What Next?

Juan Betancourt, CEO of Humantelligence on AI-powered HR in the workplace. A graduate of the prestigious endeavor.org accelerator program, his plugin, which is already used by companies like Accenture and UnitedHealthcare, provides real-time psychometric insights in 10-minute assessments, integrating with platforms like Teams, Outlook and Slack. Betancourt argues that its ability to personalize email rewrites and virtual meeting culture analysis will revolutionize the way humans interact in the workplace. But, he says, in a world where AI is going to grow increasingly powerful, the most important components are still human insight, human interaction and human intuition.

#AI #Business #Media #FutureofWork #HR

Brian Wieser, principal and CFA at the strategic consultancy for media and technology industries, Madison and Wall on the changing of the guard in the future of media. After his roles as global president at WPP's Group M, the world's largest media services firm, Interpublic's Magna Global and Ad Tech for Simulmedia, he argues that in an age of major global platforms and performance, traditional media planning is no longer needed. Media companies, he says, need to scale up and globalize, and the emphasis on short term and performance will not differentiate companies as much as talent, trust from the investment community and understanding that Brands are key.

#Brands #Advertising #Media #Business #AdTech

Nichola Hay, MBE, Director of Apprenticeship Strategy and Policy at BPP, the United Kingdom's largest apprenticeship training provider, discusses the evolution of apprenticeships in the UK. After 20 years of helping British businesses attract new talent and upskill employees across their organizations, Nichola is at the forefront of thought leadership and guidance on the challenges and opportunities in the UK's apprenticeship market, for which she was recognized in the Queen's New Year’s Honours List of 2021.

She argues that we need to review the examples of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, countries leading the way in vocational early talent programmes for young people. She also looks at England showcasing apprenticeship programmes for all ages and levels, which retrain the existing workforce while increasing diversity in these transitional times of digitization, AI, aging populations and declining populations.

#Apprentice #Business #UK #Upskill #Academic

Bobi Gilburd, Chief Innovation Officer at Team8, a leading Venture-Creation and Venture-Capital firm in Tel Aviv, on the evolving landscape of cybersecurity and the unique ecosystem of Israeli tech innovation. After 27 years’ experience in the IDF's elite cyber intelligence unit leading its research and cloud divisions, Bobi won the Israel Defence Prize for his cyber security contributions. He believes that AI is both a tool and a target in cybersecurity, that we're moving into a world today where technology is going to become the key differentiator in business. And it may even replace human creativity and innovation.

Ken Mandel, regional Managing Director of Grab Ads and brand insights at Grab on the huge potential of digital advertising in Asia. After building XM Asia Pacific into a top digital consultancy, establishing Yahoo's advertising products in Asia  and launching Buddy Media in the region which was then acquired by Salesforce, he believes that the future is Asian. He argues that the rise of the super app, the cashless society and the massive growth of the digital economy there shows that the rest of the world needs to urgently understand the Asian market 

#DigitalAdveritising #Advertising #Media #Digital

Jerremy Howell, Vice President of Talent and Organizational Development at Publicis Health, and Chris Keating, Vice President of Learning and Development at Publicis Media on the personalisation of learning in the workplace and the impact of AI and trauma in rethinking how we work. Jerremy’s speciality in talent, organizational behavior and leadership development matched with Chris’ passion in understanding and decoding the human condition underscore their drive to explore the psychology, behavior and coping mechanisms of the workforce at Publicis, as well as their podcast guests in The Lessons Learned.  In a world of minimal attention span and more complex human experience, they believe, bosses must figure out how to use different learning styles to maximise the potential of their teams.

Natalie Berg, retail analyst, podcaster and author on the future of trends, innovation and the convergence of physical and digital commerce in the retail space.  The co-author of Amazon: How the World's Most Relentless Retailer will Continue to Revolutionize Commerce, and podcast host of Retail Disrupted argues that successful retailers will focus on continuous innovation, customer centricity and the will to disrupt. Differentiation, she says, will come from offering immersive experiences rather than just convenience and value, and the need to balance technology with human touch to create a seamless and compelling customer experience.

Podcast and website:

On another special episode of What Next?,  Rishad, after scores of episodes discussing the impact of Artificial Intelligence on our future, is finally replaced by AI. Outsourced to AudioStack by guests Chris Outram, head of Blockchain at Publicis Media, and Keith Soljacich, Head of Innovation at Publicis Media Content Innovation known as PMCI, we hear for ourselves what’s around the corner. Chris, as a technical guide on the marketplace of cryptographic solutions for brands at Publicis, and Keith whose strategic development of groundbreaking brand experiences has already leveraged cutting-edge technologies for Fortune 100 clients like Samsung, Visa, McDonald's, Disney and Campbell's, are way ahead of the game. As they explore the future of content creation evidenced by the twinning of Rishad’s own voice, we get a glimpse of the extraordinary abilities of this new age of creativity, connection, and community.

In a special episode of What Next?, best-selling author of Can't Sell, Won't Sell: Advertising, Politics and Culture Wars, Steve Harrison returns to discuss his new book which is about an unsung hero in the history of advertising: Howard Gossage.

As you'll discover, Gossage got to “interactive advertising” in 1964. Back then, he was also pioneering the publicity and unpaid media-generating stunts that dominate our award shows today.

But Steve says his hero’s biggest lesson for us is this: if you want to attract, involve and engage your audience you must realise you are in showbusiness.

After a decade dedicated to soulless data and po-faced purpose, Gossage teaches us that advertising works best when it is entertaining. And, as Steve suggests, in him you have an entertainer who wrote the most imaginative, irreverent, funny - and effective ads you’ll ever see.

The Howard Gossage Show: and What it can Teach You About Advertising, Fun, Fame and Manipulating the Media, by Steve Harrison and Dave Dye
www.amazon.co.uk/Howard-Gossage-Show-advertising-manipulating/dp/0957151535/