Which SXSWi sessions should I blog about?

Super-excited to head to Austin tomorrow for South by Southwest Interactive.

There’s just so much to choose from, I thought I’d ask which sessions you’d like to hear about.

Sunday, March 14th

See what I mean? And that’s just the start! More general info on SXSW

Please comment and thanks for the help!

We have to ask: Who are these people and how can we make it easy to buy? Rishad Tobaccowala: “Data Doesn’t Bleed” Keynote at OMMA Behavioral

Agencies, consultants, B2Bs need to listen to clients: They really want to know what their customers want

State of the market

Too much plumbing not enough poetry
Too much keeping an eye on money sources: VCs are not the answer
Not possible to understand a person based on 6 pieces of data, mostly beyond behavioral
We need to think much broader about people, need to be thinking both off and online
It’s not about pure simplicity

Marketers’ perceptions

33% say behavioral is important

50% say paid search

30% say SEO

Don’t underestimate how overworked agencies are or how smart they have become

Keep in mind what are they looking for

Continuous improvement
Service (answer the phone)
Collaboration

Recommendations for online agencies and marketers

Trust is lacking – across all industries – trust expedites speed
If you’re doing a powerpoint, you’ve already lost, you’re defending
Take clients out for a drink and treat them like people
There should be a strong link between behavioral and creative agencies.

“Rishad Tobaccowala @rishadt serves as a key component of the VivaKi executive management board (Digitas, Razorfish), where he oversees innovation and reinvention efforts … Prior to his current role, Tobaccowala was CEO of Denuo – a Publicis Groupe company that invents, inspires and instigates new forms of creativity to help brands meet challenges of modern marketplaces.

OMMA Behavioral: Winning the Data Games of 2010
“Data, data everywhere. But which attributes and behaviors really match your marketing goals? In 2009, new technologies and layers of user data flooded the marketplace — from social affinities to purchase patterns, demand-side agency platforms to optimization platforms for both buy side and sell sides. But in 2010, marketers need to roll up their sleeves and make these tools work more efficiently for their clients. It is not just about vetting the vendors and running tests anymore. Real money is coming online to be allocated in ways that prove effectiveness. Execution is key, and behavioral targeting is now an integral part of that marketing mix.”

Mobile, Local, Social, Personal: Google’s answer to “The Future of Search” straight from Google Senior Agency Relations Manager Lisa Green

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The Future of Search – Hosted at Google’s Cambridge Office, Presented by Google Senior Agency Relations Manager Lisa Green and SEMPO Boston Working Group

#Sempo_boston

Search is being redefined by mobile, local, social, personal, augmented reality

By a device revolution: Mobile phones

Increasing capabilities and ubiquity
Have almost human capabilities: ears, eyes, know who, what, where, why

Personalization How can we truly personalize?

Augmented reality Fuse digital to actual world

Localization & personalized search

iPhone users using maps 30 percent more than desktop users. No need to ID location.
You know where I am, I want sushi

Social circle personalization

New: Augment results with friends’ info, say on NZ what did they say/recommend
What do my friends think about type of mobile phone I’m investigating

Omnivorous search box: everything you’ve searched

Media

Photos, video, not just text. 100 billion images added to web every year

Image recognition

Look by color, size: Google can understand what’s in the picture

Will be able to drag image into the search box

Google Goggles: take picture, search conducted from pic. Can take biz cards, add to contact lists

Image swirl: Similar to Wonder Wheel, system understands how images relate to each other

Adding greater depth to search

Play songs from search results

Add more languages, make Google universally accessible, can search and get results in native language

What’s new in Search blog posts updated every Friday, Google YouTube brand channel

Q&A

Q. How long until we have conversation w search engines? Have phone talk back to you?

A. Devices need improvement, technology is there on Google’s end

Q. Local listings: Google maps?

A. Local extensions released recently, improvements and beta tests within local Mobile, can target by device and carrier: AT&T and iPhone users within geo space

Q. Does Google know searches across devices, if you searched from phone, will results on desktop reflect phone search?

A. Only if logged in, but try to keep separate so results not skewed

Q. Location-based banner advertising?

A. iPhone doesn’t allow but android does, up to the carriers, Google working toward those results while protecting privacy

Q. SEM mobile?

A. Device and carrier targeting is latest, for sponsored ads. Can select whether just want full browser phones. More coming in mobile

Other nuggets

Real-time results: are unfiltered, working to refine real-time
Hit all points in the algorithm, and businesses can appear in real-time results
Nexus One forthcoming for Verizon, Google was leaving development to device manufacturers, but now considering it
The way the search engine works fundamentally won’t change, but focusing on indexing
Seeing an increase in number of words users putting in the search: Majority of engineers working on search.
Google tries to be sure agencies are armed w info to sell search marketing (not SEO) so they understand how to grow business

Bottom line

Google’s focus is always on users and giving them what they want

Previous “Voice of Google” posts

SEMNE event: Google Adwords Best Practices with Malinda Gagnon of Google

Coming up on Feb. 5: “The Future of Search: Google’s Perspective”

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SEMPO Boston Working Group presents The Future of Search – Hosted at Google’s Cambridge Office

Please allow a few days to sift and post; join the other smart folks who know not to miss it: subscribers are automatically notified!

Directly from event description:

“Many predictions have been made over the past few years regarding the future of search,and there is one perspective that just cannot be ignored: Google’s.

“Join the SEMPO Boston Working Group on the morning of February 5th as Lisa Green,Senior Agency Relations Manager at Google, talks about the future of search. Lisa’s presentation will cover data/insights, social, and mobile. A full event description will be coming soon, but we suggest that you register now as space will be limited.

“Lisa Green is currently a Senior Agency Relations Manager at Google. Her responsibilities include developing relationships with key agency partners and increasing agency participation with Google. Lisa has been at Google for four years where she has managed several teams and helped launch the Campaigns & Elections Team which works with major political candidates during key election cycles. She is a recipient of Google’s G-Values Award and Americas Impact Award which recognize outstanding performance.

“Prior to working at Google, Lisa spent 2 years at National Journal Group,working with large advertisers that targeted beltway insiders and Members of Congress. She moved to Washington DC from San Francisco where she worked at RedEnvelope. Lisa also spent a year living in Chile where she attended classes at the Universidad de La Serena. Lisa received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and History from Middlebury College.She is a member of the Ad Club’s Digital Media Committee and an avid supporter of Prize4Life, an organization dedicated to funding ALS research. She is fluent in Spanish, proficient in French and is an enthusiastic yoga student.”

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