September may have ended, but that doesn’t mean the month should be forgotten about. Our newest member of the marketing staff, Claire, had the splendid opportunity to attend London’s premier “one spot for marketers to nurture their next big idea”.
 

Held over the course of two days (27 - 28 September 2017) in the Olympia exhibition centre, Technology for Marketing 2017, or TFM for short, became the key arena for over 150 speakers and martech suppliers to proudly discuss and show off their latest technologies, digital trends, and expert knowledge. Representatives from influential brands across multiple industries such as Jaguar, BT, Mattel, and Google were also present to deliver keynote presentations over the course of both days. Even a live demonstration of Watson, IBM’s Artificial Intelligence platform for business, was “in attendance” at The Keynote Area. Topics included but were not limited to analytics, email marketing, SEO, social media, data performance, and content marketing.

With various opportunities to discover, experiences and networking to take part in, presentations, freebies to pick up (because one can never have too many pens or stress balls!), and a variety of sweet or savory treats from nearly every interactive booth, TFM truly is a leading event within the modern, marketing industry. Writing this blog post becomes particularly difficult when choosing the best elements discuss...sigh...

Nonetheless, here are some key takeaways from the event as well as several tips and elements to consider.

Unboxing the Digital Customer

In most, if not all, e-commerce platforms the main goal is to sell a product. Often times though, that selling process, or journey as Jeroen van Oosterhout described from his presentation “How to optimise your customer unboxing experience”, is unsuccessful. He suggested there needs to be an all-round understanding that where there is money being spent that is not necessary (and stopping those methods) and applying it towards practices that should be financed.

Furthermore, he claimed that 50% of customers look for delivery information before they shop and a staggering 46% of those customers abandon their purchase due to the delivery options or pricing. Perhaps investing in better delivery solutions would alleviate those statistics, such as offering click & collect, same day delivery, and a cross channel shopping bag. Allowing the customer to “start [their] journey on a desktop” and completing the purchase on a mobile device is just one way to ensure an all around customer experience.

The Evolving Role of A Marketer in the Digital World

It is no secret that modern audiences are becoming increasingly more difficult to reach. Combined with a multitude of technology, vocal platforms, networks of their own, and all around lower attention spans, the odds seem stacked against marketers to actually  get their attention. Regardless, Sharanya Ramachandran, product marketing manager of Zoho, suggested getting as much reach for your product or service as possible. This ensures breadth and a wide range of audiences being targeted. However, she conveyed the importance of always personalising the message to the individual in a way that evokes emotion, such as “We missed you, Sarah!” or “Have a treat on us, Jack!”.

Marketing for Non Marketers

We get it, not everyone is a marketing genius. There is nothing wrong with being unable to understand even the basics let alone the vastness of professional terminology or the different types of campaigns. In fact, the Marketing Operations Manager for Jaguar Land Rover, Jason Fitzgerald, advocated a “back to basics” approach. He suggested that there are fundamental marketing principles which could yield groundbreaking results. This includes being very focused and having clear objectives in place. Commitment to a particular strategy is important as “where focus goes, energy goes”.

This does not mean marketing can’t think big. He advocated to “think different” - yes, like Apple. Because aren’t they seemingly the key players of simplicity? Overall, these approaches lead towards a snowball effect of earned media. To illustrate this and provide entertainment to the weary audience (as his presentation was nearly the last one of the day), he showed Jaguar’s highly creative and focused 2014 Super Bowl advert titled “Good To Be Bad”. And because Jason was really keen on explaining his marketing techniques, he then showed the audience the advert's sequel.

All in all, the time spent at Technology for Marketing certainly offered insightful marketing points and elements no matter your position within the industry. As a first timer to the event, I made sure to print out my registration badge and barcode beforehand as to avoid the entrance queue, even though there were computers available to print yours should it be forgotten. Speaking of forgetting items, do not forget to bring a spare bag for all the freebie items you will be given. No really, it’s a lot! We certainly are looking forward to the next one.

Anything we missed? If you attended this year’s TFM or a past one and would like to share your viewpoint or comment, that would be awesome! Just tweet us @obergine.