Tammy Soares: I'm inspired. I have goosebumps and chills. I almost felt like maybe you were pitching me a little bit. I don't know.
Peter Kang: (Laughs)
(CATALYST INTRO MUSIC)
Tammy: Hey everybody, welcome to Catalyst, the Launch by NTT Data podcast. I'm your host, Tammy Soares, and at Launch, we get to work with some of just the most incredible companies and organizations in the world, really, to create digital products that can improve lives and solve problems and hopefully really make a difference. But our show isn't about what we do. It's about all the really amazing people that make it happen and help shape that future. So today, I am so excited to announce that we are going to be joined by Peter Kang. He is an absolute creative powerhouse and a former colleague of mine, and he has worked at some amazing companies like Accenture Song and Rosetta and Ogilvy and Digital Kitchen, and he's even now currently part of an AI startup. And, of course, he's always doing things like shooting a new film. He embodies the evolution of creative leadership. So, what I mean by that is, his range is really incredible. I've seen him do things from big, above-the-line advertising ideas to inventing new, innovative digital experiences that can drive growth and engagement. And he's just done it all. And, you know, absolutely an innovator at heart, even in, all the way back to... Sorry, Peter, I'm going to date you for a second, but all the way back in 1995, he co-founded an amazing, acclaimed digital marketing agency called Kioken. And this is long before digital agency was a thing, so he's really done it all. I'm really excited to have you joining me here today, Peter. Thank you for being here.
Peter: Thank you for having me, Tammy. It's always a pleasure to spend time with you.
Tammy: On that track of, like, what you've done, the breadth of your career, and I've witnessed several reinventions myself personally, in, I think, the 8 or 10 years that we've known each other. But, like, can you talk a little bit about that? Because I think that that makes you a really unique creative, especially. So, can you talk about that a little bit?
Peter: Yeah. I'll start from the very beginning, in terms of... There's a traditional route that creative people usually go through, and then there's a non-traditional way that creative people go through their careers. And I was definitely the non-traditional way. And so, a lot of people, especially if you're getting into advertising, you go to ad school and you have to choose a track. Like, I'm going to be a writer, or I'm going to be a creative strategist, or I'm going to be a brand strategist, or I'm going to be an art director. And... And a lot of these titles are changing and have different definitions today. But, just like you said, I was lucky enough to just stumble into this opportunity where I started a digital creative agency with a friend of mine named Ji Na, incredible creative. And I would be skipping class at my master's program to play Street Fighter at the arcade with this kid.
Tammy: (Laughs)
Peter: So, one day he calls me up and he's like, hey, turn on the TV. It was this documentary about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And this was very early on. This is when you got internet through AOL CDs from Barnes and Noble.
Tammy: (Laughs) Okay.
Peter: (Laughing) They gave you, like, ten minutes of internet, right? Remember that? So we, just on a whim, just decided, because we trusted each other and we connected over this whole subculture of, like, video games and this thing called Street Fighter. We started an agency. I knew incredible people around me that served as mentors, that basically created an environment around me. It was like a living, breathing MBA program, by doing. And when you're 20-something years old, you have nothing to lose. So, it's the time to do something where you're making every mistake that you could make, ever. But the consequences are much less than if you were 55 and doing a startup, right? It's just a different time. In that agency, my partner was actually the creative lead and I was the account strategy lead. Even though we were both doing kind of 50/50 creative thinking, and we both had to learn HTML and Photoshop and make websites...
Tammy: Right.
Peter: It just became, the division of labor was, you know, 51% of my time was spent on, kind of like, account management and strategy, and he was leading the creative studio. So, just by definition, I think that's a valuable experience for people to do when you're younger, is to just make your own thing. And play all the roles that... You'll eventually have to, like, lean into something at some point and go down a track. And so, I think because I made all the mistakes that you could ever make early on, doing a variety of roles, it just gave me a solid foundation to understand how to work with different kinds of people, whether they be co-workers or mentors or managers or people that I manage, or customers or clients. I think just from a creative's point of view, understanding how that interaction works between humans that are in this business environment, it's super complex. We take all these things for granted now because we've done it for a gazillion years, but it was really valuable for me to learn from that perspective, of just how people operate in that environment with you, whether you're a creative or an account person or a strategist or a consultant, etc. So that helped a lot.
Tammy: You say that it's because you were young, right? So it is easy to be a bit more reckless when we're in our 20s and take the bigger risks. I know I personally did. But I do know that the time that we've spent together, I've also seen you take risks. And I think that's something that you are still doing today in the way that you are continuously reinventing yourself. So, can you talk a little bit about that? I think that's something I've observed, but is that something that you still see in your own nature that's continued?
Peter: Yeah, I think it's... I don't care who you are, what industry you work in, where you are in your career, you're just starting out or you're a grizzled veteran. I think it's mandatory that you take an objective view of where you stand in your personal career, and then obviously, what is trending in the world to make you extremely valuable to other people? But most importantly, to make you valuable to yourself. Like... So, for me, reinvention means... It's a continual learning process of trying to figure out what is truly inspiring to me at any given moment. And can I intersect that with what is inspiring the world at this time? And if you can figure out how to get ahead of that curve, even for one to three years, you're going to be well prepared to kind of handle the flux and the change that's kind of happening a lot quicker in cycles these days. So, because I started out in digital, I think there was a moment... If you're part of our generation and you didn't have an iPhone when you were in high school... And actually, iPhones didn't exist when you were in high school. (Laughs) Like, a solid line in the sand to where, if you come from that planet, living through the transformation of the world went through with the internet in general, kind of prepared you for like, okay, there was life pre- this moment and there's life post- this moment. And going through those sequences of events - like, hearing Steve Jobs talk about the iPhone in his first keynote speaking event about the iPhone, and standing in line to buy the first iPhone - when you've lived through that moment, it's already ingrained in you that, like, the world will shift dramatically. And it has the potential to make you completely irrelevant, and you have no control over it. So the only control you can have over it is with yourself and preparing yourself. And, again, stepping out of yourself, which is a really hard thing to do, because the world revolves around each of us in our heads, right? And looking at the world in a very objective point of view, and just saying, like, how can I get ahead of the flux that's about to happen? Right now that inflection point is AI. And we are all going to get faced with this question of, how do I, again, have relevance to the world around me? But more importantly, how do I keep inspired within myself to be successful in every way possible? Especially creatively successful? And I think that's super important. So, to kind of break it down, because I had such a heavy digital background where, literally my first work experience was managing and leading this big web development studio, because of the people and the kind of client opportunities that were given to us, I was never at that table where the cool advertising kids were. Like, we just got a brief from the client that said, here's the tagline. Make us a website. And I always used to wonder, like, how are these people coming up with that "platform"? In quotations. Right?
Tammy: Yeah. Every time I watch the Super Bowl and a really good ad comes up, I'm always like, I would have loved to have been in the room when, like, that idea came out.
Peter: Yeah.
Tammy: Like, you know, or whatever amazing ad you see. There was something that you said about, you were talking about reinvention, and you were talking about it through the lens of personal development in your own reinvention, and you brought up the iPhone. I think that's really interesting because companies and our clients have the same challenge. Like, I was working on BlackBerry when the iPhone came out. And there's no more BlackBerry, because they didn't reinvent the next... Like, they invented a category, and then they didn't reinvent themselves when the iPhone came out to compete and to be relevant in the future. So it's just a really interesting... Like, taking it back to, you know, anyone on the corporate side or client side. Like, it's important, like, we need to reinvent ourselves so that we can have impacts at our organizations or on our teams or in our leadership roles that's going to be, you know, helping to reinvent the future, not just... Like, you have to reinvent yourself so that you can contribute to the bigger picture, especially as it relates to work that we do.
Peter: Completely. And, you know, the funny way I like to think about getting ahead of that curve is, you want to be the sexiest person at the party, right? That's generally, like, the strategy. You want to be the hot person at the party. And sometimes that means going to a party where there's no hot people. (Laughs) Sometimes that's a good thing to do. And so, again, that's just my funny analogy to say, like, the best way to prepare yourself is to get ahead of the curve, obviously. But you're going to have to figure out... Like, everyone's got, like, some secret sauce that they bring to the table. So you and I always talk about, like, people have superpowers that they have. If you're able to distill that in a very simple way that people can understand, it kind of doesn't matter what the flux is that's happening around you, or whatever line in the sand you're about to step over. If you can figure out how to connect those two things together and propose to the planet around you that, hey, the environment's shifted, you think of me in XYZ, I'm going to tell you that, that XYZ is now ABC. Here's how they are the same, but here's how they're different, and here's what I'm going to contribute in this new, like, environment. You know, specifically for creative people that have traditional and non-traditional creative roles. And that could be in advertising and marketing, it could be in video production, it could be in video editing, it could be in animation, it could be in screenwriting. AI is going to have a significant... Not only disruption, but it's just going to redefine what it means to be a creative in that environment. The funny thing is, I've been speaking to a lot of traditional creative people in the entertainment industry. And, you know, when I ask them, like, hey, how many screenwriters do you know that are either openly or secretly using AI to help them with their output? And they're like, it's 100%. (Laughs) You know?
Tammy: Yeah.
Peter: But no one's going to talk about it, because it's, like, a four-letter word right now, right? Because of the unions. And so, I think, by industry, there's going to be, like, this gray, funny middle area that we have to traverse through, as groups of people. And then on the other side of it, when everyone walks over that line, we'll have things that work and things that don't work. And again, if you can figure out how to define yourself in ways that make sense to people, and you're part of the solution, I think that's pretty powerful.
Tammy: I mean, there's a couple of things that you've touched on as far as, like... I think one of the things around your personal brand is taking, like, a really honest look and self-reflect, and understand where your shortcomings may be, and lean into that and train. Like, that's a highly vulnerable state. To admit it to yourself, to say, okay, like, I'm not perfect, here's the new emerging technology that's coming in. How am I going to adapt myself and learn and be able to incorporate what's coming into the way that I work, and bringing new ideas and thinkings? And I think that really does carry a lot of vulnerability with that. And I know that's, you know, something that some people can struggle with. How do you think about that? Like, letting, kind of pushing that vulnerability aside, and being able to lean into... Just, not only the vulnerability of yourself, but you just mentioned with generative AI, like, the impact that this new technology could have on your own ability to do your job? And does it - like, the fear that comes with having something new that comes in that could actually... I honestly don't believe that generative AI is going to take over creativity 1000%. But there are some people who are out there saying that. I think I saw a phone booth that said, "Stop hiring people and hire our company," and it was a generative AI ad. So how do you think about all those things coming together?
Peter: Yeah. When you talk about vulnerability, I think I've just been extremely blessed and lucky that the people that I look up to - mentors and managers that I've had, including yourself - they, every one of those people have assumed high EQ and vulnerability as just the base. That's just baseline, okay? If we're not there, you're not going to be a contributing factor on the team. And because I have that assumption of how I work, and how what I expect with people around me, it gives me at least that footing to where, I'm going to enter every situation making the assumption that people have the best intentions. That they're not only bringing their own personal skill sets, but they're bringing their desire to build personal relationships in this crazy business environment that we live in. And that is a very vulnerable point to start from, because most people have layers of walls in front of them that they will open doors sequentially over time as you build trust with them. But I've seen this from how you've managed, you make that assumption with people. You tell people very honestly when you first meet them, this is me. You're going to get 100% of Tammy. I'm going to be completely honest with you all the time. I'm going to be clear about my intentions. And this is what I expect from you. And that really catches most people off guard, because it's a, again, that type of directness and honesty and vulnerability, it's not natural, especially in American work culture. And so, looping back to your second question of, like, how does this affect people in this transitional period as we're entering, like, the age of AI? Taking an honest look at what you're very good at is a really hard thing to do, because what you're doing is you're telling yourself, this entire construct that I've been working on for, in some people's careers it could be decades, right? It could be their entire career. Those goals are now deleted. They are being redefined by other people that you don't have control over. And now, suddenly, you're going to have to redefine what these goals are with your personal ambitions and your personal career, with this, like, murky definition that hasn't even been defined by your industry or the world or the people around you. And so, the only thing you have control over is to say... Just to, first to accept that, like, you are in flux. This is happening right now, right? You're in the roller coaster and strapped in. You definitely can't get off this roller coaster. And so, what are you going to do to not only survive the roller coaster, but just to have a great effing time on it? And when it ends and you get off, you're in a really strong position, again, to be really fulfilled personally, and to inspire yourself, first, to then inspire other people around you. I think, especially with where AI technology is, this to me feels like when the internet was born, that moment in time. But with repercussions that I can't even imagine. I don't think people are overestimating the change that's about to happen. I think we have no idea. And I think the timelines are probably going to be more accelerated than anyone's comfortable with. So again, to me, vulnerability is taking a true assessment, where you step out of yourself. You have to let go of old ideas, old dreams, old constructs that you've held on to personally for a very long time. For most of us, it's, like, generations of time. And just accepting and inviting in new opportunity, and new definitions that are going to really reinvigorate, like, why we all do this stuff. And the last thing I'll say on this is that, all of us go through these moments that we can clearly remember in your personal careers, where you're like, I've been doing this, and I'm over it. I'm going to take the first jettisoned opportunity escape hatch route I can take once the opportunity presents itself. I'm going to definitely get off this highway, off the off ramp. And for some people, it's really extreme. It's like, whatever. I've been in managing consultancies for 40 years, and I'm going to open up, like, a fishing boat business in Hawaii. Like, that's extreme. And a lot of us daydream, in clear moments, usually in times of distress in the environments that we're in. So it could be a regime change at the company that you work at. It could be, you lose your support structure. It could be that you get laid off. It could be that you get bought out. It could be that you bought out other people. Whatever the change that happens, there are clear moments in everyone's careers where they have to make decisions based on that change. This is just about to happen to everybody, regardless of where you are. Even if you're parked in a little hidden corner of your organization, just waiting for the time that you're going to retire, like, it's going to affect you. It's going to find you, no matter who you are. So, I do think it's imperative that people kind of get ahead of that curve. First by taking a very honest look at, what have they accomplished and what new opportunities can you do with it? It's hard to do.
Tammy: So, I mean, I think, like, the personal development side is really interesting and important. And I think, like, aside from people taking away from this podcast, like, what do I need to do personally? I also think it gives a really interesting view around, as leaders in the digital space, as we think about this new emerging technology or this technology that's coming out, there is a very human aspect to this. And we always talk about human-first, design-led technology is not the thing, it's an enabler. How do you create experiences and do things that the technology can enable? And I agree with you. Like, I think that this will be transformational. Like, I don't know that I can imagine right now what shopping will be like, even just three years from now when Agentic AI can, you know, like, I can just give them, give it my background, what I care about, and all of a sudden things start showing up from a variety of different stores that they, it knows that I love, et cetera. Like, who knows what that's going to be, which is really exciting. I love that. We get to reinvent the future. But I think that it takes people. It takes people to come up with those ideas. So, they need to be skilled and understand what's possible in the technology. It takes people adopting those things and tools, especially if you're creating new employee experiences that are going to drive a tremendous amount of efficiency. There's a fear that's like, well, if generative AI comes in to help me do my job, does that mean there are less of us? Right? So, really understanding from a leadership perspective how to manage people through this and get them excited and motivated, or how to think about your digital experiences that you're creating for your customers or your employees, and, like, what they want to have done for them using this tool, I think, is really important. Like, for me, and I'd love to hear your point of view, but I think more important than any technology I've seen, like, humanity, human-first, design-led, is absolutely critical in how we leverage this moving forward.
Peter: Yeah. And I would say that that, that assumption that you make, that whatever task or mission that you're a part of, whatever team you're a part of, that it is, like, design-led through kind of human and design thinking. That assumption, not all people believe in that. And I think, when you come to that point of view, what happens at the end of that process, when you're out of that tunnel, is, you've defined what's the most valuable time that you've spent as people and not as technology trying to solve what problem? Meaning, I think it's very easy for us to understand that the easy-to-comprehend wave of AI will probably help us first with lots of efficiency, all the commodity-based activities and services that take lots of time. It's obvious to understand, with minimal knowledge of how the technology works, that you're going to save a ton of time. So, paralegals, you know, data entry, analysis tools, desker research, just the stuff that, like, you have to spend time doing that's not the thinking and the strategy and the creative analyzation of that stuff... That is easy to understand what happens there. So now you've got all this free time to do something. And I think when you're organized around, kind of, human-centered thinking and design thinking... Again, with the time that's been saved through the tools that are now available, you're going to be doing something to solve a problem that you haven't applied the generative AI or the AI thinking to solve for you. And so, what is that? I think that's where we are right now, is trying to figure out the definition of, what will humans spend their time doing that the tools support them with? That's generally... At least that's where I am at in my understanding of the technology and how I use it. And so, you've got all this time freed up. You're going to spend your time doing something extremely valuable. If you can articulate that, what it is, and show it, and be very precise, and demonstrate the value of that output, that's going to kind of separate, I think, the first thought leaders using the tools that are here now, versus the people that are just using it for efficiency.
Tammy: Yeah. And I'll tell you, just from a personal use perspective, I think that it's not just efficiency in your work. You know, I think, just a very personal example for me is, you know, getting ready for the holiday season. I'm looking for a new recipe that I would want to make for my family. And normally you would go to the Google search, and I start inputting, like, holiday food. Ham ideas, right? And you're sitting there poring through recipes. And this year I asked ChatGPT, I knew I wanted to serve ham, and I asked it for a recipe. And I was able to say, like, I don't like the ham to be sweet. And so it gave me this great recipe. And I'm like, well, I don't like this ingredient, so it changed it to something else. And then I said, well, I typically buy spiral-baked hams, like... And it's like, oh, well then let's increase, like, decrease the cooking time, increase this. Like, it changed the recipe for spiral hams, and said it's probably been dry before because... And I was like, yeah, my ham's always dry. And at the end of it I had a recipe that I used. And it was, like, when I say all of this, this is three minutes. Like, what I just described to you was a three-minute interaction and conversation with ChatGPT to get to my recipe. And, like, my family, my husband, my mother-in-law was like, this is the best ham I've ever had in my life. And it was great. It was good. And my point is, like, it completely changed the way that I approached, even just planning food and dinner. But what is important from a work perspective is, that engagement taught me more about the technology and what it's able to do. Back to your earlier point, we don't know for sure what's going to happen, but what I do know is it's going to be people that invent it. And if you're going to be a part of, like, what that future's going to be, then we need to be actively engaged with it. Even if we don't, even if we think it's a hype cycle, like, you're doing yourself a disservice by sitting back and waiting for the hype to be over, instead of being the people that take the hype and turn it into something. Like, that's my experience working with it. Like, and that's my point is like, play with it, do something with it, right?
Peter: I often think about, when you're trying to get ahead of these monumental shifts in paradigms, we're probably like, today, at this moment, to where, you know, depending on the source that you read, you're looking at the global population of people who actively use AI tools personally and in work, somewhere between 1 to 5% of people are actively, you know, using this, not just for productivity, but to help their lives get better, and to deliver, like, real value to whoever their customer or clients are. Right? It's not a lot of people. I think there's what, 300 million people signed up on ChatGPT right now, as an account? That's a lot of people. But what you just said, which is, how many of those people have figured out an actual application of the technology to help their lives personally? Because I think that door, when you walk through it, you suddenly enter this, like, adventure land where you're like, oh, I can do this? That means I can do a thousand other things. And it can supercharge my own superpower of how I'm valuable to everybody around me, and especially to myself. Whatever that means. And if you're a creative person... Yeah. Like, if you're a writer and you've had to rely on visual people around you to, like, make your stuff sing, well, you just do it. Of course. Of course that's what all writers are doing. It's like, they're... Like, I don't need an art director. I've got, like, my buddy. Right?
Tammy: (Laughs)
Peter: And conversely, in the traditional ad world, like, if you're an art director and you have a copy partner, well, you could literally just build a small language model based on all the output that your writing partner has done over the last 20 years that you've worked with them, and you'll get pretty good stuff. You're not going to get 100% stuff just yet. That will come eventually. But it gets you far enough to where you're kind of like, empowered to be the fullest version of what you want to create for yourself and to those around you. And I think that's what's interesting right now is that, it's not only filling the gaps of the things that you rely on other people for. In the process of using the tools, you're going to find out, hey, I'm actually a pretty good writer, even though you've never thought of yourself as one. I mean, Tammy, like, imagine if you and I were the only two people who were in charge of a giant global campaign. You and I are going to have to use AI tools to fill in tons of gaps, right?
Tammy: Yes.
Peter: But we would be extremely comfortable doing it. And we both enter the situation with an assumption that the output is going to get us probably 80% there, but we know enough to kind of close that remaining gap. As just, people who have done this for a long time. That kind of belief system that you would have in yourself to do that, it's really valuable. And I think that's where people can take advantage of, literally, this moment in time, to where you're part of that 1 to 5%, versus part of the 95% of other people.
Tammy: We just recently, at NTT Data, released a study, and we believe that in 2025 we're going to sort of move out of this experimentation phase that's been going on. Like, and I've talked about it before, like... I've never seen as much experimentation with an emerging technology as I have with ChatGPT or generative AI. And, it's almost like throwing a spaghetti against the wall to see what's going to stick. There's been a lot of money invested in doing that. Which, you do need to experiment with the tools and see how it works and what it does. But I think that what we believe is that this year, it's about it becoming the foundation of how businesses operate, about how they think about new digital products and experiences that are going to help them grow. And so, when you think about moving out of that experimentation phase, like, you know, and moving into, like, this as a foundation, like... Do you agree with that? Do you have any advice on how you would think about making that pivot?
Peter: I've been thinking about this a lot, in the past, like, 6 to 12 months, I would say. Not only in creative industries, but all industries. Especially technology industries that have hard outputs like robotics and factories and supply chain. Especially in healthcare industries as well. I think for somebody like NTT, the traditional way that you would want to break it down, and this is just my assumption that you guys are going to do, is like, you go by industry. And you're going to have to define true outputs that have real deliverables and tangible effects that customers can literally buy. So, whatever. I run global supply chain, I deliver from factory to middleware to end customers', like, front porches and boxes. Okay? Like, that's a big chain of events that has to happen. They're going to have to buy actionable process through the technology, and they're going to have to buy, like, defined outcomes. And not just efficiency, but like, true transformation in the entire chain. And so, if you're cloud or you're machinery or you're robotics or you're healthcare or you're human services or some variation of professional services, I think moving out of experimentation, trademarking products that are outcomes of using generative AI is really important. Like, per industry. So that, again, if you're an organization that helps people think through the human process that's aided through technology, yeah. You're going to have to have a true definition of what this does for people and your organization. Thought all the way through. We're going to do a transformation sprint for this portion of your supply chain. We're going to take, you know, steps two through seven. And here's what we're going to get out of it. And I think the people that can define that sooner than later, so that there are tangible outcomes, what customer or client wouldn't want that right now today? The whitespace isn't undefined, but it's as defined as you can make it right now. You can deliver on promises against that chain. That's pretty important right now.
Tammy: The connection of the business value, business impact, with the human value, human impact, with technology coming together, like, that's more important. That's what I just heard from you. Like, that's... It's more important now than it's ever been. Because otherwise you're experimenting for experimentation's sake. Versus, what business result or outcome is this going to drive to make the transformation worth it? What human impact is going to be created to make it desirable, usable, adaptable? And then, you know, how does technology enable that? That intersection is really important.
Peter: Again, you're making an assumption that the team's been able to identify the intersection at all.
Tammy: Right.
Peter: And I think most people are going to be in experimentation mode, because they don't know how to define that intersection. Like they're still in the playground, which is great, you need it. But that has to be parallel to very clear definitions of outcomes, that are very tangible. And again, I think the most successful organizations are going to define, in very clear terms, what output is going to happen when you engage with generative AI.
Tammy: Alright. So on that note, why don't you talk a little bit about the startup that you're working on? Because I know generative AI is at the heart of it. So do you want to talk a little bit about what you're up to?
Peter: Yeah. I'll give you first, like, some immediate background. And so... I've been consulting for... Naver owns a company in Korea called Webtoon. And Webtoon Entertainment is this amazing community, it's an app, it's like, a UGC monolith. They basically are the leaders in UGC storytelling. Which is... They've got almost, they've almost got 200 million people actively reading on the platform, like, web comics and stories. It's just this amazing platform where you see the power that technology can unite communities and build fandoms around the things that they're in love with, right? So it could be science fiction, it could be romance, it could be whatever. During that experience of helping them think through their ad product, their creative product, and how they go out into the world and talk about themselves, it was very clear to me that there's a certain power and a certain sector of generative AI that's going to redefine, like, knowing industries. And one of those is advertising and marketing and media, right? Those three big, gigantic industries that we've been a part of for a very, very long time. So I'm joining this new startup called Valen. What Valen is doing is, it's using proprietary math, and application of generative AI, to basically build an actual agency in a box. With all the output that an agency would do on a daily basis, managed through this incredibly simple-to-use AI infrastructure. And, it doesn't matter who you are in any agency, in the process. Like, you could be a strategist, you can be an account person, you could be a program manager, you could be an art director. Basically, in a nutshell, it's going to allow a small number of people to manage an incredibly large volume of accounts. All the way from strategy and briefing to creative rounds. You connect your DSPs, it automatically handles media. It does all your performance. It will tell you that, you know, the yellow chicken in your logo, you're going to have to make that red. (Laughs)
Tammy: (Laughs)
Peter: And what was most surprising to me is that the maturity of the technology is probably a few generations ahead of what I thought was really possible today. That is a very alarming moment as a creative individual, when you realize that... Again, whatever definitions you have about the universe you live in, like, they don't exist anymore. And so, what's interesting for me is that, there's this empowerment that comes through technology like this. That, I think it's going to affect people and their networks in extremely positive ways that people don't understand yet. Technology like this suddenly empowers you as an individual to, like, take control of all the things that you had no control over before. And it's incredibly life-changing. And I don't think people yet have an understanding of how incredibly inspiring that is. That the technology is going to change people's lives, who understand what to do with it. I mean, talk about transformation in an unpredictable way. It's... I don't think I've seen anything like this before.
Tammy: Well, you know what? I think that was a great wrap-up for what we've been talking about. I think that it brings it home really well. I think that, you know, we talked a lot about reinventing yourself and why that was important and how that's impacted you. And we've talked about how to lean into the technology that's coming fast and furious, and why that's important. And then just, even rounding it out on something that, you know, a startup that you're working on, where you're charting the future of the space is awesome. And I have to say, it has been an absolute blast chatting with you. I'm not surprised that that's the case, but it's been really great. So thanks for joining me today.
Peter: Thank you so much for having me on. And, when we listen to this podcast, like, 12 months from now... (Laughs) We're going to be like, oh my God, what were we talking about? We had no idea.
Tammy: (Laughs) It's so true. Talk about vulnerability, right? Like...
Peter: Yeah.
Tammy: Putting something out in the world that someone can look at five years from now and go, oof, they were really... They were really off the mark.
Totally.
Tammy: Alright. Well, to our listeners, thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. We'll see you all back here next week, but until then, be bold and take risks and shine bright.
(CATALYST OUTRO MUSIC)
