Think Retail

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The financial services industry has largely begun to undertake the work of transforming their customer experience model from physical branches to their digital experience, to at least some degree. However, to get the most out of these intensive projects, transforming the people who work in banks and how they work is just as critical as your app, your branch design, and marketing campaigns. When people are included in transformation, not only do financial brands get a better end result when it comes to the customer experience, but they’re better poised to fend off incoming disruptors. 

Today, we’re speaking to EJ Kritz, the EVP of Training & Customer Experience at ath Power Consulting about why financial brands need to take as much care with transforming their people practices as they do with every other part of their business. EJ, thank you for being with me today.

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Over the past few years, brands have more often ventured into the realm of social justice and politics, whether it’s Starbucks giving their entire retail network a day off to learn about racial equity, Dick’s Sporting Goods taking automatic guns and ammunition off their shelves, or beauty brands making a pledge to stop Photoshopping models, every day there’s another story about a company taking some sort of stand. 

Why is this happening, and does it build or harm brand equity? Today I’m chatting with Digital Marketing and Communication Strategist, Sebastian Maynard, about some of the biggest issues driving consumer preference.

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In North America, demographic changes are creating a more diverse customer base. This means that brand strategy and marketing needs to become more inclusive quickly. But some marketers are nervous about making mistakes trying to speak to audiences with different experiences. 

Today, my guest is Puja Prakash – a graduate student at OCAD, completing her master's in Strategic Foresight. We’re going to talk about why this is so important to take on, and how to put yourself in the best possible position to be authentic and inclusive. 

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The future is unfolding in real-time, all the time. But most retail brands are in a state of constant catch-up – just being at par before another innovation appears. This is partly the result of fast-moving times, but it’s also the result of an industry that has been somewhat lackadaisical about innovation.

To really become a brand of the future, today’s guest sees audacious leadership as essential. Nancy Giordano is a strategic futurist, speaker, consultant, and author of Leadering, a book aimed at challenging leaders to be bolder in shaping the future – not only of their companies but of the world.

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Innovation and design thinking are new hot topics in board rooms these days, but anyone who has tried to make a company more innovative through strategic design knows that it’s really challenging. Newer companies that are starting off with innovation as a foundational principle have a big advantage over older organizations with legacy systems, ingrained cultural dynamics, and leadership who might understand the benefit but not really know where to begin.

Today’s guest, Avi Raj, is a design strategist who understands how to connect the dots between design thinking, business, and digital experience. 

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Virtual and augmented reality are two of the most exciting technological developments of the last 20 years. Already widely used as a training tool in the military, healthcare, professional sports, VR has many potential uses in a consumer-facing industry such as retail. Augmented reality is already sprouting up with fun extras like augmented packaging and practical uses such as wayfinding through a store or checking to see how an item of furniture might look in your living room. 

As exciting as these technologies are, a lot of us don’t really have a great understanding of the full implications. Today, our guest is Brian Banton, a designer whose work in virtual and augmented reality has been put to good use at Facebook is going to talk us through what’s actually possible and how to plan to get there. 

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The rising concern about misinformation and fake news is a top concern of people around the world, whether we’re talking about Russian interference with foreign elections or an organic seal on a carton of milk. Skepticism is high and consumers expect it to become even harder to figure out what’s true in the future.

Today, we’re talking to SLD’s president Jean-Pierre Lacroix about a recent study we conducted on the subject of why brands should be thinking about this and how they can become ambassadors of DeepReal in a DeepFake world.

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Here is a little trivia for you: what is the oldest and longest-surviving company in North America? Think the fur trade, striped, colourful blankets, and a coat of arms that features one fox, two elk and four beavers. Give up? It’s Hudson’s Bay, of course!

Founded in 1670 with their first department store opening in 1881, The Bay now operates close to 100 locations across Canada along with a huge online store that ships across the country. From fashion apparel to home goods, whatever you want – The Bay probably has. But how can such an iconic brand stay relevant as local shops and direct to consumer brands eat away at market share?

In this episode of Think Retail, we speak with Ryan Booth, Director of Design at Hudson’s Bay about the very exciting (and daunting) challenge he has taken on.

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