General Electric, Unilever and Wal-Mart are among the brand owners trying to enhance their understanding of digital technology and behaviours, reflecting the opportunities and challenges these trends present.

Speaking to Advertising Age, Beth Comstock, CMO of General Electric, the conglomerate, posed a variety of questions which brands must answer if they are to progress in the digital age.

"How is tech changing the behaviour? Who owns the data and what's the value of the data? Who is going to make sense of this if not us?" she asked. "I'm a marketer and that makes me a behaviouralist."