Unlike Alice, who ventured into an alternate world, marketers today face a new reality that’s right here, right now. Consumers are in control of the brand journey, not brands themselves. Now more than ever, we must create emotional connections with customers. If we don’t, we’re invisible. But with myriad channels available to reach them and the distraction of 30,000 messages a day hurled at them, how? This presentation will focus on the key elements of brand building — from facts to feelings — in the digital age where consumers control everything. Beth’s broad and deep career experience in building consumer package goods brands, making data and research-based marketing decisions, and now, re-invigorating a 137-year old financial services brand, uniquely equip her to share expertise, insights and stories that will inspire you to re-energize and re-think your role.

Increased Marketing demands combined with the speed in Technological changes require strong collaboration. Meet a distinguished multi-company panel consisting of both marketing and technology leaders.

• Examine recent successful collaborated initiatives, and how to navigate corporate/role based cultural differences with best practice results.
• Learn the importance of planning marketing/technology projects with the customer experience in mind and how to best leverage that point of view when implementing initiatives at your company.
• Participate in the session through open panel dialogue.

Too many marketers think that the affluent see themselves as rich. Today’s affluent consumers feel more vulnerable and a lot less wealthy than brands perceive. To connect with affluent consumers, brands must tune in to the subtle and surprising cues that affluents are telegraphing about their own self-image, beliefs, and behavior. Join CEB Iconoculture’s Kara McGuire as she guides you through a rich discussion on the ways financial services institutions can better resonate with affluent consumers. Implications will be tailored with an emphasis on retirement and life insurance/annuities.

Life Happens, formerly Life Foundation, continues to reinvent their brand and offerings. The non-profit organization offers various tools including new customizable marketing tools that your agents can use. Every moment gets better, come hear how they can help your marketing area.

• New Life Happens Pro can be your personal marketing department. Find out how this new platform can help your agents get more business.
• There is a full suite of marketing tools and resources that your agents can personalize. Learn how to make better use of the materials offered.
• A local agent will speak on the value of using Life Happens.
• Life Happens will share what real life stories are and provide examples.
• Life Insurance Awareness Month is September and Life Happens will share insight on the 2016 Campaign.

Learn about applying nonconscious methods to provide answers traditional research techniques have not been able to deliver.

• Hear how a leading financial organization has applied nonconscious methods to learn to engage consumers and motivate action.
• Understand their methods, stimuli and key insights.
• See how they have incorporated their findings into business practices.

Today’s audiences have an eight-second attention span. Eight seconds. To capture attention, your presentations, data, annual reports — even your emails — must be presented in a more captivating way. So what works? Compelling visual content. Seventy percent of the information we take in, we take in through our eyes. So in this fast-paced session, Debra and Betsy will examine: 

• The art of visual storytelling
• The rise of Pinterest, Snapchat, Vine, Periscope, and more
• The explosive increase in the use of infographics and data visualizations
• How to leverage new tools to share more visual data and reports

You have big goals: you need to improve your communications, marketing, and outreach to generate excitement and build stronger connections. Isn’t it time to harness the power of the visual?

Digital marketing is constantly evolving and as marketing professionals we must keep up with the changes. We need to be aware of emerging trends and how they affect consumer expectations and behaviors. This session will cover some of these emerging trends in digital marketing, why we should be incorporating new technology into our digital strategy, and hear from colleagues in the industry who are embracing new technologies; what are they doing, their successes, and their challenges.

The use of genetic testing to better quantify risk and assist in product pricing of insurance is a very controversial topic. The benefits of genetic testing can be clouded by emotion and misinformation. Dr. Bruce Empringham will provide an overview of the issues facing our industry going forward. Understanding public perception versus reality is key to minimizing fear on the part of consumers.

Are your distribution channels meeting the demands of the different generations? This new consumer study from Zeldis looks at differences in channel preference and usage by age and generation. 

The research explores:

• Current and preferred ways of purchasing insurance
• Attitudes toward the agent/broker channel and relationship
• The direct channel
• New and emerging channels

Research is abundant about multicultural segments, but how do you determine your approach to multicultural segments as part of your overall market strategy? What considerations are critical in the development of a successful multicultural marketing program? Attendees in the session will:

• Review the business imperative for multicultural marketing and why it changes for each business
• Identify a common understanding of Total Market Strategy
• Explore how multicultural marketing is an integral part of a holistic market strategy
• A case study regarding multicultural strategy development.

This session will give you real-world, practical ideas to maximize your relationship with your sales teams.

• Explore the “Top 10 Tips” on how to most efficiently and effectively work with your sales teams
• Uncover practical solutions to create a true partnership between marketing and sales
• Share your Top Ideas and Success Stories with other session attendees

Do the insurance industry’s marketing approaches and financial solutions align with consumers’ attitudes, beliefs, and needs? Today’s consumers are focused on having a fulfilling lifestyle during their working years and through retirement. What threats do they fear will knock them off track? What consumer insights can we learn today that will inspire innovation for new financial solutions and better messaging?

Developing digital content is as much an art as it is a science. The reality is digital content marketing can get complicated and complex quickly. You often have limited time, space, and content resources. How do you adapt from one style to another and how do you manage the message and tone across platforms and audiences? Jump start your digital content efforts with fresh ideas and deeper insight on how to create concise and engaging content. See examples of how to mix messaging across channels, platforms, and customer segments.

Video deliverables do what numbers on a page often cannot — leverage emotion to communicate key findings, connect insights to memory, and inspire action. Research departments at major companies like Starbucks, Warner Bros., T-Mobile, and MetLife are increasingly employing a “don’t just say it, show it” philosophy to sharing the voice of the customer. Video deliverables captured the hearts and minds of their stakeholders and the attention of senior management, raising the profile of research and most importantly, making it exciting. And with the rise of smartphones, social media, Snapchat, Skype, and FaceTime, consumers, brokers, and advisors have never been more open to sharing their opinions via video. 

In this session, you’ll learn:

• New methodologies for capturing video content, from mobile research platforms to online communities, and which methods are best for different objectives
• Unique ways to use video, including “teasers” for building research buzz and anticipation, video summaries to accompany a report, and even full video reports integrating quant findings (with examples!)
• Tips and tricks to make the most of video content before you conduct your research

As consumer expectations change with each technology innovation, every financial services and insurance company today is struggling with determining the best channel to reach the social, mobile client. Legacy channels seem inadequate while the rise of robo-advice firms, insurance comparison sites, and direct-to-consumer offerings look to disrupt the industry. Will the “digitization of everything” mark the beginning of the end for traditional agency business? Stephen will share his perspectives on potential outcomes and what financial services leaders and marketers must do to help advisors adapt, be more productive, and thrive in a world where technology advancements and innovation are only accelerating.

Do you have that great idea that has never gotten past the conversation in your head or with a few co-workers over lunch? Or have you had a great idea that your company has successfully implemented? Dive into the marketing think tank and share your idea with your peers in attendance. The workshop will consist of four groups based on one of the following topics:

1. Buying experience: simplifying and personalizing the buying experience for today’s customer
2. Customer service: how you want it, when you want it!
3. Lead generation: including market development, social media, repeat business with existing customers, event marketing, re-engaging the un-engaged
4. Digital marketing: effective use of video, social media, web, webinars, or advertising

You will have 90 seconds to present and sell your idea to the group. Each group will vote on the best idea presented and prizes will be awarded to the winners! The winning ideas from each group will be presented to everyone attending the workshop. All attendees will receive a complete list of all ideas shared in the four groups.

Video is a powerful medium to engage with any audience including distributors, employees, and consumers. Video is the fastest growing medium on social media and the internet, and research shows audiences engage significantly more with video than static content. Join this session to learn from video experts how to:

• Conceptualize, create, and deliver outstanding video content
• Execute on a step-by-step video production project plan
• Customize video content for others to redistribute

It happened to the music industry with iTunes. Netflix flipped the way consumers rent and watch movies. Could insurance be next? How are tech companies influencing the insurance industry and how can innovations from various sectors influence the future of insurance? Most importantly, how receptive are consumers to this type of innovation? This session will utilize information from Mintel’s consumer research studies and global trends collection as well as Comperemedia, Mintel’s competitive intelligence platform.

In this workshop, discover what makes the largest generation in American history unique as well as why Millennials think and act as they do. The presenter will explore how millennials became who they are and how this drives their attitudes and behaviors as well as the implications for the financial services and insurance industries, providing a roadmap for marketing success.

Growing your social media program is a journey. Like Alice in Through the Looking Glass there are many moves to make and you can get tripped-up along the way. In this session, you’ll hear how these social media programs have grown-up, found their identity, and are successfully assisting their sales representatives make sales through social media.

As consumers are faced with an increasing frequency of product and service options from multiple providers and channels, seeing your value through their eyes is critical. How do customers distinguish value and preferences from a wide range of messages? This session will address the experiential perspective of consumers to extract insights about what resonates and why. CEO Richard Goldman will share primary research and data from Competiscan’s consumer panel, and will moderate a panel of industry experts from multiple insurance, financial, and retirement services companies.

“If you can dream it, you can do it!” Walt Disney proclaimed. Technology helps us do things faster, better, and more efficiently. In this interactive session of tech-talk round tables, you will learn what technology your peers are using. Each attendee will discuss three table topics (15 minutes each) including: webinars/events/ meetings, marketing workflow and reviews, and marketing automation. The topic moderators will present peer information based on an all-attendee survey conducted prior to the Conference and a case application on each. Session attendees are encouraged to interact, ask questions, and share their best practices. Survey results and summaries from each table discussion will be shared, providing a good benchmark for technology adoption across the group.

In today’s business environment we are all being tasked to do more with less and to do it quickly! This session will showcase some of the best tips, tools, and tricks to meet the needs of your organization quickly and efficiently, including another look at last year’s very popular session on infographics. Our panel of presenters will include carriers and vendors who will provide an overview of several tools. One carrier will share their experiences with internal research initiatives they have implemented to help them be nimble. Attendees will receive a compilation of tools and resources being used by member company researchers today.

Service is the cumulative result of things going right at every customer touchpoint. This intentional focus on the customer experience requires an understanding of the customer that extends beyond traditional service criteria. Discover how Disney uses a variety of “listening posts” to understand their guests and how they work to create both an emotional and rational connection to create a stronger bond with their customers. This powerful session is not about becoming Disney, but rather learning to think how they think, and adapting these principles to your own organization.

Thirty plus years of research shows that humans make >95% of decisions in life using “heuristics,” mental shortcuts that are so programmed, they are never discussed. If your brand’s messaging is not directly “feeding or fighting” the precise heuristics your customers are using in your category, you might as well not be talking to them! Go from 0 to 60 on decision heuristics science in one workshop, and make your messaging three times more compelling using heuristics.

Assessing and building your data analytics program can be a confusing and difficult task. In this interactive session, you’ll learn a step-by-step method on how to evaluate your analytics program — starting with your own objectives, resources, and capabilities. Come and discover how LIMRA’s new multi-dimensional framework was developed and how you can use it to get your program to the next level.

In today’s complex marketing environment, diversity marketing is the new norm. This comes in many forms — from gender and race to life stage and hobbies. By recognizing these differences and tailoring your efforts to focus on differences rather than similarities, you validate the importance and uniqueness of your audiences and improve your results. Kelly’s presentation will explore:

• New market segments and how they’re impacting culture 
• Groups offering the biggest opportunity for your business — today and tomorrow
• Key emotional drivers for important targets
• Strategies for identifying and reaching high-potential segments

The financial services industry has been changing at an unprecedented pace. Increasing consumer demands, new regulation, and changing technologies all contribute to an environment of uncertainty. To navigate this uncertainty, individuals and companies need to be able to see opportunities and experiment with new strategies. This session will provide an overview of the changing environment and offer some insights into how companies can benefit from these changes.