Interview With Author and Adobe Creative Director Chris Duffey

In the latest instalment of our interviews speaking to leaders throughout the world of tech, we’ve welcomed Chris Duffey, who leads Strategic Development at Adobe.

Chris spearheads Adobe's Creative Cloud strategic development partnerships across the Creative enterprise space and has been profiled by The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Inc., Adweek, Adage, Cheddar, The Mirror, The Drum, Campaign and CMO.com. Chris also serves on the Rutgers University Data Advisory Board and The Board of Directors for ANA NY.

Tell us a bit more about the business you represent?

I work for Adobe and spearhead Adobe’s Creative Cloud strategic development partnerships across the creative enterprise space. Adobe’s focus is on changing the world through digital experiences. We help our customers create, deliver, and optimize content and applications. Yet, one of the things I am most proud of is the fact that Adobe for the sixth year in a row, has been named onto Fortune’s list of 25 World’s Best Workplaces. We were highlighted for our diverse and inclusive workplace, creative and innovative employees, and for unyielding dedication to employees’ health and wellbeing.

Can you share a little bit about yourself and how you got into the field of artificial intelligence?

Prior to Adobe, I was a global Executive Creative Director, Speaker, Author and AI & Mobile Technologist. A few years ago, I was featured by Business Insider as one of the industry’s leaders on the top issues, challenges and opportunities in the fast-changing world of mobile marketing design. This is where I saw the opportunity to leverage experience design with artificial intelligence and how this combination can provide more personalized, mindful and immersive experiences. Through this work, I was also recently selected by Qualcomm as one of the leading minds in AI.

What do your day-to-day responsibilities look like at your organization?

My primary goal is to serve Adobe’s customers and partners by developing trusted relationships that accelerate mutual market share in strategic categories. I do this through four guiding principles: Think Disruptively, Act with Discipline, Lead Boldly and Know your Stuff! Through this, we reach our goal by empowering creativity by creating forward-thinking brands, marketing, and product experiences.

I also discuss the big picture of creativity & technology - why this matters now more than ever and how they are possibly the only drivers of non-incremental growth. This combination of creativity & technology is an economic multiplier that drives progress and empowers forward-thinking brand experiences to continue to evolve, adapt and even change culture, at a time when we probably need it the most.

Can you share some of the proudest achievements you've experienced in your career?

In 2019, I authored my first book Superhuman Innovation, using NLP to create an AI “co-author” – it is a book by AI about AI. It was named one of the best product innovation books of all time by BOOKAUTHORITY. I am now working on my second book about Web3 and Metaverse opportunities which should be published in 2023.

In addition, I am very proud that my work has been featured by more than 100 global media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Inc., Adweek, Adage, Cheddar, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Drum, Campaign, CMO.com, NY Post, Business Insider. I have also been profiled by Google, McKinsey and Wharton in their digital marketing book. I also serve on The Board of Directors for the Association of National Advertisers NY (ANA) and The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Board of Industry Leaders.

In which industries and processes do you see the greatest opportunities for the application of artificial intelligence?

Adobe is uniquely focused on solving digital experience challenges, not every data challenge, but the space in which Adobe has longstanding expertise and market leadership. This includes creativity/design, digital documents and digital marketing/customer experiences. Adobe technology blends the art of human creativity with the science of data. It helps creators deliver smarter, more efficient experiences faster, handling mundane or time-consuming tasks to free them to focus on what matters most. Adobe products have deep intelligent capabilities across our Creative Cloud to automate mundane tasks, allowing creatives to spend more time on inspiration and design.

What are the most significant changes you expect to see in business as a result of AI?

I am quite excited to see how businesses evolve with a greater focus on Web3 opportunities to unlock the metaverses and other shared immersive experiences. Increasingly, we’re using the digital world to do things that we once only did in the physical world. The ongoing conversation on the metaverse reflects the fact that the distinction between what people do in the physical and virtual world is blurring.

Metaverses and other shared immersive experiences are the new waves of digital interaction. These immersive experiences will include rich, persistent, shared interactive experiences with collaboration and co-creation, as well as fully functioning shared economies. This will also affect other experiences targeted to shopping, job training, gaming, education, remote meetings, cultural experiences, and more.

These shared immersive experiences require innovative new methods for AI in commerce, marketing, experience delivery, analytics, and personalization. Now is the time for companies to get “metaverse-ready.” Being metaverse-ready will demand a commitment to a democratization of everything from content creation to journey development and delivery all powered by human creativity and artificial intelligence.

What is your experience with using AI-backed data analysis tools?

AI-backed data analysis help marketers see how their customers behave, use insights to serve relevant and personalized experiences, and anticipate what they’ll want next. Customer AI lets brands accurately uncover specific segments of users and target each with the right marketing campaign. With Attribution AI, brands can now see the conversion impact driven by owned, earned and paid media across the full customer journey, and make informed resourcing decisions. Journey AI systems enable brands to orchestrate journeys across millions of users, constantly analyzing behavioural data and optimizing brand experiences. Content & Commerce AI systems deliver guidance on variables that result in high performance, such as colours or subjects. eCommerce automates product commendations based on real-time signals and customer preferences. Leads AI systems use real-time behavioural signals to help brands predict leads that are likely to turn into tangible opportunities. All these are powered by AI/ML capabilities.

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