The Midwest Digital Marketing Conference returned to in-person events last week at UMSL’s Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. Panels from TikTok’s session featured, from left to right, Matt Gardner, VP of Innovation and Digital Strategy for St. Louis Blues, Enterprise Center, and Stifel Theater. Alison Schaefer, Account Manager, Checkmark Communications. Regan Gillam from FirstTimeMamaDrama. Raquel Pitty-Diaz, Brand Her Strategist at Paradowski Creative, said: (Photo by Wendy Todd)

The Midwest Digital Marketing Conference drew an audience of over 200 people to the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Louis returned to in-person format last Thursday for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conference’s theme is “Fast Forward,” a tribute to the changes marketing professionals have had to make after the height of the pandemic. A panel discussion on B2B marketing was held. Over 20 speakers will participate throughout the day-long event.

Launched in 2013, MDMC provides a platform for industry professionals and aspirants to discuss and share digital marketing knowledge and resources. As of 2019, it has grown to nearly 2,000 participants and is currently in the process of rebuilding its audience.

“MDMC was built on a really strong community,” said conference founder Perry Drake, co-chair and associate professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at UMSL. “And a diverse community. , is what drove us to a place where attendance was nearly 2,000.Trying to rebuild that community is the key to getting us back.It’s not going to happen overnight. .”

Thursday’s event was a good start and brought in some new people.

Lindsey Gamble, Associate Director of Influencer Innovation at Mavrck, a Boston-based influencer-focused marketing firm, attended the conference as a panelist to discuss influencer marketing, but also included the perspective of the participants.

“I came to the conference as an opportunity to not only share my knowledge but also learn from others,” said Gamble. “The digital marketing landscape is very unique and I think there are a lot of people out there who offer value and have a point of view. It’s great to learn from others and continue to move the industry forward.”

Stephanie Lallas, Brand Partnerships Manager at TikTok, opened a panel on the social media platform to highlight design for entertainment. She encouraged companies to experiment with content.

Matt Gardner, Vice President of Innovation & Digital Strategy at the St. Louis Blues, Enterprise Center & Stifel Theater, is a member of the TikTok panel and is helping businesses think as they use the platform to reach more consumers. We talked about the benefits of adapting the .

“We had to go into the process with a very different mindset, brainstorm content, monitor trends, and then consider how to do it,” says Gardner. “It’s very influential and needs to be done in a way that not only appeases young blues fans using TikTok, but also helps keep the community growing.”

Raquel Pitty-Diaz, brand strategist at marketing firm Paradowski Creative, also joined the panel and said companies need to find ways to engage their audience on TikTok, even if they think their brands can only appeal to older consumers. said there is

“A lot of people think TikTok marketing is for Gen Z, or any kind of social media is for millennials and Gen Z,” says Pitty-Diaz. “There are big gaps, so we have to broaden our horizons. I feel like a lot of people are missing big companies because they are afraid to take risks and get into these areas.” .”

Attendees wanted to learn and connect while speakers attended the conference to share their insights.

DeMetria Isabel, Marketing Specialist at Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., was invited to attend the conference by her supervisor, Darren Copeland, who attended in 2019.

“It was really fun,” said Isabel. “For me, the best part was listening to the panelists and hearing what they had to share. can.”

Samuel Craig, Digital Strategist at Purina Northwest, joined MDMC on a scholarship a few years ago when he was a UMSL student to go back and learn and connect with his peers as an industry expert.

“I wanted to come hear a panel of all the people who work in the space I work in and learn whatever I could,” Craig said. , I’m like a sponge, I try to take inspiration from what other people are doing.”

Education and engagement were also the goals of Drake’s conference. He hopes attendees will have a great experience and join him and his team at the next conference he plans to hold in April.

“First and foremost, we want to provide them with important content they can take back to work and use,” he said. “I see a lot of people taking great notes. They’re all using the app to ask questions, which is really good because you want that interaction, and two, they come up to me and say, ‘Perry, MDMC’s back. I’m so excited, this is amazing, I can’t wait for next year.”

Jeremy Corray, vice president of digital entertainment at local marketing firm Coolfire, is looking forward to the next meeting.

“MDMC has been in our marketing plan for nearly a decade,” he said. “We have had some of our biggest clients come out of this conference. Anything we can do to support UMSL, Perry, Executive Director of the conference, Briana Miller and her team, St. Louis Regional Marketing We’ve had great success here, so why not come back and try again?”

Short URLs: https://blogs.umsl.edu/news/?p=95178