Coming from the non-profit sector I came into the Marketing Now conference (Melbourne 22-23 September 09) with my metaphorical arms crossed and resistant. A regular Lil' Miss Snippy with a huge non-profit chip on my shoulder. The words 'marketing', 'customers' gave me and still do, give me the heebie-jeebies.
I didn't come to learn how to be a marketer or to learn how to ensnare unsuspecting customers. (Not that all marketers are like that, just the ones that ring me at 6.30pm when I am mid burrito! ie commonly referred to as Burrito Interruptus :)
I came because the Social Media focus of the conference not only intrigued me but taken over my life and my little enterprise Digital Kulcha. I wanted to know more about how and why this Social Media zeitgeist had moved into my life and how it could possibly impact the communities & non-profit, community organisations I worked with....and oh yes, I wanted to change the world (again!).
click to enlargeI love being proved wrong (most of the time). I love being pleasantly surprised. At this conference I was both proved wrong and pleasantly surprised. My idea of marketers is drawn straight of of Mad Men. Big, bad bogey men selling us stuff that would only end up in our next garage sale...urr..ahh...errr....wrong!!
Speakers did use the word 'marketing' but their definition and my outmoded definition were barely related. To my pleasant surprise they used language that I was familiar with. "Community", "culture, "values", "digital and physical footprint", "eco-systems", "environment", "responsibility" and (yee-gads!) "collective intelligence" was writ large on the conference canvas. Bravo, I say!
What they said is best spoken by the presenters themselves. Here is a list of the brilliant presenters at the Marketing Now conference, so you can explore for yourselves:
Gavin Heaton
Twitter: servantofchaos
Web: www.servantofchaos.com
Conference site and presentations: http://ow.ly/qFiY
Conference Presentation: http://ow.ly/qFiY
Stephen Johnson
Twitter: Huxley
Web: arcanelogik.com
Laurel Papworth
Twitter: silkcharm
Web: laurelpapworth.com
Conference Presentation: http://ow.ly/qFiY
Darren Rowse
Twitter: Problogger
Web: www.problogger.com
David Armano
Twitter: Armano
Web: darmano.typepad.com
Jim Stewart
Twitter: jimboot
Web: stewartmedia.biz
She has also written a blog post about the conference (great read!)
(Note to Presenters: If I have omitted your presentation or resources let me know and I will amend and append it to this post :)
I have never been to a conference that has engaged and sustained my attention so consistently for so long. I can assure you that I am the sort of conference goer that loves the idea of a conference but once there I have this urgent desire to be naughty and wag most sessions.
So to all the amigos present and behind the scenes I tip my sombrero in your general direction. I wish I had a mariachi band I could send to your universes to sing you a happy tune of thanks.
If you feel remotely moved please leave a comment or three :)
marketing now
noice blog!... I wish i had of gone, next year i shall be there with bells on (mind you not so loud that they disturb the proceedings)!
Community /NFP has a funny attitude to 'corporates', we as a sector seem to adopt some business principles without question and then bristle and take umbrage at others. I think mostly we seem to have got these things the wrong way around. I think that also the marketing and promotions world moved closer to our community understanding - and they say that community is the new black in marketing (well I did hear that a couple of months back - so chances are the 'new black' has changed).
I think you may be interested in the session we are planning for the ANHLC conference 2010 "branding is not a dirty word".
ciao for now,
Matilda from networkwest.net
marketing now
thanks for the comment matilda-yes the non-profit sector is guilty of some 'interesting' notions about marketing...in the past this may have been justified...in my years in Community Education & Development, I've been approached by many businesses & corporates that promise the world but you realise later that all you were to them was a tick on their 'corporate responsibility' to-do list...wham bam thankyou mam and not much of a legacy was left behind for the community they 'utilised' for their purposes...
you're right however, about the shifting ground and mindsets in the world of marketing and in some cases non-profits...'community' is the new black but it's also something none of us regardless of whether we are non-profs, marketers, corporates, government et al, have a choice in...it's community or perish...we need all hands on deck here...we need all ideas freed and brought to the table if we are going to have a chance at undoing the mess we've created collectively...
the ANHLC conference 2010 "branding is not a dirty word" presentation sounds like a great start...I'd like to see that!
oo roo
toul@
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