Think Beyond

NFTs, creative AI, Web 3.0, metaverse… this is just some of the new vocabulary generating buzz for anyone on the decentralized web. But what does this mean for brands? In this episode we chat with Richard Norton (aka Norts), creative technologist, founder of the communications consultancy company Get Norts, and co-founder of the marketing and creative AI company Tiny Giant. Today, Richard is turning his attention to brand consultation in Web 3.0, as co-founder of NFT Peeps. 

Tune in as we explore how brands can adopt aspects of tech culture in their marketing in an effective and ethical way, how to take away biases that often get in the way of pursuing the unknown, and the importance of opening one’s paradigm to look at things from different perspectives. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The internet—it changes every five minutes, but ultimately it’s still in the hands of the technical community. In this episode, we chat with Eva Pascoe, futurist, internet consultant and entrepreneur. Eva has helped shape society’s relationship with the internet and is best known for co-founding Britain’s first internet cafe back in 1994, as well as helping Topshop set up its first online retail store.

Tune in as we explore the virtual metaverse and hear Eva share her fascinating background in digital, her predictions on how our communities will further connect and evolve online, and how she envisions the future of retail and e-commerce brands.

As our world becomes even more complicated and connected, our reliance on data to help us make better decisions in both life and business continues to rise. In this episode, we chat with Cossette’s resident data scientist, Rama Sow, on the use and impact of data in the cultural, fashion, entertainment and marketing landscapes. She also shares her perspective on the best use cases of Web 3.0, DAOs and blockchain, and tells us how brands can leverage these technologies to engage consumers—especially her Gen Z peers. 

Visit Rama’s blog, The Study, to learn about events in music, arts, sports and fashion that are studied through data and strategy.

In this episode, we connect with Peter Semple, Chief Brand Officer at Depop, a community-powered marketplace for buying and selling fashion, to talk about his quest to rebrand secondhand shopping as a modern and sustainable alternative to fast fashion. He shares his unique perspective on community and how brands can build trust in this area, as well as what legacy brands can learn from the world of preloved fashion and the importance of involving consumer wants and needs in business decisions.

To learn more about Depop, visit here.

In this episode, we connect with Ian Crocombe, founder of Deft, the Creative Consultancy for Social Commerce™, which unlocks new revenue from social commerce by supercharging creative and media using machine learning and their team's collective genius. We cover everything from social shopping to how to speak to Gen Z and how they’re different from Millennials and Gen X. We also discuss how brand building is central to brands succeeding in this omnichannel retail environment, and explore how China’s hyper advanced social commerce industry gives us insight into what’s next.

To learn more about Deft, visit here.

Design is about finding a new direction, not following a trend—and legendary product designer Yves Béhar is no stranger to this. As the founder and CEO of FuseProject, Yves has been thinking about conscious consumption and living design integration in his practice since before they became buzzwords. In our third episode, we cover everything from the role of design in building trust between brands and consumers to the possibility of a screenless future and how designers can use their skills to help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.

To learn more about Yves Béhar’s work, you can purchase his monograph “Yves Béhar: Designing Ideas” here.

Spirituality is going through a huge renaissance right now. In this episode, we chat with Dorota Stańczyk, Well-being Creator and Author, about the importance of spiritual enlightenment, and how taking time for yourself ultimately leads you to find your purpose. We also connect the dots on how the pandemic has shaped people’s approach to spirituality and the role that brands can play as we move forward.

Visit Dorota Stańczyk's website for more information and purchase her book “(Re)Create Yourself” on Amazon or Book Depository. And don’t forget to download the Appii App.

In this episode, we connect with Damara Ingles, Transformational Artist and Designer of Extended Reality Experiences in digital fashion, to explore the many new ways consumers create, shape and express their identities through digital fashion. We’ll also take a look at how emerging tech like the metaverse, AR and VR are transforming the physical fashion industry, enabling a wider, more engaging and more accessible sense of self-expression.

Have you ever wondered about the people, trends and forces shaping our future? From what we eat and what we wear to what we believe, our world is in a constant state of flux, which makes our current predictions about the future far from accurate. Co-hosted by Cat Wiles, Chief Strategy Officer at Cossette, Canada’s largest integrated creative agency, and Tracey Follows, Futurist, Speaker and Author of The Future of You, Think Beyond is a podcast that reframes the way we think about our current reality, so we can re-evaluate the way we envision our collective future—today, tomorrow and beyond.