Event Preview: 4 MAD//Picnic Content Highlights
By Dan Brain, Co-founder + Content Director, MAD//Fest 21 Jun 2019
Ok, if you're sleep deprived, have seen too many industry bigwigs parading around the Palais in chino shorts and feel like you've overdosed on adland in Cannes, the prospect of attending another event may not be top of your list today.
Fortunately, there's a couple of weeks to recuperate and re-discover your enthusiasm for discovering inspiring people, ideas and innovations at the now sold out MAD//Picnic on 10 July.
If you're lucky enough to have a ticket, here's 4 sessions you won't want to miss:
Holly Tucker MBE, Co-founder, Not On The High St
Like all good stories, let’s start at the beginning. Kicking things off at MAD//Picnic is a keynote from Holly Tucker MBE, Co-founder, Not On The High St and Founder of Holly & Co.
A journalist friend recently described Holly as one of the most inspiring people she’s ever met. The page-turning kitchen-table-to-online-retail-empire story is one of creating a brand and business that is built on technology but human at heart.
Founded in 2006 by Holly and Sophie Cornish, Not On The High St has grown rapidly and established itself as a leading marketplace and a leader in personalisation and thoughtful gifting.
Holly is a big believer in the need for brands to master the art of immersive experiences and emerging trends - don’t miss this truly inspirational tale of the trials and tribulations of crafting this celebrated British business success story.
Meet the disruptors: Monzo + Bulb
Financial services and energy, doesn’t sound too exciting, right? Wrong!
How Monzo and Bulb have disrupted traditional markets dominated by long-standing, resource-rich established players should be of interest to anyone who gets excited by product innovation, slick customer experience and smart growth marketing tactics.
First up is Monzo Head of Marketing Tristan Thomas. Tristan has overseen impressive growth at Monzo of around 50,000-100,000 new users per month, largely via word of mouth. He is now tasked with supercharging growth and leading Monzo’s first move into paid media. Don’t miss the inside-track on how Monzo is adding paid media to its mix and strengthening its ability to disrupt and punch above its weight.
Next is Russell Davies, CMO of energy provider Bulb, the UK’s fastest-growing start-up. Like Monzo, Bulb has successfully taken on the big boys, clocking up nearly a million customers thanks to its millennial-friendly offer of green energy, cheaper prices and simplicity.
The common thread in Monzo and Bulb’s stories is an ability to make modest resources go along away through innovation, smart digital marketing and a customer-centric approach - essential insight for marketers with budgets large and small.
Tech giants Google + Amazon on voice + lifestyle
Google and Amazon are number 1 and number 3 in BrandZ’s global brand index. Dating back to the 90s, they’re relative newcomers when you when you compare them to many others on the list.
But they have left their mark on retail, advertising, work, education, fashion, entertainment, culture, science and technology to name but a few.
Both are at the forefront of voice, a market that is expected to become a $40bn channel by 2022, according to OC&C. We’re over-the-moon to have the fantastic Wally Brill, Google’s Head of Conversation Design - Advocacy + Education, share his inside view on where the world of voice is going and how brands can benefit as digital assistants become even more ubiquitous.
Likewise, Amazon has built a global empire that has changed the way we shop, consume and spend advertising budgets.
But how is the technology evolving and what can brands do to catch the emerging consumer trends? Tune into a keynote from Caleb Hill, Amazon’s MD - Advertising to find out how the world's most valuable brand continues to evolve and change the world in which we live.
My Dad Wrote A Porno Special
Brands, marketers and even adtech firms all want a piece of the burgeoning podcast market right now. We thought that if we’re going to run a session on podcasts, we might as well line-up one of the most successful ones out there for a MAD//Picnic.
To round off the content at MAD//Picnic, My Dad Wrote A Porno Creator Jamie Morton will be live on-stage in a special session presented by Lizzy Pollott from Acast, the world’s largest podcast platform. Why are podcasts such an effective and popular storytelling platform? What are the opportunities for brands? Who is the real Rocky Flintstone? These are just a few of the important questions we'll be putting to Jamie.
Spanning best-selling books, TV shows and a sold-out global tour, grab beer, laugh out loud and get under the skin of the global podcast phenomenon.