Australia’s leading forum for the top retail & FMCG marketing minds

In this exclusive presentation Jon Bird, Executive Director of Global Shopper Marketing for VML will unveil exclusive research conducted around the world, on the next set of changes coming for retailers in the digital age, and how you can get ahead.

Bird has a long history at the forefront of retail marketing. Prior to his current position he was the Global Managing Director of Y&R’s LabStore, a worldwide retail and shopper marketing network. He was also a founder of IdeaWorks in Australia and New Zealand, Chairman of Inside Retail Australasia and Director of Retail Marketing at M&C Saatchi.

The researchBird will present is based on a range of sources from VML offices around the world, and will help any retailer set a strategy to empower better performance in the next phase of digital disruption.

As Bird explains: “The First Era of Digital Retail began in 1995 with Amazon and eBay opening online. This age was all about the Internet as a research and shopping tool and was largely anchored to the desktop.

“The Second Era of Digital Retail started in 2007 with the launch of the iPhone and kicked into gear this decade with an exponential growth in computing power, drop in processing prices, rise of the cloud, birth of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) and “omnichannel”. Mobile devices freed the shopper and connectivity was the goal for the retailer.

“In 2017, we are on the brink of the Third Era of Digital Retail marked by the rise of data analytics and the increasing sophistication of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This new era will be less “digital” and more “human”. It will be a time where algorithms meet human rhythms; where screens recede and people step up to take their place, augmented by instant access to data; where the keyboard is replaced by the voice; where technology is less visible but even more powerful; and where the retail revolution will have come full circle back to a time when service was personal and products personalised.”

This presentation will unpack how online and offline retailers should be thinking about their customer experience as screens become less relevant and voice-operated assistants shape search.

In September 2017 Mexican quick service restaurant Guzman y Gomez made headlines when it partnered with Google’s experimentation arm in a global first to take its tasty treats to the skies, with a trial of a drone delivery service for rural areas.

This test offered people living in the town of Royalla the opportunity to cut out a long journey to the shops and have food delivered to their doors in just 10 minutes, bringing the convenience of fast food expected by urbanites to rural areas.

In this session Guzman y Gomez’s Shahrooz Chowdury, Chief Digital Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer Lara Thom will explain how the collaboration with X came about, the lessons the company learned from it, and how this kind of fulfilment can be turned into a major marketing opportunity for the brand.