_ June 16, 2019_ Lucian Costea

UPGRADE 100 - change your life starting now - 6 insight

UPGRADE 100 (rebranded from iCEE.fest) brings all the people together that are connected to the digital network, that walks the change and envisions the future that is far beyond what we can imagine now.
Why? Because it will unfold around new concepts that not yet exist but can become real the next day.

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
Remember when this question used to be legit? This is because we used to predict the future based on past experiences.
This is linear thinking.
Due to technology and its evolution at a very high speed, exponential thinking is becoming the new “must-have” mindset.

Furthermore, let us present you with some valuable insights from this year’s edition and speakers that stayed with us at the end of the day.

The more emotionally invested you are, the less critical you become. - David JP Philips (professional speaker)

Professional speaker, David, managed to catch the audience’s eyes and focus on an “Angels Cocktail”, by tactically carrying the audience through an emotional carousel. Though we were all aware of the technical process, inevitably your amygdala connects and you feel the reactions in your body.

What does this have to do with technology and the digital era?

The answer is quite obvious. No matter what new tool you use to catch the eyes of your client, it will always be the core story that actually sells your product or service. Preferably, a story infused with serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine, or endorphins, our above-mentioned “Angels Cocktail”.

Storytelling is a tool similar to LOVE, that induces the same feelings as if you were in love.

So, if you’re reading this, what’s your story? Is it something you would “fall in love” with?

Simple. Surprising. Significant - Ben Kepler (PR Hacking)

How do you make your message viral?

Well, Ben Kepler pointed out in his presentation, with an effervescent conviction, that this is the magic formula: make it simple, surprising but significant.

Always go for targeting emotions that cause immediate reactions. Even more, to emphasize this matter he made a simple test with a random article title that is most probably was somewhere in our Facebook feed at one point: “Your dog’s breed reveals your romance potential.”

Can you understand it in less than 7 seconds?
Does it defy your expectations?
Does it convey a deeper truth?

Of course, it does. At least for the majority of people.

And that is sufficient to make a story viral. Hence, the context in which we place our product/idea/service is the one with the virality potential. Ideas are just ideas until you bring them closer to your audience in a context that resonates with them.

How do you plan to catch your audience’s attention in under 7 seconds?

How do we create content in the controversy era? - Quinn Donato (Coca-Cola)

Consumers would not even be bothered if 75% of the brands now on the market would disappear.

This is a result of the overwhelming avalanche of new products that appear. And many of the newly launched brands don’t even resist the first year on the shelf.

We live in an era where we can hardly tell which news is true or false.

But what we can tell is whether the news is controversial. And this is something that brands need to have in mind when creating content relevant to their audience. Everything around us changes, but what will always remain the same are people’s beliefs and values.

Nevertheless, every piece of content you launch should have these important characteristics: memorable, emotional, remarkable, personal.

Even more, Quinn gave us an example of a successful campaign. It was launched to mark the referendum for changing the Constitution about how the legal form of a family should be. They paired bottles in different combinations and put them under #samefeeling, showing that for the brand there’s no difference in how the “right” family should look like. The campaign ended up having over 2 million reach.

Does your content resonate with your audience’s values?

Dear influencer – for how long you think can you keep your job – Olivier Billon (Ykone)

Influencers. They are a controversial topic. However, influencer marketing is big business. As an influencer, your revenue is conditioned by the number of your followers. Hence, the temptation for fake followers is pretty big. So is the case of one of the biggest influencers.
Until… you can fool the whole world, but you won’t Oliver.

The founder of Ykone, a company that facilitates collaborations between luxury & beauty brands and influencers that is working for some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Dior, Moet & Chandon, Chanel, L’Oreal, Gucci, La Prairie, MAC Cosmetics.

At UPGRADE 100 he presented the technology developed by them, he and his team can easily identify if influencers are faking it.

How does it work? It can identify unusual activity in the growth of an influencer’s fanbase, taking into account the sudden fall and growth of the number of followers and also the country of origin of the new followers.

Why the sudden fall? Because Instagram is deleting the fake account, bread at what is called “click farms”. Why the sudden growth? Because the influencer is compensating with a new buy.
So, here are some tips if you are thinking of getting into the influencer business.

Search for talent, not followers.
Be authentic – not real, but transparent.
Have an angle that surprises people.

Also, don’t think just human. It might be just a matter of time until fictional influencers like @lilmiquella or @noonoouri will take over the market.

Are you already considering signing a deal with fictional influencers?

Facebook marketing that blows your mind - Christina Keller – (Facebook)

At UPGRADE 100 we saw Christina – director of creative shop, Central Europe at Facebook. She is creating, together with her team of copywriters, planners, and art directors – huge innovative campaigns.

Inclusive fashion show

So is the case of their collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger. Their insight was – fashion shows are so exclusive, let’s get everyone to the show. So, they developed a technology for the interested to be able to watch the shows live. You can watch it with your best friend if you put your phones together, and you can watch it with even more friends, depending on the city of the show (NY, Tokyo, Paris) putting next to each other 3 or 4 phones. Also, with just a touch on your phone, you could buy the clothing that you just saw. A shared real-time experience. Needless to say, it had a huge impact on the revenue of this fashion brand.

Viral campaign

Further, she presented the #Airdrop campaign for Red Bull, which was hailed by some as the “Largest Guerrilla Stunt Ever”. Ballons were dropping huge boxes of energy drinks on campuses without any previous announcement. So, if you were a student and you needed some energy for your exams, you might just have been in the lucky university that got the surprise.
The hype was amazing because of a very well-planned campaign, that was cascaded down to every possible marketing channel + the Pitch. Play. Plunge philosophy of Christina and her team.
Are you using your channels to the max?

Are you ready to change everything you have learned about the world so far? – Salim Ismail (Singularity University)

If we were to choose only one speaker from all the 200 (199 + 1 robot) it would be him. Ladies and gentlemen… Salim Ismail – the cherry on all tech cakes.
Since your whole worldview has changed after listening to him it is a near-impossible job to share all his insight. But here are 3 of his ideas from UPGRADE 100:

1. Being anxious about all the bad that technology can bring?
Salim says – chill out. According to leading experts in the fields like sociology, anthropology, and behavioral science, the ratio of good to bad is 8000 to 1. Meaning that whenever someone does something bad, not that there are just 2 that do good, but actually 8000. If you were feeling otherwise, it is because of that media that exaggerates negative news to grab your attention.

2. Forget about your diploma, for real.
Since the public sector has a very bad immunity but the academic one even worse – knowledge acquired there will be already obsolete when you would be ready to use it.
Blockchain – which, Salim says will do so much to the world like the internet – will drastically change everything from government to education. The notion that your knowledge has to be approved by some academy is no longer valid. The revolution towards self-regulating environments has already started.

3. Representative democracy is no longer working.
This concept was invented when information was scarce, and traveling was hard. One designated person from a region had to deliver the information to a central regulating force (the government), representing the will of the people. Now everything is one click away.
Also, when asked about the future of governments, Salim said power is granulating down from a country level to a city level. Until that, small countries should be more optimistic, because they can adapt better.
As he said: “Think about it, the best colleagues you have are the ones who learn the fastest.”

Thank you, Salim, for our newborn existential crisis. 😀

After all this, the question is – what is the next step for you?

Don’t forget – having mind-blowing experiences start with being in the right place. So be with us. Start your journey now, here.

By the way – did you install the best version of yourself already?

Find out more about UPGRADE 100, here.