I recently had the honor of being recognized as one of the 2021 50 most influential business leaders in tech. I am incredibly honored by this recognition.
50 Most Influential Business Leaders In Tech
Passion Drives Performance Keynote
Wow! It felt good to be back on stage with a socially distant audience. Yes, I wore a mask on stage per the organizer’s policy, but it was great to be in person! This was a bespoke talk designed to motivate future business & technology, men & women.
The talk covered how a passion for gaming, marketing, and technology, has shaped my career journey. This discussion was more personal and reflective than futurist, but I wanted to provide insights into how various passions have shaped my perspective and translated to driving business performance.
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Business Access Podcast Episode 15
I recently had the opportunity to join Thiago Desouza on his Business Access Podcast. We had an incredibly in-depth conversation across a variety of topics. From passions that have driven my career, technology, and marketing impact post-pandemic, gaming, GenZ, generational gaps, and the future of consumer experience. Timestamps and topics below.
1:25 – Tom Edwards Career Overview
- Smooth Fusion (Microsoft)
- Telligent (Electronic Arts)
- INgage Networks (Chief Marketing Officer)
- Omnicom (Strategy Leader – Red Urban, The Marketing Arm)
- Epsilon (Chief Digital & Innovation Officer)
- Tripleclix (Chief Marketing Officer)
2:50 – Discussing Core Passions
- Star Wars & the droids and how the technology-enabled the adventures
- Gaming in the 1980s
- 90’s Computer Hardware
- Marketing, Technology, Gaming are core passions
4:10 – Where are we today technology wise compared to Star Wars?
- No longer disruption as a new normal
- All about convergence, AI, predictive decisioning, virtual assistant proxies, simulation at scale
6:15 – How does it feel when you create a pathway to success for a client?
- Love to align technology + consumer experience hits a cultural inflection point
- EA Skate example. The first instance of in-game content posted to the web in the mid-2000s
- Discuss Data & AI work while at Epsilon
- Goes well beyond a transaction, it’s about creating value as a partner
8:30 – Discuss Professional Speaking & Innovation to Reality
- How technology will evolve and how we will move from the mobile device to our environment adapting to us through the lens of pop-culture
- Empower – technology that enables consumers
- Exponential – intelligent systems
- Enhance – proxies to full simulation
- Discuss GenZ, gaming, expectations of technology and how experiences are evolving
11:00 – How do you feel technology is going to advance post COVID pandemic?
- Less about a single use case and application, and more about how technology enables work that isn’t in a physical location
- New consumer decision journey… Disruption, Acceptance, What’s next
- Acceleration of work from anywhere, have worked remotely for over 5 years
- Sparks of inspiration occur at different times of the day.
14:33 – What can businesses do and where should they focus post pandemic?
- Focus on core consumer needs
- Reflect & reset corporate strategy, especially digitally
- The role that data plays
- Developing new capabilities
- Forecast demand by geography & audience segments
- Discuss the cycle of demand
- What’s next… How does physical retail compete with online?
18:00 – Communication, Communication, Communication is vital…
- Maintaining communication and connection is key
- 71% of consumers stated if brands put profit over people they would lose faith in the brand forever
- It’s important to communicate, but also how are you easing disruption
- Content strategy, building it around how creating value, balance selling vs. supporting
- Reacting vs. strategically planning
21:30 – How have international businesses been responding?
- US quantity based
- Bolivia case study/hand sanitizer example
23:00 – Across industries, what techniques and methods work well broadly?
- Mapped career against the rising flow of technology & culture
- Mid 2000’s social computing
- Then consumer social strategy
- Data & AI
- Next is gaming…
26:15 – Generational Gap & Gaming
29:00 – Experiences like Pokémon Go prep future adoption
- Training a generation
- GenZ expectations of technology & behaviors such as mixing reality is becoming second nature
30:30 – What happened to Google Glass? What’s next?
- Was an early adopter
- When it initially launched we weren’t in the midst of a creator society
- It was also about form factor… looking at patents and future tech, look and feel will be extensions of style
- Apple, Samsung, and others will move us towards a smart contact
- Ubiquitous tech + constant connectivity via 5G will drive adoption of new form factors
33:30 – If a client/business asks how can I make it happen?
- Not enough time spent on the behavioral side
- Single persona vs. affinity iterations & personality types
- How does that come together and finding the right levers to connect with individuals in a meaningful way
- Easier to look at it from a media perspective vs. using AI as a driver to truly differentiate the experience via structured & unstructured data
- Esports sponsorship… “Marketing with to games is fine, but connecting authentically is a different approach” – Chris Erb.
36:55 – The role of personal branding
- The accelerator of success was my blog… 600 posts later, how you think, what you have done, and having a content repository is key
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Path To Purchase Expo 2019 Keynote
I had the opportunity to provide a keynote on tech innovation for the 2019 Path to Purchase Expo in Chicago yesterday. It was a great crowd, high energy, and with a 30-minute timeslot, we had to cover a lot of ground!
The focus of the talk was discussing the coming waves of technology and how that will impact consumer behavior along the path to purchase. This is the latest version of the InnovationToReality talk series covering all facets of consumer behavior and emerging technology.
We discussed how Star Wars, Fortnite, Pixar Movies, & The Matrix highlight how emerging technology and consumer behavior will shift in the near future. We also discussed:
- the role of esports
- the camera as a bridge to intelligence
- the role of virtual assistants and commerce
- the rise of the proxy web
- the 5 levels of autonomy
- how the new 4P’s will enhance future strategy
- the role and importance of 5G in the transition towards ubiquitous simulation.
Here is a link to the final presentation. Book Tom for your event today
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Mobile World Congress 2019 Trend Recap
I recently had the opportunity to partner with Nokia to cover Mobile World Congress 2019. From highlighting key elements of their brand messaging around 5G, amplifying content from analyst meetings to on-camera work on the show floor. I really enjoyed partnering with Nokia.
Today, my full #MWC19 recap was posted on Futurithmic.com the recap views trends from MWC through the Innovation to Reality™ lens of Empower, Exponential, and Enhanced. The article covers all facets of experience and 5G. From Devices, AI, Gaming, Live Entertainment, and so much more. You can read the full article here.
I was also engaged as a technology influencer to create cross channel social content, highlight Nokia & their 5G efforts during a recent keynote, as well as on-camera work during #MWC19. When it’s all said and done the content should drive north of 100,000 highly targeted views that will have boosted Nokia’s message during a very crowded MWC19.
DFWIMA 2019 
Thanks again to Marianne and the entire @Nokia team.
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Tom Edwards TEDx Talk now on TED.com
NextGen Ninja Show
I recently had the opportunity to join the NextGen Ninja Show. Host Kory Farooquie and I discuss a number of topics from data, humans over hype, humans vs. AI, dealing with disruption, GenZ, the future and more.
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Frito-Lay Boundless Marketing Summit Keynote
I recently had the privilege to deliver the Evolution of Experience keynote at the 2018 Frito-Lay Boundless Marketing Summit in Nashville, Tennessee.
For this event, I tailored the Evolution of Experience, E^3 talk tied to Empower, Exponential and Enhanced to focus on the camera as a platform, artificial intelligence, multi-modal and the New 4 P’s of AI marketing.
Frito-Lay Summit
Frito-Lay Summit
Frito-Lay Summit
Empower is looking at how accessibility to mobile technology has led to consumers being empowered to create, amplify and influence across generations. Specifically looking at the behaviors of Gen Z and the evolving role of the camera.
Exponential is all about acceleration through intelligent systems. This looks at the role of data for AI as well as the rise of virtual assistants and the ability to predict consumer needs ultimately becoming a proxy for the individual that will split decision journeys between consumers and algorithms.
Enhanced is all about the bridging of physical and digital reality and how immersive computing, augmented reality, computer vision and the intelligent camera will forever redefine our version of reality.
The talk ends with an explanation of how we will evolve from a mobile-centric world to the new normal of voice, vision and touch experiences powered by artificial intelligence. This includes a date when project it will all converge as well as 4 new P’s of marketing.
It was an awesome crowd and I really enjoyed the 30 minute session + Q&A.
If you are interested in having Tom speak at your event please contact here.
Tom Edwards Speaker Bio
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Celebrating 500 BlackFin Posts
This post is number 500 for the BlackFin360.com/blog. Starting this blog was one of the best decisions I have made professionally. It provided me with a platform to share original thoughts, cover industry trends and serve as a repository for speaking and media coverage.
It has evolved significantly from the early beginnings in 2007. The blog was originally under the domain TheBlackFin.com. Now that domain is simply a redirect to BlackFin360.com. “BlackFin” was a nickname given to me by a co-worker at the time and the blog name came directly from my Xbox Gamertag “TheBlackFin“.
Here is a screenshot of the original look for the blog from 2007-2009. Why green for a blog named the “black” fin is something I still wonder about to this day.
Over the years the look and feel of the blog has changed but the core content focus on marketing, emerging technology, and gaming has remained to this day.
I officially moved the blog from theblackfin.com to blackfin360.com in 2009. By 2011 at least there were black/techie elements in the look and feel.
Now in 2018, the blog continues to serve as the primary entry point for speaking engagements, advisor opportunities, university lecturing, media coverage and over the past year it has shifted to more of a Vlog.
The look of the site will continue to evolve in 2018 and beyond.
Whether this is your first time here or you have been a subscriber since the beginning, I sincerely want to thank anyone who has stopped by and spent time with my content. I am incredibly grateful for this platform and I would highly recommend to anyone to find their industry voice and build their personal brand in addition to their professional.
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WMD Podcast: Balancing Personal & Professional Branding
This is the second part of my interview session with the Words of Mass Disruption podcast with Eric Hanes.
During this discussion, we dive into finding the right balance between personal and professional branding , 4 steps to a better digital you and the importance of creating and sharing content, and adding value to your professional networks.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE
1. How important it is to develop and share your own perspective and point of view.
2. Be open with your network connections.
3. Find the right balance of Personal Brand (the Digital You) and your Professional Brand (the hand that feeds you).
4. Diversify your network.
Here was part one of the podcast discussing all facets of Artificial Intelligence.
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Follow Eric Hanes @WordsDisruption
In The News: Forbes Networking Hacks
I was recently asked by the Forbes team to provide insight into my personal approach to networking hacks. To put it simply, what do I do to maintain connections.
The article is Six Little-Known Networking Hacks
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E^3 Evolution of Experience – Introduction
C-Suite TV Executive Perspectives
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeffrey Hayzlett of C-Suite TV to kick off season 7 of Executive Perspectives. We discussed digital disruption, conversational experiences, artificial intelligence and best practices for leveraging data to connect with consumers.
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Why Microsoft Bought Linkedin
News broke this morning outlining Microsoft’s intention to purchase Linkedin for $26.2 billion dollars. Many outlets are reporting the purchase, but not many are discussing the advantages and benefits that Microsoft may gain by the acquisition.
Here are 6 territories that may be bolstered by Microsoft’s acquisition:
Professional Data – The acquisition of Linkedin offers almost immediate access to professional profile data that Microsoft could leverage and integrate into Microsoft Office products, specifically Office 365.
By merging the 433 million members with 1.2 billion office users, Microsoft can quickly build integrations between professional profile data and their product set.
B2B Marketing Reach – With 433 million members (128 million in the US) Microsoft just picked up one of the premier B2B advertising players that instantly gives them global reach to further extend advertising solutions as well as Microsoft products and services.
Search – Microsoft has dabbled with social search with social integrations into Bing over the past few years. Also their failed launch of So.cl in 2012 was designed to research the potential integration of social and search. By picking up Linkedin they also gain the growing content engine that is highly optimized for organic discovery within traditional search channels.
Here is an example of my latest Linkedin Post that is also the #1 result for Data fueling Creative.
Extending Social Capabilities – Microsoft has also been a minority player previously investing $256 million dollars in Facebook. They recently launched a joint underwater cable initiative to further boost cloud service capabilities for both organizations.
With a strategic partnership with one of the largest B2C marketing entities and now picking up the premier B2B platform, Microsoft is positioning itself to remain relevant through diversifying their assets, strategic partnerships and leveraging the content created from Linkedin as well as it’s global reach and subscription based member model to further deliver products, services and create new streams of revenue.
Extending Productivity Solutions – Microsoft has been laser focused on building subscription based productivity solutions over the past 5 years. This includes unified communications solutions yammer and lync as well as products like Office 365, OneDrive and OneNote.
By acquiring Linkedin they will have direct access to various users across company type and could potentially box out competitive products and solutions and focus on exclusively positioning their products and services to the 433 million global users.
Cortana – There is speculation that Cortana is being positioned as one of the first virtual assistant/artificial intelligence systems being built specifically for the enterprise. The acquisition of Linkedin could be a viable platform to educate, identify and sell through the service in addition to leveraging professional profile data, content and conversations happening within Linkedin Groups to further refine offerings.
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Evolution of Social Media Marketing
Here is a preview of my latest take on the evolution of social media marketing.
The presentation starts with a trip down memory lane by reviewing the rise of social media platforms across the globe.
Next is a look at the impact social media trends have had on consumer behavior. Everything from viral videos, #selfies and the rise of YouTube celebrities.
Then focus shifts to the evolution of social marketing globally and the role that content plays in today’s social marketing programs.
The journey wraps with a look at the future state of social marketing.
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Linkedin Showcase Pages Create New Points of Discovery
Linkedin has proven to be an incredible asset for B2B Social Media Strategy & execution. With Hubspot defining Linkedin (45%) as the most effective B2B source for lead generation followed by Facebook at 33%.
Linkedin continues to focus on creating relevance for company pages. The latest roll-out called “showcase pages” allows businesses to highlight specific brands or products by creating product centric content hubs that allow users to further align with relevant content.
Each showcase page is setup to exist independently from the company page while still showing (below the fold) a connection to the parent page as well other showcase pages.
Here is an example from HP focusing on their Converged Infrastructure offering with the company & additional showcase pages expanded.
Users can follow specific showcase pages and connect directly with the content they are most interested in. This natural segmentation can create more targeted opportunities for brands to connect with audiences who are interested in specific product lines.
Here is an example from Adobe Marketing Cloud.
Brands can easily create up to 10 showcase pages that also includes access to page insights & analytics. This combined with the 3 million existing company pages can exponentially increase the amount of content in the platform.
It is easy for an organization to create a showcase page
The organization has the ability to define the showcase page URL, define the industry and connect up to 3 existing Linkedin groups.
Here is a screenshot of the creation screen for the showcase creation.
Here is an example of a MIcrosoft showcase page. Linkedin Company pages have worked well from a search discovery perspective and showcase pages provide an additional option to create new points of discovery for products & services.
Here is an example that shows the Microsoft Office example was indexed almost immediately upon launch. At the time of this writing the page was posted 20 hours before.
This latest addition will allow Linkedin to align paid advertising with in network content hubs to create engaging & targeted experiences within the platform vs. driving off-site. The more content that is created and housed within Linkedin means higher amounts of eyeballs which essentially means more potential advertising revenue for Linkedin.
This new showcase option will need to be carefully considered though when deploying. As determining which products have enough content to support the audience in addition to further segmenting the brands following into subgroups and aligning master brand content against product specific content will need to be considered prior to rolling out showcase pages.
Company pages vs. Showcase Pages
VS 
The benefits though of having subsets or micro-content hubs is that the audience that engages is truly interested in the product and is actively searching for information. This also allows more flexibility in terms of search discovery as well as one of the issues with other platforms such as Facebook is that you are limited in terms of new points of discovery via organic search.
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Callaway Hit The Links
When you are part of the “idea” business you spend a lot of time thinking, curating and throwing things (figuratively & sometimes literally) against the wall. Sometimes things stick, sometimes there are dead ends, but you are always in search of the slightest germ of an idea to spark creativity.
This stream of thought reminded me of a quote from the movie Inception that has stuck with me. It is when Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes the following statement:
“An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious.”
Applying context to marketing, a good idea can be highly contagious. You begin to immediately see the “legs” of the idea and how it can potentially extend out. Whether it is tied to a larger brand campaign, branded content or even an activation, a good idea change the game for a brand.
I had an “Inception” moment when members of my team Brandon Stuart, Creative Director & Mike Chiavetta, Director of Social Strategy @ Fanscape/TMA, began discussing the concept & strategy associated with the Callaway activation that is outlined below. There are moments when the consumer + idea + channel + message = compelling consumer engagement program.
The Callaway Hit The Links activation was the result of a close partnership between Callaway and Linkedin to leverage their API’s and create a relevant connection with the target consumer and overlay a fun concept that is built to be shared.
When it came to developing the creative concept I asked Brandon Stuart, Creative Director at Fanscape to share his thoughts on the program.
“Hit the Links is an example of the potency a concept can have when it is derived at the intersection of creative and strategic thinking. We set out to create a consumer engagement experience that is truly first of its kind, yet still effective and personable in nature. Since golf is often an organic dialogue between professionals, Hit the Links positions Callaway as a catalyst that sparks conversations on the biggest professional network in the world. We are fishing not only where the fish are, but also where no other golf brand has fished.”
Here is an overview of the program:
It all starts with a simple invite that comes from the native Linkedin messages feature. By connecting the message from a direct Linkedin connection, we are creating contextual relevance for the recipient, increasing the probability of taking action.
Next you are sent to a visually appealing landing page that outlines the value proposition & call to action. This is the “why” you should engage.
Next is the authentication to connect your network with the program. This is a key point of enablement for the experience. By leveraging the authentication directly and by connecting the user to their network across both mobile & desktop allows us to provide as seamless an experience as possible.
Once connected, you then have the option to begin selecting your golf foursome. The benefit to the consumer is the opportunity to create the “ultimate golf business trip” for you and three of your connections. You pick your ideal foursome and sign up for a chance to win an advanced fitting experience and get a custom built set of clubs, a round of golf & test the new HEX Chrome+ all at Callaway’s headquarters.
The system will auto-generate a golf foursome, or allow you to pick your group from your network. At this point there is also an opportunity to opt-in and view the rules of the promotion.
Once you finalize your group, you are ready to finalize your entry for the day. It is possible to gain additional entries daily with different foursome combinations.
Once your group is finalized, you have the opportunity to let the members you selected know they have been selected and they have the opportunity to create their own entry as well. All messaging is delivered via the Linkedin native message functionality.
Also, there is a sampling initiative tied to the program as well. The first 1,000 participants can claim a box of HEX CHROME+ golf balls courtesy of Callaway to further drive a direct connection of product to the consumer.
I am incredibly proud of the team for this concept & strategy. Key members of the creative team were:
- Brandon Stuart, Creative Director @ Fanscape
Special thanks to Brad Alesi, Director, Digital Engagement @ The Marketing Arm for contributions to the Fanscape Callaway Team.
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Linkedin Revamps Company Pages
Linkedin has proven to be an incredible asset for B2B Social Media Strategy & execution. With Hubspot defining Linkedin (45%) as the most effective B2B source for lead generation followed by Facebook at 33%.
Linkedin rolled-out company status updates last October, and followed that release up with a revamp to company pages including the addition of the Company Follow button, Today’s announcement highlighting the new look for company pages demonstrates they are taking the next step in their follower ecosystem strategy.
A few brands have been hand selected to test drive the new look and feel. This list includes Philips, Citi, HP and Dell for company updates and American Express, Unilever & Expedia are testing the newly revamped Careers section.
Previously, this was the view of a Linkedin Company page. Simple CTA’s outlining an overview of the company, the ability to follow, updates and potential connections.
The older services tab provided an opportunity for 3rd party validation of a companies services.
The new look and feel features a streamlined user experience that structures content in a more natural manner. You will notice the company updates look more like a traditional social stream with added capabilities for companies tied to easier sharing & additional emphasis on visual imagery. And for the first time, company pages are now available via Linkedin’s mobile app.
The services tab also received slight adjustment to further align a consistent look & feel with the core brand hub.
The changes coincide with a network wide emphasis on streamlining the overall experience and enabling brands to connect with followers on a deeper more targeted basis.
Linkedin has traditionally been a network reserved for B2B targeting, but with more emphasis targeting individuals who leverage the powerful business network, the ability to drive 3rd party validation, targeted advertising that can support cross social channel promotion, and a streamlined interface to further drive engagement, Linkedin should be considered when developing a cross channel social strategy that includes targeting individuals that are key to Linkedin’s user base.
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Linkedin Launches Company Follow Button
Linkedin has proven to be an incredible asset for B2B Social Media Strategy & execution. With Hubspot defining Linkedin (45%) as the most effective B2B source for lead generation followed by Facebook at 33%.
With the roll-out of company status updates last October, Linkedin took the first step towards positioning itself as a marketing channel for brands. Now with Monday’s announcement of the Company Follow button, they are taking the next step in their follower ecosystem strategy.
Linkedin is now expanding the ability to follow a company beyond it’s core domain and now enabling organizations to allow individuals to follow them directly from their branded homepages or other owned properties by adding a quick code snippet to their branded pages. Brands such as Starbucks, AT&T and American Express are initial launch partners.
Similar in its impact as a Facebook like, the individual will receive status updates via their Linkedin feed. By extending the reach of the follow beyond Linkedin, the over 2 million companies in it’s network will have even greater opportunities to execute B2B content strategies both within Linkedin & their branded & owned channels.
Because B2B social is generally more targeted than B2C social, the ability to drive targeted interaction in one location while also providing a comprehensive footprint throughout the channel is key. Now with the ability to more closely associate the follow externally, it enables a more dynamic experience for the brand. As Linkedin can serve as a hub of services & 3rd party validation of those services via recommendations.
For those interested, here is the location to add the new company follow button to your branded website.
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B2B Social Media and Linkedin’s Latest Announcement
When you hear the term social media most people immediately think about Facebook and Twitter and consumer focused campaigns and conversations. But what doesn’t come immediately to mind is that Social is a very powerful channel for B2B organizations.
What is interesting is that 86% of B2B firms are using social, compared to 82% of B2C. And how they are using it is surprising as well.
59% are focused on Thought Leadership
48.9% are focused on Lead Generation
45.7% are interested in Feedback/Reviews/Recommendations
34.7 are interested in paid advertising on social sites
Linkedin has proven to be an incredible asset for B2B Social Media Strategy & execution. With Hubspot defining Linkedin (45%) as the most effective B2B source for lead generation followed by Facebook at 33%.
With Today’s Linkedin announcement that they are now enabling company status updates, they are taking another step forward in further allowing organizations to connect directly with potential targets.
Here is an example of the new Company Status updates
With the ability to outline services, drive recommendations and now adding a voice to the brand, it will be interesting to see how organizations capitalize on yet another avenue to interact with potential clients.
Cintas & RackSpace are maximizing the Linkedin platform to further drive engagement with their brand by outlining their products & services and driving recommendations for their offerings.
Here is the RackSpace example
Because B2B social is generally more targeted than B2C social, the ability to drive targeted interaction in one location while also providing a comprehensive footprint throughout the channel is key. Brands can engage via groups, Q & A in Linkedin answers and use the inherent tools in the platform to drive targeted interaction.
Philips Linkedin Group Example
Organizations can also purchase PPC Ads as well as targeted rich media to further drive their acquisition strategy.
With so much attention given to Facebook, B2B organizations should maximize their Linkedin experience. Whether it is to further amplify thought leadership, drive acquisition of leads, or promote feedback/reviews & recommendations, Linkedin’s latest changes can further enable an organization to meet and exceed it’s goals & objectives.
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