BlackFin360 – Innovation To Reality
Tom Edwards is a professional futurist and keynote marketing technology speaker covering data, digital, artificial intelligence, marketing technology and emerging media trends
Over the past few years, one of the most consistent brands across trade shows (CES, MWC, SXSW) has been Sony. I have been impressed with their strategy to evolve experience interfaces beyond mobile through voice, vision and touch. At SXSW 2018, Sony’s experience is a showcase of multi-modal interfaces. From interactive projectors, AR & VR …
Tom Edwards, futurist and Advertising Age marketing technology trailblazer outlines the evolution of experience at TEDx Oaklawn. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
I recently provided commentary to Advertising Age discussing the potential impact of Facebook shutting down it’s VR studio. Here is my full commentary: Facebook shut down its VR studio. What kind of message do you think this sends to marketers, brands? I take it as a good sign that Facebook is divesting in original content …
Continue reading “In The News: Advertising Age Virtual Reality”
I recently had the privilege to deliver the Evolution of Experience keynote at MarTech West 2018. For this event, I tailored the Evolution of Experience, E^3 talk tied to Empower, Exponential and Enhance to focus on Gen Z & Computer Vision, The evolution of the camera from capture to communication and much more. Empower is looking at how accessibility to mobile technology …
Over the past 18 years, the first three months of the year always seem to stand out in terms of analyzing the alignment of emerging technology and consumer behavior that impacts trend analysis for the remainder of the year. 2018 was no different. I often joke that the “playoffs” for emerging technology happens between January …
I was recently interviewed by MarTechSeries in advance of my speaking engagement for MarTech West on April 24th in San Jose, California. The full interview covers topics such as my role with Epsilon, advice for B2B marketers dealing with evolving technology, start-ups I am working with, how to prepare for the impact of AI, apps …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon analyzes the worldwide launch of YouTube messaging as well as previews the path to immersive co-viewing. Today, YouTube launched in-app conversational video sharing functionality that essentially enables conversational threads or messaging within the native YouTube app experience. In this video, Tom …
It’s my favorite time of year. No, I am not talking about Santa & reindeer, I am talking about predictions! Here is a full analysis of potential trends to consider heading into 2018 via a non-linear or choose your own adventure video format just click the image below. This video starts with a brief intro, then you …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon discussed Gen Z, Computer vision and the evolution of experience at Ad:Tech NY 2017. This video is the presentation content prepared for Ad:Tech New York 2017, featuring proprietary research tied to Gen Z and the evolution of experience. Over the coming months, …
Continue reading “Gen Z & Computer Vision Ad:Tech Spotlight”
I recently had the opportunity to be a guest on the Tonya Hall show. Tonya is a contributor to CBS Interactive properties such as ZDNet and Tech Republic. Our discussion touches upon a number of currently trending topics such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, emotive robotics and more. Here is the full interview. Follow Tom …
Recently, both Entrepreneur.com and C-Suite Network featured my engaging conversation with Jeffrey Hayzlett. In the interview, we explored the delicate act of balancing present-day marketing strategies while keeping an eye on the future, as well as the potential impact of emerging technologies. Click the image below for the full interview. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency and Ian Beacraft, VP, Digital Strategy at Epsilon Agency recap key trends from CES 2018. Key areas discussed: Shift from Smart Everything How IOT is evolving from platforms to experiences through emotive robotics How artificial intelligence, specifically computer vision made an impact on …
I had the privilege to speak and host Epsilon Symposium 2017. With hundreds of clients in attendance, I was tasked with discussing the role of artificial intelligence across Epsilon and Conversant as well as tease examples of emerging technology that my team and I are working on. Here are the key highlights I discussed during …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon highlights the first pillar of the E^3 framework, Empower in Video 2 of 4 in the Innovation to Reality™ content series. This series will highlight the evolution of Experience through the E^3 framework of Empower, Enhance, and Environment. The E^3 framework …
Over the past six months, my team and I have evaluated the top emerging technology trends that will fundamentally reshape how marketers will connect with consumers. Here is a brief preview: The full analysis includes 68 trends categorized by our trend framework of Empower, Enhance, Feel & Ambient Computing. This will replace our original framework …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon analyzes elements of Microsoft’s 2017 E3 press conference. Included in the analysis is the reveal of the Xbox One X and why it’s relevant for marketers, briefly discusses some of the game reveals, discusses the role of gaming and connecting with …
As a speaker, Tom is dynamic, focused on future-proofing business while delivering results today. He has a deep understanding of marketing, technology, and consumer behavior that translates to all audiences. Tom can tailor a keynote by industry and deliver a highly visual and thought-provoking journey. Tom regularly speaks on the convergence of culture and technology …
Coming to you live from San Jose and Facebook’s F8 conference. Here is a recap of day 1. From the camera as the first AR platform to AI & Social VR. Follow Tom Edwards @Blackfin360
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon presents the introduction (Video 1 of 4) of the Innovation to Reality™ content series. This series will highlight the evolution of Experience through the E^3 framework of Empower, Enhance, and Environment. This framework and subsequent examples build a vision towards the …
Continue reading “E^3 Evolution of Experience – Introduction”
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon presents the E^3 framework, Empower, Enhance, and Environment tied to the Innovation to Reality™ content series at MWCA17. This video is the full presentation from Mobile World Congress Americas 2017. This content series highlights the evolution of experience through the E^3 …
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Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon analyzes trends and highlights from Apple’s worldwide developer conference. Trends include the evolution of Siri, the launch of Homepod, ARkit and additional improvements to iOS11 and the impact it all may have for brand marketers to consider. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360 …
I have closely monitored the state of virtual reality for the past few years. From product announcements, beta tests and insider access to hardware and experiences. VR can be a powerful, emotion evoking medium and one that has captured the interest of mainstream media. I wanted to test the experience beyond short stylized sessions and …
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 …
2017 has seen a rapid acceleration of technology trends. Of the 50+ trends observed from CES, MWC, SXSW, F8, Google I/O and more, here are the top 5 midyear trends that I am closely monitoring heading into 2018. 1) MOBILE FIRST TO AI FIRST For the past few years, Facebook, Google and other industry heavy weights …
I look forward to Facebook’s F8 developer conference each year. It’s a great opportunity to see how Facebook is prioritizing and adjusting their 10 year road map based on shifting consumer behavior and new advancements in technology. What was fascinating about this years conference is the rate they are accelerating the convergence of technologies that …
When I think of Apple, 3 things come to mind: Industrial design of it’s hardware, interoperability across products, and of course millions of apps. After WWDC 2017, I need to add artificial intelligence (AI) enabled experiences, device level privacy and a new focus on augmented reality. Here is the Full Recap: AI was a the …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon discusses how the 4 P’s of marketing; Product, Price, Place & Promotion will need to evolve as intelligent systems redefine how we advertise and connect with consumers. Understanding Psychographics, Predictive APIs, working through Proxy’s and Pervasive intelligent environments represent a new …
Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence & The 4P’s of Marketing”
This week I had the opportunity to attend the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, California. It was an incredibly compelling event as Google shifted their focus as a company from mobile first to AI first. This means that all products will be redefined and enhanced through various forms of AI. This includes the Google …
Here is a video recap of the top trends for SXSW Interactive 2017. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
Here is a video recap shot live from the floor of Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona. The video outlines emerging technology and trends tied to Connection, Cognition and Immersion and touches on key territories such as: Evolution of Conversational Experiences Artificial intelligence and Advancements in Smart Assistants New Types of Interfaces Beyond Mobile The …
Here is a video recap shot live from the floor of SXSW Interactive 2017 on day 1 on the opening of the tradeshow floor. The video outlines emerging technology and trends tied to Connection, Cognition and Immersion and touches on key territories such as: Conversational Experiences Emotional Intelligence Artificial intelligence vs. Intelligence Augmentation Mixed Reality …
I was recently asked by the Drum to write an op-ed about my hope vs reality heading into SXSW Interactive 2017. As a digitally progressive marketer, focusing both on current solutions, while keeping a close watch on the future, I am at a crossroads when it comes to identifying the value I receive from SXSW. …
Here is a video recap of key trends and takeaways from the floor at Mobile World Congress 2017. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
Tom is a highly dynamic and engaging speaker who possesses a deep understanding of marketing, technology, and consumer behavior. He has a unique ability to tailor his presentations to different industries and audiences, and delivers highly visual and thought-provoking journeys that leave a lasting impact. Over the years, Tom has delivered hundreds of marketing and …
This past week, over 30,000 digitally centric professionals, including myself and Ian Beacraft, descended on Austin, Texas for SXSW Interactive 2017. Our focus was to meet with key strategic partners, gauge emerging trends, monitor product launches and most importantly create content and POVs. Content included a comprehensive text based trend recap download, live streaming from the …
I was recently asked by Campaign Live about my thoughts, reactions and takeaways from SXSW Interactive 2017. My commentary focused on the shift towards programming vs. experiences at this years event. Additional Context to the Article Commentary: 2017 may be the year that programming both from an official and 3rd party standpoint was the focal …
Coming to you live from San Francisco and Google’s I/O conference. Here is a recap of some of the key highlights. From their shift from mobile first to AI first, the launch of Google Lens, computer vision as the next form of computing, and the digitally augmented future. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
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. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
From Star Wars, Fortnite, Pixar Movies & The Matrix, Tom Edwards illustrates how pop-culture shows a path for how technology evolves through the filters of Empower, Exponential & Enhanced. Empower (Timestamp – 5:05) is about the expectation of control and this journey explores Star Wars, Fortnite, Gen Z, the lens as life, how the future …
2017 is off to a fast start with CES 2017 as the first major tech expo of the year. Epsilon’s agency is uniquely positioned to drive growth through data driven creative and the intersection of emerging technology & consumer behavior. From a strategy & innovation lens it starts at CES. Prior to the start of …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon highlights the second pillar of the E^3 framework, Enhance in Video 3 of 4 in the Innovation to Reality™ content series. This video is all about how intelligent systems will enhance our world. From all facets of Artificial Intelligence (machine learning, deep learning, natural language …
Today Advertising Age announced their 2017 list of top 25 Marketing Technology Trailblazers and I am honored to be included. Photo by Bradley Taylor, Caprock Studio A big thank you to the Epsilon corporate communications team, DGC and Advertising Age judges. I am truly humbled by the inclusion with such a great list of industry …
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I had an opportunity to sit down with AdExchanger during Facebook’s F8 developer conference. We discussed how Facebook’s new focus on Augmented Reality through camera effects can impact the future of marketing. From the creation of effect based advertising and the intersection of artificial intelligence and the role of data. Read the full article here. …
Recently, I was on-site at one of the worlds largest manufacturers discussing the convergence of experiences and delivering 2 sets of my Innovation to Reality talk. This session sparked a number of questions from privacy, data and how advertising will look in the 2020s and that is the basis of the commentary below. My personal …
Continue reading “Algorithms, Affinity & Advertising in the 2020s”
I was recently asked by Marketing Dive about how digital marketing will evolve in 2017. One of the key territories I discussed for this piece was the role artificial intelligence, machine learning and cognitive experiences will play in the near future. “From leveraging machine learning to accelerate sentiment analysis and domain-specific insights to cognitive computing …
Continue reading “In The News: Marketing Dive & 2017 Trends”
I was recently asked by Digiday about my thoughts about Virtual Reality. The pending shift towards immersive experiences is one that is exciting and presents new opportunities to connect with consumers. During my 30 minute call with the Digiday team we discussed many Virtual Reality (VR) related topics. We discussed how experiences are shifting from …
I recently had the pleasure to speak at Success North Dallas discussing the topic of DISRUPTION is The New Normal. This hour long discussion looked at the past, present and future of emerging technology and how to apply the trends of today to the business models of the future. The past looked at key milestones …
This week I had the pleasure of joining the C-Suite TV team at their San Francisco event and was interviewed by Jeffrey Hayzlett. It was a fun discussion as he asked me about the shift from social media to social messaging, strategies to make the shift, voice based experiences, disruption, galactic cannibalism, trends and the …
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Technology is now essential to our daily lives. Accessibility and empowerment has transformed how we connect and communicate. This has led to new forms of user interaction that will usher in the business models of the future. 2017 will be comprised of new types of conversational experiences to connect with consumers. It will see the …
Over the past year I have focused research efforts on the shift towards conversational experiences and what consumers expect. The research has been covered by Adweek and it’s fascinating how open consumers are to engaging and adopting these experiences as long as they are easy to use and are convenient. One flavor of conversational experiences …
There are many different ways to leverage content right now — from in-home virtual assistants to video, the opportunities abound. One thing hasn’t changed, though — the content still needs to be authentic, relevant, and entertaining. Follow Tom @BlackFin360
I recently attended Facebook’s F8 developer conference in San Francisco and the event did not disappoint. Mark and the Facebook team outlined their approach to a ten year roadmap, launched the highly anticipated Messenger chat bot beta and showcased their first concepts of a social virtual reality experience. The presentation below covers: • The 10 year …
I recently had the privilege to serve on the iMedia Agency Summit advisory board as well as speak during one of the master track sessions. I moderated the panel master track discussion focused on “the new world of content marketing“. The discussion focused on what constitutes content. This included perspective from a content purist stating that …
I was recently asked by Venture Beat to provide insight into 5 marketing trends that I saw surfacing while on the ground at SXSW Interactive this year. This is a repost of the article: SXSW Interactive 2016 kicked off this week with thousands of marketers descending upon Austin, Texas for food, fun, and a glimpse …
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Each year I make the annual trek to SXSW Interactive. With so much content to consume, events to attend and experiential installations to see even conference veterans can get overwhelmed prioritizing where to start. One of the highlights from SXSW past is meeting a sleeping Grumpy Cat. With this in mind my team and I …
Interviewed by Terry Brock about CES 2016
I recently attended the 2016 Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain. With over 100,000 attendees and 2,200 participating companies there was a lot of breaking news and tech on display that has the potential to reshape industries. With mobile representing a primary access point for consumers this event is becoming increasingly important for brand …
Recently my article 9 Tech Trends Marketers Can’t Ignore in 2016 was the lead cover story for iMedia. From virtual reality and social messaging to dark data and sequential storytelling. 9 Tech trends explores key territories that will have an impact on consumer marketing in 2016 and beyond. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
I had the pleasure of speaking during today’s Brand Activation Summit in NYC. I joined an esteemed panel that was comprised of a CEO, CMO and I (CDO) to discuss thriving in the age of digital disruption. My topics ranged from the role of the Chief Digital Officer to vertical specific discussions tied to the …
Recently provided commentary to the Associated Press about how connectivity, immersive experiences and external, larger issues rather than past years, which were more about new launches. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
