I like to draw analogies to marketing. (I also like to draw, period.) I’ve compared cooking to planning a promotion. I’ve compared a claw machine to marketing fundamentals. And lately, I’ve found that going to conference sessions is a lot like digital advertising. Allow me to explain.

1. Session advertisement (Channel)

When I arrive at a conference, how do I know what sessions to go to? Do I look through the conference hand out or website agenda? Do I refer to the conference app or an email? Or does someone verbally recommend me to attend a session? Much like our different marketing channels or mediums, there are many different ways for me to get information (website, social media, email, etc.). In this case, I refer to the conference app to pick my session.

2. Session title (Ad creative)

Session titles and descriptions are really important when shopping for a session. For example, I would much rather choose a session title like “Meetings Suck: Designing Better Creative Collaboration” than “Demystifying Ad Fraud with Emerging Marketing Technologies and Insight Versatility [insert more industry jargon].” I think of session titles like ad creatives. In a sea of ads, which one catches my attention? Which session title would I attend over others? Like a good session title, successful ad creatives can get someone to pause for consideration. In this case, I decide to attend “Supercharge your Storytelling Strategies #FTW.”

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