The 13th and 14th of March we attended the prestigious PromaxBDA conference as official partner of the event. In this blog, we’ll briefly go through the keynotes and workshops that left the biggest impression on us.
Day one
Ashley Vinson
Former Head of Brand Strategy, Twitter, Netherlands & Belgium
What she talked about:
The Measurement Myth
Key Insights:
“Don’t ignore your gut feeling and actually research what you’re looking at. A metric, especially on social platforms, often does not mean what you first assume. Set actual KPIs which are measurable and not based on likes, shares etc.”
Most remarkable statement:
“Getting the exact metrics you want is like finding a Dutch man who pays for dinner; it’s not going to happen.”
Jeetendr Sehdev
Author and Celebrity Branding Authority
What he talked about:
The Kim Kardashian Principle
Key Insights:
“If you want to relate to millennials, be shameless. Be proud of your flaws.”
Most remarkable statement:
“Millennials are non-monogamous.”
Jim de Zoete & Charlie Mawer
Deputy Executive Creative Director & Executive Creative Director, Red Bee
What they talked about:
Where Next For Promos?
Key Insights:
“Millennials process content differently from other generations. They often do a lot of research on the content via social influencers such as vloggers. If their peers recommend the content, they’ll engage. Otherwise they won’t since there’s plenty of other content to be consumed. When they engage with your content, you share their attention with several other devices. The TV is rarely the only active screen.”
Most remarkable statement:
“TV isn’t dying, it just has to compete for attention with other mediums used simultaneously.”
Daniel Halasz
Co-Founder & CMO, Promomi
What he talked about:
Increasing promotion outside your own ecosystem
Key Insights:
“Promos have an unnecessarily short lifespan. They can be easily repurposed online.”
Most remarkable statement:
“Regardless of the production value, a promo now only lives for about two weeks.”
Dennis Hooftman
Creative Director & Co-Founder, Head and Bones
What he talked about:
360 on a shoestring
Key Insights:
“Every platform requires a different approach to storytelling and should be approached as such. Multidisciplinary teams are essential to achieving this. Series and shows can and should be promoted earlier in the production process to build a hype. The key to a successful creative campaign is to keep it simple. “
Most remarkable statement:
“People do not share your brand because they like your brand, they do so because they like their friends. Therefore the best content makes your fans look cool and adds value to their friends”
Day two
Richard Holman
Creative Director and Co-Founder, Holman + Hunt
What he talked about:
A Creative Chronology: or How to Come Up With a Great Idea When You’ve Got No Time.
Key Insights:
1) “Creativity is held back by mistake, because our society doesn’t accept failure.¨ He therefore proposed a new word for mistake: a fully justified venture.
2) It’s important to have happiness in the doing. Without happiness there’s really no use to doing anything.”
Most remarkable statement:
“If you’ve done your homework and know your competition well enough, they’ll have the feeling you can read their mind.”
Mark van Iterson
Director Global Brand Design, Heineken International
What he talked about:
Beyond Beer.
Key Insights:
“When your product is good, you should focus on innovation through design, marketing and branding. “
Most remarkable statement:
“Heineken is pretty conservative when it comes to innovating their product, it’s still the same beer as when it was introduced back in 1873.”
Marice Tobias
Director, Tobias Entertainment Global
What she talked about:
The Voice Directing Masterclass.
Key Insights:
“”The focus should never be on result, but on the moment you’re in with the voice talent. So don’t tell the voice talent what to do, but put the voice talent in a state of mind for a desired result. “
Most remarkable statement:
“Can you try to imitate the sound of a foghorn? It’ll put you more in touch with your emotions.” And it made an incredible difference.
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That concludes our first hand account of the incredible 2017 festival. As you can see, there’s a lot more to be said about each speaker but it was simply too much to address in one blog. So, over the next couple of months, we’ll be releasing in depth blogs on the topics that were most relevant! Do you have a suggestion for a piece of content? Feel free to suggest it here!
This blog was written by Sten van Steenbergen
P.S. Here’s a photo from when we met Lee (right) from Capture (London) together with our own Boudewijn (left). Lee won a trip, stay, and tickets through our PromaxBDA contest.