OMR 2023 Recap

I'm Lisa, Marketing Specialist at domaindiscount24 and this year I had the pleasure to visit the OMR conference in Hamburg. I wandered (or rather hurried) with 70,000 other visitors from one thrilling keynote to another, looked at the stunning exhibition booths (Hugo Boss even had an indoor tennis court at theirs and I saw people getting a tattoo somewhere - crazy), and met interesting people at two networking side events.

The main topics of the conference were clearly AI and climate protection. And in this context, I’d like to mention that the conference operators had also set up an extensive sustainability concept including:

• A vegan-first approach: Mainly vegan foods and drinks (e.g. coffee was only served with plant-based milk)
• A reusable concept (e.g. deposits on reusable plates and cutlery to reduce waste)
• Renewable energy sources & promoting travel by train
• Measuring and offsetting CO2 emissions

Thumbs up for this! But now, let’s dive into some talks. Some of them included concrete marketing knowledge, while others were intended to be more conversational and aspirational.

For example, I really enjoyed listening to what Serena Williams had to say about her life and her investments mainly in female entrepreneurs and people of color. Or Headspace's mission to make mental health mainstream and how partnering with John Legend, Starwars, and Nike has resulted in massive growth in their brand awareness. Or how The Female Company drastically increased its market share with taboo-breaking marketing campaigns.

But there were others where I would like to share specific insights with you, as I believe they can help you in our day-to-day work.

State of the German Internet by Philipp Westermeyer

• The “Winners” of 2023
  • Sport marketing: Amazon, YouTube & Co are bidding for streaming rights
  • Climate Tech: 25% of Venture Captial goes to climate tech
  • Prompt engineers: Companies are looking for prompt engineers (and pay high salaries!) to give the right commands to ChatGBT
  • YouTube audiences: More and more money is invested in the quality of YouTube videos, partly more than in TV productions
  • EU regulations: EU regulations help to create a safer online space
• The “Losers” of 2023
  • Life at big Tech companies: Fewer benefits (no more matcha latte & yoga in the mornings)
  • Metaverse: Didn’t really kick off, low acceptance in mainstream
  • Social Media: Less personal, more entertainment platforms
  • Logos: Less diversity in logos

• Short Videos as a trending content form with declining attention spans (0.4 seconds!) as a consequence
  • Strategy 1: “Unhinged” Content (not necessarily “brand-safe”, but authentic)
  • Strategy 2: Snippification - Cutting long content like YouTube videos into snackable pieces to drive engagement
  • Strategy 3: Spray and pray - The performance of short videos is unpredictable
• How to charge your brand:
  • Testimonials/ Influencer
  • Art & Culture (e.g. cooperation with art galleries)
  • Purpose

• Quick wins:

  • Upper funnel SEO: Rank for search terms before the purchase, not transaction oriented

  • bing: Traffic from bing very conversion-strong + CPC cheaper than on Google

  • WhatsApp newsletter

Chatbots

{moin}ai x Chocoversum Hamburg

“Besides the advantage that the AI chatbot answers recurring questions 24/7, it has another ace up its sleeve: Its use in marketing, for example, to boost ticket sales or optimize CX. With 14,000+ chatbot conversations per year, the Chocoversum is a best practice.”

• Challenges: Offering comprehensive service, quality of service, availability, limited capacity, lead generation, conversions
• Goals: Relief of support, dialog with customers, 24/7 availability, boosting the ordering process
• Solution: Self-learning chatbot powered by {moin}ai

Digital Engagement: A Social Future

Annabelle Baker, Global Brand Director, Lush

“Lush is the first international brand to step away from Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok in 2021 after Frances Haugen’s ‘Facebook Files’ exposé – ethical practices on digital platforms is a subject close to Lush’s heart.”

• A brand is what customers think about it, not what a brand thinks about itself.
• Almost seven in 10 adults (69%) across the UK, the US, and Japan believe that if a social media platform is unethical then brands should step away from it.
• 49% of consumers believe social media platforms do not do enough to protect users.--> Find the full report on “A social future” here.

Winning Gen Z with Entertainment-first Marketing

Zaria Parvez, Global Social Media Manager, Duolingo

Duo, the owl of Duolingo, has landed countless viral TikToks by riffing off of trending audio clips.

TikTok Resources

• CAP University offers modules to discover more ways to lean into the platform
• TikTok Blog - Updates, insights, and creative inspiration from our vibrant business community on TikTok.
• TikTok Snacks - An educational series made to teach you everything you need to know about TikTok.
• TikTok Insights - Insights on everything from how the community behaves and connects with brands, to how ads on the platform are driving real business impact.
• TikTok Trend Discovery platform - Browse what's trending now

It’s possible with Pinterest

Malik Ducard, Chief Content Officer, Pinterest

“With economic fears growing and ad budgets shrinking, marketers are under pressure to focus on known channels. But in a world, where last clicks don’t tell the whole story, many are looking for new ways to make their budget work harder.”

• On Pinterest people actively scroll through and search for inspiration.
• Pinterest’s goal is to bring out the best in humanity, inspire people and brands, change the impact of social media, and create a new marketing ecosystem centering on meaning, joy, and aspiration.
• While 48% agree that social media empowers the worst parts in people, Pinterest is a positive place where the majority of consumers say they are more likely to remember, trust and purchase from brands.

• Open-minded users searching for inspiration for everyday and life-changing decisions.
• 97% of all searches are unbranded.
• As a brand, this is the moment to inspire and pick up people when they are still in discovery mode (awareness → brand preference → conversion)

However, besides the many interesting insights into marketing and technology trends, for me personally the speech of Maja Göpel, Political Economist & Sustainability Expert, and Luisa Neubauer, Climate Activist & Author, were the most touching and most important ones I listened to 🌱

“The climate crisis is the consequence of an economic model that promised prosperity through growth. But the former formula for success has become a risk for the planet. We need to change something, and fast […] It is important for our survival in this crazy world to rethink our understanding of well-being and wealth and to reorient our view of technology and innovation.”

I think that's a good closing. Thanks for reading.