Event Preview: All About AllThingsRTC Presented by Agora.io

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This week the cred event management team will be onsite and part of the action as AllThingsRTC presented by Agora.io kicks off in Downtown San Francisco at the Parc 55 Hotel on June 13. We’re anticipating 350 attendees to make their way through our sponsor booths and two tracks of content throughout the day. One track will be technical, tailored for developers and engineers, and the other will be a use case track covering the current state and future of RTC implementation.

cred will be well represented both offstage and on as two of our very own speakers will be speaking on panels at the event. Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder and CEO of Mighteor, will sit on a panel about the power of real-time content and how it can shape our perceptions of the world. Shortly after, D Sharma, Founder of Meditation.Live, will be talking about the impact of real-time communication on the future of fitness and wellness through online video coaching.

Interested in attending? Join the cred team at AllThingsRTC by registering here with the promo code: CRED

If you can’t make it for the event, be sure to follow activity through the hashtag #AllThingsRTC19!

Event 101: How to Make Your Event Eco-Friendly

Integrating sustainability into our professional and personal lives is an evergreen process. From carrying reusable shopping bags, to forgoing plastic straws, to choosing The Impossible Burger on a menu, sustainability efforts have become increasingly mainstream as awareness around the environmental impact of our habits grows.

Guided by the familiar mantra to “reduce, reuse, recycle,” we’re highlighting some ways the events space can better practice #goinggreen.

Reduce.

• Go digital. - Put the agenda online! In addition to having the agenda on the event website, explore having your own app created or using a third party software, such as Bizzabo, to build out your agenda digitally. Often, these apps are interactive, allowing attendees to “favorite” sessions and message speakers. The best part? No need for a reprint should you have a last-minute change.

• Cut carbon through catering. - If there’s food at the event, opt for wooden or compostable utensils and dishes. Catering companies are typically able to provide more eco-friendly alternatives to styrofoam plates or plastic forks—you just need to ask! Better yet, have the caterers bring compostable bins for any leftover food that can’t be donated. And don’t forget: no plastic straws! When ordering food, stick to a heavily vegetarian menu. For meat options, opt for poultry, as beef has a much heftier environmental impact—one five-ounce steak omites 331kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, versus 64kg omitted by chicken. That’s equivalent of saving 29.6 gallons of gas, all by switching out one person's meal. (Washington Post, 2017).

• Say goodbye to goodybags. - Stray away from goodybags! If you feel it is necessary to give your guests a thank you, reusable tote bags are a great option.

Reuse.

• Give your materials a longer shelf life. - Having the year listed on the event website and certain materials is extremely important for clarity, but does it need to be printed on notebooks, T-shirts, and pens? If not, this is a great opportunity to reuse! Anything left over or unused from your event that year can be saved for the next edition.

• Say no to plastic water bottles. - Make your event a plastic water bottle free zone! Encourage attendees to bring their own reusable water bottle, to be filled by water fountains or water refill stations around the venue.

Recycle.

• Add recycling bins. - While it may seem obvious, ensure there are plenty of recycling bins throughout the event. Place them near trash cans to avoid someone tossing a recyclable item simply for convenience.

• Have a donation plan in mind for left over items. - When event day finally comes to a close, take an inventory of what’s left over. Food can go to a homeless shelter or food bank, and explore donating other left-over materials to local classrooms, The Goodwill or The Salvation Army.

Interested in learning about how cred can promote and plan your next event? Connect with us at events@credpr.com.

Roundup: RampUp on the Road 2019 Spring Shows

The spring stretch of RampUp on the Road shows have officially come to a close. We wrapped things up in DC last week at Nationals Park, home to the Washington Nationals, with a full day of engaging speakers, networking opportunities, and even a tour of the ballpark. The day began with attendees mingling over breakfast and registration in the large conference room—which was packed to the brim once we kicked off with content.

Fatemeh Khatibloo, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, opened the day, and provided an insightful look into the world of “Decentralized Digital Identity.” The audience was taken on a journey through behavioral advertising, identity resolution, and future of privacy-respecting marketing. Following Fatemeh’s presentation, one of our own speakers, Lucy Caldwell, Founder and Principal at Mockingbird Lab, moderated a session on “Achieving the Diversity Trifecta.” Speakers Anneka Gupta, President and Head of Product and Platforms at LiveRamp, and Justin Antoinpillai, Founder and CEO at WireWheel.io, joined Lucy onstage to discuss empathy and the role of diversity in leadership and policymaking.

After lunch, both content and audience divided into two tracks: New Wave Technology and Policy, and Building an Omnichannel Strategy. For the Policy track, attendees varied from those involved with data and consumer policy and regulation, as well as members of the advocacy/agency world. Panelists joined us from PwC, Google, Datavant, ANA, Mockingbird Lab and more. The evolving process of doing right by consumers was a constant theme during this track, with each session coming to a close through a dynamic Q & A discussion. During the Building an Omnichannel Strategy track, speakers from Macy’s, Under Armour, T-Mobile, DISH Media, and more took the stage to provide powerful real-life experience from which the audience could assimilate and apply to their own roles. Attendees of both tracks learned best practices to construct a better future by addressing the policy issues of the present.

Missed RampUp on the Road? Here’s a quick look at our 2019 spring roadshows!

• RampUp on the Road Columbus: April 9 - Discussed the importance of observing your marketing efforts through a consumer-first lens, as well as how beneficial it is to involve the entire team in the customer journey.

• RampUp on the Road Atlanta: April 11 - Jim Nail, keynote speaker in Atlanta and Principal Analyst at Forrester, spoke about using empathy to improve the customer relationship— a theme we saw throughout the entire spring roadshow lineup.

• RampUp on the Road Denver: May 14 - According to Jeff Smith, General Manager of Brand and Agencies at LiveRamp, it is the era of personalization. Focusing specifically on consumer-privacy uncertainty, the shift from target marketing to personalization is absolutely imperative.

• RampUp on the Road Seattle: May 16 - Keynote speaker Fatemeh Khatibloo, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, shed light on the key to maintaining customer loyalty: shifting from one-to-one marketing to one-to-moments marketing.

• RampUp on the Road DC: May 21 - Learned our differences shouldn’t go unnoticed. In order to invent a better future, policymaking groups and omnichannel strategy-focused agents can collaborate to solve the consumer-privacy issues of the present.

Diving Into In-Housing with MightyHive

Last week, the events team had the pleasure of coordinating an intimate dinner on behalf of MightyHive, a global leader in advanced marketing and advertising technologies, at Birdsong in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. The event was well-timed to take place directly after AdExchanger’s Programmatic I/O, where MightyHive was participating and held a presence with their booth.

The night began with cocktail hour and canapés, with guests happy to mingle and unwind after their considerable day at Programmatic. Before inviting everyone to take their seats, MightyHive President of the Americas Emily Del Greco presented welcome remarks and housekeeping notes. Once everyone took a seat in the warm and focused atmosphere of the first floor space, attendees listened to a fireside chat between Emily and Electronic Arts Global Head of Media Belinda Smith.

During the discussion, Belinda and Emily looked back at their careers to trade lessons they’ve learned over the combined 30+ years they share in sales, marketing, and strategy experience. They debated the rewards (increased transparency, control of data, faster execution) and risks (steep learning curve, talent, startup cost) associated with in-house marketing. They marveled at how far in-house agency penetration has come even just in the past 10 years. Toward the end of the chat, it was clear attendees were intrigued by Belinda and Emily’s experiences and hoped to dive deeper into their own in-housing exposure during the Q & A session.

Before heading upstairs for the five-course meal, Emily suggested, “Of course talent is just one component of in-housing—I welcome you to discuss other challenges and opportunities that you have found along the way. Support each other, learn from each other, and share your wisdom.”

After the fireside, more than 15 MightyHive Partners were treated to a delectable tasting menu featuring dishes inspired by the Pacific Northwest. Birdsong, a recent recipient of the coveted Michelin Star honor, appeared to have its service down to a science as evidenced by the harmonious presentation of each plate. Wild boar, aged duck with mustard greens and Sonoma lamb were just a few of the mouthwatering items that graced the menu for the night. Conversation flowed as smoothly as the grilled butter atop the Peruvian purple cornbread, and topics rotated between specific in-housing accounts to the process as a whole.

Guests walked away from the night with inspiration from fascinating speakers along with new tactics for their brands’ in-housing strategy. As a parting gift, MightyHive gave each attendee a branded smart home plug that guests seemed eager to get home and test out.

Looking for help with planning your next event? Connect with us at events@credpr.com.

Women@DockerCon 2019: Issues and Opportunities Facing Professional Women Today

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This week, I attended the Women@DockerCon Summit, a private forum for women in tech to connect, discuss, and engage with each other, at Moscone West in San Francisco. This Summit preceded DockerCon, a 3-day technology conference organized by Docker, Inc., and brought together women (and a handful of curious men) in tech in a space where they could freely discuss the issues and opportunities facing professional women today. The event included a workshop and two panels complete with a stage full of lady bosses.  

Women@DockerCon allowed attendees to share their success stories, voice their concerns, and ask for help in a room of supportive strangers. Everyone—from pioneers in the modern women's movement, to the software development directors, to the participants in the audience—had something impactful to say about their experiences while working as a woman.

Communicating with Presence

“Half the people have Imposter Syndrome, the other half don’t know what they’re doing.”

Have you ever felt like a total fraud and that at any moment everyone around you was going to realize how little you know? Good news—you’re not alone! Francine Gordon, a professor at Santa Clara University has spent years working with women who consistently doubt their abilities, a sure sign of imposter syndrome. She explained that, like a duck swimming, you see the movement, but not the vigorous peddling underwater—everybody is working equally as hard, you just don’t see it!

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Francine’s workshop began three questions:

1. What situations trigger your feelings of being a fraud?

2. What have you held yourself back from because you felt like a fake?

3. What has been the most effective way of managing these circumstances?

One participant shared that she makes sure to speak up within the first 10 minutes of a meeting. She uses this tactic to hold herself accountable and ensure that she doesn’t succumb to self-doubt. Another shared that she was hesitant to ask the dumb questions in an important meeting, but she wished she had after Bill Gates came in confidently asking all the “dumb questions” she was thinking.

Investing in an Inclusive Future

Next were the panels where a wide range of fields were represented, such as venture capital, human resources, insurance, and more. They spoke on best networking practices, how to handle awkward situations in the workplace, and what they’re excited about going forward in their careers.

XFactor Ventures Investment Partner Erica Brescia focused on investing in companies with at least one female founder. She built her network by leveraging supportive communities like the Female Founders group on Facebook.

Angel investor Susan Kimerlin shared the best way to learn about your industry: finding somebody doing something interesting and seeing how you can help.

Backstage Capital Director Brittany Davis is excited about seeing a positive trend in female founders at the companies she’s investing in.

Working While Female

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CloudBees Senior Director of Global Human Resources Ellen Thorne explained that surrounding herself with a highly technical team allowed her to build important skills that wouldn’t have evolved otherwise.

New Relic Senior Director of Customer Marketing Cynthia Hester shared her best kept secret, “saying ‘thank you’ is the best way to say ‘no’ without pissing anybody off.”

Cisco Vice President of Global Marketing Aruna Ravichandran mastered the art of calculated risk, even if it meant taking a demotion and leading her family to think she was having a midlife crisis.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Director Honey Williams recounted how working at Subway and later dropping out of the AirForce sounded like failures, but those experiences taught her that you can’t be scared to make the decisions that are right for you, even when everyone around you tells you otherwise.

Being surrounded by so many powerful, bold women at Women@DockerCon reminded me of how much we can accomplish if we join forces and help each other take the next right step.

Interested in speaking at an event like Docker Con? Reach out to hear more about our speaker management services: speak@credpr.com