Shiny New Object

“NBCUniversal are a household name no one has ever heard of” this quote comes from Paul Rushforth their director of Advanced Technology - this week on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. Paul talks with passion about useless tech he can’t say ‘no’ to and how he’s happy to fail because it’s the best way to learn. His mission is to help people understand complex technology so that they can apply it in their roles and he’s got the scars to prove it. We take a stroll around a Voice Tech led utopia where talking fridges solve all first world problems. Paul is a gent and an entertaining one at that.   NBCUniversal / Paul Rushforth Director of Advanced Technology / Voice Tech

Imagine if someone could tell you in detail about how consumers use digital in any market all over the world - well Simon Kemp is your man. Each year he produces the Global Digital Overview which brings together 10s of 1000s of datapoints into 5000 slides. This podcast is a top level overview of the most exciting insights from a truly unique piece of work. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2019-global-digital-overview @mrtomollerton

In this interview we talk about how brands need to not get seduced by all the shiny new objects and focus on making their existing channels and consumer touchpoints work more effectively together. Wendy talks about how educating people is one of the most important ways of making technology work - and that includes the CEO. There’s advice for managing up, thinking big and acting small. Here's a link to the IAB report Wendy mentions.. https://www.iab.com/insights/the-rise-of-the-21st-century-brand-economy/

“We romanticise burnout - we live in a culture of busy” this quote comes from Vilkki Willimott Global Head of Content + Publishing at Hill+Knowlton Strategies this week on the #shinynewobject podcast. In this interview we talk about Vikki’s view on how brands can get value from micro/nano influencers who may not have huge reach but have the passion to create great content. We touch on how getting coaching has been transformative for Vikki and how she has maps her values against her career path. We also dig into what she learned from her recent brief stint at Condé Nast. It’s a little tricky to hear my voice on this recording but that’s no bad thing because you can hear Vikki perfectly and you wouldn’t want to miss a word of her wisdom.

Meet Will, Diageo's new Digital Innovation Manager who talks about how a Nintendo Switch, networking and going for a walk as being the making of him. Will is the definition of a successful adland innovator. He cut his teeth at Ogilvy with (previous guest) Nicole Yershon and was until recently the innovation lead at VCCP. But more importantly he is also a Director @InnovationSocial and has a gift for you. He has given SNO listeners discount code for the landmark 'Innovation Stories' event. Here you go. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/innovation-stories-ces-round-up-the-future-of-voice-and-sound-vrlo-tickets-50875395678?discount=Shinynewobject Don't mention it.

This interview with Richard Bowden is a provocative call to the industry to get Voice Tech to live up to its potential.

"I encourage my team to have side projects, it makes you better at your job." This quote comes from Mark Evans, Marketing Director at the Direct Line Group on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. Thanks to @MADFestLondon for organising this.

I finally get to interview my old pal Russell Goldsmith about how brands can use podcasting in their marketing. Russell is the host of the brilliant www.csuitepodcast.com.

“I had a love affair with radio from an early age” There’s not many people who know more about voice tech than James - this episode will get you up to speed on all things voice based. If you agree with James that “voice is the first line of defence for most businesses” and you’re a brand experimenting in voice - there’s a lot to learn from this man. James Poulter is the recently departed Head of Emerging Platforms and Partnerships @Lego. It’s been a while since I recorded this podcast and since then James has announced the launch of Vixen Labs a Voice strategy, experience and marketing. Good luck to him.

When I asked Tony how he wants the industry to look back on his career he told me - “I don’t want people to remember my career.” This is typical of an incredibly senior yet down-to-earth marketer who has only great intentions for Domino’s - “I want to leave the brand in a better state than when I came, stick to its roots - make it more exciting, appealing and relevant.” Bravo.

“We are on a mission to make banking cool, unofficially” this quote comes from Tristan Thomas, Marketing Director of Monzo this week on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. Today Monzo are launching their third round of crowdfunding. To put this in context their first round raised £1M in ninety seconds and their second raise of £2.5M was oversubscribed by around £10M. As of 3pm today, if you are Monzo customer you can invest between £10 and £2K in Monzo - all via the app. Tristan is crazily ambitious, bold and humble stating that “every prediction I make is wrong” but my bet with today’s announcement he’s most certainly going to be right.

Marco’s shiny new object is “Marketing in a Screenless World” - and he’s on a mission to draw marketers attention away from visual marketing. He claims that “The marketing world is obsessed with video” and tells us of the seismic changes in the industry that Voice Tech and Audio will bring.

‘The potential for programmatic is so ripe but it is yet to be fulfilled’ - this quote comes from Gerry D’Angelo - Global Media Director at P&G this week on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. We discuss how the rate of innovation in marketing technology is so fast that the creatives in the industry are slow to keep up. Despite his passion for new marketing tech he believes that “there is something special in the shared experience” like the Tide Superbowl ad. Gerry is passionate that creatives should be briefed on where the media placement will be. If the billboard is going to be next to a motorway then the creative should know that before they start coming up with ideas. Gerry is an optimist and is excited about guiding P&G into the future with the belief that “technology could take us anywhere”. Thanks so much to London’s most lovable strategic communications agency Bluestripemedia.co.uk and @Andyoakes for sponsoring the podcast.

“When I take risks they are positive, even if they fail” this quote comes from Seb Bardin the Head of Digital at Sony Mobile Europe - this week on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. This interview is is a teaser ahead of Seb’s presentation at MadFestLondon.com on the 28th of November. Seb is successful marketer but one of his secrets is that he’s a keen gamer. Despite holding an influential role he plays every night from 10pm at night to 1am in the morning - and he still gets up at 6am to be the first in the office. Trust in his agency and trust in his team is central to Seb’s work. This belief has taken him from Shell to Symantec to Sony and he tells us “every morning I’m happy to go to work”. Shout outs to @jerrydaykin @DanBrain @madfestlondon @Tonoir @HelloMrMatthew   Pre-podcast drinks were sponsored by London’s most lovable strategic comms agency bluestripemedia.co.uk and @AndyOakes #innovation #tech #google #marketing #advertising #AI #artificial #intelligence #brands #comms #agencies #creativity #strategy #v

“Saying you are “busy” is a humble brag and a mental illness at the same time.” This quote is from my interview with Rosie and Faris Yakob this week on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. Rosie and Faris run the “nomadic creative consultancy” Genius Steals that “advise creative businesses about their businesses.” But the real creativity is their lifestyle - they don’t have a home. They have spent the last five years wandering the planet helping creative businesses refine their propositions travelling from country to country following the work. Their capacity to wrap up an insight into a soundbite is remarkable: “Originality is a myth. You can’t invent without inventory.” “Things have to get cheap before it is innovation and stops just being technology” “Distracting ourselves from ourselves is what reality is all about” “When you are used to constant stimulus you go crazy when it stops” “Gratitude is the foundation of joy and happiness” Things get weird when we discuss how CRISPR the gene editing technology could be

“I didn’t see how Google was going to make any money” this quote comes from the brutally honest Andy Oakes - Managing Director of Blue Stripe - this week on the Shiny New Object podcast. Andy has been one of the most influential figures in British marketing in the last fifteen years; starting with New Media Age magazine and then growing The Drum in London from one person to fifty. He now runs the strategic communication agency - Blue Stripe. Andy’s passion is working with disruptive tech businesses who need help making themselves more famous. He always asks his clients “what makes you good?” not “what makes you different?” Andy’s shiny new object is Tech Spin. He gives us an outsider’s perspective on how the industry gets caught up in new headline grabbing tech. His advice is to brands is to try out the new marketing tech for themselves. Don’t outsource your innovation. Andy is smart, funny and as honest as they come. And has built his businesses ethos around trust and integrity and isn’t ashamed to admit his

“If you think you’re a marketer that has all the answers - you have a problem” this quote is from a double header episode of the #ShinyNewObject podcast between Charlotte Mceleny - Publisher, APAC at The Drum and Simon Kemp CEO and Founder at Kepios. The purpose of the discussion was to work out the main difference between marketing between the east and the west. Apparently it’s not as simple as picking a cool bit of tech in Asia and porting it over to the west. A lot of digital business in the East have developed due to the physicality of the countries themselves. One example is the Grab App in Singapore which is a mix of Uber and Apple Pay - “it’s an OS for city” says Mceleny. We also cover cultural anomalies such as Singles Day which Simon tells us is a “Valentines Day for the Self.” It’s not so hard to imagine that one coming to the west. Charlotte tells us that “UK has a strong creative aesthetic” and that the East doesn’t see the West’s marketing as old school. So there’s hope as well as inspiration to

“No matter how you understand your content, your users will tell you how well you don’t understand it” this quote is from Andy Hunt, Manager, Digital Innovation Lab at the Hershey Company - this week on the #ShinyNewObject podcast. Andy is making innovation happen at Hershey with his own hands - telling us that “I build things.” His advice to those getting into the innovation game is that we should learn to make things ourselves - “all the tools are out there.” But it’s not all nuts and bolts for Andy. He is adamant that the role of the innovation person is to make technology “relatable”. Talking about innovation is not enough. His view is that “PowerPoint decks don’t do it - we are in a show and tell environment.” Andy’s shiny new object is ‘AI for Internal Comms’ and Hershey have explored this through voice and chatbots. These projects have taught him not to assume how his audience thinks. He tells us that “you can’t schedule enough user testing periods.” Andy’s innovation mission at Hershey’s is create a “

“The best marketing books aren’t about marketing - they just have some marketing stuff in them.” This quote comes from Dan Calladine Head of Media Futures at Carat this week on the Shiny New Object Podcast. This insight is typical of Dan who has a knack of telling us something obvious that we hadn’t realised. In the course of an hour we find out that “older people are the most valuable marketing audience” and that “you can read any marketing book in four hours.” But it’s not all high-level stuff. As well as being one of the most influential innovation people in town he’s also influential in food. His @londonpopups profiles on instagram and twitter are sizeable audiences. What makes Dan so intriguing is his interest in the nuances of the social platforms but also the mastery of the macro. Dan’s shiny new object is ‘programmatic’ which he manages to beautifully describes without using any TLAs (three letter acronyms). There’s a lot to learn in this podcast from this articulate and engaging thinker and doer that

“We need to get pissed before we open up, this is terrible for creativity” this quote comes from Marc Lewis, Dean at the School of Communication Arts - this week on the Shiny New Object podcast. Marc is a maverick and true creative innovator who admits that “our school is often described as a cult”. In this interview Marc reveals the tools and techniques he uses to train the next generation of ad creatives. He tells us that “poetry, improv and mindfulness releases people” and reveals his excel spreadsheet technique for creating better ideas. His shiny new object is “hacking flow”. Marc’s definition of flow “is where accelerated learning takes place” and that “the expectation of an education designer should be to get students in ‘flow’ most of the time.” There is also a weird, special guest appearance that gives this episode an improvised and unusual twist - but I’ll let you work this out for yourself. Thanks Marc, the industry owes you big time.