Meltwater Summit Day 2 kept the energy flowing with a stellar lineup of speakers, including the truly inspiring Dr. Jonny Kim who joined us live from the International Space Station!
Here’s a breakdown of some of the days highlights for you to revisit:
Talking Leadership in Extreme Conditions with NASA
Station, this is Houston. Are you ready for the event?
Houston, this is Station. I am ready.
Meltwater Summit, this is Mission Control Houston.
Station, this is Meltwater Summit.
In a thrilling kickoff to Day 2, we were privileged to speak with astronaut Jonny Kim via a live Downlink with the ISS!
With his impressive background that includes being a Harvard-trained physician and a US Navy Seal, there are few who are more qualified to speak on the topic of leadership under extreme conditions.
Kim discussed his firm belief that forging and maintaining human connection are cornerstones that should fuel all aspects of leadership and teamwork. He espoused the importance of seeing beyond barriers and differences and grounding leadership style in the understanding and appreciating of the universal human experience.
Human connection was a theme that permeated all through Day 2, with speakers highlighting its necessity in multiple aspects of business — and in particular how much more important it is now that AI is a standard part of our lives.
Kim also shared his passion for the role that vulnerability plays in effective and well-rounded leadership. Stating that while yes, it’s vital that emotion play a role, there are circumstances where compartmentalization is essential. He went on to discuss the nuance here, and that it’s important not to mistake emotional transparency with emotional liability.
Our interview ended with a look to the future. A future we can’t even imagine yet, with technological advances beyond our wildest dreams. Kim acknowledged that that thought can cause some to feel anxious, but he had an optimistic view.
"No one knows what the future will be, but humans will be part of it.“
He cautioned that while this is true, the rapid advancement in technology means the human connection will be more important than ever. With automation and AI, the ability to work as a team and to be vulnerable — to act with integrity — are precious skills that we will need to continue to develop.
Jonny Kim wasn’t the only one delivering impactful takeaways on the second day of Summit. The Main Stage alone featured sessions with expert speakers from The Hershey Company, Burger King, Equifax, and Microsoft. Download our forthcoming Summit Playbook for a full breakdown of those sessions’ insights.
3 Key Themes From Day 2
It’s nearly impossible to sum up all of the highlights of the day. You just had to be there — and next year you can be! But here are three themes that emerged throughout the day:
Human connection
More than one speaker on Day 2 espoused the importance of maintaining human connection in marketing and communications today. Humans crave connection more than ever these days, and brands should lean into that as they think about their campaigns.
Brittany Brown of NASA explained how she looks at human connection when planning campaigns to attract young people to the space program. Working to expand their understanding of all the ways people contribute — and the many diverse skill sets that work together toward a common goal.
Temeka Easter Rice of Vanguard noted that for executive comms, a personal touch can make all the difference, especially on social media. Not only does it humanize your executive team but integrating personal flair on social serves to drive better results.
David Oksman, Vice President of Marketing and Direct-to-Consumer at Samsonite, spoke about when Covid hit the brand was faced with a myriad of challenges, but one thing was clear: our need to be together was stronger than ever.
With the “Travel is a Gift” campaign they made a decision to lean into the emotional. Selling travel wasn’t the goal. Nor was focusing on their product. Instead they wanted to focus on travel’s importance in our lives — as a means to connect with our families, friends, and to create unforgettable experiences.
This celebration of human connection shaped future Samsonite campaigns, and helped them forge an identity for the modern traveler while maintaining the legacy of their 150 year old brand.
Working with the generational divide
Another common theme we saw was the challenge of marketing across the generational divide, in particular for legacy brands and organizations.
Another heartstring-tugging campaign from Samsonite sought to bridge the gap between travel styles, after learning from younger generations that they wish they could travel like their parents used to — without being constantly online.
Our Higher Education panel discussed the challenge of marketing to very different demographics from one source. Alumni and donors are in extremely different phases of life than current or prospective students. And your internal social media teams, PR teams, and faculty span a multitude of generations, so how do you manage your message?
The panelists agreed that a key step is to hire a diverse age range — it helps to make sure all voices are represented as you craft stories and social media posts. Creating different buckets of content designed to appeal strongly to each group is another helpful tactic, allowing you to speak directly to your intended audience with a point of view.
Vanessa Mbonu, VP of Marketing at the NAACP noted that while the brand held strong cultural significance among older generations, they initially struggled with gaining engagement among younger generations on social media. It wasn’t until the BLM protest that this began to change, and they worked to update their social media strategy for this new younger audience. She noted while their social media is heavily intended for a specific demographic of young African Americans — leaning into memes and references — their email list is and older and wider demographic, so they cater their messaging differently when communicating through that channel.
Influencers meet consumers where they are
The often bemusing world of influencer marketing was another key theme on Day 2, with speakers and panels attempting to strip away the mystification and make the case for this unique and valuable marketing channel. It’s actually quite apt, as tapping into an influencer network would be a powerful way to achieve success in the other two themes: finding human connection and growing market share across generations.
Influencers have the ability to broaden consumer bases and develop trust in your brand.
The Content Creators panel, Alex Wong, Wendy Nguyen, and Alyssa McKay, all agreed that users swipe away on ads or obviously sponsored content so trusting influencers to speak to their audience in their own voice is critical to success when working with influencer partners.
Alyssa noted that she’s seeing brands come around to the nuance of measuring conversions from influencer campaigns, and highlighted that looking beyond audience size and having clear KPIs in mind helps generate positive ROI. Wendy added that brands should think more long-term when hiring influencers. Considering the ripple effect of inspiring more purchases or conversions from organic posts after a sponsored campaign — organic posts almost always perform better, she said, so brands need to consider the evolution of content from the influencer.
Gareth Crew, Social Media and Digital Communications Lead at Canon discussed how he uses influencers to broaden the reach of Canon products, which appeal to a wide range of skill levels: from amateurs to professionals. In particular for the iPhone user, scrolling through while watching TV.
Engaging a creator network was a key component of engaging this "second screen" audience, while their brand-owned socials could focus on a more polished look, attractive to hobbyists and professional photographers.
The day rounded out with a high energy and inspiring fireside chat with Melissa Layton, Vice President of Global Communications for Crocs. She highlighted that sometimes accepting your own reputation instead of trying to fabricate a different one is the key to success. Once Crocs leaned into the fact that they were the butt of the joke, everything changed. They turned their faults into assets by simply appreciating and owning their own quirkiness.