Marketing, technology, innovation, oh my!
We’ve just finished up another amazing IFA Franchise Marketing Innovation & Technology Conference (MITcon), and the attendees left the conference with the knowledge they need to adapt and evolve into the future. This year’s event had some new updates, including a session to kick off the conference with some of the franchise industry’s C-suite leaders, TED Talk-style “MITchats,” and more networking opportunities than ever.
During our kick off panel, we got to hear from Shane Evans, CEO of Massage Heights, Edward Logan, President of Sport Clips, and Renee Israel, Co-Founder of Doc Popcorn. This question and answer panel got attendees primed to think in an innovative way for the rest of the conference. As Shane Evans said, “Innovation should be a priority in all of our businesses.” These franchise leaders got real with attendees to discuss how leveraging marketing and technology has helped their brands stay at the top of their industries.
After this session, attendees were ready to build their brand, their partnerships, and their own personal marketing and technology skillsets! The next two days were packed full of impressive speakers, workshops, roundtables and hands-on experiences. Some of the remarkable brands that attendees got to hear from and interact with include Google, 1Huddle, Dog Haus, CMIT Solutions, and many more. All of our learning labs were divided into a marketing track and a technology track, meaning that attendees could get content catered to their exact needs.
Another highlight of the conference was the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Tricia Wang. Dr. Wang is a global technology ethnographer, and Co-Founder of Sudden Compass. She taught us the importance of leveraging “thick data” in our businesses. What is thick data? It’s an insight about your consumers that goes beyond big data to dig into the emotional reasons why consumers behave the way they do. Dr. Wang taught attendees how vital it is to be customer-centric, and why companies must re-envision their digital marketing practices to meet the needs of their customers.
From Dr. Wang’s keynote address, focusing on relationships became a theme throughout MITcon. As Renee Israel said in the opening session, “If you don’t use technology to serve your customers, somebody else will.” MITcon attendees worked and learned throughout the three days to develop best practices for their own brands, and how their brands can better interact with consumers. From problem-solving roundtables when attendees got to discuss their own hurdles with peers and mentors, to hearing Kathy Collins of Massage Envy discuss a recent successful marketing campaign, MITcon was packed with insights!
The spirit of innovation that was felt at MITcon was shown off in a major way during the MITcon Awards! The award winners were Tutor Doctor for their technology innovations, RE/MAX for their recent business to consumer marketing campaign, and Pedal Pub for their franchise development marketing efforts. Representatives from each of the brands took the stage to show off their winning campaigns, and they left everyone with new ideas and inspiration.
Throughout the three days, attendees were able to connect and collaborate with their peers, and had a space to discuss the unique peaks and valleys that franchise marketers and technologists face every day. You could feel the sense of community throughout the conference, and MITcon attendees left with new ideas and new connections. We hope to see this amazing community come together again next year for MITcon 2020!