I was fortunate to attend the conference on Wednesday to learn, network and be on the pulse of the digital marketing communications discipline. The focus of Convergence 2010 was on the newest and latest social media trends. Marketing professionals, tech enthusiasts and the media were all present. I found it appropriate when it was confirmed to me that Canadians were among the most social media heavy users in the world.

Opening keynote speaker, acclaimed author Marc Gobe, presented an insightful and inspirational view of emotional branding. Mr. Gobe believes that social media tools have different meanings to users: Twitter is for your head, Facebook is for your heart and Youtube is for your gut. It resonated with me especially when he proclaimed that people and not corporations own a brand. People feel a powerful emotional attachment to their favorite things and brands. To be a part of this favored status is to be a successful brand.

Panels on viral marketing, smartphones, mobile marketing and the much anticipated iPad rounded out the day. I enjoyed the videos made by Mark Malkoff, a filmmaker and comedian who famously lived in an IKEA for a week and employed guerrilla marketing to elevate their brand. I also enjoyed the awesome augmented reality device presented by Mr. Dominique – Sebastien Forest that accompanies the smartphone devices due out later this year.

The closing keynote by Dr. Ginger Grant, was very engaging and her approach to improving modern corporate culture by going back to our storytelling roots was eye opening. She is a great public speaker and utilized salient topics to convey her message in her presentation.

I attended a social reception at the pub after the conference wrapped. Although I felt it could be improved in terms of a networking experience as was advertised, I met some friendly people with great insights about their experience. I heard that I wasn’t the only student to attend the conference and some UBC business graduate school students were at Convergence. Although I went alone, it would have been useful for my school to sponsor a similar trip to the conference so students can stay abreast of current topics in marketing communications.

Overall, it was fascinating and entertaining to learn about the different approaches undertaken in this rapidly evolving new digital landscape. Hands on workshops may have elevated the experience so participants can come away with their own media strategies and enhance their education. I understood that there was a need to produce better stories to tell the audience and not a hard sell of the brands: to provide value instead of always selling will keep people talking about you. “Content is King but distribution is Queen”.