The BB Blog: Problem Solving at Trade Shows

By: Paul Kurrie, Pro-Blockboarder Mid-West

Several Pro-Blockboarders and I attended the Performance Driven Marketing Institute (PDMI) conference in San Diego a couple weeks ago. Now that my suitcase is FINALLY unpacked - here are a few highlights and observations that were also unpacked after wrapping up those three days at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Trade Shows Are Back, Baby!

1. OK, how many times have you read on LinkedIn about people gushing over "the return of trade shows" these last few months? And, how great they are to be back in person??? And! How many times have you said, "OK! Enough!". Well, I guess it's my turn to say sorry, for I have to pause and 'add to the pile' of commentators before me! 😁 Now PDMI was my first trade show that I attended live in over two years, and I have to say it was incredible to meet, greet, listen and LEARN from so many forward thinkers in performance marketing! Walking throughout the entire hotel and ballrooms, and seeing people I have not seen in years, and meeting new faces...it was just pure joy to be back in person again. Not that I ever took trade shows for granted, but I have found a new perspective that I just can't explain at this moment (maybe it's the making of another blog post down the road. We'll see!)

Teaching and Learning

2. I am truly blown away at the companies I LEARN about at trade shows! I mean come on! Two companies that made my eyes open wide are FlowCode and Modern Postcard. How two companies can rethink and reimagine things like QR Codes and Postcards is

beyond me! Check them out. Follow them on LinkedIn. Watch them take off!

Part of the challenges of being at Trade Shows is cranking through all the "hello my name is, and I'm from such and such." Let me tell you... if I didn't have my 30-second elevator pitch down before, I sure do now!

But, of course it's more than that. Especially at a company like ours where we are on the bleeding edge of new technologies... it's less of a 30-second pitch, and more of a quick education session. For example, if I say "we are built on Blockchain" you might immediately think of crypto-currencies. And that is the beginning of education. Because blockchain isn't just for crypto... it's for anything that needs to be safely, securely and transparently recorded. And video ad impressions need exactly that.

Bring Out the 1,000 Piece Advertising Problem Puzzle!

3. Connections with others. Solving Puzzles. I used to think advertising was all about "solving problems". When I first started in advertising, I spent seven years on the agency side (Starcom), where I thought I was trying to "solve problems" and to figure out what is "keeping people up at night".

After flying back to Chicago from PDMI, I started to see things a little differently.

Working on the agency side in the media department is kinda similar to building a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle every planning season. Each year, some of the puzzle pieces change shape, and you have to find new puzzle pieces to fill in the gaps to complete the picture. That's what advertising and media is all about. Things evolve. Things change. Out with the old and in with the new. No one is recreating the wheel and starting from

scratch. It's all about subtle change. Adding in smaller puzzle pieces with agencies and clients, that someday can hopefully be a larger piece of the puzzle - to form partnerships and consultative conversations. That's what it's all about.

At Blockboard, partners and partnerships are paramount. We truly enjoy rolling up our sleeves and sitting next to our customers to learn their problems and come up with a joint solution.

So, when you need a puzzler sitting next to you for your CTV/OTT needs, give us a shout. We love puzzles.

Highlights from PDMI West