The future of consumer experience is changing, are you changing with it? 1st November, 2016

I’ve recently had the pleasure of attending a number of futurologist discussions around AI, wearables, VR and much more.  As a bit of a geek, I find the evolution of technology to drive more humanistic behaviours fascinating – especially with my sponsorship hat on.  The capability for us to communicate, influence and make choices is exponentially growing, providing us completely unique capacities to build audiences and experiences.  While it is easy for us as individuals to get excited about the data gathered from our FitBit, it’s more enticing when understanding this in a macro marketing viewpoint.
As experiences become richer and easier to access, harnessing this insatiable appetite provides brands power they have never had previously.  The capability to answer customer complaints before they happen through data modelling, providing an instore experience in the comfort of your home, and individually tapping into consumer preferences through diversified marketing campaigns supports a journey that both consumers and brands are evolving through.
Underpinning this evolution remains passion points.  The key to why sponsorship is so effective, and arguably more so in this ever-changing landscape.  However, the majority of brands and rights-holders are only really just getting to grips on how to effectively monetise social media.  The overreliance on passion points is potentially hindering the sponsorship industry’s ability to integrate and truly make use of the data that is now available to everyone.   But by doing so, combining the deep knowledge and experience of sport/music/art within the wider context of changing consumer behaviour, the sponsorship industry would be unstoppable.