Attending The NJ Ad Club Innovation Summit at Bell Works
I got the chance to attend the NJ Ad Club Innovation Summit October 11th. There were 3 session blocks with six sessions per block. Attendees picked the 3 sessions they liked to attend. The format was a presentation, with questions, and a round table discussion in each session. This was my first NJ Ad Club event, and I enjoyed the format and the vibe.
The 6 Session Choices Were:
- Terracycle – Recycling your company’s purpose without losing its mission
- By & Large – Using Augmented Reality on Facebook & Snapchat
- Paul Pierson (former Managing Partner, Carbone Smolan Agency) – Brand Coalitions: Building Brands from The Bottom Up
- New Haircut – Digital-first Collaboration by Remote Teams
- InSites Consulting – The Agile NextGen Consumer Mind
- David Levin, VP, CX and Innovation, Bob’s Discount Furniture – Next-Generation Brands Driven by Customer Experience
I attended: The Agile NextGen Consumer Mind, Next Generation Brands Driven by Customer Experience, and Recycling Your Company’s Purpose Without 
Losing Its Mission.
The Agile NextGen Consumer Mind Session was mainly about micro-interests of Next Gen. Next Gen interests don’t necessarily add up to paint a bigger picture like their parents do. The interests of next gen are completely different, and don’t necessarily add up to a greater level. Next gen also have a hackathon focus to find how to do things more efficiently. And they focus on micro-crafting. Brands that micro craft to fit individual needs and build at scale cater to Next Gen. They offer a focus on individuality.
Next Generation Brands Driven by Customer Experience focused on 10 Best Practices for Driving Customer Experience.
- Craft your metaphor
- Thank every customer
- Create moments of wow
- Enhance the brand with in-store services
- Build the digital store of the future
- Own your moment of truth
- Craft your CX promise
- Fix below the line of visibility
- Know your customers
- Listen to great ideas
Recycling You Company’s Purpose Without Losing Its Mission session focused on the re-branding of Terracycle from what the business was founded on, but maintaining the overall mission. Focus can change but the mission/mission statement/what company was founded on remains the foundation over time.
The format and structure of the event made it a great place to learn from the speakers as well as peers.
