In May, I was part of a team of colleagues that attended the Digital Summit Atlanta. One of my favorite parts of the conference was listening to the keynote speakers; they were amazing and such great presenters. Below is a recap of the bits and pieces of what I learned.
Gary V. from Vayner Media – Recurring Theme: #FocusOnTheirAttention
This session was all about focusing your marketing efforts where your customer’s attention is, “attention” being key throughout the whole presentation. It was also interesting how Gary brought up the concept of using common sense: “Do you pay attention to banner ads, tv ads, etc.? It is very likely your answer is no, so… why would you spend your budget in channels we ignore?”
Additional Notes:
- 53% of time spent on mobile phones is on social.
- Social is not about being a salesperson; it’s about just being a brand, which means the marketing KPIs should not be sales oriented and reporting has to align to users’ behavior.
- Leverage Facebook ads, they are underpriced.
- It’s about being branding and marketing, not only transaction.
David Shing from AOL – Recurring Theme: #BrandsShouldBeAboutExperience
This keynote provided tons of visual examples to make the point that brands should be all about “experience”. Marketers should stop storytelling and pay more attention to the actual story. Delivering a message to the right person at the right time in the right place is important, but the focus should be on the right message.
Additional Notes:
- Understanding human needs is half of the job.
- Technology changes behavior not needs.
- It is less about brand persona and more about being a person.
- Not every brand needs to be in real-time; it just needs to be relevant.
- Data needs to be contextual.
Ann Hanley from Marketing Profs – Recurring Theme: #BraverAndBolderMarketing
Ann’s presentation was about being braver marketers and taking risks. I liked how she encouraged the audience to have a tone of voice that attracted customers and repelled none-customers. Her themes resonated with David Shing’s keynote when it came to the experiences a brand creates for its audience.
Additional Notes:
- We need bigger content, braver marketing, and bolder perspective.
- A brand is the sum of experiences
- The story is what will set you apart.
- Culture x Story x Empathy = Tone of Voice
- If you strip the logo, would people still know the message is from your company?
