Breakout Session III

(Thursday, 10:45 - 11:45AM)

Trends & Inspiration

The Current Landscape & The Road Ahead

Let’s talk about our perceptions of the current landscape (where things are going, where to place future bets based on industry trends, who’s busy and not busy, what types of work are being produced most frequently and how can we position ourselves to gain the most traction).

Facilitator(s): Jean-Francois Thery (UltraSuperNew) & John Sampogna (Wondersauce)

AR/VR/Mixed Reality - Do You See What I See?

There are many SoDA members making waves around the world with early, extremely innovative initiatives on the AR and VR front. Let’s use the occasion of the GMM to discuss the outlook for this area of our industry (including the technology driving these experiences), what’s needed to play in the VR/AR realm, and where the real business opportunities lie.

Facilitator(s): Wesley ter Haar (MediaMonks)

AI, Marketing Automation & Smarter Design

Let's discuss trends, perspectives, threats, opportunities and success stories related to the need for marketers (and the partners) to better leverage data, machine-driven learning and automation to drive greater insight, performance and efficiency.

Facilitator(s): Chris Duffey (Adobe)

Finance & Ops

Metrics & KPI

A discussion centered on improving your shop’s financial management practices by focusing on the metrics and reporting that matter most. So, what metrics are most important to you and why? Let’s discuss how we track margins, pricing, resourcing, productivity and other mission-critical business metrics.

Facilitator(s): Tamir Scheinok (Fluid) & Steve Glauberman (Perficient Digital)

Strategy & Growth

Approaches to New Business

Let’s discuss best practices to consider (and avoid) when it comes to generating new business (networking, leveraging high-profile partners, target identification, pipeline management, hiring a new business team, etc.). What's been working for you? Where do you struggle the most? Is it becoming more competitive?

Facilitator(s): Chris Miller (Invoke) & Steve Wages (AgencyAgile)

Leadership & Culture

Acquiring & Retaining Great Talent

Creating a positive workplace begins with having a set of effective staff retention strategies. We’ll share proven tools and methods for effectively infusing incentives into your agency culture and the impacts such incentives have on staff retention.

Facilitator(s): Kath Blackham (Deepend) & Nancy Vonk

Improving Team Communication & Collaboration

Internal communications can make or break a company’s culture. Employees should feel they can easily communicate with their fellow team members as well as executive leadership, as it contributes to productivity and overall results. Let’s discuss actionable steps for improving internal team communications.

Facilitator(s): Matt Griffin (Deepend) & Suzanne Hitchcock (Stimulant)