Connect 17-The Future of Customer Intelligence.

Jun 4

I recently had the opportunity to speak at Full Contact's first ever conference called Connect 17 in Denver, Colorado May 11/12.

The conference explored the future, foundations and the practical implications of creating exceptional customer experiences.

My presentation focused on the rapidly evolving technology space, where it's been and where it's likely to go in the future through the lens of people and marketing/advertising. I'll be writing and talking more about this topic coming up this year on Leo Burnett's LeoScope content initiative and at Graph Expo #Print17 in Chicago September 10-14.

I really enjoyed Pamela Herrmann of CREATE Buzz moderating Brad Feld of The Foundry Group and John Weiss of Human Design session about putting people first, moving from B2B to H2H (human to human) design and making minimum desirable products over minimum viable products. Also enjoyed Luke Wykoff's talk on pricing, rankings & speed.

To be honest, all of the topics and speakers were inspiring. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Pam & Luke prior to our talks and was quite impressed by their passion for the space we were all talking, thinking and working in.

Looking forward to next year!

Tod Szewczyk

Born in New Jersey, bounced around the east coast as a kid: South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland and then upstate New York. Moved to Chicago for high school. Stayed in Chicago for college. Co-Produced one of the original sound art festivals in Chicago, In the Eye of the Ear with Steve Barsotti. Scored a few plays in between. In 1998, married photographer Amanda Sudimack and moved to Denver to work at RR Donnelley. Helped companies in Denver, Paris and London go public. In 2002, moved back to Chicago where son Emmet was born. Moved over to Leo Burnett as a print buyer in the same year. In 2008, traded city dweller status to (close-in) suburbanite and daughter Zoe was born. In 2013, moved up the ladder at Burnett to VP. Now spend most of my time finding new ways to connect interesting companies with the agency under the brands Leovative (blog and events Leovative, FutuRetail/FutureShop). Believer in the idea that the fastest route to innovation lies in making novel connections, from the book Where Good Ideas Come From. Have had the great fortune of working with amazingly talented people that have expanded my thinking of what is possible. Looking forward to what's next.

Connect 17-The Future of Customer Intelligence.

Future of People, Technology and Advertising @ Print 17.

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