What Generated Buzz at Advertising Week 2015
Now that the 12th Annual Advertising Week in New York City has come to a close, it’s time to close in on the highlights and happenings of this major advertising event. We compiled the major findings and features that left a lasting impression at this year’s Advertising Week.
Keeping Content King
According to Location3.com, many panels and panelists at Advertising Week emphasized how marketing has become a mix of entertainment and promotion. Content should engage, inform, and inspire in order to capture attention and make a message resonate.
One of the main takeaways of the event was how control of content has suddenly shifted from brands to audiences. So rather than develop a stream of brand-centric content, marketers need to create content that meets the needs and piques the interest of consumers to ensure their engagement.
Using Big Data for Big Benefits
While marketers are excited about having so much data at their fingertips, few understand the best ways to use this wealth of insight, according to conference highlights from Digiday.com. There’s no denying that data is essential for every brand marketer, but what’s lacking is expertise in effectively leveraging this data.
Panelists concluded that marketers need to focus on understanding this data in order to use it wisely and well.
Preparing for What’s New and Next
At every conference, marketers are focused on what will happen in the future and seeking the next new concept. But at Advertising Week, panelists proposed that rather than fixate on future trends, it’s better to focus on being prepared to handle the unknown and unexpected. Then, they’ll be able to quickly react and adapt to the latest trends and technologies.
Recruiting Talent Took Center Stage
Digiday.com also reported on how ad agencies used the event to seek out new talent. With agencies facing high turnover rates, talent was a top topic throughout the weeklong event. Many advertising agencies took advantage of the conference to directly recruit new talent. Some held speed dating-style interview events, while others were subtler and simply had hiring managers quietly connecting with new talent.
In addition to seeking employees, the week included more than ten panels on how to keep young hires and Millennials happy in the workplace.
“We saw big interest this year in content around how to recruit and retain Millennials and also how to market to them,” said Lance Pillersdorf, president of the event-planning firm Stillwell Partners. “Millennials are changing the way media and advertising is consumed, so their voice is important to brands, agencies and media companies, internally and externally.”
Understanding the Effect of Ad Blocking
The arrival of ad-blocking software has been a cause of concern for the industry, which made it a hot topic at Advertising Week, according to TheWallStreetJournal.com. This technology is troubling because it gives consumers the power to block both desktop and mobile ads. And with more and more consumers fed up with intrusive ads and adopting this technology, marketers wonder how this will fare on the future of advertising.
“This will not stop online advertising from turning a cost-effective ROI,” said Karen Bleier, media director at MDG. “But there should be a shift to new sources of revenue for publishers and best practices should be reviewed so ads are not too frequent, irrelevant, or obnoxious.”
Overall, this year’s Advertising Week made it clear that marketing is moving fast and advertisers need to be ready to react in real-time.
Keep up with new strategies for successful advertising. Contact MDG today at 561-338-7797 or visit www.mdgsolutions.com.
MDG is a full-service advertising agency and one of Florida’s top branding firms. With offices in Boca Raton and New York City, MDG’s core capabilities include branding, logo design, print advertising, digital marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, media planning and buying, TV and radio, outdoor advertising, newspaper, video marketing, website design and development, content marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. To discover the latest trends in branding and advertising, contact MDG today at 561-338-7797.