PMP shows schmart art of new marketing

Marketers were urged get smart with social media at the launch of PMP’s inaugural Schmart marketing conference this week.

According to PMP, Australians are leading the world in terms of social media usage, which is having a direct impact on the media and marketing landscape. CEO of PMP, Richard Allely, said that marketers are missing a golden opportunity to benefit from Australia’s passion for social media. “The difficulty for many lies in tying social media to existing marketing strategies,” he said.

The conference marks an new chapter in PMP’s history, reflecting the increasing importance of marketing for businesses everywhere. “Whilst our organisation is predominantly known as a print and distribution company, providing integrated marketing solutions to our customers is at the heart of everything we do,” Allely said. “Over the last number of years, as our customers businesses have evolved, so too has ours.”

International experts in how to create powerful customer engagement by using new forms of media to reach consumers, Jeffrey Hayzlett and Amber MacArthur, both delivered lively presentations, providing tips on how to make the most of the changing marketing landscape.

Hayzlett advocated the need to take risks – even if it does mean not getting it right the first time. “If you make mistakes it’s an opportunity to learn,” said Hayzlett. “Make mistakes and if you make them, make them ‘friggin’ big, because it’s a lot more fun than making smaller ones.”

Pictured: Bringing the schmarts to Sydney and Melbourne (l-r) Jeffrey Hayzlett; Richard Allely; Graham Plant and Amber MacArthur.

Todd Sampson, CEO of creative advertising agency, Leo Burnett, relayed mountain climbing techniques and a journey of self-discovery, including when he met Sir Edmund Hillary at his home for a cup of tea illustrated his point to be brave and to be creative.

Not that he’s one to brag. “I’m not braver than other people I’m just braver for five minutes longer,” he said.

According to Sampson, creativity is the last remaining advantage that companies have and the best organisations manage both creativity and fear. When facing a problem consider the opposite view, he advised the audience, to enhance creativity.

He is a firm believer in taking action to manage fear. Five minutes changed his life, after being trapped on a mountain for four days in a whiteout blizzard in Alaska. From there, he climbed up a vertical ice wall and a knife edge ridges over a 2000-metre drop to reach the summit. Using this experience, Sampson called on organisations “to be brave for five minutes longer” to make creative decisions and to take action.