Futurist Tom Edwards to Keynote at Future Forward

Futurist Tom Edwards will deliver a keynote address at the Path to Purchase Institute’s Future Forward conference, which takes place May 13-15 in Philadelphia. 

Edwards speaks regularly on the convergence of emerging technology, marketing, consumer behavior and artificial intelligence on stages and through his platform, Innovation to Reality. The platform is part of thought leadership blog BlackFin360, which Edwards founded. 

At P2PI’s Future Forward event, Edwards will take a journey through pop culture topics like "Star Wars," Fortnite, Pixar movies and "The Matrix" and discuss how each topic represents a shift in culture and technology.

His presentation, “The AI Effect: Revolutionizing Business, Behavior and Beyond,” will cover multiple areas, from content, data, mobile, AR/VR, artificial intelligence, the evolution of social media and the future of voice, vision and touch, as well as the time when we will not only be advertising to people but also to AI and robotic systems.

More specifically, attendees will explore:

• How culture is technology and technology is culture.
• Technologies’ impact on consumer behavior and expectations.
• Intelligent systems such as AI and virtual assistants.
• How immersive computing such as augmented, virtual and mixed reality will enhance reality.
• The new four P’s of marketing.
• How and when we will evolve from a mobile-centric world to the new normal of voice, vision and touch experiences powered by AI.

Edwards has delivered keynotes at various other forums, including TEDx, Ad Age Data and Mobile World Congress. He is a two-time winner of the OnCon Top 10 Global Marketer award, Professional of the Year in marketing and emerging technology by Strathmore Worldwide two years in a row, and more recently, was named Marketing Technology Trailblazer by Ad Age.

Why Else Attend Future Forward?

Understanding the consumer through the lens of data is paramount to connecting with today’s shoppers and creating truly successful, omnichannel campaigns. With data at the core of understanding shopper behavior, the event explore the ways innovative CPG brands and retailers are using insights, analytics, retail media, AI and more to unlock new levels of engagement and conversion across the path to purchase.