At Forrester we spend a lot of time analyzing the impact of digital disruption on business, technology and marketing. We even wrote a book on the subject. But don't just take our word for it. At Forrester's Forum For Marketing Leaders EMEA, Micke Paqvalén, Founder, Chairman and Entrepreneur at Kiosked – a platform that turns any online content, images, videos and applications into interactive and viral storefronts – will present his view on what it takes to think, and act, like a (digital) disruptor. The below Q&A gives a summary of my conversation with Micke as a preview to his session on day two of our Forum, which takes place in London on May 21 – 22.

 

Q: You've founded and sold several successful start-ups. How do you tell the difference between real innovation opportunities and over-hyped ideas?

A: When I hear about new business ideas I always ask one question: How does it benefit everyone involved or which existing problem does it solve? That’s it. It’s a simple test, but if it fails the business will fail. If a business idea is not beneficial it is an over-hyped idea, which sadly happens too often as well. Hype is an important factor of business but I would rather create long-lasting impact.

Q: In your view, what is the future of content?

A: In my opinion the future of content is smart content. Nowadays, we have smart cars, smart TVs and smart phones; why should we settle for anything less than ‘smart’ when it comes to the time we spend online? Therefore, Kiosked launches ‘Smart Content.’ Smart Content is visual online content that provides a service for consumers: It offers them a personal experience to the content they consume. This additional dimension can be text, information, videos, links, shopping opportunities, or any other online content. Smart Content enables brands to measure directly how their customers interact with anything (from images and videos to applications) they provide online and it ensures a unified customer experience across all channels.

Q: And what lies ahead for commerce?

A: Sales has been growing across all channels in recent years. Omni-channel retailing is the future for commerce. It means that all retail channels create the same seamless user experience. Retailers need to reach customers wherever there are impulses; this can be anywhere between the Web, mobile, tablets, and brick-and-mortar stores in any media. Omni-channel retailing leads however at the same time to higher requirements for brands. They need to ensure to offer a seamless, optimized, and personalized and, most importantly, brand-specific customer experience, no matter through which channel the customer arrives. Moreover, Social Media is getting more and more fragmented by the hour and this means even a wider array of channels that brands, retailers, and marketers need to take into account. At this point, Smart Content comes in: Smart Content enables what omni-channel retailing requires! A unified commerce experience across all channels.

Q: In your session, you will explain how to think like a disruptor. Can you already give one or two examples here?

A: My major advice is that in order to think like disruptors, one should not aim at disrupting a business but rather find solutions to existing problems! For example, advertising. I, like many others, feel untouched by advertisements I see on TV and even more so by the way advertising is handled via banners in the Internet. When print media moved online, the general understanding was that what worked offline in print- would work the same way online. What used to be an ad in a newspaper became a banner in the web version. However, this does not work. My goal was to find a better way to advertise, a way that suits new media, a way that benefits everyone involved! This led to building Kiosked, which turns advertisement into a nonintrusive service for consumers! Kiosked answers the consumer’s question. When consumers see an image, video, or application and are interested in the products they see in the media, they have to look for an answer elsewhere online; instead, Kiosked provides the needed information for them.
 

There are only a couple of days left to register for Forrester's Forum For Marketing Leaders EMEA in London (May 21-22) and hear from speakers such as Micke Paqvalén and many others.