The [a]list summit on Influencer Marketing is coming up this Thursday, July 31, and it shaping up to be the biggest and best summit yet. The summit brings together thought leaders and key players from a variety of fields to share knowledge about Influencer Marketing, the cutting edge of marketing today. Influencer Marketing is at the forefront of the massive shift in marketing that’s been taking place, from classic “push” marketing where advertising messages are thrust upon people, for the most part, against their desire, with the new breed of “pull” marketing where marketers are creating content that people actively want to experience.
The field of Influencer Marketing involves creative endeavors like YouTube as well as social media, and working with the best and most influential content creators to craft more engaging content that embodies brand identities.
Here’s a look at some of the key learnings attendees will take away from the [a]list summit on Influencer Marketing:
Julian Hollingshead, VP of strategy and client services for Ayzenberg, will be Setting the Stage — providing an overview of how word-of-mouth drives brands and how influencers have the most powerful voice. He’ll discuss how to activate, steer, and use them as a distribution channel and source of content.
Then Eric Solomon, head of brand strategy for Google/YouTube, takes the stage to talk about Hypertelling. That’s what he terms storytelling in the hyperactive, hyperlinked atmosphere of today. “We are constantly leaning in, looking for the next big thing instead of just waiting for it,” Solomon writes. This should be a fascinating look at how storytelling is being reimagined for brand marketing.
The panel that’s next up covers the state of Influencer Marketing. Oprah to PewDiePie is moderated by Jim Louderback, the GM of Discovery Digital Networks, with panelists Jeanette Liang, executive director of global digital marketing at ADF, Estee Lauder Companies; Phil Ranta, VP of talent operations at Fullscreen & PronunciationManual; and Rob Ciampa, CMO of Pixability. The panel will review the stae of influencer marketing, and discuss how to create win-win campaigns, be authentic and picking the right influencers for your brand.
After a break, you’ll hear from Creator Visionaries, a panel moderated by [ion] talent group director Brian Foster, with panelists Olga Kay, filmmaker and founder of Mooshwalks; Zach King, filmmaker, and Connor Franta, filmmaker. They’ll talk about how they connect with their user bases and how they work with brands, and you’ll get valuable insight on how to work with creators and the possibilities of content.
The final panel before lunch is Harmonizing, with moderator Shira Lazar from What’s Trending. The panelists are Justin Rezvani, founder and CEO of theAmplify (Instagram Network); Larke Paul, senior director, creator program and partnerships, Defy Media; and Kong P, co-founder and CEO of Simple Pickup. The panelists will discuss how to facilitate creation of great branded content, and how to work a successful influencer campaign into a broader marketing strategy to fully engage the audience.
After a gourmet lunch by celebrity chef Roy Choi, the summit continues with Brendan Gahan, YouTube marketing expert, talking about Blowing the F#@k Up, or influencer marketing’s epic wins, fails and lessons learned. Gaham discusses what to do and what not to do when creating an influencer campaign, with best practices for bringing brands and influencers together.
The Discovery panel is next, with moderator Vincent Juarez, principal and media director at Ayzenberg. Panelists are Andrew Barrett, director of marketing for Jukin Media; Allison Stern, co-founder and GM of media solutions at Tubular; Matt Gielen, director of programming & audience development at Frederator Studios; Mary Healey, global lead, YouTube Brand Partner program; and Tony Chen, CEO, Channel Factory. The panelists discuss specific techniques to break through the clutter and get noticed, and how to maximize content discovery, views, shares, virality, subscriptions and engagements.
The Media-Ization panel, moderated by Ayzenberg principal and director of strategy Chris Younger, will explore the science of making word-of-mouth behave more like media to move the needle forward for both brands and influencers. Panelists include Jonah Minton, senior vice president, sales and brand strategy, Fullscreen; Scott Carlis, VP, digital and social media, AEG global partnerships; and Margaret Laney, CEO, Blurr and former CMO, Awesomeness TV.
Next up, Robert Brill, the executive director of [ion], will talk about BCN — the Brand Channel network, which is a tool for recruiting, incentivizing, and managing a force of influencers. It’s all about how to identify and empower communities on behalf of your brand.
The final panel, Online Video Leadership, is moderated by Jocelyn Johnson, founder of VideoInk. The panelists include Angie Barrick, head of industry, media and entertainment for Google/YouTube; Will Keenan, president, Endemol Beyond USA; Paul Kontonis, SVP, strategy and sales, CDS, executive director, GOVA; Nathan Brown, general manger, video, Complex Media; and Shira Lazar, What’s Trending. The expert panelists will talk about online video and how brands can navigate through this complex milieu to find the right audience. If you want to know how much to pay for an influencer campaign and what results to expect, this panel will have the answers.
The Closing Keynote is provided by Shay Carl, the co-founding talent of Maker Studios and filmmaker, Shay Carl and the Shaytards. He’ll put the whole influencer marketing picture into perspective, and it should be an excellent way to end the summit.
Of course, there’ll be a closing cocktail reception, where the attendees will have a chance to network and discuss the day’s events. If you won’t be attending the [a]list summit, never fear: After the summit we’ll be live-blogging the Summit as it happens, and we’ll be covering much of the content after the fact in the [a]listdaily.
