On March 18, Intent HQ took the stage at the CMO New York Summit alongside marketing leaders from across the telecom, media, and finance industries. In a keynote that resonated far beyond the room, Kipp Gearhart, VP of Business Development, issued a wake-up call for brands navigating the post-cookie, privacy-first world.
His message? We’re entering a new iPhone moment, this time, driven by AI. And those who act now will define the future of customer engagement.
Just like the iPhone redefined mobile technology in 2007, AI is now redefining how businesses understand and engage with customers. But instead of competing over devices, today’s battle is about who controls the data.
Tech giants like Apple and Google are locking down access to behavioral signals, under the banner of privacy, while maintaining privileged visibility within their own ecosystems. This shift is fundamentally altering the way brands can interact with their own customers.
Will your brand own this moment, or be owned by it?
At the heart of this shift lies a fundamental contradiction: consumers want hyper-personalized experiences, but they also demand strict privacy. This is what Kipp calls the personalization paradox, a tension marketers must resolve to maintain trust while delivering relevance.
Traditional cloud-based AI systems often require sensitive customer data to leave the device. But regulations are tightening, cookies are disappearing, and Big Tech is creating “walled gardens.” The result? Brands are flying blind.
Kipp introduced Edge AI as the breakthrough technology capable of resolving this paradox.
Unlike cloud AI, which sends data away for processing, Edge AI brings intelligence directly to the device, smartphones, in particular. It allows brands to:
To thrive in this new landscape, the keynote outlined five strategic imperatives:
Understanding how your customers interact with your brand is essential for the success of any business. This helps firms identify what they’re doing well when it comes to converting and retaining customers, in addition to any pain points that require attention. Regardless of the sector you operate in, customer journey analytics plays a key role […]
Your customer data is the most valuable asset you have. Use it well and you stand to greatly improve revenue, customer loyalty and margins.
The theme for this year’s conference is evolving around Technology Leadership, Tech Innovation, Career Growth, and how we can make an impact and shape the future together.
Diversity and inclusion are values we really believe in at Intent HQ, so we were thrilled to be recognised for our efforts with a ‘Best Tech Employer’ award shortlisting from Women in Tech.