The Integrate 2016 Conference was filled with some amazing presentations, insights, and meetings with fellow professionals who are working in integrated marketing communications. This is one of my favorite conferences to go to due to the fact you get to see everyone from last year and meet some incredible people in the process. Faculty, students, and professionals all come together to share updates on what is happening in the field and what are some trends to note for the future.
There were several takeaways from me from this year’s conference:
If you want to stand out, be bold and set the world on fire. We had some amazing speakers come and talk to us about the power of word of mouth marketing and storytelling, and Geno Church was a highlight. He did one of the best visually stimulating presentations I have seen in a long time related to this very concept. I loved how he integrated his own personality with his love of pirates (who doesn’t love pirates and the stories surrounding them?) and how it is connected to what WoM is doing today.
Brands have a purpose and story behind them. We had several food brands come and speak to us as well at Integrate, and as a foodie and someone who comes from a foodie family, we had the pleasure of having speakers from Just Born (Matthew Pye) and KIND Snacks (Joe Cohen) speak as well. Both brands have different products from Peeps (a childhood favorite) to healthy snack bars (my students love these and I’m a fan of them as well). Each presenter shared campaigns and initiatives they have taken with their marketing efforts in a strategic manner and addressed also some of the challenges their brands have been facing today. It’s great to see both sides of the coin, and I think Matthew and Joe showed this very well.
VR is the emerging new world for IMC: I really, really enjoyed hearing Kristi Hansen’s presentation at Integrate! Kristi shared not only key examples of how VR and emerging technology like AR is being used by brands, but also opened the door to what else is possible. Kristi is definitely on the leading edge of this area and couldn’t be prouder of all she is doing in the field. Way to go, Kristi!
Live tweeting is key, but snapping has potential for conferences: I have a confession to make. I did NOT live tweet at all during the conference this year. I know, it’s shocking to hear as a social media professor to make this statement. However, I did something else. I created Snapchat stories of my time at the conference. This was somewhat of an experiment for me because I wanted to see – could I truly capture what it was like to be at #Integrate16 just from Snapchat? So, if you are following me on Snapchat and saw the many snaps I was creating, that is why.
So, what were some of the things I learned along the way from just really focusing on Snapchat for the conference?
- You REALLY have to capture key soundbites. We are very lucky with Twitter in being able to paraphrase and takeaway the main points in a tweet to share this with our audiences. Snapchat? Not so much – you have to capture this in only a few seconds and once it is gone, it’s gone. It really puts the emphasis of training your ear and have timing to capture this in a way that make it resonate with key audiences.
- Metrics of Snapchat were consistent: I was worried a little bit in snapping TOO much at the conference, but I looked at the metrics and saw I really didn’t have any drop offs from the first one to the last one. You want to keep this in mind and make sure you are sharing the right stories at the right time.
- Snapchat hacks to save batteries AND data: Snapchat takes up a lot of data and can drain your battery, so most of the snaps I shared were when I was able to get on the wifi. Most of the time, I was in airplane mode and was able to still take the snaps and upload them later.
- Potential possibilities for conferences to look at for Snapchat: I think Snapchat is a great tool for conferences and while WVU had a great set of geofilters for the university, there is a HUGE opportunity for branded content for speaker sessions (each speaker has their own filter for their session), and even a conference one as well.
Overall, I had a truly amazing time in Morgantown and really enjoyed seeing everyone again. It is always a conference that goes by SO fast, but each year it seems like the bar has been raised over and over again. Thanks to Chad, Matthew, Nicole, Rick, Bethany, and everyone in the IMC program for a great time and for all of your hard work. It’s greatly appreciated!
Hope you all had a great time in WV and see you all next year!
Best Wishes,
Karen