MIXX Canada has come and gone and much like a Thanksgiving season tradition, it brought together hundreds of attendees in back-to-school mode. Appropriately, the program delivered.
The event kicked off with an inspiring kick-off message from Peter Vaz, Co-Chair of IAB Canada. Peter brought us a detailed technical overview of the amazing technology he has been leveraging in his battle with ALS. We learned about voice banking and visual-based keyboard typing hooked up to voice synthesizers. Peter reminded us all about the power of positivity and his message set the tone for the rest of the day. We are so thankful to NABs for the amazing work they continue to do for Peter and for coordinating this touching welcome to MIXX Canada.
From a broad industry overview by Geoff Ramsey, Chief Content Officer and Co-Founder of eMarketer that covered market trends that are influencing the digital media ecosystem to a thoroughly enjoyable unpacking of the Direct to Consumer marketplace we find ourselves in today by Mitch Joel, the event content confirmed that we are living in very interesting times.
A Blockchain discussion with Kelsey Cole, Co-Founder and CSO of AdBank, a Canadian ad tech start-up based in crypto revealed that there is longer term change afoot. There is no doubt that crypto currency will have an impact on digital advertising but the question is which facet exactly it will be able to effectively disrupt.
Shannon Austin, Oath, and co-presenter Chris Herlihey, UM, presented a case for premium content and its effectiveness in delivering contextual advertising that actually stimulates the areas of the brain that matter. Their neurological study from Brain Insights created a lot of buzz.
Joycelyn David, Digital Business Leader & Product Marketing Director of Western Union reminded us that where we come from matters and that we need to take a much more sensitive approach to segmentation strategies. At one point, her cheerful presentation had the house chanting!
Bertrand Cocallemen, Teads Global Creative Director showed animated case studies proving that AI alone cannot overtake the creative process but also made a compelling argument about the human collective intelligence informing brilliant insights and messaging opportunities.
Ann Cavoukian presented “Privacy by Design” and insisted that the industry can have it both ways. Kudos to Ann for admitting that she actually enjoys seeing ads that are relevant to her interests. Ann’s presentation certainly drove home the message behind responsible data hygiene.
Sean Stanleigh, Managing Editor, Globe Content Studio & Craig Silverman, Canadian Journalist and Media Editor, BuzzFeed sat down for a fireside chat to discuss fake news and its impact not only on advertisers but society at large. We were all reminded about the importance of preserving journalism as a basic human right especially in times of unrest and uncertainty
Nigel Newton led a great panel discussion around the work that is going into virtual humans and bots. We learned about the incredible technologies that are being deployed and the rapid acceleration in AR/VR. We are pushing toward mainstream exposure for a multitude of use cases.
Raghu Kodige, COO, Alphonso, INC. Discussed Connected TV and the amazing advancements in this area. He made a strong case for a Modern Living room that includes simultaneous and coordinated content streaming. He shared incredible case studies of what is available here and now – and it was quite impressive.
IAB Canada would like to thank all of our sponsors, the speakers as well as Erin Bury for doing a wonderful job as MC.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!