”
Follow @aevos on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. More of a Snapchatter? Check out foxtalks.
Which are the main innovations that you think will make MARCONI a success in the market?
MARCONI can be seen as a open-source toolkit with which radio stations can plug into different workflows. We are here to help editorial teams with the (semi-) automation of their (consumer) interaction(s). These interactions can take place on social media, via SMS or other text message services such as Whatsapp or via e-mails. Whatever suits the consumer's needs best.
What will make this project a succes is that MARCONI will structure these interactions. Therefore, it will make it more easy for radio makers and editorial teams to scan them. But more important: MARCONI will also provide the listeners with immediate responses, whether they want to help create the show (provide input, points of view, etc.), or just give a shout-out to the DJ. So he or she feels more connected than ever. NPO, VRT and Stadtfilter are working closely together with editorial teams of several radio stations and programs to test which types of assets are needed to make this project a succes – anything you can think of that we can do to simplify workflows & interactions; we’re already on it. We work according to the lean startup method, i.e. with scalable integrations in existing editorial workflow systems, so that we can quickly test, learn and develop on top of that.
Also, our method is user-centered. So before building anything, the (end) users (or better: radio listeners) have their say, which is quite essential to innovation. We have to make sure our target audiences are willing to participate of course. Needless to say: everything we create is taking into account the new GDPR guidelines. The user – at all times – has the final decision in what he or she wants to share with(in) the MARCONI system.
How could MARCONI make a difference to you?
I am quite happy with the key experts on AI and Machine Learning that we have on board. As such, we are able to develop ways for radio makers to automatically filter input from listeners (scanning and reviewing images, videos, text and voice messages and/for (relevant) context etc.) and provide that input with correct responses. Whether these could be a "Thank you for joining" or "Can we invite you to call in to the studio to talk on item x?", or "Great you liked this item. Did you see these items as well?".
It is so valuable to learn what our users will respond to and discover how we can make them feel more part of the constantly-evolving radio community. These learnings are a must to further develop the way users will interact with radio stations/DJs on other devices as well. Think about smart speakers. MARCONI provides these technologies to help radio stations prepare for the future, where two-way communications streams are essential for survival. Did I make you curious? Subscribe to our newsletter for more relevant project updates.
Care to connect? You can find Anouk at Linkedin via Anouk Vos.
