Welcome to the 21st Century Consumer
The AI Brand & Retail Experience: Design - Media - Immersion
Tuesday, April 22nd - Wednesday, April 23rd - A Virtual Conference

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025
The Evening Keynote Roundtables
The Defining Event: The Future of Retail, Brand, Technology, Media & Technology
A Virtual Conference - Registration Opens, March 15, 2025

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025
Keynote Roundtable One:
8 pm – 8:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
Session I:
21st Century Consumer: The Technology & Brand Gateway Experience
Our global community is no wallflower. The “21st Century Consumer” is engaged each day on multiple devices and enthusiastic about it. Ninety percent believe that “Better Deals” are available online so it not surprising the seventy percent of Americans purchase online. And those numbers will grow dramatically as the technology and experience becomes more effective and enjoyable. This conference is about engagement, loyalty, experience and now we add the idea of “Intelligence.” This “Ecosystem” was not created overnight, and it was not by design. No one believed at the introduction of “Internet E-Commerce” in 1996 that “Immersive Technologies,” smartphones and now “Artificial Intelligence” would enter our cultural mainstream. With this opening Keynote Roundtable and in this conference, we will champion the achievement of “Design,” “Brand Experience,” and “Advanced Intelligence” in serving “The 21st Century Consumer.”

“The AI Brand & Retail Experience Committees”

Exploring Content & Building Community

Zoom Meetings Leading Up to the April Event

I: The Intelligent Gateway Initiative: AI Brainpower for Chatbots - Imagining a New Site Experience: Gateway to Enhanced Consumer Engagement

II: Immersive Experiences: The Philosophy & Development of Site/Experiential Design - Immersive Creativity + Inspiration = Next Level Consumer Engagement

III. Brand & Retail Analytics: Next Level AI & Social Strategies - Where DeepMind, Data Science and Personal Preference are Discovered

Keynote Roundtable Two:
8 pm – 8:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
AI and the Automobile Industry: A Visionary Future - Designing & Branding in a Global Marketplace
Technology and innovation in today’s car, from” Design to Dashboard,” from “Performance to Utility” is more profound than in any other consumer device. Compare a 1965 Chevy to a Tesla, it’s a Model T to a Thunderbird. And the AI is only starting to kick in. From the actual design process to performance, including vehicle media and now let’s add deeper Artificial Intelligence to the branding, communication, web and purchasing experience, we are entering a “Jet Propulsion Application Age of AI.” In this session we will meet the Design experts from multiple disciplines who have collaborated in the process, the car companies, the design & marketing experts and the AI visionaries who make it all possible.

Keynote Roundtable One:
9 pm – 9:45 pm Eastern Time Zone
AI & Future Retail Engagement - Text/Audio/Video: “It Had Me at Hello!”
The “Era of Limited Utility Chatbots” may finally be coming to an end. It’s not only the dissatisfied customer headache, but rather, it’s the “Arrival of Conversational AI,” whether in the form of “Text, Audio or Video” that is coming to the “Rescue” of the global population. And it’s just in time. AIs, trained to the specific needs, demands and idiosyncrasies to serve specific brands or industries, or “Off-the-Shelf” models are now coming off the conveyer line. This is the “Opening Bell,” of AI serving at the “Gateway” to “Brand Identification” or “Brand Experience” on all platforms and on all devices. And in the coming generation, the AI may well be as compelling as the best trained “Retail Experience Representative.” There may be a few “hallucinations” and even a handful of legal hurdles to overcome in the process, but many consumers will likely describe their experience with “It had me at Hello.”

Keynote Roundtable Two:
9 pm – 9:45 pm Eastern Time Zone
Magnificent Beauty & Fashion Experience: - AI - Social - Sites - Media - In-Store
“Fashion and Beauty Design” is the very definition of “Cutting Edge” personal expression and cultural identity. From Cleopatra to Coco Chanel and Christina Dior, from Twiggy to Calvin Klein and Kim Kardashian, the art of beauty and fashion have consistently pushed boundaries, challenged norms, and reflected the zeitgeist of its time. And today, we welcome a cascade of technology, with “Artificial Intelligence” leading the way in design, media, marketing and the re-imagining of our cultural identities and basic understanding of personal image and conception of self. Is this taking the power of technology too seriously? Is it an exaggeration? Perhaps and perhaps not.

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
Day Two: The Conference Closing Keynotes:
8:00 PM – 8:50 PM
The 21st Century MegaBrand: A Balance of Power & Gateway to Consumer Discovery
As technologies, platforms and devices both become more complex while at the same time embedded in the consumer lifestyle, dominant global brands, have clearly embraced this engagement challenge as a top-of-mind consumer decision. It’s about quality and loyalty. It’s about service and trust. But interestingly, technologies like AI are a two-way street. While it may provide the Brand with an unlimited understanding of “The Consumer Profile,” it also provides the consumer with an equally powerful alternative to every “Global MegaBrand.” If a “Brand AI” is perceived as “Not Trustworthy,” in our vast universe of “Technology Abundance” the consumer can readily walk away with his/her consumption dollars, search needs and entertainment choices and simply move on to a alternate community. We are entering a magnificent and equally fascinating world of “MegaBrands” and “MegaChoices.”

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
Noon – 12:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
Session I:
Architects of the Branding, Media & Entertainment Experience: AI, CGI – XR
The spectacular visual world of moving images, fascinating experiences and iconic visuals are the domain of the “Master Creators” in “Hollywood and Ad Agencies and in the studios of the most inventive artists worldwide. In our era, in our world of technological innovation, resources are providing palettes ranging from “Sphere-Sized Domes,” “Mega-Structures” in Cities to a plethora of electronic platforms, including the most intricate “Viral Email and Text Campaigns.” In this session, we will see the work from among our most dynamic and inventive creative visionaries, the minds behind the most eye-catching brand and commercial campaigns and inventive projects.

Session II:
AI: The Intelligent Social Agent: Text/Audio/Video – A Formidable Innovation
Sometimes AI does not mean Artificial Intelligence. In this session, we use it to introduce the idea of “Advanced Intelligence.” Because in the context of the relationship between the “Consumer and Brand,” on websites, Apps or other contexts, the entire future of that, let us use the word “Partnership,” we are introducing or engaging the consumer with “The Brand” in a new way. An “AI Social Agent” will be attempting to answer the needs and desires of the “Consumer,” to aid in the process of exploring ideas, introducing that human being through an unique and pleasing experience of discovery. The “Brand” is providing a “Personal Representative” with the power of engagement, the power to engender trust, warmth and emotional resonance. This is the future of AI in the “Electronic Experience.” This session will be a fascinating peak into ideas that the “Technology and Brand Worlds” are only beginning to explore.

1:00 – 1:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
Session I:
Consumer, Brand & Monetization – Virtuous Cycle: Loyalty, Quality & Trust
The concept is simple. Retailers have employed it literally for centuries, from book shops in Bloomsbury in London in the 19th Century, to Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights in San Francisco to Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare and Company in 1920s Paris. It was always about serving the customer, the community and imagining a world of trust, quality and loyalty. And in a world of vast “Digital Complexity,” among all the giants of technology, in our own small way, we are simply attempting to become “The 21st Century Digital Twin” as Jensen Huang might say, of Sylvia Beach or Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s worlds of community and trust, enhancing human connection.

Session II:
Virtual Human Video: The Online Retail & Consumer Facing Experience: The Impact of Advanced Intelligence and Technology
The “Virtual Humans” have arrived, and they are not here to take jobs! These “Humans” are “Being Trained” to provide a “Gateway or Interface,” establishing a new and unique connection between “The Consumer” and “The Online Brand.” And this integration of advanced intelligence and technology into retail and consumer-facing experiences is revolutionizing the way we shop, interact with brands and their online support, and make purchasing decisions. As virtual humans and AI-powered systems become more sophisticated, they're transforming customer service, product recommendations, and even in-store navigation. This panel will explore the current “State of the Art” in virtual human technology and its impact on the retail and complex online interaction, as well as examine future trends and challenges in this rapidly evolving field.

2:00 – 2:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
Session I:
The Explosive Advertising Experience: AI + 3D + XR + Spatial
It’s like an erector set combined with a kaleidoscope of color that manifests as electronic layers, like a child’s wonderland emerging from within the imagination of the greatest artists in the world. These are the unique achievements of our technology industries enabling new and magnificent platforms with AI, 3D, XR and Spatial capabilities, each of which expand in capability month over month, year over year. Witness the stunning "Artistic Achievements" of the Advertising Industries, as they transform cityscapes, devices and platforms into vibrant, immersive experiences. This is a true celebration of the artistic spirit.

Session II:
Virtual Humans & AI: Advanced Design + Intelligence = Unique Levels of Complexity
The “Virtual Human” as a conversational figure in video form, is already more than capable of holding its own, as a “Video Co-Pilot,” a “Teaching Aide,” “Translator;” you identify the task, and the “Virtual Human” will respond. While it may be too expensive for “Mass Enterprise Adoption,” it’s entry into the marketplace is close-at-hand. In this session we will explore the more profound issues of “Computer Intelligence” and “The Machine’s” ability to mimic human emotion and personality, verbal and vocal expression and respond in conversational interaction. Once a “Virtual Human” becomes “Conversant” as a mature human might, the role of this technology will quickly find a way into our daily life, from “Virtual Human Educator and Colleague” at work to companion in research and creative endeavors. The possibilities are quite frankly, limitless.

3:00 – 3:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
Session I:
The Monetization Matrix: Where Brand, Consumer, and Technology Intersect – Dynamics of Immersion
In the 1990s, “E-Commerce” was a completely new idea, derided at first as a bastardization of this new thing called the “Internet.” But then Jeff Bezos created Amazon and there was no looking back. The “Mobile Device,” arrived and that exponentially introduced the world to “Digital Commerce.” And in recent years, we're witnessed another seismic shift with the emergence of crypto, DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and the Metaverse. And now that AI is taking the industry by storm, entirely new concepts are arriving that we might call, “The Monetization Matrix,” where brand, consumer, and technology Intersect in the “Dynamics of Immersion.” It may be a mouthful, but it might be a part of our future.

Session II:
Digital Design, Branding, Fashion & Retail: The Innovation Experience
Design and fashion have forever defined the cutting edge of cultural innovation and now with the explosion of AI as “Creative Force,” as well as a gateway to new platforms, the “World of Retail” has finally merged with “The Innovation Experience.” Every major brand and retailer are adapting to the reality of “Consumer Engagement + Immersive Technologies & Products = The Retail Transformation.” From the multi-faceted ad campaigns to the online retail, including the In-Store and product experience, it’s a holistic strategy of design, technology, and engagement. In this session, we welcome the industry leaders.

4:00 – 4:50 pm Eastern Time Zone
Session I:
Elevating the Mission: An Exploration - How Brands Can Create Value Beyond Transactions
Sometime in the past ten or fifteen years, the relationship between consumer and brand changed. Perhaps it started with Coke in the 1970s with “I'd Like to Teach the World,” or the equally great “Coke and Big Joe Green” in 1979. And of course, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones forever codified that essential “Universal Emotion” in 1985 with “We Are the World.” That is all now a part of our important legacy, but it clearly points to our current mission of reimagining the powerful relationship and duty of our giant MegaBrands together with our MegaTechnologies in developing and forging a new world of trust, and empowerment. The “Tools” may be in the hands of our scientific wizards in their determined march to “Artificial General Intelligence,” but it will be all their partners, in the world of Brands, Agencies, Studios, Networks and from consumers themselves which will have an ultimate voice in the process.

Session II:
Virtual Human Exploration: Nuance & Emotion • Vocal Expression • Facial Movements – Sentiment - Hyper-Realistic Synthesis of Prose
Can we as humans create emotional bonds with virtual or synthetic beings? That is a good question that we cannot answer, at least we have not experienced it quite yet. We have experienced it through movies such as “Her” and “Blade Runner.” And today we can experience conversational AI with Chat Bots, which are becoming more advanced in their ability to explore complex philosophical and emotional questions, which can be exceedingly helpful in academic, work related and even through creative composition. AI developers are not far away from not only imagining but creating the virtual human, in video form and soon, as a “Humanoid Robot.” It is about nuance and emotion, vocal expression and sentiment and synthesis of prose. Don’t be surprised when a door opens, and in it will be a brother from another planet.

The Conference Closing Keynotes:
8:00 PM – 8:50 PM
The 21st Century MegaBrand: A Balance of Power & Gateway to Consumer Discovery
As technologies, platforms and devices both become more complex while at the same time embedded in the consumer lifestyle, dominant global brands, have clearly embraced this engagement challenge as a top-of-mind consumer decision. It’s about quality and loyalty. It’s about service and trust. But interestingly, technologies like AI are a two-way street. While it may provide the Brand with an unlimited understanding of “The Consumer Profile,” it also provides the consumer with an equally powerful alternative to every “Global MegaBrand.” If a “Brand AI” is perceived as “Not Trustworthy,” in our vast universe of “Technology Abundance” the consumer can readily walk away with his/her consumption dollars, search needs and entertainment choices and simply move on to a alternate community. We are entering a magnificent and equally fascinating world of “MegaBrands” and “MegaChoices.”