The key sessions you should not miss at Marketing Week Live and the Insight Show

Marketing Week Live and the Insight Show are back next week. Taking place at Kensington Olympia on the 8 and 9 March, the two events feature panels, keynotes and workshops delivered by some of the most learned folk in the marketing and insight industries. Tackling some of the biggest issues in marketing today and tomorrow, the shows deliver a heady mix of information, insight and inspiration that can help you become a better marketer and leader.

Here are my picks of the sessions you simply cannot afford to miss. And head HERE to register for the event.

What will the marketing team of the future look like?

Marketing Academy Stage, Marketing Week Live, 9.50am, 8 March

There is nothing that excites and exhausts marketers more than the future whether it is the future customer, the future of media or the future of work. But how do you structure, setup and manage your team in order to exploit the opportunities and front up to the threat?

The marketing team of the future is the subject of the keynote panel on day one of Marketing Week Live. Creating the right culture, ensuring you have diverse representation, the optimum skills mix and marketing’s very place in the organisation will be discussed, dissected and distilled with the help of a stellar cast of marketing luminaries – Trinity Mirror’s Zoe Harris, Direct Line’s Mark Evans, Merlin’s Emma Woods and Hiscox’s Annabel Venner. One not to miss.

The state of the insight industry: The CEO’s view

Headline Stage, Insight Show, 9.50am, 8 March

From neuroscience and social insight to artificial intelligence and machine learning, there are so many more opportunities for the research industry to add value to their clients. However, the 2015 general election then Brexit and Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the White House raised questions about the veracity of polling methods. Plenty to tackle then in this a panel featuring some of the key players in a key industry.

Reflecting modern Britain in communications

Marketing Academy Stage, Marketing Week Live, 10.45am, 8 March

Britain is a diverse nation but that hasn’t always been represented in advertising. Lloyds Banking Group’s Ros King will discuss the challenge of better representation, how to overcome such challenges and how diversity is being addressed at the banking group. A fascinating exploration of a key societal and business issue.

The power of dynamic segmentation

Marketing Transformation Stage, Marketing Week Live, 12.45pm, 8 March

Segmentation is a vital but often overlooked part of the strategic process. This session will delve deep into how one of the world’s biggest brands – HSBC – employed segmentation max, otherwise known as dynamic segmentation. It may sound dry but get this wrong and any execution of strategy is rendered pointless.

The future of content marketing

Brand and Engagement Stage, Marketing Week Live, 4pm, 8 March

Despite the protestations of a band of notable detractors, our own Mark Ritson for one, there are plenty that put great stock in the silver bullet solution to countering the weariness of millennials that content marketing is often pitched as. What does content marketing mean anymore? How will it evolve? Does it pay? All up for discussion in this session featuring ITN and the Content Marketing Association.

Social insight: A new territory

Headline Stage, Insight Show, 12.05pm, 9 March

People have never been keener or more able to bare their soul. Their interests, hates, hopes, dreams and fears are there for all to see across social media. A huge opportunity but an even bigger challenge for brands. Expedia’s Luis Fernandes and Linkfluence’s Anthony Fradet will dig into the importance of context, the employment of technology and audience mapping. In short, turning numbers into insight.

Branded content, storytelling and Academy Awards

Marketing Academy Stage, Marketing Week Live, 10am, 9 March

Who is the missing link between Sienna Miller, Amy Winehouse and Noel Gallagher? It’s Academy Award winning film maker and branded content director Asif Kapadia. The director and executive director of Amy and Supersonic respectively made his first foray into marketing last year, directing Burberry’s cinematic Christmas ad. In this keynote, Kapadia will explain the creative thinking behind the campaign, the similarities and differences between documentaries, drama and branded content, and how brands can engage through creative storytelling.

• For more information on Marketing Week Live and the Insight Show and to register for tickets head to www.marketingweeklive.co.uk