For more than 15 years, I’ve studied and written about “rising above the noise” — how a business or individual can be seen, heard, and discovered amid the overwhelming wall of content competition.

Since I wrote about Content Shock more than 10 years ago, the total number of hours each day that consumers spend watching, listening to, reading, and interacting with content has barely grown. At the same time, technological innovations in production and distribution, the rise of user-generated content, and the proliferation of premium content have created a dizzying array of new choices.

This is Content Shock on steroids. There are 50 times more amateur uploaders than professionals on Spotify, 25,000 times more hours of content produced last year on YouTube than on all traditional television networks and video streaming services, and AI has flood the zone and is now the dominant source of web content.

So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered a new McKinsey Research report that offers an important new clue about how content actually cuts through effectively.

The breakthrough idea in this report is that most businesses focus on the time spent on content and the size of their audience. This overlooks a more important issue: the quality of time spent.

Not all consumer attention is created equal. Consumption and monetization vary widely across the content marketing spectrum, and the quality of the attention is the reason for that variability.

Let’s dive into this today and learn about how to measure and optimize the quality of attention on your content.

The drivers of attention value

Backed by an in-depth survey of 7,000 consumers worldwide, McKinsey developed an “attention equation” that reveals the full drivers of attention value. Attention doesn’t simply equal the amount of time spent; it equals the amount of valuable time spent, driven by focus and intent. 

Using a new equation, McKinsey measured the value of consumer attention across 20 media channels. Not all content types are created alike. The value of an hour of consumption ranged from:

$33 per hour for live sports,

$17 per hour for live concerts

$7.18 for movies

$0.37 for books

$0.25 for social media posts

$0.12 per hour for digital music

$0.05 for podcasts

This is common sense. If you’re attending a live sports event or a concert,  you’ve paid a lot of money for that “content.” You’re committed!

But looking at the “lower tier” of content we usually produce — social media posts and podcasts — there’s a massive difference McKinsey describes as an “attention quotient.”

The attention quotient consists of two primary components: 1) consumers’ level of focus, or how actively they’re engaged with the content, and 2) the job to be done, or why they are consuming the content. Taken together, these components have significant predictive power on monetization.

Let’s look at these two factors — level of focus and the job to be done — more carefully to see how this might work in practice in our own companies.

Level of focus

McKinsey’s research revealed several insights about where and how consumer focus differs across media:

• In-person experiences elicit the highest level of focus.
• Books (digital and physical) engage audiences to a comparable degree with live experiences
• Console and PC gaming is the only digital medium that gets close to live levels of focus
• Community events create a high level of focus, even in digital, where group activities elicit higher focus than more solitary activities.
• Younger consumers aren’t less attentive; they just pay attention to different media. Gen Z consumers and baby boomers report the same average level of focus, but it’s split across different media: Gen Z consumers are highly focused when playing video games, while boomers prefer reading.
• Overall, the more focused consumers are, the more likely they are to spend. Across consumers, a 10 percent increase in average focus paid across media is associated with a 17 percent increase in consumer spending. Consumers in the top quartile of focus spend twice as much as those in the bottom quartile.

The job to be done

The second factor builds on a famous framework created by Clayton Christensen. When a person consumes your content, what are they “hiring it” for? What is the job to be done?

The primary “job to be done” of media consumption falls into one of five categories (from most to least valuable):

1. To enjoy something that I love. In-person experiences—including live concerts and music festivals, theme parks, sporting events, and movie theaters—dominate this category. Physical books and (to a far lesser extent) audiobooks are also consumed primarily for love.
2. For education and information. This is the primary job to be done for newspapers, magazines, and podcasts.
3. For social connection. This is the primary job of social media sites (Facebook more so than others). Social video (including Instagram reels and TikTok but not YouTube), live events, and video games overindex on this role.
4. For light entertainment and relaxation. This is the primary job of cable television, video streaming, social video, and mobile and console gaming.
5. For background ambience. This is the primary role of radio, digital music, podcasts, and cable television.

Adding these two factors to our content analysis begins to shed light on why not all marketing-related content is created equal:

Implications for demographics

The research also allowed McKinsey to tease out three distinct customer groups based on their high level of economic value:

Content lovers

Entertainment omnivores represent 13 percent of all consumers. Curious and passionate, they spend 2.4 times more money on content and consume 1.7 times more content than the average consumer. They’re the superfans, casting their consumption nets wide to see the movie franchise, watch the spin-off show, ride the themed roller coaster, and buy the items advertised at every step.

Interactivity enthusiasts

The immersion seekers (16 percent). Competitive and lively, they love video games, sports, online betting, and comedy. They prefer endorsements to advertisements, overindex in user-generated content, and spend a reasonable amount of time on online message boards such as Reddit. Although eager consumers, they find the modern media landscape confusing, difficult to navigate, and overly expensive.

Community trendsetters

The culture creators (10 percent). Extroverted tastemakers, they seek out large communal events such as concerts, movies, and theme parks. They’re active on social media and drive online culture and fandom, often with outsize spending on their hobbies and interests. They enjoy advertisements more than any other segment, and when they’re not setting the cultural conversation, they’re shopping.

The report clusters the remaining 60 percent of consumers in groups with lower attention value, and thus lower economic value.

Implications for marketers

The competition for consumer attention has long been measured by audience size and time spent. This view misses the whole story (a point I made in my 2017 book, The Content Code).

It also reinforces the basic idea behind Content Shock: you’re probably going to have to pay more for the content types that cut through the noise.

The attention equation helps clarify what the winners in that competition have suspected: Quality and relevance, not just quantity, of attention go a long way in determining success. In a media environment defined by abundance, fragmentation, and distraction, marketers must ask themselves:

• Is my content designed for high focus or low focus?

• What job am I really being hired for?

• How can I elevate the focus or shift the job?

Think about this practical example: Google wanted to shine a light on the Nobel Prize-winning work of its genius AI leader, Demis Hassabis.

Most companies might put out a press release or a blog post — very low attention value. But Google produced a full-length documentary called The Thinking Game. It already has 14 million views on YouTube alone.

According to the McKinsey formula, this film is already worth more than $100 million in attention. Let’s say it took $5 million to make the film. This would break most content marketing budgets, but within the McKinsey model, that is a bargain. And that return on attention that will only grow as the movie is viewed over time.

Implications for strategy

This research tells us something I’ve been circling around for years: the brands that win aren’t the ones who shout the loudest, but the ones who create moments that matter. Attention is no longer a game of volume. It’s not about hacking the algorithm or flooding the zone. It’s about earning focus and aligning with the deeper job your audience needs you to do in their lives.

That’s the frontier now. Not more content … but higher-quality attention.

The companies that embrace this shift will stop measuring the wrong things. They’ll stop obsessing about impressions and start designing for immersion. They’ll stop producing noise and view content as nourishment. And in a world overwhelmed by Content Shock, that will be the ultimate competitive advantage.

I also want to connect the dots between the Attention Equation and a post I wrote about ethically-sourced marketing. If we turn our focus to higher-value content, it could reduce the social media “litter” that drives up energy costs and funds online hate and bullying.

Make something worth hiring. Make something worth focusing on. Make something worthy of the precious, finite human attention that has become the most valuable currency in the world.

Need an inspiring keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Illustration courtesy Nano Banana

The post Research points to the “Attention Equation” behind measurable content success appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I made a significant announcement on my new podcast episode, show number 328 of The Marketing Companion.

In this 13th year of the program, I’m stepping down and handing the reins to a new owner. You can listen to the episode for the details. I’m not going away quite yet, but beginning in January 2026, there will be a new owner and show host.

Having a podcast that has lasted more than a decade — and I’ve never missed an episode — certainly beats the odds. More than 2 million downloads later, I’m moving on to new projects.

I’m not one to dwell on the past, and this show is no exception as I plow forward on a discussion of key tech considerations for marketing with my friend Sandy Carter.

You can enjoy this show and hear my announcement by clicking here:

Listen to Episode 328 of The Marketing Companion

Here is an AI-generated summary of the show highlights:

The Nvidia Deepfake: A Cautionary Tale for Brands

Something jaw-dropping happened during Nvidia’s big corporate event. I hopped on LinkedIn and saw the video of Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, who always delivers inspiring talks. But, to my shock, the replayed video had more views than the actual livestream — and it turned out to be a fake.

This wasn’t just a prank. Thousands (including some Nvidia employees and even CNBC) tuned in, believing it was Huang, only to discover it was an AI-crafted forgery pushing a crypto scam. Even veteran marketers like Sandy and me were fooled, clicking legitimate-looking links that led to the fake event.

What’s really unsettling is the precision and organization behind this attack. This wasn’t a lone hacker; it was an orchestrated crime with marketing-level sophistication. They timed the fake stream perfectly, hijacked search and social placements, and created something so convincing that even close colleagues were swindled.

Here’s the big lesson: authenticity in branding now demands proof. We’ve crossed into an era where merely sounding or looking authentic isn’t enough — brands must invest in new forms of verification.

And here’s the kicker: platforms have the technology to detect and verify truth, but won’t use it. Polarization, outrage, and viral fakes drive more views and, unfortunately, more ad revenue.

Are You Ready for Humanoid Robots?

That’s only half the future. The other revolution speeding toward us is the age of humanoid robots — not just as factory workers or distant sci-fi dreams, but as customer-facing agents.

We’re already seeing this in places like Korea and Japan, where robots are stepping in to care for the elderly or providing personalized services. In Silicon Valley, there’s already a humanoid robot in beta that will deliver pizza, serve you at dinner, pour drinks, and even clean up afterward. That sounds like an upgrade to my hosting skills! However, it has profound implications for marketing.

The robot selects the brand of soda. The robot chooses which cleaning product to use. Suddenly, Coke, Pepsi, P&G — their customer might not be the humans in the household, but the robot company or its AI!

And what about architectural design? If your home can’t accommodate the robot’s width, maybe it’s time for a renovation. Marketers must start thinking about scenarios that were pure fantasy just a few years ago.

More than that, physical AI opens the door for a whole new specialty: “robotic trainers.” Soon enough, marketing educators and consultants might be training robots (not humans!) on how to greet guests in a restaurant or care for patients.

Speed Becomes the Ultimate Advantage

One theme kept coming up again and again in the discussion: speed. AI is compressing the time between idea and impact. We used to run A/B tests for months; today, that luxury is gone. Real-time analysis, constant adaptation — this is survival now.

Some businesses, like those in Dubai, aren’t just keeping up; they’re redesigning their cities for the age of AI and global branding. Dubai has a CEO for the city, not a traditional mayor, and they’re combining storytelling, authenticity, and technology to build global icons like Dubai Chocolate. Makes me realize how far traditional campaigns and approval cycles must evolve.

Management consultants and big agencies like McKinsey are facing tough choices as their data-driven cultures collide with the urgent need for rapid experimentation. Smaller brands and startups get it faster — but larger organizations must shift, too.

I’ve never been this excited — or nervous — about what’s next. If you want to keep up, embrace the uncertainty, stay endlessly curious, and get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Please support our sponsors, who make this fantastic episode possible.

This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now, any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customers to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence to strengthen their customer relationships.

Go to https://www.brevo.com/marketingcompanion to sign up for Brevo for free and use the code COMPANION to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!

A recent Semrush study found that AI search traffic is projected to surpass traditional search by 2028. That makes now the time to prepare your brand for the future of search.

With Semrush AI Search tools, you will lead this transition.

• Track your AI visibility score: See a single, clear benchmark of your share of voice across AI search platforms.
• Identify AI mention opportunities: Uncover sources where your competitors are cited—but you’re not—including social media, forums, and more.
• Benchmark against competitors: Find the exact prompts, mentions, and sources where your competitors appear in AI responses and you don’t.
• Discover trending prompts: Spot the real questions your audience is asking AI platforms—and build content around them.
• Shape your brand narrative: Monitor the sentiment and context tied to your AI mentions, and make sure your brand is being represented the way you want.

Need an inspiring keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Image courtesy Mid Journey

The post The Marketing Companion Podcast: Beginning of a New Era appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

It was March 15, 2023, and I snapped a photo that changed my life. And I’ll explain how it can change your life, too.

On that date, I was attending the annual SXSW festival in Austin, TX, and enjoying a wonderful late-night meal with my friends Joseph Jaffe and Eric Qualman. Suddenly, people stood up and quietly walked out of the upscale restaurant. It was surreal, like being in a Stephen King movie!

My back was to the door. Where were these people going?

Nowhere. They stood on the sidewalk, pointing their smartphones to the big Texas sky. My friends and I had to see what was going on. So we left our hot food and walked outside.

It wasn’t an alien invasion, but it was close. A dazzling drone show lit up the heavens, telling the story of a new sci-fi television program coming to the Paramount Network. Hundreds of drones were programmed along custom flight paths to depict scenes from the show.

To top it off, the display ended with a sky-high QR code that sent viewers to a website with the show’s trailer.

While drone shows have become a staple of city celebrations and sporting events, this was novel—the first time we had seen such a display.

We all took a photo of the drone-ad to share with our social media audiences:

In that moment, the line between marketing and magic blurred. We weren’t just watching an ad; we were living inside one.

The mesmerizing advertisement became the epicenter of buzz at SXSW, and with more than 300,000 influential people in attendance, that’s a perfect place to make a rumble.

Now, we get to the interesting part. How did this photo change my life, and possibly yours?

The revelation

I’ve spent nearly two decades researching and writing about one crucial problem—how can our marketing messaging become the signal above the noise in a world of oversaturated content?

I witnessed one of the most astonishing examples of a brand becoming “the signal.” Every person in this restaurant abandoned their hot food and cold cocktails to stand on a street in Texas to see an ad—not just see it, but record it and share it with social media audiences worldwide. It wasn’t just a signal above the noise—it was a supernova.

Remarkable.

Unprecedented.

Perfect.

For weeks, I couldn’t get this drone show out of my head. I played this mind-game: If somebody gave me the challenge to create an ad so disruptive that people would leave their hot meals to see it, could I do it? No.

What was the lesson for businesses desperately wanting to be “the signal” to their customers? Was there a scalable process behind this brilliant idea that could guide breakthrough marketing strategies? Was this a clue to the future of creativity and our place in a world dominated by artificial intelligence? I became obsessed with this story in the sky.

One word kept pounding in my brain: Audacious.

Audacious! Is that what it takes to stand out in the world today?

Audacity as a strategy

AI is here. Nipping at the heels of our skillsets and jobs.

Being merely competent won’t cut it. Competence doesn’t create conversations. Competence is ignorable. But audacity? That’s the currency of attention in our overstimulated world.

What if the key to becoming “the signal” isn’t shouting louder, bending AI prompts, or spending more, but the simple human bravery it takes to be … a little nuts?

I discovered that Giant Spoon had created this viral sensation, an agency behind many of my favorite marketing success stories over the years.

I called Marc Simons, one of the agency co-founders, and asked him if he and his team would reveal all their creative secrets to me for a new book. “Absolutely,” he said. The opportunity was irresistible, a siren call to a marketing geek like me. I jumped on a plane to visit him in New York City, the beginning of a journey that included meetings with some of the greatest creative geniuses from around the world — and they all gave me their secrets!

They helped me answer this question: In a world where AI is overwhelming our content world, how do we fight back? How do we unleash the uniquely human fireworks of marketing creativity?

And today, my friends, please welcome one answer to this question:

The reveal

After more than two years of research and writing, I’d like you to meet my new book, Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World.

So, you see how the story in the Austin sky truly changed the course of my life. But how does it change yours?

Whether you’re a marketer, entrepreneur, or business owner, you’re longing to be seen, to be heard, to be discovered, and that is more difficult than ever. How do you establish brand awareness in a world where content from bots already dominates more than half the internet?

Here’s a little movie preview of what’s in store for you with this book:

Filled with inspiring stories, hundreds of practical ideas (for businesses with any budget!), and all-new case studies, Audacious describes the essential human elements needed to:

• Disrupt the story narrative
• Disrupt where the story is told
• Disrupt show tells the story

Early readers of the book have been delighted, calling it “a masterpiece,” and “an essential path forward.” This will fill your head with ideas and your heart with hope. And, it’s a lot of fun!

You might have noticed that the book cover is a one-of-a-kind AR experience — the first book of its kind in the world! The cover will display abstract art based on the stories in the book!

Inside the book there is a puzzle, videos, and secret surprises. After all, a book named Audacious better be audacious, right?

Why did I spend all this time writing and publishing this book? I’m desperate to get my ideas out to you. I’m a teacher. I know that people need help navigating this overwhelming marketing world, and I have ideas that will help. I’ve spent thousands of hours bringing this to you and I know you will love it. This is my best work.

And this cool little book does not cost much money. Please order your copy today, and let me know how you like it!

CLICK HERE TO FIND AUDACIOUS ON SALE!

PS I also have an all-new speech to go with my book. This new talk was recently the highest-rated speech at a national marketing event, and I would love to bring it to your company or association. Drop me a line! 

Need a keynote speaker about brand communities? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post The photo that changed my life (and maybe yours) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in projects and research that have reinforced the idea that creators and community are driving huge changes in commercial strategies. These new dynamics are re-inventing what we used to think of as media and media buying. It’s already happening.

• Consider that a YouTube star like Mr. Beast has a bigger following than all the prime-time American news channels combined. One of his videos might get 100 million views. If you’re advertising on Fox News, you’ll be lucky to reach 2 million viewers.
• Many creators are branching off to create their own brands that have become some of the fastest-selling fashion, food, and cosmetic products on the planet.
• Young adults aged 14-32 are swarming onto Discord to find communities. The number of those active on Discord grew from 26% to 42% in one year!
• And Taylor Swift is arguably the biggest creator on the planet, influencing every aspect of entertainment and culture on a global scale.

This is what’s interesting to me: None of this was possible 10 years ago. Creators and their communities have re-written the rules of influence — and sales. Yet most corporate marketing departments are not built for these changes. How do you begin to adjust to an entirely new media world?

Well, that’s a good question, and we begin to unpack it on the latest episode of The Marketing Companion podcast. Join me and my guest, Sara Wilson, as we connect the dots between creators, community, and commercial strategies.

Let’s dive in, shall we? Click here:

Click here to enjoy Marketing Companion episode 277!

Please support our sponsors who bring you this amazing episode!

Bravo for Brevo!

This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customer to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence in order to strengthen their customer relationships.

Go to https://www.brevo.com/marketingcompanion to sign up for Brevo for free and use the code COMPANION to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!

Illustration courtesy MidJourney

The post A New Commercial Strategy: Creators and Community appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I’ve been immersed in the world of measurement and influencers since the beginning. I wrote the first book on the subject.

There has been a tremendous amount of progress in testing impact — a lot of money has been devoted to attribution models. But when it comes to finding relevant influencers, especially in the B2B space, it’s been disappointing. Today I will lament that we have made almost no progress in the last ten years.

Influence based on breadcrumbs

The first company to attempt assessing influencers was Klout. Around 2009, Joe Fernandez had his jaw wired shut after an operation and had a lot of time on his hands to watch how the emerging social media streams worked. He noticed that certain people could spark actions on the web better than others and wondered if there was a way to track it and assign influence value scores to certain individuals.

Joe hired a bunch of Ph.D. statisticians and social scientists and came up with a rudimentary system, scoring every person on social media from zero to 10.

The idea was met with outrage. How could Klout possibly measure a person’s influence? After all, they had no insight into our homes and workplaces!

But what the critics missed is that influence ONLINE comes from one thing: The ability to spread content and ideas to a relevant audience. If you look at this one slice of the world, Joe Fernandez was on to something. By analyzing the vast spider web of social media interactions, he could track how effectively content spreads. And that means a lot to brands seeking to spread content!

Klout’s use of social media “breadcrumbs” to assess influence was a blunt instrument, but it was a start. It highlighted tendencies and potential opportunities for brands to connect with the best information spreaders.

The problem is, the assessment of many digital influencers, especially in B2B, has not progressed.

Influence in a rut

A few days ago, one of the top platforms for assessing digital influencers made a splashy announcement about their innovations in measurement. I won’t mention the company … it’s not important.

But when you cut through the hype of the announcement, the basis of their measurement tool is still primarily follower counts and engagement levels on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here we are, more than a decade past Klout’s early attempts at measurement, and the system is basically the same — and arguably much worse because in the early days, Klout also tapped into the data sets of YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms that have since pulled back on API access.

I am mystified that any company would still be offering such a blunt instrument, let alone be able to sell the service, after this length of time and so little meaningful progress on assessment.

What’s the problem here?

Ignoring true influence

On the social web, there is a continuum of influence.

Generally speaking, the lowest form of influence is social media engagement because these are weak relational links. When somebody engages with a post on Twitter or LinkedIn, it’s like a follower waving at you. They might be saying, “good job,” or maybe, “Hi there!” It doesn’t necessarily mean they will buy anything from you or ever see you again. And sadly, social media engagement can be easily gamed.

Although a weak signal of influence, follower numbers and social media engagement are important because they represent potential. A social stream is an opportunity to connect to relevant people who you can move into the second stage of influence — subscriber audience.

When people subscribe to your blog, podcast, or YouTube series, you achieve reliable reach. You’re no longer sending out messages into the wide ocean of a social media platform, hoping for a connection. These folks have opted-in to you. They’ve decided to follow what you have to say because they believe in you and they want your content.

A creator/influencer certainly has a tremendous amount of power over their subscribers/fans/audience.

The third and highest level of influence is community. Not only are people subscribing to your ideas, but they are also actively part of the process. A community collaborates, co-creates, and surrounds a creator with energy and ideas as a team.

Here’s the problem. The leading measurement platforms are stuck in a rut by obsessing on the lowest level of influence — social media engagement.

The next level measurement and influencers

Here’s my frustration. Nearly all the influence is happening in audiences and communities, and it’s not that hard to figure out.

Is it difficult to know that I have a blog? Is it hard to assess whether people are sharing or commenting on that blog?

Is it impossible to see that I have a podcast? Can you see reviews of the podcast? Can you see people discussing it online?

Does an influencer have a YouTube channel? It’s too bad YouTube hides all that information. Oh, wait. They don’t, you say? Right! Anybody can tell how many videos are posted and how many subscribers and views they have in a channel just by looking.

It’s just not hard.

An example: Noah Smith is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist and assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University. He has 26,000 Substack subscribers paying $99/year for his newsletter on business and world events. He does not have a LinkedIn account. Should we overlook him as an influencer?

It takes more effort to acknowledge audience and community platforms to super-power an influencer grading system, but after more than a decade, isn’t it time to figure it out? Shouldn’t the industry demand to move beyond the breadcrumbs of influence offered to us by Twitter and LinkedIn?

The next problem

The influence measurement problem is about to become much worse.

Younger generations aren’t hanging out on Twitter or LinkedIn at all — the bread and butter of the B2B influencer crowd. They’re on Twitch, TikTok, Fortnite, Roblox, and hiding out on private messaging services. If you’re trying to find a B2B influencer under the age of 30, the current measurement platforms are totally useless.

The response

I asked the marketing leader of the company that made this under-whelming announcement for a response to my criticism. It’s not the first time I’ve presented these concerns to this company and its competitors.

She responded with a detailed message, saying:

• “We’re 100% with you,” and
• “It is absolutely one of our priorities to get better at capturing the communities and networks that influencers own themselves – i.e. email subscribers, podcasts etc. We are working away in the background to take these lists to another level.”
• She pointed to the manual work involved as a major obstacle.

I can understand that. But aren’t we overdue for one of these platforms to drill down to where influence is actually taking place in this digital world?

I need to acknowledge that I made some sweeping generalizations in this post to make my point and keep it short. There are exceptions to everything. It is possible to have a community on social media, you can have an audience better than a community, and there are wide variations in how influencers are assessed, for example.

I wrote this because I care about the marketing industry and want to encourage our company partners to do better. A lot better.

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of some of the world’s bestselling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. Discover his $RISE creator community.

Illustration courtesy of Unsplash.com

The post The long ugly road of measurement and influencers appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

The diversity and gender inequality in many industries, especially high tech, are well-documented.

One promising solution to improve the employment situation is blind-hiring. This practice means removing any indication of a person’s ethnicity, age, or gender in the initial interviewing process to focus on accomplishment and potential. This practice has been generally shown to provide a more level playing field in the hiring process.

Christopher Penn recently provided an example of this practice in his newsletter. He was working for a company that was almost entirely white. The HR leader of this company explained that there were simply no qualified candidates of color. When making a hire, Chris removed names and demographic markers from the resumes submitted and distributed them to his team for evaluation. The results?

“There wasn’t a single white candidate in the pile (of best candidates). We had 15% of Middle Eastern descent, 25% Latinx, and 50% Black. In the end, after interviews, we ended up hiring one of the folks who was Iranian-American.”

If knowing (or even guessing) a person’s race or gender impacts fairness in the hiring process, what happens when a company hiring process flaunts race and gender?

That is exactly what is happening at TikTok.

TikTok resumes

A new pilot program from TikTok relies on its signature quirky videos to promote job candidates.

TikTok now invites users to submit video resumes to participating companies, including Target, Chipotle, Shopify, and NASCAR. The company encourages applicants to show off their skills in a creative way while tagging the content with the hashtag #TikTokResumes.

The pilot program is TikTok’s latest effort to encourage both companies and creators to spend more time with the platform.

Plusses and minuses

At a very high level, I can understand the appeal of this service. TikTok-loving Gen Z probably prefers to make videos instead of artfully crafted resumes. Why not let them express themselves in the way they love? An employer can tap into the youthful culture of the platform and see a bit of creativity in the submissions.

But that’s not all they can see.

Gender, race, and physical attractiveness are at the center of attention in a video.

You could also catch a glimpse of stuttering, disabilities, a person’s weight, their age, and even their economic conditions (based on what you might see in the background of the video).

It seems to me that we are taking a giant leap backward by making TikTok resumes any sort of standard for a hiring practice. A video resume promotes exclusivity and systemic racism.

Brooke Sellas and I discuss this issue on our latest Marketing Companion episode as we explore evolving social media platforms. Our show also includes:

• What marketers can learn from current streaming media trends.
• The resurgence of text-based media like blogs and newsletters. Substack and Medium are hot, leading Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to get into the game. Newsletters are even gaining attention as a legitimate literary form!

Tune in to listen! You won’t want to miss this episode!

Click on this link to listen to Episode 224

Other ways to enjoy our podcast

• Try this! “Alexa, play the latest episode of The Marketing Companion.”
• Click here to download the latest episode or subscribe on iTunes
• Listen to us on iHeart Radio
• Find us on Google Play
• Find the podcast on Stitcher
• Complete Marketing Companion Episode Guide
• The Marketing Companion YouTube channel

Please support our extraordinary sponsors. Our content is free because of their generosity.

Many thanks to our friend Scott Monty for the awesome show intro. Be sure to check out his amazing newsletter Timeless and Timely.

Tim Washer is contributing creative direction to the show and he’s has worked for Conan O’Brien, John Oliver, among others. He helps corporations build more creative cultures.

B Squared Media is the premier provider of online customer care solutions and done-for-you social media marketing. Think conversation, not campaign with B Squared. Marketing Companion fans can take advantage of a truly extraordinary offer — $10,000 off your customer care contract or $1,000 toward your first online advertising campaign, Click here to learn more about this amazing opportunity!

Illustration courtesy Unsplash.com

The post Does TikTok’s new service promote inequality? appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

This month, I had an opportunity to have an insider’s view of one of the most audacious digital experiments in history. It became a content marketing masterclass … warts and all.

In March, marketing professionals at software titan SAP were tasked with moving their annual SAPPHIRE NOW conference – an event that attracts more than 25,000 people – to an online virtual mega-show. Actual event planning could not begin in earnest until about May 5.

The SAP team had to find more than 50 celebrities, hosts and speakers, script a five-day event, align executive schedules, record content, connect with relevant customer stories, create eye-popping visuals, promote the event, and pioneer new presentation technology … in about one month.

Oh yes, they also had to accomplish all of this while working from home during a global pandemic.

In an earlier post, I had thought out loud (wrote out loud?) about some of the possible challenges and opportunities of this ambitious event. While others have covered some of the technical announcements from the event, I think my audience would benefit from examining:

• SAPPHIRE NOW was created across different departments, different countries, and different cultures. How does the company deliver a relevant and seamless experience with that level of complexity?
• What forms of presentation formats did SAP pioneer? How could this work for you and your customers?
• SAP created SAPPHIRE NOW to replace a beloved annual event that brings people together in one location. How did they reinforce “community” in a virtual setting?
• The company is on the cutting edge of content marketing. Will I see something inspiring and bold?

The gnats descend

When I was in the corporate world, I occasionally had to organize high-level sales events for my executive customers. One Florida resort conference I hosted went great – every precise detail was perfect … until the final 15 minutes. A swarm of gnats decided to descend on our pool-side farewell brunch.

To my amazement, even years later, everybody still talked about those gnats.

Overall, the SAP event was a monumental achievement but unfortunately, the company also had their swarm of gnats. What many will remember and discuss is that for the first two days, the technical side of the operation had a meltdown. The streaming platform didn’t work.

SAP had expected about 60,000 people to attend the conference and on streaming day, more than twice that many showed up.

Very quickly, the team effectively moved viewers to Twitter and LinkedIn viewing options, but the damage had been done as many gave up trying to view the content, at least on the first day.

It seems that the most loyal fans stuck with the company. SAP has had more than half a million content views already, exceeding expectations and far exceeding the reach of their traditional live event.

Presentation forms

What can we learn from the content form used for this event?

The primary communication method was pre-recorded one-hour videos with rapid-fire story changes. To SAP’s credit, viewers could select a geographical region and see content tuned toward different parts of the world.

At first, I was disappointed that there was not more interactivity (as had been originally envisioned). There were very few live and unscripted events.

But I came to understand that there had to be a practical trade-off considering the speed in which the event was created. The company had to take risks in the right places – do you place your bet on safe and reliable recorded video, or assuring that every part will work in a complex, global live-streaming broadcast?

One live and interactive stream on the final day was delayed by more than 10 minutes – that surely would have happened a lot more during a five-day event with speakers from all over the world.

This conservative decision was the right one. It also gave SAP an opportunity to show off some stunning visual effects and storytelling techniques. I was in awe as I observed how they pulled this off, considering most of their creative partners were also working from home!

Do yourself a favor and tune into some of the one-hour videos to see how the content was crafted.

As SAP gains confidence with streaming technology, I predict they will feature more unstructured interactivity in future events. 

Streaming + community

One of the most interesting challenges for any organization today is somehow replicating the community aspects of a live event when we’re stuck at home. Of course this is impossible, but I think in this pandemic era we simply have to find a way to keep the momentum of our business relationships alive.

In this respect, the event was very successful since it provoked discussions, broadened its reach, and provided “face-to-face” interactions with its top executives.

The event was highly-produced and perhaps too scripted at times, but there were also moments of brilliance:

• CEO Christian Klein talking about the hope for his children.
• An honest question and answer about SAP’s perceived lack of innovation.
• Rockstar Sting singing “Message in a Bottle” with an emotional pandemic twist.
• Watching the executive team warm-up to a live streaming format and actually joke around with each other toward the end of the final event.

These human moments were the best moments. Seeing the company and its leaders in an honest light promotes emotional attachment and community, even with a painful global lock-down.

Content marketing lessons

From an academic perspective, the event was fascinating to watch. Like every company in the world, SAP is heavily relying on content to maintain connections in a world where meetings, conferences, and business travel have been curtailed.

Here are some content marketing lessons for us all:

Leadership

Trying something new takes courage and bold leadership. What SAP attempted to pull off in five weeks is certainly courageous … bordering on crazy! But it paid off for them as they took a giant leap forward in building a streaming content competency. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Production values

In an earlier post, I reported how SAP was taking its content marketing cue from Netflix. You could see that influence in the SAPPHIRE NOW event with dazzling programming that jumped from story to story. The event consistently kept your attention because even when it lagged, you knew the next story was just moments away.

Long-term value

SAP will continue to benefit from this event for years to come. In a short period of time they produced more than 10 hours of quality evergreen video content they’ll be able to slice and dice and re-purpose for a long time.

The power of influencers

SAP has a very sophisticated approach to influencer marketing and this was a primary method they used to promote the event. The actual attendance was double what they had planned. Yes, influencer marketing works.

“Advertising”

The programming was occasionally interrupted by announcements of customer achievement awards. This was like disturbing the viewing experience with ads. I think the company is correct in using Netflix as a model … but Netflix doesn’t have ads.

This is one aspect of a live event that did not translate to the streaming experience. People don’t like to be interrupted, wherever they are viewing content.

Competent versus awesome

The subtitle of my book Marketing Rebellion is “The Most Human Company Wins.” The pandemic is amplifying this truth and speeding the change companies need to make to connect to modern consumers.

Watching the diversity of this content reinforced this powerful trend. When the company went off script, the content became so much more compelling and believable.

In the opening video, CMO Alicia Tilman kicked off the event with a pre-recorded, scripted message from a beautiful studio. In the final live segment, she was broadcasting from her home computer trying to moderate a global executive discussion.

In the first video, I thought “Alicia is competent.”

In the second video, I thought, “Alicia is awesome.”

Competence is important. Awesome is better. Every company needs more awesome in its content and the difference is showing up as a real, unscripted human being.

This is a critical lesson for us all. To win the war for attention, there must be an authentic, accessible, and perhaps even vulnerable human voice.

Experiencing the highs and lows of SAPPHIRE NOW was a masterclass in modern content marketing. I hope you’ll check out some of the content and let me know what you think.

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of several best-selling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post Observing this event unfold was a content marketing masterclass appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

This week I’m bringing you an inside view of a fascinating digital marketing case study built from a massive, global virtual event.

SAP — among the largest companies in the world — launched one of the biggest online networking events in history, opening up its exclusive annual SAPPHIRE NOW event to the world (click here to obtain your all-access pass for all the free content!).

This week-long digital conference represents an extraordinarily ambitious virtual event in the pandemic era – or any time – and today we’ll peel back the curtain to see how SAP is approaching a streaming content strategy to fill their digital stage.

I had a chance to talk to Ursula Ringham, Head of Global Influencer Marketing, whose team was responsible for booking nearly all the talent for the show. They’re designing an innovative, new content experience that includes acclaimed author Simon Sinek and other global thought leaders.

Ursula provides a fascinating insight into the content considerations for this massive undertaking …

Mark: Can you take us behind the scenes and tell me about the process SAP uses to decide on just the right speakers for a significant virtual event like this?

Ursula: Steve Jobs had a great quote, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” You might have an idea of who you want in a speaker. Maybe someone with a large social media following. Or a recommendation from a friend. But when it comes down to it, you have to put in the time to research.

You must read, watch, and listen to all content a speaker creates. Are they keeping up with what’s happening in the world? Are their topics aligned with yours? And then you map your findings to your product marketing requests and show them the best fit.

At SAP, it’s a collaborative effort. My team receives a request. We do all the research and then sit down with each product marketing team to review and talk through a Lookbook of top choices. It’s a Herculean effort but creates a more personalized and focused experience across our entire product portfolio.

We look at professional celebrities, thought leaders, and influencers. And at the same, our analyst relations team is also hard at work integrating their speakers. All are different cogs in the wheel to help tell the SAP story in partnership with our executives, customers, and partners.

Was choosing speakers for this year — when people are broadcasting remotely — different than picking people who would be speaking live on the big stage?

Definitely. Presenting on stage, in front of a live audience, is very different than talking to a camera from home! We watched a lot of videos but also live-streams. The key was to find speakers who are staying active, talking about topics that are relevant with what’s happening in the world during these uncertain times.

When live speakers take the stage, the tech is in the hands of SAP. But on a remote event like this, the video, sound, lighting, and streaming quality are in the hands of the speakers. This adds a whole new layer of complexity, doesn’t it? How do you assure this runs smoothly?

In researching speakers, we did consider if they had the equipment and technical expertise to deliver a virtual presentation or interview. It wasn’t a showstopper, as we can always ship them equipment, but it was definitely a consideration. Lighting and sound are important. But we also have an amazing production crew behind the scenes that did prep video calls to review the speaker’s environment and provide tips and tricks to ensure a good experience.

When it comes down to it, we’re not trying to create the perfect environment. That’s not the reality right now. Everyone does the best they can. And every background and live stream will show the real, authentic side of each person.

What a fun job you have lining up exciting outside speakers for your event! Have you ever been star-struck by a SAPPHIRE NOW speaker you’ve worked with? 

It is fun but I’ve never really been star-struck … so far! There’s so much work that goes into securing talent I’m more excited once the event happens and everything goes smoothly. Then you realize, “Wow, I was part of something amazing that included that speaker.”

Music — That’s one area SAP never disappoints, I’m pretty excited about our musical guest this year. This year we’re providing a free concert featuring Sting!

I’m sure there will be many top company executives speaking at this event. They have an amazing opportunity to reach potentially hundreds of thousands of people with this content. How will their messages change in the context of the crisis sweeping the world right now?

They will address it head on. SAP is committed to helping our customers continue to operate seamlessly through this current crisis. Our mission has always been to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. And each executive speaker will focus on a different part of the business and highlight its specific purpose during this crisis.

Is there any presentation you’re particularly looking forward to? 

One of the highlights will be a live Q&A with the entire SAP Board on June 19. Our host, Laurie Segall will speak directly with Christian Klein, Adaire Fox-Martin, Juergen Mueller, Luka Mucic, and Thomas Saueressig. During the week of Converge, registrants will be given an opportunity to submit questions. Laurie will ask questions submitted by people from all over the world. That should be fascinating!

Disclosure: I’m being compensated as an advocate for SAP to highlight this extraordinary virtual event.

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of several best-selling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post Case study: Building a streaming content strategy for a global virtual event appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Over the past few years, I’ve thought a lot about the word “community.”

In one respect, it’s become a punch-less term that has lost its meaning in the social media world. Marketing professionals often casually talk about their “community” when it’s really a disjointed social media following or a list of customer connections.

But another aspect of community – true community that collectively stands for something – is one of the most powerful and overlooked business connectors we have. I’ve written in my books that this idea of community and “belonging” is an enduring human need and a timely rallying point for companies and brands.

Today, the imperative for the community is greater than ever in a world where our customers are isolated and separated from their families, work teams, and life routines. In a new world of seclusion and stay-at-home routines, our customers are crying out for connection – for community.

One of the world’s largest software companies is about to launch a bold and unprecedented experience in meaningful community to help meet that need.

And you’re invited.

The world’s biggest networking experience

SAP is one of the largest and most important software companies in the world. Its products power the enterprise processes for 440,000 customers, including most of the Fortune 500 companies.

Since 1989, SAP has gathered its customers and partners every year through an in-person event called SAPPHIRE NOW. The conference usually spans three full days. Tens of thousands of attendees from around the globe gather to see technology and strategy sessions, participate in educational courses, and network with other customers and partners.

Last year, nearly 25,000 people paid as much as $2,500 per ticket plus airfare, hotel, and meals to attend the annual in-person event in Orlando. This year, the company turned the event into a virtual experience and opening it up to the world … for free!

That’s right. You don’t need an invitation, an expensive pass, or a ticket to Orlando.

SAPPHIRE NOW is coming to you!

I’m being compensated as an advocate for SAP to highlight this extraordinary opportunity.

Over the next few days, I’ll be bringing you more from SAP’s generous global experience in free, world-class content including:

• A behind-the-scenes look at how this event was created in a matter of weeks.
• How SAP is learning from Netflix by blending imaginative and cutting-edge content forms into an inspirational and educational event
• My hand-selected list of the best sessions to attend (I’ll be there!)
• Connecting and engaging with a global community by fueling the hashtags #TogetherWeGotThis  #SAPPHIRENOW

Let’s get to it. All you have to do is click here to access your free content from SAPPHIRE NOW.

Why free and why now?

SAP has made a radical decision to open up its premium content to the world, in real-time, through a new digital program called SAPPHIRE NOW Reimagined. Three online experiences will provide free, direct access to digital broadcasts and curated content:

SAPPHIRE NOW Unplugged – A weekly, free video series showcasing conversations with business leaders, influencers, and subject matter experts on navigating through the Covid-19 pandemic. These stories of inspiration began in May and are the lead up to the main event.

SAPPHIRE NOW Vision – On June 15, SAP CEO Christian Klein will kick off the week-long event by sharing his vision for a reimagined SAP, including innovations currently in development and inspiring customer success stories. If you were to attend the in-person event, this would be the featured keynote. A must-see for everyone.

SAPPHIRE NOW Converge – On June 15, the core program kicks off in what SAP is calling Converge. This is a rich content and technological experience covering best practices in 11 tracks including customer experience, intelligent enterprise, small and mid-size business transformation, and supply chain.

No more business as usual

Live meetings have always been at the very heart of the SAP sales and marketing strategy. But in this time of global crisis, the company certainly could not follow anything close to “business as usual.”

According to SAP CMO Alicia Tillman, this meant scrapping the SAPPHIRE NOW plans for 2020 and re-imagining how the company could connect in a human way when customers and partners might be isolated during the pandemic.

“If we were to continue with our global plans at the start of the year, we would be irrelevant,” Alicia said. “The environment doesn’t allow for it, and operationally it would not be feasible. We had to stop what we were doing and re-focus to meet people where they are right now in their world.”

For SAP, this meant overhauling its commercial strategy and re-inventing its signature annual event. Alicia said the marketing focus is on:

• maintaining visibility with its community in a meaningful way
• producing relevant content that will engage and inform them throughout this crisis
• finding a way to deliver that content in the most sophisticated way possible;
• and doing it in a way that makes sense financially.

Despite the challenge of turning a marketing plan on its head in a matter of weeks, Alicia said she feels “energized, motivated and inspired” by the chance to turn SAPPHIRE NOW into a digital experience.

“In a way, this accelerates digital transformation on a number of levels,” she said. “We’re excited to see how far we can reshape the boundaries of an online conference.”

Opening the doors to the virtual experience

One of the boundaries being stretched in a significant way is the potential attendance at this event.

The real-life version of SAPPHIRE NOW attracted 25,000 leaders from around the world, but with nearly a half a million customers and thousands of new onlookers signing up, SAP Vision and Converge might melt a few servers with the unprecedented free access being provided for the event.

“For the first time ever, our content will be localized throughout the world, offered in 14 different languages and tailored to individual time zones and schedules,” the SAP CMO said. “The SAP Virtual Events Platform will act as the central hub for live customer interaction and engagements customized for each regional audience. Every customer has the opportunity to participate.”

The re-imagined virtual experience will offer a dizzying array of fascinating content sessions relevant to every business type and vertical. Tomorrow, I’ll peel back the curtain to show how SAP filled this program with more than 50 speakers from around the globe.

And Sting.

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of several best-selling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Top illustration courtesy of Unsplash.com, photo of Alicia Tillman courtesy SAP

The post The “new community” – Creating true connection through a massive virtual experience appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Perhaps no single industry has been so devastated by the coronavirus crisis as the multi-billion-dollar conference and events business. Countless careers in catering, hospitality, travel, and public speaking (like me!) depend on the future of conferences. We’re all wondering about the future of conferences.

We need these events to come back. But when?

In a recent free strategy paper I published called The Pandemic Business Playbook, I noted that we must think through post-crisis questions like this by assessing probabilities — what are the most likely scenarios?

Public speaking has been an important part of my revenue stream so the “re-opening” of conferences is essential to my business planning. Problem is, I found absolutely no data or projections on the future of conferences that could help me. So I conducted my own research and the results provide an interesting snapshot of what might be occurring in the next 2-3 years. Let’s look at this today.

The process

No government action is going to “re-open” traditional conventions and conferences. PEOPLE will allow conferences to re-open only when they feel safe enough to flock back to those airports, hotels, and convention centers.

My research was focused on diverse business executives likely to travel to conferences — when will they return, and what would make them feel safe to return?

In my survey, I purposely excluded anybody whose primary income is derived from events.**  I wanted to get a read on the sentiment of our CUSTOMERS — conference-goers whose income does not depend on these events.

The survey was conducted during the week of May 03, 2020, and the sample size was 126, which included diverse leaders from

• manufacturing
• services industries
• healthcare/pharmaceutical
• high tech
• automotive
• education

… and others.

I asked them three questions, and assured anonymity:

• What is the most likely timeframe large conferences (over 500 attending) will return?
• When is it likely small events will return (under 100)?
• What milestone event would have to occur to once again attend a conference?

This is not a scientific survey, but the results point to some useful insights that will influence my decision-making in the months to come.

** There was one exception in my survey. I polled a director for the huge SXSW conference just out of my own curiosity!

What is the near-term future of conferences?

Here is when respondents believed they would be returning to large conferences:

We can tease a few facts from this response:

• 36 percent believe they will be returning to large conferences within the next nine months.
• About 30 percent believe things will be normal no sooner than the second half of 2021.
• About 15 percent believe both 2020 and 2021 will be a wash-out for large conferences.

Let’s turn to views about smaller events with 100 or fewer attendees:

This was a more optimistic response, with about 40 percent of the respondents believing that we’ll have this figured out by the end of 2020.

About 34 percent believe that even small meetings of less than 100 people are at least a year away.

What will help people return to conferences?

The answer to this question was nearly universal: The virus has to go away … or at least become contained by vaccination or medical treatment.

More than 90 percent of the respondents included “vaccination” or some sort of effective medical therapy in their response.

Perhaps this respondent comment sums it up best: “I want to attend a conference without having to wear a mask.”

Until we stop reflexively seeing people as viral threats, the vital benefit of human contact at in-person events will remain elusive.

The medical reality of vaccination development does not support the relatively optimistic hope of the respondents. The grim truth is that a vaccine probably won’t arrive any time soon.

No short-term answer

A comprehensive New York Times analysis called “How Long Will a Vaccine Really Take?” reports that the average time to create a vaccination is 36 years. For example, after 40 years, we still don’t have a vaccine for H.I.V.  The fastest vaccination ever produced took four years.

Robert van Exan, a cell biologist who has worked in the vaccine industry for decades, predicts we won’t see a vaccine approved until at least 2021 or 2022, and even then, “this is very optimistic and of relatively low probability.”

So even if the world gets incredibly lucky and cuts the previous “speed record” of four years to 1.5 years, we would be late into 2021 just for approval of a vaccine.

After approval, millions of vials will have to be prepared, shipped, and distributed. Some vials will be stockpiled ahead of time and several manufacturing facilities will be built in anticipation of a cure, but not enough to vaccinate the world, or even America, quickly.

Vaccine alternatives

However, we may not need a vaccine for life to return to normal.

The history of H.I.V. offers a glimmer of hope for how life could continue even without a vaccine. Researchers developed antiviral drugs that lowered the death rate and improved health outcomes for people living with AIDS.

Therapeutic drugs might likewise change the fight against COVID-19. The World Health Organization began a global search for drugs to treat COVID-19 patients in March. If successful, those drugs could lower the number of hospital admissions and help people recover faster while narrowing the infection window so fewer people catch the virus.

The problem is, even if these chemical cocktails shorten sicknesses and perhaps even prevent deaths, they won’t prevent you from contracting the virus. We can use H.I.V. as a stand-in for coronavirus here. If you were told that you can go to conferences and contract H.I.V. but not die from it, would you go?

I don’t think we can under-estimate the psychology of fear as a factor in this equation, especially when there is a daily litany of new revelations about the coronavirus attacking the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and creating strange new illnesses in children.

Lag time

Whenever we do hit “after coronavirus,” some parts of life will return to normal quickly. But big conferences only happen with months, sometimes years, of lead time.

The process of planning a schedule, assembling speakers, booking a space, reserving hotel rooms, marketing it to the world so people can convince their bosses to let them go — it all takes a long time. And almost none of that process can begin until planners know when it’ll be safe to gather thousands of people in a tight space.

Whenever that day comes, the local gym may be open, but big conferences will still be months away due to the planning time gap.

Conclusion based on probabilities: The low probability of having a vaccine quickly seemingly contradicts the relatively optimistic views of the respondents.

Even a “lucky” scenario would push approved drug therapies and/or a vaccination into late 2021 or beyond. With more than 90 percent of the respondents saying this a critical priority, the lack of assured safety and the lag time needed for planning events would likely prohibit a 2021 return for at least large conferences.

Impact of finances + regulations

About one-third of respondents also mentioned budgetary concerns or the lifting of regulatory constraints as impediments to attending conferences. Many companies have eliminated business travel in an effort to remain solvent and a significant economic rebound would be necessary to justify non-essential travel.

There are also travel considerations such as national travel bans, regional travel restrictions, and even a lack of flights cited as at least near-term problems.

Tim Peter is an expert in the hospitality industry, and he pointed to research showing that large company gatherings are expected to be the most vulnerable travel category coming out of the pandemic. “Many companies are already canceling large events through 2021,” he said. “This may never recover. Virtual events may become a new normal for companies.”

There are several factors that point to extended business travel restrictions:

• Projections that the virus will linger in the U.S. at least into 2021
• Significant business losses racking up in 2020
• Projections of a recession or depression that may last for years
• Increased effectiveness of online meetings and events

Conclusion based on probabilities: Economic conditions through at least 2021 will not be favorable to lifting bans on many corporate travel restrictions. Large company meetings probably will not come back in 2021 and could be vulnerable even beyond that timeframe.

One survey respondent said: “Conferences will be too risky until mid- to late-2021 when a vaccine becomes available and, more critically, when insurance companies will feel safe underwriting conferences again. A vaccine will be the trigger that lets them shift fault from the conference (willingly exposing participants to harm) to the attendee (individual choice to get the vaccine, the conference is not at fault).”

Virtual event evolution

We are certainly getting better at online meetings and events. Virtual conferences won’t do much to help airlines, hotels, and every other industry that supports this industry, but could they afford a new opportunity for speaking professionals?

Maybe.

This is anecdotal, but my colleagues in the speaking industry report that at least in the short-term, most online events are expecting speakers to appear for free or at dramatically reduced rates. A close friend spoke at three online events last week … all free. We have a long way to go before virtual events are compelling enough to rival those profitable real-life conference experiences.

This is an area ripe for innovation. People are exhausted from Zoom fatigue. It’s a complicated business problem because staring at a screen for hours taxes the brain in unique ways.

The future of conferences very well could be virtual for the foreseeable future, but long-term success will require a bold integration of science, technology, entertainment, and innovation from the speakers themselves.

Conclusion based on probabilities: Professional speakers will find a home in virtual events but until the quality of the events drastically improves to justify registration prices, revenue potential will be less than what speakers are accustomed to. 

Is there any good news?

I’ve identified major obstacles to resuming “normal” in the conference industry. If you’re following my logic, it looks like any business supporting conferences — including public speaking — is in for a challenging ride until at least 2022.

But there are glimmers of hope.

• In the U.S., coronavirus deaths for people under the age of 34 represent about 1 percent of the total. Research shows that Millennials are champing at the bit to hit the road again. This might be good news for youth-oriented events.
• Some nations are already approaching a level of safety even without a vaccine that allows for normal events. My friend in Iceland reports that an annual conference scheduled for this September is moving ahead as planned.
• If there is any hope for a fast vaccine, it is now. The stakes are enormous and dozens of companies are working on solutions. The survey respondents said in unison, “we must have a vaccine.”
• I think new forms of conferences will emerge. Zoom is not a sustainable format or long-term replacement for the conference experience. But there has to be something brewing out there — VR? AR? — that will create new opportunities.
• According to a study by strategic communications consultancy APCO Worldwide, 83 percent of people working from home say they miss attending in-person meetings and conventions. And 78 percent say they plan to attend as many, or more, when the threat of COVID-19 passes.

When SXSW was canceled this year, I felt like Christmas had been shut down. My favorite week of the year. I’ve made so many friends there and learned so much at this global gathering of thought leaders.

The very reason why monumental conferences like SXSW had to shut down is precisely what made them popular: they brought together interesting people from everywhere. The sheer immensity is why now they are so uncertain.

There will still be in-person conferences. Virtual events will fill part of the void. But we’ll miss meeting someone from another part of the world and unexpectedly getting sucked into a multi-hour conversation, playing hooky for all the talks we had planned to attend.

Our favorite conferences will return. When SXSW comes back, I’ll be first in line for a ticket.

What is the future of conferences?

The answer to this question is unknowable but I hope this post represents a rational thought experiment.

• People won’t return to in-person events until they can be assured of safety.
• “Mask-free” safety for large events probably can’t be assured until late 2021 or beyond.
• Respondents are optimistic that small events will come back quickly.
• Many safety-related and economic travel restrictions will remain in place through next year.
• Some conferences may be in jeopardy until the insurance situation sorts out.
• Youth-oriented events and conferences in countries that have rebounded from the virus will return more quickly.
• Virtual events will thrive and rapidly evolve but probably won’t offer “normal” opportunities to many professional speakers until a technological breakthrough makes them more attractive for paying registrants.

What’s next? You’ll have to come to your own conclusions.

What do you think is ahead for the future of conferences?

The post What is the future of conferences and public speaking? appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.