Our sister publication Modern Marketing Today published an article last week following Incite Group’s Brand Marketing Summit. A key theme of the show that Modern Marketing Today pointed out in its coverage was the importance of marketing with the human element in mind; not just leveraging the analytical advantages seen in today’s martech offerings. You can read their full post below:

This week, Incite Group’s Brand Marketing Summit took place in New York City and brought together more than 500 attendees to connect on pressing priorities in the world of branding and marketing. With the tagline “Marketing is Dead: Engagement is Alive,” it’s no surprise that the prevailing theme of many discussions this year centered around human engagement and re-grounding marketing approaches.

In case you weren’t able to make it this year, Modern Marketing Today captured some of the top takeaways from the Brand Marketing Summit. Here’s what we were most excited to share:

The ability to make your employees your top advocate is still and elusive but important factor for companies as far as their branding is concerned. Growing enthusiasm internally is key to building customer loyalty. Speakers Casey Hall, Director of Social Media for Thomson Reuters, and Jean Marie Richardson, Founder and CEO of iFOLIO, both spoke to this stance.

I’ll be onstage in a minute to talk about brand building through #employeeadvocacy at #incitesummit. For those looking to increase program adoption, here’s an article to help you. https://t.co/GzcLgnzjld

— Casey Hall (@CaseyHall_) October 24, 2018

“How to make your brands more human?”
‘Empower your #employees‘ is what @CaseyHall_, Director of Social @thomsonreuters says while answering that question for us at the #incitesummit.
Another brilliant session of the day ?.#EmployeeAdvocacy #Marketing #SocialMedia pic.twitter.com/9yb4ONyG6b

— Digimind (@digimindci) October 24, 2018

“Employees as ambassadors have a stronger voice than your brand” – Jean Marie Richardson, CEO iFOLIO #HeardAtIncite #InciteSummit

— Nitemi not Temi (@taymiiee) October 24, 2018

At the end of the day, we’re still humans marketing to humans. It doesn’t need to be complicated, flashy, or expensive to be effective, especially if those approaches don’t align with your brand’s messaging. Speakers like Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer at PBS, Catherine Brew-Cain, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at McKesson, and Chief Creative Officer of The Writer Anelia Varelia implored attendees to keep soul as a priority in their marketing efforts.

Well that’s the first time a conference session made me tear up… great example from @PBS on how to leverage brand advocates on a shoestring budget. #incitesummit #IlovePBS pic.twitter.com/eB993Kmy2p

— Chelsey Grace (@thechelseygrace) October 25, 2018

“Voice is the X factor in winning people’s hearts. Voice gives your brand soul.” Phenomenal presentation from @TheWriter and McKesson’s senior marketer. #incitesummit

— Deedie Dowdle (@deediedowdle) October 25, 2018

Ultimately, that human connection translates to the bottom line. It seems obvious, but sometimes marketers need to be reminded that technology is a means to an end, with that end being making a genuine connection with customers. Vice President and Head of Brand Marketing & Advertising at Prudential Niharika Shah explained how good business sense transcends something like cultural and language barriers and appreciating those gaps will lead to success.

Start speaking business outcomes when speaking to people that don’t speak your language – @NiharikaShah , VP, Head of Brand Marketing & Advertising of @Prudential #InciteSummit #HeardAtIncite

— Nitemi not Temi (@taymiiee) October 24, 2018

The message from Day 1 of the #incitesummit was loud and clear – marketing is about the human connection. Create content and experiences that are relative & inspiring, and your audience will come. Now for Day 2… pic.twitter.com/sm7PPfgF41

— The Craftsman Agency (@agencycraftsman) October 25, 2018

All this said, there was also some pushback about some of the messages being shared at the event. A call for more compelling messaging and marketing campaigns instead of blaming short attention spans throws down the gauntlet. Human nature is not always to blame, so to speak; rejection of some marketing campaigns can just be the result of tone deafness or ignorance around strong storytelling.

If I hear one more speaker refer to “8-second attention span” I’m going to leap on the stage and have a fit. This statistic is a myth. It has been repeated over and over and it is untrue. People do not have short attention spans. Brands have short interesting spans. #incitesummit

— Mark Schaefer (@markwschaefer) October 24, 2018

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