In any other instance, what happens in Vegas would certainly stay in Vegas, except this trip was for Shoptalk—so I’m absolutely bringing the highlights home to share with you.
Shoptalk is always a good time. It’s a fast-paced event packed with a lot of main-event-type talks and announcements that leave little in the way of downtime, so let’s start at the beginning. First on our list of memorable moments was Target’s opening keynote and how they talked about creating a community and experience through their retail and digital locations. From a marketing perspective, we fully appreciate the value that storytelling and creating connectivity through content brings to a brand. We see it time and time again when brands on our network launch successful campaigns that are grounded in a content-first approach.
Next, we loved the Girls’ Lounge hosted panel, “The Power of Women in Retail”, which featured female leaders including: Tina Sharkey, co-founder of Brandless; Rachel Drori, founder of Daily Harvest; Marisa Bertha, director of business development and 7-ventures at 7-Eleven and Sophie Miller, head of shopping partnerships at Google AR/VR. Their inspirational talks included key points regarding the importance of creating a unique customer-brand experience. They closed out the panel by talking about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European law going into effect that will have a major impact on both US and U.K. brands, shifting the power of what information can be shared back into the hands of the consumer.
Aside from GDPR, another hot topic on everyone’s lips on the show floor was influencers and data tracking and considering that affiliate (read: with the help of influencers) is now responsible for 15% of all ecommerce sales, really doesn’t come as much of a surprise (the new affiliate is here!).
On the home front, Pepperjam once again opted to skip the swag in lieu of a $5 donation to the United Way for every badge we scanned. We finished with a $550 donation, but were so impressed by everyone’s enthusiasm for the cause, that we made the donation an even $1000. We also announced its partnership and integration with Cybba (read more about that partnership here) and on the fun front, we hosted a Topgolf party that proved a major hit, pulling in 45 eager party goers just dying to swing some iron with us! And I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention how enchanted we were with a dazzling magic show that honestly blew our minds.
Couldn’t make Shoptalk? We’d still love to chat with you…you can reach us anytime here.
