Tech leaders share creative insights at the 2023 P&G Signal Summit. Here are Four Action Steps to boost your business.
The business conferences I attend always land with a compelling slogan that pulls you into the auditorium. The 2023 P&G Signal Summit delivers a catchy title worthy of the 16th most valuable company in the world. Reset the Bar. It’s not a specific direction or strategy for changing business operations or personal processes. Reset the Bar is a creative signpost and a funnel channeling the insights presented by P&G employees and trusted partners to inspire the business managers and creative professionals onsite in Cincinnati and the virtual audience.
Jon R. Moeller, President and CEO of P&G, sums up the summit’s fundamental value in an interview at the start of the day-long event.
“The things you’re going to hear are not answers or directions,” Moeller says, speaking on the auditorium stage. “They are thoughts and examples that have worked for other people…view them as input into your thinking.”
I’m a content creator at Steve Ramos Media, delivering high-impact assets like experiences, long-form books, and podcasts to business leaders and entrepreneurs. I’ve even created experience content for P&G as a vendor. I’m listening to Accenture CEO Julie Sweet share with Signal’s audience the importance Accenture places on hires who embrace continuous learning. It’s inspirational to hear because it’s the critical reason I’ve become a repeat P&G Signal attendee.
Listening and learning from P&G Signal presenters helps me answer client questions and solve customer problems with brevity and clarity.
Event programmers outline P&G Signal into four programming pillars: Digital Acumen, Supply Chain, Employee Value Equation, and Sustainability.
Faithful to Moeller’s call to action, I’m embracing P&G Signal as a holistic ideas festival delivering actionable inspiration applicable to how we create, live, and work. Learning from top innovators and thought leaders in marketing, media, and tech is a unique opportunity to launch new projects and test fresh concepts in the year’s second half.
What can you learn from the thought leaders at the 2023 P&G Signal Summit?
Action Step One: Embrace Total Reinvention
Do you know the difference between a business transformer and a reinventor? Accenture CEO Julie Sweet delivers an explanation at the 2023 P&G Signal summit. A reinventor commits to continuous tech reinvention across the enterprise. They aspire for total enterprise transformation instead of specific functions. They focus on the core competencies of reinvention. Let’s all aim to be Reinventors!
Action Step Two: Three: Deliver Products & Services with the Power of Identity
Arthur Sadoun, the Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, the world’s third-largest advertising and PR enterprise, believes in the importance of creativity and the ability of big ideas to change companies. However, ideas require data, personalization, and tech to attain desired results. Sadoun’s commitment to data-driven creative services led to the acquisition of Epsilon, an outcome-based marketing platform, and Sapient, a digital transformation consultancy. The investments remain critical as data pulled from advertising cookies shift to consumer identity.
“Identity is the only way to gather insights about the people who buy things,” says Sadoun. “It’s the only way to link media investment with business outcome. AI without first-party data is nothing.”
Action Step Three: Be Creatively Brave and say ‘Yes,’ to Bold Ideas
Morgan Flatley, Global Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald’s, admits that the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain became comfortable with mediocrity and stopped taking risks. How did McDonald’s regain momentum? Flatley points to the successful 2022 launch of the adult Happy Meal, a collaboration with streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market featuring redesigned toys of classic McDonald’s mascots.
“It’s so easy to say no when you feel uncomfortable with an idea,” Flatley tells the P&G Signal audience. “How do you say yes? You become grounded in consumer insights and what’s authentic to your brand. Be brave but not reckless, and people will pay attention to your brand and business.” Now, let’s see what follows the Adult Happy Meal.
Action Step Four: Believe that Technology Can Improve Humanity
Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, Ph.D., is a data scientist, the former AI lead at Accenture, and a current AI consultant to businesses and government as the Founder of Parity Consulting. Chowdhury understands the flashy tech and hype bubbles driving AI growth and the importance of focusing on practical consumer values sourced from AI.
“You can build things like facial recognition at checkout, but that may not be what the customer wants. You need to ask AI engineers the same smart questions you would ask any vendor. How does this help customers? What are we building here.”
Chowdhury streams her presentation into P&G Signal and shares a wait-and-see stance regarding new tech. Why deal with all the hiccups of a 1.0 version when you can be patient and buy a reliable 2.0 version?
There’s another essential concept driving Chowdhury’s consulting on AI. She believes in its power to improve humanity.
“I am very gung-ho about using technology for positive outcomes. “I would not be in this industry if I did not believe in the possibilities.”
I’m in one-hundred-percent agreement with Chowdhury. Are you?
The Next Steps Involve Execution
Imagine what will happen when you execute just one of the P&G Signal insights at your work. The opportunities for growing creatively and scaling your business are of moonshot potential. Look for upcoming tips, tools, and use cases from me as I implement all the ideas learned at P&G Signal into my content creation strategy and work. We must discuss and share our innovation learnings. One does not measure a successful ideas summit solely by attendance, production value, or trade floor participants. It’s also about its sustainable impact and growing communities of inspired innovators. I’m ready to test these bold ideas. Will you join me?