GEN C: From VR to AI, Mattel’s Vision for the Future of Play

This week, Ron Friedman, VP of Mattel Future Lab, joins us to share how Mattel is bringing iconic toy brands into the digital future through a human-centered approach to innovation. Today's episode is sponsored by Chainalysis. Ron Friedman of Mattel Future Lab shares his perspective on the importance of brand authenticity, mainstream accessibility and leveraging Web3 tech to reimagine play. He shares Mattel's vision for pioneering the future while staying true to their mission of connecting people. We talk about iconic brands like Hot Wheels and Barbie and how the brand is continuously looking to evolve these beloved entities. Links mentioned from the podcast: Threedium Secures $11 Million Series A Led by Interpublic Group To Revolutionize High-Fidelity 3D Commerce Meta Quest 3 review: almost the one we’ve been waiting for Mattel Creations Ron on Twitter Follow us on Twitter: Sam Ewen, Avery Akkineni, CoinDesk, Vayner3 - From our sponsor: Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, web3 companies, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and business intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. - "Gen C" features hosts Sam Ewen and Avery Akkineni, with editing by Jonas Huck. Executive produced by Jared Schwartz and produced by Uyen Truong. Our theme music is "1882” by omgkirby x Channel Tres with editing by Doc Blust. Artwork by Nicole Marie Rincon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.