Financial services professionals in the areas of marketing, market research, product management, digital marketing, consumer experience, communications, customer insights, advertising, and marketing services.
Highlights
As the financial services world changes rapidly and continues to evolve, so does LIMRA’s conference offerings. This year, the Social Business Conference and the Marketing & Research Conference combine to become the 2017 Marketing Conference.
As marketing strategists — not only of social media but also digital, print, and more — you help drive the creation of new and innovative marketing and tools to support business objectives. The content of this year’s conference has been broadened and realigned to reflect the evolving customer-centric market. Our tracks include:
Digital Initiatives
Consumer Insights
Customer Experience
Marketing Strategy
To add to the excitement and buzz at The Marketing Conference, LIMRA is proud to announce the 2017 Creative Connections Award — recognizing creative excellence, innovation, and achievement in holistic financial services marketing. Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners will be recognized at a special awards ceremony at the event.
Join your peers and industry experts in Nashville at The Marketing Conference 2017 — Where Opportunity Rocks!
Bruce Boguski is an author, motivational speaker, columnist, and media personality well known for his ability to inspire others to “do the impossible.” He knows firsthand the attitude and skills required to overcome physical and mental challenges. When an automobile accident left him partially paralyzed at age 18, doctors warned that he might never walk again. After a two-year struggle to regain full use of his body, Bruce went on to become a two-time state champion in racquetball. He later served as head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Van Buren High School and the tennis coach at The University of Findlay in Ohio. Today, Bruce is President of The Winner’s Edge, a peak performance consulting firm. He is a nationally known presenter on motivational tactics and mental toughness training for schools, sports, and business professionals, using high-energy, interactive techniques to inspire and delight his audiences.
Executive Vice President & CMO – Multiple Line, American National
Named one of LIMRA’s 2016 Top 25 Rising Stars in Innovation, Scott leads marketing and client experience efforts for American National’s Multiple Line Division. His team is responsible for all aspects of marketing from branding and traditional collateral development to web, mobile and social programs as well as driving the company’s efforts to create a powerfully simple client experience and building a true innovation culture. Before joining American National in 2013, he spent nearly 14 years at Mutual of Omaha, starting as a copywriter in 1999 after a brief career in local TV news. He holds an MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He recently served as chair of the LIMRA-LOMA Social and Digital Business Advancement Council and was a member of the LIMRA Marketing Committee.
Leadership, Culture and Future of Work Strategist, FutureSight Labs
With his finger on the pulse of the changing nature of work and leadership, Seth Mattison blends storytelling from his own personal experience working with category-leading brands with cutting-edge research to develop fresh perspectives on the issues most relevant for organizations to thrive today.
Seth is an internationally recognized thought leader, author, advisor, and top-rated keynote speaker on talent management, high-performance cultures, leadership, and the Future of Work.
His research, case studies, and thought leadership focuses on inspiring audiences while sharing actionable strategies to support individuals and organizations in their pursuit to be future-ready.
For almost two decades, Seth has shared his insights with tens of thousands of business leaders around the globe for many of the world’s most recognizable brands including Mastercard, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, The Dallas Cowboys, AT&T, PepsiCo, GE Energy, E&Y, Caterpillar, and The Walt Disney Company, to name a few.
In addition to speaking, Seth is the founder and CEO of FutureSight Labs, an org design and transformation firm that supports many of the world’s most inspiring leaders by helping prepare themselves and their organizations for the Future of Work through research, training, advising, coaching, digital tools, and thought leadership.
11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: LUNCHEON AND GUEST SPEAKER
Amy McIlwain
Global Industry Principal, Hootsuite
Amy McIlwain is Global Industry Principal at Hootsuite, the world’s largest social relationship management company with over 15 million users worldwide. She has appeared on FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC as a social media expert, and delivers keynote presentations to financial service organizations around the world. With over 15 years of experience in digital marketing and as founder of Financial Social Media, McIlwain’s presentations draw on her immense experience helping Fortune 500 banks, financial, and insurance companies operationalize social media to drive revenue, decrease expenses, and manage risk. She is a regular contributor to InvestmentNews, The Wall Street Journal Online, ThinkAdvisor, and in 2014, she was named by LifeHealthPro as one of the 24 Most Creative People in Insurance. In addition, her book, The Social Advisor: Social Media Secrets of the Financial Industry, has been featured as a best-seller on Amazon.
Senior Vice President and Director of Member Benefits Research, LIMRA and LOMA
Alison Salka joined LIMRA in 2012 and is responsible for driving the strategy and direction of its global research program. She oversees a team of more than 85 professionals in LIMRA’s Member Benefits and Research division who conduct benchmark studies, discovery research, and thought leadership designed to help companies better understand industry issues and trends. Salka previously led the retirement research and competitive intelligence team at Prudential, and was also a director of retirement research and business analytics at MassMutual. She has a Master’s degree from the College of William and Mary and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.
As President of Wilde Agency, John Sisson is responsible for the agency’s strategic vision and growth, and works regularly with leading marketers to help them achieve their goals. As a veteran business development, marketing, and product development professional, Sisson has deep expertise in the financial services, insurance, and software development domains. He is an experienced strategist with a successful track record in business development and partner acquisition and management. As a leader in integrated marketing programs and omnichannel customer communications, Sisson’s focus is helping all our clients grow. He writes and speaks frequently on business, behavioral science, as well as digital and direct marketing topic.
Executive Vice President & CMO – Multiple Line, American National
Entrepreneurs are flooding the booming InsurTech space
because they see a huge opportunity to disrupt a stodgy industry that hasn’t
fully accepted that its customers are really the ones in control. While this
emerging disruption is a threat, our opening speaker believes it’s also a
once-in-a-career opportunity. Marketing and research professionals can take
the lead in reshaping our business and position our industry to stay relevant
in this new age of the consumer.
Katie Bartling, Associate Vice President, Sammons Financial Group Member Companies Audrey Ross, Director of Customer Engagement, Ion Interactive Moderator: Janet Holton, Marketing Associate, Modern Woodman of America
How can marketers set their content apart, make their messages stand out and get customers to stop to pay attention and interact with their brand on the web? Today’s audiences expect to be entertained and educated all at the same time. That means marketers need to offer useful, engaging information, visuals and content in order to get their message across! Join this session to learn how to create “thumb stopping” moments in the digital world and turn your current materials and content into marketing people want to engage with and use. Plus, take a look at sample case study from the financial services world.
Jessica Kane, Director, Consumer and Customer Experience Research, Unum Jim Kraus, CLU, Principal, KS&R Moderator: Natalie Barenthin, GBDS, Senior Marketing Research Analyst, Anthem Life and Disability
Are you struggling to rally colleagues around research findings and push for change? Are you facing a mountain of data as you try to figure out what to do next? Learn how to significantly improve the organizational value of market research through engagement of key stakeholders within your organization, along with communication techniques that compel your colleagues to (really!) pay attention and act on research findings.
Nilufer Ahmed, Ph.D., Senior Research Director, Insurance Research Markets, LIMRA Christine Tucker, Vice President, Retirement Solutions Division, Pacific Life Insurance Company Moderators: Angela Meehan, CLU, ChFC, RFC, Vice President, Variable Product Marketing, Ohio National Financial Services; Garry Voith, CLU, LLIF, Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications, The Baltimore Life Companies
Economic power held by women is on the rise. Understanding the needs of women as working professionals, full-time caregivers, small business owners, and financial decision makers presents an opportunity for financial professionals to provide solutions. In the workshop you will learn the latest research companies depend on to develop marketing strategies geared to women, and ways to help your advisors craft their approach. You will also hear from a company who has applied creative techniques and messaging based on what they have learned.
Andrew Davidson, Chief Insights Officer and SVP, Mintel Comperemedia Moderator: Stacey Fabricant, Assistant Vice President, Business Insights, Penn Mutual
Seemingly unrelated pop cultural fads all give marketers a glimpse into the lives of consumers. What makes them engage with these trends? What draws them in? How can insurance companies capitalize on these movements? What insurance brands have already done or what they can do to embrace these trends.
Leadership, Culture and Future of Work Strategist, FutureSight Labs
In
today’s super-wired, highly digital society, humans still crave social
interaction and relationships. From Facebook to LinkedIn, Twitter to Instagram,
it’s important to remember just how powerful it can be to reach beyond the
fiber optics and make that physical connection. In business, creating
strong relationships is the key to achieving success. What’s the secret
for cultivating relationships in today’s digital age, particularly in financial
services? No longer do institutions and authority figures hold the keys.
Power and influence are shared between client and advisor creating new
challenges and opportunities for an entire industry. Seth will dissect how the
best financial services firms and advisors are meeting the expectations of more
sophisticated and demanding clients while demonstrating how an entirely new set
of relationship competencies will be required to compete and win business in
this new complex and competitive environment.
Stacey Fabricant, Assistant Vice President, Business Insights, Penn Mutual Dwight Mouton, Head of Financial Services Analytics, Engagement Architect, Harte Hanks Moderator: Caroline Behuniak, CFA, Research Director, Voya Financial
What is segmentation and how are other companies using it to positively impact their business? Learn about the pros and cons of the most commonly used segmentation strategies. One size does not fit all; but there’s a right size for everyone! Learn how to evaluate which one may be right for you based on your business objectives and the data you have available. Our experts will discuss a variety of methodologies including demographic, attitudinal, behavioral and life stage segmentation, as well as share case studies based on real life examples from inside and outside our industry.
Julie Brown, President, The Center for Strategy Research, Inc. Jessica Kane, Director, Consumer and Customer Experience Research, Unum Moderator: Natalie Barenthin, GBDS, Senior Marketing Research Analyst, Anthem Life
Obtaining a fresh, actionable and complete understanding of customer experience has evolved as the “gold standard” of market research today. To achieve this objective, industry leader Unum developed an intensive process to follow their customers over time and understand the “why” behind their experiences. Working with CSR as their research partner, Unum will give an overview of the program they developed and its applications, while CSR will give the insights on the methodology and management of this study.
Craig Canton, Senior Enterprise Relationship Manager, Financial Services, LinkedIn Nathaniel Isaacson, Director, Social Media, Guardian life Moderator: Shawn C. Smith, Head of Protection Product Marketing, Guardian Life
Social Selling is no longer a nice to have but a must have for financial professionals. In an industry built on this is the way it's been done, social selling is changing the way financial professionals run their practices. Learn how to create a culture of social selling within your local agencies starting from the top down by holding financial professionals accountable to using LinkedIn daily.
Jennifer Douglas, Director, Developmental Research, LIMRA Patrick Leary, LLIF, Corporate Vice President, Distribution Research, LIMRA Moderator: Natalie Hugins, Market Insights Manager, Pacific Life Insurance Company
Companies have struggled to access and engage consumers in working and middle class markets via traditional face-to-face distribution. Recent regulatory changes have accelerated interest in serving these markets through online capabilities. But which consumer groups are most receptive to buying life insurance online? Are there specific strategies that might motivate more people to consider an online purchase? This session will explore the reality around consumer preferences for the online experience.
Dewayne Gimpel, Customer Experience Strategist, Oracle Moderators: Michelle Fischbach, Assistant Vice President, Voya Financial; Krista Stevens, Sales Development Strategist, Ameritas
With increased global pricing pressure and rapid commoditization of products and services, customer experience (CX) has been called the last remaining sustainable differentiator. Therefore, it is key for organizations to be able to operationalize internal processes that put the customer at the heart of decision making and enable experiences that connect on an emotional level. This session introduces the key concepts and approach of Customer Experience Journey Mapping as a methodology to analyze and address organizational needs by providing insights and actions necessary to drive customer delight and unlock business value.
Kenia Collins, Research Director, MetLife Scott Laing, Senior Vice President, Markets and Products, ORC International Jessica Horkan, Senior Vice President, ORC International Moderator: Vijay Dandamudi, Senior Marketing Research Analyst, Illinois Mutual
The power of segmentation comes in being able to use it consistently across the business. Too often highly valuable strategic segmentation research is under-utilized because of a failure to create the right context for a company’s culture, easy ways to work with the segmentation scheme, or clearly communicated benefits of using it in all areas of the business, including sales, product, operations, and the C-suite.
Discover some of the common challenges to implementing segmentation and how to overcome them
Understand how to bring employees along the journey of segmentation activation, from awareness, to understanding, to engagement to action.
Birdia Chambers, Head of Social and Digital Strategy, Prudential Erin Meijer, Director, Thought Leadership and Content Strategy, Guardian Phyllis Tozzi, Corporate Vice President, Digital Marketing Strategies, New York Life Insurance Company Moderators: Janet Holton, Marketing Associate, Modern Woodmen of America; Angela Meehan, CLU, ChFC, RFC, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Ohio National Financial Services
In today’s business climate, digital marketing changes at a rapid rate…as does our need to evolve and align our marketing efforts in a digital world. During this interactive panel discussion:
Hear from a panel of speakers on how their companies advance their digital marketing by discussing three key areas: strategy; team structure and alignment; and technologies.
Discuss various challenges we face as we continuously strive to evolve and measure our digital marketing success.
Karen Imbrogno, Industry Insurance Analyst, Acxiom Amy Rey, Vice President, Zeldis Research Moderators: Jim DeLuca, LLIF, Vice President, Marketing and Client Experience, Western and Southern Life; Angela Disser, Senior Director, Marketing Services, CNO Financial
Learn what it takes to be successful with your
consumers.Hear from leading industry
insurance analysts on what you should be aware of to prepare for the consumer
of the future?What do they want? How do
they want it delivered? The insurance shopping world is changing, are you?
Social media is fundamentally changing how we communicate with
customers across every stage of their buying journey. Join Amy McIlwain as she
explores the importance of staying relevant and competitive in financial
services in the age of digital, and how enterprises can leverage the power of
social media to make an impact on their business, while remaining secure and
compliant. Use this session to develop a better understanding of an
exciting digital transformation happening in the customer buying journey and
how your organization can benefit from connecting with them at every stage.
Joe Hopper, Ph.D., President, Versta Research Moderator: Sarah Ehlinger, Ph.D., Senior Research Manager, Principal Financial Group
This session isn't about finding stories in research. It's about designing surveys that ensure compelling storylines . . . regardless of how the data falls out. Like many researchers, you want market research to generate leading-edge insights, the kind that capture intense audience interest. This story-building methodology will get you there, from conceptualizing the research and constructing stories from data to reporting in the form of headlines, each substantiated with a sequence of data. We’ll show examples from large financial and healthcare companies, including a national survey of 875 LGBT Americans, that made this methodology work. Multi-media presentation with videos, some which might make you cry.
Jay Donnelly, Vice President, Marketing Delivery, Great-West Life/London Life/Canada Life Moderator: Rita Lepore, Senior Client Analytics Specialist, Great-West Life/London Life/Canada Life
This workshop will use a case approach for the launch of the HelloLife brand. Follows the path to development from research to mass market launch. Provides insights on the best tools to pick for an Omni channel world. Addresses how to reach advisor distribution audience. Features the development of new Planning tool.
Scott Campbell, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Multiple Line, American National Eric Philp, Vice President, Digital Marketing, Prudential Moderators: Aziza Alexander, Director, Industry and Competitve Intelligence, Prudential Katie Piretti, Director, Digital Marketing, American National
Technology is constantly evolving, and apps are no exception. What was once groundbreaking is now common place. It’s safe to say the phrase “there’s an app for that” effectively represents the mentality of the modern consumer. Join us to hear from two thought leaders in the industry as they discuss the future of mobile apps in a casual, fireside chat setting. Topics will include how mobile apps should fit into your marketing strategy, what data should you be capturing and why, the benefits of building vs. buying an app, how apps can lead to changing talent needs and more. Audience participation will be strongly encouraged, as speakers will field questions, provide insight and help you brainstorm effective strategies and tactics for introducing and using mobile apps.
Matt Mikulcik, Vice President, Product Marketing, CNO Financial Group David Edington, Senior Vice President, Industry Strategist, Epsilon
From historic to batch to streaming, where is your firm on the data continuum? There is an abundance of real-time data that can be used to anticipate consumer needs and engage them with more meaningful, relevant, and helpful experiences. What steps can you take to accelerate your firm’s data and analytics maturity? This session will highlight how organizations can fully leverage the abundant data assets available and showcase examples of what this can look like.
Michael Sciano, Manager, Campaign Account Management, Adobe Moderator: Katie Bartling, Associate Vice President, Sammons Financial Group Member Companies
It’s no surprise that email marketing still holds the top spot as the most effective channel to nurture leads and engage with customers despite the proliferation of smartphones, mobile tablets and wearables. Everyone’s inbox is just one tap or keystroke away. The key is to rise above the noise, distinguish your brand above the clutter that is everyone’s inbox, and maximize the return on your effort in the millisecond you have to get your message across. In this session, we will examine and de-construct best practices via case studies to inform your future email marketing efforts.
Ric Clarson, Senior Vice President, Marketing Development, PGA Tour Dan Pincus, Assistant Vice President, Sponsorships and Promotions, MetLife Moderators: Ann Clifford, Director, Group Benefits, Segment Marketing, MetLife; Jay Donnelly, Vice President, Marketing Delivery, Great-West Life/London Life/Canada Life
Listen to representatives from three sides of the Sponsorship world discuss how this form of communication support can provide a vital part of your marketing mix. Moderated by industry veterans, we will look at ways to make sure that your ROI justifies what can be a very expensive ticket.
Emily Holbrook, Director, Personal Markets, Northwestern Mutual Brett Myers, Next Door Program Director, State Farm Patrick Ohlin, Vice President, Head of Brand, Lincoln Financial Group Moderator: LeAnne Drives, FLMI, ACS, Senior Market Research Project Manager, Northwestern Mutual
Each generation has unique expectations, experiences and values that influence their buying behavior. This session will provide insight into the characteristics, behaviors and preferences of younger markets: Millennials and Gen Z.
Learn about new research into the needs of these markets
Discuss effectiveness of specific marketing strategies and campaigns.
Brian Oss, Director, Digital Health Consulting, Optum Moderator: Krista Stevens, Sales Development Strategist, Ameritas
A new gaming interface has made a fun and easy way to manage customer's health and lifestyle. The friendly, easy-to-use platform is helping improve diets and fitness, allowing customers to shop for health benefits, and find the best doctor for their needs. It provides all the resources the customer needs to make smarter, more informed choices. In this session, we will learn how using goal setting, motivation tactics, and game mechanics paired with a great user interface can increase your customers' engagement. We will also discuss how you can adapt to any business.
Drawing from the personal experience of breaking his neck and being told he would never walk again, Bruce passionately delivers a dynamic presentation about the four crucial action steps that must be taken to achieve any goal or dream. Attendees will develop and implement confidence building techniques that really work, and learn to change their belief system to achieve amazing success. They will discover the advantages of a positive mental attitude and how to change frustration and negativity into a “can-do” environment. Bruce will demonstrate the power of setting goals, visualizing them, and following through.
What do the music industry and financial services have in common? Both exist in changing environments — pressures on profitability, new sources of competition, changing regulation, and evolving customer preferences. This creates a need for innovative products, distribution, and marketing. This brief presentation will cover the most important trends affecting business in the next five years. It will also include insights on how marketers and researchers can use these trends to identify opportunities and improve their business strategies.
Like an aging rock band, marketing has some tunes that live on, but we must also adapt to the audience that’s listening to new alternatives. With new channels, and new distractions, how can we as marketers engage and move our audience to act? Engaging the next generation, and even some of the older generation, requires a new song. This presentation will focus on the key elements of science, from data to behavioral, in marketing and how to connect with consumers who now control their own journey. John’s deep experience in helping financial and insurance clients cut through the clutter and win new business through leveraging data and behavioral science will inspire you to think differently about a new future of connecting with your audience. He’ll share his insights and real life examples of how the application of these powerful ideas can change the dynamics for growth.
Michael Patterson, Director of Research Analytics, Radius Global Market Research Glenn Staada, Senior Vice President, Radius Global Market Research Moderator: Steve Wendorf, Director of Marketing, Catholic United Financial
Traditionally, marketers have collected information to segment their customers/prospects into groups for improved messaging to fuel sales growth and profits. What's new is the advent of "big data" and the wealth of information available to the marketer today. The challenge is how to harvest data from databases and make it actionable. Build upon earlier segmentation sessions and discover the emerging process of targetable segmentation. We will reveal secrets to overcoming the shortcomings of traditional segmentation. And, we'll review a case study to help jump start your marketing ROI.
Amanda Ochoa, Digital Marketing Specialist, National Support, American National Bryan Reynolds, Social Media Strategist, Voya Financial Moderator: Katie Piretti, Director, Digital Marketing, American National
Do you wonder if you’re investing your digital marketing dollars in the right places? Does your business leverage interactive marketing channels and technologies to drive sales and deepen customer relationships? This session can help you learn about trends driving spend in different digital media and how your strategy compares. You will learn what is driving growth, how you can inform your budgets and what’s next.
Ryman
11:15 a.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Registration
Early Bird Registration Fee: LIMRA Member: $1,225 LOMA Member (but not LIMRA): $1,840 Nonmember: $2,450
After May 5, 2017: LIMRA Member: $1,425 LOMA Member (but not LIMRA): $2,140 Nonmember: $2,850
LIMRA requires prepayment of registration fees prior to all conferences and meetings. Please make checks payable to LIMRA in U.S. dollars drawn on a bank in the United States. For Vendor registration fees, call Event Registration at 800-235-4672 (U.S. and Canada) or 860-285-7789.
If multiple attendees from your company will be attending, please contact Events Registration at 800-235-4672 for quantity discounts (five or more must be received at the same time).
Cancellation Policy
All cancellations must be received in writing. Notify customer.service@limra.com. Cancellations received before May 10, 2017 will be refunded, less a $75 processing fee. Cancellations received from May 10, 2017 to May 24, 2017 will be refunded, less a $275 processing and administrative fee. No refunds will be issued after May 24, 2017.
In the event that a scheduled meeting or event is cancelled by LIMRA for any reason, LIMRA shall refund any conference registration fees that have been paid by the registrant. Under no circumstances, however, shall LIMRA be liable to the registrant for any other expenses including, but not limited to, airfare and hotel expenses incurred by the registrant.
Hotel / Venue
Renaissance Nashville Hotel 611 Commerce Street
Nashville, Tennessee Reservations Phone: (615) 255-8400 Book your group rate
Make your reservations by May 5, 2017 by
following the reservations link or by calling the reservations phone number and
mentioning The Marketing Conference in order to receive the group rate of $232.00
single/double (plus applicable sales taxes). Requests after May 5, 2017 will
be accepted on the basis of space availability. The group guest room rate will
be offered three days prior and three days after the meeting dates subject to
availability and must be booked by calling the hotel.
Please note that hotel rates will go up after the cut-off
date or when the meeting room block sells out, whichever comes first.
Make your reservations early to be able to take advantage of our discounted
rates.
Become a Sponsor or Exhibitor
Premier Sponsor and Exhibitor Opportunities Available Now
We are sold out of Exhibit space for this conference, please contact Barb Kimball for Sponsorship availability at Bkimball@limra.com; or call her at 860-298-3950.
Connect With Key Prospects This conference is your opportunity to meet financial services marketing, marketing research, public relations, advertising, communications, sales support, and marketing services executives and professionals in one location.
Sponsorship Opportunities We can help you reach out to your target market in many ways, such as:
Multiple conference registrations
Private invite-only event with hosted by LIMRA
Sponsorship of an evening reception, luncheon, or refreshment breaks
Special recognition in the registration brochure, onsite conference program, onsite signs, and general session walk-in slides
Acknowledgement from the podium
One-time usage of the attendee mailing list before or after the conference
Specialty conference merchandise that will deliver your company name to all attendees
Exhibitor Package For your investment of $3,600 you will receive:
One full-conference registration.
Additional attendees pay the LIMRA member rate of just $1,225
One 6-foot skirted table with an electrical outlet (table-top or limited displays are permitted – please discuss your display with Barb Kimball)
One-time use of the registrant/attendee list (including the email addresses of attendees who opt to share them)
Exhibitor listing on LIMRA’s conference page, onsite program, conference slides and mobile app.
We are sold out of Exhibit space for this conference, please contact Barb Kimball for Sponsorship availability at Bkimball@limra.com; or call her at 860-298-3950.
Exhibitor & Sponsor Contact Barbara Kimball 860-298-3950 bkimball@limra.com
