With a 'track, measure and adapt' message for brand building, this was an event not to be missed by marketing mavens.
Ipad in lap, twitter on tap, thumbs on keys, tweetdeck onscreen, 200 humming industry professionals, topped off with indigo illuminated headline acts, clearly illustrates the twit pic uploaded at the second annual IMC Conference 2011. An incredibly interactive "tweetisphere" created an electric platform for the success of the two-day multimedia marketing agenda to unfold upon, as the #IMCC was trending nationally on Twitter after ten minutes of mind-blowing action. The IMC Conference, produced by Living Your Brand, was hosted on 6 & 7 June 2011 at the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg. The event achieved constructive debate and dialogue amongst the leaders and challengers who attended, while comedian, Paul Snodgrass, ensured the crowds were both focused and entertained.
Keynote presenters included Isis Nyongo'o, Walter Pike, Nikki Cockcroft, Heidi Brauer, Ben Wagner, Grant Sithole and Nazeer Suliman. These speakers addressed an array of crucial pointers to assist delegates in executing effective marketing strategy integration and achieving brand development through relevant consumer conversation. The IMC Conference was a herald for the latest in local media trend analysis and forecasting, and provided creative channels of contacting target markets.
The charismatic Nikki Cockcroft, CEO of Primedia Online, discussed topics like multiplatform publishing, the debate around the 'conversation is king', the necessity to target and be accountable as well as to adapt strategies and communication angles quickly. She acknowledged the research potential of user observation and the salience to keep up to speed on the global media treadmill that is "integrated marketing communications". Cockcroft supported the importance to 'track behaviour, consumption and movement while engaging with your customer base'.
Native Chief Marketing Warrior, Ben Wagner, motivated the significance to 'Measure all your counterparts and work out the results from every channel your brand engages in' as the true form of benefiting from market research. The digital maverick encouraged seamless product integration, without overselling and while having fun and provoking social commentary. Wagner warned when branding on the Internet, the brand manager must 'anticipate increases in social media activity' and respond with efficiency to ensure organised reputation management.
The workshop hosts at the JHB IMC Confernce interacted with delegates and introduced new ways of enhancing a specific communication channel.
Mike Sharman of the 'The Bloggers & Branding Workshop' highlighted that in this day and age, 'adaptability is the best asset' to utilize the opportunities of online communication. Dan Nash reinforced that successful blogging and readership growth is an antagonistic product of real, relevant and remarkable content.
PR Premier, Kevin Welman, of the Fleishman Hillard workshop, presented an innovative approach to brand reputation management through the art of designed storytelling, in positioning brands effectively on a global scale. Another message noted throughout the event was that media professionals needed to maintain their strategy integration and brands should not neglect print, television and radio channels for effective communication.
Workshop host Tim Bishop, of Prezence Digital spoke about the importance of the mobile market and to not only focus on smart phones, but to target your content to lower end mobile devices as well, in order to maximize your reach.
The response from the audience was overwhelming! "I found the conference a valuable insight into the latest industry trends. As a vendor this allows me to have educated discussions with our agencies about future media strategies." Ben McDonald - Dell
"Great stuff. From the start of the engagement to the last moment, care and attention for the smallest detail to the largest. The package was dynamic and added great value, the quality of the delegates was very impressive. I am always blown away when the most insignificant person on the team is excited and passionate about their role in the event - that's great leadership. Cheers, well done LYB team." Kevin Welman - Fleishman Hillard
Some of the tweets included, "Thanks LivingYourBrand, for organising @IMCConference, best marketing event I've been to. Feedback 2 follow on @MediaUpdate (@Leigh_Andrews )" , "#imcc @Livingyourbrand Can't wait for next year's - this was easily the slickest organised and run conf. Ive been to ever!" As well as "Thanks @livingyourbrand for an awesome #IMCC conference. Once again, u never failed to impress! Congrats on a job well done" Di Charton - Acceleration Media
2012 brings two IMC Conferences - The first to kick off in Johannesburg (Pre-scheduled dates are the 28 & 29 March) and Cape Town (26 & 27 September). Email for more details.
To get in touch with the dynamic LYB conference producers, to assist with B2B conferencing coordination or concierge event services, Living Your Brand is happy to hear your comments and requirements. Give us a call on 021 671 6362 or email us at . For IMC Conference updates follow @IMCConference to read about the next media convention.
