Posts

Mediaplus Group

What a year for marketers! Our experts’ predictions for 2024

To mark the start of the new year, our Mediaplus experts around the world have shared their thoughts and made a prediction in the areas of data & AI, media usage habits, strategy and innovation. Let’s find out what they see coming in 2024.

Media Usage:
Between era of abundance and liquid modernity.

by Vittorio Bucci, CEO Mediaplus Italy

Some call it the era of abundance. Others prefer to talk about liquid modernity. However you define it, this historical moment is characterized by an increasingly rapid technological acceleration and the proliferation of media. Ubiquitous, digital, pervasive: the impact of media on our behaviors is becoming more significant. But what are the main changes happening in consumer habits? I’ve selected three of the major trends:

  1. The transformation of TV consumption habits. A significant reduction in linear TV viewership is counterbalanced by a steady growth of on-demand platforms. For instance, a study by Mediaplus Italia shows a 3.3% decrease in 2023 compared to 2022 in the total audience of linear TV, while on-demand TV platforms like Prime Video, YouTube, and Netflix together reach 54% of the Italian population.
  2. Social media become the new gatekeepers of information. An ever-increasing number of people primarily get their information through social networks and consider them more authoritative than news websites. This trend isn’t limited to the younger generation: approximately 40% of people over 55, as reported by a GWI report, use social media to stay informed.
  3. Search experiences are shifting away from search engines. The use of alternative platforms to Google is becoming more apparent. A study by SearchEngineLand, for example, shows that 50% of online shopping searches in the USA start on Amazon.

The ongoing digitization and the impact of AI will further radicalize these changes, especially the generational differences. For brands, the constant drive towards the future and real-time understanding of consumers attitudes represent the antidote to staying relevant.

Brand Marketing Strategy:
Ascent in a Fragmented Landscape in Flux.

by Jasmine Presson, CSO Mediaplus North America

Brand marketing strategy in 2024 stands at the intersection of rapid technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and a post-pandemic economic landscape. Successful brands will put these themes at the core of their 2024 marketing strategies:

  1. Balance of Short-Term / Long-Term: While 2023 felt like a return to normalcy, pandemic hangover led brands to prioritize short-term results. We’re optimistic that 2024 will bring a return to balance long & short game as growth is benchmarked against the new normal.
  2. Continued Media Fragmentation à Brand & Culture: A new law of nature is that diversification will increase infinitely. As brands face more competitors and media fragmentation accelerates, clarity of brand and its place in culture must be the connective tissue at the center of marketing.
  3. Search Everywhere: As searches shift from search engines to retail sites, TikTok, Reddit, and AI platforms, brands need a holistic approach to reaching seekers and measuring impact.
  4. AI Requires Humans to be More Human: As usage of AI grows, we believe human skills of empathy, connection, and imagination will become increasingly important. As marketers explore how to leverage artificial intelligence, we need to equally hone our human intelligence.

Innovation:
AI and Spatial Web – from Buzz to reality.

by Alex Turtschan, Director Innovation Mediaplus Germany

This year marks the shift from AI speculation to practical implementation in marketing strategies. As marketers adapt to these shifts, 2024 will become a defining moment in navigating the convergence of AI, the emergence of the spatial web, as well as the transformation of digital engagement strategies to meet the challenges of dark social.

  1. AI will get real in 2024: In 2023, the buzz was all about AI’s potential in strategy and media planning. Now, 2024 is poised to transform these prototypes into tangible solutions, driving efficiency, speed, and deeper insights. But let’s temper our expectations: real progress requires more than just AI; it involves intensive software development too. Initial results may be modest, yet significant breakthroughs demand time and resources. This could be the year we balance AI enthusiasm with the reality of its gradual, impactful evolution.
  2. Spatial Web: The next attempt of making the Metaverse happen: 2024 reignites excitement in spatial computing, spurred by Apple Vision Pro’s debut. This resurgence breathes life into the concept of a new internet era, following the faded buzz around Web3, Metaverse, and VR. With innovative AR glasses and VR headsets, new digital interaction avenues emerge, offering fresh ways for businesses to engage with audiences. Yet, the smartphone era remains resilient, unlikely to be eclipsed just yet in this year of technological transition.
  3. Addressing audiences in the age of dark social: In 2024, marketers must pivot from outdated social media strategies to adapt to the evolving landscape. As video content from semi-professional creators dominates platforms like TikTok and Instagram, real peer interactions are shifting to private channels. Closed chat groups, direct messages, and ‘close-friend’ stories are becoming key spaces for consumer interactions and brand discussions. Brands now face the challenge of creating sharable content to tap into this ‘dark,’ private side of social media, reshaping their approach to digital engagement.

AI:
Evolving from Tool to Co-Worker

by Enzo Ricciulli, Managing Partner Mediaplus Belgium

As we step into the new year, it’s becoming clear that AI is no longer just a tool in our toolkit; it’s evolving into our co-worker. This year marks a significant shift in how we perceive and interact with AI in our daily professional lives.

1. AI as our co-worker

A major highlight of this year is the rise of open-source models like Mistral, which are set to surpass the capabilities of GPT-4. This advancement is not just a technological leap; it represents a shift towards more accessible, collaborative AI development. Open-source platforms are empowering a diverse range of voices to contribute to AI’s evolution, ensuring a future where AI is by the people, for the people. AI will bring us a new dynamic to the workplace. It is not just assisting us with tasks; it’s collaborating alongside us.

However, the journey towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) remains complex and a true AGI breakthrough is still on the horizon. But 2024 isn’t about the finish line; it’s about the progress we’re making. This year, we’re seeing AI agents become more proficient, combined with Action GPTs trained for specific tasks. These developments are bringing us closer to more intuitive, versatile AI systems.

2. AI as part of our daily life

Consumer AI devices are also making a splash. Products like Rabbit R1 and Humane Pin are transitioning from futuristic concepts to everyday essentials. These devices are set to redefine our interaction with technology, making AI a more integrated and personal part of our daily lives.

The AI developer community is focusing on developing real-world applications over gimmicks. This shift towards practical, impactful use cases signifies a maturation in the AI field. Developers are not just experimenting with AI; they’re harnessing its potential to solve tangible problems and enhance everyday experiences.

/by
Azhar Siddiqui

The Duality of Everything – AI Included.

, ,

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been the subject of much fascination and speculation, sparking debates about its potential impact on society. Is AI destined to be a force for good or evil? For me, the answer lies not in the technology itself, but in the hands of its creators: humans. Just like humans, AI systems will inherently embody both positive and negative aspects. It is essential to recognise this duality and navigate the grey area as we embrace the transformative power of AI.

This is because AI is, in its essence, a product of human ingenuity. It is crafted through the lens of human perspectives, principles, and experiences. The rules, programmes, and algorithms that drive AI are designed by humans, reflecting their understanding of the world. As a result, AI inherits the qualities, biases, and limitations of its creators. And just as humanity is a tapestry of virtues and flaws, AI too will exhibit a mix of positive and negative traits. The potential for AI to bring about tremendous benefits is undeniable. It can revolutionise industries, improve efficiency, enhance decision-making, and tackle complex problems. AI’s ability to process vast amounts of data with incredible speed offers opportunities for scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, and environmental sustainability.

However, the shadow side of AI must also be acknowledged. The same technology that empowers AI can also be misused or weaponised. Ethical concerns arise when AI is employed for malicious purposes, invading privacy, perpetuating discrimination, or manipulating public opinion. Bias, both implicit and explicit, can find its way into AI algorithms, leading to unfair outcomes and exacerbating social inequalities.

The dual nature of AI mirrors the natural balance present in the universe. The interplay between positive and negative forces fosters equilibrium. Similarly, acknowledging the potential for both good and bad AI allows us to approach its development and deployment with caution and responsibility.

As to how we can ensure an overall positive AI trajectory, the obvious answer is establishing a sound ethical framework and regulatory measures. Collaboration between technologists, ethicists, policymakers, and the wider society is vital in shaping AI systems that align with our shared values. Transparency, accountability, and fairness should be at the core of AI development, ensuring that AI benefits all of humanity rather than serving only a select few.

However, we must consider that perhaps the ultimate path that AI takes is intricately linked to how we, as human beings, proceed forward. If we choose to embrace more goodness, love, fairness, and if we strive to become more ethical, empathetic, and environmentally conscious as a species, then maybe AI will adopt a similar complementary role alongside us. The trajectory of AI is deeply intertwined with our collective values and actions.

By fostering a culture of compassion, empathy, and respect, we can guide the development and deployment of AI towards serving the greater good. Nurturing an environment that prioritises fairness, inclusivity, and social justice will shape the future of AI in a positive direction. As we evolve as a society, we have the opportunity to instill these values within AI systems, ensuring they align with our aspirations for a better world.

Therefore, the responsibility lies not only with AI developers and policymakers but with all of humanity. We must actively engage in conversations, debates, and collaborations that steer AI towards enhancing our shared well-being. As we make ethical choices in our everyday lives, advocate for social progress, and promote sustainable practices, we lay the foundation for AI to complement and amplify our positive efforts.

In this symbiotic relationship between humans and AI, our collective actions become the guiding force. By embracing the principles of fairness, love, and compassion, we can influence the trajectory of AI, shaping it as a force that uplifts humanity rather than diminish it.

I’ve said before that, in order to compete with AI, we must become more human. I now think that maybe we should not look at AI as something to compete with, but rather something to live alongside with and instill human values in it. Maybe we can remove the artificial altogether and make it more human.   

/by
Alexander Turtschan

SXSW 2023 Day 5: Brand Science

, , ,

Last recap daily for SXSW 2023 with a couple of great sessions on marketing and pretty pictures from space! Usually, Tuesdays at SXSW see the attendance for the interactive tracks going down, with the music tracks and showcases ramping up – not so this year, every session we attended was completely packed.

I think SXSW will be very, very happy with the attendance this year, after the dramatic decrease of visitors in 2022. At times it felt like the crazy days of 2018 and 2019, it casts a positive outlook on the coming years. More attendees mean more attention from high profile speakers, visitors and brands what keeps the conference as relevant as it is. I think that’s worth the queue times. 

The future of marketing is all about convergence

The day started with a session full of high-profile marketeers on the biggest stage. Conny Braams from Unilever, Jeremi Gorman from Netflix and Tim Mapes from Delta Airlines discussed current trends and developments in marketing strategies for the FCMG, entertainment and service industry. 

I already mentioned in previous recaps this year that convergence was a big meta trend in many fields, with the most interesting things happening at the intersections of different areas. It’s the same in marketing. Conny Braams stated that the way forward for not only FMCG brands was the increased integration between branding, performance and sales. Tackling the challenge of combining brand building while also driving conversion at the same time was the #1 task for marketers and agencies. Unilever’s internal structure already reflects this with a combination of previously separated teams now all working together for the common goal, going as far as adjusting product design for this new reality. 

Tim Mapes from Delta even went one step further – for him, every Delta employee is a brand ambassador and potential brand touchpoint. For Delta, generating first party data through their frequent flyer program with its corresponding app is one central pillar of this strategy – the other one: making the data available to customer facing roles, so consumer facing staff can use it to deliver more authentic and informed interactions with each individual traveller. 

Another big topic of discussion was the rise of retail media: for Unilever retail media is a perfect tool to control the elusive last mile at the store where crucial purchase decisions actually happen – that was previously controlled exclusively by retailers. Digital retail and retail media let’s the brands take much more control here – assuming the interactions with consumers are not purely transactional, but creative and entertaining and brands get access to the data generated. Again, convergence is key for future marketing. 

The five laws of brand science 

My second session of the day was a highly interactive and entertaining talk by Ethan Decker from Applied Brand Science. In his presentation, Decker went over five laws of brand science, that marketers should be aware of – backed by years of research and data. 

He offered an interesting way on how marketers laud customer loyalty as the pinnacle of marketing – despite the fact, that most consumers, for most categories, will buy a repertoire of brands and the more someone buys from a category, the bigger that repertoire gets. For many verticals, it also makes little sense to chase deep consumer connection, because people simply don’t care what their e.g. toilet paper brand of choice does on social media or what their brand purpose might be. 

Decker stated that shoppers are “mental misers”: the average consumer simply is too lazy to deal with hard and complicated questions when making a purchase decision and suggested that marketers should focus on the easy questions shoppers are asking themselves when buying from a category. 

Additionally, when it comes to light / medium / heavy buyers, the curve for almost all brands looks like a banana. High amount of single time / low frequency buyers, very few medium and heavy buyers – negative binomial distribution, or simply: the good old long tail. For growth, market penetration is 5 to 15 times more important than buying frequency according to a study conducted by Bain & Company, so marketing should focus on that lever first. 

Advanced Space Photography 

One thing to love SXSW for: they don’t shy away from giving keynote spots on the biggest stage to topics most of us know very little about. In this case: NASA and an all-female panel of astrophysicists sharing insights on the first few months of operating the James Webb Space Telescope. In addition to showing some of the mind-blowing pictures taken by the JWST in recent months, the panel discussed the massive effort of international collaboration between 14 countries to make this happen, the scientific breakthroughs this already led to and their deep-rooted love for discovery and human curiosity. 

Advertising’s guilty secret

SXSW is a great spot for inspiration and creating new food for thought from various disciplines. But at the end of the day we are still advertisers, so it’s always refreshing to see sessions that speak the truth about our day-to-day work. Today, Welsh advertising expert and CEO of Creature London, Dan Cullen-Shute together with Ivonne Kinder from Avocados from Mexico, gave us exactly that: A critical look at what the advertising business has morphed into, at least at award shows. Looking at the recent Cannes Lion Grand Prix winners, 90% of them were purpose-driven, which of course is a honorable messaging and there’s nothing wrong with that, but often these great award ideas either never reach a broader audience outside or aren’t linked to an equally good media strategy.

Dan spoke many truths today: Advertising is brilliant. We can make things that have genuine cultural touchpoints, boost the economy in needed areas, spark happiness and connect communities. The cherry on top: There are not many other jobs where the level of seriousness and ridiculousness can be the same. It should always be our mission to leave the industry better than we found it, in one way or another, so let’s get back to that: Make people laugh again, create epic things, even be totally ridiculous if appropriate. Get back to the heart of what we do and love – creating awesome stuff that makes brands grow and touches the hearts of our audiences. 

Random observations from Day 5:

  • Props to the SXSW organizers for enabling encore sessions for popular talks – and double props to the speakers of being just as engaging in round 2. 
  • It’s surprisingly hard to find good filming locations at SXSW – unless you want to give your video interview on the latest trends in tech & marketing strong 80s Dallas vibes – as the main color scheme of every conference hotel is beige, even the one built in 2017. 
  • I don’t know if it’s the overall inflation, the fact that Austin has been attracting thousands of highly paid tech workers in recent years or simply SXSW price gauging – but getting food is making your credit card bleed. 
/by
Alexander Turtschan

SXSW 2023 Day 4: Thinking about the future

, , ,

When dealing with innovation – and that word gets thrown around a lot at conferences like SXSW – you need a certain level of resilience towards frustration. Most people, when being confronted with something new, tend to be dismissive about it. Most innovations don’t have immediate world-changing effects. Nor personal relevance for everybody. And often they are hard to grasp and easily dismissed. Our fourth day of SXSW 2023 dealt with this topic in various ways. 

Will data privacy ruin digital advertising?

Yes, probably. If “ruin” means fundamental change, that is. In our first session of the day, Noor Naseer from Basis Technologies delivered an excellent talk on the current state of the effects of increased data privacy on digital advertising. A consumer base growing more conscious about how their data is being used, increased regulation and a changing media landscape will require marketers to rethink their digital advertising strategies. We all know the 3rd party cookie will go away and will cripple a lot of  tracking and attribution systems and targeting options. The big question the digital ad industry is concerned with: will we have viable alternatives by the time this ultimately happens and the answer is: probably, but not as a 1:1 replacement.

In her talk, Naseer laid out the importance of first party data usage, the use of permissible data sources & alternate identifiers, and a coherent tech-stack strategy for data management to keep digital advertising viable – with one downside: we won’t see exact 1:1 replacements for everything we got used to in the last 15 years, so a certain degree of flexibility will be needed. Dismissing any alternatives as non-viable, just because they aren’t exact replicas of the toolset we have today is something we will have to deal with. After all, it might change the future for the better – a digital advertising ecosystem that comes with more trust, user control and ultimately better results, even at the cost of higher friction. 

The slides are available for download here. 

The best storyteller at SXSW

In the afternoon I attended a particularly enjoyable session by Mike Bechtel, Chief Futurist at Deloitte. In his highly entertaining and insightful presentation titled “A Brief History of the Future”, he laid out the history and evolution of information technology along the three central pillars of computing: interaction, information, and computation. One of the key messages: futurism is all about pattern recognition. To adequately talk about the future, you need to understand the past – as emerging tech progression isn’t random, it follows enduring trajectories over and over again.

The main thesis: AI will turn into an ubiquitous, useful set of tools to make our lives easier – even if it isn’t always perfect. The future of computing lies in decentralized systems and the interfaces of today – screens – will look like anachronistic things of the past very soon, when the main interface will be voice controls and contextual automation. None of the technical aspects were of any surprise to me – in fact we have been talking about these topics for years. But Bechtel is an amazing speaker and turned this session into a masterclass in storytelling with a rare ability of explaining complex concepts with well picked examples and relatable analogies. Being able to learn from a true master in one’s own professional niche is what makes SXSW such a rewarding experience. 

Quick, Look East!

Web3, Metaverse and AI – are these the only hype topics of our decade? In today’s session, Tom Nixon, co-founder of Qumin and expert on Chinese digital marketing, threw in another contender for the mix: Social Commerce. In the West, the term often refers to the option of buying a product directly on the app, which is a feature that has been available on many platforms for years. Shoppable Social Ads do have merit for a couple of use cases, but this short-term opportunity to buy within the app should be treated with caution: The customer journey is not linear and not every purchase happens within that respective ecosystem. Looking at China though, Social Commerce can open up a whole new world of possibilities for brands to win the war for sales by including direct customer engagement. WeChat is a great example of an early-stage superapp that might be able to completely revolutionize this business model by offering a seamless costumer experience. 

China is pioneering in various promising fields, one of them being community group buying, where, for example, a village comes together to buy products in bulk from vendors for low prices. The process of buying is happening at the respective apps, while the organization between community members can be done literally anywhere else – from going door to door with pen and  paper to the magic allrounder WeChat. Another important touchpoint for Chinese brands are KOCs – Key Opinion Consumers. These are creators without huge followings that appear as trustful consumers instead of inauthentic influencers and help to validate the products they’re reviewing. From Metaverse experiences to virtual influencer, live shopping and gamification elements: The biggest learning the West can take in from China is the importance of immersive interactions, the aspiration to create something new and innovative, and the diversification of personalized services for the individual user. Taking into account cultural differences between China and the West, many approaches might not work for everyone, but they are no doubt intriguing opportunities worth exploring.

„Us“ Against The World

We’re celebrating a big birthday, because Reddit is turning 18 this year! Jen Wong, Chief Operating Officer of the world’s leading social news aggregation site, sat down with reporter Kerry Flynn to talk about the evolution of online communities. From the producer of the recent hit show „The Last Of Us“ speaking directly to fans about the ups and downs of the show to an award-winning cocktail bar owner that started his passion for fancy drinks on the subreddit r/cocktails 12 years ago: Reddit has always been about connecting communities and shared passions. While content on apps like Instagram is highly polished (some might say even fake) and follow a one-to-many approach, Reddit feels more like a many-to-many conversation that perfectly satisfies the desire for authenticity, which Gen-Z greatly appreciates. You want to get the real deal on product reviews, from real people that literally don’t gain anything (monetarily or influentially) from it other than the satisfaction of helping out others? Reddit is the place to be. Social clout means very little on the platform, it’s all about the idea itself. 

While agreeing with many statements from Jen, Reddit is not always the happy place it is often made out to be. With every social content platform comes the good, the bad and the ugly, and that’s also true for Reddit. There is a unique structure of governance within the community and the ability to flag and remove „bad behavior“, tons of of questionable content remains on the platform. 

Random observations from Day 4:

  • One thing I love about SXSW: people are on their best behavior. Nobody skips the long lines. The volunteers are cheerful and happy to help. Need a phone charger? Power adapter? Piece of gum? Directions? Someone will have your back, always. 
  • I’d love to understand the thought process of people standing in line for 30-45 minutes at Starbuck’s to spend $10 on mediocre coffee. I’d rather stand in line for an amazing session, but what do I know. 
  • A very German problem to have – could y’all not stand on the left side of the escalators? We have places to be. 
/by
Sam Evans

CES 2023 Recap: A Timid Return to Las Vegas

CES-2023

CES returned to Las Vegas this year, but the comeback didn’t live up to the show’s pre-pandemic reputation. Previously known for its palpable energy fueled by speaking events, content releases, performances and parties, this year was far more intimate, with closed-door meetings and invite-only discussions. Attendance was about half that of pre-pandemic shows, with roughly 100,000 attendees. However, the dialed-back version of CES was in good taste following unexpected industry-wide layoffs in the last few months.  

Media companies and agencies stepped back from flashy events, keeping things quiet and fiscally responsible. Conversations about media advancements and investment centered on performance media and measurement, with brands staying hyper-focused on ROI and making smaller budgets work harder. The atmosphere felt similar to the beginning of the 2020 COVID-pandemic – timid and uncertain.

CES Trends & What to Watch

Brand media investment is on the back burner

  • Advertisers are pulling back budget in this time of uncertainty and waiting for the “best” time to invest in brand. However, from a marketer’s perspective, investing while others are pulling back provides an opportunity to stand out and create lasting relationships with consumers.
  • Although the economy is cooling, brands looking to get noticed have an opportunity to create cultural impact, be competitive in the marketplace, tell unique stories, and make a lasting impression on consumers (Everything you missed at CES 2023)

Innovations focused on accessibility

Smart health & accessibility was a key theme, with several brands introducing products designed to enable people with disabilities navigate the world with ease. Some highlights include:

  • HAPTA by L’Oréal is a computerized lipstick tool for people with limited fine motor skills
  • Project Leonardo is a customizable controller kit for PlayStation 5
  • Dignity Lifts – Allows people with little movement to use the toilet independently

Tech companies are lazer focused on AI advancements

Artifical intelligence is a key priority with AI invention previews prevalent across all inudustries

Sustainable tech was a huge draw

  • Sustainabilty was a major focus for almost every company, especially consumer electronic brands including LG, Samsung, and Schneider who touted Smart Home energy systems to reduce the usage of gas with cleaner energy
  • The Auto industry was prominent and broke through the clutter on the show floor with brands such as Volkswagon and John Deere touting new EVs and discussing the commitment of the industry to go “all in”  with electric vehicles, trucks, and all transportation

Metaverse is growing momentum, slowly

  • Understanding what the Metaverse is and its potential through experimentation has been the focus the last two years. 2023 is filled with promise as marketers and companies start to think about using the technology to improve products and services for consumers
    • Web3 and Blockchain advancements will only catapult the potential for the Metaverse, which will start to come to fruition in the year ahead

Key Takeaways:

  • Inclusivity is key. Technology that makes every day tools accessible to consumers and improve life experience is important to make a priority
  • Commitment to sustainability can’t wait and is essential for all industries – This crosses all facets of life: Home, Health, Mobility, Work, Transportation, and more
  • Everyone needs to watch  ChatGBT as it grows and challenges the traditional model of communication and content creation 
  • The Metaverse & Web3 will continue to transform, but there is still much to understand about its potential  

Key Opportunity:

  • Brands that lean in during this time of economic uncertainty and technological advancements have the opportunity to drive cultural conversation and impact that can propel growth and build brand recognition
/by
Jason Romeyko

Big Game Hunting: A week of ÜberCreativity

,

Our Worldwide Executive Creative Director Jason Romeyko sums up a week of ÜberCreativity, inspiration and motivational speeches at Serviceplan Group’s headquarters – the House of Communication in Munich.

Read more
/by
Serviceplan Group

“The CMOs will make the difference”

,

How does one go about reinventing a traditional brand? How important is sustainability for successful brand management? Which skills does the CMO of tomorrow need and what kind of role will they play in companies in the future? Florian Haller and Susann Schramm, CMO McDonald’s Germany, met up for an interview to discuss the answers. 

Florian Haller: Two years ago, you ushered in a new era of brand management at McDonald’s. How does one go about reinventing a traditional brand?
Susan Schramm: I think the secret – and not just for McDonald’s – is not to allow a brand to become a “traditional brand” in the first place. You have to permanently breathe new life into it. At McDonald’s we’re constantly asking ourselves how we can do things better, how we can look at things in a different way. McDonald’s is a brand that manages to move with the times and keep an eye on its customers’ needs. In brand management, you have to really take a close look at the everyday lives of your target group. There can also be a certain element of tradition in the consistency of change and development.

It’s a well-known fact that digitalisation is the biggest driver of change. What role does it play in the rethinking of a fast-food brand?
Susan Schramm: At first sight, digitalisation doesn’t seem to really apply to a company like McDonald’s, because the act of eating is always analogue. But losing sight of the digitality in our lives would be a huge mistake for us as a brand. Our extensive digitalisation – with our ordering kiosks, app, CRM system and lots more besides – has fundamentally changed our service concept, our production options and our overall business model. Especially now, in the crisis, focusing on our digital further development is really paying off for us as a brand. We are seeing that the path we have chosen was the right one. This means that we now have completely different ways to communicate with our target groups and also offer them virtually contactless services.

What form does digitalisation take at McDonald’s?
Susan Schramm: Launching our app, which I can use here as an example, has benefited us greatly. Sure, there’s nothing revolutionary about an app in itself. But in next to no time we gained over 15 million registered users and therefore also the opportunity to learn something about our customers and target them effectively. And it means we now also have a tool that we can use to make perfectly tailored offers for specific target groups. As a company, keeping up with the times is very important, particularly for our target groups in their teens and 20s. The app gives us a form of communication that we can use to reach them in the digital environment that is such an integral part of their daily lives. And the “Mobile Order & Pay” feature that is integrated in the app is proving extremely useful during the current crisis.

Would you say that McDonald’s has developed from a mass brand into a personalised one?
Susan Schramm: We are definitely getting there. Now that we can appeal to our customers in an increasingly personalised way, our communication with them is completely different and we can build up a sense of familiarity and trust. The only way to find out who our customers were in the past was through research. In future we won’t only know who visits us, but will also be able to enter into a 1:1 dialogue with them and provide them with individualised offers.

Will the coronavirus crisis leave a permanent mark, or will things eventually get back to normal?
Susan Schramm: I don’t believe that there will be a “back to normal”. We have all learnt a lot from the crisis, I think, and it is precisely these findings that we will take with us into the future. What I could envisage is a shift towards more sustainable consumption, to a greater sense of responsibility and appreciation of things.

So will sustainability and purpose remain megatrends?
Susan Schramm: I have the feeling that these topics will become even more relevant. The pandemic has shown us that we humans are lot more vulnerable than we thought. Our entire generation didn’t ever imagine or expect such a crisis to happen to them. We are suddenly realising that a lot of things we took for granted are being questioned and can fall asunder quickly. So in that respect, I believe that sustainability and values will gain in significance – even though we are seeing a certain discrepancy between morals and consumption. And if a brand wants to be relevant in the long term, it has to face up to that. So as a company of course we have to look at what our customers want and what is actually being purchased and consumed.

McDonald’s isn’t a brand that most people would associate with sustainability. How do you want to change that?
Susan Schramm: By moving with the times and constantly developing, we can always ensure that the measures are visible and transparent.It all comes down to authenticity, i.e. the things that you can credibly represent. The McDonald’s of 2020 is a far cry from the McDonald’s of 30 years ago. A lot has been achieved: more sustainable packaging, a vegan burger, free-range eggs and lots more. We know that certain things cannot be changed from one day to the next, but that it takes time – for example in the case of supply chains that have to be built up. There are a lot of small steps that we are taking with a view to becoming better in the long term.

In an interview you once said that loudness wasn’t your thing. But in this day and age, how can you be heard without being loud?
Susan Schramm: A lot of brands can be loud – sometimes all they need for that is the right budget. But many loud brands are still not very convincing and aren’t necessarily successful either. And volume alone doesn’t enable you to get your message to stick in people’s minds, not by a long chalk. Relevance and authenticity are more important here. There are many great ideas that start out small and then often spread a lot more successfully than if you were to just shout them from the rooftops.

Speaking of which, how do you use social media as a brand?
Susan Schramm: We use a lot of social media channels to communicate with our customers, but it’s about keeping the dialogue going here too. Marketing messages don’t work in the same way on all platforms and in terms of channel-adequate messaging, we have experienced an enormous learning curve in the past few years. Just because something works on Instagram, that doesn’t mean it necessarily also has to work on TikTok. A lot of work and orchestration are required: what is the target group, on which channel, how should we target them and what messages are relevant?

But when it comes to social media, there is still the question of how you scale all of that. You need a widespread impact, after all…
Susan Schramm: That’s why I always say that social media and digitalisation are absolutely indispensable. But simply writing off TV, outdoor and print advertising is the wrong approach in my opinion. Conventional media still have a very strong impact and are moving more towards interaction with online and social media. You need to find the right media mix: which medium is the best for which purpose? I’m a firm believer that success all comes down to having the right mix.

Does a brand need one big idea, or does it make more sense to appeal to the different target groups on different platforms with lots of different ideas?
Susan Schramm: If I have an amazing idea that works on all platforms then that one idea is enough. But that’s rarely the case, which is why you usually need lots of ideas. You have to keep surprising people, while always keeping your eye on the current zeitgeist, trends, medium and target group. And also make sure that all of that is in harmony with the brand’s core. The trick is to ensure that the brand is recognisable at all touchpoints in the long term, without always being the same.

What do you see as the core of your role as CMO?
Susan Schramm: I have a very young team made up of lots of great people – and it is my job as CMO to motivate and inspire them and to create an environment in which employees are confident enough to develop things and also themselves. Ideally, I am the person who has the vision for the brand and says where we need to be heading. And then we develop the path to that goal together.

Is working with the younger generation different these days?
Susan Schramm: It used to be about accumulating knowledge and then passing it on to the next generation. But it has become more of a give and take. As an experienced CMO, you bring a certain calmness to a situation – you are able to analyse things and recognise opportunities and set out guidelines in certain areas. But there are also areas in which I learn an incredible amount from the young people I work with, for example when new channels gain in relevance among the young target group. That’s a lot of fun and always exciting.

Do you expect the CMO to have a more or a less important role in companies in the future?
Susan Schramm: I’m an optimist as far as that’s concerned. Basically, I think the CMO will gain in significance, although it does of course depend a little on the company structure. McDonald’s, for example, is very much a marketing-oriented company, and we as the marketing team are not only responsible for the brand but are also measured by sales and have a responsibility for them. We get the figures every morning at 8:00 am, and that’s when I can see how our products and offers are being received by the customers. That success is much more quantifiable than if I am “just” responsible for shaping the brand. And it means I have more of an influence on the company’s profits and direction.

One point is certainly also that digitalisation is breaking down barriers to market entry. That is levelling the playing field, which in turn is leading to marketing generally becoming more important.
Susan Schramm: It’s true that digitalisation is making it more important to develop your brand and clearly differentiate yourself from the competition. If you want to stand out, you have to engage with new channels and ways of interacting with the target groups. The greatest challenge here is creating instant recognition value and communicating it as individually as possible at the same time. A lot of people underestimate how difficult it is to develop a brand and keep it relevant and modern. So I believe that intelligent marketing will continue to make the difference here in the long run.

Does a CMO need to be a forward-thinker when it comes to innovation?
Susan Schramm: Ideally, the marketing team should bring creativity and a new way of thinking to the company. I think all companies would benefit from giving their CMOs the freedom to innovate – perhaps even the formal responsibility for innovations.

What will be the major brand management issues in the post-coronavirus world?
Susan Schramm: The main issue in our post-pandemic future will be what kind of an effect the crisis is having on consumers and consumer behaviour, and how brands can communicate accordingly. That’s not really something that anyone can predict yet. Security and trust are important factors here. It will be important to understand what your own brand stands for in this new context. Reconciling both those factors in the future will be quite a challenge.

What skills do brand managers need to bring to the table to achieve this?
Susan Schramm: That can only be achieved with a certain amount of empathy, a quality that is becoming more and more important. If I want to understand how people tick and how my communication is being received, then I can research everything and prove it with data. But I am still convinced that it won’t work without empathy. A CMO should also have the guts to be able to make certain decisions and think differently. It’s important to keep an open mind. And that includes not being too self-important. I think that this openness and the ability to listen to others are extremely important qualities for someone who works in marketing.

Thank you very much for the interesting interview.

This article first appeared in TWELVE, the Serviceplan Group’s magazine for brands, media and communication. In the seventh issue, you will find further inspiring articles, essays and interviews by and with prominent guest authors and renowned experts centred around the magazine’s theme “Rethink!”.  The e-paper is available here.

/by
Serviceplan Group

“We are a learning organisation”

,

Florian Haller: Thinking outside the box, constantly reinventing yourself – is “rethinking” part of the DNA of tech companies like Facebook?

Angelika Gifford: I would even go as far to say that constantly questioning and rethinking things is a key part of our Facebook DNA. Our guiding principle is that, in everything we do, we remain true to our company mission, i.e. using our platforms to bring people together and give them a voice. When rethinking the services we provide, the question we ask ourselves is: what do people who use our services need right now? Only last summer, for example, we launched Messenger Rooms – a simple video conferencing tool in Facebook Messenger that anyone can use – and also increased the number of participants for group video calls in WhatsApp to eight, all based on feedback we had received. For me, rethinking also means never being satisfied with how our product currently stands, but instead always asking how we can improve things – how we can simplify, speed up, adapt and further develop them. This kind of thinking is very prevalent at Facebook.

Florian Haller: The Facebook we know today is very different to what it was 16 years ago. Were there any specific milestones that marked key changes during this time or was it more of an ongoing process?

Angelika Gifford: It is an ongoing change process, which is why adjustments often occur continually and gradually over time and are not immediately obvious. On the whole, however, we have clearly evolved – for example with regard to “election integrity”, i.e. everything we do to ensure transparent and secure political elections. I am also seeing a significant change on the communication front: I believe that, over time, we have got better at explaining who we are, what we do, how we think, how we approach things and why. Giving a face to Facebook is also my personal ambition. We need to be more accessible, more tangible. Needless to say, we make mistakes too – and have a long way to go before we are where we want to be. But at the same time we are a learning organisation and are constantly advancing and reinventing ourselves.

Florian Haller: With regard to innovation, what do companies have to do to keep one step ahead?

Angelika Gifford: I have worked for very successful entrepreneurs in my time – 21 years for Bill Gates and now almost a year for Mark Zuckerberg. And I see a lot of similarities. Point one: the vision and perseverance needed to launch strong, relevant products on the market. Point two: a high level of diversity within the company – not just a healthy gender balance but also a healthy mix of people with different religious, geographical, ethnic, cultural and political backgrounds, etc. You need to hear a lot of different voices and reflect the diversity of users and customers within the company. Point three: a certain restlessness that you need to be able to keep pace with. The Americans really toughen you up in this regard! This means resolutely business-minded thinking and the willingness to change, to create a learning organisation. In other words, making mistakes is allowed – and even encouraged – as long as you learn from them and use them to grow. And the fourth point: keep employees in the picture, empower and encourage them to constantly question themselves and the company.

Florian Haller: What form does empowerment have to take so that it actually makes itself felt by your 56,000-plus employees around the world and has an impact? What is your secret?

Angelika Gifford: First of all, we try to materialise our culture throughout the company – including physically. Our posters, screensavers, stickers and documents, for instance, carry messages like “Be bold”, “Move fast” or even “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”. You have to inspire and encourage people again and again, reminding them that we are all in this together, that all opinions are heard and everyone can and should make a contribution.

Florian Haller: Posters and screensavers – is that all you need?

Angelika Gifford: No, those are just a few specific examples. Overall, we are a very permeable organisation with a very transparent, participative corporate culture. Some companies have an open-door policy – in many cases, the workspaces in our offices don’t even have doors! Apart from that, I really love the notion of making others look great: if you have a cool idea, you should feel that you can develop it and get other people on board and actively involved. And you should also have the courage to approach management with it – that’s the most important thing as far as I’m concerned.

Florian Haller: German society is not – as yet – very diverse. How do you bring diversity into your organisation at all your different locations?

Angelika Gifford: First of all, by setting great store by diversity in our recruitment and training activities. Everyone involved in job interviews has been trained in dealing with prejudices and taken many other mandatory training courses as well. As a global, English-speaking company, we can offer many employees the opportunity to move to another country – Germany, for instance – for two or three years to get to know the market and the customers there.

Florian Haller: How much mobility do you expect from potential employees?

Angelika Gifford: Right now, we are also hiring people in places where we don’t even have an office and providing them with the equipment they need to work from home. This allows us, for instance, to secure top Eastern European talent who are not necessary willing or able to work in our central office in Warsaw. I see this as being yet another step towards more diversity at Facebook but also towards new, more flexible working models. We estimate that one in two Facebook employees will be working from home permanently in the next five to ten years.

Florian Haller: What role do high-profile entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk play in the context of innovation? Are they overrated by the general public?

Angelika Gifford: These entrepreneurs have a strong vision and an exciting business idea. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, is a truly exceptional person: he is 36, a visionary, disruptive, unconventional and also provocative in certain ways. And he has a very clear vision: to give people all over the world – more than 3.1 billion people at last count – the chance to interact and form communities. As well as this, he established a truly open, trust-based and feedback-oriented culture at Facebook, where everyone is enabled and encouraged to question their own thinking and act on their own responsibility. He shares not only his ideas but also things that have not gone well. He is the only CEO I have ever seen that answers questions from his entire workforce every week. These are not discussed beforehand – anyone can bring up issues that they are concerned about, from IT equipment to corporate strategy, and Mark addresses it and explains his standpoint. As majority shareholders, entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg also have the scope they need to pursue a long-term, coherent strategy and to invest in innovations.

Florian Haller: Most of Facebook’s employees are quite young, which must make you the “adult in the room”. Shouldn’t the European boss be 28 or 30 years old too?

Angelika Gifford: Perhaps that would be better (laughing)? No, I don’t think it would, actually! We have no end of highly creative, agile, quick-thinking, smart people at Facebook. While participation and empowerment of individuals are important, agility can’t be allowed to lead to chaos. We are growing as a company, which calls for clear framework conditions, game rules and a definite course and set priorities – all to establish order out of this rich creative chaos and to derive a goal that everyone can then work towards. As I see it, what is needed is a symbiosis of structure-giving management on the one hand and creativity and agility on the other.

Florian Haller: Germany isn’t exactly cutting a very fine figure on the digitalisation front. What factors would you urge the country and its companies to rethink?

Angelika Gifford: I have long been disappointed by the level of digitalisation here in Germany. The fact that we are doing so poorly in this respect also has something to do with our mentality. People in Germany are often afraid – or, at the very least, sceptical – of new things. I get a sense of that when I talk to people, and especially when I talk to small and medium-sized companies. People often have reservations about technology; they are afraid that artificial intelligence will rule the world. We need to assuage this fear. A change of mentality is needed – people shouldn’t see technology as a threat but rather as an opportunity and as something that enriches their lives. And then there are the bureaucratic hoops that you have to jump through in Germany today if you want to drive forward innovation. Don’t get me wrong: we do need strong data protection laws, for example. But if, as Bitkom claims, new, innovative projects fail in half of all companies because of data protection concerns, then that is very alarming indeed. And then there’s also the matter of implementation: there’s a lot of talk about digitalisation and plenty of brightly coloured charts being bandied about, but very few companies actually invest properly or actually implement things that would change their business models and their culture. However, all of this needs to happen if a company can be said to have successfully embraced digitalisation.

Florian Haller: From Facebook’s perspective, where is the technology journey headed? What is the “next big thing”?

Angelika Gifford: Our focus is on three areas in particular. First of all, we have our Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research Lab with an international team that conducts fundamental research in the field of artificial intelligence. I’m not a techie, but what this team is doing is truly cutting-edge stuff. My other favourite subject is what Mark Zuckerberg sees as a major mobile trend, namely virtual and augmented reality. We only recently unveiled the latest version of our Oculus Quest headset and there are very exciting application opportunities, not only in the private sphere but also in a business context: such as virtual training sessions in DHL distribution centres, virtual operations training at Johnson & Johnson or virtual hotel tours for Hilton staff. Smart glasses are also set to make waves next year. We are working on integrating all applications in a small pair of glasses, which, for example, would allow you to have directions displayed when exploring Munich on foot. A third area is sustainability. Many people are not aware of this, but Facebook is already the second-largest user of renewable energies in the world. We have also set ourselves clearly defined climate neutrality targets for 2030: this means that our suppliers will also have to have implemented sustainability targets of their own and we want to have the world’s most innovative data centres on the net. We have also created a climate information centre, a tool on Facebook that anyone can access from their menu – by providing specific examples and facts here, we aim to inspire our users to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

Florian Haller: Speaking of which, can I mention that you are talking to the boss of Germany’s first climate-neutral agency group? We were certified after just one hundred days and are very proud of this. But to return to an earlier point, I have the impression that things have gone rather quiet on the AR and VR front in recent months. I don’t feel there is a real connection to people’s everyday lives.

Angelika Gifford: At the moment, we are working on this very aspect – bringing technology into everyday life, for example in glasses that we want to develop together with EssilorLuxottica brand Ray-Ban. It will definitely take years before we have a mass-market product that people can put on in the morning like a normal pair of glasses. But our vision is to develop useful products for people and we are also taking them with us on this journey of innovation.

Florian Haller: What is the most important advice you would give companies regarding future viability?

Angelika Gifford: If I had the magic formula, we probably wouldn’t be talking here today (laughing)! Seriously, what do we need to do? We need to advance digitalisation resolutely, to actively drive innovation. To do that we need the relevant skills. Which in turn means teaching our children these skills and making IT and digital media fun for them. And this is exactly where policymakers need to create the right framework conditions, be it for education and training or for flexible working models. And we all need to recognise that technology is an opportunity rather than a threat. We need to use it sustainably to keep ahead of the pack in the globalised world.

Thank you for talking to us.

This article first appeared in TWELVE, the Serviceplan Group’s magazine for brands, media and communication. In the seventh issue, you will find further inspiring articles, essays and interviews by and with prominent guest authors and renowned experts centred around the magazine’s theme “Rethink!”.  The e-paper is available here.

/by
François Houste

What happened to interface innovation?

#RIP Flash (1996 - 2020)

Macromedia, oops sorry, Adobe Flash, took its leave from the digital scene at the very beginning of 2021 [1]. And nobody took much notice.

Since the release of the first iPhone in 2007, which couldn’t run websites using Flash, the software development platform began losing its appeal. Flash just never quite managed to join the mobile revolution. It was able to survive for 10 years on some professional interfaces and entertaining websites but was replaced by HTML 5.0 and the almost endless possibilities afforded by style sheets. Flash was like those ageing actors who – you’re surprised to learn – turn out not to be immortal after all [2]. Come to think of it, you hadn’t realised they were still alive anyway…

But its impact is hardly negligible. When it comes to the internet, there is clearly a pre- and a post-Flash. The exciting revolution sparked by Macromedia/Adobe (its creators) became a damp squib amid an online world gleaming with social media.

The Flash revolution

If you weren’t around during the dinosaur years, it might be useful to go over a potted history of the ways that Flash revolutionised the internet user’s experience. The original web – in the 1990s – was all about text. And even though the first HTML standards obviously provided the option of using images, it’s worth remembering – misty-eyed – that the logic of organising content and shapes was originally based more on typewriters rather than the works of the Old Masters, or even television. People wrote, inserted tables, included images to illustrate points and, with a little practice, made it all look slicker with style sheets. Interactivity on the Web 1.0 was about links leading from one page to another, sometimes with rollover animations popping up with the help of a burgeoning program known as JavaScript.

When Macromedia Flash arrived in 1996, and especially when it was developed further from 1999, it opened new horizons in web development. Flash brought content inspired by the world of educational and encyclopaedic CD-ROMs, rather than internet sites. With Flash, people started thinking in terms of screen layout rather than page layout. Graphics ruled supreme, information was visual, and interactivity extended to the development of simple game routines. Flash’s big brother was Macromedia Director [3], an essential software program used in many multimedia studios in the 1990s to show works from of the Louvre Museum [4], depict great battles from history or reveal the mysteries of Machu Picchu.

Flash liberated the internet from the shackles of linear progression. Images could be displayed on a wide screen, shapes were easy to shift, interactivity was the holy grail. Flash made using the internet into a game-changing multimedia experience. All this happened long before YouTube and cartoons were available online, you might even remember the Badgers [5], the Leekspin Song [6] or Viking Kittens [7]. The internet became a playground – Yetisports, a cruel parody of the Winter Olympic Games, has since been redeveloped in other formats [8] (in French).

Flash was groundbreaking for developers too. The internet was no longer restricted to a secret sect of coders and web developers; it began opening up to graphic designers and animators. A whole new caste of digital workers brought a graphic touch to the internet that it would not have had otherwise. It’s difficult to remember, but Flash went some way to turning the internet into a medium in its own right. No mean feat.

Where are the interfaces of yesteryear?

But revolutions don’t last forever. Flash – the emancipator of online narration and interactivity – was powerless in the face of the mighty mobile. Partly because ironically, Flash was slow going; its plug-ins were slow and maddening, but they were worth it! And partly for security reasons. Yes, Flash did have some flaws, and hackers had no qualms in copying how it worked to get into Internet users’ PCs. The other reasons for its failure were political.

Adobe Flash, which published Adobe software, bought Macromedia in 2005, and decided to kill Flash on 31 December 2020. And on 12 January 2021, all the browsers on the market – Chrome, Firefox and Safari in the lead – stopped supporting old versions of the system and doomed an entire chapter in the history of the internet to oblivion [9]. Of course, many development frameworks using a variety of different technologies now allow users to create web interfaces similar to those of yesteryear, as well as even faster, more stable and more standardised interfaces. But the taste for innovation and quirkiness that drove the growth of Adobe seems to have faded from our screens.

Social media have democratised scrolling, making the thumb scan almost the only interface available on mobile screens. From Instagram to Twitter, from Facebook to LinkedIn, we scroll endlessly [10]… and while the story format temporarily shook up editorial lines, it was soon picked up by one platform then another (Instagram, then Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, etc. [11]), which meant we were back to scrolling. In the end, stories simply made the vertical movement a horizontal action.

And on computer screens, the dominance of WordPress and other CMS – Shopify, Wix, Drupal [12] – has led to the emergence of standardised graphics interfaces, with best practices in UX and digital performance.

A pessimist would perhaps claim that the latest ‘innovation’ in Web interfaces is the swipe [13], a way of accepting or refusing a contact that was pioneered by Tinder in 2012 – eight years ago already – and has now been replicated on media websites [14] (in French). Other than that, creativity seems to be a thing of the past.

Creativity has left the building

And yet, today’s internet provides creators with an opportunity to develop rich and complex interfaces, which are sometimes the only way of really presenting a subject in all its complexity. These experiments do exist, but they rarely seem to reach the public.

Over the past few years, the New York Times Lab has been developing advanced know-how on innovative interfaces and web documentaries. The most obvious and most popular example is undoubtedly the full analysis published in the summer of 2020 on the explosion in the port of Beirut [15]. On a single page, the American daily used techniques as diverse as video editing, time-lapse and 3D computer graphics to explain the causes and consequences of a major event to its readers. It created a media mix that the Flash developers of the 2000s would have admired. The New York Times is a pioneer in infographic representation and often publishes information on a specific website [16]. It uses photos, videos, and even virtual reality to great effect in what ideally will be one of the prototypes for the online future.

In France, the interfaces designed by L’Atelier, the intelligence and innovation unit at BNP Paribas [17] (in French), are more wonderful examples. In these spaces, form and substance come together to project internet users into a theme and teach them about the virtual economy [18] or the technological challenges of the future [19]. As with the New York Times, the message is perfectly tailored and presented. It undoubtedly testifies to the existence of a genuine cyberculture, an inventiveness and a creativity which draws inspiration from the digital world, cybernetics and science fiction.

These examples show that with Flash a thing of the past, we can still hope for a creative and multimedia-focused internet.

Getting innovation back online

While some people want to paint a picture of a digital future in which virtual reality and voice commands will have replaced computer screens, and – with the impact of lockdown – in which the internet and its various interfaces still play a key role in our lives, maybe it’s time to return some of Flash’s creativity onto our web pages.

Creativity that surprises, draws the eye to further content, contributes something more than endless social media threads and nourishes its audience with information in an alternative way.

Why don’t we bring innovation back online and make the web that bit more exciting?

— Translated from French by Ruth Simpson

/by
Alexander Turtschan

SXSW 2019: the manifestation of change

The central theme of SXSW has always been change: transforming itself from its humble beginnings as a music festival in the capital of Texas into one of the world’s leading conferences on technology, marketing and innovation, to the growing city of Austin itself. And Austin is changing rapidly, which becomes more and more obvious the more often you return. The influx of investments, jobs and residents can be felt and seen everywhere, as new high-rise buildings are being constructed downtown and new, fancy homes and shops take over residential neighborhoods in the vicinity, year after year. Austin’s continuing popularity certainly isn’t being embraced by everyone, especially among long-time Austin residents, who grow increasingly wary of endless traffic and skyrocketing housing costs. Silicon Valley’s latest solution fixing traffic by dumping thousands of electric scooters and bikes on Austin’s streets might be a welcome convenience for SXSW attendees, but an additional nuisance for the city’s residents.

Shifting perceptions 

As the city changes, so does one of its major draws for visitors. SXSW might still be labeled as a tech and marketing focused conference, but the growing emphasis on topics around work culture, relationships and leadership shows that technology and innovation might just not be enough to succeed in business in the future.
Opening the conference with Brené Brown and Esther Perel – two outstanding speakers on topics of belonging, empathy, and relational intelligence – was a perfect framing device for the rest of the week. The importance of applying these concepts, often dismissed as “soft” to one’s actions not only at the workplace, but in life at large, cannot be overstated.
Or as Gwyneth Paltrow, who currently is transforming her own career from Hollywood actress to CEO of her lifestyle brand Goop, put it perfectly: “Culture is your business plan”.

Reframing the toolkit of digital transformation

Does this mean we are done with digital technology? No more new gadgets, no more new platforms, no more disruption? Far from it. But digital transformation itself is changing. The past decade has handed us a toolkit with almost unlimited possibilities and technology has reached a point of productive ubiquity.
So, does ye olde Arthur C. Clarke quote no longer ring true? Has technology sufficiently advanced to a point, where it no longer appears to be magical? Not necessarily, but the tools we spent the last 10 years derivatively refining are now ready to be used productively in business and marketing. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, mobile devices and wearables, blockchain, robotics, digital assistants: they work and they provide value. It’s time to embrace them.

Technology as the trigger for and answer to shifting consumer expectations 

Walmart CTO Jeremy King gave impressive insights into how the world’s largest retailer does just that. Pretty much every technology listed above plays a major role in Walmart’s business processes: from blockchain for produce tracking, virtual reality in staff training to robotics and predictive analytics in purchasing and logistics. While King did not grow tired of repeating how customer and shopping experience were at the center of all of Walmart’s technological ventures, it surely also has an impressive impact on the bottom line, due to large increases in efficiency.
In another session I attended, Heather Hildebrand from Accenture Interactive shared examples on how Accenture helped retailers to improve the shopping experience for customers through tech by offering better personalization, curation and expert advice. Utilizing technology to create true, meaningful improvements to the overall brand experience is the pivotal challenge in the foreseeable future, as the tools are ready and at our disposal. At the same time, technology is fundamentally shifting consumer behavior across all touchpoints – so for now, understanding and properly reacting to those needs is of equal importance. This, however, takes effort and the willingness to think about hard problems and find hard solutions – too often marketers will take the easy exit. Why adopt to changing consumer behavior introduced by digital assistants if you can just launch a gimmicky Alexa skill and be done with it?Achieving equilibrium between playful utilization of new tools and meaningful impact on process and execution requires a change in organizational structure and leadership, though. Balancing culture and technology will be the new frontier of innovation.

The kaleidoscope of change

So, that’s a wrap on SXSW 2019 and it’s important to point out, that this is just my personal take. The sheer amount of sessions, panels and workshops across 29 conference tracks makes it impossible to even attempt to get a comprehensive overview of everything that is going on.
Due to all these possibilities, one could ask 50 different attendees and would very likely receive 50 different answers on what SXSW was all about in a particular year. And what anyone deems noteworthy might be influenced just as much by their current professional and personal challenges as it is by the overarching trends in programming of the festival itself.
I’m looking forward to returning to Austin in a year, not only to see how the transformation of the city is shaping up, but also for the unique mashup between innovation, culture, art and visionary spirit, that can only exist in this city, at this event.

/by