The annual Marketo Marketing Nation Summit just wrapped up at Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more than 6,500 marketing fanatics and 60 vendors, this is a “must attend” event, chock full of insightful keynotes, educational sessions, celebrity speakers, networking opportunities, and even a concert from the Bay Area’s own band, Train.

I had a chance to attend the event, check out the keynotes, and mingle with the crowd. Here are my top takeaways—both about key trends as Marketo sees them, as well as what the crowd was thinking about.

Engagement and the Three A’s

Day 1 started with a keynote from Steve Lucas, CEO of Marketo, who articulated the 3 A’s of engagement.

 
1. The Art of Storytelling: Data is the buzzword for marketing today, but being authentic and relevant is critical to emotionally connecting with your target.

Both James Corden and Queen Latifah talked about being authentic in a world of noise and complexity to stand out and build your brand. There are three key elements to storytelling: Be relevant, be authentic, and be interesting.

2. Adaptive Engagement: This is all about two-way listening and communication. Brands can’t just “talk” to their audiences and expect a response. In the digital era, there’s both an opportunity – and need – to provide experiences that matter based on what you know about your targets.

The key is to first reach for the heart, and through that a brand will capture the mind. As Steve Lucas stated: “We are living in a new era—a digital future where everyone and everything is connected. The bottom line is that the marketer in this new era must engage with all the stakeholders in a business, not just customer, and deliver an experience with promise. The organizations that do this will win—and those that fail to embrace transformation in the Engagement Economy aren’t long for this new world.”

3. Advocacy: A recent Deloitte study showed that only 13% of marketers do activities outside of acquisition. This was a common theme throughout the event – the notion of thinking beyond simply acquiring customers and moving them to become true advocates. 

This starts from the inside out – employees must have passion about the brand and marketing programs need to move beyond net-new lead creation. There is a great opportunity with win-back and behavioral-based marketing programs to drive deeper loyalty and retention.

Meaningful Communication

Day 2 included an informative keynote from Marketo CMO Chandar Pattabhriam. He highlighted how just a few words can bring specific brands to mind, thus the importance of focusing on the three A’s.

Stephen Yeo, Marketing Director at Panasonic System Communications Europe, spoke about the journey to lifecycle marketing and how his organization connects with customers through a fine-tuned segmentation and data strategy.

Four senior marketing executives from Zappos, Taco Bell, Time Warner, and Visa and were interviewed by James Cooper, Editorial Director of AdWeek. Key insights included:

• The importance of breaking down incumbent behavior to move beyond the status quo
• Making the complex simpler, both for internal processes as well as user experience
• The role of data in providing compelling experiences to target segments
• Bringing brands to life through personification
• Using purpose-driven marketing, defined as a way for a business or brand to bond with a target audience based on their shared needs and interests – including supporting a worthy cause

#MKTGNATION: What Was Really on People’s Minds

The exhibitor floor was buzzing, and several common themes emerged as I talked to attendees and vendors.

• ABM is clearly a hot topic. But many people are challenged with how to get started: what content they need, how to personalize experiences, and how to best align sales and marketing. While some understood the concept of ABM, many just wanted to learn how to progress.
• MarTech investment optimization was top-of-mind. As one attendee put it: “I want to go beyond the hype and execute.” There’s clearly a need for help in executing programs to demonstrate that these technologies are worthy.
• One vendor told me that many attendees were overwhelmed with the number of vendors and needed clarity on the differentiation of each provider. Key takeaway: Make sure you have a compelling value proposition that’s clear and unique.

Overall, this year’s event was informative and highlighted the need that marketers must connect with their audiences through the power of content and storytelling. If you were at the event, please share your most memorable moments and takeaways with us on Twitter!