Lots of excitement during the first full day of Adobe Summit 2016! Was it just me, or did your brain feel like it couldn’t hold any more information at the end of the day?
Among 10,000+ Summit attendees, I was blown away by the announcements and demos during the General Session. Here are the highlights, in case you missed the livestream or didn’t follow along on Twitter:
“This is the Experience Era.”
This eloquently sums up the opening remarks made by Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe. According to Narayen, experiences will be the competitive differentiator for businesses. Experiences start with great content and are powered by data.
Photo by Beth Martin, @betz826
Brad Rencher, Executive Vice President of Adobe, echoed this in his talk: “We’re in the third wave of digital transformation for the enterprise, and it’s about the consumer experience.”
He talked about the four success factors for creating great experiences:
- Know and respect me
- Speak in one voice
- Make technology transparent
- Delight me at every turn
Rencher also said, “The experience wave is about goosebumps, smiles, and bringing people closer together. It’s the marketer’s job to close the gap between people and the things they want. Then get out of the way.”
McDonald’s Embraces the Experience-Led Business
Photo by Alexander Hopstein, @Digit_Alex
Did you ever wonder why McDonald’s started offering breakfast all day? During Rencher’s engaging discussion with Deborah Wahl, CMO of McDonald’s, we learned that the customer was at the heart of this decision.
And when it came to embracing digital in their business model, such as the McDonald’s app or ordering food using a kiosk, Wahl had this to say:
“In digital, there are a lot of shiny toys. We had to focus on timing and balance to get the experience right. We identified the biggest customer need first and provided offers before embracing the ‘shiny objects.’”
McDonald’s mobile app launch mid-year in 2015, and since then, the business has already seen 10 million downloads.
“We’re on a quick journey to be in line with our customer,” Wahl stated.
Order Dunkin Donuts from Your Tesla
Photo by Jay Baer, @jaybaer
In the final segment of the General Session, David Nuescheler, VP of Enterprise Technology at Adobe, demonstrated the possibilities of connecting mobile technology in the physical world.
From using your smartphone – with your purchase preferences – to click and confirm your order at a with a Dunkin Donuts kiosk…
To placing your drive-thru order using your in-car connection – even a Tesla!
I’m looking forward to what’s in store for Day 2, and I would love to know what stood out to you among all the information shared during Day 1.
