Goafest 2013: ‘Convergence of technology, media and creativity allows us to create customer experiences like never before’

The Knowledge Seminars on day one of Goafest 2013 featured a session by Nick Vale, global head of planning, Maxus Worldwide, whospoke on the theme: ‘What Does Great Work Look Like in Our Changing World?’

He identified that the three forms of influencers in the field of communication are word of mouth, broadcast (print, radio and television) and addressable (social media). Noting that though word of mouth as a medium is the oldest influencer, he pointed out the medium has continued to co-exist and stay relevant even with the entry of newer mediums.

Talking about the importance of ‘addressable’ media, Vale said, “The year 2004 is when social media actually took off, with the launch of Facebook. This is the only medium that allowed us to speak to individuals directly, and thus giving us the ability to address them directly.” Terming this stage as ‘very early days’, he said, “We have never lived in an age where there are so many opportunities for the people in the communications business.”

He observed that brands needed to start moving from an era of having ‘big ideas’ to ‘long ideas’, where the ideas have to be thought through for longevity and not necessarily a one-time impact. Some of the other points he highlighted in his presentation included: coming up of digital ideas that live beyond the screens, storytelling across channels, having social at the heart of a campaign, and changing the role of a consumer from mere participation to that of a protagonist.

The third session of the day featuring Ray Velez, chief technology officer, Razorfish, talked about ‘How Technology is Transforming theCustomer Experience’. Reasoning the presence of a CTO at an advertising seminar, Velez said, “We believe that technology is transforming customer experiences. This convergence of technology, media and creativity allows us to create customer experiences like never before.”

Observing that it is necessary to put the customer at the centre of the brand, he went on to talk about the importance of thinking about the brand as a service. In his presentation, Velez also spoke of the importance of brands having to change their strategies from just selling products to fulfilling customer needs. Noting that technology aides brands in listening to consumers in real time, he went on to add that brands have to adopt the changes to the changing consumer patterns to stay relevant in the marketplace.

“We are at a stage where technology is changing every day. The possibilities are endless, and I believe we are just at the tip of the iceberg,” he surmised.