PI LIVE and the co-located Influencer Marketing Show started with a bang this morning at Old Billingsgate in London. With over 2,000 attendees bursting through the doors for the two-day event to celebrate all things performance marketing and influencer marketing, we’ve rounded up some of the top highlights, sessions, and takeaways from the whirlwind of Day 1. If you’re not at the show, we apologise if you’re getting a wave of FOMO…

Data-driven influencer marketing

A huge variety of speakers and companies brought their passion to the stages at Old Billingsgate and plenty of hot topics were discussed all under one roof. Along with dazzling stands, keen industry experts, firm handshakes and social media galore was a day filled with must-see sessions delivered from a range of engaging speakers.

Day 1 played host to the co-located Influencer Marketing Show, which included a session from Danielle Lewis, Scrunch’s CEO and co-founder on the subject of data-driven influencer marketing. She touched on the importance of data and audience segmentation for influencer marketing now the industry has matured, stating how brands should use it as an optimisation strategy before investing in potentially the wrong type of influencer for your brand.

Lewis explained that now you can deep dive into demographic data to make sure you’re working with the right influencer and your product gets seen by the right consumers before you invest in your influencer. 

Meanwhile, it came as no surprise that the insightful, upbeat keynote sessions were packed and included topics on cutting through the corporate bullshit from the wonderful Cally Beaton and three ways to have amazing ideas from a very smartly dressed and hilarious Shed Simove, who told the eager audience that “unless you inspire, it is very hard to be inspiring.”

High-performance cultures

One of the key talking points of PI LIVE has, in fact, been the creation of high-performance work cultures and the people that make up our performance marketing industry. Robert Glazer, founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, discussed the qualities of world-class high-performance culture in his session after lunch, stating that “encouraging your employees to increase performance in their personal work translates to them increasing performance in their professional work”.

Later on, we spoke to Richard Dennys about his session (and more) on new generation performance marketing, where he spoke about his view of the next five years based on what hi-performance network Webgains sees from the current marketplace, new entrants, influencers, and emerging technologies. 

The evolution of global retail events

Following a busy morning, we managed to catch up with Robert Davinson, global content analyst at Awin, who discussed the evolution of global retail events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. He looked at how brands have had to adapt to changing consumer habits as consumers have become increasingly price conscious and savvy about how they buy their online goods.

Another global event he brought up was Singles Day. He commented on how Singles Day is forward-thinking and innovative in its use of tech to bring together the online and offline shopping experiences. For example, shoppers can virtually try on different items in store thanks to AI and buy those items via a smartphone still. He also mentioned that as Singles Day starts to expand beyond the borders of China, these tactics might seep out into other global markets. Watch this space!

Growth into APAC

Anthony Capano, managing director of EMEA at Rakuten Marketing gave his session on How to Engage Consumers and Drive Growth in APAC, highlighting that growth into the APAC market is showing no signs of slowing down. We caught up with him for a quick chat after his session to talk about the trends he has seen in the region and some of the key tips for brands looking to expand into the APAC market – keep an eye out for all of the interviews on our Facebook page.

Day 1 done and dusted

Day 1 was certainly jam-packed and tomorrow looks even busier! Make sure you’re keeping up to date with the latest happenings on the PerformanceIN Facebook page and Twitter page. Join in the conversation using the #PILIVE18 and #IMSHOW18 hashtag on social media for your chance to appear on our social media walls.

Later tonight is the official After Party at Cafe de Paris and the all singing, all dancing International Performance Marketing Awards. If you’re attending, have a great time.

See you bright and early tomorrow for more of the action!