"You are competing with tomorrow's computers": Guy Hearn, Omnicom Media

The chief innovation officer on the importance of digital literacy and fluency.

The knowledge seminars on Day One began with Guy Hearn's presentation. He is chief innovation officer of Omnicom Media Group. By the way, Hearn's designation caught more than just this publication's attention; Publicis' Partha Sinha is worried about whether 'innovation' will "become a department like creative has" and whether it will "get outsourced".

True to his designation, innovation is what Hearn spoke about. Just as he began to lose some members of the audience to their smartphones (this was when he went on about 3D printers and the Law of Accelerating Returns!) Hearn won us back by talking about how, by the end of 2015 there are going to be at least 50 billion connected objects, of which only a quarter will be smartphones and tablets.

"Kurzweil predicts that due to exponential change, paradigm shifts will be increasingly common," Hearn said.

He then spoke about kids in the context of the digital era. "Before today's kids know their shapes and colours - the traditional building blocks of knowledge - they know how to operate phones and tablets," he said, and introduced us to words like iBaby Generation Gap (go figure!), iBitz (technology that allows kids to unlock educational content after achieving certain physical goals) and Zamzee (gamified activity trackers for kids). The point of it all was to talk about the role of digital in a kid's world, today.

He quoted developmental psychologist Gordon Neufeld in his next segment in which he spoke about the amount of time kids in South East Asia spend at their study table. "The perception," he said, "is that children from Asia spend a lot more time studying than playing."

In the West, he said, play is for fun. In the Asian region, emphasis is on academic learning, even during play time, which tends to be more organised. He went on to speak about tech-based toys and the importance of "digital fluency" not just literacy.

Hearn's tip for media planners: You are competing with tomorrow's computers.

His tip for marketers: Consumers are looking for utility, not just engagement. So do something useful for them. (He cited the example of Vodafone's branded ear muffs at kumbhmela)

A book Hearn recommends: 'Average Is Over' by Tyler Cowen.