10 Things Too Compelling Not to Write Down from #PSFK2016
Last month, part of our strategy team attended PSFK’s annual conference on trends, cultural connections, and innovative business models. This year’s conference, Ideas That Transform, was a smorgasbord of brainfood on current tech advances and market strategies.
We at RAIN are transforming our strategy across projects with these learnings. Why? Because all of the sessions touched on new ways of thinking that we found intriguing and valuable — from ideas that applied to creative assignments to those that served as conceptual references to product and technology innovations that we believe will guide the future of our industries.
What follows is a list of the 10 ideas we found so compelling we had to write them down.
Considering human interaction within tech and geographical constraints is key to creating connections and global growth.
Ethan Eismann, Director of Product Experience, Uber
The day kicked off with Uber’s Ethan Eismann stressing how driving consumer interactions within constraints helps businesses grow. The process ensures that users have the information they need to get where they’re going. Plus, those interactions foster stronger experiences between users and the brand.
Regardless of what the interaction is — from a street sign to a GPS enabled map — it should be designed in consideration of how users connect with it.
Some of us don’t want apps, we want agents.
Dennis Mortensen, Founder, X.ai
The “connection” conversation was an idea introduced as Dennis Mortensen took the stage. X.ai (aka Amy) is an artificial-intelligence-powered personal assistant. Meaning instead of dealing with endless scheduling emails, you just cc the bot on your initial response, and “she” will take care of the correspondence. What sets Amy apart from other apps is that she functions like an agent — like a person — and emails like you were handling it yourself.
As the world becomes more automated, we still crave human connection. It makes us comfortable. So by leveraging an AI-driven bot like X.ai has, we’re able to both automate and engage our human experiences.
Brands should embrace humility, not bravado.
Neil Parikh, Co-Founder & COO, Casper
Casper is relentlessly focused on what they call “Human-Centered Product Development.” Also, sleep. As part of their pursuit to act like a human and not a company, they have let the act of sleeping — it’s origins, science, products — drive them to be continuously curious.
An important distinction about how Casper acts as opposed to other business entities is that they do not assume the right to be an authority. Curiosity led them to humility as their brand studied what components of sleep were the right focus for them.
Companies should not declare that they are innovative. They must be brought to innovation through curiosity. Casper’s interest has led it to become not only a mattress company, but one that broadly owns the sleep territory. Beyond products, they host Sleep Symposiums, publish Van Winkle’s, and continue to expand.
Strategy is a framework for decision-making.
Noah Brier, Co-Founder & CEO of Percolate
If you’re not familiar with the Percolate platform, it can do quite a lot to help marketers today. Particularly anything having to do with “content.” (We won’t get into the specifics here, but rather, the implications of a mechanism as broad as this.) With automation and intelligent content sourcing on the rise, a question looms large: how should strategists think about a tool like Percolate? And additionally, what does that means for their discipline overall?
Mr. Brier eloquently expressed that strategy as a discipline within marketing is intended to guide the decision makers of organizations toward better informed decisions. Percolate should not be feared, but rather embraced as a contributor to efficiency.
If strategists today can help stakeholders make decisions independently, they will be able to work faster through the small stuff and spend more time on the business questions that tools won’t be able to solve.
More users does not equal more empathy.
Matt Hackett, Co-Founder & CTO of Beme
Beme is a video-streaming social app designed with the purpose of creating a more honest, unfiltered connection between people. Beme removes all editing tools and functions in a way where users live stream their immediate POV and have it instantly shared without the chance for review or edits.
Mr. Hackett spent his keynote discussing how other social networks have created massive user bases, but explained how, despite their scale and the increased amount of daily interactions, there is less connection than ever before.
The “like” (or your engagement of choice) has been devalued. Users aren’t truly connecting with one another and sharing experiences because the tools in place today allow everyone to curate a faux version of themselves while the reality becomes obscured. Beme aims to add empathy back to the equation — if you want to “like” something on Beme, you have to record yourself reacting and share it with that user.
Intimacy at scale.
Nathaniel Ru, Co-Found & Co-CEO, Sweetgreen
“Stories are the currency for human connection,” said Nathaniel Ru of Sweetgreen. What he meant by that is something we can all agree on — stories bring people together. They make a moment bigger. An experience better. In Sweetgreen’s case, stories are what drive their business, like when they collaborated with artist Kendrick Lamar on the Beets Don’t Kale My Vibe salad, which turned out to be one of their top-sellers. Or when they tackled food waste head-on with their Kitchen Sink salad, using food that would have been wasted and driving demand through storytelling.
Sweetgreen understands that consumers want more than just product these days. They want transparency and authenticity. They want brands who communicate with them, and not at them. Brand loyalty and affinity is driven by knowing what your products stand for, and that doesn’t just mean preaching a mantra, like “NO-GMOs.” It means showing the method behind the madness — the story, if you will.
“Tech connections aren’t enough, we need social connections.”
Blade Kotelly, VP Design, JIBO
Remember when robots seemed a thing of the future? Well…maybe not so much anymore. But Social Robots take it to a whole new level. They’re designed to embody social characteristics and create meaningful connections that insert emotion while serving their purpose.
Case in point: Jibo. Or the “World’s First Social Robot for the Home.” It’s more than a robot — it’s a photographer, a recipe book, your child’s bedtime story reader, and, among many other things, a real companion. Jibo does more than just tell you the weather. It tells you that what you’re wearing might not be warm enough because it’s 40 degrees outside and could rain. Jibo asks you how your day was, and if it wasn’t the best, consoles you.
Automation advances are what we’ve been moving toward over the past few years. However, similar to what we’ve said a few times now, there is an undeniable need for human connection. Equally important, and something that Mr. Kotelly and the team at Jibo have mastered, is the need to understand. Consumers are more open than ever to new technology and process. However, with newness sometimes comes uncertainty, which is why making sure your brand is accessible and trustworthy is crucial.
Prototyping and experimentation are as important to success as personalization and data-gathering.
Xavi Cortadellas, Global Innovation & Design Senior Director, Gatorade
Tucker Fort, Partner & Expertise Lead, Smart Design
“Personalization” is something we’ve heard about a lot lately. Consumers want products and experiences tailored to them — so a bit of a “me, me, me” mentality has taken hold. They expect brands to understand their needs and deliver them content and offers that are individually relevant and customized. To achieve this level of hyper-personalization, though, you have to start somewhere a little more technical, and with that, things like prototyping, experimentation, and data-gathering come into play.
Gatorade & Smart Design took this to another level when developing personalized hydration for the Brazilian National Football team during the 2014 World Cup. They developed what they call “hydration pods” that they filled with customized Gatorade formulas for each player on the team. The formulas were meant to optimize performance for each player, and were crafted using personal data collected from the players. Unfortunately for Brazil, Germany swept in and took the title. Great for Gatorade, however, the customized program inspired an extension of the product across other teams, both professional and amateur.
Simply put, once we start truly understanding the individual — and what he or she really wants — we’ll be able to provide better experiences.
The crossroads of growth strategies and market forces, and the subsequent effect of their interaction on our sense of community, presents an interesting new challenge to consider.
Douglas Rushkoff, Author of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus
Piqued attentions had given way to hunger after a fast-paced, insightful morning. But Douglas Rushkoff commanded the room, reinvigorating his audience just before lunch — no small feat. He presented a powerful statement on the impact of market forces in the tech industry.
While he delivered his thoughts in an engaging and humorous way, it was the sentiment behind them that put the audience on the edges of their seats. He took on Uber and other growth-oriented businesses, pointing to how their need to provide profitable growth conflicts with their push to be human-centered. He offered an introduction to another way of thinking about the issue, and deftly worked in a pitch to buy his book to learn more.
Ideas can also be found in powerful stories of justice and equality that are found behind suppressed voices, that when allowed volume can open eyes, while proudly engendering support that can create true change, bridge divides, and open doors.
Geena Rocero, Gender Proud
Another well timed presentation came in the form of Geena Rocero’s discussion of transgender issues. By relating her own story, she presented a powerful statement on women in the transgender community, weaving in stories from others that have made powerful strides in elevating the voices of their community.
Ms. Rocero closed out the day on a strong note and presented innovative thinking to an issue that strikes at the core of the definition of what this event was all about — openness to ideas from different viewpoints that can transform the way we think and operate, as businesses, individuals, and as a community.
The sound bytes above and the concepts contained within each can and should serve as inspiration for both work and life. As we aspire to create and support Ideas That Transform, we hope to see your contributions out there soon, too.
