Blending Creativity and Technology in Digital Marketing at AdTech

Digital marketing is at an unprecedented stage today. Never before has such a rich and immersive set of tools spanned across media to allow companies and consumers to interact. And where marketing was once segregated to individual media - print, television, radio - digital marketing has smashed these silos to allow a new kind of persuasive digital storytelling to emerge. 

This transition is not without it's struggles, and for two days in Chicago last week, digital marketers from across the country gathered for the latest AdTech conference to discuss what's working and what still needs to improve.

AdTech pulls together some of the industry's best in digital marketing for a series of conferences around the world to talk best practices, social media monitoring, ROI and of course, partying like a rockstar.

I've waited a few days to post my thoughts and thoroughly process some of the big ideas from the event. (You can also read my posts to Twitter throughout the conference.) I think one of the more important take-aways was a comment made by Jamie Anderson at Cramer-Krasselt during what was easily the best session of the event "Developing the Big Idea - Creative Strategy and Execution in the Digital Era:"

"Functionality is brand."

As more of consumers first interactions and experiences with a brand begin online, the user experience crafted by the brand are increasingly critical in defining the brand. Is it useful? Does navigating the site or appliation meet their expectations? Once overlooked by brand managers and marketers, there is an emerging recognition that a site's design and user experience is a core building block of a brand in the digital age. Whether it's a playful experience, useful application, or social cause initiative, digital marketers are blending technology and creativity like never before. With this change in digital storytelling, agencies are slowly beginning to recognize the structural changes that are necessary to deliver these new services.

The new digital agencies are blending strategy, marketing, creative and development to deliver web applications that work to solve problems and provide a meaningful service. As David Armano wrote, "It’s time to come to terms with how people really use the web (hint - it might not be to figure out your experimental navigation) and how we can harness the true power of digital. Digital marketing doesn’t need more tradigital creativity - it needs more creative problem solving."

Hopefully AdTech can help spark more of these conversations and shape a digital marketing space that blends creativty and technology to better serve consumers.