ADOTAS – It’s that time of the year again – time to bring those holiday decorations down from the attic, plan a turkey dinner with all the fixin’s, and spend a couple of action-packed days in the Big Apple at ad:tech New York. This year, the largest digital marketing event of the season is taking place next week, November 6-7 at the Javits Center, and is poised to showcase advertising industry thought leaders and tech companies hocking their wares from the stage and the show floor.
This year, Adotas will be taking a deeper dive into ad:tech, conducting “red carpet” interviews with executives from a wide variety of companies.
With a focus on emerging companies, the Startup Spotlight Series at ad:tech is a competition that recognizes some of the most innovative companies in ad tech, giving them the opportunity to pitch their ideas to MasterCard and Tourneau.
This year’s Startup Spotlight is different than it has been in the past. According to Aquia Francisco, content manager at ad:tech, “While we don’t exactly have a ‘theme’ for the competition, but both brands (MasterCard and Tourneau) have selected four startups each, that alleviate various digital marketing challenges. We have startups in content creation, content curation, mobile and data analytics to name a few. Each startup will have about 10 minutes to show how their product/service will benefit each brand with a presentation tailored to them.”
Francisco mentioned that the biggest change this year is the relocation of the competition to a stage on the expo floor, allowing every attendee, regardless of the type of pass they have, to see the competition live in action. The prize is also different. In the past, winners received the ad:tech Innovation Award as well as the opportunity to pitch their business in-house at the brand. This year, thet’re awarding all of that plus $25,000 in digital advertising from Adweek. Overall, these changes are to make the competition bigger and better and to give these startups more exposure than they had in the past.
Startup Spotlight finalist Buzztala is known as Vine for Business. “We give brands a way to benefit from the mobile visual communication revolution that’s being led by Vine, Keep and Instagram by putting out clients in complete control of the creation, moderation and distribution of content their customers create,” said Jay DeDapper, founder and CEO of Buzztala.
“We are excited to participate in such an esteemed event as ad:tech,” said Scott McAllister, senior vice president of marketing and digital experience at Tourneau. “We’re always looking to take advantage of Digital technology advances to forward our business, and this competition is the perfect way to get in at the ‘ground level’ on new advances. We look forward to seeing the competitors.”
Here are some of the keynotes and sessions that should not be missed:
Digital Transformation the Nestlé Way, November 6 at 9 a.m. Circa 2010, Nestlé, the world’s biggest food and beverage company, finds itself in the eye of a social media storm. Fast forward three years and millions of consumer conversations, the company has set a fresh course anchored to three foundations: Listening, Engaging, and Inspiring/Transforming. From start-up inspired Digital Acceleration teams and internal social networks to a Silicon Valley innovation outpost and a Kit Kat/Android partnership, Pete Blackshaw, Nestle’s Global Head of Digital & Social Media, will share how a company in 130 countries with over 2000 brands is staying true to fundamental beliefs while leveraging social media to improve communication, delight consumers and inspire future growth.
Talk to ALL Your Customers: Multicultural Marketing within Digital Advertising, November 6 at 1 p.m. By 2025, over half of all families in the US with children will be multi-cultural providing huge opportunities for marketers who listen and understand how to tailor messages to various cultures and languages. In addition to developing customized messages, determining where your target audience exists, what they say, and the type of media consumed is crucial. This panel of high-profile agencies and technology companies, specializing in multicultural marketing will dissect campaigns and practices that have worked and overcome disengagement between targeting and reach versus the creative message.
10 Trends That Could Change the World, November 7 at 9 a.m. No one knows what the future holds, but it is imperative that every business plan ahead. Ford Motor Company looks to global trends in social, technological, economic, environmental and political arenas to anticipate the rapidly shifting marketplace. In this session, Ford’s in house futurist will share the ten trends that they think could change the world.
Stop Pushing: The New Paradigms in Social Advertising, November 7 at noon. 10 years ago social advertising was nonexistent. Fast forward to 2014 and estimates upward of $5 billion will be spent on paid social media ads. New advertising platforms and opportunities are brought to the market each day and are changing the business paradigm of brands, agencies and publishers. Panelists from Hootsuite, Wildfire by Google and Facebook will delve into the ever-changing social ad landscape and arm yourself with best practices to stay ahead in an evolving segment of the industry.
State of the Industry Address: Digital Marketing in 2013 and Beyond, November 7 at 4 p.m. Grab your morning coffee, fasten your seat belts and watch eMarketer chairman Geoff Ramsey deliver a killer kick-off keynote highlighting major shifts in ad spending, commerce and time spent across media.
ad:tech has also added new expo floor programs including game:tech, Mobile Marketing Zone and an online tool called net:work. game;tech is a gamification area for attendees who are looking for ways to acquire new customers, retain current ones and encourage brand loyalty. Mobile Marketing Zone is a show floor area specifically dedicated to mobile-focused companies while net:work is an online tool and a place in the Expo Hall to facilitate new conversations between attendees and exhibitors or to hold meetings with partners.
“We’re thrilled to announce these new additions to the ad:tech event as we feel these added features cater to the disruption we’ve seen in the ad:tech industry this year,” said Nicole Buraglio, marketing director at ad:tech. “As the largest digital marketing show, we’re excited to see the innovation and industry advancements brought to this event.”
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