Back for another year, the 2016 Canadian Internet Marketing Conference (CIMC) will feature a powerhouse line-up of more than 30 of the world’s top minds and movers of the digital marketing industry. FreshGigs.ca got the awesome opportunity to have a pre-conference brain-picking sesh with each of the keynote speakers and panelists. Today’s Q & A is with BRANDLIVE‘s Katie Schaeffers.
Your social media slogan is “Make more moves and less announcements.” In your industry, how do you think a person can best engage in the art of telling stories without making excessive noise?
Edit. Edit. Edit. If you think you need to use 10 words, use five instead. Spend more time doing the work rather than talking about the work. The judges are always watching, there’s no need to take a bow.
As a yoga enthusiast, what sort of tactics have your practice taught you that you can transfer to your career?
I’ve actually put my yoga practice on the back burner of late for a more active pursuit of cycling. I love getting on my bike at spin class, sweating out the day, and getting lost in the music. I find it almost more meditative than yoga now, because I’m so connected to what my physical body is doing that my brain can just take a breather for an hour.
It reminds me that balance isn’t always about finding the middle ground – it’s about pushing yourself from one end of the spectrum to the other and finding ways to rejuvenate that work for you.
Most marketers use statistics and other analytical tools to determine their products’ success. Beyond the usual devices, how do you gauge an event’s impact?
To paraphrase one of my favourite authors, Maya Angelou – people will always remember how you made them feel. We trade in experiences at BRANDLIVE – and we’re always searching for new ways to engage with people that mean something to them, that make an impression, that generate forward motion in the community.
Metrics matter, absolutely. But your attendees are your biggest advocates. We make sure to listen to everything they have to say – the good and the bad – where they are saying it, who they are saying it to – and then do our best to implement strategies that reflect that feedback.
Project yourself 10 years into the future. What career accomplishment are you celebrating?
To be honest, I’ve never liked this question. My brain just doesn’t work this way. My greatest asset is my intuition. I get a feeling, and I follow it. I’ve learned to trust my gut time and time again. It’s what has brought me life’s greatest adventures and it’s what makes me good at my job.
You can’t design for creativity. Perhaps you can design a life or even a space that helps to breed creativity but there is no replacement for that inner voice that you can only hone through listening very very carefully. Ten years from now means far less to me than 10 minutes from now and what opportunities lie just around the next corner.
A graduate of McGill University and the London School of Economics, Katie’s event, production, and communication experience crosses the spectrum from fast-paced political environments to high-end galas to outdoor music festivals. A seasoned event producer and curator, Katie has produced events and multi-media experiences locally and internationally for over 10 years, specializing in storytelling, program design, and custom content development. Currently the VP of Strategy and Creative at brand.LIVE, Katie is in the business of guiding, supporting and creating significant world-class and community-based events that cultivate community identity, uncover emerging talent, and achieve business objectives.
The CIMC runs April 14-15, 2016 at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish BC, Canada. For more conference and ticket info, click here.