More than 50 participants from the international Master in Marketing will attend the world-renowned Festival of Marketing
From October 5 to 6, a total of 56 participants from EADA’s International Master in Marketing will attend the most prestigious marketing event in the U.K. and one of the most important in the world, The Festival of Marketing. For the second year, the emblematic Tobacco Dock in London will host the event, which is expected to bring together over 3,000 inspirational business leaders spread over 12 different stages, with more than 200 speakers and over 150 hours of presentations.
The Festival of Marketing is a unique experience where ambitious marketers can discover, learn, celebrate and shape the future together. “Advertising has the Cannes Festival, social media and technology has SXSW in Austin…but marketing has never had an event of reference, and this festival aims to become it,” says Antony Poole, the director of EADA’s International Master in Marketing. In his opinion, this is why “it attracts speakers such as the president of the world’s largest Advertising and Media group (WPP), Steve Wozniak –Co-founder of Apple– and the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Unilever, Keith Weed.”
Poole claims that attending the event offers EADA’s International Master in Marketing participants a distinct advantage. “The themes at the festival represent what marketing professionals are currently working with, debating about and struggling to make sense of,” he says. “It’s a unique opportunity for them to immerse themselves in the real world of marketing, so that they fully understand what they are preparing for. Additionally, they will get to network with professionals and companies that could be their future employers, clients or marketing partners. The two days at the festival will open their eyes in ways that just cannot be done inside a classroom.”
The director’s opinion: the Festival as a reference in the classroom
EADA’s participants take part in this great event at the beginning of the programme, as they started just last week on September 29. “It’s really a great chance to show them what they will be doing in a year’s time,” confirms Poole. “They can get an idea of what they will be struggling with after graduation before coming back to Barcelona to prepare them to be successful in that struggle.”
The Festival will serve as a reference for the International Master in Marketing participants throughout their year at EADA. “We will be making references to the event throughout the year,” assures Poole. “I will very specifically be challenging them in subjects to distinguish between the aspects of marketing they experienced in London that are simply hype –and even wrong– and those that are important for doing good marketing.”
Poole insists that this “hype” is a major part of the importance of the Festival. “One of the most important skills they can develop with us is the ability to distinguish what is important and relevant to the decisions they will have to take as professionals and what is not,” he says. “They will learn to be careful not to get dragged along by the latest trend simply because everyone is talking about it.”
The must-see sessions
One of the most highly regarded speakers at the Festival is Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Unilever, who will share how the company has embraced digital transformation and learned how to think differently by working with startups. Another anxiously awaited speaker is Jason Miller, Group Manager, Content Marketing and Social Media at LinkedIn, who will explain how to build a world-class global content marketing engine.
Tom Benton, Head of Digital at Danone Nutricia Early life Nutrition UK, will describe the role of social media in the digital transformation of Danone that was a critical tool in reputation management. Another must-see speaker is the philosopher and best-selling author Alain de Botton, who will share his thoughts on what content marketers can gain from philosophy, psychology and culture.
Attendees will also be able to see Huib Van Bockel at the Festival. Van Bockel is the author of ‘The Social Brand’, which is considered by many to be ‘the new marketing manifesto of today’s social era’. He will explain how to inspire and engage customers with the content that they really want. For the grand finale, Steve Wozniak, Co-founder of Apple, will speak, offering a unique opportunity to hear from the pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 70s and 80s. Attendees will be among the few who have seen Wozniak in a public speaking appearance in recent years.