Each month, “Lochhead on Different” episodes will explore the need to differentiate people, products, and services in a world that encourages a lot of imitation. A best-selling author, top podcaster, and former tech-industry CMO, Christopher Lochhead is a student of not only business and technology and marketing but also human nature, human folly, human genius, and very human joy.
Episode 6
In this episode, Chris and I start by discussing recent acquisitions for two the world’s biggest brands. First, Nike acquired a company called “Celect.” Celect is a predictive analytics platform that Nike purchased for its omnichannel expertise (and so that Adidas wouldn’t have access to it, of course). And JP Morgan Chase bought a company called “Persado.” Persado is an AI firm that specializes in marketing and copywriting, whose AI-written ads performed better than those of human copywriters. This sparks some interesting thoughts from Chris, a creator himself.
Keeping to tech developments, our conversation then turns a bit more philosophical. Chris shares a story about hosting visitors from London for a beach cookout. The teenage visitors were constantly on their phones, seemingly uninterested in the sunset, the s’mores, and the fire. And then again, at a Rolling Stones concert at Levi Stadium, Chris looked around during an epic song to see… everyone texting.
Conclusion: many people under 40 consider their digital lives to be more important than their physical ones. What does that mean for the world? What does that mean for the future?
By the way: a big congratulations to Chris! His Follow Your Different show is the #53 podcast in the U.S.A., and outpaced Oprah for a time.
You can also stream the audio-only version of this episode:
Highlights
In the heat of the Internet boom, John Doerr said, 'I think the Internet is under-hyped.' And you know what? He was right. #CloudWars Click To Tweet You can be a master craftsman, Hall of Fame, made-by-hand master at something—and yet when you embrace the technology, you can have this magical multiplier. #CloudWars Click To Tweet If you're under the age of 40, chances are, A) you're completely integrated into the machines and B) your digital life is more important to you than your physical life. #CloudWars Click To Tweet
CLOUD WARS LIVE DIGITAL ALL-STARS
Christopher Lochhead is one of our regular Digital All-Stars. The All-Stars are experts who will appear in regular video podcasts focused on the critical themes shaping (and re-shaping!) the business world in the digital age of 2019. Our intention is to provide regular chunks of timely ideas, insights and conversations on high-priority subjects from industry veterans with diverse backgrounds.
