Controlling the Chaos: A Discussion on Crisis Management at CrisisCon 2019

Last Thursday, Greenbrier hosted its second annual CrisisCon at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater in San Francisco. From managing the nitty gritty logistics to on-site execution, our event management team was lucky enough to be a part of it all.

The conference’s agenda was jam-packed with incredible speakers from leading companies⁠—Zillow, Eaze, Lime, Franklin Square Group, and former Obama administration staff, just to name a few⁠—with backgrounds in public affairs, politics, crisis management, and communications. Experts discussed some of the biggest crises to hit the news and provided insight on preventing, managing, and recovering from a reputational crisis—tackling topics about responding to public and employee critique, communicating with reporters, resolving false information in the media, and recovering from tarnished brand identity.  

Andrew Vontz, head of communications at Strava, reflected on how he and members of his team managed public critique after the platform was blamed for exposing military bases and patrol routes. Public affairs expert Peter Ragone discussed the PG&E outages that recently affected thousands of homeowners across California.

New York Times Justice Department Reporter Katie Benner moderated the event’s keynote fireside chat between Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America and former Obama senior advisor, and Jim Messina, president & CEO of The Messina Group. The panel shared their experiences navigating crisis in the White House. Katie relayed burning questions from the audience, while Dan and Jim offered their insights on remaining calm during concerning moments of chaos. 

Following the captivating content at the event, attendees enjoyed a networking reception overlooking the iconic Golden Gate Bridge amidst beautiful panoramic views of the sunset.  

Interested in hosting an event like CrisisCon? Connect with us at events@credpr.com. 

Tackling the Future of Computing at the MIT AI Conference

This past weekend, the MIT Club of Northern California (MITCNC) hosted its third edition of the MIT AI Conference at the Crowne Plaza in Palo Alto. From the initial stages of planning, to on-site management, our event management team was lucky enough to be a part of it all.

This year’s event focused on “The Future of Computing,” bringing together more than 35 experts on artificial intelligence from varying industries. Discussions ranged from exploring how AI is leveraged across a multitude of industries, to discussing top-of-mind challenges and controversial implications AI may have on the world.

Kyle Vogt, Co-founder and CEO of Cruise (and a fellow MIT alum), kicked off the day with a riveting keynote discussing the latest advances of AI within the transportation industry, which left the audience inspired and energized. Following Kyle’s keynote, other transportation industry leaders from Lyft, Uber, and Zoox took the stage to dive into a deeper discussion on AI and the future of autonomous vehicles. Panels throughout the day were not shy to look at AI from all perspectives, including from a privacy and ethical standpoint. 

Sessions were jam-packed with attendees eager to hear from leading experts. MIT alumni also had the chance to network and mingle during the session breaks over espresso and ice cream! 

The MITCNC team wrapped the day with the infamous AI Idol competition, where startups pitched their innovative companies to a panel of judges made up of investors, angels, and entrepreneurs. Attendees were at the edge of their seats as companies such as Brain of the Store and Locomation took the stage. At the end of the day, Subtle Medical won over the judges and the crowd, with their compelling technology to improve medical imaging efficiency and patient experience—reminding everyone the positive impact AI can and will have on the world. 

Interested in hosting an event like The Future of Computing? Connect with us at events@credpr.com. 

Recapping AllThingsRTC: The Premier RTC Conference

AllThingsRTC, an event hosted by Agora.io, kicked off its first year in San Francisco on June 13 with 35+ speakers from companies such as Google, LinkedIn, Mighteor, Microsoft, and Meditation.Live, along with 250+ attendees from across the real-time communication (RTC) space. 

Tony Zhao, Co-founder & CEO of Agora.io, opened the conference explaining the many ways RTC is evolving and changing the world around us, from how we work, play, and enjoy entertainment, to how we find and maintain meaningful relationships. Tony emphasized how live engagement is the future and welcomed us to the ecosystem that is AllThingsRTC! 

With two separate tracks throughout the day, attendees had the option to either attend the Technical Track, where developers discussed topics ranging from the growth of AR to machine learning, or the Use Case Track, which showed us how RTC is being used in new ways across industries—from gamers talking to their teammates on the other side of the world to fitness coaches teaching live classes in the comfort of your living room. 

Didn’t have a chance to make it to AllThingsRTC? Check out clips from the keynote speakers  on the Agora.io YouTube page. 

Bringing SaaS Overseas at SaaStr Europa 2019

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More than 2,000 global SaaS founders, senior leaders, and venture capital firms gathered in the City of Light on June 12-14 for the 2nd Annual SaaStr Europa. Our event management team was onsite curating the two-day agenda with topics focused on how to scale your company’s growth in sales, people, culture, and funding.

Attendees heard from the best and brightest in cloud, including CircleCi, Algolia, Lucidchart, and unicorns like Talkdesk, Doctolib, and Twilio. SaaStr’s mission to “Share. Scale. Learn.” was prevalent throughout the candid and informative speaker sessions, and there were countless opportunities for attendees to meet and engage with SaaS thought leaders, VCs, and like-minded peers. Audience members were able to submit live questions through Slid.o, schedule braindates for more intimate mentoring sessions, and in true Parisian fashion, network with all day rosé.

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Highlights from Day 1 included the Equality and Inclusion brunch–where SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin reiterated SaaStr’s mission to promote diversity and encouraged attendees to join in prioritizing more inclusion in the space—and the Ingram Micro and SaaStr’s Startup Pitch Competition. During the hour-long competition, five startups presented pitches in three minutes in front of four investor judges. In the end, $75,000 in funding was awarded to three worthy companies. Process Street secured the coveted, premier title of “Most Likely to Be a Unicorn” and $50,000 to continue their growth.

Funding was a common theme for Day 2. Here are some key onstage takeaways from SaaS celebrity founders:

• Raise 30-40% more than you think you’ll need. You’ll need it.

• European (and international) startups can thrive without having to move to Silicon Valley, but U.S. partnerships and funding have an undeniable benefit.

• Always be fundraising even when you don’t need it.

• VCs have very little attention spans. Successful founders need to be salespeople.

• Don’t forget that a “not now” can become a “yes” in the future.

According to Alex Ferrara, Partner at Bessemer Ventures, there are currently 61 $1B+ private cloud companies compared to 0 in 2018. There is no doubt the industry will continue on this trajectory and we’re excited to keep up with latest SaaS trends and leading innovators.

Didn’t have a chance to make it to Paris? SaaStr Annual is back in San Jose March 10-12, 2020. Join us there and check out our coverage from February!

Event Preview: All About AllThingsRTC Presented by Agora.io

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This week the cred event management team will be onsite and part of the action as AllThingsRTC presented by Agora.io kicks off in Downtown San Francisco at the Parc 55 Hotel on June 13. We’re anticipating 350 attendees to make their way through our sponsor booths and two tracks of content throughout the day. One track will be technical, tailored for developers and engineers, and the other will be a use case track covering the current state and future of RTC implementation.

cred will be well represented both offstage and on as two of our very own speakers will be speaking on panels at the event. Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder and CEO of Mighteor, will sit on a panel about the power of real-time content and how it can shape our perceptions of the world. Shortly after, D Sharma, Founder of Meditation.Live, will be talking about the impact of real-time communication on the future of fitness and wellness through online video coaching.

Interested in attending? Join the cred team at AllThingsRTC by registering here with the promo code: CRED

If you can’t make it for the event, be sure to follow activity through the hashtag #AllThingsRTC19!

Roundup: RampUp on the Road 2019 Spring Shows

The spring stretch of RampUp on the Road shows have officially come to a close. We wrapped things up in DC last week at Nationals Park, home to the Washington Nationals, with a full day of engaging speakers, networking opportunities, and even a tour of the ballpark. The day began with attendees mingling over breakfast and registration in the large conference room—which was packed to the brim once we kicked off with content.

Fatemeh Khatibloo, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, opened the day, and provided an insightful look into the world of “Decentralized Digital Identity.” The audience was taken on a journey through behavioral advertising, identity resolution, and future of privacy-respecting marketing. Following Fatemeh’s presentation, one of our own speakers, Lucy Caldwell, Founder and Principal at Mockingbird Lab, moderated a session on “Achieving the Diversity Trifecta.” Speakers Anneka Gupta, President and Head of Product and Platforms at LiveRamp, and Justin Antoinpillai, Founder and CEO at WireWheel.io, joined Lucy onstage to discuss empathy and the role of diversity in leadership and policymaking.

After lunch, both content and audience divided into two tracks: New Wave Technology and Policy, and Building an Omnichannel Strategy. For the Policy track, attendees varied from those involved with data and consumer policy and regulation, as well as members of the advocacy/agency world. Panelists joined us from PwC, Google, Datavant, ANA, Mockingbird Lab and more. The evolving process of doing right by consumers was a constant theme during this track, with each session coming to a close through a dynamic Q & A discussion. During the Building an Omnichannel Strategy track, speakers from Macy’s, Under Armour, T-Mobile, DISH Media, and more took the stage to provide powerful real-life experience from which the audience could assimilate and apply to their own roles. Attendees of both tracks learned best practices to construct a better future by addressing the policy issues of the present.

Missed RampUp on the Road? Here’s a quick look at our 2019 spring roadshows!

• RampUp on the Road Columbus: April 9 - Discussed the importance of observing your marketing efforts through a consumer-first lens, as well as how beneficial it is to involve the entire team in the customer journey.

• RampUp on the Road Atlanta: April 11 - Jim Nail, keynote speaker in Atlanta and Principal Analyst at Forrester, spoke about using empathy to improve the customer relationship— a theme we saw throughout the entire spring roadshow lineup.

• RampUp on the Road Denver: May 14 - According to Jeff Smith, General Manager of Brand and Agencies at LiveRamp, it is the era of personalization. Focusing specifically on consumer-privacy uncertainty, the shift from target marketing to personalization is absolutely imperative.

• RampUp on the Road Seattle: May 16 - Keynote speaker Fatemeh Khatibloo, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, shed light on the key to maintaining customer loyalty: shifting from one-to-one marketing to one-to-moments marketing.

• RampUp on the Road DC: May 21 - Learned our differences shouldn’t go unnoticed. In order to invent a better future, policymaking groups and omnichannel strategy-focused agents can collaborate to solve the consumer-privacy issues of the present.

Diving Into In-Housing with MightyHive

Last week, the events team had the pleasure of coordinating an intimate dinner on behalf of MightyHive, a global leader in advanced marketing and advertising technologies, at Birdsong in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. The event was well-timed to take place directly after AdExchanger’s Programmatic I/O, where MightyHive was participating and held a presence with their booth.

The night began with cocktail hour and canapés, with guests happy to mingle and unwind after their considerable day at Programmatic. Before inviting everyone to take their seats, MightyHive President of the Americas Emily Del Greco presented welcome remarks and housekeeping notes. Once everyone took a seat in the warm and focused atmosphere of the first floor space, attendees listened to a fireside chat between Emily and Electronic Arts Global Head of Media Belinda Smith.

During the discussion, Belinda and Emily looked back at their careers to trade lessons they’ve learned over the combined 30+ years they share in sales, marketing, and strategy experience. They debated the rewards (increased transparency, control of data, faster execution) and risks (steep learning curve, talent, startup cost) associated with in-house marketing. They marveled at how far in-house agency penetration has come even just in the past 10 years. Toward the end of the chat, it was clear attendees were intrigued by Belinda and Emily’s experiences and hoped to dive deeper into their own in-housing exposure during the Q & A session.

Before heading upstairs for the five-course meal, Emily suggested, “Of course talent is just one component of in-housing—I welcome you to discuss other challenges and opportunities that you have found along the way. Support each other, learn from each other, and share your wisdom.”

After the fireside, more than 15 MightyHive Partners were treated to a delectable tasting menu featuring dishes inspired by the Pacific Northwest. Birdsong, a recent recipient of the coveted Michelin Star honor, appeared to have its service down to a science as evidenced by the harmonious presentation of each plate. Wild boar, aged duck with mustard greens and Sonoma lamb were just a few of the mouthwatering items that graced the menu for the night. Conversation flowed as smoothly as the grilled butter atop the Peruvian purple cornbread, and topics rotated between specific in-housing accounts to the process as a whole.

Guests walked away from the night with inspiration from fascinating speakers along with new tactics for their brands’ in-housing strategy. As a parting gift, MightyHive gave each attendee a branded smart home plug that guests seemed eager to get home and test out.

Looking for help with planning your next event? Connect with us at events@credpr.com.

Igniting Innovation at Equifax Spark

Last week, the events team headed south and joined Equifax for their first ever customer conference in Atlanta. More than 250 of Equifax’s customers and partners from financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies, including SunTrust, Bank of America, Cox, and CreditKarma, attended Spark to learn about the latest trends and industry insights in consumer credit.

In the spirit of sparking inspiration and innovation, Equifax Chief Data and Analytics Officer Prasanna Dhore opened the conference by sharing his personal journey as an immigrant and how he built his credit from zero over the decades. His talk highlighted the information asymmetry that can exist between credit consumers and financial institutions.

Day 1 of Spark continued with the announcement of a new strategic partnership between Equifax and FICO.  In today’s information age, Equifax and their partners have more data, technology, and analytics than ever before. More accurate customer views allow for smarter decisions for financial institutions and lenders, and more importantly, better credit access for consumers and a stronger economy for everyone. To accompany this philosophy, the  new partnership serves help lenders better understand their consumers.

The rest of the content followed the key themes of data, analytics, and identity. Notable sessions covered the significance of data indicators such as student loan history, employment trends, generational differences; new analytics technologies such as explainable AI that are powering tools to better understand and predict consumer habits and behavior; and the role of identity to combat fraud and mitigate risk.

Artists from the Sketch Effect were onsite to help capture all the key session points and spark-worthy ideas. Other conference highlights included:

• Equifax and Moody’s Economic Outlook session: A deep dive into current consumer trends and indicators for 2020

• Equifax’s Innovation Studio Expo: Hosted at the Infinity Club of SunTrust Park, data and analytic leaders demoed some of their latest cutting-edge tools and solutions

• Erik Qualman’s energizing keynote: Voted the 2nd Most Likeable Author in the World behind J.K. Rowling, Erik offered a guide for leaders in the digital age  

After an eventful two days of thought-provoking content and demos, Spark left attendees feeling inspired and empowered to tackle the biggest challenges for our economy and consumer credit.

Interested in planning a customer conference like Spark? Let’s connect at events@credpr.com. See more of our event management here.