Interactive marketing: The trends, technology, and the turning tide - Julie Finch, Copywriter
Billed as the nation's premier event for digital marketing, Adtech is a dynamic, three-day event aimed at expanding the interactive horizons of today's marketing community. This past April, Roy Smith, Account Director, and Alma Cahn, Account Manager, attended Adtech San Francisco. Keynote speakers included digital luminaries from global powerhouses such as Citibank, Coca Cola, Disney, HP, Kodak, Nike, Target and Virgin Mobile. Below, Roy and Alma discuss some of their key takeaways from the conference.
Roy: One highlight for me was seeing the impact that the Web, and the explosion of social media, is having on traditional agencies. Traditional ad agencies are adopting new trends and technologies. YouTube, Facebook, these are the kinds of media kids want.
Alma: We've always known that interactive could help us narrow down and deliver to a very specific demographic. The question was, "How do we measure the success of our marketing initiatives?" Now that we're able to quantify results, the possibilities are endless.
Roy: Absolutely. Another great thing---at one of the workshops we went to---they brought in high school and college kids and asked them what kinds of devices they use, what kinds of sites they like. What we found out is that young people are very environmentally conscious.
Alma: Very. It's an interesting trend--they want to see content that 'gives back.' For example, freerice.com is popular for that reason.
Roy: One question they asked these kids was, "If you could pick just one device to have---a desktop, a laptop, or your cell phone---which would it be? They wanted their laptop. I was surprised; I figured they'd say their cell phones, but no. They're constantly using the Web for social networks, multi-tasking.
Alma: That's it. Younger people do so many things at one time--IM, Websites, music downloads, video, research. They have no idea what life was like before the notebook, before these devices weren't staples.
Roy: Okay now, keynote speakers. Jeffrey Hayzlett was incredible. He's the Chief Business Development Officer for Eastman Kodak, and man, what a great attitude. His whole approach is, look, we're going have a good time, and we're going to take risks.
Alma: He said that when digital cameras came along, nobody was more challenged than Kodak---a film company. As a business, they had to make a major shift. They started expanding their business beyond photos, into X-rays, for example.
Roy: He stressed that sometimes you have to step outside of your brand character. You have to ask yourself, "How do we communicate to you, our audience, that we're moving with you.”
Alma: You have to move where your market is.
Roy: The best thing I heard him say is that you can't be afraid to fail. We're all learning as we go.
Alma: He said, "If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough."
Roy: More trends---we're seeing the use of video in Flash pieces. Video is the next big thing.
Alma: You know what? Overall, the best part about Adtech was that it made me feel really good about where we are as a company. We're going to see tons of opportunities for Idea.
Roy: Absolutely. We're moving in exactly the right direction. We're right where we need to be. And it's going be a lot of fun.