In today’s episode of the Brand Master Podcast featured Ariadna Navarro, Chief Growth Officer at VSA Partners brand strategy design agency in New York. In this article, Navarro discussed the wild world of Web3 and how big and small brands can make the transition.

Navarro, who is known for her strategic skills, shared her insights on where brands fit within Web3. The conversation included topics such as 

NFTs, crypto, and real-world applications of Web3. 

She also discussed how to approach the conversation of Web3 with clients.

According to Navarro, 

“Web3 is an exciting space for brands to explore, but it can be overwhelming. It’s important to understand the potential of this new space and how it can benefit your brand.”

The emergence of ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI, was also discussed. Navarro highlighted the 

Impact of ChatGPT on branding and where the future of branding is headed.

Navarro’s expertise in future-proofing brands was evident throughout the article.

Transitioning Brands for Web3 with Ariadna Navaro

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Ariadna Navarro’s Journey

Stephen Houraghan

Web3 is a new concept that many people find difficult to understand, despite being around for a few years. 

Before delving into it, let’s take a step back and learn about the Chief Growth Officer at VSA Partners in New York. 

Can you provide a brief background of your journey to your current position?

Ariadna Navarro

I am originally from Venezuela, making me a Latin woman in New York. The majority of my career has been spent here, starting in advertising at Leo Burnett. 

During a summer visit to New York to see a friend, I was introduced to a head hunter and interviewed at a digital agency called Wonderman. 

Two weeks later, I received a job offer, which I accepted without hesitation, and moved to New York with just a duffel bag.

After a few years at Wonderman, I transitioned into consulting, specializing in innovation. 

I spent a significant portion of my career thinking about how companies can adapt and grow despite market or audience shrinkage or technological disruptions. 

My focus was on business model innovation, pipeline development, and future forecasting.

I eventually moved into a brand job and became the Chief Strategy Officer at Interbrand, one of the world’s largest brand consultancies. They see the brand as a business asset, which resonated with me and allowed all the signs of my career to come together into one job. 

I then moved on to become the Chief Strategy Officer at VSA Partners, before taking on my current role as a growth officer.

Throughout my career, my passion has been exploring new technologies and their ethical uses. This ties into the bigger picture of brand storytelling and strategy.

Understanding Web3: An Introduction for New Clients

Stephen Houraghan

I love how it started off with that bold, fresh youthfulness of just saying “like a duffle bag.” It reminds me of a time when we had no worries and we just said “let’s go.” 

I absolutely love that. You’re perfectly positioned to answer some questions I have at the moment because with the way things are changing, thinking into the future is something we all need to do quickly. 

But before we get there, I know that many people are interested in Web3, and specifically, our role as brands within the world of Web3.

Can you explain to me, as if I’m a new client coming into the room and I don’t know what Web3 is, what Web3 is from your perspective?

Ariadna Navarro

That’s an excellent question, and I will explain it the way I explain it to myself because it’s still a work in progress. There are actually various definitions of it.

The way I think of it is like this: my mom was a historian, and she always told me that you have to understand the path to understand the future. 

So I think of it like this: the web is not the internet, but it’s actually a group of protocols and tools to interact with the internet.

Basic premise number one. Because when you think of it, you might wonder if it’s your browser, but no, it’s a toolkit of verticals and ways to interact.

Web1 was the static web for the olden folk. It had banners, and data was stored on website servers, like Netscape of the world. Web2 is where we’re at today, which is the user-generated Interactive web.