SAN FRANCISCO - A Pepsi executive at ad:tech said that the moment that technology became mobile and social, it took off and permeated everything that consumers do in their everyday lives.

During the keynote session, the executive discussed how technologies have transformed the way that users work, learn, communicate and share. However, for businesses to survive, they must get digitally fit and embrace the attitudes, adopting the tools and allocating the resources necessary to thrive.

?What?s interesting is that 79 new tablet versions that look like the iPad have launched,? said Bonin Bough, global director of digital and social media at PepsiCo, Purchase, NY. ?We?re at a pace of consumer consumption that we?ve never seen before.

?In March, more apps from Apple?s App Store have been downloaded than music from iTunes,? he said. ?Digital is driving our entire society and we?re becoming a 100 percent digital society.?

Mobile consumption
According to Mr. Bough, every single technology such as mobile has changed the way that consumers consume information.

Additionally, the executive said that the moment that mobile devices entered society, companies have become stagnant.

?We have to ask ourselves as organizations and as a society, how do we survive in a place where technology is moving so fast,? Mr. Bough said. ?Adaptation is change.

?If you cease to adapt than you cease to survive,? he said. ?We are digital fitness experts.

?We have an obligation to have organizations flex the biggest muscle they have.?

Experiment
It is all about experimentation, per Mr. Bough.

Consumers looking to enter the mobile space should experiment and find out what works best for them. 

?Experimentation is one of the most important factors,? Mr. Bough said. ?We have to learn, rinse and repeat, do it over and over again in a way so that the entire organization is working.

?We were the first company to partner with foursquare ? the goal was to create a learning agenda,? he said. ?These technologies let you check in to the retailer and have a experience with them.

The company worked on several location-based mobile campaigns to engage customers.

During one promotion, the company lets users check into their gym and when they got a gym badge via foursquare, Pepsi would give then a free Gatorade.

In addition, Pepsi worked with Hess and rewarded consumers who checked in to the gas station with a coupon for chips and its Brisk beverage.

?Not only are these technologies being consumed by people, they want to be a foursquare person,? Mr. Bough said. ?We provide our scale to a platform to bring these programs to life.

?I think that numbers don?t tell the full story,? he said. ?What we?re facing is a ROI dilemma and that we?re using ROI in a defensive way to stop us from believing that technology is going to change the game.?