A new year with a clean slate is the perfect opportunity to refresh your perspective and set new goals. In this webinar, we’ll explore key marketing trends based on primary research and real-world examples of how others are adopting their techniques and technology. Following the disruption of COVID-19 on all businesses, it will be more important than ever to understand how successful organizations are using digital marketing to achieve excellence and produce outsize results.

Mat Zucker and Omar Akhtar from Prophet will share the results from their annual State of Digital Marketing study, a global benchmark survey that records the latest trends, shifts, practices, and challenges in the world of digital marketing. You can bet there will be insights for agencies, brands, media sellers, independent consultants, and organizational experts.

Key findings include:

• Top challenges currently faced by digital marketing marketers
• COVID-19’s impact on digital marketing investments
• Maturity levels for key digital marketing capabilities
• Top-performing mar-tech platforms
• Trends in digital marketing spending, organization, and collaboration

Meet the Speakers

Mat Zucker, Partner, Prophet

Mat Zucker leads the firm’s Marketing & Sales practice, which includes its communications and content strategy offerings. Mat is passionate about helping companies connect and engage customers through precise targeting, motivating content, and effective channel choices. A pioneer in digital and marketing for 25 years, Mat’s creative leadership has been recognized as a juror for the Caples, Cannes Lions, and Effie Awards.

Mat is particularly involved in thinking through how digital content and experiences can enable the shift from communications to engagement required in a digital age. He writes regularly for Forbes.com and the Content Marketing Institute and is a co-author of Altimeter’s Key Elements of Building a Unified Content Strategy and author of Bronze Seeks Silver: Lessons from a Creative Career in Marketing.

A graduate of Cornell University, Mat began his career as a copywriter and has held executive leadership positions at R/GA, Razorfish, and OgilvyOne New York. Mat hosts two podcasts, “Rising,” covering marketing careers, and “Cidiot,” about his move to the Hudson Valley.

Omar Akhtar, Research Director, Prophet

Omar Akhtar is the research director and senior analyst at Altimeter, a Prophet Company, where he publishes research and advises companies on digital marketing innovation.

His research reports include industry benchmarks, maturity models, and guides for content strategy, digital marketing excellence, marketing technology, and data-driven personalization.

Omar has frequently served as a moderator and speaker in conferences and panel discussions on the above topics and has been quoted as a technology expert in leading publications, including National Public Radio, CNET, Forbes, Digiday, TechCrunch, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

About Prophet

Prophet is a consultancy that helps clients find uncommon growth through marketing, brand, experience, innovation, and organization & culture capabilities. We operate differently than other consultancies, blending insight, strategy, and creativity with an optimistic yet pragmatic approach.

We have partnered with some of the world’s most successful companies, including Electrolux, T-Mobile, UBS, Gatorade, and GE. With twelve global offices and more than 450 experts in marketing, innovation, digital, and design, we are able to bring together the right people with the right experience to solve our clients’ business challenges.

In this session, Andrew Miller of Workshop Digital will share the processes and tools they use to forecast digital marketing budgets.

About this Event:

Make the Most of Your 2021 Digital Marketing Budgets
Marketing budgets are under the microscope and responsible businesses demand accountability for each dollar invested. Are you building a strong case for increased investment in your 2021 digital marketing budgets? Or are you leaving money on the table and potentially limiting your future growth opportunities? In this session, Andrew Miller of Workshop Digital will share the processes and tools they use to forecast digital marketing budgets based on historical data, current events, and future projections. He’ll also share a Digital Marketing Measurement Model that you can use to quantify your marketing results and predict future success to make the most of your 2021 budgets.

Meet Your Speaker:

Andrew Miller, Co-Founder, Workshop Digital

 

About Workshop Digital:

Workshop Digital is a digital marketing agency located in Richmond, Virginia. We help exceptional businesses grow through results-driven digital marketing. Our search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC), and conversion rate optimization (CRO) services help brands get found online.

As our name implies, we take a customized approach to digital marketing. Rather than crank out automated results, we take the time to personalize strategies around your needs. While technology informs our work, we’re driven by real relationships and transparent communication.

Learn more about the purpose of a communications audit, as well as how to conduct one to help your organization.

About this Event: Re-evaluating Marketing Efforts with a Communications Audit

Are you at a crossroads in your marketing efforts? Unsure if your efforts are delivering the kind of ROI you’d expected? Or simply, do you want to ensure your marketing plan is aligned with the needs and interests of your key customers? If yes, it may be time for a communications audit.

Learn more about the purpose of a communications audit, as well as how to conduct one to help your organization more effectively communicate with its key constituencies and strengthen your digital, internal, and outfacing marketing efforts. We’ll cover how to assess communications related to attracting key audiences and/or new customers; analyze competitive landscapes; research and develop audiences; identify strategies, tactics, and messaging tailored to personas; differentiate yourself in the marketplace; determine clear-cut communications goals and metrics for success, and develop a strategic path forward.

During this interactive session, participants will be asked to hone in on 1-2 problem areas. While being guided through a worksheet and related exercises, you will walk away with a mini-plan of action for your organization!

Meet Your Speakers:

Greg Surber, APR, Vice President, Research and Insights, The Hodges Partnership

Greg Surber, APR, is the rare breed of PR professional who is most at home pouring through white papers, digital analytics, and trade publications to identify the big trends impacting his clients’ industries. Over the years, he’s formalized The Hodges Partnership’s communications audit approach, as well as led the majority of these projects, which has included work for universities, public utilities, private schools, state agencies, law firms, and marketing agencies. In addition to his work at Hodges, he also serves as an adjunct PR instructor at VCU and a marketing instructor for the University of Richmond’s Institute on Philanthropy.

About The Hodges Partnership:

The Hodges Partnership is an award-winning public relations and content marketing agency whose strategies focus on telling clients’ stories through three content pillars – Earned, Owned and Paid. As a fully-integrated agency, The Hodges Partnership provides expertise and public relations services on all fronts, from devising and executing high-profile media relations campaigns to creating online content strategies, and from helping clients respond to crises to planning their next big event.

A More Resilient World? Big Questions on Post-Covid Culture and Strategy

We all know COVID-19 has been a significant force in our lives this year—but how has it fundamentally changed the way we think, feel, and behave? And what does it potentially mean for our future?

Four female brand strategists from across the globe got together to answer these questions, drawing on their backgrounds in cognitive and behavioral science, research, and branding. They found seven key shifts, and underlying tensions, that are driving how we make decisions in our new day-to-day reality.

In this webinar, we will focus on two of these major shifts and what they mean for organizations trying to chart a new path forward with consumers. Get a framework to understand the tensions driving our culture, from new categories of language to the return of function over fashion—and everything in between. Learn what questions we should be asking to help drive successful, sustainable brand strategies moving forward.

Whether you design services, make products, manage a team or simply are curious about how people live, work, and play – there’s something in here for you.

Key Takeaways:

• What tensions are at the root of our “new normal” in daily life, and what does it mean to businesses that we lead?
• What should we consider as we form strategies to adjust and adapt to new consumer thinking and behavior?
• Considerations for potentially long-standing cultural impacts vs. temporary ones—and how to know the difference.

Using Google Data Studio to Inspire Smarter Marketing Decisions

Having data is a start.

Being able to access it is a step forward.

Understanding it and being able to analyze it is yet another.

Data visualization helps organizations better understand, analyze and communicate data learnings. Google offers a free tool – Google Data Studio – that allows users to connect their data properties and create customized interactive dashboards that make data more actionable.

During this Teach Me How, Spinnaker Consulting Group’s Marketing Analytics team will provide an overview of the product, build out a dashboard and share different reporting scenarios to help marketers leverage data to inform strategy and communicate results to clients and corporate leadership. From here, Spinnaker Consulting Group’s Marketing Analytics team will host a short Q&A with Dotted Line to share best practices in marketing analytics and campaign reporting.

This event is co-presented by Dotted Line, and the agency’s analytics partner, Spinnaker Consulting Group.

Meet Your Speakers:

Caitlin McNichol, Senior Account Management, Dotted Line
Caitlin is a Senior Account Manager with Dotted Line. She manages a portfolio of clients and is responsible for building strong client relationships, developing marketing strategies, and coordinating with teams to deliver solutions that meet clients’ needs. Prior to Dotted Line, Caitlin worked in production with various roles at Discovery Communications. Caitlin has an undergraduate degree from James Madison University where she studied video editing. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband, Pat and their two dogs.

Ben Abbott, Consultant, Marketing Analytics, Spinnaker Consulting Group

Ben is a Consultant with Spinnaker Consulting Group. He helps clients make better use of data, rigorously exploring all available information and then focusing on what is most important to drive better results.

In his 20+ year career, Ben has held analytics roles at a variety of companies across industries, including over 10 years at Capital One. Prior to joining Spinnaker, Ben built and ran his own consulting practice that focused on helping companies better leverage their digital properties.

During his time at Capital One, Ben’s responsibilities included marketing strategy, product strategy, credit policy, customer management, and call center analytics. He led teams of analysts as well as cross-functional project teams. He also played key roles in launching Capital One’s early digital capabilities for both acquiring and managing customers.

Ben has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University where he studied Chemistry. He lives in Arlington, VA with his wife Christa and their three children. When Ben isn’t working on Spinnaker projects, he can often be found volunteering with his kids’ soccer teams or Cub Scout dens or helping his wife out with the test prep business she founded.

About Spinnaker Consulting Group

A partner company to Dotted Line, Spinnaker Consulting Group is a hands-on management consulting firm with deep analytic expertise. They mine and analyze data to better connect companies with consumers. They also provide data visualization, predictive analytics, and reporting optimization.

www.spinnakerconsultinggroup.com

Topic: Creating diverse, inclusive and accessible content

This discussion-based SIG event will continue our previous conversation about how the Black Lives Matter movement has impacted brands’ tone, efforts and content on social media as well as touch on inclusive and accessible content. From language to representation in imagery to compliance and more, we’ll touch on a few key audiences to consider when posting on social media and resources for support. Please be prepared to share some ways your company is incorporating these elements into your social strategy or bring 1-2 examples of brands you feel do a good job in this space.

About Social Media SIGs

The definition of social media, according to Merriam-Webster, is, “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).” Brands that have proven success marketing on social media are creating their own loyal communities by being human, relatable and engaging with customers in ways that make sense for each platform.

In the Social Media SIG, we’ll break down what it means to be “human” on social and explore practical ways to achieve similar results for our own businesses. From content and copywriting tips, to audience research and targeting, to critical differences in platforms, we’ll share and learn from each other. Happy customers’ word-of-mouth is one of the most effective (and least expensive) ways to drive revenue. Let’s figure out how to harness that power!

**Zoom details will be sent out 24 hours before the event.**

Join us for a virtual happy hour! Grab your Bar Chef Cocktail Kit and be ready for a craft cocktail lesson and networking!

About this Event

For this very special virtual happy hour, we’ve partnered with local mixologist and bartender extraordinaire, Mike Love, to guide us through making two fall-inspired craft cocktails.

His Richmond-based startup, Bar Chef Cocktail Kits, will provide the recipe and ingredients (minus the alcohol) and Mike will show us tips & tricks to make our very own handmade craft beverages. In between each cocktail-making lesson, we’ll have time to chat and enjoy our bartending handiwork.

• Day/time: Tue, 10/27 5:30 – 6:30pm

• Your ticket includes a cocktail kit for $31.99* and entry to the virtual event

• Kits can be picked up at Lunch/Supper on Sunday, 10/25 from 3 – 6pm

• Delivery is available (within a 20-mile radius of midtown Richmond) for an additional $8

• In order to ensure kits are ready in advance, ticket sales will close Friday, 10/23 at 3pm

A Zoom link will be sent to all participants in advance. We hope you’ll join us to mix, measure, sip, and chat!

* Due to ABC regulations, alcohol is not included in the kit. You will need 4oz. of bourbon for your two cocktails.