cannes_2024_TUESDAY_ISSUE

mandarinaduck.com BAY VILLAGE 26 experiences that cater to the needs of a new generation of business travellers,” said Ansari. “By embracing innovation and leveraging data insights, travel companies can thrive in this evolving landscape.” Moving from a generic brand identity to a personalised brand relationship Personalisation is transforming brand-consumer relationships, shifting from category-based marketing to individualised experiences. “As consumers increasingly seek tailored interactions, brands must evolve beyond traditional category positioning to establish unique, one-on-one connections with their audience,” Ansari shared. “This shift towards personalisation creates opportunities for brands to foster long-term engagement and loyalty. By leveraging technology and data, companies can deliver customised experiences that resonate with each consumer’s preferences and behaviours. The goal is to move from a generic brand identity to a personalised brand relationship – for example, from ‘Gucci’ to ‘My Gucci’.” Ansari’s advice for companies seeking to embrace a mindset of exploration and bold innovation is to discard outdated methodologies and approaches and reconsider the structure of their innovation teams. “Embrace creativity found in nature and everyday human experiences by taking your design labs to the streets,” she said. “In other words, democratise your innovation process.” Driving innovation to solve humanity’s grand challenges An astronaut, author, and hi–tech serial entrepreneur, Ansari is currently CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation, a world leader in designing and operating large incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges. Along with her family, she sponsored the organisation’s first competition, the Ansari XPRIZE, a $10 million competition that ignited a new era for commercial spaceflight. Since then, she has served on XPRIZE’s Board of Directors. XPRIZE is dedicated to expanding human imagination and exploring new possibilities. It aims to inspire individuals through innovative challenges that foster creativity and exploration. “The future of travel experiences is envisioned as a blend of sensory, interactive, and personalised encounters, designed to broaden our horizons and reveal diverse pathways to the future,” Ansari commented. As a speaker at TFWA World Conference, she shared particular excitement about the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the travel retail industry by engaging with its leaders and understanding their current challenges, such as changing consumer behaviours and sustainability concerns. “This interaction will allowme to explore their aspirations and identify areas where XPRIZE’s expertise in innovation can help address industry-specific issues.” It was a truly engaging closing session to yesterday’s Conference, with Ansari introducing XPRIZE’s methodology of ‘moonshot’ thinking, which encourages participants to envision bold, transformative solutions rather than just incremental improvements, inspiring brands and retailers to set ambitious goals that could revolutionise the travel retail experience. Anousheh Ansari, NASA astronaut, the first female private space explorer and CEO of XPrize Foundation: “As consumers increasingly seek tailored interactions, brands must evolve beyond traditional category positioning to establish unique, one-on- one connections with their audience. This shift towards personalisation creates opportunities for brands to foster long- term engagement and loyalty.”