What We Learned at 2024’s Top Marketing Events

Our marketing team has been busy this year attending some of the top marketing events on the East Coast.

From agendas built by powerhouses like HubSpot and Marketing Brew to sessions featuring thought leaders like Jon Youshaei and AJ Wilcox, each event highlighted the dynamism of the industry that impacts brands and marketers every day. Emerging trends like the explosion of generative AI, the pivotal role of first-party data, the rise of social commerce, and the importance of empathy-driven marketing are transforming how businesses engage with their audiences—and we got into all of them.

Here's a look at just some of the takeaways from this year’s event attendances.

DigiMarCon East

👋 Riley Surovy, Integrated Marketing Strategist

📍 New York City, NY

📅 May 16-17, 2024

🎤 Ryan Bock, DemandJump | Bryan Murphy, Smartling | Brands like, SEMrush, Fanatics, Kontent AI, and Outgrow

Takeaways:

1. Everyone and Their Mother is Talking About GenAI: No matter your industry, it’s crucial to consider how generative AI can impact your business and how your company can leverage it. Its applications are limitless, from AI-driven emotional recognition in digital campaigns to innovative storytelling techniques. Nearly every session at DigiMarCon highlighted AI, emphasizing that neglecting its potential in 2024 and beyond could mean falling behind. One session, for instance, discussed how brands like Nike have already used AI in storytelling—particularly in their "Never Done Evolving" campaign featuring Serena Williams.
2. 1st Party Data is King: A memorable quote from DigiMarCon was, "If you don’t have first-party data, you’re currently renting your audience." Cleaning and optimizing your first-party data is essential for enabling your team to prioritize data-driven personalization across integrated campaigns. Consumers increasingly expect personalized communication from their favorite brands. Having the right data and knowing how to effectively use it will be key to engaging your audience now and in the future.
3. Social Commerce is the Future: During a session focused on user-generated content platforms like TikTok and Instagram, a panelist from Fanatics predicted that live selling would become the next major trend in social commerce. We've seen influencers-turned-beauty-brand-CEOs host lengthy TikTok live sessions to promote and sell products. Furthermore, TikTok Shop enables creators to link products and earn commissions, making it easy for anyone to become an influencer. A quick scroll through your feed reveals an increasing number of posts featuring TikTok Shop links. This trend is likely to grow, with social commerce steadily taking center stage on social media platforms.
4. Work The Algorithm: When it comes to growing your brand’s presence on a channel like TikTok, experts say to tailor your campaigns based on your niche, not who follows you. In other words, the algorithm shows videos based on the content users like, not the people they follow. This was a really engaging session that talked a lot about influencer marketing and how leading brands and creators approach content creation.

Marketing Brew Summit

👋 Kaitlyn Gurinowich, Integrated Marketing Specialist

📍 New York City, NY

📅 September 12, 2024

🎤 Brands like Morning Brew, eos, Reddit, e.l.f. beauty, Gopuff, USPS, Cava, Lenovo, Adobe, and Duolingo

Takeaways:

1. Your Marketing Playbook Shouldn’t Be Static: People aren’t exaggerating when they say that marketing is evolving daily, platforms and all. Your marketing playbook should be doing the same. While it's important that the foundation of your plan is concrete, setting expectations for your team and the work you're doing, your strategies and tactics need to evolve with trends, feature updates, and more. The playbook you were working with and referring to yesterday may need a new chapter today. Adapt, evolve, and don't be afraid to try something new. One quote from this session that I loved was, "Throw out any idea of how you think something should work in marketing."
2. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Reddit: Have you ever considered the engagement on Reddit? Let’s use this scenario as an example: A user discovers a new hair growth vitamin brand on TikTok. They sift through the comments, might watch a few more videos, but ultimately want to hear more from people who have tried the vitamin. Where are they going? Reddit. It’s where users turn to get the inside info on a product, service, brand, and even influencer they’re interested in. According to Rob Gaige, Global Head of Insights, Reddit, brands have seen a 23% lift when adding Reddit to their social media advertising mix, largely because it helps validate a product or service as people are in the consideration phase of the typical purchase journey. (P.S. When’s the last time you’ve searched for your product, brand, service, or competitor on Reddit? Finish reading this blog and go do that.)
3. Hyper-Personalization is Key: Your audience is made up of real people with real feelings and real judgements. It’s important that your marketing and messaging reflect that. In fact, a handful of brands are uncovering that their audience has been absolutely loving their hyper-personalization tactics. For example, Cava shared in a session that they studied their in-app and in-store order history of customers and used that data to create new menu items as well as individually recommend their customers different menu items and combinations in the app. Due to the competitiveness of this industry specifically, it’s crucial brands are going above and beyond to secure loyal customers and "speaking" to them at a personal level that their competitors aren’t.

INBOUND

👋 Melanie Cellini, Team Lead, Digital Marketing

📍 Boston, MA

📅 September 18-20, 2024

🎤 AJ Wilcox, B2Linked | Dale Bertrand, Fire&Spark | Jay Schwendelson | Ryan Reynolds | Serena Williams | Brands like HubSpot, Wistia, Morning Brew, Business Insider, and Vox Media

Takeaways:

1. "Bored People Can’t Learn:" Whether you’re presenting a slide deck, creating a YouTube video, working on podcast content or writing a blog, keeping your audience engaged should be a top priority. Your presentations and content should be a mix of education and entertainment to keep your audience’s attention. Think about some of your favorite shows, like The Bear, for example; the story line teaches you about the life of a food service worker at a Micheleen Star restaurant but offers some comedic relief to keep you entertained. Your content should do the same. When practicing your presentation or creating content, if you notice you’re getting bored, try to add in a joke or an analogy to gain their attention again.
2. AI Can’t Replace Your Lived Experiences: While I do think AI has its place in marketing, one thing’s for sure: you can’t replace the human brain. Don’t just throw everything into ChatGPT or rely on AI tools for your marketing. Some of your best and most creative ideas come from your own brain through your experiences and that can never—and will never—be able to be replicated using AI. Use it as a starting point for a first draft or to proofread and improve your copy, but don’t let it replace everything you do!
3. AI is Reshaping How We Search Online: Google may remain the top search engine, but users are increasingly turning to platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and ChatGPT for answers. Why? It's often quicker to ask ChatGPT than to scroll through Google’s endless results. Even well-crafted content might get lost with Google’s AI Overviews attempting to answer the search right at the top. For brands, this means the content you're creating could just be fueling Google’s AI rather than driving traffic to your site. The SEO game is shifting, and it’s demanding more than just basic content. The new standard? High-quality, deeply researched articles with a strong point of view. AI can’t replicate personal insights or experiences, so users will be drawn to opinionated, well-researched pieces. In short, stop settling for surface-level content—people are looking for substance.
4. Stop Emailing the Same Unengaged Folks: As an email marketer, nothing feels better than seeing your audience engage with your messages! The more positive engagement you get, the better your chances of landing in inboxes rather than spam folders. However, even the best emails can still lead to some negative responses or unsubscribes. Maybe people only signed up for a one-time deal, were part of a purchased list, or haven’t heard from you in a while, making your email feel unexpected. If you’re concerned about too much negative engagement affecting your deliverability, it’s time to implement a sunset policy. This involves removing contacts who haven’t engaged with your emails after a set period. And for those who’ve never opened a single email? It’s best to let them go. Continuing to email them won’t do you any favors!

Digital Summit – Philadelphia

👋 Emily Massaro, Vice President, Marketing

📍 Philadelphia, PA

📅 September 24-25, 2024

🎤 Jon Youshaei | Daniel Murray, The Marketing Millennials | Brands like Verizon, Salesforce, Nextdoor, LinkedIn, and Microsoft | Local organizations like the United Way of Greater Philadelphia

Takeaways:

1. The Marketing Funnel Doesn’t Look Like It Used To: "The marketing funnel is dead." You’ve likely come across that headline at least once or twice in the last few years. What they’re really suggesting is that the marketing funnel has changed shape. While there were a lot of alternative visuals shown throughout the two days (sideways funnels, mazes, Venn diagrams, and more!), the overarching point was clear: for most products and services, buying cycles are nowhere near as straightforward as they used to be. And ultimately, however you want to visualize yours, you need to ensure you’re engaging with every stage/arrow/circle/box.
2. Some Refreshing GenAI Thoughts: While GenAI was still a hot topic, with a few sessions entirely dedicated to it, I heard much more of our own perspective on GenAI reflected in presentations: While valuable, it can’t replace our own critical thinking or human touch. As GenAI continues to be explored and piloted, teams are coming to this same conclusion that there are ways GenAI’s been awesome and helped their process—and times it falls flat. It’s always interesting to hear about the former from other agencies and marketing teams, including, from this event, for helping in early stages of data analysis or in repurposing content.
3. Empathy > Authenticity: The last few years have brought a lot of commentary and insight around the rising importance of "authentic marketing." That is, the value of being genuine or "real" vs. too polished or well-packaged. A handful of speakers touched on another angle, though, which is the importance of empathy in your marketing. While authenticity is more about "you," the brand, empathy is more about "them," your audience. The idea goes beyond your traditional targeting parameters (think age, geography, or job title) to consider your audience’s hopes, struggles, influencers, and more when you’re trying to understand and communicate with them.
4. "No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care:" Even if you’re not an Eagles fan, stick with me! This was a fun parallel from the United Way of Greater Philadelphia’s CMO, Erika Joy Erb. As a self-proclaimed "Philly enthusiast," she said she’s adopted a version of this motto at every brand she’s worked at. Better put, as a brand, you have to recognize that your product, service, or cause aren’t for everyone! And once you really, truly define who you are for—and stop "caring" about the rest—you can really do the work of making sure you’re offering that group the best possible experience, delighting them at every turn, turning them into your biggest fans, and so much more.

Final Thoughts from the Main Stage

This year, the marketing landscape evolved rapidly. That much was clear with AI, data-driven personalization, new platforms and features, and empathy-driven strategies taking center stage across every event we attended.

While so much of each event’s content reflected where we’ve been or are currently, it also signals where we’re headed. As we look ahead to 2025, our key takeaway is this: to stay competitive, brands must embrace innovation while staying deeply connected to their audience’s needs and experiences.

Curious where Liquid’s headed next and what’s more to learn? Follow along on LinkedIn!