1. In your blog, you speak about this industry being on the cusp of an amazing era for wealth creation and opportunities. How can marketers make the most of these opportunities?
To seize the future marketers must recognize that the future does not fit in the containers of the past and they must re-imagine marketing thinking more about people than consumers, think more about interactions than one way communications and keep in mind that the future is about the story and the spreadsheet ( art and science and not just one)
2. You are talking about Creativity and Data and their interplay in the Keynote at ad:tech. Why did you pick this specific topic?
The future is about not just finding the right person in the right context but also ensuring we have the right interaction (message, offer). Without creativity it’s like having plumbing (media) without any poetry. On the other hand without knowing who you are speaking to, where you are speaking, the type of Media you are using and only fixating on creativity its like shooting in all directions with no aim or reason.
3. As the adoption of newer technologies by marketers increases, the role of the agency is undergoing a big shift. How will this evolution happen over the next 5 years, and beyond?
Agencies will continue to exist but their offerings will change as the media landscape changes, as data grows more important and there is a rise in non media based interactions such as live events, influencer marketing. Thus agencies will incorporate new capabilities, will work in different ways as more and more Clients look for increasingly seamless and integrated programs. 4. What according to you are the 3 technologies that will revolutionize marketing as we know it today, over the next few years.
4. What according to you are the 3 technologies that will revolutionize marketing as we know it today, over the next few years.
Just as search, commerce, social and mobile have changed marketing the next big things will be a) AI, b) 5G and c) IoT. AI will be about anticipating and improving marketing. 5G will change mobility and IoT will make every thing integrated into the internet.
Just as Jio in 3 years changed mobile communication and video usage expect big changes in the next five because of these.
5. As data is hailed as the new oil, it also harbours a lot of distrust among brands, publishers, data owners, governments and end consumers. How do you envision a solution to this hyper-personalization vs privacy conundrum?
Data itself is not the new oil but rather refining data to draw out intelligence and insight is the new oil. Data by itself is not very valuable. It’s when you interconnect, integrate, interrogate and imagine the possibilities of data that it makes sense. And to use data with clear permission and be aware that you should not collect or leverage data in ways that the consumer does not know about.
6. While everyone is talking about opportunities, we would you to tell us some of the biggest challenges that marketers are likely to face in the coming years.
The three biggest challenges will be a) building new talent and skills, b) managing the business of today with the opportunities of tomorrow and c) moving fast
