AMA Toronto: The Future of Marketing, Emerging Technologies

November 17, 2016 by  
Filed under Event tips, Event Venues, Past Events, Toronto

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AMA Toronto November 15th 2016 panel discussion entitled The Future Today: How Marketers Can Leverage Emerging Technologies was held at Jackman Reinvents which is stylish ad agency occupying a really cool space on Adelaide Street.  It’s what’s behind the pink door at 345 Adelaide St West!

Tania Stadnik, B2B marketing expert, AMA Toronto

Tania Stadnik, AMA Toronto

Organized by renown B2B marketing strategy expert Tania Stadnik who is also the current AMA Toronto President, there were three influential ‘thought leaders’ on the bill; Adam Green from Google, Zahra Rajani the VP Digital Experience at Jackman Reinvents, and Kevin Keane from Brainsights. When Kevin introduced himself and his company he used his two hands to gesticulate the fusion of ‘brain’ and ‘insights’ into Brainsights which he also added ‘is really cool’.

The panel was moderated by Mark Vecchiarelli whom you can see below, seated on the left in the gold pants. He did a great job – it was a fact filled and very insightful forty two minute panel discussion on a number of subjects relating to new communication mediums and marketing technologies and also how and why they adopted (or should be adopted).

Tania Stadnik, Mark Vecchiarelli moderator, Adam Green from Google, Zahra Rajani the VP Digital Experience at Jackman Reinvents, and Kevin Keane from Brainsights

Tania Stadnik, Mark Vecchiarelli moderator, Adam Green from Google, Zahra Rajani the VP Digital Experience at Jackman Reinvents, and Kevin Keane from Brainsights

Food table at AMA Toronto networking event

Food table at AMA Toronto networking event – 15 Nov 2016

After twenty years of hosting networking events in Toronto, myself and my staff at CityEvents have seen countless social trends be born and then and the many and the rise of fall of many technology fads.  We’ve seen a shift away from press releases to more unconventional messaging platforms like email blasts, promoted social media posts etc and now strangely this is becoming conventional again. What’s next? What platforms are going to be important additions to marketers’ tool kits tomorrow?

Rob Campbell wrote about the event in an article entitled how Marketing Technologists Predict Future of Advertising which outlines the event – described in his piece how moderator Mark Vecchiarelli of Vekya Inc focused the discussion on three perspectives to futurism.

Rob Campbell at AMA Toronto

First he explored the idea of how marketers get on the bandwagon so to speak to ‘chase shiny new things’. Shanny asked about Bumble and everyone laughed.

When the panel digested HOW; the group reasoned that most businesses have trouble changing and adopting new technology as their work force are occupied with separate tasks (in silos) and their performances are still measured in old-fashioned ways.  Adding what they called horizontal connective tissue to organizations and thereby removing barriers to change is at the heart of BEING the evolution that makes businesses more efficient.

Shanny in the City wrote about the evening on her blog, Marketing Matchmaking in the Future, with Raymi the Minx and Karen Nussbaum from Storia PR who wrote about her perspective on the future of marketing.

Shannon Tebb, Raymi the Minx, Karen Nussbaum of Storia PR

Shannon (Shanny) Tebb, Raymi the Minx, Karen Nussbaum of Storia PR

I went to this event with Shannon who’s thinking about making a mobile app for her business. She maybe got the idea after she saw the success of Wedding Girls’ innovation with PrettyBirdapp for mobile beauty workers. Mary Bratko from Wedding Girl was at the event seen below meeting Liza from AMA Toronto, whom I think has the prettiest red hair in town, presently.

Liza and Mary Bratko fro Wedding Girl

Mary Bratko from Wedding Girl ca started PrettyBirdapp for mobile beauty workers in May 2016

Mary Bratko whom you can see on the right used the question and answer period at the event to ask about the health of mobile apps in general and whether simply having a responsive website wasn’t a better all around solution for entrepreneurs.

Most of the panel agreed that was the case and one by one they related anecdotes about the misuse of apps as marketing tools. Shanny was listening

One of the highlights for me was hearing Adam Green  describe some of the failures that Google has had trying new things. If this monster technology company cant get it right with all of their resources and collateral, then what hope do small fries have? Lots. Great ideas win the market and having disruptive technology is the most exciting development position. One of the big takeaways for me was the idea that big companies must innovate and include experimental advertising platforms in their marketing budgets. CityEvents could appeal more to that side of the event planning industry in Toronto.  One of the ways to get more attention is to offer added value and I believe offering detailed reports showing the ‘learnings’ related to the penetration of the invitation media and the summary media, done before and after the events themselves.

Deb Lewis, Shanny in the City, Shannon Tebb, at AMA Toronto Future Marketing event

Deb Lewis and Shannon Tebb on their cellphones at AMA Toronto: Future of Marketing

Part of the Connect, Learn, Grow series of networking events offers insights into many different facets of Digital Marketing and I hope to attend more of these gatherings in the future. See you there.

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