Heard at ONWARD: How Human Experience is Powering the Intelligent Future

During this breakout session, ONWARD attendees heard Pete Francis (Vice President, Digital Growth and Acquisition for T-Mobile USA) speak about how marketing — and how consumers interact with brands — is changing.

Francis spoke about the uncertainty surrounding this next age of marketing that we're entering. For a long time, keyboard-based interactions have been our primary means of engagement with technology. Today, voice-enabled search and other intelligent services are advancing quickly. And this means a big shift in the way marketers interact with consumers. "The era of pre-composed marketing channels is over," he proclaimed.

"If you don't control your marketing platforms, what do you control?" he asked. "The way you are going to control your customer relationships in the future is not by controlling your marketing platforms or by controlling your marketing channels or by controlling your website — but by listening."

The myths that marketers have previously relied upon don't hold up in mixed reality. And the traditional linear path, in which the brand drives the customer journey forward, has eroded. "Customers are going where they want," Francis said. "You can't immerse them in your brand story anymore."

Moving forward, Francis explained, marketing is going to have to be more interactive and co-creative. "The most important talk I can give isn't about AI or machine learning," he said. "It's about this realization that we live in a different world. That we can't use the same tools. We have to change the game."

To learn more about how you can adapt to the next age of marketing, check out our guide to becoming The Everywhere Brand.