MarketingPulse ONLINE looks to a future where technology powers creativity

MarketingPulse is set to return on the shores – or screens – of APAC audiences on March 30-31. The festival is making its online debut with a line-up comprising the marketing industry’s top taste-makers and decision-makers.

In the past year, there have been many discussions around how brands can do good for the community during the pandemic. We’ve seen brands turn their factories into masks manufacturing facilities, help SMEs ‘go digital’, or pledge to hire those laid off as a result of Covid.

The 2021 edition fo MarketingPulse continues that conversation. Under the theme “Marketing for GOOD”, MarketingPulse ONLINE will give insights into how marketers can leverage technology and creativity to transform the way we see, experience and engage for the better. The two-day virtual event comprises a series of talks, panels and workshops for marketers from Hong Kong and beyond.

Highlight speakers include Guy Kawasaki. Unofficially known as the ‘father of evangelist marketing’, Kawasaki is best known for being an evangelist marketer for Apple in the 80s and 90s. He is currently a chief evangelist at Canva and brand ambassador for Mercedes Benz. While word-of-mouth marketing is nothing new, the idea has perhaps taken on rising relevance in digital, where sophisticated social, live-streaming and broadcasting tools mean that influencers have the potential to reach ever greater crowds. Kawasaki will be speaking at Dialogue with Guy Kawasaki - Embracing Digital Future.

Guy Kawasaki

Those interested in gamification will want to tune into Moving Beyond Digital: Unlock the Potential of Gamified Marketing, a session hosted by Lim Bee Bee, head of marketing & customer management, consumer banking group (Singapore), DBS Bank. Gamification has been around for a while now, but the pandemic has taken the need to gamify customer experiences to even greater levels. What was previously a nice-to-have suddenly became one of the few tools marketers can still leverage in an era of lockdown. In this session, Lim will share her experience  and strategies for connecting with today’s digitally-savvy customers.

Lim Bee Bee

Another session we’re looking forward to is A Journey with teamLab, where the ever-popular art collective will share insights into the confluence of art, science, tech and the natural world. The art collective is known for their immersive and interactive installations. 

Speaking to Campaign about the impact that digital has on art-making, teamLab said,

“Traditional media, such as paintings, do not change in relation to the presence of viewers or their behaviour. The artwork is based on a relationship with an individual viewer. If you happen to find yourself alone at an exhibition, you would consider yourself to be very lucky.

When an artwork changes based on the presence or behaviour of viewers, it causes the boundaries between artwork and viewer to become blurred. In this case, the viewer becomes part of the artwork itself. Similarly, when the artwork changes due to the presence of others, those people also become part of the artwork. This changes the relationship between an artwork and an individual into the relationship between an artwork and a group of individuals. Whether a viewer was present five minutes ago, or how the person next to you is behaving now, suddenly becomes important.

Digital art has the ability to change the relationships among people who are present within the same space. If the interaction of other people with an artwork creates change that we feel is beautiful, then the presence of others can in itself become a positive element.”

The Infinite Crystal Universe by teamLab

For the art collective, the impact of digital isn’t confined to art but could also be extended to city planning – something that affects each and everyone of us on a daily basis.

“In modern cities, the presence of others might be considered uncomfortable. We cannot understand or control others, so their existence around us is something that is simply tolerated. If cities were to become more like digital artworks, the presence of other people could become a positive element. In this way, digital can potentially create new relationships between cities and individuals, as well as new ways to bring peace among people.”

Register for MarketingPulse ONLINE with discount code: MPR01Q5P to enjoy 55% off the ticket price. This special offer is exclusive for Campaign Asia readers. 

Click here for the full MarketingPulse ONLINE programme.