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FutureM2015

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Rachel Dobbs

The document summarizes key insights from the FutureM 2015 conference. It discusses three main topics: 1) The rise of the "marketing technologist" who understands creative, data, and technology. 2) Companies need to take a mobile-first approach to digital products to engage consumers. 3) Companies that put design first in their culture and products, like Apple and Tesla, will be successful.

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By starting with a better, more specific question asked early on, you’re set up for greater success and more opportunity to be inspired. Once you have the right question, you need to push past all of your good ideas, leveraging quantity to arrive at quality. As Voltaire once stated, “Good is the enemy of great,” and by coming up with more solutions and more ideas, you increase the likelihood of getting from good to great. To operationalize this concept when brainstorming, push yourself to come up with as many ideas as possible. Then pick your best idea, and nix it. Now come up with something even better. Thinking beyond your first “best” idea empowers you to achieve a stronger output with better results, as opposed to settling for an idea that is merely good. How to Connect to the People: First Understand Your Audience, Then Provide Value A reoccurring theme at FutureM was exploring how brands can connect to people in meaningful ways. As a disruptive industry, at times we advertisers distance ourselves from identifying with audiences as “people,” relying on data measuring clicks and eyeballs as evidence to prove our value. “This is Your Brain on Marketing” challenged this by reminding us that there are humans on the other side of the screen, with human reactions and emotions. At AMP, valuing the people behind the demographic is a core philosophy, so diving deeper into this topic was of great interest to me. Last Tuesday through Thursday, I was lucky enough to represent AMP Agency at MITX’s FutureM conference. As a member of our business development team, it’s imperative for me to be on the forefront of industry trends and to deeply understand their business implications. After hearing many inspiring speakers discuss today’s most relevant topics, I found there were three lessons that rose to the surface—read on to learn what they were and how they can apply to your marketing strategy. Push Past Good to Get to Great: Start with a Better Question, Then Generate More Answers Knowledge is a commodity in today’s information age, and the mere act of knowing will not get you where you’re trying to go. This principle set the basis for Sarah Robertson’s Creative Thinking Workshop, which clearly outlined how to push your potential and arrive at great ideas more often. 3
In the session “The Future of Media,” Michael Dyer of The Daily Beast called upon the industry to realign to the reality of consumers’ desires and behaviors. The issue of ad blockers could be traced to the subpar experience some advertising provides its users, getting in their way rather than connecting to them. Rather than interrupting your audience, give them what they’re looking for. By solving a problem rather than creating one, you’ll be able to connect to the people you are trying to persuade. Turn Transactions into Relationships: Become a Brand They Would Miss Through Memorable Experiences Would your fans miss your brand if it wasn’t a part of their lives? Then your marketing strategy must resemble Shakespeare’s—and yes, that’s a good thing! The workshop “Creativity, Technology, and Building Brands to Last Centuries: Shakespeare’s Digital Future,” broke down the elements that contributed to Shakespeare’s success as a lasting part of global culture. The key insight: rather than targeting an audience, aim to define your audience by becoming a part of their identity. By creating memorable brand experiences that are great on their own, but get better as they layer together, you’re getting close to mimicking Shakespeare’s secret sauce. Beyond the surface level appeal of exclusivity, when you provide your audience with experiences that add up to something greater than the sum of their parts, you’re creating an irreplaceable relationship. We can relate this to the advent of layering data and technology onto every consumer product imaginable. By turning products into services, successful brands turn transactions into relationships. When you’re a brand that stops interrupting people’s behavior and instead provides value that they can’t get anywhere else, you’re on your way to building lasting relationships with your audience. In conclusion, while an important theme at FutureM is forecasting the future of marketing, technology, and advertising, I believe some of the most insightful topics discussed were recommendations on how to be more creative today, how to better understand the people our ads reach, and how to establish brands that connect to people in meaningful, lasting ways. What was your favorite lesson from FutureM? Tweet me at @IrisCullinan. 4
Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Founder, Chief Scientist, Jibo (@cynthiabreazeal) I first heard of Cynthia Breazeal in college during Writing 101: Evil Robots, Helpful Droids (cool class name, I know). 10 years ago, Dr. Breazeal was making breakthroughs in artificial intelligence with Kismet, her social robot—and that was just her doctoral work. Since then she has developed increasingly sophisticated robots that will make you wonder if friends can’t be bought after all. For the future of marketing, this means intelligent and relational technologies in the home, trusted family assistants that have the capacity to be a go-between for brands and consumers in their private lives. Dr. Breazeal emphasized that we should begin considering the ethical implications of using persuasive, emotional technology to reach our audiences, because the future will be here sooner than we think. Uri Minkoff, Co-Founder & CEO, Rebecca Minkoff (@uriminkoff) As far as anecdotes go, Uri’s story of risking it all to help his sister launch a fashion line got me to dream big. I have a tech-savvy brother, so I must be halfway there! The Rebecca Minkoff brand intentionally pushes the boundaries of what a brand can ask of its customers. Rebecca herself has been known to join online chat rooms to consult with everyday fashionistas’ preferences. Through fulfillment of Uri’s vision, Rebecca Minkoff is in your dressing room’s “smart mirror”, offering lookbooks, coffee and even control of the lighting to fit your outfit’s occasion. And the bells and whistles work: 30% of people in the fitting rooms are asking for additional items, and in-store purchases are three times higher in sales volume than Uri anticipated. Even if retail isn’t your thing, the brand is an on-going case study into emerging research methods and technology applications. Matt Kressy, Director, Integrated Design & Management, MIT (@mattkressy) When marketers think ‘MIT’, I’ve noticed a lot of (well-deserved) attention tends to fall on Media Lab, so it was refreshing to learn about MIT’s newest spot, Integrated Design and Management, or IDM. It’s founder, Matt Kressy, emphasized throughout his talk that he has on his hands a different kind of center, where the design guys who didn’t get great grades in physics can finally form dream teams with engineers and business leaders. Matt argues that many of the big-shot companies of today were founded by designers: Apple, Starbucks, Tesla, to name a few. What makes Dr. Matt a great thought leader, as well as great teacher, is his love for the underdog who fails over and over again until he gets the right design idea to the right team. Matt’s seen his students fail multiple times before suddenly hitting on the next big thing (including founding Airbnb), and I’ll be following his work at IDM to see what today’s most promising underdogs are up to. Great thought leaders abounded at this year’s FutureM. Perhaps they abound every year, but I wouldn’t know. Last time I was at Hynes Convention Center was for the Gerontological Society of America. To say I’ve experienced a career change in the past few months would be an understatement. So while I can’t offer you the conference recap from the marketing expert’s point of view (next year, I promise), I can tell you who’s happenings I will be following from here on out, because they are not only great storytellers, but true movers and shakers of our time. 5
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THE RISE OF THE “MARKETING TECHNOLOGIST” As Ram Krishnan from PepsiCo pointed out, a new paradigm is here as marketers shift from their classic and comfortable role as a “Marketer” to a more complicated role as a “Marketing Technologist.”. Today’s most successful marketers live and breathe at the intersection of three key disciplines: creative, data, and technology. TAKE A MOBILE-FIRST APPROACH WITH YOUR DIGITAL PRODUCTS Mobile devices are the dominant consumer platform for brand engagement and the brands adopting a mobile-first approach are seeing significant results and leaving their competition in the dust. Patrick Cassidy from New Balance shared that NB's mobile-first strategy focuses on pushing the boundaries within the given “container” or device. In many cases it’s these same containers that are driving how digital products are designed. For example, New Balance sees enormous potential in newer engagement platforms like Periscope as a way to connect more meaningfully with customers. Marketing, Technology and Innovation collided last week in Boston as marketers and technologists from a wide range of companies converged at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center for FutureM 2015. Here are six key insights from speakers. COMPANIES THAT PUT DESIGN FIRST WILL WIN In one of the first sessions of the conference, Matt Kressy from Integrated Design & Management at MIT shared the thread that ties Apple, Tesla, and AirBnB together. All of them put design first in company culture. Moreover, all have a slick user-experience, a profitable business model, and suitable technologies to support their brand promises. Kressy explains that to achieve this, designers must be part of the c-suite and design has to be in the company’s DNA. For other companies looking to make meaningful change but without that structure in place, smaller steps can significantly help. One way to start to include design in everyday interactions is to create interdisciplinary teams made up of folks from design, business, and engineering rather than keep functional roles siloed. Results vary, but there is a much higher probability of uncovering something new and valuable when structuring diversity into a project. 7
8 CONTENT MARKETING SHOULD INCLUDE MUSIC FOR MOST BRANDS A recurring theme across a few sessions was the importance of content marketing and how to effectively generate authentic and engaging content. Jack Bradley from Hifi Projectshared key insights into the power of music for brands and reminded the brand marketers in the audience that they too are part of the music business. Brands continue to invest heavily in music and artist partnerships because there is a unique connection consumers make with the artists and music they love. When the right partnerships are in place it becomes a win-win-win for the consumer, artist, and brand on a number of levels. DON'T FEAR THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Jeffrey Hayzlett from The C-Suite Network made a great point during a fiery, funny and passionate talk about marketing in today's world: The elephant in the room is often ignored because marketers are scared to speak up. He encouraged us all to speak up when an issue is looming over our heads. The consequences of ignoring these issues can be detrimental to marketing teams, programs and their brands. Above all, Hayzeltt reinforced the overarching message in his new book: Think Big, Act Bigger. Rewards come to those who are relentless. COMMIT FIRST, THEN FIGURE IT OUT In perhaps the most powerful keynote of the conference, Mick Ebeling shared his inspiring story of Not Impossible Labs and their mission to solve the impossible through accessible technologies to better humanity. Check out Project Daniel in the video below and consider Mick’s advice: “Commit first and then figure it out.” Innovation can thrive when you enter the unknown and take a leap of faith. The technology already exists to innovate and when we commit, we embrace the fallacy of impossible.
The Internet is one of the things that human beings will probably never completely understand, as it actively continues to shape and transform every aspect of human life. As Berners-Lee recalled the earliest days of the Web, he told Rudina a story about how people once asked him if personal computers would be just a fad. As he mused at the thought and even laughed a little, the crowd looked around the room to discover phones in their hands, the charging station at the end of the hall and the tens of dimly lit Apple computers and tablets on the tables. He continued by explaining how the business world today has been transformed and is driven by personal computers. The term “personal” is shorthanded, nevertheless. Computers, in the form of smartphones and wireless connections create waves of information per second, and therefore have become a business model for companies. In Sir Lee’s words, technologies are meant to serve people, and it is in how they manage to serve people that they are powerful. Big data has increased user awareness in business, and it is helping companies talk to consumers more effectively. Near the end of the conversation Sir Berners-Lee also talked about advertising, and more heads looked up from their screens. “Art, creativity and innovation are very closely linked,” he explained, and in a world with big data, brands can tell stories that people care about and respond to. Claps filled the air in the room, as Sir Lee leaned back in his chair and Rudina smiled. Technology and imagination drive the business world forward. And although Sir Berners- Lee can be very sure smartphones are not just a fad, how the Internet will continue to shape modern life is still a (big) question. It may need some getting used to, but big data is here to serve businesses, and ultimately human beings, to become a little more powerful day by day. Young professionals, small business owners and students from the Boston area last Wednesday gathered in the main room of the Hynes Convention Center for one of the most anticipated talks of FutureM: “Democratization of Data” by entrepreneur Rudina Seseri and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web. In a question and answer format, and through telling stories of the first ever web editors and servers, Sir Lee got to discussing one of the most talked about terms in the tech world today: big data. As the term resounded in Sir Lee’s microphone, the crowd leaned closer, notepads opened and the room buzzed. 9
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When you were studying Shakespeare in high school or college, did you ever think of him as a marketer? Think back to the plays you read—Hamlet, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, for example—then imagine yourself in the audience as a 17th century fan as these plays were performed. In both of these instances, whether or not you realized it at the time, Shakespeare layered subtleties within his stories that for the people who truly immersed themselves in his work, built upon each other, creating a different experience through subplots only familiar to his “true fans.” But, even if you weren’t a Shakespeare super fan, you still enjoyed reading the plays or attending performances because the primary narratives made sense as stand-alone plots. Here’s a 21st century example. The recently retired sitcom, How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Most episodes contained series-old “inside jokes” that were often injected into dialogue, easily recognizable (and laughable) to the serial HIMYM watchers. On the other hand, I giggled only to the more obvious one-liners as I tuned in only when losing the remote battle. Bottom line? Immersing oneself into an experience that is designed to create a relationship, be it HIMYM or Shakespeare, helps create loyalty through human connection. Shakespeare leveraged his mastery of storytelling as an experience marketing tactic. By stacking and layering individual experiences time after time throughout his work, he created a seemingly personalized experience and garnered loyalty with his fans. That’s right, experience marketing and personalization have 400-year-old roots. Mind blown. Experience marketing, personalization and the technologies that support these strategies are arguably some of the hottest topics in digital marketing right now. Experience Management platforms like Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager and EPiServer are quickly being adopted across industries in order to create connected experiences through personalization. Why? Because they create loyalty. They move the marketing needle by improving KPIs and ROMI. They create super fans. In my next couple posts, I’ll share some more insights and takeaways from FutureM 2015. In the meantime, learn more about personalization and XM platforms by exploring more on Verndale Insights or tweet at me @kirstenleshko with any questions using #VerndaleShares. I recently attended FutureM, an annual conference that gathers marketing and technology innovators from across industries to learn, discuss and ponder the future of digital marketing. While I’ll be sharing my insights and takeaways in a few posts, it’s only logical to progress from those with origins from past to present. One of the most innovative, enlightening and compelling sessions I attended was facilitated by Dr. Brad Berens (@bradberens) of the Center for the Digital Future, USC Annenberg, on the intersection of Shakespeare and digital marketing strategy. Renaissance history and the future of digital? Ok, Dr. Berens. Before your inner skeptic takes hold, let me frame this for you. Open yourself up to thinking about digital strategy through a different lens—a lens that allows you to examine a literary staple under the guise of a marketing genius. 11
It was awesome to be a part of these marketing focused sessions as well as other interesting technology conversations that were sparked around topics such as artificial intelligence, robots, virtual reality, emotion sensors, enchanted objects, 3d printing, responsive cities, flying cars, hoverboards, and invisibility cloaks! So, what does the Future look like? Keynote speaker Brian David Johnson, Futurist & Principal Engineer of Intel, offered some great insights on how we can expect our future to take shape. He shared that the future will be designed for REAL people. Though that might sound ordinary at first, it’s actually quite extraordinary! It is a future that is highly customized to meet our needs in ways we never imagined possible. He explains that the typical portrayal of the future is one that includes a sterile, sleek, and minimalistic room, void of anything humanistic. He says this portrayal is, at best, intellectually dishonest and, at worst, insulting. The future will be about real people who will be highly connected to all the “stuff” that matters to them. We will see connected technologies integrated into our everyday lives, giving us access and customization like never before. Eric Snow, SVP, Corporate Communications for PTC shared many ways this can transform industries, cities, and lives. We’ll see technology used for the sake of humanity. For example, inspiring Keynote speaker Mike Ebeling, CEO of Not Impossible Labs, shared how his community of innovators is creating technology and programs that are truly changing lives. We’ll see it change the way we work and do business, as well as the way we play and enjoy life. Sounds pretty exciting, right?! The future of marketing is highly personal. Ram Krishanan, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, spoke in a keynote about “Innovation in Marketing”. He shared how using data is the key that provides a powerful guide to creating more innovative marketing campaigns, where personalization and customization play a major role. Ram’s marketing mantra is to create relevant, experiential campaigns utilizing technology and insights to drive consumers to create, share, and take action. Throughout Ram’s session, he gave impressive case studies highlighting how specific Pepsi brands are creating engaging consumer interactions using highly customized content that reinforces the brand message. In this changing consumer landscape, we must “innovate or die”, says Ram. The Doritos #boldstage campaign, for example, found a key opportunity to communicate their slogan “for the bold” at SXSW, an annual festival where technology and music intersect. This campaign gave attendees a fully interactive concert experience worth talking about, challenging consumers to complete #boldmissions: missions that were met with even bolder rewards. Uri Minkoff, Co-Founder & CEO of the fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff, spoke about the company’s philosophy of truly listening to their consumers, incorporating that feedback into the brand and products, and using innovative technologies to customize a one-of-kind retail experience. The annual FutureM conference in Boston, powered by MITX, brings together marketing and technology professionals for three days to contemplate and celebrate the Future of Marketing. I’m definitely not the biggest technology nerd in the Jackrabbit office. However, I was nonetheless very excited to hear from speakers with titles as fascinating as “Futurist”, “Chief Marketing Technologist”, “Chief Innovation Architect”, and none other than “The Inventor of the Internet”! This year we heard from many incredibly innovative marketing and technology leaders in an environment that promoted the theme “CONNECT. CREATE. INNOVATE.” This experience gave me an exciting glimpse into the future of marketing and technology, and I want to tell you all about it! 12
Their strategy appears to be tremendously successful, as they’ve created one of the fastest-growing fashion brands using innovative technologies in their approach to marketing and consumer experience. The changing consumer landscape. One recurring theme at FutureM sessions was how the plethora of social media channels continue to change how consumers interact with companies and the products and/or services they offer. Social media has changed the types of conversations consumers now expect to have with their favorite brands and it has transformed how we, as Marketing Technologists, will need to communicate and deliver a brand experience. What do the technology-driven consumers of today want and expect? Consumers want to EXPERIENCE your brand, and they want that experience to be personalized. They like to engage with a brand, but on their own terms; they like opportunities for a personalized celebrity-style experience in some cases, but still want the option to be anonymous. They want to be a part of the brand conversation, and they like it when brands give them opportunities to have a voice and to co- create content. They seek shareable content, and brands now need to measure ROI from a different perspective – “Return on Image”, saysRam Krishnan. Visual BrandPower™, created by David Rose, CEO of Ditto Labs, is now something we should be paying attention to as a way to measure brand health in terms of market share AND photo share. With technology as the new universal language, social media has started a new type of global conversation among consumers. Conventional marketing wisdom, which says a dissatisfied customer tells ten people, has been transformed through social media to mean that that dissatisfied customer can tell the entire world. One challenge that brands face going forward is how to find more innovative ways to capitalize on the ability to not only listen to the conversations happening, but also contribute to them, shape them, and analyze them. More so than ever we must use the collected data to create relevant content and more customized experiences, tailored to what the customer wants, as well as when, where, and how they want it. The Internet of Things (IoT) Smart objects. Smart buildings. Smart cities. Smart homes. We’re seeing more and more computational power and connectivity added all around us and in the objects we wear, carry, and use everyday. In the future we’ll see even larger amounts of data from diverse locations aggregated extremely quickly, and better indexed, stored, and processed for use to inform decisions. Gartner forecasts that by 2020, 25 billion connected things will be in use. Cisco estimates about 50 billion will be connected and Morgan Stanley feels that number can actually be as high as 75 billion. Some applications mentioned by FutureM speakers both impressed the audience and also sparked important conversations around privacy and data ownership. A few of the applications mentioned included your smart sprinkler system, which will automatically check the local weather conditions before turning on. Your smart car self-monitors and self-diagnoses and then determines the solution to a variety of issues. Your smart oven will determine when your cookies are the perfect golden brown color. Your smart city dumpster system will alert the collector when specific dumpters need to be emptied and then optimize the most efficient route to collect trash on any given day. Smart products you buy will automatically collect data and stream it back to the brand, providing endless opportunities for brands to listen and respond to your needs and resolve issues. Intel Futurist Brian David Johnson poses the question: “What happens when the unit of compute gets so small, efficient, and cost effective that we can put it anywhere and everywhere?” He suggests that the answer is that it becomes no longer a question of can we, but it becomes about what and why. We begin to ask ourselves, how do we want to shape our own future? And the answer is the future will be what we make it. So let’s work together to make it great. FutureM was informative, insightful, and forward-thinking. As always, I learned a lot of new things, but foremost among them is the need to continually reevaluate the audience to which our clients are marketing themselves. The landscape is constantly changing, but we certainly have the tools and creativity to keep pace. 13
We must understand our audience to give them the content they want. Krishnan spoke about the Cheetos Project TP campaign, where they tracked social media conversations from previous Halloweens to gather information on what people were interested in, and tailor their campaign to something that would actually work. He also talked about how Doritos took on the trend of emojis by creating ads Facebook, using emojis tailored to individuals’ interests. And you know what? People responded to it. In her workshop “Everything You’re Doing Wrong With Your Pitch & How To Fix It,” Tamsen Webster of TedX emphasized the same. Webster explained the necessary concept of sender orientation; when pitching or presenting, she said, we should think about what makes sense not to us, but to our individual investors/ clients. Everything from formatting, to order, to highlighted features should attract the individual it reaches. According to Nondini Naqui in her panel, “Beyond Posters & Toasters,” that’s how Society of Grownups gained so much success. When MassMutual went out to research how to sell more life insurance, they found out younger people weren’t even looking for life insurance — they needed help with too much else. Society of Grownups is tailored to the individual by helping them accomplish what they want to accomplish, and it’s working because of that (and because of their awesome branding). And the GenZ-ers, during their panel, confirmed it all. They talked about how they want to be treated as human by brands, and how they only want content that applies to them. Everything else, one said, was just clutter. “We don’t want to be classified…put in boxes,” another said. “We aren’t all the same.” So maybe now with mobile being the main medium and targeting becoming easier each year, we can start moving toward the idea of individual advertising. Will it change the way marketers and advertisers have to do things? Probably. But change for the better has to start somewhere. And as Brian David Johnson, Futurist at Intel said, “Crazy ideas are only crazy until someone figures out their genius.” In advertising, particularly at a small agency, we tend to think of consumers as a demographic. Males, ages 18–34. Females, ages 65–80. Young moms. Millennials. But according to the speakers at FutureM, that’s the wrong way of doing it. As humans, we don’t like being thought of as part of a demographic. We want to be thought of as individuals. And when a brand treats us as such, we trust and respect them more. During his Keynote Wednesday morning, Ram Krishnan, CMP & SVP of Fritolay, said marketers must create personalized experience for consumers, as understood through 6 main layers of data: search, location, purchase, social, interest and content. 14
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Then, he showed us a more realistic picture of what the future might look like with more technology, stuff on dressers and things that make it really interesting and human. What was his point of sharing this, and what does it tell us about the future of B2B marketing? We need to make sure that we are designing the future for real people and embracing the diversity of people. THE FUTURE IS COMPLEX (PREDICTIONS FROM ANITA BREARTON,DUANE SCHULZ, SCOTT BRINKER, CHISTA CARONE, JEANNE CONNON) Anita Brearton, Founder of CabinetM (a discovery platform to connect marketers to marketing technology companies), starts the conversation by noting that 57% of the sales process happens before the sales person ever touches the customer. This puts a great deal of stress on marketers, making it more important than ever to implement high performing marketing strategies. She explains the good and bad news – there are lots and lots of marketing tools to choose from. This can provide B2B marketers with a competitive advantage, if they know how to manage the complexity properly. So, how can B2B marketers manage the overwhelming amount of marketing tools available and decide which ones are right for their business? Jeanne Connon, Entrepreneur in Residence at DCM Ventures, says that she feels her most important job is to stay informed about new marketing technologies and opportunities. Connon urges marketing professionals to, get this, actually read their emails. To stay informed, she really makes an effort to read information about marketing products and trends, whether scanning emails or browsing industry articles. Chista Carone, Chief Marketing Officer at Boston 2024, explains that this presents a huge opportunity for marketers to step up their game and how we market to each other. Carone tells us how many of the panelists have received pitches from vendors because they were able to draw their names from the speakers list. However, it’s disappointing that about 90% of them were completely irrelevant to her position or responsibilities. With the abundance of marketing tools available, there needs to be greater focus on relevancy. What does this tell us about the future of B2B marketing? This year marked the 6th annual FutureM conference, bringing marketing and technology professionals together to envision, discuss and plan for the future of marketing. FutureM attendees gathered from 21 states, 3 countries and 38 different industries. If you didn’t already know, the “M” in FutureM stands for Marketing. So, it’s only right that I share some of the most interesting predictions from #FutureM15 speakers that B2B marketers should keep in mind for the future. THE FUTURE IS REAL (PREDICTION FROM BRIAN DAVID JOHNSON, INTEL) Brian David Johnson offered tons of insight during his keynote session at FutureM. He shared a staged picture of the future – something we might see in a commercial for technology – of a man sitting in a cold, dark and scary room watching TV. Basically, no one would want to live in that future because it looks like prison. He explains that, at best, these types of futuristic portrayals are intellectually dishonest and, at worst, they are insulting. 16
Marketing technology companies can find success by relating to the challenges that marketers experience and truly understanding their problems, rather than just selling the product itself. And, for marketing agencies, this tells us that we should be bringing relevant tools to our clients for consideration to help them better manage this complexity. THE FUTURE IS PERSONAL (PREDICTIONS FROM RAM KRISHANAN, PEPSICO) Ram Krishanan, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, gave an awesome keynote session about using data to guide innovative marketing campaigns. While the presentation mainly focused on data, to me, it ultimately reinforced the major role that personalization and customization will play in the future of B2B marketing. Throughout Ram’s session, he gave several examples of how Pepsi brands create highly customized content to engage their target audience. Whether by crafting 3D advertisements or using animated emojis to interact with their fans on Facebook, these personalized campaigns are something that was completely unheard of 10 years ago. One of my favorite parts of his keynote was the Q&A period. Someone from the audience asked how marketers can get buy in for solutions that allow them to make more personalized marketing campaigns. Ram explained that personalization naturally starts with data, which by definition can be measured. He recommended doing test and controls to prove the value of personalized communication compared to mass communication. FINAL THOUGHTS The overall goal of the conference was threefold, allowing marketing professionals to connect, create and innovate: • To help people connect, FutureM partnered with Almighty, which gave attendees access to an awesome connection platform, NODE. This let attendees find and interact with people they have most in common with, spark conversations, and build their communities. • Rather than just talking about marketing strategies, FutureM encouraged attendees to create by offering hands-on workshops, giving marketers a chance to apply new concepts. The environment was filled with new ideas, connections and inspiration to help marketers innovate. • While the conference did cover some traditional marketing basics, it emphasized the tentacles of marketing – the trends in technology, consumer behavior and the customer experience. 17
“Think big. Act bigger.” — @JeffreyHayzlett. (Tweet this!) From the first speaker I saw to the very last, this message rang true. Many presenters spoke about the need to take risks as marketers, to not be afraid to mess up and to continue to test the norm in the industry in order to stay fresh, innovative and effective. In an age when things are constantly changing, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. As keynote speaker Mick Ebeling said, “Commit first, then figure it out.” “No to marketing, yes to conversation.”–@ramalytics. (Tweet this!) There was also a lot of talk about how to reach and engage with Millennials and Generation Z in the digital world of marketing. Many took a deeper dive into what types of content these audiences like. Many presenters agreed these demographics are likely to engage with authentic, genuine, moving content from brands they feel they can trust. Transparency and authenticity were two key elements many speakers mentioned when discussing the process of creating this type of content. “Doing good is good branding.”–@MickEbeling. (Tweet this!) This is one underlying theme I found tied into each of the above takeaways. Brands that do good will naturally receive much more attention and engagement, especially from younger demographics. If a brand does something genuine, it will create organic ripples in the digital world. And don’t be ashamed to back this kind of content up with ad spend. In the words of Jenn Eldin, “Just because it’s paid for doesn’t mean it’s not authentic.” Overall, I believe these three takeaways frame the direction in which the digital marketing industry is heading. Don’t be afraid to take risks, create engaging, authentic content and do your best to contribute to something greater than your product or service while doing so. Were you able to make it to #FutureM15 this year? Tell us what you thought by tweeting with us: @solomonmccown! Last week, I attended #FutureM15 in downtown Boston. It was a whirlwind of strategic insight, valuable advice, marketing tips and social media best practices. Throughout my time at the conference, I noticed that certain themes emerged from the many industry leaders speaking at this event. Here are my three overarching takeaways from Future M: 18
One of the funnier moments was about those harassing pop-up ads we witness on a variety of websites everyday. Hall said that no one looks forward to seeing pop-up ads or browses the web waiting to see what pops up next. As marketers, we’re aware of the vast amount of information and data available to us, one thing we don’t need is forced advertisements. It doesn't work and only makes customers upset. So, what do we need? According to Hall, the key to making sure your products or services are known and respected is to build trust and stay top-of-mind. It leads to a greater opportunity and emits authenticity. The key to building trust is simple. Help your customers (and social media followers) as much as possible and educate them on your products and services. Be genuine and you will stay top-of-mind. Hall continued with a great example from Plated, a pre-portioned food service. Plated creates content because it wants to help readers. They write blogs all about food, healthy eating, history of food, new recipes, and dinner ideas. Hall trusted the blog and tried the service which then made his wife happy because he finally cooked a meal! Plated received a new customer, so obviously they were happy. And Hall felt great that it all worked out and had help making dinner. It was a win-win-win situation and a great example of educating your customers, providing information that people are looking for, and making dinner a great success. And now everyone in Hall's session is aware of Plated and how well their content strategy works! I just got back from Future M and whoa! It was a great conference for anyone involved in marketing. One session I enjoyed was called, ‘How Your Company’s Expertise Can Take Your Content Strategy to New Levels in 2016’led by John Hall, CEO of Influence & Co. and writer for Forbes and Inc. During his session, Hall spoke about the huge amount of mindless statistics that we’re inundated with each day. Humor-filled, made up stats such as, “299% of consumers say custom content makes them more likely to make a purchase.” Almost everyone involved in this space tries to get ahead by releasing BS data to make themselves look like the leaders in content marketing. The lesson? Don’t pay attention to stats. 19
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FutureM2015

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  • 3. By starting with a better, more specific question asked early on, you’re set up for greater success and more opportunity to be inspired. Once you have the right question, you need to push past all of your good ideas, leveraging quantity to arrive at quality. As Voltaire once stated, “Good is the enemy of great,” and by coming up with more solutions and more ideas, you increase the likelihood of getting from good to great. To operationalize this concept when brainstorming, push yourself to come up with as many ideas as possible. Then pick your best idea, and nix it. Now come up with something even better. Thinking beyond your first “best” idea empowers you to achieve a stronger output with better results, as opposed to settling for an idea that is merely good. How to Connect to the People: First Understand Your Audience, Then Provide Value A reoccurring theme at FutureM was exploring how brands can connect to people in meaningful ways. As a disruptive industry, at times we advertisers distance ourselves from identifying with audiences as “people,” relying on data measuring clicks and eyeballs as evidence to prove our value. “This is Your Brain on Marketing” challenged this by reminding us that there are humans on the other side of the screen, with human reactions and emotions. At AMP, valuing the people behind the demographic is a core philosophy, so diving deeper into this topic was of great interest to me. Last Tuesday through Thursday, I was lucky enough to represent AMP Agency at MITX’s FutureM conference. As a member of our business development team, it’s imperative for me to be on the forefront of industry trends and to deeply understand their business implications. After hearing many inspiring speakers discuss today’s most relevant topics, I found there were three lessons that rose to the surface—read on to learn what they were and how they can apply to your marketing strategy. Push Past Good to Get to Great: Start with a Better Question, Then Generate More Answers Knowledge is a commodity in today’s information age, and the mere act of knowing will not get you where you’re trying to go. This principle set the basis for Sarah Robertson’s Creative Thinking Workshop, which clearly outlined how to push your potential and arrive at great ideas more often. 3
  • 4. In the session “The Future of Media,” Michael Dyer of The Daily Beast called upon the industry to realign to the reality of consumers’ desires and behaviors. The issue of ad blockers could be traced to the subpar experience some advertising provides its users, getting in their way rather than connecting to them. Rather than interrupting your audience, give them what they’re looking for. By solving a problem rather than creating one, you’ll be able to connect to the people you are trying to persuade. Turn Transactions into Relationships: Become a Brand They Would Miss Through Memorable Experiences Would your fans miss your brand if it wasn’t a part of their lives? Then your marketing strategy must resemble Shakespeare’s—and yes, that’s a good thing! The workshop “Creativity, Technology, and Building Brands to Last Centuries: Shakespeare’s Digital Future,” broke down the elements that contributed to Shakespeare’s success as a lasting part of global culture. The key insight: rather than targeting an audience, aim to define your audience by becoming a part of their identity. By creating memorable brand experiences that are great on their own, but get better as they layer together, you’re getting close to mimicking Shakespeare’s secret sauce. Beyond the surface level appeal of exclusivity, when you provide your audience with experiences that add up to something greater than the sum of their parts, you’re creating an irreplaceable relationship. We can relate this to the advent of layering data and technology onto every consumer product imaginable. By turning products into services, successful brands turn transactions into relationships. When you’re a brand that stops interrupting people’s behavior and instead provides value that they can’t get anywhere else, you’re on your way to building lasting relationships with your audience. In conclusion, while an important theme at FutureM is forecasting the future of marketing, technology, and advertising, I believe some of the most insightful topics discussed were recommendations on how to be more creative today, how to better understand the people our ads reach, and how to establish brands that connect to people in meaningful, lasting ways. What was your favorite lesson from FutureM? Tweet me at @IrisCullinan. 4
  • 5. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Founder, Chief Scientist, Jibo (@cynthiabreazeal) I first heard of Cynthia Breazeal in college during Writing 101: Evil Robots, Helpful Droids (cool class name, I know). 10 years ago, Dr. Breazeal was making breakthroughs in artificial intelligence with Kismet, her social robot—and that was just her doctoral work. Since then she has developed increasingly sophisticated robots that will make you wonder if friends can’t be bought after all. For the future of marketing, this means intelligent and relational technologies in the home, trusted family assistants that have the capacity to be a go-between for brands and consumers in their private lives. Dr. Breazeal emphasized that we should begin considering the ethical implications of using persuasive, emotional technology to reach our audiences, because the future will be here sooner than we think. Uri Minkoff, Co-Founder & CEO, Rebecca Minkoff (@uriminkoff) As far as anecdotes go, Uri’s story of risking it all to help his sister launch a fashion line got me to dream big. I have a tech-savvy brother, so I must be halfway there! The Rebecca Minkoff brand intentionally pushes the boundaries of what a brand can ask of its customers. Rebecca herself has been known to join online chat rooms to consult with everyday fashionistas’ preferences. Through fulfillment of Uri’s vision, Rebecca Minkoff is in your dressing room’s “smart mirror”, offering lookbooks, coffee and even control of the lighting to fit your outfit’s occasion. And the bells and whistles work: 30% of people in the fitting rooms are asking for additional items, and in-store purchases are three times higher in sales volume than Uri anticipated. Even if retail isn’t your thing, the brand is an on-going case study into emerging research methods and technology applications. Matt Kressy, Director, Integrated Design & Management, MIT (@mattkressy) When marketers think ‘MIT’, I’ve noticed a lot of (well-deserved) attention tends to fall on Media Lab, so it was refreshing to learn about MIT’s newest spot, Integrated Design and Management, or IDM. It’s founder, Matt Kressy, emphasized throughout his talk that he has on his hands a different kind of center, where the design guys who didn’t get great grades in physics can finally form dream teams with engineers and business leaders. Matt argues that many of the big-shot companies of today were founded by designers: Apple, Starbucks, Tesla, to name a few. What makes Dr. Matt a great thought leader, as well as great teacher, is his love for the underdog who fails over and over again until he gets the right design idea to the right team. Matt’s seen his students fail multiple times before suddenly hitting on the next big thing (including founding Airbnb), and I’ll be following his work at IDM to see what today’s most promising underdogs are up to. Great thought leaders abounded at this year’s FutureM. Perhaps they abound every year, but I wouldn’t know. Last time I was at Hynes Convention Center was for the Gerontological Society of America. To say I’ve experienced a career change in the past few months would be an understatement. So while I can’t offer you the conference recap from the marketing expert’s point of view (next year, I promise), I can tell you who’s happenings I will be following from here on out, because they are not only great storytellers, but true movers and shakers of our time. 5
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  • 7. THE RISE OF THE “MARKETING TECHNOLOGIST” As Ram Krishnan from PepsiCo pointed out, a new paradigm is here as marketers shift from their classic and comfortable role as a “Marketer” to a more complicated role as a “Marketing Technologist.”. Today’s most successful marketers live and breathe at the intersection of three key disciplines: creative, data, and technology. TAKE A MOBILE-FIRST APPROACH WITH YOUR DIGITAL PRODUCTS Mobile devices are the dominant consumer platform for brand engagement and the brands adopting a mobile-first approach are seeing significant results and leaving their competition in the dust. Patrick Cassidy from New Balance shared that NB's mobile-first strategy focuses on pushing the boundaries within the given “container” or device. In many cases it’s these same containers that are driving how digital products are designed. For example, New Balance sees enormous potential in newer engagement platforms like Periscope as a way to connect more meaningfully with customers. Marketing, Technology and Innovation collided last week in Boston as marketers and technologists from a wide range of companies converged at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center for FutureM 2015. Here are six key insights from speakers. COMPANIES THAT PUT DESIGN FIRST WILL WIN In one of the first sessions of the conference, Matt Kressy from Integrated Design & Management at MIT shared the thread that ties Apple, Tesla, and AirBnB together. All of them put design first in company culture. Moreover, all have a slick user-experience, a profitable business model, and suitable technologies to support their brand promises. Kressy explains that to achieve this, designers must be part of the c-suite and design has to be in the company’s DNA. For other companies looking to make meaningful change but without that structure in place, smaller steps can significantly help. One way to start to include design in everyday interactions is to create interdisciplinary teams made up of folks from design, business, and engineering rather than keep functional roles siloed. Results vary, but there is a much higher probability of uncovering something new and valuable when structuring diversity into a project. 7
  • 8. 8 CONTENT MARKETING SHOULD INCLUDE MUSIC FOR MOST BRANDS A recurring theme across a few sessions was the importance of content marketing and how to effectively generate authentic and engaging content. Jack Bradley from Hifi Projectshared key insights into the power of music for brands and reminded the brand marketers in the audience that they too are part of the music business. Brands continue to invest heavily in music and artist partnerships because there is a unique connection consumers make with the artists and music they love. When the right partnerships are in place it becomes a win-win-win for the consumer, artist, and brand on a number of levels. DON'T FEAR THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Jeffrey Hayzlett from The C-Suite Network made a great point during a fiery, funny and passionate talk about marketing in today's world: The elephant in the room is often ignored because marketers are scared to speak up. He encouraged us all to speak up when an issue is looming over our heads. The consequences of ignoring these issues can be detrimental to marketing teams, programs and their brands. Above all, Hayzeltt reinforced the overarching message in his new book: Think Big, Act Bigger. Rewards come to those who are relentless. COMMIT FIRST, THEN FIGURE IT OUT In perhaps the most powerful keynote of the conference, Mick Ebeling shared his inspiring story of Not Impossible Labs and their mission to solve the impossible through accessible technologies to better humanity. Check out Project Daniel in the video below and consider Mick’s advice: “Commit first and then figure it out.” Innovation can thrive when you enter the unknown and take a leap of faith. The technology already exists to innovate and when we commit, we embrace the fallacy of impossible.
  • 9. The Internet is one of the things that human beings will probably never completely understand, as it actively continues to shape and transform every aspect of human life. As Berners-Lee recalled the earliest days of the Web, he told Rudina a story about how people once asked him if personal computers would be just a fad. As he mused at the thought and even laughed a little, the crowd looked around the room to discover phones in their hands, the charging station at the end of the hall and the tens of dimly lit Apple computers and tablets on the tables. He continued by explaining how the business world today has been transformed and is driven by personal computers. The term “personal” is shorthanded, nevertheless. Computers, in the form of smartphones and wireless connections create waves of information per second, and therefore have become a business model for companies. In Sir Lee’s words, technologies are meant to serve people, and it is in how they manage to serve people that they are powerful. Big data has increased user awareness in business, and it is helping companies talk to consumers more effectively. Near the end of the conversation Sir Berners-Lee also talked about advertising, and more heads looked up from their screens. “Art, creativity and innovation are very closely linked,” he explained, and in a world with big data, brands can tell stories that people care about and respond to. Claps filled the air in the room, as Sir Lee leaned back in his chair and Rudina smiled. Technology and imagination drive the business world forward. And although Sir Berners- Lee can be very sure smartphones are not just a fad, how the Internet will continue to shape modern life is still a (big) question. It may need some getting used to, but big data is here to serve businesses, and ultimately human beings, to become a little more powerful day by day. Young professionals, small business owners and students from the Boston area last Wednesday gathered in the main room of the Hynes Convention Center for one of the most anticipated talks of FutureM: “Democratization of Data” by entrepreneur Rudina Seseri and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web. In a question and answer format, and through telling stories of the first ever web editors and servers, Sir Lee got to discussing one of the most talked about terms in the tech world today: big data. As the term resounded in Sir Lee’s microphone, the crowd leaned closer, notepads opened and the room buzzed. 9
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  • 11. When you were studying Shakespeare in high school or college, did you ever think of him as a marketer? Think back to the plays you read—Hamlet, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, for example—then imagine yourself in the audience as a 17th century fan as these plays were performed. In both of these instances, whether or not you realized it at the time, Shakespeare layered subtleties within his stories that for the people who truly immersed themselves in his work, built upon each other, creating a different experience through subplots only familiar to his “true fans.” But, even if you weren’t a Shakespeare super fan, you still enjoyed reading the plays or attending performances because the primary narratives made sense as stand-alone plots. Here’s a 21st century example. The recently retired sitcom, How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Most episodes contained series-old “inside jokes” that were often injected into dialogue, easily recognizable (and laughable) to the serial HIMYM watchers. On the other hand, I giggled only to the more obvious one-liners as I tuned in only when losing the remote battle. Bottom line? Immersing oneself into an experience that is designed to create a relationship, be it HIMYM or Shakespeare, helps create loyalty through human connection. Shakespeare leveraged his mastery of storytelling as an experience marketing tactic. By stacking and layering individual experiences time after time throughout his work, he created a seemingly personalized experience and garnered loyalty with his fans. That’s right, experience marketing and personalization have 400-year-old roots. Mind blown. Experience marketing, personalization and the technologies that support these strategies are arguably some of the hottest topics in digital marketing right now. Experience Management platforms like Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager and EPiServer are quickly being adopted across industries in order to create connected experiences through personalization. Why? Because they create loyalty. They move the marketing needle by improving KPIs and ROMI. They create super fans. In my next couple posts, I’ll share some more insights and takeaways from FutureM 2015. In the meantime, learn more about personalization and XM platforms by exploring more on Verndale Insights or tweet at me @kirstenleshko with any questions using #VerndaleShares. I recently attended FutureM, an annual conference that gathers marketing and technology innovators from across industries to learn, discuss and ponder the future of digital marketing. While I’ll be sharing my insights and takeaways in a few posts, it’s only logical to progress from those with origins from past to present. One of the most innovative, enlightening and compelling sessions I attended was facilitated by Dr. Brad Berens (@bradberens) of the Center for the Digital Future, USC Annenberg, on the intersection of Shakespeare and digital marketing strategy. Renaissance history and the future of digital? Ok, Dr. Berens. Before your inner skeptic takes hold, let me frame this for you. Open yourself up to thinking about digital strategy through a different lens—a lens that allows you to examine a literary staple under the guise of a marketing genius. 11
  • 12. It was awesome to be a part of these marketing focused sessions as well as other interesting technology conversations that were sparked around topics such as artificial intelligence, robots, virtual reality, emotion sensors, enchanted objects, 3d printing, responsive cities, flying cars, hoverboards, and invisibility cloaks! So, what does the Future look like? Keynote speaker Brian David Johnson, Futurist & Principal Engineer of Intel, offered some great insights on how we can expect our future to take shape. He shared that the future will be designed for REAL people. Though that might sound ordinary at first, it’s actually quite extraordinary! It is a future that is highly customized to meet our needs in ways we never imagined possible. He explains that the typical portrayal of the future is one that includes a sterile, sleek, and minimalistic room, void of anything humanistic. He says this portrayal is, at best, intellectually dishonest and, at worst, insulting. The future will be about real people who will be highly connected to all the “stuff” that matters to them. We will see connected technologies integrated into our everyday lives, giving us access and customization like never before. Eric Snow, SVP, Corporate Communications for PTC shared many ways this can transform industries, cities, and lives. We’ll see technology used for the sake of humanity. For example, inspiring Keynote speaker Mike Ebeling, CEO of Not Impossible Labs, shared how his community of innovators is creating technology and programs that are truly changing lives. We’ll see it change the way we work and do business, as well as the way we play and enjoy life. Sounds pretty exciting, right?! The future of marketing is highly personal. Ram Krishanan, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, spoke in a keynote about “Innovation in Marketing”. He shared how using data is the key that provides a powerful guide to creating more innovative marketing campaigns, where personalization and customization play a major role. Ram’s marketing mantra is to create relevant, experiential campaigns utilizing technology and insights to drive consumers to create, share, and take action. Throughout Ram’s session, he gave impressive case studies highlighting how specific Pepsi brands are creating engaging consumer interactions using highly customized content that reinforces the brand message. In this changing consumer landscape, we must “innovate or die”, says Ram. The Doritos #boldstage campaign, for example, found a key opportunity to communicate their slogan “for the bold” at SXSW, an annual festival where technology and music intersect. This campaign gave attendees a fully interactive concert experience worth talking about, challenging consumers to complete #boldmissions: missions that were met with even bolder rewards. Uri Minkoff, Co-Founder & CEO of the fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff, spoke about the company’s philosophy of truly listening to their consumers, incorporating that feedback into the brand and products, and using innovative technologies to customize a one-of-kind retail experience. The annual FutureM conference in Boston, powered by MITX, brings together marketing and technology professionals for three days to contemplate and celebrate the Future of Marketing. I’m definitely not the biggest technology nerd in the Jackrabbit office. However, I was nonetheless very excited to hear from speakers with titles as fascinating as “Futurist”, “Chief Marketing Technologist”, “Chief Innovation Architect”, and none other than “The Inventor of the Internet”! This year we heard from many incredibly innovative marketing and technology leaders in an environment that promoted the theme “CONNECT. CREATE. INNOVATE.” This experience gave me an exciting glimpse into the future of marketing and technology, and I want to tell you all about it! 12
  • 13. Their strategy appears to be tremendously successful, as they’ve created one of the fastest-growing fashion brands using innovative technologies in their approach to marketing and consumer experience. The changing consumer landscape. One recurring theme at FutureM sessions was how the plethora of social media channels continue to change how consumers interact with companies and the products and/or services they offer. Social media has changed the types of conversations consumers now expect to have with their favorite brands and it has transformed how we, as Marketing Technologists, will need to communicate and deliver a brand experience. What do the technology-driven consumers of today want and expect? Consumers want to EXPERIENCE your brand, and they want that experience to be personalized. They like to engage with a brand, but on their own terms; they like opportunities for a personalized celebrity-style experience in some cases, but still want the option to be anonymous. They want to be a part of the brand conversation, and they like it when brands give them opportunities to have a voice and to co- create content. They seek shareable content, and brands now need to measure ROI from a different perspective – “Return on Image”, saysRam Krishnan. Visual BrandPower™, created by David Rose, CEO of Ditto Labs, is now something we should be paying attention to as a way to measure brand health in terms of market share AND photo share. With technology as the new universal language, social media has started a new type of global conversation among consumers. Conventional marketing wisdom, which says a dissatisfied customer tells ten people, has been transformed through social media to mean that that dissatisfied customer can tell the entire world. One challenge that brands face going forward is how to find more innovative ways to capitalize on the ability to not only listen to the conversations happening, but also contribute to them, shape them, and analyze them. More so than ever we must use the collected data to create relevant content and more customized experiences, tailored to what the customer wants, as well as when, where, and how they want it. The Internet of Things (IoT) Smart objects. Smart buildings. Smart cities. Smart homes. We’re seeing more and more computational power and connectivity added all around us and in the objects we wear, carry, and use everyday. In the future we’ll see even larger amounts of data from diverse locations aggregated extremely quickly, and better indexed, stored, and processed for use to inform decisions. Gartner forecasts that by 2020, 25 billion connected things will be in use. Cisco estimates about 50 billion will be connected and Morgan Stanley feels that number can actually be as high as 75 billion. Some applications mentioned by FutureM speakers both impressed the audience and also sparked important conversations around privacy and data ownership. A few of the applications mentioned included your smart sprinkler system, which will automatically check the local weather conditions before turning on. Your smart car self-monitors and self-diagnoses and then determines the solution to a variety of issues. Your smart oven will determine when your cookies are the perfect golden brown color. Your smart city dumpster system will alert the collector when specific dumpters need to be emptied and then optimize the most efficient route to collect trash on any given day. Smart products you buy will automatically collect data and stream it back to the brand, providing endless opportunities for brands to listen and respond to your needs and resolve issues. Intel Futurist Brian David Johnson poses the question: “What happens when the unit of compute gets so small, efficient, and cost effective that we can put it anywhere and everywhere?” He suggests that the answer is that it becomes no longer a question of can we, but it becomes about what and why. We begin to ask ourselves, how do we want to shape our own future? And the answer is the future will be what we make it. So let’s work together to make it great. FutureM was informative, insightful, and forward-thinking. As always, I learned a lot of new things, but foremost among them is the need to continually reevaluate the audience to which our clients are marketing themselves. The landscape is constantly changing, but we certainly have the tools and creativity to keep pace. 13
  • 14. We must understand our audience to give them the content they want. Krishnan spoke about the Cheetos Project TP campaign, where they tracked social media conversations from previous Halloweens to gather information on what people were interested in, and tailor their campaign to something that would actually work. He also talked about how Doritos took on the trend of emojis by creating ads Facebook, using emojis tailored to individuals’ interests. And you know what? People responded to it. In her workshop “Everything You’re Doing Wrong With Your Pitch & How To Fix It,” Tamsen Webster of TedX emphasized the same. Webster explained the necessary concept of sender orientation; when pitching or presenting, she said, we should think about what makes sense not to us, but to our individual investors/ clients. Everything from formatting, to order, to highlighted features should attract the individual it reaches. According to Nondini Naqui in her panel, “Beyond Posters & Toasters,” that’s how Society of Grownups gained so much success. When MassMutual went out to research how to sell more life insurance, they found out younger people weren’t even looking for life insurance — they needed help with too much else. Society of Grownups is tailored to the individual by helping them accomplish what they want to accomplish, and it’s working because of that (and because of their awesome branding). And the GenZ-ers, during their panel, confirmed it all. They talked about how they want to be treated as human by brands, and how they only want content that applies to them. Everything else, one said, was just clutter. “We don’t want to be classified…put in boxes,” another said. “We aren’t all the same.” So maybe now with mobile being the main medium and targeting becoming easier each year, we can start moving toward the idea of individual advertising. Will it change the way marketers and advertisers have to do things? Probably. But change for the better has to start somewhere. And as Brian David Johnson, Futurist at Intel said, “Crazy ideas are only crazy until someone figures out their genius.” In advertising, particularly at a small agency, we tend to think of consumers as a demographic. Males, ages 18–34. Females, ages 65–80. Young moms. Millennials. But according to the speakers at FutureM, that’s the wrong way of doing it. As humans, we don’t like being thought of as part of a demographic. We want to be thought of as individuals. And when a brand treats us as such, we trust and respect them more. During his Keynote Wednesday morning, Ram Krishnan, CMP & SVP of Fritolay, said marketers must create personalized experience for consumers, as understood through 6 main layers of data: search, location, purchase, social, interest and content. 14
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  • 16. Then, he showed us a more realistic picture of what the future might look like with more technology, stuff on dressers and things that make it really interesting and human. What was his point of sharing this, and what does it tell us about the future of B2B marketing? We need to make sure that we are designing the future for real people and embracing the diversity of people. THE FUTURE IS COMPLEX (PREDICTIONS FROM ANITA BREARTON,DUANE SCHULZ, SCOTT BRINKER, CHISTA CARONE, JEANNE CONNON) Anita Brearton, Founder of CabinetM (a discovery platform to connect marketers to marketing technology companies), starts the conversation by noting that 57% of the sales process happens before the sales person ever touches the customer. This puts a great deal of stress on marketers, making it more important than ever to implement high performing marketing strategies. She explains the good and bad news – there are lots and lots of marketing tools to choose from. This can provide B2B marketers with a competitive advantage, if they know how to manage the complexity properly. So, how can B2B marketers manage the overwhelming amount of marketing tools available and decide which ones are right for their business? Jeanne Connon, Entrepreneur in Residence at DCM Ventures, says that she feels her most important job is to stay informed about new marketing technologies and opportunities. Connon urges marketing professionals to, get this, actually read their emails. To stay informed, she really makes an effort to read information about marketing products and trends, whether scanning emails or browsing industry articles. Chista Carone, Chief Marketing Officer at Boston 2024, explains that this presents a huge opportunity for marketers to step up their game and how we market to each other. Carone tells us how many of the panelists have received pitches from vendors because they were able to draw their names from the speakers list. However, it’s disappointing that about 90% of them were completely irrelevant to her position or responsibilities. With the abundance of marketing tools available, there needs to be greater focus on relevancy. What does this tell us about the future of B2B marketing? This year marked the 6th annual FutureM conference, bringing marketing and technology professionals together to envision, discuss and plan for the future of marketing. FutureM attendees gathered from 21 states, 3 countries and 38 different industries. If you didn’t already know, the “M” in FutureM stands for Marketing. So, it’s only right that I share some of the most interesting predictions from #FutureM15 speakers that B2B marketers should keep in mind for the future. THE FUTURE IS REAL (PREDICTION FROM BRIAN DAVID JOHNSON, INTEL) Brian David Johnson offered tons of insight during his keynote session at FutureM. He shared a staged picture of the future – something we might see in a commercial for technology – of a man sitting in a cold, dark and scary room watching TV. Basically, no one would want to live in that future because it looks like prison. He explains that, at best, these types of futuristic portrayals are intellectually dishonest and, at worst, they are insulting. 16
  • 17. Marketing technology companies can find success by relating to the challenges that marketers experience and truly understanding their problems, rather than just selling the product itself. And, for marketing agencies, this tells us that we should be bringing relevant tools to our clients for consideration to help them better manage this complexity. THE FUTURE IS PERSONAL (PREDICTIONS FROM RAM KRISHANAN, PEPSICO) Ram Krishanan, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, gave an awesome keynote session about using data to guide innovative marketing campaigns. While the presentation mainly focused on data, to me, it ultimately reinforced the major role that personalization and customization will play in the future of B2B marketing. Throughout Ram’s session, he gave several examples of how Pepsi brands create highly customized content to engage their target audience. Whether by crafting 3D advertisements or using animated emojis to interact with their fans on Facebook, these personalized campaigns are something that was completely unheard of 10 years ago. One of my favorite parts of his keynote was the Q&A period. Someone from the audience asked how marketers can get buy in for solutions that allow them to make more personalized marketing campaigns. Ram explained that personalization naturally starts with data, which by definition can be measured. He recommended doing test and controls to prove the value of personalized communication compared to mass communication. FINAL THOUGHTS The overall goal of the conference was threefold, allowing marketing professionals to connect, create and innovate: • To help people connect, FutureM partnered with Almighty, which gave attendees access to an awesome connection platform, NODE. This let attendees find and interact with people they have most in common with, spark conversations, and build their communities. • Rather than just talking about marketing strategies, FutureM encouraged attendees to create by offering hands-on workshops, giving marketers a chance to apply new concepts. The environment was filled with new ideas, connections and inspiration to help marketers innovate. • While the conference did cover some traditional marketing basics, it emphasized the tentacles of marketing – the trends in technology, consumer behavior and the customer experience. 17
  • 18. “Think big. Act bigger.” — @JeffreyHayzlett. (Tweet this!) From the first speaker I saw to the very last, this message rang true. Many presenters spoke about the need to take risks as marketers, to not be afraid to mess up and to continue to test the norm in the industry in order to stay fresh, innovative and effective. In an age when things are constantly changing, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. As keynote speaker Mick Ebeling said, “Commit first, then figure it out.” “No to marketing, yes to conversation.”–@ramalytics. (Tweet this!) There was also a lot of talk about how to reach and engage with Millennials and Generation Z in the digital world of marketing. Many took a deeper dive into what types of content these audiences like. Many presenters agreed these demographics are likely to engage with authentic, genuine, moving content from brands they feel they can trust. Transparency and authenticity were two key elements many speakers mentioned when discussing the process of creating this type of content. “Doing good is good branding.”–@MickEbeling. (Tweet this!) This is one underlying theme I found tied into each of the above takeaways. Brands that do good will naturally receive much more attention and engagement, especially from younger demographics. If a brand does something genuine, it will create organic ripples in the digital world. And don’t be ashamed to back this kind of content up with ad spend. In the words of Jenn Eldin, “Just because it’s paid for doesn’t mean it’s not authentic.” Overall, I believe these three takeaways frame the direction in which the digital marketing industry is heading. Don’t be afraid to take risks, create engaging, authentic content and do your best to contribute to something greater than your product or service while doing so. Were you able to make it to #FutureM15 this year? Tell us what you thought by tweeting with us: @solomonmccown! Last week, I attended #FutureM15 in downtown Boston. It was a whirlwind of strategic insight, valuable advice, marketing tips and social media best practices. Throughout my time at the conference, I noticed that certain themes emerged from the many industry leaders speaking at this event. Here are my three overarching takeaways from Future M: 18
  • 19. One of the funnier moments was about those harassing pop-up ads we witness on a variety of websites everyday. Hall said that no one looks forward to seeing pop-up ads or browses the web waiting to see what pops up next. As marketers, we’re aware of the vast amount of information and data available to us, one thing we don’t need is forced advertisements. It doesn't work and only makes customers upset. So, what do we need? According to Hall, the key to making sure your products or services are known and respected is to build trust and stay top-of-mind. It leads to a greater opportunity and emits authenticity. The key to building trust is simple. Help your customers (and social media followers) as much as possible and educate them on your products and services. Be genuine and you will stay top-of-mind. Hall continued with a great example from Plated, a pre-portioned food service. Plated creates content because it wants to help readers. They write blogs all about food, healthy eating, history of food, new recipes, and dinner ideas. Hall trusted the blog and tried the service which then made his wife happy because he finally cooked a meal! Plated received a new customer, so obviously they were happy. And Hall felt great that it all worked out and had help making dinner. It was a win-win-win situation and a great example of educating your customers, providing information that people are looking for, and making dinner a great success. And now everyone in Hall's session is aware of Plated and how well their content strategy works! I just got back from Future M and whoa! It was a great conference for anyone involved in marketing. One session I enjoyed was called, ‘How Your Company’s Expertise Can Take Your Content Strategy to New Levels in 2016’led by John Hall, CEO of Influence & Co. and writer for Forbes and Inc. During his session, Hall spoke about the huge amount of mindless statistics that we’re inundated with each day. Humor-filled, made up stats such as, “299% of consumers say custom content makes them more likely to make a purchase.” Almost everyone involved in this space tries to get ahead by releasing BS data to make themselves look like the leaders in content marketing. The lesson? Don’t pay attention to stats. 19