“Singularity” was the name of the game at the fourth annual Ad Club St. Louis Digital Symposium at Ball Park Village on Nov. 16. Digital creatives, marketers, agencies and clients from St. Louis and beyond gathered at #STLDIGSYM 2016 with burning questions about the ever-accelerating progress of technology.
How do we keep up? What’s the best way to use these new tech tools to manage and disseminate content? Is there any way to measure analytics from these changing tides?
Between devouring toasted ravs and fighting to be No. 1 on the Twitter live-tweet leaderboard, industry leaders made important points during the symposium:
- Attribution is key.
- Content isn’t king. Creative content is king.
- The future is here.
Attribution is key.
Attribution calculates how different channels, strategies and tactics lead users to engage with a brand. It recognizes each channel’s part in driving customers to make a purchase. For example, a potential customer is looking for a futon. While scrolling through different retail websites, she sees a targeted Facebook ad. After reviewing the ad, she buys the futon. The Facebook ad played a role in the purchase. Attribution would tell you to invest money into Facebook ads because they generate sales. Whatever channels you use — Twitter, emails blasts or banner ads — attribution helps identify which options are showing potential.
Creative content is king.
The digital world is getting bigger every day. Customers rarely interact with a brand through only one channel, so it’s important to get creative with content. One of the best examples involves a popular food chain. Red Lobster created a profile on Tinder, and it has started matching with people and drawing them to the restaurant.
While trying to generate revenue via a dating app may seem like a wasted effort, it worked for Red Lobster. It helped create engaging conversations with potential customers in a new and creative way — something that more companies should be taking note of. (We’d swipe right for Cheddar Bay Biscuits.)
The future is here.
Long gone are the days of what-ifs for marketers. In our brave new world, we have artificial intelligence, mixed reality, virtual reality, 360 video and artificially simulated images. Facebook Live and the advent of the VR-ready smartphone are forcing brands to reconsider marketing strategies. Is the message the medium, or is the medium the message?
Know enough to make (and keep) your brand dangerous. Go beyond the limits of a computer screen, and imagine what your brand can do without a keyboard holding it back. Nintendo had kids and adults chasing imaginary Pokémon all over the world. What can your brand accomplish?
