The Sun Sets on Elevate

Elevate has comes to a close, but only after two full days of idea sharing, content conversations, storytelling, and wonderful music. Brand marketers, agencies, and creatives took what they gained on day one and built on it, all while while taking in pitches and presentations, speaking on their respective experiences and passing on knowledge that enriched the holistic conversation on content for the entire group. As day turned to night, topics of conversation turned to the relationship between music and storytelling, all giving way to a final celebration with musical guest, Us the Duo.

Fan-Submitted flavors from Frito-Lay

Chats with Frito-Lay & Us The Duo + The Maytag Challenge

Tuesday’s presentations kicked off with some flavorful storytelling from Marcus Peterzell and Tina Mahal as they presented campaigns (and lots of uniquely flavored chips) from Frito-Lay. Musical guests 'Us the Duo' took the stage for a conversation with industry vet Ty Braswell, discussing their musical origins in new media. Presentations closed with a pitch competition for Maytag, wherein companies pitched ideas to help tell Maytag’s brand “power” story through unique creative and content. Participants included Spectrum, Atlantic Re:think and Courageous, who each pitched creative that works to do just that.

Marcus Peterzell and Stephanie Tennessen watch as Jeremy Elias (Atlantic Re:think) pitches for the Maytag Challenge

Marcus Peterzell & Stephanie Tennessen watch as Jeremy Elias (Atlantic Re:think) pitches for the Maytag Challenge

Brett Lyons, Marcus Peterzell, Matt Wind, and Austin Schumacher - Panelists on the "Distribute" Trail

Elevate Trails continued on the subjects of distribution and measurement. Leading the distribution trail was Brett Lyons, Marcus Peterzell, Matt Wind, and Austin Schumacher, who went back and forth on how to ensure content has the right scale and selecting the best connection point between content messaging and the audience through choice of distribution model. Measurement featured Andrew Strickman, Kevin Brown, Kirstin Falk, Nick Childs, and Anda Gansca (moderated by Shane Maidy) who focused on finding a common denominator when it comes to measurement of content efficacy. Measurement additionally delved into the act of determining which indicators to bring back to the C-Suite to prove a return-on-investment and secure budgets, as well as introduce the conversation surrounding the creation and use of uniform measurement standards for determining the ‘success’ of a campaign. Both trails were followed by rousing discussions that presented a broad spectrum of opinions on both topics.

Anda Gansca, Andrew Strickman, Kevin Brown, Kirstin Falk, and Nick Childs - Panelists on the "Measure" Trail

The afternoon gave way to a second day of screenings which were introduced by Ty Braswell, host of Brand Storytelling: A Docuseries. An audience with an appetite for various brand-funded content stuck around to watch presentations from Virtue, Story Worldwide, Airstream, Lyft, Advantage, MacGillivray Freeman, Sleep Number, Ketchum, Realtor.com, Charles Schwab, and UM. Thanks again to all for an awesome second day of screenings.

Chris Pendl presents Airstream Content in the Elevate Screening Theater

Us The Duo performs on the Elevate Stage

Us the Duo

Elevate ended with a performance from online sensation and current America’s Got Talent contestants Us The Duo. Husband-and-wife musical act Michael and Carissa Alvarado took the stage and wowed the crowd with original tunes and a live performance of their viral arrangement of the top songs of 2017, which has 4.8 million views on YouTube. In between numbers the duo took time to share their songwriting stories, a perfect way to wrap up several days of storytelling.