Are you ready? Chatbots are being embraced at an unprecedented rate because they are easy to build, scalable — since they can be powered across a range of platforms — and are both useful and promotional, said Christian Brucculeri, CEO and director at Snaps. The future of branded bots, he said, will be brands “owning” areas and “offering smart utilities. “A grocer or a food brand, for instance, could develop a recipe generator bot, so all one has to do is type the name of an ingredient, and get a bunch of recipe recommendations.”

Source: Brands as Chatty Friends: Are Chatbots ‘The Beginning of a New Internet’? | Digiday

Digital disruption can be a frightening game, especially when some of the players are as yet out of view. By subjecting the sources of disruption to systematic analysis solidly based on the fundamentals of supply and demand, executives can better understand the threats they confront in the digital space—and search more proactively for their own opportunities.

Source: The Economic Essentials of Digital Strategy | McKinsey & Company

Six trends shaping the evolution of health and wellness in 2016 and beyond

Source: The Future of Betterment | trendwatching.com

When you think about the amount of content available to us now, how the number of channels through which we reach it proliferates while the forms of content we use to connect are becoming more diverse… how can marketers know where to aim their fire? Importantly, what to stop doing and where to dial up efforts?

Source: Why Brands Must Focus on Emotional Connection | Digital Pulse

Vans was founded in 1966 by brothers Paul and Jim Van Doren and their business partners Gordon Lee and Serge Delia. The brand’s first store was located in Anaheim, California and by the late 1970s, it had opened 70 shops in the state and gained a loyal following of West Coast surfers and skaters. Today, Vans has 415 shops around the world and two skate park-cum-entertainment venues in London and Brooklyn.

Source: Vans at 50 – Creative Review