On the eve of Europe’s biggest digital marketing expo, dmexco, there will be plenty of inflated statements about how the fusion of data, digital and marketing is going to change the world. You’ve probably heard them all before. But it’s not just hype – not this time.
Clients no longer need persuading about the importance of big data. They realise a business cannot survive today, let alone tomorrow, without listening to its customers and enabling better experiences by leveraging data. They are now hungry to listen and learn about the technology that allows them to do this.
The smartest marketing technologists, of which dmexco’s speaker programme is full, know that the current trend for consumers’ eyes to be glued downwards, to their mobile phones, is only a passing phase. They know that it is only a matter of time before they look up. When the internet of things soon becomes seamlessly integrated into everything around us, great brand experiences will go far beyond a handheld screen – or any single screen for that matter. That will require a significant shift in the way brands communicate with their customers.
I’ll be bagging a ringside seat for the fireside chat with Kate Kui, vice president of JD.com, the largest business-to-consumer digital shopping platform in China, with more than 100 million active users and a market share of more than 50%. In Asia, technology is part of the social fabric, integral to shopping, socialising and paying bills. I’m hugely intrigued to hear her vision and how she believes brands can grow on the global stage in this new era.
Dave Morin, the CEO of Path, a mobile social-networking company, was the first person attributed with the quote: “AI is the new UI.” It is certainly more applicable now more than ever before, as both Apple and Google have announced that their virtual assistants will be making a leap forward in not only voice recognition accuracy, but also a better contextual understanding of how to respond to user requests.
But in this race to embrace tech, it’s vital we don’t neglect one of the most important ingredients of the new marketing mix: creativity. That’s why another unmissable speaker is my former Razorfish colleague Bob Lord, now president of AOL who is taking the stage at the storytelling summit to discuss what companies need to do to identify the tools and platforms where they can distribute, automate, and scale their stories.
As a fervent campaigner for creativity as well as tech, his thoughts on culture and how advertisers must reinvent themselves as storytellers will undoubtedly spark lightbulb moments. That’s exactly what we need, given so few marketers have managed to monetise the much-hyped “content marketing” strategy.
Whatever the future brings, one thing is sure: it means a more empowered consumer. To keep up, we need to be equally empowered. That’s why I’m going to dmexco this year and why you won’t find me zoning out, glued to my mobile, eyes downwards.
Ray Velez, is chief technology officer, Razorfish Global
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