The digital industry is one that is in constant flux, so for marketers, transformation is key to keeping up and staying ahead. In order to adapt, brands must be agile in their processes and programs to be able to respond proactively to changes in the market.
Given the relevance and magnitude of this topic, we decided to explore it further during our global client summit, K8. Now in its 3rd year, K8 brings together 250+ forward thinking marketers for a day of learning, discussion, and networking. This year on May 20th, we brought our guests to The Golden Gate Club in the Presidio of San Francisco, with the Golden Gate Bridge as our backdrop.
Our senior director of marketing and master of ceremonies, Stacie Levy, kicked things off and laid out the agenda for the day, of which I’ll share some highlights.
Our CEO, Yoav Izhar-Prato, gave us an on-stage example of transformation with a quick wardrobe change.
He discussed the evolving digital landscape and encouraged marketers to embrace the change in order to grow.
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Taking a step back from the advertising space, our first keynote speaker provided a different perspective on transformation. Daniel Kish, the President of World Access for the Blind, shared his inspirational story on how his organization is changing the way blind people see. With a “No Limits” attitude, Daniel and his team are challenging students to reach beyond their limits and befriend the unknown.
Putting our theme in context, SVP of Product, Will Martin-Gill, showcased how Skai has been adapting to the digital landscape across areas such as audiences, mobile, and optimization.
During this session, Will shared two new Skai announcements: a partnership with Drawbridge to improve mobile measurement and the release of social portfolio optimization.
Will was joined on stage by some clients, including Andrea Kaduk of Walgreens and Zac Moffat of Targeted Victory, who help illustrate how they are applying Skai solutions to solve unique business challenges.
After a full morning of content, attendees took a break to browse the learning lab, a collection of interactive stations from Skai and various partners including Boost Media, Cabara, Hootsuite, Marchex, Microsoft, Resolution Media, and Yahoo.
All that learning worked up an appetite for attendees, so a break for lunch was in order. Once fed and re-caffeinated, guests heard from our second keynote speaker, Tina Moffett of Forrester Research. Tina discussed the challenges of cross-channel attribution and shared some findings from research that Skai commissioned from Forrester Consulting. The presentation concluded with key recommendations for marketers to begin to transform and act on their attribution measurement methods.
The content kept rolling with 3 breakout tracks designed for advertisers, agencies, and executives.
Advertisers and agencies heard the latest updates on emerging channels, learned about opportunities with forecasting, took a look inside audiences, and went under the hood with reporting.
Executives were treated to a c-suite discussion led by Jeffrey Hayzlett, former Chief Marketing Officer of the Eastman Kodak Company.
Following the breakouts, we regrouped for the final session of the day ‒ a panel discussion on the future of digital. Adapted from an event series we started to help marketers make sense of the evolving ecosystem, this discussion featured: Janel Laravie, Founder and CEO, Chacka Marketing; Jeff Campbell, SVP and Co-Founder, Resolution Media; Michael Curro, VP, eCommerce, Barnes & Noble; Theodore Hadjis, VP, Global Director, Starcom MediaVest Group and was moderated by Sivan Metzger, SVP of Business Development at Skai.
While panelist debated the Google Buy button, the state of programmatic and the future of TV and more, a visual recorder illustrated the key points as they were made.
The discussion was a great way to punctuate the day and the theme as panelists came to the conclusion that the industry is in a constant state of change and that the future of digital is NOW, and marketers must seize the opportunities at hand.
After a few concluding words, it was hard to believe the day was nearly done. While the formal content was over, we still had a few more things up our sleeve. We let the conversations continue as guests mingled over a cocktail hour.
And, we couldn’t call it quits until we served dinner and dished out some awards too! I had the privilege of co-hosting our 3rd annual Infinity Awards with the incomparable Brian Quinn.
We had over 40 entries showcasing outstanding and innovative work from top-tier marketers across the globe and recognized the best-of-the-best across 7 vertical categories, such as Alaska Airlines for Travel pictured below.
With the awards awarded and the dance floor cleared and ready, we capped off the night with some live music from Wonderbread 5. We witnessed transformation in its purest form as folks donned their figurative party hats and partied to throwback tunes and some of the latest jams.
As I crooned “Don’t Stop Believing,” I thought that amidst the transformation and unknown that is the norm for marketers, I wanted to hold on to that feeling of excitement and opportunity of what is come.
To learn more about K8 and view content from this year’s summit, visit Kenshoo.com/K8 or check out the highlight reel.
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