AME's Grand Jury members have a reputation for innovation, creative excellence, and strategic mastery, they deliver distinctive and effective results for global brands. As award-winners, they view all entries with experience and understanding of what attributes set the bar for effective excellence.

2023 Grand Jury member Shingo Suzuki joined McCann Erickson of McCann Worldgroup Japan as of February 2023 as a Strategic Planning Director. Previously he was an Associate Strategy Director at R/GA Tokyo, Japan where he'd work on clients that included NIKE. Previously he was at Publicis Groupe Japan. He brings  years of strategic expertise to the AME Grand Jury panel.

Earlier in his career Shingo served at Dentsu in Tokyo, Japan as an account planner at the Sports division dealing with broadcasting rights for various sports with the rights holders including (but not limited to) FIG (Federation Internationale De Gymnastique), ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation), JFA (Japan Football Association), R&A (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews), IMG (International Management Group) and many more.

Keep reading to find out more about Shingo's perspective on future trends and innovations, his insights on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws, and his thoughts on how the metaverse is evolving.

AME Awards: What future forward trends and innovations are brands embracing for 2023?

Shingo Suzuki: I believe that there are 3 aspects:

                A: Sustainability: Brands may increasingly focus on sustainability initiatives such as reducing waste, using eco-friendly materials, and minimizing their carbon footprint. This trend is already gaining momentum, and it is likely to continue in the future.

                B: Personalization: Brands are likely to continue to focus on personalized marketing campaigns and products. Personalization has become a key factor in customer engagement and loyalty.

                C: Artificial Intelligence: The use of AI technology in marketing, customer service, and product development is likely to grow. AI can help brands analyze customer data and develop targeted marketing campaigns, as well as improve customer service and automate processes.
 

AME Awards: With General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws and third-party cookie crackdowns, how will strategic marketers address this data loss?   

Shingo Suzuki: I believe that there are 3 aspects:

                A: 1st party data: Rather than relying on third-party data, strategic marketers should focus on collecting and analyzing first-party data. First-party data is the data that a company collects directly from its customers, such as their browsing behavior on the company's website, purchase history, and customer service interactions. By collecting and analyzing first-party data, companies can gain a better understanding of their customers' preferences and needs, and use this information to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.

                B: Implementation of consent-based data collection: With GDPR and other privacy-focused regulations, companies must obtain explicit consent from consumers before collecting their data. Strategic marketers can implement consent-based data collection methods, such as using pop-ups or checkboxes, to ensure that consumers are aware of what data is being collected and why.

           C: Leveraging alternative data sources: Strategic marketers can also leverage alternative data sources, such as social media, location data, and mobile app data, to gain insights into consumer behavior. However, it is important to ensure that these data sources are compliant with GDPR and other privacy-focused regulations.

AME Awards: How is the metaverse evolving? Which brands are integrating themselves successfully into the metaverse, what have those brands offered the consumer?

Shingo Suzuki: I believe that there are 3 aspects: With the growth of virtual reality (VR) technology, the metaverse is becoming more immersive and interactive. Users can now experience virtual environments with a greater sense of realism, which is helping to drive the growth of the metaverse.

A: Expansion of VR: With the growth of virtual reality (VR) technology, the metaverse is becoming more immersive and interactive. Users can now experience virtual environments with a greater sense of realism, which is helping to drive the growth of the metaverse.

            B: Integration of blockchain technology: The use of blockchain technology is becoming more prevalent in the metaverse, allowing for decentralized ownership and control of virtual assets and currencies.

         C: Greater Social Interaction: The metaverse is evolving to become a more social space, with users able to interact with each other in real-time through avatars and chat.

Some brands have already integrated themselves successfully into the metaverse, including:

Roblox: This is a gaming platform that allows users to create their own games, avatars, and virtual worlds. It has become a popular destination for young people and has recently gone public.   

Fortnite: This is a popular battle royale game that has evolved into a social space where users can attend virtual concerts and events, purchase virtual goods, and interact with each other.

NIKE: The sportswear brand has created virtual shoes and apparel that users can buy and wear in the metaverse.

 AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Shingo Suzuki: There are number of awards/competitions that end up - more or less- simply recognizing or celebrating creativity for creativity sake, which I personally do not necessarily believe that they are completely off the point. That being said, on the other hand competitions that focus on effectiveness such as AME Awards are absolutely essential to our industry as they highlight the true values and solutions that are proven to work that agencies provide to the clients.