MDMC 2019

#mdmc19

Seven years into the life of the annual conference conceived by Perry Drake PhD you cannot help but marvel at its growth and success. This year the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference (MDMC 19) attracted nearly 2,000 participants. This yields an impressive graphic that shows an steady growth from its humble beginning in 2013 as a local UMSL on-campus event that addressed digital disruption. This year the tone seems decidedly different: while technology is still changing business, marketing and sales forever, there is tremendous energy and enthusiasm for the tools available to communicate and market. 

Union Station in Saint Louis was once a hub for trains taking people too and from major metropolitan centers at the height of a gilded age when deals were done in an era a robber barons and political power brokers. Today, Darrell West PhD, the director of the center for technology at the Brooking Institution, delivers a keynote address and shares ideas outlined in his book, Divided Politics, Divided Nation: Hyper-conflict in the Trump Era. Dr. West is uniquely qualified to address the growing cultural split between conservative and liberal political cultures in the U.S. West grew up on a dairy farm in Ohio and now works in Washington D.C.

Keisha Mabry followed Dr. West with another keynote speech with ideas from her book, Hey Friend, 100 Ways to Connect With People in 100 Days. She asked the audience to take out their cell phones out and give it a high five. ”Doesn’t that feel silly?” she says with a smile. Her point is to stress an urgency for everyone to work on making genuine connections with others in spite of this changing world. 

After the keynoters set a kind of foundation for understanding political dynamics and the for people to make real connections, the conference attendees self direct themselves to a smorgasbord of presentations set in ballrooms. The positive energy and enthusiasm is palpable. This event over the course of three days produces so many memorable things.  Here are some vignettes of what is was like to attend this year’s remarkable happening.

• It’s standing room only in a panel discussion session on CONTENT. The conversation is grounded in marketing strategy.
• A session lead by digital strategy lead and social media manager from Bayer Crop Science Division (formerly Monsanto) talks about how employees can become company ambassadors with appropriate use of digital tools that will allow them professional development.
• Dun & Bradstreet’s digital marketing manager advocates LinkedIn to boost awareness and generate leads.
• Vanessa Cabrera exudes enthusiasm for her presentation on how to host a successful social media challenge.
• A panel discussion on the use of video lead by digital marketing specialist from Nestle Purina Petcare touches on the technology challenges of effective storytelling given the various aspect ratios driven by manufactures of digital devices.
• Stephanie Liu sparkles with her posse in the front row of the VIP section in her session about increasing influence using Facebook live video.

If this year’s MDMC conference is an indication, one must conclude that we are moving from an overall fear of the unknown impact of digital technology to a wave of enthusiastic fans who eagerly embracing possibilities.