Relationships, personalisation, and creativity: 6 key takeaways from Mad//Anywhere 2020
Mad//Anywhere 2020 - another brilliant lineup. If you didn’t have the chance to attend the virtual event, we thought we’d share 6 key takeaways around brand purpose, the importance of relationships, personalisation at scale, and much, much more...
#1 To build relationships with customers, you need to live and breathe it
Ella d’Amato from Not On The High Street kicked off the event with her thoughts on connecting authentically with customers:
#2 As a brand, you have a powerful opportunity to be a force for good.
EMEA Marketing Director for Patagonia, Alex Weller, talked about purpose, and how important it is for brands to use their platform for good:
#3 If you’re not sure about making a statement, start by listening.
Too often, brands are afraid of standing out by standing up for something. KFC’s Jack Hinchliffe hit the nail on the head:
#4 In fact, whatever you think you know - start by listening.
If you don’t switch on ‘listening mode’, as Spotify’s Olga Puzanova so aptly put it, you can’t truly understand your fans and build a stronger, longer-lasting relationship with them. When talking about ‘Spotify Pumped’, a free fitness service inspired by the changing playlist needs of its customers in lockdown, Olga shared some wisdom that all brands and agencies should bear in mind:
#5 Personalisation can put customers at the centre like never before
As creators of our very own personalisation engine, voundry, the session by Kritsof Neirynck of Boots resonated deeply with us. He spoke passionately and insightfully on the benefits of personalisation and how best to use it. His session also hammered home the same idea that we’d heard from previous speakers, and that we reflect in our own business values - your customer is key, and should be at the core of every decision made; staying relevant to your customers is what will drive your business and bring results.
#6 Keep going, keep looking, keep optimising until you find what works
Our final takeaway comes from Vodafone’s Brand & Marketing Director, Maria Koutsoudakis - and it’s a powerful one. Whether you’re an agency, brand, individual, dreamer, or something else, this is a great piece of advice that you can apply to business, home life, and everything in between:
And there you have it. A message that’s more important than ever, in this year of pandemonium: Believe in yourself, believe in your fans, believe in your brand.
Founder of distillery, Steve Wheen, asked brands to STOP making so much content and start listening. You can watch his talk, “Brand Conversations are never going back to normal, and that’s a good thing” here: