Shiny New Object

“We’re on a path to tech slavery” this quote comes from my conversation with Toby Daniels Co-founder & CEO at Crowdcentric Founder & Executive Director at Social Media Week.   https://automatedcreative.net/podcasts/

Recorded Live at 'Is Creativity Dead?' at the IPA for Directory Magazine. This episode is sponsored by Khoros.com Khoros was very recently born after the coming together of Spredfast and Lithium. Khoros is a  technology software company that has over 15 years of leadership in marketing, care, and communities. And Khoros now offers one platform that unites marketing and care and helps brands create customers for life

Ben Scott-Robinson is an advertising refugee. He has held big creative director jobs at big agencies, been brand side and is now aiming to revolutionise food production. Obvs. We talk about how autonomous robot tech is at maturity but the way we interact with the robots is in its infancy. Barking at Alexa to put on an egg timer isn't a poor start to human-robot symbiosis. If you'd like to meet the man Ben is running a creative hack session at the Small Robot Company on the 22nd/23rd of March.

In this conversation we discuss the role of prayer in the creative process and how advertising should look to solve problems not just create beautiful campaigns. Uma is frank about how she left advertising disenchanted and how writing about technology has been her salvation. Then it gets weird as we talk about how the answer to world hunger is a 3D printed 2 calorie burger that you print in your kitchen. And begin to answer the question - could home cooked meals become illegal?

Graham Brown knows about podcasting. He's thought about it more than most and this conversation helps make sense of podcasting's role in marketing but also in contemporary culture. 

“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