Brand New World
Fast Company
The first season of Brand New World was a very specific look at how AI is changing how brands and marketers work. Now the pod is here to talk about brand culture more broadly. Of course that will involve AI from time to time, but I’ll also be digging into sports, entertainment, music, comedy, and everywhere else brands squeeze their way into pop culture.
People love to say they hate advertising, but everyone loves at least one brand. Brand New World is here to talk about why. That means I’ll be popping up in your feed once every month as part of the Fast Company Podcast Network.
People love to say they hate advertising, but everyone loves at least one brand. Brand New World is here to talk about why. That means I’ll be popping up in your feed once every month as part of the Fast Company Podcast Network.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 26, 2025 • 44min
Selling the Future
David Droga is a legendary advertising creative and executive. He’s also CEO of Accenture Song, one of the largest advertising and marketing services firms on the planet. For those two reasons, we kick off Brand New World with Droga at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Why there and then? It’s the world’s biggest convergence of media, marketing, entertainment, technology, and brands, and a mirror of what's happening and a bellwether of what's to come, on a global scale. There’s no better time and place to start a conversation about how brands, and the marketing and advertising industries are approaching AI at this nascent moment.In this episode, I talked to Droga about what Accenture’s $3 billion commitment to AI means for his work, how it compares to the first digital revolution two decades ago, where it may be headed in the not-so-distant future, and the impact it will have on the art of persuasion and pop culture.
Feb 10, 2025 • 2min
Welcome to a Brand New World
AI is everywhere, and no more is the hype as big and ambiguous than across an industry known for both chasing and utilizing new technology: advertising and marketing. In a recent chapter of the book ‘Our AI Journey,’ released in March, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that artificial general intelligence will be a reality in the next five years or so and, as a result, ‘will replace 95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today.’But we’re not there . . . yet. How brands and ad agencies use AI is already influencing what they know about us, how they will use it, and subsequently, how this technological shift will revolutionize consumer and pop culture.If brands are the connective tissue between business and culture, how will AI impact the ways in which they build meaningful—and profitable—connections with audiences? What are the lessons that are and can be used from the first digital revolution? How are the leading players in the industry not only using this technology today, but thinking about how it can, will, and should be used tomorrow? Join 'Fast Company' senior staff editor Jeff Beer as he embarks on a journey to find out.The result will be not only a snapshot of this moment in time, but an evergreen look at the AI philosophies, strategies, and work that will determine the future of brands.
