WHAM kicked off the forum with keynotes that addressed two of the biggest issues facing today’s telco brands.

First, Artificial Intelligence. Should we as creative people be afraid of it – or should we embrace it? Alex McReynolds, Executive Creative Director of WHAM, takes the optimistic view, based on the observation that technological inflexion points through the ages have led to huge bursts in creativity – in science and within the arts – overshadowing initial fears and doubts.

Examples like the Phoenician alphabet, the birth of the “machine” and inventions like Edison’s light bulb and the internet caused the greatest acceleration of change and technological advancement the world has ever seen. McReynolds pointed out that, quite naturally, many of these inventions generated doubt and negativity at first. And, even though AI will undoubtedly open a Pandora’s box and reveal some of the worst in humanity, by being actors and participators rather than bystanders, we can use these tools to enhance our own creativity.

Following this, WHAM’s Director of Brand Strategy, Simon Jameson, posed the question: ‘How do we satisfy the customer of the future, when we can’t predict what the future will look like’? Having led us on a whistlestop tour of the unpredictable events of the last 20 years, Jameson took us right back to brand basics for the years ahead. Using examples such as John Lewis in the UK, and their ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ guarantee, he went on to say that if brands stand solidly for and deliver on beliefs and guarantees, customers will not only buy into our brands, they will trust us and stay with us. Guarantees are the key, if we can be brave enough to stand by them.