The Experience Makers

Latest Episodes:

Fighting for the Future of Fashion May 19, 2021

Show notes

In a post-pandemic world, retailers need to embrace the fact that having a flexible, agile and future-proof commerce solution is critical to success. Consumer expectations are now higher than ever before, and fashion retailers need to remain at the forefront of new trends and technologies. It's no surprise that this front is increasingly being fought digitally.

In this episode, The Experience Makers brings together the technical, strategic and experiential skills of Wunderman Thompson Commerce, Attraqt and commercetools, to fully understand what today's fashion consumers expect from retailers and brands.

Discussing how the pandemic has affected retail both online and in-store, our guests will touch upon findings from the recent ‘Future of Fashion’ report and consider how businesses can ensure that they’re providing consumers with what they really want.

Download a copy of the report here: https://insights.wundermanthompsoncommerce.com/fighting-for-the-future-of-fashion

Produced by Breaking Atoms (www.breakingatoms.co.uk) Music produced by David John Walker (www.imperialbeats.co.uk)

The Cookie Crumbles Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

Data is one of the most valuable assets a business can have & has a huge impact on its potential to grow – informing decisions, shaping product development and driving customer experience. In order to collect sufficient data, brands have relied for years on cookies created by third-party technology companies.

However, what started as a convenient way for brands to get to know their customers and serve them relevant content online has led to data scandals, growing concern from regulators and distrust from consumers. As a result, Google is phasing out third-party Cookies, retiring them completely by the end of 2022, meaning brands will no longer have access to much of the data that they have used to curate personalised customer journeys.

This is an opportunity for brands to adapt to new ways of using data with integrity and show consumers that they are on their side. Wunderman Thompson Data’s Head of Business Consulting, Olivia Hawkins, Wavemaker's Head of Precision, Tarik Windle and Carsten Hyldahl, Director of AI & Identity at Wunderman Thompson MAP, share their thoughts on this opportunity with our host, Gemma Milne. They’ll discuss what ‘data with integrity’ means and explore how technology can help brands offer more tailored experiences in the future.

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

Solving accessibility problems with the help of AI Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

With an estimated population of 1.85 billion, people with disabilities (PWD) constitute an emerging market the size of China plus the European Union. Their Friends and Family add another 3.4 billion potential consumers who act on their emotional connection to PWD. Together, they control over $13 trillion in annual disposable income (RoD Group). These statistics show that inclusion and accessibility aren’t just questions of legal requirement and box-ticking, they should be part of your growth strategy.

As more and more brands commit to making sure that their digital experiences are representative of and accessible to all, The Experience Makers talks to Wunderman Thompson’s Head of Inclusive Design and Accessibility, Christina Mallon about the challenges that they face. She’s joined by two technologists who are leading the way in designing AI-powered tools to help organisations navigate the complexities of accessibility compliance - WT Technology’s Mateusz Chrominski and WPP AI guru, Perry Nightingale.

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

Knowing me, knowing you: the power of unified customer data Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

In 2006, Clive Humby coined the phrase, ‘data is the new oil’. That was 14 years ago, and yet still today, marketers are grappling with the challenges of making sense of their customer data to deliver actionable insights that improve the customer experience and build competitive advantage. In this episode, The Experience Makers explore these challenges and the technologies that are now looking to solve for them. To build a true customer data capability, organisations need to look further than pure technology; we’ll also deep dive into the transformation that is required to build a single view of the customer and act on it.

Check out Acceleration’s report titled ‘Course Correction’ here.

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

How brands can win in a recession Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

History will remember COVID-19 not only as a deadly disease but also as a huge accelerator for change. It brought with it an estimated 5-year leap in digital adoption from both consumers and businesses in just 12 weeks. Now, as the world enters an early onset COVID-induced recession, brands are left questioning their next steps. What lessons can they learn from past recessions and what new challenges may they face?

Check out Wunderman Thompson’s recent report titled ‘How Brands Can Win in a Recession’ here.

Be sure to follow Wunderman Thompson Technology on:

Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

COVID, Commerce & Customer Experience Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

As COVID-19 took its grip and the world went into lockdown, people everywhere turned to online services to facilitate their every need. Purchasing habits changed overnight but, as lockdown eases and shops start to reopen, what does this really mean for brands and retailers both online and instore? How can they make it easier for consumers to purchase, whenever and wherever they need to? In short, how can they make every moment shippable?

Read Wunderman Thompson Commerce’s ‘COVID, Commerce & the Consumer’ report here.

Read Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Cognifide’s ‘Translating Content into Commerce’ report here.

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

Look, like, love: from search to social and the power of influence Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

Research shows that search, while still powerful, is starting to decline in importance, while social media plays an increasing part in purchase consideration, awareness and purchase. How do marketers drive their brand across a multichannel strategy and can they trust external channels like social media or influencers to accurately reflect their customer experience?

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

How can brands own the omnichannel experience? May 14, 2020

Show notes

With almost half (49%*) of shoppers aged 16-24 beginning their customer journey on social media, the dominance of search, brand sites and online shops is waning. Instead, younger customers are gravitating towards a shopping experience that includes a multitude of touchpoints. In this episode, The Experience Makers explores how brands can own that multichannel experience. How can organisations harness their data to get a single view of customers across channels? What new technologies are available to help with this? Making every experience shoppable is the new retail holy grail – what is the key to unlocking these new commerce opportunities?

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

COVID-19: Accelerating Change Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of The Experience Makers, Gemma Milne is joined by Neil Godber and Marie Stafford, both senior strategists at WPP’s Wunderman Thompson. Together they consider the impacts and considerations of COVID-19, focusing on the way in which people’s lives are changing, and how brands are and should be responding to the crisis.

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Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial

Female is not my brand Mar 09, 2020

Show notes

Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg said, “In the future there will be no female leaders, there will just be leaders”. In this episode The Experience Makers asks whether we are any closer to reaching that point in the technology sector. Sarah Gunderson from software giant, Adobe, joins Wunderman Thompson Technology’s Kat Edmondson for this authentic and positive conversation with host, Gemma Milne, to mark International Women’s Day. Together they bust a few popular myths about the realities of being a woman in tech today, talk about female role models (and what it means to be one), and how they feel culture is definitely shifting towards gender being less of an issue.

Be sure to follow Wunderman Thompson Technology on:

Produced by Breaking Atoms

Music produced by Imperial