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5 minutes with... in association withAdobe Firefly
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5 Minutes with… Karen Boswell

14/12/2022
Advertiser/Brand
San Jose, United States
225
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VMLY&R EMEA chief experience officer Karen Boswell on the intersection of technology, creativity and culture to create connected brands

Adobe XD is a proud supporter of LBB. Over the upcoming months, as part of the sponsorship of the ‘5 Minutes with…’ channel, we will be spending time with some of the most innovative and creative minds in the industry.


LBB> You have held a long and impressive career within tech and innovation. But how did you find yourself on this path? Was something you always knew you wanted to do or was it more of a happy accident?


Karen> Having studied design and media at university, I graduated as the adoption of early brand websites was kicking into touch. I saw the opportunity to explore the digitisation of brands as an early adopter so learnt to code - from there I just followed the tech curve. It wasn’t long before I was designing for three screens, then seven, then social media, then commerce and then figuring out how it all needed to join up in seamless customer journeys. Now I consult on how to adopt sentient technology and AI ethics, it’s been quite the journey. From a tech POV I’ve always found new and emerging things more interesting to work out than those that exist and need to change, I’m forever chasing that ‘aha’ moment. 


LBB> At VMLY&R you drive the creation of world-class customer engagement experiences and platforms at the intersection of technology, creativity and culture to create connected brands. Tell us about why these three areas are critical to customer engagement? 


Karen> It’s probably worth quickly explaining the psychology behind what we believe a connected brand is, which quite simply is delivering on the promises you make in brand communications through excellence in customer experience. 

This in mind, to answer your question, customers are the singular most important thing at the cross section of technology, creativity, and culture – and I’d flip the order of importance. If you consider culture as a set of things that people do and that people are, that creativity is as much a process as it is an output, and that technology is the enabler to meet a customer’s needs on their terms in their stage of their journey, then to deliver at this cross section for a customer is to relate to them functionally, emotionally, and societally. This ethos delivers the best experience for a customer and therefore the most valuable return to a brand. 


LBB> You mention that you weave together ideas and people in a politically agile way to help brands and organisations gain momentum - why is this a particularly successful strategy?


Karen> I believe that customer experience is everyone’s job. This means that every person within an organisation is part of the experience. What people believe, how they behave, how they come together to create the conditions that break down silos and create organisational excellence is a tangible part of the outward facing brand experience. You feel it and notice it when a company just wants to sell to you, or when employees in a store are dissatisfied and watching the clock until a shift ends. Similarly, you notice it when someone asks how they can help you and is showing genuine interest. Which experience are you likely to want to repeat? 

Removing political agendas that don’t serve the customer, architecting your organisation to deliver for your customer as a primary beneficiary and reframing your sales KPIs into answering customer needs all serve to drive more sustainable business growth.  


LBB> Is there one piece of technology that's exciting you most right now?


Karen> I couldn’t pin one, but I’m super interested in the advancement of technologies that are enabling workforces to better perform because this is a laggard industry that has been exposed by the pandemic. And I’m not just talking about robotics and automation. Helping companies upskill their staff to keep ahead of customer trends, helping leaders understand the cultural nuances of their organisation and put EQ before IQ in the boardroom, and helping everyone adopt a people first approach to solving problems is what will solve our future challenges. Technology is useless if people don’t adopt it. 


LBB> And what about what’s going on culturally across EMEA - what are some of the biggest shifts you’ve seen this year? 


Karen> EMEA is a culturally and emotionally diverse market, it’s one of the things I love most about my role. 2022 has kicked our market up the arse politically, technically and societally. Entire sectors, organisations and cultures have been impacted by mass disruption, mass abandonment and mass adoption - the result of this is big gaps. Gaps between organisations falling back into comfort zones amidst uncertainty and pushing trade first advertising verses adapting to change and delivering for customer needs. Gaps between empathy led leadership and KPI driven drum beats. Gaps between employees leaning in to help their organisations thrive and ‘silently quitting’. Gaps between customers being loyal to fewer brands and ditching those that can’t meet the most basic of service needs. Gaps between cultural inclusion and diversity tick box exercises. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the picture! Those that are leaning into change are thriving, those that aren’t, aren’t. Change is driven by people, design for the needs of the people, solve for those needs, survival of the fittest will follow. 


LBB> You have won numerous awards in tech and innovation, what advice do you have for others who are striving to build a career in this sector?


Karen> Seek out your passion. It’s much easier to be great at something when you truly give a shit about it. Be a little bit scared, it gives you an edge – I am constantly outside of my comfort zone. Comfort is for mulled wine by the fire. 

And bring others with you, there will quickly be a point in your journey when you will need to have a great team of friends and peers around you. It’s much more rewarding to fall forwards with others than face planting on your tod without their support. 


LBB> What’s next for you in your career? 


Karen> I’m currently completing my Masters in Behavioural Sciences; this is helping me improve my ability to better design for positive and inclusive behavioural change. I’m currently researching voter apathy and voter alienation, seeking to better understand why many young people don’t vote for the future they want. To my above point about EQ before IQ, I believe that the future will be led by organisations that scale with an empathetic lens to their people (employees, customers, partners and stakeholders all included). I want to truly understand how to engage and design with and for our future leaders and lift the bar on how we design for organisational change in a way that enables ‘Good Businesses to do Good Business’. 


LBB> Any predictions for 2023 that you feel brands should be aware of?


Karen> I think it’s going to be a tough year! To help move beyond the challenges we are facing I think that:

- Companies creating inclusive conditions for their employees at home and work will see loyalty from their workforce. 
- Customers will need more empathy at each interaction with a brand – they will want to be better understood. 
- Leaders need to make human first technology investments and therefore make less mimetic ones. 
- Faith in stale leaders will continue to plummet and we will see an uprise of youth agendas being acknowledged. 
- Technology will continue to become disparate while organisations scrabble to connect it all up. 
- 1PD will continue to drive decisions in blind faith that it’s the prodigal answer to all business challenges. It’s not by the way…


LBB> Outside of work, what is inspiring you? 


Karen> I’m currently converting a transit van into a camper, I’m hoping to be done by spring and then hit the road around Europe – it’s a new set of skills for me so I’m loving that as a hands on distraction from the ‘day job’. Oh and my dog, Amber - she makes me smile and laugh every single day, she’s the best inspiration for happiness. 

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