The Salted Stone team had an incredible time at INBOUND ‘19!
We got some face time in with long-term clients, met a bunch of awesome new people, and attended some incredible talks and workshops.
Plus it was a rare opportunity to get teammates from our U.S. and Australia offices in the same room to take part in our favorite activity — telling other people about S2.
Here are some of our team's hottest takes from the marketing industry’s favorite conference:
Talar Malakian, Business Unit Director
"Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and Initialized Capital, gave a talk where he emphasized the importance of paid family leave. He said that since becoming a father, he's recognized the importance of prioritizing support for families in the workplace.
When I had my son, I was lucky to find support in Salted Stone and our parental leave policies. That experience has definitely allowed me to continue growing as a professional.
It’s awesome to see that more business leaders are getting on board with people-focused policies. The fact is, business growth is tied directly with social justice, ethical practices, and values-based leadership. It’s nice to know our industry is waking up to see it."
Sabrina Roussel, Strategist
"I got a lot out of HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar and SparkToro Founder Rand Fishkin’s Fireside Chat. At one point, Kipp declared that data had killed creative, and you could hear a pin drop in the crowd. It was awesome.
I’ve always been interested in using data to make informed creative decisions, but I also find an over-reliance on data to be an obstacle in a lot of our work.
Focusing too much on the numbers can lead to prioritizing short-term wins over long-term success. Instead, we should be injecting mindfulness in our campaigns and truly focusing on the experience of our content."
Pictured: Games, swag, and our fearless leader Mike Skeehan
Bonus event marketing hot take: People go crazy for games and swag. That seems like a no-brainer, but it can really be the difference between an empty booth or bucketfuls of leads.
Jason Feller, Business Unit Director
"My biggest takeaway from INBOUND is that multi-touch attribution is quickly becoming a critical need for agencies and brands.
HubSpot announced at Partner Day that it’s making improvements in this area. Being able to track multiple touchpoints throughout the buyer's journey, beyond just first and last touch, will be an absolute game-changer."
News from the chatbot front: People are beginning to realize just how much investment is required to do conversational marketing right. So many companies have tried to get by with basic chatbots, and they haven’t driven results. Conversational marketing can produce positive outcomes, but only when the necessary investment is made.
Brian Mitrof, Technical Marketing Specialist
"My favorite talk was with HubSpot CTO Dharmesh Shah, on the topic of fear.
People are afraid of embracing a diverse team instead of hiring cookie-cutter employees. They’re afraid of focusing on amazing products instead of trying to solve every single problem. They’re afraid of being truthful with customers.
Dharmesh explained the benefits of facing certain fears through a business lens. Facing fears like these is what enables business leaders and companies to grow in the long-term."
