Communicator Summit 2018

They came from all over Europe. 14 communication professionals joined the EMG team at the end of June for EMG’s 3rd annual Communicator Summit.

This year’s theme was “The Connected Customer”. In his introduction, EMG CEO Greg Farrett said: “Until recently, B2B communicators have shunned digital media because it was felt that their particular customers’ journeys are too complex and diverse.”

Jim Olson, Founder & President of Hangar 6 Strategic Storytelling demonstrated how persuasive stories can drive the digital customer experience. Demonstrating the need for companies to clearly define their purpose and values, Jim showed some inspiring examples from his own career. He highlighted the role of the Chief Storyteller, a specialist who can help to create stories that stir our hearts, provoke conversation, inspire commitment and invite action.

Carlijn Adema, Head of Marketing and Communication for Nokia Global Services, described the journey in a B2B environment, based on her actual experiences in recent years. She focused on the challenges and opportunities when moving from a product centric to an audience centric strategy and identified a number of key requirements needed for a fast track to success. These include breaking internal silos, stopping internal competition, involving the Sales team at an early stage and simplifying and prioritising the new approach.

A lively discussion followed describing the need for us all to fully understand the tools we have available to us and to demonstrate how our activities are contributing to the bottom line.

One participant, Dr Ralf Leinemann, Global Manager PR & Marketing Communications at INEOS Styrolution summed up the event as follows: “This year’s summit was particularly interesting, since the two presentations addressed the defined topic from very different angles, leaving a lot of food for thought. It triggered a lot of ideas. I always appreciate to learn from others tackling similar challenges as myself.”