The CPG Guys Podcast: Key Themes at SXSW 2026 with Omnicom's Greg Brown

Date: April 8, 2026
Hosted by: Peter V.S. Bond & Sri Rajagopalan
Guest: Greg Brown, SVP of Innovation, Omnicom DOS Group

Episode Overview

This episode features a rich, forward-looking discussion of key insights from Omnicom’s SXSW 2026 recap report, “Where Growth Is Moving Next,” with Greg Brown, SVP of Innovation. The conversation explores how brands must adapt as the CPG industry transitions from the classic “reach economy” to a new “trust economy,” driven by AI, shifting consumer discovery, emotional intelligence, and new standards of authenticity. Hosts Peter and Sri probe the immediate implications for brands, focusing especially on AI’s disruption of discovery, the death of passive audience models, and how to build genuinely meaningful participation and community.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

SXSW 2026: From Tech Showcase to Cultural Innovation Summit

• Shifting Focus of SXSW:
  • Once focused on technology, SXSW’s “innovation” track now addresses broader, more “thorny, vital questions” across society—technology, culture, music, marketing, and government. (06:42)
  • AI is now the underlying “operating environment” across sessions, not just a single topic. (06:42–07:40)

    “AI was just the operating environment… the lens through which everything else… was being processed.”
    —Greg Brown [07:34]

• Scrappy Beats Pricey:
  • Some of the fest’s standout activations were low-cost and high creativity (e.g., $200 spent on props generated major buzz for a session), suggesting brands can cut through with creativity over production value. (08:00–09:15)

The End of Reach-Driven Growth & the Rise of Trust Economy

• Market Model Disruption:
  • The legacy CPG model—mass awareness, prominent shelf placement, large media budgets—is now “existentially” threatened by AI-driven disruption of the discovery layer. (12:03)

    “This is fundamentally disruptive… the model that built CPG empires… assumes a discovery layer and that discovery layer is being completely disassembled right now.”
    —Greg Brown [12:03]

• Urgency for CPG Brands:
  • AI is reshaping consumer discovery; traditional strategies focused only on scale and distribution now risk rapid obsolescence:

    “Models optimised for the business of scaling via distribution… dying fast on a vine. Fair, Greg?”
    —Sri Rajagopalan [14:30]

  • Brands must always be experimenting and cannot rely on silver bullet solutions. (14:43–15:26)

Discovery Shift: SEO to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)

• AI as Discovery Gatekeeper:
  • AI assistants and autonomous agents increasingly intercept consumers before they ever reach retailer pages, fundamentally altering “brand relevance.” (16:28)

    “If the AI does not find you, the human never will find you.”
    —Greg Brown [16:28]

• Machine Readability as Brand Imperative:
  • Brands must become “machine readable” as well as human friendly—meaning product data, credentials, and trust cues must be accessible to AI agents. (17:15–18:40)
• Strategic Agnosticism:
  • Brands cannot bet on a single platform (Amazon, Walmart, etc.) or LLM; they must stay platform and architecture agnostic to future-proof their strategy. (19:59–22:13)

    “If you optimize just for one single approach… you’re exposed.”
    —Greg Brown [21:33]

Attention, Fandom, and Participation: Building Genuine Communities

• Attention as a Byproduct:
  • Classic passive consumption is out; true attention is earned through active involvement and genuine fan-like participation—even for everyday brands. (24:34)
  • Example: Scrub Daddy’s community marketing, ELF Beauty’s embrace of DIY user behaviors. (25:00–26:00)

    “Fandom as infrastructure… replacing audience as one of the organizing concepts for how we tap into culture.”
    —Greg Brown [26:00]

• Community as Structural Asset:
  • Brands must shift from “delivery mechanism” thinking to considering what persists when the ad budget stops: is there lasting community, value, or cultural leverage? (27:00–28:00)

Gen Z & Gen Alpha: Authenticity vs. Cringe

• What Youth Reject:
  • It’s not branded content they dislike, but “lazy, inauthentic content.” Consistency and a strong, genuine POV win respect—trying too hard to seem cool (or using “the latest slang”) earns ‘cringe’ status. (29:22–31:00)

    “They’re rejecting lazy content… clearly trying to look or feel casual…”
    —Greg Brown [31:01]

• Co-creation to Co-production:
  • Invite creators as producers with a unique voice, not just marketing partners. (32:00)

Critical Differentiators: Taste, Discernment, & Emotional Intelligence (EIQ)

• Human Capabilities Are a Premium:
  • As AI makes average content cheap and scalable, human taste, discernment, and emotional intelligence (EIQ) becomes highly valued. (34:08–36:55)

    “If AI can make average or competent content… at scale, the market will begin to price human craft… at a premium.”
    —Greg Brown [36:06]

• Emotional Resonance in Campaigns:
  • CPG brands must understand emotional states and needs, not just functional ones. (37:37–39:17)

    “Brands that can better understand the emotional mechanics at the same depth as the media mechanics can win.”
    —Greg Brown [38:00]

Live, Immersive, & Hybrid Experiences

• Beyond Big Budgets:
  • Immersive, live, or hybrid experiences can be created on a small budget (e.g., clever street activations), not just the Vegas Sphere scale. (40:21–42:48)
• Friction as Value:
  • Intentionally building friction or analog elements (e.g., zines, tactile experiences) into events can build deeper meaning and emotional connection, especially as “frictionless” interactions are commoditized. (43:00)

Highlights & Notable Quotes

Disruption & Urgency

• Greg Brown [12:03]:
  “This is fundamentally disruptive… the discovery layer is being completely disassembled right now.”
• Sri Rajagopalan [47:58]:
  “Urgent, urgent, urgent attention on AI… Brands are absolutely not ready. Retail sees this as the antithesis because it’s going to challenge the whole notion of planograms, shelf space, and putting products on a shelf in the first place.”
• Peter Bond [48:16]:
  “Scale without distinction leads to invisibility.”

AI as Curator

• Greg Brown [16:28]:
  “If the AI does not find you, the human never will find you.”
• Greg Brown [44:29]:
  “Have an answer to the question: Why would an AI agent recommend us?”

Authenticity & Community

• Greg Brown [26:00]:
  “Fandom as infrastructure… replacing audience as one of the organizing concepts for how we tap into culture.”
• Greg Brown [31:01]:
  “They’re rejecting lazy content where brands are clearly trying to look or feel casual…”

Emotional Intelligence as a Differentiator

• Greg Brown [36:06]:
  “The market will begin to price human craft and editorial judgment and emotional resonance at a premium.”
• Greg Brown [38:00]:
  “Brands that can better understand the emotional mechanics… can win or differentiate themselves.”

Platform Strategy

• Greg Brown [21:33]:
  “If you optimize just for one single approach… you’re exposed.”

Timestamps of Key Segments

• SXSW’s Evolution & Main AI Signals: 06:42 – 10:46
• Disruption of CPG Models & Discovery Layer: 12:03 – 15:26
• SEO → AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): 16:28 – 22:13
• Building Participation & Fandom: 24:34 – 28:25
• Gen Z/Alpha Authenticity & Brand Cringe: 29:22 – 33:36
• Taste & Emotional Intelligence (EIQ): 34:08 – 39:48
• Live Experiences & Meaningful Connection: 40:21 – 44:01
• Actionable Advice for CPG Leaders: 44:29 – 46:22
• Host Takeaways: 46:54 – 48:25

Actionable Advice for CPG Leaders (44:29)

• Priority:
  HAVE an answer to “Why would an AI agent recommend us?”
• Recommendation:
  Urgently assess (and experiment with) how your brand’s data, trust signals, and cultural distinctiveness play into AI-driven discovery—don’t bet on a single platform and do not wait for a silver bullet.
• Warning:
  Stop relying on reach, scale, and distribution as the primary brand-building levers.

Final Takeaways

• AI is not coming; it’s here now, remaking consumer discovery and challenging all industry conventions.
• Distinctiveness, trust, and machine readability are more valuable than ever.
• Active participation, emotional resonance, and genuine community-building will define who thrives as discovery shifts to AI-driven models.
• CPG brands must become both machine and human “readable”—building for algorithms, as well as real emotional connection.
• Experiment, act urgently, and never presume old models will survive the current paradigm shift.

For further reading, access Omnicom’s full SXSW 2026 recap report via the links in the episode show notes.