Maurice Levy, the chair and former CEO of Publicis Groupe, warns the Internet of Things could make brands “irrelevant” in future if they do not master new technology and find more intelligent and creative ways to market to consumers.

As digital giants such as Amazon and Google continue to roll out increasingly clever tech into the home, Levy says there is a risk consumers will “barricade” themselves behind the Internet of Things and that could cut advertisers out of the purchase journey altogether.

“If we go to the extreme – and we’re not there yet – the marketing and communication of tomorrow is computer to computer, where brands will not be marketing to the consumer but to the fridge or the computer,” Levy says.

“[It] will be interesting…because if you have a replenishment of your fridge which is automatic and Amazon or Walmart is sending you the repeat of what you have, it’s impossible for a new brand or product to enter into your fridge.”

The big challenge here, he says, is people will start telling their fridge to order the cheapest product without thinking about the brand.

“So you need to have some clever approach which will be based on artificial intelligence and you have to change the way you are thinking about marketing,” he explains.

“I believe there will be a lot of ways to continue to communicate with people and interact with them but clearly there will be some challenges.”

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.marketingweek.com