Brands want to talk to you…or at least their bots do. As mobile messaging platforms become the new face of social, marketers are looking to the high tech of AI and machine learning to seem more human to customers. But what happens when brands want to be your robotic valet, your mechanical friend? How does conversational marketing change the “relationship” between consumer and brand, if at all? Is the marketing bot trend really serving customers better through more personalized and personable interactions? Or is it just another transparent ploy by marketers to be the branded best bud that consumers really don’t need?

Virtual and Augmented Reality let consumers live in your brand. Virtual test drives, augmented roller coaster rides, 360-degree travel previews, mixed reality, enhanced sports viewing – all cool as hell, no doubt. But are such isolating, gadget-dependent immersions practical, scalable new vehicles for marketers. How do these immersive, augmented experiences do more than blow a handful of minds here and there and actually become part of a marketing plan? Is this really a new kind of storytelling or a fast-fading bright-shiny object… 3D TV revisited?

In late 2016 cycle, fake election news posts on Facebook proved more engaging than those from recognized, trusted sources. Social media anonymity fed a bilious swamp of hate, anger and offensiveness that traditional media never allowed. This cycle taught us that partisans now feel entitled not only to their own points of view but to their own facts. As digital distribution appears to be disrupting traditions of civic discourse, what is the fix? Is this Facebook’s and Twitter’s problem or major media’s? Do we throw algorithms, tech or editors at this? And if so, who determines “quality” and trustworthiness when readers seem to distrust all media?

After a decade of being beaten down by online alternatives, brick and mortar retail is poised to bring the Internet into stores to serve and even entertain customers in new ways. Shelves will  know who is perusing them. Signage will update in real time and tag could sport personalized pricing. Carts will read your shopping lists to optimize your aisle crawl. Smart mirrors will let shoppers virtually try on clothing. Sensors everywhere and machine learning will keep your local stores stocked with just what you now. Can the Internet of Things save retail…and even make shopping more fun?

We’re all broadcasters, now! After years of pushing on demand time-shifting, digital media mavens are pushing live video across all social platforms as the must-do channel. The allure is great. Through this emerging parallel TV channel, brands can reach their younger, mobile, connected audiences with visual storytelling at the drop of a device alert. But going live and real-time has not always been a safe or even scalable environment for marketers. So who has done it well already, and what can we learn from them about the new shape of a brand’s video strategy?