The Performance Marketing Summit took place yesterday in Austin, TX, and it started out in a very Austin way with a couple of troubadours.
Just was I was about to kick off the event, I was surprised by two guys playing guitars and singing Morrissey’s “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get”, followed by “Happy Bithday”. Thanks to Brook Schaaf and David Vogelpohl for that unexpected entertainment.
It was an unconventional beginning to an unconventional event – it took place at the South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, which is a series of food trucks, picnic tables, and a room that was half inside/half outside.
The vibe was more backyard BBQ than conference.
There were coolers filled with water and soda, a Keurig with coffee fixings, and snacks scattered around.
The Performance Marketing Summit was limited to 50 people and 1 sponsor (thanks HostGator!), and we fit in an agenda with lots of networking and sessions into just 4 hours.
We had a series of 18 minute solo sessions, starting with Maruxa Murphy, speaking on how to Find Your Voice and Change The World (slides).
The second session was the Super Affiliate Toolkit for WordPress (slides) with David Vogelpohl.
Brook Schaaf ran the third session, where he chatted about Aristotelian Friendship and Affiliate Marketing (no slides). I mispronounced Aristotelian when I was introducing the session, and I’m still not sure how to say it.
After a networking break, Emily Leach took the stage to discuss Experiential Marketing, Old Rules No Longer Apply (slides).
Next up was Chris Mercer to talk about 7 Conversions Killers (and How You Can Avoid Them) (slides).
Then it was time for a delicious lunch from Torchy’s Tacos – a selection of their tacos, rice, beans, and chips and salsa. A nice combination of tasty food and networking.
After lunch, Vickie Flaugher mixed things up with Say WHAT? Roll the Dice Content Game (no slides). I noticed some guys had dice on their table during lunch, and I thought they decided to shoot dice, but Vickie had distributed dice to everybody for her session.
The final session was on Sexy Search Results (slides) from Jeremy Palmer.
We finished things up with Heather Diamani presiding over a series of Elevator Pitches from attendees.
Thank you to everybody who came out, the speakers, HostGator for sponsoring, and Torchy’s Tacos for wonderful food and a fun environment.