Our first-ever Innovation Day in New York took place on November 8th, and by all accounts, it was a smashing success. Attendance exceeded expectations, with 156 attendees from around the world coming together at Convene in Downtown Manhattan for an afternoon of thought-provoking content focused on The Science of Partnership. The audience was comprised of Partnerize clients, partners, technology partners, and agency executives from leading US and global brands from a variety of verticals.
The the event included a keynote and moderated panel examining our rapidly evolving channel dynamics through the lenses of creative partnerships, innovative thinking, and data science. The speakers and panelists were from diverse paths along the partnership road, and came from some of our largest and most innovative clients, including Marriott, Sprint, adidas, and Condé Nast.
Partnerize CRO, Pete Mycock warmed up the crowd by talking about how this year’s Ryder Cup pairings were informed by data, and for the Europeans, this led to more success than in prior tournaments. This parallel between golf and partnership drove home the importance of data and measurement.
Our keynote speaker, Ivo Rook, Senior Vice President Internet of Things and Product Development at Sprint, talked about how the Internet of Things (IoT) are changing the way people live, the way businesses operate, and the way society evolves. The tremendous business opportunity brought about by the IoT hinges on not just the insights and data obtained from connected devices, but also on the need for strong company integrations.
Ivo described how IoT is difficult to navigate, but it has the ability to unite people. Through his three examples of how the world will change – autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and digital health – he showed why partnerships are so important. Companies must find and partner with other innovative companies who are also thinking about technology in the same way. In this climate, you have to “partner like you mean it.”
Our panel discussion focused on Science, Scale, and Strategy of making better partnerships. The panelists were:
- Jochen Gross, Senior Manager Partnership Marketing eCommerce Western Europe at adidas
- Sasha Shimazu, Global Affiliate & Partnership Marketing Manager at Marriott International
- Zach Block, Vice President, Business Development, Partnerships and Commerce at Condé Nast
These world-class brand leaders discussed the importance of helping partners model programs that drive agreed-upon KPIs, partnering with brands that have shared core values, and having performance-based relationships. From a publisher perspective, the keys to success are focusing on storytelling for readers, while incorporating revenue opportunities that make content work harder.
Our panelists agreed that partnership and affiliate teams must work together to drive scale and incrementality, while working on a unified platform for data and tracking. Each speaker emphasized knowing your audience and onboarding all influencer tracking onto the same platform. While challenging, bringing influencers on to pay for performance models can be a huge benefit to an advertiser.
They discussed the importance of being able to measure all touchpoints within the customer journey, including in-app, in order to understand attribution and value delivered by partners. Proper measurement and robust data are crucial, and the right technology solution can be the key to success.
After our panel concluded, speakers and attendees stayed for the networking cocktail reception. The room was buzzing with conversation and the forging of new partnerships.
Thanks to all who made our New York event such a success. We’re counting down the days until the next Innovation Day in Sydney. Hope to see you there on March 14!
Photos by Ben Hider, info@benhider.com