This year’s SXSW Interactive was bigger than ever, with over 33,000 attendees and hundreds of panels and events. Our latest report explores key themes from the ballooning festival, from innovations in sustainability to the new frontier of artificial intelligence and virtual immortality. The report features on-the-ground insights, brand examples and interviews with experts from tech and academia.
In our ninth annual report, we see how consumers are both welcoming and resisting technology's growing omnipresence in our lives. For many, technology serves as a gateway to opportunity and an enabler of hyper-efficient lifestyles, but those who are most immersed are starting to question its effect on their lives and their privacy. One result is that more people are trying to find a balance and lead more mindful, in-the-moment lives.
Our forecast also puts a spotlight on the growth of immersive experiences; the accelerating shift to a visual vocabulary; the new appeal of imperfection; and the rise of telepathic technology, which will enable brands to better understand minds and moods and react in a very personalized way.
The full report-in which we cover each trend in detail, highlighting what's driving the shift, how it's manifesting and what it means for brands-is available at www.jwtintelligence.com
Edible Packaging, Heads-Up Movement and Haptic Technology—just a few items from our annual list of 100 Things to Watch for the year ahead.
It’s a wide-ranging compilation that reflects developments surfacing across sectors including technology, television, food and spirits, retail, health care and the arts. The list also includes new types of goods or businesses, new behaviors and ideas with the potential to ladder up to bigger trends.
Note: Please download the report for fully functioning links.
This year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity touched on a range of buzzworthy topics, from artificial intelligence to new media to gender equality. Here's our roundup of key takeaways and analysis from the event.
In January 2016, a team of J. Walter Thompson Company researchers spent 10 days in Cuba interviewing more than 40 Cubans about their lives, the economy, and opportunities as relations with the United States improve. The result is The Promise of Cuba. Here we offer a free excerpt of the full 78-page report.
The digital age disrupted the music world, ushering in a new era for fans, artists, retailers and other key stakeholders. This year, we got a clearer glimpse of what the second decade of digital music will look like—and it’s quite different from the first in many ways. In our Things to Watch: Music Edition, we chart what’s changing from both a macro and micro perspective.
Brandhome goes to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity every year to check out the new trends, brands, technologies, meet interesting people and learn from masterminds all over the world. We gathered all our insights from 4 busy days in one handy presentation. Don't hesitate to post any additions in the comment section below.
In our ninth annual report, we see how consumers are both welcoming and resisting technology's growing omnipresence in our lives. For many, technology serves as a gateway to opportunity and an enabler of hyper-efficient lifestyles, but those who are most immersed are starting to question its effect on their lives and their privacy. One result is that more people are trying to find a balance and lead more mindful, in-the-moment lives.
Our forecast also puts a spotlight on the growth of immersive experiences; the accelerating shift to a visual vocabulary; the new appeal of imperfection; and the rise of telepathic technology, which will enable brands to better understand minds and moods and react in a very personalized way.
The full report-in which we cover each trend in detail, highlighting what's driving the shift, how it's manifesting and what it means for brands-is available at www.jwtintelligence.com
Edible Packaging, Heads-Up Movement and Haptic Technology—just a few items from our annual list of 100 Things to Watch for the year ahead.
It’s a wide-ranging compilation that reflects developments surfacing across sectors including technology, television, food and spirits, retail, health care and the arts. The list also includes new types of goods or businesses, new behaviors and ideas with the potential to ladder up to bigger trends.
Note: Please download the report for fully functioning links.
This year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity touched on a range of buzzworthy topics, from artificial intelligence to new media to gender equality. Here's our roundup of key takeaways and analysis from the event.
In January 2016, a team of J. Walter Thompson Company researchers spent 10 days in Cuba interviewing more than 40 Cubans about their lives, the economy, and opportunities as relations with the United States improve. The result is The Promise of Cuba. Here we offer a free excerpt of the full 78-page report.
The digital age disrupted the music world, ushering in a new era for fans, artists, retailers and other key stakeholders. This year, we got a clearer glimpse of what the second decade of digital music will look like—and it’s quite different from the first in many ways. In our Things to Watch: Music Edition, we chart what’s changing from both a macro and micro perspective.
Brandhome goes to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity every year to check out the new trends, brands, technologies, meet interesting people and learn from masterminds all over the world. We gathered all our insights from 4 busy days in one handy presentation. Don't hesitate to post any additions in the comment section below.
It’s a new era—welcome to the Control Shift. Exchanging data for utility, people are delegating an increasing amount of control over their lives to technology. Brands can capitalize on this societal change by positioning themselves as trusted partners and fostering consumer empowerment.
The mobile is moving well beyond its role as a communication device, becoming an enabler for a wide range of experiences from TV viewing to shopping to banking. And mobile connectivity is disrupting industries from retail to auto to finance and beyond. The consensus is that change is occurring at an astonishing scale and speed.
In this report, JWTIntelligence outlines key trends in evidence at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona in late February, along with examples that illustrate these developments and implications for brands. The report also incorporates insights from interviews with several mobile experts and influencers.
Every year, planners at Y&R share a roundup of today’s most interesting trends and their inherent tension. This year’s North American Trends with Tension report takes on an array of topics from privacy, wellness, and gender fluidity.
It’s a new era—welcome to the Control Shift. Exchanging data for utility, people are delegating an increasing amount of control over their lives to technology. Brands can capitalize on this societal change by positioning themselves as trusted partners and fostering consumer empowerment.
The Flux Paradox - Branding at the Speed of ChangeYoung & Rubicam
Insights on how brands can build loyalty at the speed of change - By Matt Godfrey, President of Y&R Asia.
The erosion of consumer loyalty, or 'The Flux Paradox', is being driven by rapid product innovation. This dwindling brand loyalty, in Asia at least, is borne out by Y&R’s own proprietary research ‘Generation Asia’; a survey conducted by Y&R Advertising and VML, of 34,000 people across 10 countries.
Having participated in both SXSW and Cannes Lions Innovation festival this year, we've uncovered lots of insights on the current communications climate and have put together 9 trends which should serve as guidance for the areas to focus on in 2016.
MRY's South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive recap from 2015 featuring trends in wearables, virtual reality, mobile video (Meerkat!), and more - plus what brands like GE, Taco Bell, Mazda, HBO and others did in Austin, TX for SXSWi
Celebrity 2.0: New New Hollywood is Breaking All The Rulessparks & honey
The rise of the creative class is reshaping media and redefining fame and celebrity. The balance of power has shifted from producers, studios, broadcast networks, etc., to the new creative talent. We call this creative class “New New Hollywood” (NNH).
But what’s really profound is the power that these NNH creators wield. NNH personalities have enormous fan bases with extraordinary loyalty and unprecedented engagement - fanatical, in fact.
For example, Nicki Minaj (a traditional celebrity) has <9.5><5mil Twitter fans, while PewDiePie (a NNH celebrity) commands an audience of nearly 40 million on YouTube. NNH has so much influence it could single-handedly reshape culture and society, let alone brand preferences. NNH could even swing the 2016 presidential election!
Brands need to leverage NNH, but to do so, they need to understand the context and unique ways in which NNH operates. The rules of engagement are very different.
This report sets out to shed light on one of the most important cultural forces at work today: NEW NEW HOLLYWOOD.
CES 2016 Recap: The Autonomous 4K VR 3D IoT Drone AwakensDavid Berkowitz
What were the most important trends, themes, and technologies at CES 2016? The Consumer Electronics Show this year featured massive partnership announcements from car brands, fast drones, immersive virtual reality experiences, and much more. See what matters most for technologists, marketers, and others in this roundup.
A round up of key trends and inspiration from 2016. First presented to the ADCN at a #csbreakfast. Please get in contact if you are interested in us doing a SXSW workshop at your brand or agency
Don’t let the breakfast tacos, parties, brand houses, and activations fool you. SXSW is growing up.
The festival has shifted from a place of discovering the next big digital innovation to a place for reflecting on how technology (e.g., AI, AR vs.VR, and Blockchain) can impact society, along with focusing on social responsibility and ethics.
Five days and hundreds of panels later, here’s a look at the trends and emerging tech that’ll be shaping the future.
Don’t let the breakfast tacos, parties, brand houses, and activations fool you. SXSW is growing up.
The festival has shifted from a place of discovering the next big digital innovation to a place for reflecting on how technology (e.g., AI, AR vs.VR, and Blockchain) can impact society, along with focusing on social responsibility and ethics.
Five days and hundreds of panels later, here’s a look at the trends and emerging tech that’ll be shaping the future.
It’s a new era—welcome to the Control Shift. Exchanging data for utility, people are delegating an increasing amount of control over their lives to technology. Brands can capitalize on this societal change by positioning themselves as trusted partners and fostering consumer empowerment.
The mobile is moving well beyond its role as a communication device, becoming an enabler for a wide range of experiences from TV viewing to shopping to banking. And mobile connectivity is disrupting industries from retail to auto to finance and beyond. The consensus is that change is occurring at an astonishing scale and speed.
In this report, JWTIntelligence outlines key trends in evidence at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona in late February, along with examples that illustrate these developments and implications for brands. The report also incorporates insights from interviews with several mobile experts and influencers.
Every year, planners at Y&R share a roundup of today’s most interesting trends and their inherent tension. This year’s North American Trends with Tension report takes on an array of topics from privacy, wellness, and gender fluidity.
It’s a new era—welcome to the Control Shift. Exchanging data for utility, people are delegating an increasing amount of control over their lives to technology. Brands can capitalize on this societal change by positioning themselves as trusted partners and fostering consumer empowerment.
The Flux Paradox - Branding at the Speed of ChangeYoung & Rubicam
Insights on how brands can build loyalty at the speed of change - By Matt Godfrey, President of Y&R Asia.
The erosion of consumer loyalty, or 'The Flux Paradox', is being driven by rapid product innovation. This dwindling brand loyalty, in Asia at least, is borne out by Y&R’s own proprietary research ‘Generation Asia’; a survey conducted by Y&R Advertising and VML, of 34,000 people across 10 countries.
Having participated in both SXSW and Cannes Lions Innovation festival this year, we've uncovered lots of insights on the current communications climate and have put together 9 trends which should serve as guidance for the areas to focus on in 2016.
MRY's South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive recap from 2015 featuring trends in wearables, virtual reality, mobile video (Meerkat!), and more - plus what brands like GE, Taco Bell, Mazda, HBO and others did in Austin, TX for SXSWi
Celebrity 2.0: New New Hollywood is Breaking All The Rulessparks & honey
The rise of the creative class is reshaping media and redefining fame and celebrity. The balance of power has shifted from producers, studios, broadcast networks, etc., to the new creative talent. We call this creative class “New New Hollywood” (NNH).
But what’s really profound is the power that these NNH creators wield. NNH personalities have enormous fan bases with extraordinary loyalty and unprecedented engagement - fanatical, in fact.
For example, Nicki Minaj (a traditional celebrity) has <9.5><5mil Twitter fans, while PewDiePie (a NNH celebrity) commands an audience of nearly 40 million on YouTube. NNH has so much influence it could single-handedly reshape culture and society, let alone brand preferences. NNH could even swing the 2016 presidential election!
Brands need to leverage NNH, but to do so, they need to understand the context and unique ways in which NNH operates. The rules of engagement are very different.
This report sets out to shed light on one of the most important cultural forces at work today: NEW NEW HOLLYWOOD.
CES 2016 Recap: The Autonomous 4K VR 3D IoT Drone AwakensDavid Berkowitz
What were the most important trends, themes, and technologies at CES 2016? The Consumer Electronics Show this year featured massive partnership announcements from car brands, fast drones, immersive virtual reality experiences, and much more. See what matters most for technologists, marketers, and others in this roundup.
A round up of key trends and inspiration from 2016. First presented to the ADCN at a #csbreakfast. Please get in contact if you are interested in us doing a SXSW workshop at your brand or agency
Don’t let the breakfast tacos, parties, brand houses, and activations fool you. SXSW is growing up.
The festival has shifted from a place of discovering the next big digital innovation to a place for reflecting on how technology (e.g., AI, AR vs.VR, and Blockchain) can impact society, along with focusing on social responsibility and ethics.
Five days and hundreds of panels later, here’s a look at the trends and emerging tech that’ll be shaping the future.
Don’t let the breakfast tacos, parties, brand houses, and activations fool you. SXSW is growing up.
The festival has shifted from a place of discovering the next big digital innovation to a place for reflecting on how technology (e.g., AI, AR vs.VR, and Blockchain) can impact society, along with focusing on social responsibility and ethics.
Five days and hundreds of panels later, here’s a look at the trends and emerging tech that’ll be shaping the future.
PN London and a team of experts has been analyzing some of the key themes emerging from this year's SXSW.
For more information, please email Philip Honour on philip.honour@porternovelli.co.uk
Introducing the Gen-Narrators, research by The Economist among 90,000 Millennials worldwide. One sub-segment of the millennials has an extraordinary ability to influence. They are effective at sharing. The Economist called them the ‘gen-narrators.’
This group of millennials were characterised with traits that disproved all previous stereotypes and millennial clichés. Gen-narrators had a focused audience, were specialists, had interest networks, and they paid in knowledge rather than in cash.
The Millennial generation will have a bigger impact on the future of media over the next five years than any other demographic group. But an Economist Group study finds many misconceptions about this group when it comes to their attitudes, media habits and their understanding of the relationship between media and marketing. Check out the study's global results,
This thought-provoking article delves into the ever-expanding influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its profound impact on our lives. The narrative follows two data science graduates as they navigate the evolving job market, where AI-driven automation threatens to reshape industries and redefine the role of human labor. From Hollywood's creative unrest to the growing presence of AI in corporate spheres, the article explores the potential benefits and challenges of AI integration. Additionally, it contemplates the "ratchet effect" and how culture shapes human survival, while pondering the implications of AI's accelerating capabilities. The article concludes with an introspective confession, highlighting the delicate balance between embracing AI's potential and safeguarding the essence of human ingenuity in a rapidly transforming world.
The Future 100 - trends and change to watch in 2016; cultural shifts that affect businesses and consumers alike, by the J. Walter Thompson Intelligence.
Today, the Innovation Group, the trends forecasting consultancy of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, released its The Future 100: Trends and Change to Watch in 2016 report.
April 2015 GAETSS Newsletter Big Ideas for a Disruptive FutureDavid Wortley
Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing & Social Media
Are we Creating God in our own Likeness?
Welcome to the GAETSS April 2015 E-Newsletter. In this issue I continue the theme of looking at the impact of disruptive technologies on business and society.
• Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing & Social Media – Implications for Mankind’s Future
• What’s the Big Idea – Societal Fission or Fusion?
• IORMA Interview with Pandora Mather-Lees
• Can Technology Innovation build Community Social and Economic Wealth?
• Featured Upcoming Events
o April 18-20 Emerging Infotech 2015 – Shenzhen, China
o April 27-30 Bangkok International Digital Content – Bangkok, Thailand
o June 4 Connected Life Conference – Oxford University, UK
• Featured Recent Events
o Westminster Health Forum Review
• Calls for Papers
• Recent Articles and Presentations
• Future Events Listing
Liberty & Co Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity - Top 5 Trends 2014Shannon Lewis
As ever, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was a marathon of ideas and insights. Now into its 61st year, this action packed festival, set along the French Riviera, attracted over 12,000 people from 94 countries. There was no shortage of data or points-of-view.
Liberty & Co. took a few steps back to distill for you what we found to be the key, and consistent, themes.
Creators, innovators, futurists and blockchain enthusiasts all descended on Austin for the annual SXSW Interactive Conference. The mash-up of industries, technologies and eyeopening presentations makes for an event that is ripe with insights and inspiration.
This year, we were joined by team members from New York, Austin, Singapore and San Juan to learn about what’s on the horizon, what’s here already and why it matters to brands and marketers. Read on for our 2018 takeaways from SXSW.
China Outbound — a trend report from The Innovation Group at J. Walter Thompson — explores the fastest-growing group of global travelers and what it means for your brand.
Chinese international travel has tripled in the last 10 years to 130 million trips in 2017, with affluent, increasingly adventurous consumers setting the pace of travel retail, hotels and hospitality.
Traditional molds are changing. Singles, younger generations, and those from smaller cities are traveling, making this cohort a powerful, and moving, target.
Our report unearths the new motivations and aspirations behind Chinese travel and identifies 12 emerging types of Chinese travelers, from medical tourists to women travelers to foodies and adventure seekers. There are also filial travelers, treating their aged parents to an overseas holiday, and geopolitical travelers, who are inspired to visit places along the One Belt, One Road network of trade routes in the region.
Free sample from a new report from J. Walter Thompson’s Innovation Group, which tackles one of today’s most explosive consumer sectors: health. “The Well Economy” comes at a time when the definition of “health” is expanding rapidly—as are the industries that cover it. What does it mean to be well? How are health and wellness brands evolving? And most importantly, how can brands reach consumers in this space?
Frontier(less) Retail—an Innovation Group report created in partnership with WWD, the leading fashion, beauty and retail authority—reveals a retail landscape that has become borderless, blurred and amorphous.
Consumer expectations are becoming limitless—whether it’s instant delivery, intuitive commerce or compelling store experiences. Interfaces for retail are moving beyond the smartphone into our home environments, and the digital and physical worlds are blurring in new ways.
Once dominated by a largely young consumer base, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is at a demographic tipping point. This executive summary version of Generation BOLD, an Innovation Group MENA report, looks at over-50s in the region, who are reinventing cultural preconceptions about aging and retirement.
A geração Z brasileira – a que sucedeu os millennials e hoje tem entre 12 e 19 anos de idade – cresceu dentro do período mais próspero da história brasileira. Isso diferencia bastante seus integrantes em comparação aos da mesma geração nos Estados Unidos e no Reino Unido, que até agora têm vivido a maior parte de suas vidas dentro de uma economia prejudicada. Graças à internet e à globalização, a cultura teen global está mais homogênea hoje do que jamais já esteve – mas a geração Z brasileira, no entanto, tem uma perspectiva única.
Brazil’s generation Z has been shaped by the country's spectacular economic rise in recent years, as well as its persistent social inequality. The latest report from the Innovation Group at J. Walter Thompson Intelligence covers emerging trends across technology, media, retail, beauty and more for this generation that represents more than $35 billion in annual spending power and almost 17% of the population in Brazil, one of the world’s most important emerging markets. For the full report, visit www.jwtintelligence.com
Natural is back—As anxious consumers reject an industrial system that appears increasingly toxic and damaging to health, they are turning toward natural products as a solution. Raised on digital culture, they no longer see nature and technology as mutually exclusive, and are combining the best aspects of both to build New Natural lifestyles.
Meet generation Z, the 12- to 19-year-old cohort, who care deeply about ethical consumption, are the most progressive generation to date, use digital technology more than any previous group, and are set to change the world with their optimism and ambition.
This is an executive summary of the report. To purchase the full 79-page report, visit www.jwtintelligence.com.
This report outlines 10 of the most compelling macro trends identified today—trends whose impact will be felt in 2015 and beyond as they continue to unfold, the ones shaping societal mood, behaviors and attitudes. This report explores where these trends stand now and where they’re headed, with insights gleaned from a J. Walter Thompson MEA survey of consumers across six key regional markets and a spectrum of industry experts and innovators.
Womenomic Luxury, Cognitive Technology, New Wave Boomer Beauty—just a few items from our Future 100 list of what’s next in the year ahead.
It’s a wide-ranging compilation that reflects developments surfacing across sectors including technology, retail, food and beverage, travel, sustainability and luxury. The list also includes new types of goods or businesses, new behaviors and ideas with the potential to ladder up to bigger trends.
The payments and currency systems are on the verge of disruption. Payments are getting digitized and going mobile, wearable and biometric, while the rise of cryptocurrencies is prompting new ideas about what currency can be. Millennials, not wedded to the status quo when it comes to money, will drive this shift. This report takes a look at the myriad new ways to pay and how the concept of currency is evolving to encompass everything from bitcoin to social media shares. We also spotlight how disruption is opening the way for new players to act as middlemen between consumers and their money, along with results of a survey exploring U.S. and U.K. consumer attitudes toward payments and currency.
Note: This is an abridged version of the 62-page report. Go to JWTIntelligence.com/trendletters to download the full report at no cost.
The notion of family is rapidly evolving, but many brands aren’t yet portraying the new reality of today’s families or fully speaking to their needs. Marriage is no longer a given in many parts of the world, nor are children; at the same time, gay couples are embracing these milestones as attitudes and laws change. Meanwhile, as people live longer, more are forming new families in later decades, and households are expanding to include multiple generations. On the other end of the spectrum, more people are living in households of one, forming families out of friends or even treating pets as family. This report spotlights what’s driving these trends, supporting data and examples of how marketers are responding.
Among some of the world’s top corporate leaders, there’s a growing understanding that traditional business models—built on the presumption of unlimited and cheap natural resources—must be reworked for 21st century realities. The circular economy represents a markedly different way of doing business, replacing established practices like planned obsolescence with new approaches to generating profits. This report examines how brands from Puma and Ford to Ikea and Starbucks are becoming more circular, why this concept is gaining more adherents now and implications for brands. The circular economy is an important topic not only because the approach is far better for the planet but also because tapping into its principles may well be essential to long-term competitiveness.
This is an abridged version of the 124-page report. Go to JWTIntelligence.com/trendletters to see the full report, including recommendations for brands
JWT’s third annual report on trends in the mobile sphere spotlights key themes that came out of this year’s Mobile World Congress, Consumer Electronics Show and South by Southwest Interactive, and builds on trends spotlighted in previous reports. The report covers significant drivers and manifestations of these developments, and their implications for brands. “10 Mobile Trends for 2014 and Beyond” is based around on-the-ground research at the MWC in Barcelona and SXSW in Austin, as well as desk research and insights gleaned from interviews with several mobile experts and influencers.
With thousands of sessions, a packed exhibit hall floor, hundreds of party and networking opportunities, and dozens of ancillary activities, this year’s SXSW Interactive, which took place March 7-11 in Austin, Texas, was a place ripe for curiosity and exploration. To paraphrase one panelist: SXSW is a living, breathing manifestation of the Internet and culture.
This report highlights 10 overriding themes from the 21st annual festival, based on on-the-ground reporting, input from JWT and Digitaria colleagues in attendance and secondary research.
“Retail Rebooted” bundles three trends JWTIntelligence has outlined in recent years that spotlight how retailers are evolving for an increasingly sophisticated digital and data-centric world: Retail As the Third Space, Predictive Personalization and Everything Is Retail. We’ve updated and revised these trends since their initial publication.
The report also maps out 20-plus Things to Watch in Retail, spotlighting a range of developments, from innovative business models to shifting consumer behaviors to the latest tech developments.
This report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year. It includes input from experts and influencers in retail and data from a survey JWTIntelligence conducted in the U.S. and the U.K. in November 2012, using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool.
It’s only in the last few decades that cheap and easy alternatives to the post have proliferated, radically reshaping the way in which we correspond. But postal services are here to stay. We still need packages delivered, for one thing, and we’re also developing a greater appreciation for the act of sending and receiving physical mail.
“The Future of Correspondence” assesses the role of mail in the digital age, delving into the rise of “slow communication” and the fusion of digital and physical. It examines what’s driving these developments, the ways in which they’re manifesting and what they mean for marketers. The report also spotlights eight innovative direct mail campaigns and takes a look at how email is evolving, the advent of delivery lockers and new approaches to stamps and addresses.
This report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year. For this report, JWTIntelligence interviewed relevant influencers and experts, and surveyed 1,200 adults aged 18-plus in the U.S. and the U.K. from Feb. 1-4, 2013, using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool.
Download the full report at www.jwtintelligence.com
Masculinity was more clearly defined when “men were men,” as the phrase goes. Today, as gender conventions blur, men are formulating more nuanced ideas of what it means to be a man. The household in particular is becoming more gender-neutral as men both embrace a more active role and get pushed into it out of necessity.
“The State of Men” examines shifts in male roles, behavior, attitudes and mindsets, focusing on how masculinity is being redefined circa 2013, how men’s role in the home is changing and how men are navigating the new gender order.
The report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year. For this report, we surveyed 1,000 adults aged 18-plus in the U.S. and the U.K. from April 29-May 2, 2013 using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online panel. The report also includes input from experts and influencers in male trends and JWT’s Planning Foresight group in London, as well as JWT planners around the globe, including Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Australia, Spain, Poland, Japan and Thailand.
Go to JWTIntelligence.com/trendletters to see the full report, with recommendations for brands and additional data.
This report examines how some of our macro trends—Peer Power, Predictive Personalization and Hyper-Personalization—are influencing the travel category.
It also spotlights Millennial travelers, whose tastes are influencing the travel industry in a number of ways, and includes a wide-ranging rundown of more than 20 Things to Watch in travel, from Holographic Concierges to Transient Hotels.
“Travel: Changing Course” includes data from a survey we conducted in the U.S. and the U.K. in November 2012, as well as input from experts and influencers in the travel, investment and marketing sectors.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
2. SXSW INTERACTIVE 2015
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY
VIRTUAL REALITY
THE AUGMENTED HUMAN
MATERIAL FUTURES
SUSTAINABILITY –
A BUSINESS AND MARKETING IMPERATIVE
USER-GENERATED CONTENT –
MEERKAT AND BEYOND
TINDER –
THE NEW MARKETING PLATFORM
UBER DEBATE
THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
BEST OF THE REST:
BRAND ACTIVATIONS, EVENTS, POP-UPS
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SXSW INTERACTIVE 2015
This year’s SXSW Interactive was bigger than ever,
with over 33,000 attendees. A brand new JW Marriott
— its paint barely dry and reflective façade
glimmering — became a beacon for the event and a
venue for many of the panels. Its Corner bar on
street level, meanwhile, an open-air margarita den,
became a hotspot for defecting attendees.
There were many constants at SXSW Interactive this
year. Fast Company brought back its Fast Company
Grill entertainment space, its editorial staff again
leading many panels and interviews. MIT Media Lab
was out in force. A&E returned with a bigger version of
last year’s Bates Motel street-level brand activation
(a life-size stage set mockup of the famous motel in
the series, occupying a corner next to the Convention
Center, which many passersby took pictures of).
New to the roster was Soho House, which created
a temporary events venue in the backwaters of East
Austin, staging panels, dinners and parties for movers
and shakers across both the Interactive and Music
parts of SXSW. Fashion and Retail also took up a much
bigger part of the content — the presence of fashion
and retail brand attendees has been steadily
increasing year-on-year. SoulCycle and Equinox were
also out in force on panels and launching pop-ups for
guilty conference partiers.
Dazed Group, publishers of Dazed & Confused
magazine and AnOther, staged a series of events on
and off the schedule — the group is turning innovation
into a key platform, having recently launched the first
digital video magazine cover for AnOther magazine with
William Casey company PCH. Dazed & Confused has
also been exploring the convergence of innovation and
art. Another initiative launched at SXSW was a new
conceptual art piece in which people could watch actor
Shia LaBeouf’s heart beat online while he was attending
the festival. The piece, #followmyheart,
made in collaboration with artists Luke Turner and
Nastja Säde Rönkkö, required him to wear a tracking
device for six days. It was designed, the creators said,
to bring emotion to the internet.
PEOPLE COULD
WATCH ACTOR
SHIA LABEOUF’S
HEART BEAT
ONLINE WHILE HE
WAS ATTENDING
THE FESTIVAL.
SXSWINTERACTIVE2015
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This was a rising theme at SXSW 2015. Where the Film,
Music, and Interactive parts of the conference have
historically remained quite separate, this year many
platforms overlapped, reflecting a growing general
freefall between all digital, entertainment and social
industries — be it digital art, movie marketing through
social networks, virtual gamescapes and beyond.
“There was a whole convergence between these
areas, reflecting that to consumers it’s really the
same thing now,” observed Elizabeth Gore,
entrepreneur-in-residence at Dell, and speaker on
many panels.
The role of humanity and nature in relation to rapidly
evolving technology was also a key theme — from
artificial intelligence to synthetic biology. Connor
Dickie, CEO of Synbiota, MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito,
University of Pennsylvania professor Orkan Telhan and
managing director of Bioeconomy Capital Rob Carlson
ran a panel: “Synthetic Biology: Learn, Do and Dream.”
Koert van Mensvoort also gave a talk: “Next Nature:
How Technology Becomes Nature.” Meanwhile, Paola
Antonelli, senior curator at the Museum of Modern Art,
spoke of coats made from stem cells, growable leather
and food that is still "semi-living." The concept of
augmenting the human through data, exoskeletons and
technology, pushing the boundaries of our capabilities,
was also a rising topic.
Much debate was centered on the ethical questions
surrounding this as it becomes possible to "hack
nature," 3D print organs, and — in theory — replicate
minds.
Our perceptions of what humanity and nature should
be are clearly being challenged or forced into flux
by the rapid pace of innovation.
The content is hugely mixed at SXSW Interactive. Or at
least, the schedule is so bloated that finding a valuable
talk is like finding a needle in a haystack. Which
organizers should be mindful of in an ever-crowded
landscape where new conferences are nipping at their
heels — chiefly Dublin's Web Summit, which has
launched a sister event called Collision in the U.S., and
C2 in Montreal, which is heavily curated. That said, as a
sense check on macro trends the event endures. It
also continues to draw the great and the good of not
only tech industries but also entertainment, luxury,
retail and media.
THE ROLE OF HUMANITY AND NATURE IN RELATION
TO RAPIDLY EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY WAS ALSO A
KEY THEME — FROM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY.
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Martine Rothblatt, CEO of biotech company United
Therapeutics Corp., and highest-paid female
executive in the U.S., gave a much buzzed-about talk
on how artificial intelligence will allow humans to
become immortal by replicating them. In her biotech
business, she’s already been developing ways to grow
human organs for transplanting. Through her personal
foundation she’s also been developing new
technology for what she calls "mind cloning" —
translating human mannerisms, personalities, beliefs
and behaviors into digital form so they can be
replicated and applied in cyber form to regenerated
human bodies — allowing us, in essence, to become
immortal.
Rothblatt spoke about the possibility of using the vast
data pool of people’s social media feeds, video and
other digital assets over a lifetime to create a new
cyber consciousness — sort of a doppelganger of
ourselves. Rothblatt has also been credited with
creating the first "sentient robot": Bina48, a living,
breathing, emotive android version of Rothblatt’s wife.
Fear about AI aside, Rothblatt’s talk comes at an
interesting time. The limits of humanity are being
pushed with new technology. Already Time
magazine’s February cover ran with the picture of a
child, declaring, "This baby could live to be 142 years
old." Google has famously invested in Calico, a
biotech company, to explore how to reverse aging.
Meanwhile, Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, has talked
of Silicon Valley’s next frontier being the battle with
aging.
ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
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From Princess Reema (pictured right) to U.S. CTO Megan
Smith, who both appeared in keynote sessions, women as
a force in technology and business was a rising theme at
SXSW Interactive. Reema spoke of the challenges facing
Saudi women in the workplace, while also discussing her
work promoting awareness of breast cancer, which is a
leading cause of death to Saudi women aged 20-59,
according to the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, at a talk with Megan Smith, Eric Schmidt,
executive chairman of Google, and Walter Isaacson,
CEO of the Aspen Institute, unconscious gender bias
was also highlighted live during the talk, as Schmidt
was publicly called out by an audience member (and
Google staffer) for repeatedly cutting Smith off in
discussion.
There were a host of events designed to connect and
celebrate women in technology. Twitter threw a
Women of Tech brunch that drew female founders,
VCs, directors and strategists from the Levo League to
Andreessen Horowitz and a host of new companies.
Protein, Dazed & Confused and Soho House also co-
hosted an off-schedule panel exploring women in
technology — as a market, but also a force in innovation
and entrepreneurship in tech, featuring our own Lucie
Greene, worldwide director of JWTIntelligence; Dell’s
Elizabeth Gore; Emma Sutton, head of marketing for
Dazed and Confused; and Tamsin Glasson, founder of
gaming/media company VRSE.works. Discussion focused
on how women as tech consumers (women now control
over 50% of tablets and make up over half of gamers)
but also as leaders in technology.
“It needs to go far, far, further though,” argued Gore of the
event. “There was such an appetite for it as a discussion
among women too. It could double as a presence on the
schedule and I don’t think it would be going far enough.”
Bob Safian, editor and managing director of Fast
Company, agrees: “The whole issue of diversity in
general in technology is generating momentum. Users
of technology cut across all demographics and lines.
Everything needs to catch up.”
WOMENINTECHNOLOGY
WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY
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There were a number of virtual reality experiences
on show at SXSW Interactive — most connected
with Google in some way. Google has been ramping
up its visible connection with digital creatives, artists
and entertainment vehicles recently to showcase its
capabilities. Following a transmedia partnership for
the launch of Interstellar — in which Google created
a microsite with education, games and storytelling to
complement the movie — an immersive virtual
reality experience was staged at SXSW Interactive.
Conference-goers wore headsets sitting down
to “explore the craft in zero gravity” using virtual
reality headsets.
At Google’s Fiber Space, virtual reality game The Living
World was showcased by cloud games company Shinra.
The 32 by 32 km "world" houses 1 million trees, 16,000
dragons, real-time terrain deformation — powered by
the ultra-fast Google Fiber connection speeds and
supercomputer data center. “All of these elements are
fully loaded into memory running off of Shinra
Technologies’ supercomputers, resulting in zero loading
time, up to 64 possible players interacting in the same
game world, and a multitude of other features
otherwise impossible on existing video game consoles
or PCs,” said Shinra. The North Face also showcased a
virtual reality cinema experience at the Google Fiber
Space, exploring U.S. national parks.
VIRTUALREALITY/THEAUGMENTEDHUMAN
Hugh Herr, head of Biomechatronics at MIT Media Lab
also hosted a keynote dubbed “Extreme Bionics: The
End of Disability.” Herr talked about how we are moving
beyond prosthetics that bring humans back to zero,
that are compensatory, to electromechanical
enhancements that will “eliminate the barriers between
human limitation and human potential.”
J. Walter Thompson covered this in our Future 100
report. Increasingly — from clever fabrics that
accelerate your workout, to exoskeletons, to
prosthetics — we’re moving beyond the idea of using
technology to solve disabilities and be compensatory.
The next era will include “augmented humans” who are
capable of much more. This of course will create ethical
concerns, but it’s exciting to see. It also forces the
question: Is normal actually better?
VIRTUAL REALITY THE AUGMENTED
HUMAN
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Paola Antonelli (below right), senior curator at the
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), gave a brilliant talk
on how designers are pushing new boundaries and
creating credible future solutions to world problems
by exploring the intersection of disciplines from
biology to technology and design.
She talked in particular about how creatives are revisiting
old techniques and craft to create sustainable furniture
materials. Like Formafantasma, a studio that has
experimented with resins made from insect excrement.
She also talked about the growing intersection between
biology, science and design — designers using biology to
“grow” art forms, as MIT Media Lab’s Neri Oxman has done
with her Silk Pavilion (above right), a giant structure
woven entirely by silk worms. Other designers are
growing alternatives to Styrofoam using mushrooms.
These creatives spilling outside traditional parameters
will help shape the future. Oxman’s work in particular is
innovating in sustainability and the function of materials.
Oxman, a professor at MIT, founded the Mediated
Matter design research group, which explores the
“intersection of computational design, digital
fabrication, materials science and synthetic biology.”
MATERIALFUTURES
MATERIAL FUTURES
11. THERE WAS A WHOLE
CONVERGENCE BETWEEN FILM,
INTERACTIVE AND MUSIC THIS YEAR,
REFLECTING THAT TO CONSUMERS
IT’S REALLY THE SAME THING NOW.
ELIZABETH GORE , ENTREPRENEUR-IN-RESIDENCE AT DELL
SXSW INTERACTIVE 2015
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Sustainability and social good were major themes
at SXSW Interactive. “There was a big focus on the
triple bottom line: People, Profit, Planet,” said Gore,
who worked for the U.N. before joining Dell. “It’s being
driven by a number of things. There’s so much idealism
among Millennial entrepreneurs. It used to be that you
made your money then you entered philanthropy.
Millennials want to start doing good through their
businesses right away and find new ways to give
money while still being profitable.”
Al Gore spoke about the “challenge” and “opportunity”
in the climate crisis. The creative director and president
of sustainable luxury brand Maiyet, Kristy Caylor, was
also the center of a talk on the future of sustainable
fashion. Maiyet, like Toms (the one-for-one shoe brand),
has created a new business model to be sustainable.
It has established craft hubs in emerging economies
and works with local communities to make its goods.
Levi Strauss & Co., which outfitted all 350 of the
SXSW staff in denim jackets, made saving water its
cause celeb at the conference, unveiling how it's
saved 1 billion liters of water since 2011 by reducing
water in the garment finishing process by 96%. It also
launched #WashLessPledge, asking consumers to
commit to washing less to save water.
There was SXgood, a major social good hub
exploring social innovation, entrepreneurship,
impact design and cause issues, with speakers from
the U.N., Google.org and various brands.
SUSTAINABILITY—ABUSINESSANDMARKETINGIMPERATIVE
SUSTAINABILITY —
A BUSINESS AND MARKETING
IMPERATIVE
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Alongside talking about his new emotional visual sharing app
Super, Biz Stone (right) spoke of the importance of CSR.
“The future of marketing is philanthropy. Young people in
particular are attracted to companies with meaning,” he
said, adding that increasingly companies will need to do
more CSR and philanthropy to retain Millennials as
employees.
Fast Company’s Bob Safian agrees: “We talked about this
recently. It’s increasingly important for brands to find their
‘mission.' It’s a business imperative to settle on what their
purpose really is, aside from making money. There are too
many brands, and this will become a key way in which people
filter the ones they buy into.” Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario
also led a passionate discussion about innovation in
sustainability.
Patagonia has had massive success in this space,
innovating in sustainable fabrics, creating recycled
clothing collections and even donating solar panels
to people in Hawaii as part of its efforts. In the process,
it is getting a slew of organic press attention. Patagonia
has a team called “creative idealists” who create products
that outperform while being responsible to the planet.
Marcario also echoed Naomi Klein’s recent argument that
publicly traded companies are damaging the environment
because the necessity for short-term profitability does
not allow brands to think long-term, strategically or
“bigger picture” in investing in sustainability.
Daniel Bobroff, head of investment at ASOS, touched
on this same issue on the same day in a talk dubbed
“Building a Lean Mean Fashion Business Machine.”
Companies are not thinking about their long-term life
or building strategies for the distant future (which, by
the way, is not that distant any more) and sustainability
is central to that. Bobroff said that the average life
span of a company now is 15 years, whereas previously
it would have been 50.
SUSTAINABILITY—ABUSINESSANDMARKETINGIMPERATIVE
SUSTAINABILITY —
A BUSINESS AND MARKETING
IMPERATIVE
14. IS UBER SIMPLY THE NEXT
STEP TOWARD AUTOMATED
SHARED MOTOR TRANSPORT?
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By now everyone will have heard of Meerkat, the live
streaming video app that was the sensation of SXSW
Interactive, which allows consumers to post live video
footage to Twitter. The intrigue was propelled further
during SXSW when Twitter announced that it would limit
Meerkat’s access to its social graph, in light of launching
its own version through recently acquired video
streaming app Periscope (which went live March 26).
The bigger picture with these two developments is the
rise in user-generated content, and also the switch in
social media coverage not just to visual sharing but social
media sharing. (Interestingly, most coverage of the recent
round of fashion shows in New York, London, Milan and
Paris this year featured heavy video instagram coverage.)
“People want unpolished content, they want authenticity,”
Meerkat founder Ben Rubin has said. This echoes our
"Real Aspirations" trend in the Future 100 report.
The rise of Tumblr, grassroots Instagram and YouTube
celebrities, consumer entertainment gaming platforms
like Twitch and citizen journalism on platforms like Vice
Media, all show that consumers are increasingly looking
to each other — to their peers — for entertainment.
A sign of the increasing influence of user-generated
content at SXSW Interactive was Diesel’s new campaign,
unveiled by Nicola Formichetti during SXSW. Rather
than using a big-name photographer, Formichetti picked
out Instagrammer Doug Abraham, aka “BessNYC4.”
Is this the sign of things to come? Platforms like
Instagram and new apps for smartphones are
allowing users to take professional-standard photos
and also be creative with treatments. Brands from Marc
by Marc Jacobs to Dove have featured consumers. Will
future campaigns be created by them?
USERGENERATEDCONTENT—MEERKATANDBEYOND
USER-GENERATED CONTENT —
MEERKAT AND BEYOND
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While we’re on the subject of humanity and technology,
one of the most buzzed about campaigns launched
during SXSW Interactive was the one seeded on Tinder
for forthcoming sci-fi film Ex Machina, which explores
artificial intelligence. In lieu of unveiling the movie at the
film portion of SXSW, marketers created a fake digital
avatar of the lead character Ava, played by Swedish
actress Alicia Vikander, which was fully interactive.
In conversations with Ava, responses slowly revealed
aspects of the film plot. She asked Tinder users what it
felt like to be human. Eventually, users were led to an
advert for the movie. The campaign stands out not only
as a clever blurring of the lines between fact and fiction
— echoing similar techniques in the marketing of movies
like 2012’s sci-fi outing Prometheus, which even had a
fake future TED Talk created and released on YouTube.
It also is an innovative use of Tinder, a dating sight, as a
marketing platform. More of this to come?
TINDER—THENEWMARKETINGPLATFORM
TINDER — THE NEW
MARKETING PLATFORM
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Award-winning journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell
and Benchmark’s venture capitalist Bill Gurley teamed
up to discuss everything from Uber to health care. Most
interesting was the discussion around Uber. Gurley is on
the board of Uber and said that currently Uber is adding
50,000 jobs per month. Gurley said it was dramatically
reducing road deaths from drunk driving and impacting
the way consumers navigated cities.
“Take Los Angeles. You take a bus to pick your hire car.
You have to pay $40 to park it at your hotel. There’s
maps... With Uber all of that goes away.” Gurley said much
of the demand for Uber was new — aka it has unlocked a
new consumer base for taxis. “For years we’ve grossly
underestimated the demand for transport services,”
he said, adding that Millennials see cars as “utiliity, not a
social statement.”
Gladwell, in a counter question, asked what impact
Uber would have on the legions of carmakers. In other
words, while it may be creating jobs for some, in the
bigger picture if it forces automakers into decline its
effects will be counterbalanced. The next stage of this,
with the rise of automated vehicles, will be the question
of whether taxi driving itself will become obsolete. Is
Uber simply the next step toward automated, shared
motor transport?
UBERDEBATE
UBER
DEBATE
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Many talks inevitably talked about the future of retail and
wearables. Liza Kindred, founder of U.S. fashion-tech
think tank Third Wave Fashion, led an interesting
discussion with FashTech London and Cortexica on this.
“What does the future website look like if it’s a few inches
big? Or there’s no website at all. Retailers are going to
have to start thinking about this. About other ways to
communicate about products. What does my brand
smell like? Or feel like?” said Kindred.
Meanwhile, wearables — the subject of many a talk —
endured a collective backlash among audiences.
“There’s been so little innovation in the space,” says
Elizabeth Canon, founder of Fashion’s Collective, a
fashion and technology consultancy. “They’re all too
singular in what they do.”
Westfield, which hosted a networking lunch at the W
Hotel, is innovating in physical retail spaces. This
spring, the Australian shopping center group is
launching "Bespoke" at its San Francisco mall — a
mixed-use co-worker space, supporting startups
and connecting new ventures to bigger retailers and
consumers. Described as a “trifecta of co-working,
demo and event spaces,” the group will run beta
workshops allowing retailers to actively trial new
technology and concepts. New companies will be
able to demo their products. The co-working space
will be open 24/7 with 14 conference rooms, a library
and "sleep nooks."
THEFUTUREOFRETAIL
THE FUTURE
OF RETAIL
19. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF THE
WEBSITE LOOK LIKE IF IT'S A FEW
INCHES BIG? OR THERE'S NO
WEBSITE AT ALL. RETAILERS ARE
GOING TO HAVE TO START
THINKING ABOUT THIS.
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LIZA KINDRED, FOUNDER OF THIRD WAVE FASHION
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This is an interesting move for Westfield. Increasingly
we’re seeing brands use empowering or facilitating
entrepreneurship as a PR platform. Pernod Ricard has run
two initiatives like this. It’s launched Our/Vodka, a series
of microdistilleries in cities from Berlin to Detroit, that
invites locals to create their own Vodka, market it, run
the distiller and get a cut of the profits.
Through its brand Chivas, it has also launched The
Venture, a $1 million fund to mentor and develop new
entrepreneurs. It’s an effective way to reach Millennials
in particular. 2013 research by the Prince's Trust in the
U.K. found that 25% of young British people expect to be
self-employed by 2018.
One other interesting innovation, highlighted at Google and
Fashion Collective’s post-SXSW session, was the
forthcoming launch of LinkNYC. This year, 10,000 Wi-Fi-
beaming pods with interactive screens will be installed
throughout New YorkCity, giving nearby users free
internet while also directing them to local restaurants and
stores.
They’ll be able to make free calls through the devices
and charge their phones for free. By driving
consumers to local business through targeted ads
and suggestions, the creator CityBridge (a
consortium that includes Titan, Qualcomm and the
Control Group, among others) estimates that they
will collectively drive $500 million in revenue to New
York within the first 12 years of launching.
THEFUTUREOFRETAIL
THE FUTURE
OF RETAIL
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LIFE BELOW ZERO
National Geographic Channel’s “Life Below Zero:
Escape the Cold” experience stood out as one of the
better brand activations at SXSW Interactive. The
pop-up was a series of pods that simulated the icy
conditions of Alaska inside. Visitors taking part were
asked to sit in the pods and complete challenges and
tasks as the temperature dropped to freezing.
We’ve seen this a lot recently. Experience-hungry
Millennials have progressed beyond wanting novelties
such as immersive cinema (Future Cinema).
Increasingly there’s a desire for experiences to be
challenging, uncomfortable or even scary for bragging
rights. “Life Below Zero” is a good example of this.
BESTOFTHEREST:BRANDACTIVATIONS,EVENTS,POP-UPS
23. SXSW INTERACTIVE 2015
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SPORTS AND THE NEW DIGITAL FRONTIER
Sport in general was a theme on schedule, and off.
Equinox President Sarah Robb O’Hagan hosted a talk —
“How the Data Era Will Build High Performing Humans” —
featuring speakers Haile Owusu, chief data scientist at
Mashable; Victor Cruz, wide receiver for the New York
Giants; and Michael Gervais, Ph.D. in high performance
psychology. The talk centered on the quantified self and
using data to augment human performance in sport —
from athletics to members of Equinox connecting their
Jawbones or Fitbits to their branded app — tracking
heart rate, success, time and sleep.
O’Hagan revealed some interesting insight on Equinox
members about how increasingly they are motivated by
not just shared exercise experiences but competition.
“We’ve set up leader boards for cycle classes, East vs.
West Coast. We have a SXSW one, too,” she said. “The
fact that your score is public on display adds to it.”
NBCUniversal is also applying gamified mechanics to its
fitness video program Radius.
A sign of the rising cult status of lifestyle/sport
temples SoulCycle and Equinox was their presence at
SXSW Interactive, not just on the stages but in
services. The conference partying continued, but
come dawn those same revelers were also pounding
the streets of downtown Austin, sweating off
excesses.
SoulCycle, CrossFit and Equinox all had presences on
the lineup and are staging classes or pop ups. Equinox
set up next to the Fast Company Grill, inviting visitors
to take part in its new immersive competitive spin class
The Pursuit, in which data from each bike is collated in
real time with leader boards on display.
The class has just been introduced. In the official version,
cyclists are surrounded by screens displaying creatively
visualized data generated by their movement.
This is an interesting addition for Equinox. We are seeing
more digitally immersive exercise classes. Reebok just
introduced a whole series of immersive fitness classes
with Les Mills that are offered in enclosed boxes lined in
digital interactive screens. At CES, artist Lia Chavez
also created a "meditation nightclub" for The
Cosmopolitan hotel, which translated meditative
brainwaves into a visual digital experience.
BESTOFTHEREST:BRANDACTIVATIONS,EVENTS,POP-UPS
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SUPER, VISUAL SHARING FOR GENERATION Z
Biz Stone discussed his brand new Super app at SXSW.
His bold aim, he said, is to redefine social sharing by
bringing empathy and emotion to it. Stone’s hunches
with his ventures and their relation to consumer
behavior have so far been spookily accurate. Twitter’s
immediacy and quick-paced snippets were the perfect
antidote to verbose blogging when it launched. Medium,
his more recent "slow" social network, dedicated to
carefully considered, thoughtful content, has chimed
with the mindfulness movement.
Super is a visual sharing app that invites users
to state an emotion and then search for
an applicable image to go alongside it. It looks like the
perfect comic book mix of Tumblr, emojis and a fanzine,
with bright poppy colour and collage effects. Users can
switch up their profile picture by layering over cartoon
sunglasses. The look is inspired by artist Barbara Kruger.
The empathy part supposedly comes when users share
how they feel and another fan endorses it.
The interesting thing about Super is the amount of
information users must upload to join. Participants
are asked to give over their phone number,
location, and Facebook and Twitter logins, among
others. If it takes off it will be a data goldmine.
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ON SYNTHETIC
BIOLOGY:
The cost of doing scientific research is diminishing.
We’re seeing the rise of street biology. There’s new
access, platforms and tools allowing more consumers,
even in their garages, to be involved in scientific
research and biology. In the future it won't be just
Pfizer that invents new things. It’s a two-way
conversation though. While science is being
demystified, these startups can also learn from
institutional research.
ITO LED A PANEL THAT EXPLORED
THE ADVANCEMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION THROUGH ENTRY-LEVEL
TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS RAPID DNA
PROTOTYPING (RDP) KITS, #SCIENCEHACKS,
THE SYNBIOTA PLATFORM AND CITIZEN
SCIENCE INITIATIVES IN SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY.
ON THE DEBATE ABOUT THE
HUMAN/NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY BLUR:
Thirty years ago Time magazine ran a cover about the
first test tube babies. Now IVF is covered by medical
insurance. It’s interesting to look at what we think is
ok now, and how that will change. Our kids today won’t
remember a world without smartphones, and
therefore probably won't fret about their children
using the internet. It’s a moving target.
Art and design are leading exploration in this area in a
non-threatening way. The Museum of Modern Art has
exhibited leather jackets made of grown stem cells.
We’ve also had pieces explore bioluminescence.
ON
INNOVATION:
In general innovation is being democratized. We’re
seeing it occur in workshops from East Detroit to
Nairobi. One interesting development I’m seeing is
contextual innovation. In different parts of Kenya, if you
can’t repair it locally it doesn’t work. Hence you have
lots of devices being designed around materials you
could find in a junkyard. Every region of the world is
fundamentally different. These innovators are
leveraging the peculiarities of each area. But this can
grow globally. Take Spotify. This launched in Sweden,
outside of the U.S., because of the U.S.’ copyright laws.
But now, because it’s thrived so much, it’s big enough to
expand to the U.S.
ON
SXSW:
The most exciting thing to me was the reaction to all
this change at SXSW Interactive 2015. Not only was
there a vast range of inspiring content. People seemed
genuinely receptive and engaged in these new ideas. I
look forward to next year, when this gets built on even
more.
ON THE RISE OF
THE CITIZEN SCIENTIST:
As a society we’re increasingly multi-disciplinary.
No discipline exists in a silo. This is also being fueled
by citizen sicentists who don’t care about silos.
There’s a structural overhead on experimenting that
doesn’t make sense. The cost to set up a lab meeting
all regulations is still very high. But now, there are
processes available that allow consumers to conduct
tests in their own home.
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