The Smarter Worlds course will give students the opportunity to learn about how new technologies are changing consumer behavior and business practices, and how this will impact the future of business development and brand building.

Developments in augmented reality, virtual reality, the Internet of Things, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics will create a “smarter world” in the future. Ever-increasing amounts and forms of data will be analyzed and fused into new interactive tools that affect how businesses build relationships with their stakeholders, impact society, and build brands.

Major themes for course lecturers, guest speakers, discussions, and group and individual assignments will focus on the near- and medium-term impacts of these technologies on businesses and brand development:

• What elements are necessary for technological advances to reach mainstream business and/or consumer use?
• How will people react to the roll out of these new technologies? What will they expect from such technologies as they interact with brands that employ them?
• What strategies will firms need to employ internally and externally to use these new advances effectively?
• How can these technologies be used most effectively to build brand affinity?
• Where will these technologies create societal shifts that affect business and brand development?

Matthew Quint

Director

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Bernd Schmitt

Robert D. Calkins Professor of International Business

Professor Schmitt is Robert D. Calkins Professor of International Business at Columbia Business School. He researches, teaches, and advises corporations on branding, innovation, creative strategy, and customer experience.

Schmitt is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Consumer Research and co-founder of TPM (Theory and Practice in Marketing). He has authored and co-authored more than 70 academic articles in marketing and psychology...

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