Making Products Smart; The Next Revolution In Customer Engagement
There’s a revolution going on in the interaction between the physical and digital worlds. Innovations in smartphones and ‘smart tags’ are creating amazing new consumer engagement possibilities. So how do you make your products smart by connecting them to the Web? How do you use digital interaction with physical products to deliver the information and experiences consumers want, exactly when and where they want it? Venky Balakrishnan, leading Diageo's global digital marketing and innovation efforts, and technology partner Andy Hobsbawm, Founder of Web of Things software company EVRYTHNG, will talk about turning products into owned digital media assets and creating a platform for personalized brand experiences and one-to-one communications.
About the speakers
Venky Balakrishnan , VP, Global Markeing, Diageo
Venky Balakrishnan is Global Vice President for Marketing Innovation at Diageo tasked with shaping Diageo’s approach to marketing and sales in the digital age. His remit includes spotting and seizing the inflections in technology, digital media and entertainment that put Diageo’s brands at the leading edge.Over the last 8 years, Venky has held senior global marketing positions at Diageo including Global VP of Communications where he was responsible for advertising, digital, experiential marketing & PR for Smirnoff, the world’s #1 premium spirit. Prior to Diageo, Venky worked for Lowe Advertising in various roles in Europe and the US.
Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of international brands across spirits, wine and beer. These brands include: Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys, J&B, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan and Guinness.
Andy Hobsbawm, Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, EVRYTHNG
Andy established the first international Internet agency in 1994 which merged with pioneering digital services firm Agency.com in 1997 where he was European MD then Chairman until 2009. Andy serves on the board of various online companies and co-founded the award-winning online community Do The Green Thing in 2007. He was listed among the 100 top digital influencers by Wired UK and has been recognized by industry professionals as one of most influential 100 individuals who have most contributed to the development and growth of e-commerce and the Internet in the UK. He has been a weekly columnist about the new economy for the Financial Times, a member of GartnerG2's first advisory board on online advertising and spoken at numerous conferences including TED. He has yet to receive any royalties from obscure pop songs released by a minor independent record label in Europe.
