The Conversational Marketing Summit

I just got back from SF where I attended the Federated Media CM Summit. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. My best friend, Zach, invited me to go and I thought it might be interesting. It turns out that was an understatement. I had an amazing time, met fantastic people, and listened to great presentations. The event was pretty small, only about 200 people, but very intimate and intense. Everyone there was seriously awesome.

I really enjoyed listening to Steve Hayden, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and Mather. He’s the guy made Apple famous “1984” ad. He spent a lot of time talking about listening to your customers, going so far as to suggest appointing a “Chief Listening Officer.” One of my favorite parts of his presentation was where he suggested that every company apply the following mantra: “COMPANY NAME believes the world would be a better place if…” Seriously, I don’t think people think about companies that way often enough. Even I didn’t. You know what though, the world would be a much better place if everyone’s photos were perfectly organized and accessible. At least I know we’re on the right track there.

Another highlight was the presentation by Carla Hendra, CEO of Ogilvy North America. She did a case study on Dove’s marketing campaign and showcased some amazing advertising. The interesting thing about conversational marketing, she noted, was that you never know where the conversation will go and sometimes it’s not what you expect. Check out the first video below, called Dove Evolution. Then check out the video below that which was a response. Probably not what Dove expected, but awesome nonetheless.

Dove Evolution

Dove Evolution Parody: Slob Evolution