Future Proof

As the pandemic changes lives across the world, how are healthcare systems responding? Where are consumers going for information and advice, and what does that mean for the future of delivering health and aftercare services globally? We ask Jade Cusick, Oliver Bone and Julia Liu to share their insights from the US, Europe and of course China, to see where the challenges and opportunities are emerging.

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What has happened to sales in supermarkets? Are patterns emerging in different countries across the world? And what should we expect to see next, when it comes to retail and consumption habits? Fraser McKevitt speaks to Jason Yu and Ray Gaul to get perspectives from China, Europe, and the UK, and to discuss what trends Kantar has spotted in sales, usage and retail approaches.

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People are desperate for more sustainable transport choices – and are keen to change how they get around cities, as long as they feel safe and have some flexibility. That’s where Cyclo Technology’s new innovation could be helpful: a 'packable' helmet for the urban rider, made from reclaimed plastic that will make hiring a bike or commuting on your own a lot more appealing. How have they tackled customer research and product development? What is possible when it comes to creating a sustainable supply chain? What can bigger brands learn from startups? And what else is happening in urban mobility to help us all make more sustainable choices?

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Things change in marketing all the time, and marketers get more excited with each new technological ‘innovation’. But we could be getting ahead of ourselves, says strategy consultant and Web Curios writer Matt Muir. If we are really honest with ourselves, what will NOT happen in 2020? What does he think we should strike from our list of predictions? What is missing from the list? And which words do we need to define better, or remove from our vocabulary entirely? Matt talks authentic influencers, alternative realities and generational tipping points with Andrew Stephen and Jane Ostler.

Warning: Some colourful language in this episode. Not for the easily offended!

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As Kantar releases its annual Media Predictions report, forecasting the likely changes for media in 2020 and beyond, Professor Andrew Stephen asks experts Jane Ostler and Margo Swadley to comment on some of the trends they are seeing. Touching on the business models of streaming services, the untapped potential of audio, why influencer marketing needs to grow up, and the rise and rise of esports, Jane and Margo discuss not only the changes in channels and usage, but their advice for brands and marketers looking to get better returns on their media investments.

Download the Kantar report here.

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Recently returned from CES in Vegas, Marco Rimini (Chief Development Officer at Mindshare) feels he has glimpsed the future – as well as a few things that probably won’t come to be. So what’s likely to change in the media world, and particularly the media agency, in the next year… or even decade? Marco tells Jane and Andrew about the rise of shoppable content and how it affects the traditional media plan, the inspiration we can get from China, the role of data and analytics in media planning, and the changing nature of agency-client relationships. He touches on some big ethical debates: where is the legislative framework for the use of AI? Will customers mind a more ‘predictive’ marketing approach? And what can media agencies do about climate change?

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You don't get much more traditional than Oxford University Press: over 500 years old, its roots dating back to 1478 when the first book was published in Oxford and home to the renowned Oxford English Dictionary.  Today the Press has 6000 employees, operates in 190 countries and 40 languages, and offers a huge range of products and services, from pre-school educational materials to scholarly works.  

Sarah Ultsch, Director of Marketing at OUP, tells Andrew and Julie how the organisation is transforming, and how marketing operations in particular are evolving, in a radically changing market. How do they ensure they are still relevant and serving their community of educators and learners for the next 500 years?

Sarah suggests that people and processes – the right skills, frameworks and culture – are the most important asset, but that applying the right technology, tools and data is key to servicing their changing customer. As people read less, are time poor, have higher expectations and consume more multimedia content, how can OUP serve up the right content (whether pedagogy, definition, article or chapter) at the right time on the user's preferred channel? And how can they organise themselves to ensure employees are engaged and coming up with great, scalable ideas? Like the University to which it belongs, OUP believes in the transformative power of education. So what are they learning as they bring marketing into the modern day?

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Too many marketers still believe that sustainability in marketing comes at the expense of cost-effectiveness – when, increasingly, adopting sustainable marketing can improve commercial performance. So says David Radford, former CMO of Allianz in the UK and Associate Fellow of Said Business School. David's contention is that marketing needs to get its house in order when it comes to sustainability. As our marketing output is one of the most visible aspects of a business, he says, and as consumer opinion shifts dramatically, it simply makes good business sense for marketers to prioritise a more sustainable approach – even if the wider organisation has yet to adopt a sustainable business strategy. So what does "sustainable marketing" look like? And what are the wider business and societal implications?  

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There are more and more times when we find ourselves talking to what might seem like a person, but it’s actually a bot, often powered by AI. But what does the research say about the best way to use them? What can businesses do differently to improve their reputation, and get deeper customer insights?

Professor Andrew Stephen, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing at Saïd Business School, takes us through some recent research his team has conducted around the impact of anthropomorphised (human-like) chatbots in customer service. Their assessment of thousands of real interactions, as well as some experimentation, has revealed that the more human a chatbot seems (even if the correspondent knows it is not human), the more we expect it to be effective. As he reveals, there are serious implications for brands in terms of how they deal with angry customers – not just in terms of resolving issues, but also related to longer-term brand preference and purchase intent.

Julie Kollman, Chief Research Officer at Kantar, talks about some of the work we’ve been doing with chatbots in actually gathering insights. Replacing existing survey tools in the right occasions, chatbots have proven to be highly effective at getting us to deeper, richer insights – and probably more truthful responses. She explains some of the use cases, the cultural differences when it comes to willingness to engage with a research bot, and the way the technology is constantly advancing to provide ever better insights.

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Michael Fanuele has written about the Six Skills of Inspiration in his new book, Stop Making Sense. In this episode, we speak to Michael in New York about why inspiration matters, what it can achieve, and how an individual – particularly a leader – can become more inspiring. As it turns out, it might mean turning our backs on rationality… We also touch on the role of planners, the role of agencies, his creative director role at General Mills and the balance big brands need to strike between outsourcing and in-housing, emotion and reason, and short-term and long-term goals.

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