Ep. 7 – Voices of Visionaries — The Future Festival Edition, Part 1.

Transcript

Welcome to the Elusive Consumer. Today, Ellie is recording live from Future Festival in Toronto. She’s speaking with multiple guests, including Melissa Austria from Got Style, Fareed Farouk from Dubai World Trade Center, Oscar Mesa from Kappel Group, Raj Aurora from Just Funky, and Stephen Hellman from the foodies group. In this first interview, Ellie speaks with Melissa Austria about fashion, retail, and how the pandemic has impacted men’s fashion and dressing habits. 

Ellie:
Welcome to the elusive consumer. Melissa from Gott style. 

Melissa:
Thank you so much. 

Ellie:
So good to have you here today at the future festival. What are your thoughts? 

Melissa:
Whenever I hear about new technology, it always blows my mind. And then it’s like, okay, how can I use that in a practical sense in our business to make our customers’ lives better? 

Ellie:
Right. That’s a great way to think. I was noticing there on your lanyard that it says dress better, do better. Yes. Tell us about that. 

Melissa:
Well, we’re retail, but more specifically, we have women’s, but we’re definitely skewed towards men. 

Ellie:
Okay. 

Melissa:
And I feel that men, especially after Covid, are definitely the ones that need to learn that you can’t slide into this slobification that’s happening right now. 

Ellie:
Tell me about it. 

Melissa:
And we need to start dressing better to do better. 

Ellie:
I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Could you just talk to every man out there across generations? 

Melissa:
Exactly. Yeah. It’s getting bad, and we need to bring it back again to how it should be. Men need to start dressing like men and not like frat boys anymore. 

Ellie:
I love it. So what’s your role at the organization? 

Melissa:
Oh, I’m the owner and founder of the business. 

Ellie:
What made you think of this idea? 

Melissa:
Of the name or the business idea in general? Again, it’s strictly finding a problem and trying to solve it. So we’ve been around for 18 years. 

Ellie:
Wow. 

Melissa:
So a long time. Wow. So when I first started in the business again, it was at a stage where men dressed like crap. So it was all boxy three-button suits, pleated pants, Eddie Hardy t-shirts, and true religion jeans. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Melissa:
So as a woman, I was tired of men looking like this because I was working for a company where we did a lot of Danish and Scandinavian brands. 

Ellie:
Oh, nice. 

Melissa:
So I was heading over to Denmark and Sweden all the time. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Melissa:
Seeing how men were dressed and was like, why can’t men in Toronto dress like this? 

Ellie:
Such a big difference. I grew up in Sweden, so I understand perfectly. 

Ellie:
Like, when you came here, you’re like, what happened? What happened? 

Ellie:
What happened here? What went wrong? I’m sorry. Toronto. 

Melissa:
Yes. And the rest of North America. Really? 

Ellie:
Right? Absolutely. 

Melissa:
Like the US is just as bad, if not worse. 

Ellie:
I actually live in the San Francisco Bay area, where I am not used to the relaxed West Coast approach. As much as I thought I would enjoy it. I do miss the suits of London. 

Ellie:
I know. So you founded this organization? Was it 18 years ago? 

Melissa:
18 years. 

Ellie:
Wow. And then, how have times changed? How has consumer behavior changed throughout that period? 

Melissa:
It’s so funny because obviously being at a trend show talking about technology, it’s more. As things grow faster, there’s more to a return to the old-fashioned way. I’m finding that my customers really do want that high-touch, high-service world, but it’s trying to use technology to make it faster and easier for them. But with people saying that retail is dead, everyone wants to shop online. I disagree with that. I think people still want to shop in the store, but it’s about the experience. We do a ton of parties, and tons of events to try to build that community within our store. 

Ellie:
Right. There was a lot of talk about that, and we touched upon that earlier. That building a community with your customers. How are you finding that, and how do you do that? Through marketing and through social media. Talk us through that. 

Melissa:
It’s a combination of both. But the best way is from when myself or my team are on the sales floor, and they’re building that connection with the customer. So when we do events, we can target them directly to them. So we’ve done single events, we’ve done big parties, we’ve done more niche dinners, we did a godfather-themed dinner that had a murder mystery. I love that happening. 

Ellie:
That sounds like a lot of fun. 

Melissa:
So, just different things that since we know our customer now, it’s a matter of getting those data points, putting them into a program, and then using AI and CRM to pull that up so we don’t have to mentally think about it all the time. But getting that down to that niche level of what our customers want. 

Ellie:
Right. So it sounds like you’re incredibly data-driven, and you use that data to create better products and services. 

Melissa:
We are getting better at it. I think the biggest issue is that all companies have so much data, and we don’t know what to do with it. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Melissa:
But I can see the practical applications now with AI that I don’t need to have a programmer to figure this out. If I can use the right prompts, I can get AI to put together some different categories of my customers. 

Ellie:
For me, that makes sense. So you’re finding this festival helpful and useful for you and your industry? 

Melissa:
I think if you’re not learning and not growing, no matter what industry you’re in, then you’re going to be left behind. 

Ellie:
Absolutely. Melissa, I have a couple of fun questions to ask you. Okay, bear with me. Let’s see. Which one should we pick here? If there was a Netflix series made about your life, what would it be called? Who would play you and why? 

Melissa:
Who? Definitely being around for 18 years, there’s been a lot of ups and downs. I think, as an entrepreneur, if you’re not bankrupt at least once and you’re not successful. 

Ellie:
Right. It’s all about failing to succeed. 

Melissa:
Yeah. The name of it would be. I think it would be. We actually talked with my staff about trying to do a reality show, because I don’t think people understand what goes into retail. There’s so much back-end work. My team has their own personalities, so we definitely have talked about doing our own reality show because it’s like also making over the customers, having that in the show as well, and sort of telling about their story, because it’s amazing how clothing can transform somebody. So something along that line about a new type of queer eye for this. 

Ellie:
Straight guy, I love it. 

Melissa:
With kind of our staff being at the forefront of it. 

Ellie:
That’s a brilliant idea. You touched on something that’s actually quite important. You mentioned how clothing can transform an individual, which is something I think a lot of people forget. So there have been talks about clothing and how you dress and mental health, especially during the pandemic, people were working from home, potentially not dressing up, not going to an office, or not needing to dress up. And there was a study that showed that had an impact on their health and how they viewed themselves. And there was a note that even something as simple as putting on a bit of perfume could heighten your day. What are your thoughts there? 

Melissa:
Well, for me, I did a lot of Zoom calls just because trying to always learn about new technology and stuff. And it was so funny how at the beginning of the pandemic, people made an effort, and then towards the end, I would have calls with people for women, no makeup, and, like, a top bun looked like they just rolled out of bed. And I totally agree. There’s something about that aspect of getting up in the morning, having a shower, putting on clothes, and going to work. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Melissa:
I think if you were at home, you still have to do a little bit of that. Still have a shower, put on different clothes versus the ones that you just woke up. 

Ellie:
People shower. Exactly. 

Melissa:
But I can 100% see with people that I know that just work from home how they really kind of went crazy once the world opened up again, or they went the opposite way and they have become a hermit. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Melissa:
And they’re not leaving their house. So I can definitely see that 100% affects your mental health, right? For sure. 

Ellie:
Okay, from a serious to a more fun topic. Again, one last fun question. Okay, let’s see. If you had to trade places with another person, who would it be and why? 

Melissa:
That’s a hard one. 

Ellie:
I got to think of it. Take a sip and think about it. 

Melissa:
I think one person would, in a weird way, would be Elon Musk only because he’s so polarising and so smart at the same time. 

Ellie:
Such an incredibly intelligent person, but also. 

Melissa:
Rubs people the wrong way. So I think it’d be kind of fun to be in his shoes for a while, to see how his brain for a while, not forever. 

Ellie:
I love it. Well, thank you so much, Melissa, for taking the time. It’s been a pleasure to have you. 

Melissa:
Perfect. Cheers. 

Ellie:
Cheers. 

Melissa:
Next, Ellie talks with Fareed Farouk from Dubai World Trade Center about event venues and conferences and how AI can enhance customer experiences. 

Ellie:
Hi, Fareed. Welcome to the elusive consumer. We’re so happy to have you with us today here at the Future Festival. 

Fareed:
Hi, Ellie. I’m really thrilled to do this podcast. I like to be at the future festival. It gives you really a taste of what’s going to happen in life, what’s going to happen with technology, and how is it going to have an impact on every aspect of our lives? 

Ellie:
Talk to us about what you do, Fareed. 

Fareed:
I work at the Dubai World Trade Center. We are an exhibition and conference venue. We organize events ourselves. This is one of our main businesses in Dubai. We host big shows like, we host one of the biggest technology shows worldwide, and the biggest food show worldwide. Millions of visitors come to our venue every year. 

Ellie:
That sounds great. And what brings you to the US beyond this festival, or Canada, rather? 

Fareed:
I mean, I’ve been to this festival five years ago. I found it really eye-opening to see what’s happening in the world. Besides, you tend to really network with great minds here. That’s something you don’t get if you really look at a speech online. So you network with people, talk to them, see their aspirations, and how they are utilizing technology in their workplace. And it’s really something I look forward to doing from time to time. 

Ellie:
So you mentioned technology and the theme of this year is the year AI changes you. Tell us how you are currently using AI in your business. 

Fareed:
See, we are in the business of hosting people to come for events, and service comes at the top. Priorities for what we do. Customer experience is important. We are planning to utilize AI to provide better customer experience, to provide better content for our visitors, and also provide ease of productivity and efficiency for our staff to be able to do their job better. And that means we will serve the customers better. 

Ellie:
So it excites you. This new era is not frightening, but rather exciting for you. 

Fareed:
I mean, every era has its new trends coming up. We have no choice. We can either make two choices here. Either we become pessimistic about it and worry about what’s going to happen to our job, what’s going to happen to the world and so on, or forget about that, put that aside, and look at it positively. How it’s going to make our life better, how it’s going to make our work better, and so on. So I tend to really look at the positive side. I’m not claiming I’m a really optimistic person, which I try to be, but you have no choice but to look at the positive side of these things. 

Ellie:
Okay, I have one last question for you, Fareed, and it’s a little bit different. I ask this of all my guests. If there was a theme song that would play every time you walked out, what song would that be for you? It can be any song. 

Fareed:
I was so ready for all your questions today, except for this one. 

Fareed:
I kind of like boxing. 

Ellie:
Okay. 

Fareed:
Whenever one of my favorite boxers comes inside, there are certain songs playing and that song really increases your adrenaline power and so on. So, I mean, there is no specific song, but one of my favourite movies is Tiger. 

Ellie:
Yes. 

Fareed:
So let’s say that. 

Ellie:
Wonderful. It’s been a pleasure having you on our show. Thank you for joining Fari. 

Fareed:
Likewise. 

Ellie:
I enjoyed talking to you. 

Fareed:
Take care. 

Ellie:
Bye bye. 

And up next, Ellie speaks with Oscar Mesa to discuss understanding local consumers and embracing innovation. 

Ellie:
Hi, Oscar, and welcome to the elusive consumer here at the future festival. Thank you so much. 

Oscar:
Thank you so much for the invitation. 

Ellie:
What brings you here? What brings you to the festival? 

Oscar:
Well, we are looking for new trends in our company, and we are eager to see what is happening today in the retail world. That’s why we are here. 

Ellie:
Right. And you’re with couple. Tell us a little bit about your organization. 

Oscar:
Yeah, for sure. Couple Group is a retail and financial services store in Mexico, we have a wide range of products and services around the country. We have operations in Argentina also, and we basically are serving the massive consumers in Mexico. So we have more than 15 million customers in Mexico. We gave them credit to purchase products, and also we have a bank and a pension fund. So we are large. 

Ellie:
I understand. And what is the difference between consumers, do you think, in Mexico and here in the United States, what would you say is the main difference? 

Oscar:
Well, that’s a difficult question. I guess every consumer is different in every country. We are trying to fulfil their needs. And in the case of Mexico, in the case of the consumer that we are targeting, we are basically just to fulfill their needs and desires today. So basically, we try to make a better life for them, bringing them the basic stuff like furniture, clothing, and also access to credit. So I will say that, of course, we are closer to the United States, but in terms of Abbott, we are very different. 

Ellie:
Makes sense in terms of trying to understand those consumers and customers of yours. How do you do that? Do you conduct any research? How do you approach it? And do you use any technology for that? 

Oscar:
Yeah, we have different ways of approaching our customers. In the case of the team I run, which is the innovation team, we have a lot of consumer-centric methodologies. We are trying to be very close with our customers. We use design, thinking, service, and design. We have a lot of hours of interviews being in their homes and in the store. So basically, we are gathering all information directly from them. And that information, we try to put it to find the job to be done with them and also to create new solutions for our customers. So basically, we are together with our customers in the things that we are creating. 

Ellie:
That’s brilliant. You need to stay close to them to be able to better service them. Right? 

Oscar:
Exactly. That’s what we are aiming for. 

Ellie:
Brilliant. And in terms of staying close to your customers, this festival is all about trying to engage better with your customers in the future. How do you feel in your industry about everything that’s going on with AI and new innovation in your space at the moment and what that might do for your vertical? 

Oscar:
I mean, it’s a lot of information. I was talking with my partner, who is also here, that it’s a lot of information to digest, but we need to start, we need to figure out, how to use all these trends in AI, how to embrace it, and make it very clear for our customer. As I told you, we are very focused on the low-income consumer in Mexico. So all this kind of technology can help us to try to iterate and maybe find a way to make it useful for us and for the consumer. But the main lesson for us is to embrace it, try it, and iterate as we learn. 

Ellie:
That makes a lot of sense. Is there any particular technology that you’ve seen that you think is going to be very helpful for you beyond the AI tools? 

Oscar:
Well, of course, we are very focused on data. So basically all the algorithms, machine learning, and deep learning for us is very important. We are also trying new projects regarding proximity services in our store. We are trying to use computer AI to do some tests. So we are eager to try anything in order to fulfill the consumer needs. 

Ellie:
Makes sense. So let’s talk a little bit about Oscar. What is it that drives you? What is it that makes you wake up in the morning? What’s your why? 

Oscar:
Well, of course, my family, but talking about the work, I always talk to my people that you need to have passion for winning and every day there is a new option for us. I’m always talking to them and saying, you should imagine that you are in a jungle and you have a knife in your mind and you should go for it and make things happen. So that is driving me every day. And the motivation to make things happen because our general manager is requiring us from the innovation team, I guess that is absolutely. 

Ellie:
I think Jeremy here from Trend Hunter had a book about hunters versus farmers. So sounds like you’re a hunter then. Yeah, I guess very much so. Okay, I’m not going to keep you much, but I have a couple of fun questions that I want to ask. 

Oscar:
Okay. 

Ellie:
This has nothing to do with innovation, but let’s see what you think here. So apart from your own brand, which brand are you fiercely loyal to and why? 

Oscar:
I’m a Pepsi fan and I know that the innovation head of PepsiCo was here, but I’m a Pepsi fan. 

Ellie:
So, can you tell the difference between a Pepsi and a Coke if we did a taste test? 

Oscar:
Yeah, for me, it’s more sweet. 

Ellie:
Can you tell the difference? 

Oscar:
Yeah, I can tell it’s sweeter and for me, it’s very tasty. 

Ellie:
Okay. I’ve actually heard that soft drinks in Mexico taste differently than in the US. 

Oscar:
Maybe because of the water. 

Ellie:
I guess that makes sense. Okay, a couple more for you. So if there was a theme song that was played every time you entered a room, what would that be? 

Oscar:
Wow. In Mexico, there is a lot of regional music, but in my case, it will be something called banda, which is regional music from the northwest of Mexico. I guess Banda will be great. 

Ellie:
Very nice. 

Oscar:
Nothing similar to Taylor Swift or anything like that. 

Oscar:
Sorry, no Taylor Swift fan. Who’s here. 

Ellie:
Well, Oscar, before we go, is there anything you want to say to our listeners today? Is there any motto that you have? Is there anything you want to emphasize? 

Oscar:
Well, I will say that from my personal experience, the basis of success is to trust in your team and develop your team. So I will encourage anyone who is listening to this podcast to develop their team. Don’t hesitate to develop your team because they are the base of your results. 

Ellie:
Absolutely. Culture is everything. I fully agree. Thank you so much for joining us today. Oscar, it’s been a pleasure. 

Oscar:
Thank you so much. 

Ellie:
Take care. 

Up next, Stephen Hellman from the foodies group discusses all things food events, trends, storytelling, and community building through shared food experiences. 

Ellie:
Stephen. And welcome so much to the elusive consumer here at the future festival. So happy to have you. 

Stephen:
Oh, it’s great to be here. Thank you so much. 

Ellie:
So tell us a little bit about your role and company and what brings you here today. 

Stephen:
Sure. 

Stephen:
So I have a company called the Foodies Group, which does pretty much everything food-related, from, corporate events to public events, festivals, marketing, PR consulting, you name it. And I’m here at the Future Festival. We actually work with you, Teresa, to put together a trend safari every year to highlight what is innovating in food. And I love just coming to the festival to learn all about innovation and what to expect in the year ahead. 

Ellie:
That sounds great. But tell us a little bit about food innovation. I can’t quite put the dots together there. What does that mean? 

Stephen:
Yeah, innovation in food. I mean, it’s so multifaceted right now. When you kind of. Kind of look at what’s happening in food, robotics obviously plays such a big role in everything from food production to manufacturing to actually even the deliverability of food. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Stephen:
But then also things like storytelling. Right. Like interactive experiences. That’s all part of what’s trending as well. Being able to share food, tell their story, and find creative ways to do that. As situations continue to evolve, that all makes sense. 

Ellie:
But do you find that consumers are open to all of these new experiences, or are they a bit hesitant? 

Stephen:
Yeah, that’s a good question. You know what? I do find them open to everybody, obviously, to a different degree. Right. And it’s almost like the more you learn and the more knowledge you have, the more you want to learn. So even when we do events, we don’t kind of come out hard and expect people to become experts after attending an event for one day. But it’s just to start to get that knowledge and get them to view things in a different way. Right. So whether it’s a chocolate tasting, just getting, again, maybe a little bit of a basic of understanding how chocolate is produced, where it actually comes from, again, without overwhelming and still allowing you to enjoy that experience. 

Stephen:
And then again, once you kind of start to open yourself up, if it’s something that’s of interest to you, tend to delve in a lot deeper. Right. 

Ellie:
So that makes sense. But talk to us a little bit about not just any consumer but the elusive consumer. 

Ellie:
So, if you were to classify in your industry, if there’s a particular group of consumers that are elusive to you and your business, is there any particular group that you can identify there? Any demographics, any age group, any sort of ethnic minorities, or anything that you can talk us through? 

Stephen:
Yeah, that’s interesting. So I mean, in terms of elusive consumers, for my business, I would probably say it’s people who don’t maybe have the knowledge or want to understand. Right. They see food as something you need to have, you need to eat in a day, but they don’t necessarily care about it. Right. Or don’t delve really deep into it or have an understanding. Maybe just kind of see it as fuel and nothing more. So that maybe is kind of a little bit of the elusive consumer because somebody like that wouldn’t necessarily gravitate to what we do because there is more of a sort storytelling element or more of kind of like an interactive element, and maybe they don’t want to delve that deep into it. 

Ellie:
That makes sense. 

Stephen:
Yeah. 

Ellie:
I want to talk a little bit more about Stephen. Okay, so before you got into food, what were you doing? 

Stephen:
I was in business development, actually. So I worked for a series of different companies, everything from entertainment to law firms to concessions, like, you name it, to carpet stores. Right. And I’ve always been interested in developing businesses and in storytelling and in really getting those messages out. So when I saw that you could do that over a series of different things, I wanted to find my passion. And coming from, like, an Italian background, food was always at the center of everything that we did. And as Toronto’s food scene was starting to emerge and become something, I wanted to be a part of that, and I wanted to tell the story of food here in the city. And so I launched the Foodies group, and now it’s been eleven years. 

Ellie:
Wow. 

Stephen:
Yeah. The rest is history. 

Stephen:
Speaking of Italian food, we’ve had some excellent Italian food here in Toronto. I didn’t realize that Toronto is such a diverse, multicultural pot of various types of consumers. 

Ellie:
Oh, for sure, yeah. 

Ellie:
Talk to us a little bit about diversity as well because that’s an important topic that we hear throughout every industry: how to reach various types of audiences. Is that a problem that you guys encounter at all? 

Stephen:
You know, it’s funny. I think we’re fortunate in food, in that food is the great unifier, and food allows you to tell stories of culture through food, which can be a shared experience. Right, right. But I think that’s one of the things, especially in Toronto. So the more, you know, there’s phenomenal food all over the world. Right. But one of the things I really do notice about Toronto is the blending of cultures in our food and how that’s represented. And we have such unique dynamics here in the city that bring together all the different cultures like you said, that exist here in Toronto. 

Stephen:
And even within knowing a chef who might be like Filipino and Jamaican or something, and bringing those two different elements together to cuisine, it’s fascinating to see that in Toronto and to be able to tell the story of culture through food kind of. 

Ellie:
Nice. One other topic that I want to touch upon that they covered in some of the speaking slots earlier this morning was about the fear of the new. Right. How do you feel about that as a professional in this new era of AI? What are your thoughts? 

Stephen:
Yeah, that’s a very loaded question. There’s a lot, right? People tend to. Yes, as you said, I generally fear the unknown. Right. They always think of, like, the worst-case scenario, what it can become. You’re talking AI, our overlords coming to rule us. But as per anything, one of the things I’ve learned from this conference is really, it’s innovate or die. Right? And businesses that don’t innovate, that don’t adapt tend to be left by the side. And so it is incredibly important to understand that not everything is for everyone like you do need to. Certain elements may be kind of come into a certain business more than others. But innovation is key. And even with us in the eleven years, the company has continued always to evolve and innovate. 

Ellie:
And that’s what’s kept us alive through times like Covid, the little lulls, and all the changes happening. We’re not what we were eleven years ago. And so coming even to this festival every year and learning and seeing where things are going and in what direction can help your business so greatly. 

Ellie;
You mentioned something there that’s a lot on people’s minds these days in terms of the pandemic. How has that changed consumer behavior for you and your industry? 

Stephen:
Yeah, to me, it’s sheer turmoil. That’s the best way to put it. It has changed so fast and so often over the last few years. And that’s been the most difficult going through the stage where, again, people can’t get together, and all of a sudden, everything’s virtual, then people can get back together, but there’s still a hesitancy for some people. And so we’ve had to create such unique programming to really hit on every level from virtual right through to people wanting to get back together and have big group outings and everything in between. So the evolution, I would say, over the last few years has probably been the greatest it’s ever been. But it’s exciting. It keeps things exhilarating. It keeps you on your toes. Now, again, post-pandemic people do want to start to reconnect, but again, there’s still sometimes that hesitancy. 

Ellie:
So, you have to have a lot of different contingencies in place. 

Ellie:
Absolutely. And I like what you mentioned there because it brings me back to what they spoke about earlier. In the sense that people long for that sense of community, right? Whether it’s in entertainment, retail, or food, how do you create that sense of community beyond obviously gathering around a meal, which is great, but how do you try to embed that with your customers? 

Stephen:
Yeah, that’s a good question. I think, again, like bringing certain types of customers together for different experiences. So one is we provide a very diverse range of different experiences and something that kind of touches. So again, if sustainability is important to you. Right. Bringing together events that touch on people who want to learn more about sustainability and practices in farming and such, and others who, again, maybe don’t want to learn as much but still want to have that sense of community. So, bringing them together for something as simple as a chocolate or cheese tasting or something accessible to everyone. Right? 

Ellie:
Sure. 

Stephen:
So, really, it’s, I think, diversifying and doing things in a lot of different categories that touch on different consumers. 

Ellie;
That’s an excellent point. I appreciate it. Before we let you go, and I appreciate you taking the time, I wanted to ask some of our more fun questions that we’ve written down if you bear with me a few moments here. All right, I’m going to pick a couple of these. So if you had the power to bring back one decade from the past, like, the event that you’d have to live in and the rest of us with you, what would it be and why? 

Stephen:
Oh, you know what? I haven’t been born long enough to go back to some of these decades. But honestly, it’s funny. We romanticize it, but it is like the roaring 20s, right? Because that was that age of kind of excess again, partying, getting people out. And after Covid, that generation is needed more than ever again. 

Ellie:
Good one. Okay, I’ve got one more for you. If you could eliminate one social media channel forever, which would you choose? And again, why? 

Stephen:
Oh, my gosh. Okay, you know what? This question is going to get me in trouble. Can I say all of them? 

Ellie:
Right? 

Stephen:
Because you know what? I just feel like we’re living in, again, part of even what we do. We’re living in such a disconnected world where it’s enough to just kind of sit on social media. Look, feel that you don’t belong, feel that you’re missing out on things. And I think that’s so destructive. And then it also deters people after a while from actually going out and doing things again. So, to me, I’m big on getting rid of all and having real connections again, as crazy as that sounds, and as much as from a marketing standpoint, I know maybe that’s not the. 

Ellie:
I know we shouldn’t be saying this, but I agree with you there because. 

Stephen:
I think I remember even the days before social media and how you really formed true connections with people and how important those connections were. And they’re still important now. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Ellie:
We’re taking photos of the moment, but we’re not actually enjoying the moment ourselves. I’m with you 100%. Let’s get rid of all social media people. Thank you. And with that, I thank you for your time, Steven. Thank you so much. And we’ll be back with the next guest. 

Stephen:
Thank you. It’s been a pleasure. 

Ellie:
Thank you. 

Last but not least, Raj Aurora shares his passion for fandoms and connecting emotions to products, especially in the anime space. 

Ellie:
Raj, welcome to the elusive consumer here at the Future Festival. Thank you for joining us. 

Raj:
Well, thank you for having me here today. 

Ellie:
So, Raj from Just Funky, tell us a little about your organization and role. 

Raj:
So what we do is we focus on fandom. 

Ellie:
Okay? 

Raj:
The emotional connection of fans of any kind of genre. You could be a fan of music. You could be a fan of anime. That’s what we focus really on, japanese anime right now. We let the product take the fans to their experience of the emotional connection to the TV show or the character. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Raj:
So we incorporate emotions into products. So when somebody drinks out of a coffee mug, it makes them feel interesting without any drugs. 

Ellie:
I was going to ask if there is anything illegal involved here. 

Raj:
Not exactly. 

Ellie:
How long have you been with the organization? 

Raj:
I’ve been doing this since. Well, I’ve been in fandom since I was 15 years old. I started this when I was in high school, focusing on fandom there. 

Ellie:
Wow. 

Raj:
Start with a grateful dead. I am not that old. 

Ellie:
No. Guess. 

Raj:
All right. Don’t age. 

Ellie:
It just flew right by over my head. Okay. And you talked about Japanese anime? 

Raj:
Correct. 

Ellie:
It is so incredibly popular. Why do you think it suddenly got so popular in the Western market? 

Raj:
Well, obviously Covid had a lot to do with it or the popularity or how fast it grew. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Raj:
But the truth, if you look at it, is anime began back in the 80s when people were smuggling Japanese video cassettes or DVDs from Japanese anime and bringing them to America and dubbing them. Or people were watching it illegally and didn’t understand what it was, but it spoke to them. Japanese culture has been restrictive in many ways, as all we know, but it also allowed expression in their manga, which turned into anime, the animation part of it. But it allows expression about people. When we have in America, when we have the superheroes, we’re restricted to a certain kind. We have to be heroes, or we’re the villains. But that’s it. There’s nothing else. But if there are no other genres, you can express how you truly feel. 

Ellie:
Which Japanese anime do that Japanese allow you to feel that, in art, a range of emotions? Absolutely. 

Ellie:
And do you think that has something to do with the new generations as well? 

Raj:
Absolutely. With the individuality. And everybody wants personalization. So we can now, whoever you are, whatever race you are, whatever you do, whatever you like, there’s something for you. 

Ellie:
Right. 

Raj:
With the streaming services, you can tap into how it relates to your life. There’s that much content out there. 

Ellie:
Wow. 

Raj:
And so people can relate to it versus just the traditional media where you’re told a certain way to live, a certain way. What’s wrong and what’s right? 

Ellie:
Right. 

Raj:
The paradox of the Japanese culture would be that you’re allowed to be whoever you want to be. That’s what a beautiful thing. Japanese or even just this Asian anime, which is coming from Korea now, China. Amazing stuff coming out there. 

Ellie:
So, in your line of work, you live and breathe innovation. 

Raj:
Absolutely. 

Ellie:
What made you so passionate about new things, trends, and all of these things? 

Raj:
That’s a great question. My psychiatrist asked me the same question all the time. So, you know, it’s. It’s. It’s the. I particularly don’t watch anime or any of the movies and TV shows, but what attracts me is the fans out there; they’re willing to pay more money for that connection. It makes me want to. The why is to see that smile on the fan’s face when they hold that mug and how it relates to them. When I go into social media sites and see what people are really talking about their product and how it helped them, you see these NBA players, NFL, you’ll see everywhere. They talk about how the shoes that they owned or the t-shirts they own, and what impact they had in their life. 

Raj:
I love to be part of that, and I want to do something better for the fans every day. 

Ellie:
I love that. So you’re driven by your consumers and the customers. 

Raj:
Absolutely. I live and breathe them. 

Ellie:
Yeah. And what are you learning here at the future festival to help improve their lives? 

Raj:
It’s opened my eyes. It gave me the answer to the shift. There’s also a shift going on in the industry from what we saw in the Japanese or indie cinema, which is thanks to Netflix, Hulu, and all these people who brought in. But what this has done is it’s actually validated a lot of things which the micro trends which were going on a few years ago, how their macro trends and how we can communicate better and do a better job for them is what I felt, that the summit has done a great job. It’s only the first day. 

Ellie:
Right. And your company covers many different types of markets, embodying globalization in a way. What do you think is the future for organizations across all industries in the sense of how they approach the global versus the local consumer? 

Raj:
Well, I think looking at a market as global is a mistake. I think everything is local. Every market we go to, every state that we go to, I think there’s a sense of localizing that to the product, or you got to embed yourself in the culture. I can’t go to India and say I expect the same fandom which is in America will relate over there. It’s a different culture. It’s dubbed a different language and a different way of thinking. So I think we have to cater to the really localized culture. 

Ellie:
That makes a lot of sense. You have to listen to the local nuances and the markets and the perceptions and their thoughts. Talk to me about excitement versus fear. In this new era that we’re living in. 

Raj:
The excitement is greater than fear. I think the excitement I feel living in this world right now is greater than the fear. The only fear I would have is keeping up with it, but otherwise, I’m excited for the future. 

Ellie:
And do you feel that the rest of your team feels the same, or how do you embed that culture within your team? 

Raj:
It’s definitely a challenge, being we are a small company and we designed our company to be that way. We want to be personable, we want to be catering to people. So we give the artists the freedom to express themselves how they feel they should do it. We don’t restrict that, but we find that the teams are hesitant and rightfully so because there’s a lot of fear about AI coming in. We’re a design house. Or you see the strikes going on, and you saw the event today that what they’ve talked about, it’s going to be coming down to that. I see that the TVs will be obsolete in a few years. For a TV manufacturer, it’s very scary. But if you’re an XR or VR thing, it’s an exciting opportunity, or if you’re designed for that. 

Ellie:
But if you are an actor, you have fear. So my team feels it will replace it because they don’t understand it yet. 

Raj:
They think it’s going to take creativity away when, in fact, it’s going to add creativity to a product. So now, for example, it’s more than what you asked, but I’ll give you a perfect example of. We do ramen bowls. So we did years ago. Now, it’s saturating the market. I was thinking of creative ideas. Okay, what do we do, and how do we make it more personal? And how do we communicate what this means for them? And so sitting here this morning, I said, okay, how do we personalize a menu that we can provide with them? That, hey, personalized recipe that comes through AI and is curated. But AI helps because we’re not chefs. So, AI is going to help us become more talented. 

Ellie:
I think I like it. No, I love it. I’m going to ask you a couple of random questions. 

Ellie:
Okay, so you have the budget and approval to make a Super Bowl. Commercial for your brand. You can choose any celebrity to appear in the commercial. Who would you choose and why? 

Raj:
I wouldn’t choose a celebrity. 

Ellie:
Interesting. 

Raj:
I think the consumers are way too smart. We’re dealing with consumers who have been the smartest consumers we’ve ever had in any of this lifetime around. I would bring somebody from the community who represents their beliefs to talk to them. I don’t need a celebrity to pay for a fake doctor. That’s not right. 

Ellie:
Right. That’s a great answer. And it represents this new generation. Like you said, they prefer the actual user among them, the same people like themselves. I love that. Great answer. 

Raj:
Thank you. 

Ellie:
Okay, let me pick another one. This might be difficult to answer, but what’s the funniest misconception someone ever had about your brand? 

Raj:
I really wouldn’t consider it a misconception. I think we did it and didn’t evolve fast enough. But throughout my career, we get tied into a genre, we become too loyal to it. So then people pigeonhole us that we are a beverageware company, or we are an anime company, or we are a music company at that time. But in the last 35 years, we’ve been everything. So that’s what’s there. But it’s our own fault to do that. So we have to evolve faster and make sure that we’re serving all markets makes sense. Maybe it’s a good thing we’re more focused on our fans there. 

Ellie:
Last question for you, Raj. If there was a theme song that played every time you walked out, what would it be? 

Raj:
I’m too sexy for you. 

Ellie:
And on that note, cheers. 

Raj:
Cheers. 

Ellie:
Thank you so much, Raj. 

Raj:
Thank you. 

Ellie:
It’s been a pleasure. 

About Our Guest