Why I accepted an invitation to the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas as an Insider

There is a reason for such a high number of declines and that is because I have learned that I can reach more people sitting at my desk than at any event, just through content creation on blogs, social media, podcasts and video. 300 people in a room, no longer is as appealing as it once was. If I have a message to say or I want to connect with someone, I can simply tweet it or message them on a number of different platforms. 

For instance, I wanted to meet the CEO of MYOB. I tweeted him and within a week, I was face to face with this hugely inspiring man that gave me great advice and a few connections that could possibly change my business. That was one tweet and from thought process through to execution, it was less than 2 minutes. Seriously, that easy.

Then Adobe contacted me and asked if I would like to come to the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas on 25th to 28th March 2019. I immediately replied with "yes". It was a no-brainer.

There are so many reasons why I jumped at this opportunity, and it was long before I even clicked onto their website.

Adobe has risen to the top with new technologies and acquisitions

Adobe is doing interesting stuff and I need to know about it. How can Adobe help my team be better marketers, creatives and professionals? They have acquired a bunch of companies and have released a whole heap of new technologies that I don't even know about, let alone have access to.

Time is valuable

There is never a good time to take 4 days out of your schedule particularly when you are an entrepreneur and you have a startup taking up all of your time. I have to make time for things that are worth it. 

Never stop learning

So many people go around thinking they know everything. I know little and the only way I will learn more is to expose myself to thought leaders, innovators and literally anyone that I come into contact with that has something worthwhile to say. The speakers at the event include Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, John Grotzinger, the chief scientist at NASA and Drew Brees, a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. I can not only learn from these three speakers but the many other speakers who will talk at the 3 day event.

Networking with my peers

I have been a marketer for 28 years and mostly I speak at marketing events but rarely get the opportunity to network with other marketers around the world other than my own team. I am time poor so I micro manage my diary (or someone else does that for me). 13,000 marketers to network with is a bonus. I need to know what their challenges are in marketing, what technologies they are using, how they are using it, and what they think is the future of marketing. 

Adobe's offer

Adobe facilitates content co-creation, networking, and speaking opportunities with the industries top innovators, luminaries and subject matter experts. They also pick up the tab for everything from flights through to meals and accomodation - however, the latter is probably not a big lure for someone in my position. For those who haven't been in business for 20 years, I am sure this is particularly beneficial. Content co-creation is very appealing to me. We don't do it enough at Marketing Eye and we certainly don't network. I speak alot and have done so at big conferences and in front of very influential people, so that is interesting, but speaking to top innovators will be game-changing. I went to an EO Conference in San Francisco in October last year and the best speaker at the event was Pablo Holman from Intellectual Ventures Lab. He knows Bill Gates and that was enough for me, but seriously, this man is a brainiac and so inspiring. He makes you want to invent things that others might think is impossible. It makes you believe that anything is possible. So, speaking to innovators is a huge draw card.

Put out of my comfort zone

I rarely go anywhere without knowing the people that will surround me or at the very least taking a team member with me. I'm shy until you put me on stage or I need to put on my 'big girl shoes'. This was an opportunity to really put myself in a room of people I don't know  and start conversations. You never know where a conversation will lead, so this is very important for me on a lot of fronts.

Robotic Marketer needs marketers on-board

We need to not only hire a few hundred marketers over the next 2 years, but we also need them to be influential in their businesses to use the technology and have complete buy-in to its value in the marketing department. We need to teach marketers how to use it. Without understanding what their pain points are and what value it would add first hand, it is impossible to continue to improve the technology. I need them now more than they need me. 

Creative content

I am a content writer and I need to write a lot of content over the next few years. To write good content you have to see everyone's point of view, not just your own, and chat to people that are experts. Adobe Summit 2019 gives me an opportunity to hear amazing speakers and chat to people in the audience. It will give me the opportunity to write to my hearts content and tweet away 24/7 for 4 solid days. I arrive early as an Insider so 4 days of connections with interesting people will be amazing.

Other Insiders

What makes someone an Insider? I have no idea, but I am glad I am one. More importantly, I am interested in other Insiders. What do they do? How do they do it? What is important to them? Where do they live? What do they believe in the latest in creative, marketing, CX etc. So many questions that I am sure will be answered by the time the curtain comes down. 

Adobe Summit 2019 looks to be the best yet. How exciting it is to be part of this phenomenal opportunity!