Like a deer in headlights, I entered the Internet Week New York Headquarters on my fifth full day of work at PepsiCo bright eyed and unsure of where I was going. I’ve barely been able to even find my desk at the office in Purchase, but as I navigated through the Metropolitan Pavilion, passing interactive displays and cool gadgets on the way, I was comforted by the sight of the PepsiCo booth. Once I settled in after enjoying some free refreshments available to all event attendees courtesy of PepsiCo, I checked out the different exhibits that were both fun and interactive. I always thought I was pretty tech-savvy as I Facebook, tweet, Stumble, and check in on a regular basis. I was wrong. The displays showcased future products (too cool to even explain in words) and current ideas that will shortly be translated to real life apps and new social media. To be quite honest, I had never seen anything like it.
However, I was sent to IWNY with the hope of learning valuable information that I could apply to my intern project with the SoBe team this summer. The project weighs heavily on mobile technology to drive consumer behavior and luckily, Tuesday’s event provided a great opportunity to get an early start. Specifically, the chat with PepsiCo Director of Global Digital Media Bonin Bough, Stickybits CEO and Founder Billy Chasen and Gary Vaynerchuk, really helped to jumpstart my thinking about the vast possibilities that the mobile space can create. Gary spoke candidly earlier in the afternoon about his ideas behind the future of media as he sees it, which was both exciting and refreshing to hear. Later, when he joined Bonin and Billy to discuss the PepsiCo partnership with Stickybits, the entire room was fixed on the stage.
The goal of the partnership is to help tell the promise of PepsiCo. While the value of a scanned barcode is currently unknown, the idea is essentially rooted in the fact that consumers would be able to scan a UPC and see all content attached to the product. Personally, as a millennial who is old enough to remember the advances made in technology over the last 10 years and young enough to envision where it may go over the next 10, I found the idea to be fascinating. The instant download of information via Stickybits technology makes an advanced concept seem simple. Hopefully, I will be able to take what I learned at IWNY as a solid foundation as I dig deeper into my project in the coming weeks.
I was nervous when I first walked in to IWNY, but quickly felt at home at the PepsiCo booth. I feel fortunate to have been able to attend such an outstanding event and if the glimpse into the future of mobile technology and media that I experienced is any indication of what may really occur, the world is certainly in luck.
