At dotdotdash, Mai Nguyen Is Reaching Culture Through Technology

Sometimes, when culture changes, it can be hard to notice at first. It’s only when looking back that you realise just how seismic some of the shifts have been in recent years. For instance, who would have thought just a few years ago that the most-attended live music shows would be taking place inside of a video game? 

And yet here we are. As a digitally-focused experience and innovation agency, dotdotdash (part of the TBWA\Worldwide collective) has an instinctive grasp of those spaces where culture is driven by technology. 

Last month, dotdotdash hired Mai Nguyen as its first-ever chief client officer. To mark the occasion, and to get a sense of how she sees the interplay between technology and culture in 2024 (and how brands can establish their place within those spaces), LBB’s Adam Bennett caught up with Mai.  

LBB> Mai, what’s exciting you most about your new role with dotdotdash?

Mai> Other than it’s a role at a company like dotdotdash? I’m most excited to oversee both business development and client services, together. 

Clients approach us with big business challenges to solve - it’s not just about moving the needle ever so slightly, and it’s not always about maintaining a position of authority within the market. We’re usually solving the kinds of problems that keep our clients up at night. And these kinds of problems require solutions that usually reset standards within categories and expectations across audiences. 

The type of work we do requires us to work across different stakeholder groups and facilitate collaboration between them. 

For some time now, I’ve been in roles focused primarily on business development. And I’ve come to miss contributing to the project from beginning to end and maintaining my partnership with clients beyond the point of project kick-off. Now, in my new role, I get to do exactly that - and alongside a team whose calibre of work both inspires and, admittedly, intimidates me. 

LBB> This feels like a moment of great innovation in technology. But how do you see the link between what’s happening in the tech space and how that ties into culture more broadly? Can you share an example of where tech and culture have collided in recent times?

Mai> It’s a moment of great innovation because we’re entering a period in which primary audiences are digital natives (and the remaining audiences are at least digitally capable). This has created a world where culture informs technology and, simultaneously, technology creates culture. 

In the past, we focused on creating awareness around technology and driving education in terms of how to actually use it. 

Now, with technology being ubiquitous and a part of our everyday lives, the lines between technology and culture are blurred. They’re blurred between physical and digital. They’re blurred between in-person and remote. So, our clients are now dealing with audiences that experience the world (and interface with it) through technology. 

Covid comes to mind when I think about how and where technology and culture have collided. It completely changed the world in an instant. Companies leveraged technology to get the world back to normal and get people back into their routines and habits. However, technology ended up changing the world - and people’s behaviours and expectations - even more. 

For example, the evolution of virtual concerts (and even raves) across gaming platforms mark a monumental change in audiences’ expectations and behaviours, catalysed by massive cultural shifts and technological advancements. Companies such as Epic Games capitalised on the pandemic’s constraints and people’s yearning for not only communal but visceral experiences by turning their open-world game into a stage for live performances. And in doing so, completely redefined the concert experience.

Concerts went from having hundreds of thousands of attendees to tens of millions. Turning digital platforms into live stages democratised access to live music, enabling these events to transcend location, physical limitations, and even social anxiety. They reach a digital platform which ensures that fans - across socioeconomic standing, with varying access to technology, whether they’re in a metropolis or a remote area - can attend. 

LBB> And so what does that mean for brands? What kind of possibilities are opening up as a result of these changes?

Mai> Brands have massive (and an abundance of) opportunities in front of them to connect with communities in new formats and channels.

The reach that a brand can have has multiplied. Think back to when a brand’s reach was limited to the city they had a store in, or the awareness of a product was limited to where it was sold. Now by leveraging technology, a retail brand without a physical store can have a global reach. And now, leveraging technology, that same brand can engage customers in much richer and much more meaningful ways. They can provide their customers with the ability to create communities (that transcend geographical boundaries and traditional cultural identities). They can provide personalised services. And in achieving both, they can provide their customers with much more value.

And brands aren’t experiencing a limit (or a ceiling) on how, when, and where they’re engaging their audiences. It isn’t static. Because, technology helps brands continually unlock a deeper understanding of these audiences (through data capture, measuring engagement, etc.), yielding even more opportunity to deepen the engagement and further secure brand loyalty and love.

And change has accelerated. We now move through technological cycles in sometimes months instead of years or decades. This creates continual shifts in the landscape that brands can (and should) tap into as a catalyst for new ideas, new experiences, and new growth. 

LBB> So what do you think makes dotdotdash well-positioned to be able to deliver on these possibilities?

Mai> dotdotdash has spent over a decade delivering experiences at the intersection of culture and technology. And recently, we’ve combined forces with TBWA who have a legacy in creating some of the most well-known brands and brand ecosystems. 

dotdotdash and TBWA are united by ‘Disruption’. We’ve spent our respective time focused on driving differentiation and distinction for our clients - avoiding the sea of sameness as well as innovation for the sake of it. As a part of TBWA, we’ve unlocked not only scale but also an arsenal of proprietary tools that elevate our work. dotdotdash now has an unparalleled offering and portfolio of work acutely focused on tapping into cultural and technological shifts to unlock new opportunities and drive new growth for clients. 

I’ve come from a number of other agencies (eight to be exact), and I have yet to see capabilities and work like dotdotdash’s. 

We map the biggest shifts in human behaviour, culture, and technology that will impact the future of how brands and consumers engage. We leverage design thinking and disruptive creativity to imagine, prototype, and test new ideas. And we don’t stop there. We blend design and engineering to deliver and launch connected, distinctive, and memorable experiences. 

LBB> Do you think that the relationship between technology and culture has changed over the course of your career? How does the way we think about tech in this industry differ from sixteen years ago, for example?

Mai> I started my career during the infancy of social media. MySpace and Facebook were meant for connecting people. Instagram was meant for sharing pictures. Snapchat was meant for communication. And now, TikTok creates behaviours - positioning it to actually create culture.

As we work with brands navigating culture and technology, we have to ensure they understand technology and culture are now one of the same. They’re no longer two worlds divided - technology is built around culture and also creates it. And brands that understand that are those who thrive in this world.

LBB> I was struck by a YouGov poll from earlier this year which found that 42% of Americans believe AI will have a negative impact on society (compared to 27% who believe it will be positive). What do you think is driving that sentiment - and do you see it as a problem?

Mai> Technology goes through waves in the shape of prolific shifts and technological revolutions. 

As new technology comes to the scene - social media, NFTs, AR, VR, machine learning, etc. - it comes with a lot of hype and promises around its potential. There are always going to be some people who position it as a saviour - something to help save people time, something to connect people with one another, something that enables access that people never had, etc. And there are always going to be the people who are sceptical and critical. 

The conventional wisdom is that AI is helping with automation and efficiency for the tasks we already do today. While that is true, the real power of AI is much, much more - moving us away from interruptions towards content and brand experiences that people want to embrace and that solve real business problems and exercise real cultural opportunities.

LBB> And how do you think we can start to change that attitude?

Mai> We can only change the attitude around AI by proving its true value. 

Through experimentation, we’re defining and developing how AI can help move people and the world forward - keeping in mind how it can be used ethically, inclusively, and safely. 

dotdotdash shares TBWA’s ‘always in beta’ mindset. With the development of Collective AI, dotdotdash together with TBWA (and Omnicom) are demonstrating how creativity and scale will drive the industry and get our clients to the future faster.

LBB> Finally, imagine we were to have this conversation again in one year’s time. What do you think we’d be talking about, and why?

Mai> History has the tendency to repeat itself. In a year from now, we may find ourselves in a similar conversation, instead we’ll be talking about some newer technology, or even an evolved version of current technology, possibly a new behaviour, or maybe a new set of audience expectations. 

But, hopefully the prevalent topic for discussion in terms of the intersection between culture and technology will be around closing the digital divide and mitigating digital inequality. I like to think the shared focus across industries, sectors, and regions will be more on implementing inclusion initiatives, policies, programs, and tools. 

If we’re continually creating new technology to increase productivity, provide and share more (and better) information, and save time - shouldn’t we ensure everyone has equal access to it?