The blog

The House of Marketing goes Dublin! At the second day at the Web Summit in Dublin THoMers Dennis, Eline, Laetitia, Steven, Dennis and Lara discovered a lot of interesting and innovative start-ups.

The House of Marketing goes Dublin! THoMers Dennis, Eline, Laetitia, Steven, Dennis and Lara attend the Web Summit in Dublin, for three days the place where the tech world meets. More than 40 000 attendees from 134 countries, more than 1000 speakers and more than 200 start-ups with a 1m2 booth are present at the Web Summit. How can these start-ups get noticed?

Together with 300 MarTech aficionados, I attended Scott Brinker’s (aka www.chiefmartec.com) first European edition of the MarTech Conference. Interestingly, half of the participants claimed to be marketers with a very keen interest in (Marketing) Technology, while for the other half it was exactly the opposite. A perfect convergence of Marketing and Technology in one room!

Ad blockers have been around for a couple of years already but the public discussion has become quite intense in recent weeks only. But can ad blockers really disrupt the whole business model of advertisers and publishers? I personally think they can.

&THEN delivers marketing experience via different tracks. In my first update I covered the applied learning when talking about the Voice of Customer. Day 2 was all about inspiration with the keynote speakers. This last update combines both an impact session on loyalty and best practices in email marketing.

A day full of inspiration, creativity, disruption and (r)evolution! The keynote speakers were brilliant, visionary, progressive and insightful in their own way. Blake Mycoskie, also known as Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, revolutionizes retail. Jon Iwata, the “Think Big” Senior VP Marketing & Communications of IBM, is building a data-driven world via artificial intelligence. Kevin Roberts, aka Executive Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, is living in a “supervuca” (vibrant, unreal, crazy, astounding) world.

At the first day of the &THEN global marketing event in Boston, I participated in a workshop about Engagement & Experience. To truly engage and connect with customers you need to embrace and capture their voice in every step of the marketing process.

As a child, I have always loved the 1st week of September. The fresh smell of new books filling the air thrilled me. At that time, “back-to-school” was mainly about the excitement of trying out my school supplies and getting to know my new buddies & teachers. Exams and homework basically were just vague and often unwelcomed side effects of this wonderful week. Just like children, I have no doubt that consultants, and companies in general, could be significantly and positively impacted by this 1st week of September. My experience during the immersion camp of The House of Marketing is a strong proof of this.

A couple of months ago I moved to Brussels to live closer to my new job. After having found a nice apartment in a fairly quiet street I soon came to the conclusion that having a fridge was rather essential. As a young Gen Y member raised with all the benefits of the Internet I was sure this was but a minor issue and that soon my brand-new fridge would be delivered to my kitchen.

The House of Marketing created the Festival Marketing Survey: a short and fun survey about the sponsoring of Belgian music festivals, the profile of the typical festival visitor and the most impactful activations to get in touch with the festival visitors. No endless analysis but a clear infographic reveals all the results and gives you more time to eat, sleep, rave, repeat on the festival grounds!