CONFERENCE RECAPS

The Data Science Salon is a unique vertical focused conference which grew into the most diverse community of senior data science, machine learning and other technical specialists in the space. SPEAKERS Anna Anisin  Founder and CEO at Formulated.by https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaanisin/ Kenny Wei-Chih Chen  Data Scientist at TikTok https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenny-wei-chih-chen-8067aa6b/ Katerina Iliakopoulou  Lead Software Engineer at The New York Times https://www.linkedin.com/in/katerinailiakopoulou/ David Talby https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtalby/ Mukul Krishna  Global Practice Head - Digital Media at Frost & Sullivan and Advisory Board Member at HUBU Home https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukulkrishna/ Matt Smith  Experienced Digital Technologist https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattsmithdfw/ Jay Kachhadia   Data Scientist @ ViacomCBS | Data Science Blogger https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkachhadia/ Mario A. Vinasco  Director BI and Analytics at Credit Sesame https://www.linkedin.com/in

Branding Film Awards, presented by PRWeek and Campaign US, was such a learning experience as I got to view ads that went far and beyond in terms of skills and craft. So many films shown blew my mind when I noticed the cinematography and the art direction. This conference showed me that brand storytelling is such a powerful tool. Brands can show that they have the same value as customers while presenting a great film that shows how the brand positions itself as an expert or a voice you can listen to in that space. The panels were really insightful. I got to learn much more about brand films and the great filmmakers behind them. The Right Story for the Right Brand panel was based on the goal to increase representation in a brand’s storytelling. The speakers spoke on the brand film “TranSending,” in which speaker Erin Parisi, the founder of TranSending7.org, is featured in and is shown trying to achieve the goal of climbing the Seven Summits while showing her story about being a transgend

In late April, I attended my first virtual conference, Discovering MarTech: A Virtual Event for Strategies & Solutions.” The conference covered three sessions: Personalized UX in the Age of Privacy with Neil Tolbert, Marketing is Personal with Matthew Mobley, and The Awakening: How Covid-19 Will Change the Future of Digital Marketing with Mark Bornstein.   During the first session presented by Neil Tolbert, Privacy & Marketing Consultant from One Trust PreferenceChoice, Neil advises companies of all sizes to drive engaging user experiences and build trust while demonstrating compliance of global data privacy regulations. Privacy laws shine a spotlight on the growing customer demand for privacy. There are custom and granular types of consent and preferences which scale from regulatory compliance to customer experience. Regulated consent includes SMS, email, sharing, location, cookies, and tracking. Stated communication preferences span across content, frequency, and channels. Fi

The Coronavirus has taken the world by surprise by causing a global pandemic. People are forced to stay inside their homes and social distance, something we’ve never done before. Many families are left stressed since their world has turned upside down. We must now scramble for masks, stay 6 feet apart and stock up on paper tissue. In times of uncertainty, many companies were left to make an urgent response to its customers. I was able to tune into the PR Week’s virtual conference that addressed Communicating in the Coronavirus Era.  One of the main takeaways from this conference was to Lead with Purpose. The role of major organizations during this time is to ensure the well being of all employees. These are major stakeholders of companies and they must feel supported by their employers since many are in a time of distress. Yes, companies could easily make donations but letting employees know that they are a main priority goes a long way. Some common examples for this pandemic include w

The current situation is unprecedented for market researchers. Market researchers are figuring out how best to conduct research in the context of a pandemic and a severe economic recession. This is uncharted, and there is no research analyzing both situations at the same time to understand what consumers expect from brands right now. And vice versa, how brands can understand consumer behavior when in times of economic crisis and social distancing.  To shed light on this situation, the Advertising Research Foundation, in its Insights Studio Series, hosted a panel titled Conducting Research During (and After) the COVID-19 Crisis, on April 30, 2020, at 1 p.m. via Zoom. This presentation consisted of three panelists who have studied other notable crises. The panelists shared the type of research they are doing, the resulting trends, as well as best practices. It is essential to mention that market research and advertising research were facing plenty of obstacles before the Coronavirus outb

During these unprecedented times of COVID-19, person to person interaction has moved from the physical to the virtual space. Large scale events have been either postponed until later in 2020 or cancelled. Organizations have made the transition to an all-digital world, without a road map to guide the way. (Almost) IN-PERSON was a daylong conference with sessions geared towards sharing ideas/experiences involving moving in person events to the digital space.  The opening keynote address, “The Current State of Events” was given by Eran Ben-Shushan, CEO & Co-Founder, Bizzabo. He began his speech with a powerful statement.  "Virtual events must be incorporated in marketing strategies for businesses to remain viable. " A startling statistic was shared, due to the cancellation of the ten biggest tech conferences, an economic loss of $1.1 billion. This figure excludes losses from corporate sponsorships, registration sales, local economic sales and customer retention. Mr. Ben-Shus

I participated in the A vision of the “New Normal” from a cultural and consumer view Zoom-niar this morning, which was held by discover.ai and AbInBev. Jonathan Williams, the founder of discover.ai, made it clear from the beginning that he was not about to present consumer research. The company looks at online sources for insights, and he was about to present the main findings from the newest report. The presentation started off with a quote from Rob Willer, professor of sociology, psychology, and organizational behavior at Stanford University: ”To beat the pandemic, we need a more rapid change of behavior than I can think of in recent human history”. This quote set the tone for the rest of the conference and led Williams to go right into his first point of the day; we can see all kinds of behavior-changing now due to the pandemic. We’re seeing consumer behavior change in hygiene, health, enjoyment, family, home, personal care, mental wellbeing, socializing, individuality, indulgence,

Companies feel that innovation is a necessity. However, some companies do not understand that innovation, just the sake of innovation, is useless. There are different perspectives and assumptions about the word "innovation." During the 4's CreaTech 2019, leaders in the industry of Research and Technology pointed out some false beliefs, problems, opportunities, and recommendations for creating innovative initiatives that deliver real value to society. "The Innovation Biome" Dr. Kumar Mehta, Ph.D, Founder, Bridges Insight What are some common assumptions about technology and innovation? "One of the most common assumptions in business is that companies love innovation, but the reality, is that innovation involves change and change is uncomfortable." -  Dr. Kemar Ph.D Dr. Kumar, on his conference, provided an exciting approach that companies seeking to innovate should consider. He offered tools that companies could use to build and create high-value produc

Meet Two Creative Leaders Moonlighting as Fine Artists: An oxymoron since the business of being creative is the same creative force as being an artist. This talk was part of the One Club’s entirely digital Creative Month and was presented by Gavin Lester, the Chief Creative Director of Zambezi and Matt Murphy, Executive Creative Director of 72andSunny on Instagram Live. Both men are trained fine artist from the Bath Academy of Art and Rhode Island School of Design respectively. The prevailing theme of the talk was having the unbridled ability to let their creativity flow in their own art work, which has translated into a flow of bold ideas into the confines of their professional work. "Our minds are our most powerful force" Gavin reminds us. There are differences and similarities in both practices of art and advertising. Similarities include time constraints, budgeting, and the age old question of whether the material will mold and bend to ones needs. Matt claims that  "

On February 5th, I was lucky enough to attend the Association of National Advertisers’ one day Digital Innovation talk at Fordham University. Sitting in a lecture hall in the Gabelli Business School, my fellow Bicsters and I got to hear the latest and greatest new marketing and technology innovations from CMOs of major companies, such as IBM, Waze, and Lego. Iday Shanawaz was the first speaker, bright and early that morning. He focused on the predominant shift to e-commerce and the emergence of the digital consumer. The main concern, according to him, was that “organizations can’t move or collaborate as fast as the change in behavior.” Now is the time to learn how to or risk being left in the dust. The challenge for marketers is learning how to optimize new channels, acquire new skills, and leverage new technologies to develop branded experiences that drive growth. But because of this digital first attitude among consumers, customer journeys are now beginning on the internet which give

PR Week held a PR Week Convene webcast, meeting individuals where we are, that being home. Considering the times we are in, with a global pandemic, disseminating information is even more vital. PR Week released an agency business report, where PR was discussed as essential service by one of the CEO’s. He was not speaking in the terms of taking away from the importance of others, like those risking their lives, but on the importance of authentic leadership. He spoke on how crucial it is for brands to be stepping up during these times. Essentially, the point of the webcast was to discuss how brands need to sensitively navigate their reputation and communication during these difficult times. There were three different talks: Purpose: Pressure testing purpose and the path forward; Virtual: Our new reality; and Communicating in the Corona Virus Era. During the first session, Purpose: Pressure testing purpose and the path forward, PR speakers Allison Burch and Alison DaSilva took on the subj

Earlier this year on February 5th, in a pre-pandemic world, I attended the ANA’s Digital Innovation conference at Fordham University. During the conference I heard from a variety of digital marketing speakers in who discussed the latest challenges, innovations and opportunities in AI and AR. In some fashion, each speaker focused on how technology powers brands to connect with consumers through digital strategy and consumer engagement.  There were a total of seven speakers that day: Iday Shanawaz, Associate Partner, IBM IX; Erin Clift, Global Marketing and Partnerships, Waze; Arti Sahgal, Embedded Consultant - Senior Digital Marketing & Transformation Leader, Heineken USA; James Gregson, Head of Social Media Studio, LEGO; Ye Jin, Head of Marketing, Media Luxury, Airbnb; Anna Meshcherova, Growth Marketing Manager, Airbnb and Sarika Sangwan, Head of Financial Services, Pinterest. Iday Shanawaz of IBM, the very first speaker of the day, prompted us with a question before beginning his

Have you ever thought about human history through the prism of advertising? Never mind, J. Walker Smith, Chief Knowledge Officer, Brand & Marketing, Kantar has done that for you. Let’s take a dive in 20th century with him and look at his findings.  We can clearly see changing eras starting from the early 20th century. At first, it was all about product. Brands were fighting in the attempt to prove that they have a better product. Oh, how simple it was back in that times… Then, in mid-sixties, after crisis, the focus shifted to make consumer look for his or her better self. People not just wanted to buy a better product now. They wanted to be with the brand that makes them better – or makes them feel better at least.  In this Era of Person, people bought brands because they wanted to be like the people who used that brand or were seen to use that brand. This trend is still with us in away, but it has started shifting in the beginning of 21st century.  And then, after a while, anothe