Digital Future Council seeks to unite creative, media, and tech industries

The Digital Future Council, a first-of-its-kind think tank, has been formed by a collection of leaders across the creative industries with the aim of bridging the gap between media and technology.

The council will host quarterly events around the globe, with each event centered on the impact of a different emerging technology. The goal of these events will be to ignite meaningful debate and conversations, formulate tangible advice, and promulgate best practices for the global marketing and advertising communities when integrating new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain.

Founding members of the Digital Future Council include top media and creative industry executives such as Jason Jercinovic, global head of marketing innovation at Havas Media; Mark Adams, vice president of innovation at Vice Media; Cory Haik, publisher at Mic; Sheel Shah, executive director at Hearst Digital Media; James Poulter, head of emerging platforms and partnerships at the Lego Group; Danni Murray, vice president of media, digital and marketing partnerships at Warner Bros.; Martin Schönberger, vice president of partner development at Sony Music; Joshua Burke, vice president of brand partnerships at Universal Music; Adam Boita, head of marketing at Pernod Ricard; Mary Keane Dawson, founder of Truth Media Agency; Ben Sutherland, chief digital officer at Diageo; Kate Cox, vice president for Europe Middle East and Africa at GoDaddy; and conceptual artist and photographer Kevin Abosch.

Additionally, Rob Dembitz, former global head of innovation at Cannes Lions, has joined as a founding member and advisor to the Digital Future Council.

“The collision of technology and creativity has the potential to drive increasing returns for all stakeholders, but too often this outcome is undone purely because of a lack of understanding on either side of the table,” Dembitz said in a statement. “Bringing together the best of brand communications, media, and technology to expedite this joined-up narrative is an exceptionally exciting prospect.”

GoDaddy’s Cox said in a statement: “GoDaddy is constantly scanning new digital technologies that will both drive our own marketing efforts forward and in turn help power our 17 million-plus small business customers’ online presence and enable their business success. The DFC offers us a chance to keep on top of developments in the industry in order to feed our marketing experimentation and testing program and drive our business growth. It also offers a forum for senior marketing and creative technologists to debate future management frameworks of new technologies.”

The Digital Future Council will officially launch at Cannes Lions, June 18-21, with a series of events focused on blockchain technology, based on demand from creative communities.

Through a series of town hall-style talks, roundtables, and dinners, leading C-suite executives across media, advertising, and consumer brands will explore how blockchain technology will impact audience interaction, distribution of content, and monetization, in addition to advising creative leaders on blockchain’s role in empowering consumers to understand the true value of their data, particularly as it pertains to advertising dollars.

A number of key executives in the blockchain space have also joined as founding members of the Digital Future Council and will help lead the conversations throughout the launch event. These leaders include Jarrod Dicker, CEO of Po.et; Elena Zavelev, founder of New Art Academy; Tom Graham, founder of TLDR; James Tabor, CEO of Media Protocol; Kayla Sanders, founder of Remy.co; Andy Tian, CEO of Gifto; and David Wachsman, founder and CEO of Wachsman, among others.

Tabor at Media Protocol said in a statement: “As someone who’s been heavily involved in both tech and media for nearly a decade, I’ve seen firsthand how eager businesses are to implement essential tech but struggle due to a lack of knowledge in the hands of decision makers. The Digital Future Council is an open forum where creatives and the tech savvy collide to ask the questions that haven’t been asked yet. The names on the roster thus far are incredible, and we can’t wait to see how this quarterly gathering can drive constructive innovation for all involved.”

Additional members of the Digital Future Council will be announced in the coming weeks.