From compelling speakers, meeting CEO’s of multi-nationals and enjoying free unlimited barista made Coffee (no, not the stuff a burger chain claims to dish out – this was good coffee!), the ADMA Global Forum 2016 was exceptional in many ways.
We at Creative Folks were very lucky to work with Content Technology Partners, WoodWing. Remco Koster and Rutger Stronks joined us on a shared POD which was not only informative, but colourful and compelling to the eye. I think the best way to describe our stand was to say that whilst most people were talking about what insights your data can give you; we were talking about how to make sure you can deliver the right content efficiently (no point knowing what works if it takes too long or costs too much to produce).
As we worked away; we learned new ideas and as much as time would allow we poked our heads into the auditorium to learn from keynotes. We believe “Content is King / Queen” and sharing this with the world is one of the best ways of practicing what we preach.
Enjoy our top level lessons:
1) Sell Solutions NOT Products: Some people tragically lost the audience when they just talked product. Of course product may be the motive, but if you don’t solve people’s problems they switch off. Talk about them!
2) Content strategy comes from a strong culture: If you have a company full of people that don’t want to share, getting great content is a challenge. You need people to open their hearts and mouths in order to get great content out there.
3) PUFF: One (very funny) gentlemen talked about the importance of PUFF in his sales department, i.e. Pick up the ucking fone (be creative here). It’s simple but not every business does this. Some hide behind layers of technology.
4) Lead nurturing & content: Content is critical for not only getting attention but turning interested into fans and fans into customers.
5) Brands are becoming publishers: Sure this is actually our catch cry - but everyone we spoke to felt it rang true for their business. Brands no longer rely on an ad next to an article inside a magazine for getting their name out there. They are creating meaningful content to attract.
6) Fragmentation is everywhere: From 2 man bands to multi-nationals, each company who came to our stand had the same problem. Their content was not in a central location, easy to find, or easy to re-purpose. Thumb drives, local folders and 'Dropbox Shares are rampant'. So, when they finally do know what type of content brings more meaningful traffic to their platforms, how do they actually get content generated fast enough?
7) No one knows if this is the approved logo: Everyone laughed when we talked about the idea of sending out the wrong logo, or approving the wrong brochure to be published. They have all been there and no amount of data analytics can save the fact that people still do make mistakes if they don’t have a system in place specifically to track this.
We also learned that you need to be careful when you are surrounded by unlimited coffee and the fantastic sweets provided by the Hilton in Sydney.
In short, it was great and we are looking forward to getting right into next year’s Global Forum. If you have any questions and would like a hand; just let us know.
Also too, if you need a hand with Content Technology in your organisation we are the folks that help make your complex simple.
Thanks for the read and appreciation from Creative Folks!