“The Forward Thinker”

With 20 years of experience gained as a financial, operational, commercial, and strategic leader, Simon Bernal, Global Executive Director & CFO of Toaster, brings a wealth of knowledge from PwC and KPMG and his extensive experience in the industry (including Investment Banking, Private Equity, Media, Advertising, Venture Capital, Real Estate, amongst others) to help businesses grow with sustained success. His advisory work on transforming companies has given him the base to identify any early warning signs of potential challenges along with opportunities for growth through strategic partnerships or acquisitions, leading due diligence, and M&A strategies.

Toaster is one of the pioneers in digital creative optimization, and they continue to explore and build the next phase of this technology, moving into conversational commerce technology. With a long history of working with Google in delivering award-winning digital campaigns and technologies. “We have used these strengths to continue to help the next generation brands become the new forward thinkers, digital seekers, changemakers to set out their engagement strategies to adapt to the future,” says Bernal. “We’re also excited to work with existing companies who want to pivot to become their industries leaders such as the sports and the e-sports industries.”

"Toaster is one of the pioneers in digital creative optimization, and they continue to explore and build the next phase of this technology, moving into conversational commerce technology."

As per Bernal, there's a misconception that innovation is about doing new things all the time; when one looks at data and discovers new insights, they can find new ways to connect and engage. “Innovation at Toaster is ensuring we have impact at scale. That sometimes takes the shape of emerging tech like voice or AR. So it's insights-first and not technology first,” he says. “A prime example of this being a project we did in Yokohama, Japan for elderly care and assisted living homes using Google Home. It allows residents to remain connected through the power and ease of voice in their home.” Toaster's secret is to build a relevant consumer lens to the technology - this enables audiences to experience new technologies and do it with less inertia as it is presented to them in a familiar environment. “A great example of this was our work with the UK’s Natural History Museum creating and developing a PWA (progressive web app) to encourage children to use technology to learn whilst experiencing their natural surroundings,” adds Bernal.

Toaster works with intent data, creating Cx (Customer Experience) journeys based on predictive data modeling. So, Toaster knows exactly what is happening across each phase of the customer experience journey. And across the key moments of this journey, the plot 'Moments of Truth' - i.e., the key moments the business needs to win. “As a result, we then deduce what are the specific jobs to be done across each key moment of truth through digital communications. At the end of the day, this methodology ensures that everything we do enhances the overall Cx leading to better business results for clients and brands,” says Bernal.

WFH is the latest technology trend – an enforced trend due to COVID-19! “We constantly explore every new media format and emerging tech with experiments in-house to learn from it before we deploy at scale or recommend it to any of our clients,” explains Bernal. “An 'Always in Beta' approach helps us to make informed decisions that keep us ahead. We're betting big on voice at the moment, given it's inclusive nature and zero interface design.” They are also exploring the further use of AR + VR mixed reality tech to help brands carry out a successful campaign.

Toaster’s technology on conversational commerce – one of their products, along with their creative strategy, is going to help customers reach out to audiences across the world through voice-first touchpoints. Another product will also enable personalized creativity at a huge scale! “These are things that we are deeply proud of and the result of dedication to the future,” elucidates Bernal. “Virtual experiences are here to stay and we're working on delivering best-in-class virtual experiences that'll help our clients connect with people in meaningful ways that will result in lasting relationships.” IE