MAM
Guest article: What to know about the modern marketing playbook in the era of web 3.0 and AI
Mumbai: For quite a while now, two terms have been making very speedy rounds in marketing circles-web3.0 and artificial intelligence. This new wave of the internet is set to disrupt the way marketing is done globally, commanding quick and agile systems. The reason: this is where the consumers of the future are. As marketing tactics change along with the advent of the digital revolution, new standards will be established at the same time, drastically altering modern marketing.
What is web 3.0, and what are the new trends it brings to the table
The third generation of the internet, or web 3.0, integrates data in a decentralised manner to provide a quicker and more individualised user experience. Constructed with the help of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the semantic web, it uses the blockchain security system to improve privacy and provide an immersive experience with a marketing opportunity. So, businesses stand to benefit from an online presence here, and marketers will get a stronger opportunity to connect with their target customers.
Web 3.0’s degree of functionality has been attained in the previous two web generations. Its technical ancestor, known as web 1.0, was born in 1989 and reached its prime in the 1990s and early 2000s. Then came web 2.0, which reached its maturity in the middle of the 2000s and introduced the novelty of collaborating and communicating online.
A rich and interactive marketing experience
A marketing challenge today is delivering a hyper-personalised experience at a time when users are expected to have more control over their data. And it indicates that reaching out to both present and future consumers will soon become more difficult. Users now create information on the internet as well as consume it, which is helpful for marketing. Here is where web 3.0 components such as AI help make sense of the massive creator data.
Web 3.0 marketing uses the rapidly changing internet to improve results. For instance, marketers can examine customer chats using natural language processing technologies. AI has also been utilised to further personalisation, particularly in the areas of online content rendering and presentation, the delivery of e-commerce goods, and automated customer assistance. A greater symbiotic link between humans and machines will lead to more web 3.0 features having a significant impact on marketing. Besides this, the other brilliant arms of web 3.0 are NFTs and the metaverse, which is an all-consuming version of the internet that uses tools like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to work, play, and amuse others in a 3D environment.
How to market effectively on Web 3.0
Any kind of creative work can be represented by NFTs, giving advertisers the opportunity to reach consumers with a range of interests. They can be implemented into customer loyalty programmes where participants are given the chance to acquire exclusive products. This is being done to perfection by brands like Taco Bell, Macy’s, and Budweiser.
Immersive surroundings, virtual user identities, and a working virtual economy are all distinctive aspects of the Metaverse. Its objective is to mirror physical environments and lives in digital form, thus enhancing human potential. The metaverse offers marketers the chance to connect with consumers in a brand-new setting where they are fully engaged. Businesses will have the ability to increase their reputation by highlighting the assured security of blockchain transactions.
Web 3.0/AR & VR are being touted as game-changers in modern marketing. Given its immersive and ‘phygital’ nature, interoperability, and collaboration capabilities, however, an ongoing commitment to the platform is key. Many web 3.0 principles are still up for dispute.
Web 3.0 is still being defined as a whole since there isn’t a single, agreed definition of what it exactly is. In other words, we are creating the aircraft while we fly. Despite this, there is no denying that web 3.0 is changing the way that the modern corporation interacts with its clients. In addition to the numerous potential advantages for early adopters, marketers should be actively involved in the process of establishing this next phase of the internet because they have a duty to future generations. Numerous companies have begun experimenting in this realm, including brands like Airtel, MakeMyTrip, Amazon and Swiggy.
In one classic example Alpenliebe brand house which comprises candies, pop & Eclair collaborated with Nickelodeon’s annual awards property – Kid’s Choice Awards which screened in the metaverse. Hosted at Decentraland which is one of the biggest metaverse platforms globally, the brand organized a quirky entry for its participants where they were asked to form their own ‘’Avatars’’ upon registrations. A slime pool, a blimp pool, slime fountains & fun slides also appealed to the kids. The metaverse event was mobile friendly which delivered an immersive user experience and created good brand value.
Again, for companies like Starbucks, technology need not alienate us. To quote Tata Starbucks director of marketing, category, loyalty and digital Deepa Krishnan, who is also a jury member at MMA India Smarties 2022, the future will be all about marrying technology with purpose, experiences, and value by getting to know consumers, their interests, and preferences and making their lives simpler through deep analytics, harnessing multi-point data and insights.
Five years ago, marketers were beginning to shift more spends online through advertising and digitisation, notes Krishnan, adding that the pandemic hastened that significantly. “The future will be about bringing the offline experience online. It is going to be about humanising the digital. People realise and appreciate the power of human connections and are increasingly craving community-driven engagements. How a brand connects with its consumers is still very much significant and will always remain paramount,” she adds.
Revolutionising the marketing and advertising industry
The future customer won’t be susceptible to today’s issues, such as obtrusive marketing and inadequate data protection, thanks to a solid foundation. But for businesses looking for success in the new era of the internet, AI and the metaverse-based research technology will not only introduce them to the developing web 3.0 marketing but will also give them access to the consumer and market intelligence necessary to grow a company.
The author of this article is MMA India country head Moneka Khurana.
Brands
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to step down after 18 years in role
Board begins CEO search as Narayen prepares to move to chair role
SAN JOSE: After nearly two decades at the helm, Adobe’s long-serving chief executive Shantanu Narayen is preparing to pass the baton.
The company announced that Narayen will transition from his role as chief executive officer once a successor is appointed, ending an 18-year run that reshaped Adobe from a boxed software seller into a global cloud and AI powerhouse. He will remain chair of the board following the leadership transition.
Adobe’s board has formed a special committee to oversee the succession process, led by lead independent director Frank Calderoni. The committee will evaluate both internal and external candidates.
“Shantanu’s leadership has been instrumental in Adobe’s transformation and in positioning the company for the AI-driven era,” Calderoni said in a statement. “As we begin the next phase of succession planning, our focus is on identifying the right leader for the company’s next chapter while ensuring a smooth transition.”
In a note to employees, Narayen described the moment not as a farewell but as a pause for reflection after a long journey with the company.
“I love Adobe and the privilege of leading it has been the greatest honour of my career,” he wrote, adding that he will continue to work closely with the board over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership change.
Tributes from the technology industry quickly followed the announcement. Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella congratulated Narayen on what he described as a “legendary run” at Adobe.
“Congrats Shantanu, on a legendary run at Adobe! You’ve built one of the most important software companies in the world, and expanded what’s possible for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands everywhere,” Nadella wrote on LinkedIn.
“What has always stood out to me is the empathy you’ve brought to the creative process and the example you’ve set as a leader. Grateful for your friendship, mentorship, and for all you’ve done for Adobe and for our industry.”
Narayen’s career at Adobe spans nearly three decades. He joined the company in 1998 as vice president and rose steadily through the ranks before becoming chief executive officer in December 2007.
During that time, he orchestrated one of the most significant reinventions in the software industry. In 2013, Adobe made the bold decision to abandon traditional boxed software sales and move its flagship creative tools such as Photoshop to a subscription-based Creative Cloud model. The shift initially rattled investors but ultimately transformed Adobe into a predictable recurring revenue business and a case study in digital reinvention.
Narayen also pushed Adobe beyond creative tools into the world of marketing technology and data-driven customer experience, spearheading acquisitions such as Omniture and Marketo. Those moves helped build Adobe’s digital experience division and broaden its reach far beyond designers and photographers.
The numbers tell the story of that transformation. When Narayen took over in 2007, Adobe generated roughly $3 billion in annual revenue. Today the company reports more than $25 billion. Over the same period, its workforce expanded from around 3,000 employees to more than 30,000.
In recent years, Narayen has steered Adobe into the generative AI era with the launch of Adobe Firefly, aiming to keep the company ahead in a rapidly evolving creative technology landscape.
Born in Hyderabad in 1963, Narayen studied electronics and communication engineering at Osmania University before moving to the United States for a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University. He later earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s most steady and effective leaders, Narayen has earned multiple honours during his career, including India’s Padma Shri in 2019.
For Adobe, the upcoming leadership change marks the end of a defining chapter. For Narayen, however, the story is far from finished. As he told employees, the company’s next era of creativity, powered by AI and new digital workflows, is only just beginning.
