Brands Should Prepare for Next Tech Trends: OMD CEO George Manas Chats With Omnicom Media’s Ben Hovaness
OMD Worldwide
29 September 2022

Originally published on Beet.TV.

CANNES – Separating passing fads from enduring innovations can vex marketers as they decide what kinds of technologies to adopt in their advertising. Lately, there is consistent discussion about Web3 as the next stage in interactive media after the commercialization of the internet and the growth of social media.

Web3 is seen as a more decentralized version of the internet that offers greater anonymity to consumers with computer-generated environments and encrypted identities. Marketers should be prepared as these technologies become more pervasive, George Manas, chief executive of OMD Worldwide said in this discussion with Ben Hovaness, senior vice president of marketplace intelligence at Omnicom Media

“It strikes me that these emerging technologies and capabilities eventually will become the website or the Facebook Page from back in the day,” Manas said in the conversation recorded at the Beet Villa during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. “I don’t think it’s just fluff and I don’t think it’s just speculation.”

Videogames have provided a key point of entry for many consumers into immersive, virtual reality environments such as metaverses. The high cost of the technology compared with its relative dearth of compelling content has inhibited mass adoption among consumers.

“We’ve seen the explosion in gaming, as an example, and we know gaming is kind of home base for where a lot of these metaverse-y experiences are extending from,” Manas said. “Is it going to solve your business problem today? Absolutely not. Do you need to be thinking about making smart bets for the future? I would say, ‘yes.’”

Watch the full interview here.

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