For this reason, there is no summary of the SHIFT Conference here, but rather a few selected statements, keywords, claims and food for thought that really caught my attention. Why is it so important that we deal with topics of this kind? Because business success is based on knowledge and competence. Just like change, which is what our work is about at the end of the day. Things cannot stay the way they are.
Here is an excerpt from the SHIFT Conference. I am looking forward to your feedback:
TECHNOLOGY SUPERCYCLE BY DR. MARC SCHUMACHER // CEO AVANTGARDE GROUP
Aha: Prerequisite for the TS? That all contact points (us) have access to technological devices. And that is exactly the case now: people from 7 to 70 years old – in other words all currently living generations – have access to smartphones and tablets, for example, and can use them (more or less). Incidentally, this is Generation T (Transition).
Please note: 80 to 90 percent of the content on social media will be generated by AI in the not too distant future. This will lead to a massive loss of trust in digital topics. This means: an opportunity for spatial manifestation – stationary retail will experience a renaissance (good news for retailers, city centers, and society).
I still have to process: “biocomputers with human cell brains”
MASTERCLASS – BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY WITH JANEK FELDMANN // CEO WRSTBHVR
Aha: “The collections of many very big brands do not have a clear signature.” That is so, so true. Thank you for that, Janek. All the more impressive (and refreshing!) when you discover labels with a super clear signature. When everything just makes so much sense. When the brand has a DNA that continues in all facets. Therefore (tip): less is more. That means: shrink collections. Reduce complexity. Focus on the brand core.
Bad: Higher, faster, further is (still!) the credo of the fashion industry. They can’t get enough. The result? We’re seeing it right now. That’s bad. And this will be even worse. #climatcrisis
PEOPLE.CODE.CULTURE. WITH MAX BERGER // CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER HIGHSNOBIETY
I am an early warning system for fading trends. I live in Munich. When the trend arrives here, I know it’s over.
My rhetorical question: do we really need trends? Or is this just another driver of consumption? My urgent question: Really?! My appeal: Please emancipate yourselves. Do you really have to follow every trend? Otherwise everyone wants to live independently and make their own decisions. And then something like this? All I can say is (I can hardly say it) – ahhhhh – Crogs.
Bingo: “In the end, everything is brand merchandise.”
Listen! The brand essence must be authentic. And remain so. If you want to survive in the competition, you have to strengthen your brand.
“Ahead of the curve”: It’s no longer about recognizing trends. It’s about shaping them and building communities. Growth hack: If you want growth, you have to recognize trends. Problem: A CMO has to understand where trends arise. CMOs are not close enough to the zeitgeist. Remedy: Cultural Hubs
Check: cultural pioneer of the audience
Tip: listen more to gut feeling.
Surprising: “we can predict the future”.
One last question: how much mainstream can subculture handle?
KEYNOTE: AI LEADERSHIP MASTERCLASS BY NICOLE-BÜTTNER-THIEL, FOUNDER & CEO MERANTIX
Remember: Liminality // Liminal Spaces. This is the state between no longer and not yet.
To do: AI is based on us connecting data/processes with each other. In other words: We have to form ecosystems.
Human in the loop. People will continue to play a role in AI because they are needed to bring in the creative spirit and to guarantee quality with common sense and expertise.
Problem: We don’t have a good AI strategy in Germany. Germany is in the so-called middle technology gap.
IMMERSIVE TALK: THE FUTURE OF MARKETING & BRAND BUILDING, BY MOKHTAR BENBOUAZZA, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER S.OLIVER GROUP
Problem: Customers have aged with them. But many companies have not managed to build up a new customer base.
The fact is: We have not invested in marketing in Germany.
The good news: If the brand core is right, the spirit of the times can be implemented.
The bad news: If you are looking for your purpose, you don’t have one.
More bad news: Fast and ultra-fast fashion companies have money and profiles. That’s why “we are being eaten up from the bottom up towards the middle”.
Always keep in mind. Making a brand is not a sprint. Making a brand is a marathon, or at least a half-marathon.
My thanks go to Simone and Nick Hartmann (Hartmann Consultants), who managed to bring almost 90 international managers together for their SHIFT Conference over two days in their incredibly great event location above the rooftops of Munich to exchange ideas and learn. And my thanks also go to the Günther Rid Foundation, which has made it its mission to support Bavarian retail, and of course to all other SHIFT partners who help to make such formats possible.
And why [he:ndl] disruption? Because it was the Oktoberfest edition 🙂
PS: The wonderful catering was by BY KÄTHE · LUZIA.
Photos: Mirjam Smend and Anton Grebener
