Meet: Said García, 18 Havas Mexico
Innovation is the new awareness
We are so used to seeing AR and VR technologies just for gaming, but we just need to take the time to start thinking about them in our daily life and basic tasks. We are already in the future!
Where do you come from and how did you end up working at 18?
I am from Mexico City, Mexico, the place where you can find basically everything…. delicious food, amazing people, and awesome places. The ecosystem in Mexico is growing exponentially and is very good for innovation and startups. Additionally, Mexican people have the ability to adapt and develop new innovations with a global reach. After all the anti-immigrant blocks from the government in the US, Jalisco has become a place where a lot of new startups are rising.
I love social psychology and how technologies can develop solutions for our society and empower the people, improving their lifestyle. I started in the group for strategy and innovation in Media Contacts at Havas Media in 2009, after that I left for a while. As I have always been proactive, I focused on developing technologic solutions during that time. I came back to Havas around 3 years ago and now have the task to implement the 18 vision in Mexico.
What’s the most exciting innovation on the market now? What is defining the next 18 months to you?
Definitely what the world is going to be talking about for the next 18 months is VR and AR. This technology will continue to improve to the point where everything is more accessible and democratic in order for people to use it on a daily basis for tasks such as driving, money transactions, research, surgeries, repair materials from long distances, etc. We are so used to seeing these type of technologies just for gaming, but we just need to take the time to start thinking about them in our daily life and basic tasks. We are already in the future!
Same case with IoT (Internet of Things). Even though we believed it was at its highest point already, in reality, it was just preparing everything so we could launch more robots and let more people benefits from their production.
What’s a great example of innovative marketing in your opinion?
Clients nowadays are expecting more and more from us and they don’t just want to have solutions for their problems anymore. This means that we must implement new technologies capable of creating a solution for the people’s problems.
If I had to name a brand that keeps innovating and making noise out of their brands, it would be Pornhub. They develop wearables, VR interactions, crowdfunding initiatives for saving pandas… all based on their own data.
What’s your favorite TV series, movie, video game, or music?
Black Mirror is one of my favorite series ever. It has shown how we deal with technology every day and how we can get overwhelmed by it. We are not far from getting to its point of connectivity. Nortec and Café Tacvba are two great and talented bands. They have been able to combine interesting sounds able to break barriers and always keep true to their Mexican culture. My favorite movie is The Lorax. Dr. Seuss paints a pretty good picture of how the planet is being destroyed by human actions, but explained simply for kids.
