Hot Topics at DMEXCO 2018
Last year I asked myself the question, is bigger really better? Even though visitors to the DMEXCO declined for the first time last year, it was still a little bit overwhelming. This year’s DMEXCO was still a big event with major players from the industry, interesting debates, great workshops and talks. However, it felt like a little less crowded – not a bad thing.
In true German style, if you arrive a minute late to your sessions the doors would be closed, so, my “planning ahead” skills were very much needed.
What were the main topics this year?
AI and machine learning
Whilst last year’s brand safety and viewability topics are still important, and not yet completely solved, clearly the focus was AI and machine learning.
It seems like the question is not IF AI will be part of our daily work, it’s HOW.
In one session Spotify’s Sean Kegelman pointed out that Spotify have huge amounts of data that needs to be processed and analysed to provide users with the personalised Spotify experience that we all love. And they also use the data to inspire the creative process, the Snickers campaign on Spotify is a good example.
When talking about creative campaigns and how AI will influence the process in the future, the panel was unified in their believe that the “human touch will still be essential” and Jason Romeyko said “I’m not worried.”
Good!
Because I also believe that, whilst technology is good and can help us with so many things, good emotional storytelling is still a craft and a human gift that we should protect.
The future will tell us where we are heading but certainly AI impacts on all our individual spheres and specialisms. Steven Althaus from Credit Suisse was certain that AI is not a fad and that this trend is here to stay.
Agency Ecosystem and In-house Studios
Another big topic was the ever-changing marketing ecosystem and the shift in the way agencies work together. Agency holding groups are changing on to become leaner sharper and as always more digital, media agencies are re-positioning themselves, consultants trying to be agencies and agencies trying to be consultants, and so on…
Phillip’s, Blake Cahill gave a good example of how they have transformed their agency ecosystem to a hybrid-in-house model to get the best talent for their brand.
In-house or not, there is no one-size-fits-all-answer to the questions that marketers have these days, at Flock we have helped to re-structure marketing organisations and developed individual solutions for our clients. Read our blog on in-house studios here.
Camera Marketing
Camera marketing, that’s what Snap are calling their approach. For marketeers it is not easy to gain access to the Snapshot community and one must be careful how to communicate in this very intimate environment. The common approach of adapting a campaign and “just” cutting a TVC into shorter formats doesn’t work on this platform, same is true for many other social platforms but this one particularly.
Imagine you have to explain to the board that you are running a campaign, but the generated content cannot be seen, at least a large part. That’s why this BMW snapchat lens campaign deserves a lot of respect.
What you should do now to future-proof:
- If not already set-up, think about setting an innovations team
- Review your Marketing Technology set-up
- Review your teams Marketing Capability to ensure you have the right experts in place
- Marketing Operations, ways of working/processes are constantly changing – review whether you have the most efficient and integrated process and a Marketing Operations team in place
See you next year!
If you are interested in how Flock can help your marketing team contact Julie Marshall, julie.marshall@flock-associates.com.