Join interior design bloggers, new media innovators, and interior design industry leaders for the sixth annual Design Bloggers Conference – the premier conference and experience for professionals actively using or interested in learning about new media and the interior design industry. This two-day conference brings you a unique opportunity to participate in the intersection of interior design with the world of new media including blogging, social media, and more. We invite all our fellow interior design bloggers to attend!
Sunday, March 6
12:00PM - 8:00PM
Registration
Pick up badge and goody bag. The badge is your admission to the conference program, breakfast, lunches, receptions and official after parties.
Don’t forget to sign up for your free “blog clinic” session which is included in your registration. By appointment only – sign up onsite at the registration desk. This is the opportunity to ask those nagging questions or to get your website and blog evaluated at the Blog Clinic as part of your scheduled appointment…Learn More
1:00PM - 4:30PM
Exhibitor Set Up
Pre-Conference Workshop 1:
How to Make Your Writing Sing
This is a one-hour workshop broken into two 30-minute sessions which is included in your registration package - workshop space is limited and open to the first 50 participants.
One of the biggest challenges facing bloggers in the information-saturated world we occupy is engaging readers enough to keep our impressions solid in order to monetize. The “must do” list that keeps me sharp includes a trifecta of demands: maintain an authentic point of view, practice my craft regularly enough that my writing muscle stays kick-ass strong, and always bring an unholy passion to the page.
Session One Key Takeaways:
- Make the effort of reading exemplary writing, including narrative non-fiction, fiction and poetry, part of your “job” because reading exceptional writers will make your writing better by osmosis.
- Make yourself stand out by adding a secondary subject to your niche.
- Look to history for inspiration, as this will give your writing depth and interest, and you will build confidence as you create a unique platform—one of the most important pieces to the puzzle of writing well.
Session Two Key Takeaways:
- Learn to be a great researcher if you are not because it will help you think outside the box.
- Write long and write intelligently so that Google will take you seriously.
- Make your writing sensual. This will keep your posts from sounding like you’re just repeating press releases and will attract paying clients for sponsored blogging opportunities.
Instructor: Saxon Henry
Building upon her experience from over two decades as a design, architecture and travel journalist, Saxon Henry understands content creation from every angle. Her journalistic credits include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Interior Design, Robb Report, Delta Sky, Modernism, Elle Décor, Interiors, The Miami Herald and Architectural Digest. The author, currently a columnist for Architizer, has published books that range from design and architecture titles to serious works of nonfiction and poetry.
Saxon began her first blog, Design Commotion, in early 2009 and has since explored a variety of angles of design/architectural/travel writing online. She is currently maintaining two blogs:The Diary of an Improvateur and Productrazzi. As an avid history buff and fan of great literature, she brings these subjects to bear on her Improvateur explorations, many of which are paid collaborations for clients who value brand enhancement and brand elevation through associations with culturally significant subjects. Saxon’s curricula at Vermont College and New York University (NYU) centered upon poetry and aesthetics. She can often be found combing through the archives of scholarly institutions, such as the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale, in search of knowledge and inspiration.
Pre-Conference Workshop 2:
How to Take Amazing Photos with Your Smartphone
This is a one-hour workshop is included in your registration package - workshop space is limited and open to the first 50 participants.
Join International Photographer Colleen Duffley for a Photographic Adventure! Capture images is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Turn your phone’s camera into an exciting and creative tool. You will learn key techniques and skills needed to transform your Smartphone snaps into amazing images. Creativity and Technology in the palm of your hand!
Instructor: Colleen Duffley
Colleen has been shooting people, places and things around the globe for 25 years. She shoots, directs, produces, and concepts for magazines, commercials and ad campaigns, but has never limited herself and has since developed plan b., or Studio b. rather.
Passionate for photography and getting a shot on film the way her mind sees it is her incessant challenge, and it’s what makes her still so in love with a career she started so many years ago. Light is her inspiration and what propelled her to become a photographer and what still motivates Colleen today.
4:30PM - 5:30PM
Exhibitors and Sponsors Welcome Reception
A special welcome reception for all our Exhibitors and Sponsors only, hosted by Esteem Media and the Event Team – a great networking opportunity and our way of saying Thank You!
5:30PM - 7:30PM
Welcome Reception: Sponsored by Benjamin Moore
All attendees are invited to attend -held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel
8:00PM
Sunday Official After Party: Sponsored by Traditional Home and Ferguson
Location: Ferguson | 262 Buckhead Ave NE
RSVP here
Complimentary bus service will run continously to and from the Grand Hyatt hotel (Lower Lobby Circle) starting at 7:30PM.
Celebrate the kick-off of the Design Bloggers Conference with Traditional Home and Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. Enjoy live food demonstrations, exciting culinary and design conversations, and Instagram contests at the brand new Feguson showroom! Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Learn more.
Monday, March 7
7:30AM
Registration & Coffee in Exhibitors and Sponsor Pavilion
8:30AM
Welcome And Intro
Adam Japko is founder of the Design Bloggers Conference, Home Design Digital Marketing Summit, and Esteem Media, Inc. Leading up to founding Esteem Media, Adam was President of DigitalSherpa, a high growth SMB social media and internet marketing business offering content, social media, reputation management, local listings, lead generation, web business intelligence, and other internet marketing programs. The company served over 4,000 SMBs.
These experiences, along with the success of his wine blog, WineZag, reaffirmed a deep belief that digital community engagement, quality content, and in-person networking are lethal tools for transforming brands and businesses in meaningful ways.
Opening Keynote: Cynthia Rowley
Fashion Designer and
Owner Cynthia Rowley Boutiques
cynthiarowley.com
Brimming with energy, Cynthia Rowley imbues a sense of adventure in all of her design projects, be it wetsuits or her ready-to-wear. This fall Cynthia successfully launched her first home furniture collection at High Point market, a range that includes 140 pieces. Cynthia Rowley is a leading global lifestyle brand sold in over 60-freestanding collection boutiques, as well as in department, specialty, and online stores worldwide.
While attending the Art Institute of Chicago (where she had every intention of becoming a painter), Rowley fell into fashion when a local department store buyer discovered her on the train. That initial interest gave Cynthia the confidence to move to NYC where she went on to win the CFDA award for best new talent, became a best-selling author and has appeared on TV shows such as Project Runway, Letterman, The Today Show, and Celebrity Jeopardy.
She was named Designer of the Year at the American Image Awards this past April, and continues to bring innovative design concepts to new categories that extend beyond the realm of fashion, some of which run the gamut from office products, to furniture, beauty, tech accessories, and a fully realized line of fitness clothing which launched this spring.
9:45AM
Managing Facebook, Instagram, and Blogging Platforms as an Integrated Unit
This session will:
- Help you stay efficient with multi platform social media and content marketing
- Provide tips for branding content creation
- Share case studies on successful branding through social media
For more than 10 years, Christi Tasker was a nationally acclaimed award-winning retailer and interior designer before she discovered her true-life passion –MARKETING and BRANDING! With an eye for detail that only comes from a unique designer, Christi created a clear, unforgettable and concise brand that stood out from the rest of the crowd.
From her experience as a retailer, Christi was well aware of the struggle experienced by small businesses with marketing, so she began to help various companies with their own online branding and marketing campaigns. Christi, along with Henry Weinacker, has co-authored “The Power of Pinterest,” an e-book packed with tips, strategies, and case studies to help businesses market on Pinterest.
10:30AM
Refreshment Break
Networking on Exhibit and Sponsor Pavillion.
Create to Connect: How to Blow Up Your Brand and Be Creative Everyday
One of the industry’s most notable design bloggers who commands a huge social media following will share her social media strategies, tips, techniques and ROI.
Obsessed with color, plants, travel, creative reuse and thrifting, Justina Blakeney is a designer and design blogger with a bohemian heart.
Domino Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Marie Claire Magazine and Refinery29 all agree that Justina’s blog is one of the best design blogs on the web! Harper’s Bazaar recently named Justina a top designer to follow on Instagram and Justina is one of the world’s leading curators on Pinterest with over 1 million followers. She has worked with brands such as Anthropologie, 1st Dibs, OneKingsLane, eBay, CB2, AirBnB and Joss & Main.
Blogger and Brand Collaborations
Companies are increasingly on the look out for authentic ways to communicate with their prospects and customers. 92% of consumers are more influenced to make a purchase via peer-to-peer recommendations than by traditional advertising. Brands are establishing specific criteria before entering into blogger partnerships and bloggers are balancing their own readers’ sensibility with brand needs. Hear about real experiences in this kind of collaborative framework delivered by one experienced brand leader and star blogger.
This session offers insider tips for lasting collaborations including:
- Best practices for approaching manufacturers on potential collaboration
- How manufacturers assess and execute collaborations with bloggers
- Etiquette tips for designers and bloggers when approaching brands
- Creative and innovative project ideas for creating unique pitches to manufacturers
Julianne Taylor has quickly emerged as one of the home décor industry’s most prominent female entrepreneurs. Her company actively engages the blogger community. Taylor Burke Home’s bold, unexpected and sophisticated designs are highly sought after by premiere interior designers across the nation. Julianne is the author of DesignHER, available next Spring and carries a B.F.A. in Interior Design from the University of Georgia and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources from the University of South Carolina.
Courtney of French Country Cottage knows the power of patina, that fresh flowers and a chandelier belong in every room, and the mix of rustic & refined is perfection. She also understands that working with large brands to leverage her significant audience and social media following are win/win opportunities. Courtney has deep experience creating content that she knows her followers will find engaging and also benefits her partner brands.
Courtney writes the blog French Country Cottage where she shares lifestyle, design, DIY & the ongoing renovations of her 1940’s cottage. When she isn’t behind the computer blogging she acts as photographer and stylist for several top magazines. www.frenchcountrycottage.net
12:45PM
Conference Scholarship Awards
The Design Bloggers Conference Scholarship is awarded to five worthy bloggers, and provides the opportunity to attend the conference to expand knowledge and networks in the interior home design blogosphere. The scholarship is established to assist serious bloggers and home design professionals that otherwise could not attend while in the process of building businesses, reputations, and brands.
1:00PM
Lunch at the Grand Hyatt Hotel
Lunch is served with time for networking with Exhibitors and Sponsors.
2:00PM
Special Presentation by Adam Japko
Keynote: India Hicks
Author, model, entrepreneur, TV personality and daughter of famed designer David Hicks, India comes from both British and design royalty. Her Godfather is the Prince of Wales and India was a bridesmaid at his wedding to Lady Diana.
Living with her young family on a small island in the Bahamas, she has shared and documented her multidimensional, unpredictable life through social media, lifestyle books and a website Indiahicks.com
India is connected to a broad spectrum of tastemakers and is established as an influencer amongst modern, strong, entrepreneurial women. Unencumbered by tradition, India has made bold life choices that inspire women to join her in the pursuit of an extraordinary life.
After a successful career designing collections of bath & beauty products, bedding, and jewelry in partnership with others, the time for change arrived. With two strong business minded partners she launched a lifestyle brand: India Hicks. These collections are sold through entrepreneurial women at home, online, or one-to-one. This is more than a trunk show business, it’s about building more than a company, it’s about building a community.
WordPress and Google Analytics: Websites, Blogs, and Analytics Made Simple(r)
This session will cover:
- The top 5 WordPress plugins you can not live without
- What can plugins do to optimize your SEO
- What to consider when shopping for a new WordPress theme
- Why WordPress is the right platform for your site
- How to approach web security and hosting for WordPress environments
- Top new developments affecting WordPress users
- Getting comfortable with Google Analytics
- Best Google Analytic metrics you should know for guiding your content strategy
Natasha Murphy describes herself as just a good girl who likes design and computers. Natasha has ten+ years of front-end development experience and is a big fan of clean, responsive web design. Design, development, and online marketing all fall into her firm’s, Nicely Built, wheelhouse. From e-commerce, professional websites or personal blogs, Natasha is dedicated to WordPress for good reason.
Adrienne Brown is a Digital Strategist and founder of Adrienne J Media, a digital marketing firm. Adrienne has an extensive background in B2B, consumer and lead generation marketing and advertising. As a self proclaimed digital media maven, Adrienne is obsessed with all things digital and committed to helping brands become their “digital best.”
3:45PM
Refreshment Break
Networking in the Exhibitor and Sponsor Pavilion.
Think Like an Editor: Turn Good Design Blogs, Articles, and Books Great
Ever heard the adage that great writing is more about revision than the act of putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard? Whether your goal is to be a top design blogger or to submit an project, article, or book for publication, longtime writer/editor Robin Catalano will optimize your chances by helping you become your own “first editor”.
This session covers:
- What brands and editors are looking for when they evaluate the collaboration or publishing potential of a blogger’s work
- How to develop your own unique voice that carries through your writing
- Best and worst times to self-edit
- How to identify and improve weak aspects in your writing and how to highlight your strengths
- Steps to correct patterns of repetition in sentence structure, word choice, and style
- Instruction for creating your own style sheet, just like professional editors do, to ensure consistency in your writing
- When to stop editing and how to avoid getting in the way of your writing process
- When you know an article or book manuscript is ready for “prime time”
- Pet peeves of professional editors — aka, how to become your editor’s best friend
Robin Catalano is managing editor and senior copywriter for The Annie Selke Companies. She has worked as a professional journalist, copywriter, and book and magazine editor for nearly 20 years, with articles appearing in Gourmet, Culinary Trends, Berkshire Magazine, Stage Directions, Let’s Live, and Berkshire Living, among others. She has edited more than three hundred fiction and nonfiction titles for publishing companies such as Penguin Putnam, Simon & Schuster, The Harvard Common Press, Workman, and Inner Traditions International.
5:15PM
Exciting Announcement from High Point Market Authority and Esteem Media
First reveal of the bloggers selected to participate in the 2016 High Point Design Bloggers Tour Spring Market!
5:30PM
Networking Reception: Sponsored by Sherwin-Williams
All attendees are invited to attend - held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
8:00PM
Monday Official After Party: Sponsored by Traditional Home and The Container Store
“CLOSETS & COCKTAILS” HOSTED BY TCS CLOSETS
Location: The Container Store
3637 Peachtree Road, Suite C | Atlanta, GA 30319
Complimentary bus service will run continously to and from the Grand Hyatt hotel (Lower Lobby Circle) starting at 7:30PM.
In celebration of the Design Bloggers Conference we invite you to mix and mingle with the design industry at The Container Store. See TCS Closets - the exclusive new line of luxury custom closets. It’s the ultimate closet experience you’ve been waiting for! Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and more.
Tuesday, March 8
7:00AM
Coffee in Exhibitor and Sponsor Pavilion
8:00AM
Opening Remarks
8:15AM
Hall of Fame Awards Presentation
The role of the Design Bloggers Hall of Fame is to recognize excellence in blogging and new media in the field of home design. Each year, a new set of outstanding design blogs will become eligible through an open, online nomination process leading up to the ultimate recognition as Hall of Fame inductee. We will announce the winners of all categories here at The Design Bloggers Conference.
Simplifying Social Data: How to Measure and Maximize Your Results on Social Media
- be introduced to some of the introductory concepts of social data
- learn how to measure results across major social networks
- how to tie those results to business goals.
Corey Padveen is the Director of Global Social Business Strategy at t2 Marketing International, and Google AdWords Certified, Google Analytics Certified, as well as a Certified Inbound Marketer. He is also one of the founding theorists on the concepts of Social Equity and Responsive Branding, as well as a keynote speaker featured at marketing and digital business summits around the world. On the personal side, he loves cooking, making wine and, as all good Canadians, is a big hockey fan.
4-Hour Home Design Workweek? Say “YES” to Affiliate Marketing
Learn how to generate more revenue without changing your routines by participating in the world of online affiliate marketing. Forget terms like “advertiser” or “publisher” and build lucrative partnerships in the time it takes to “swipe left”. This jam-packed session is guaranteed to transform the way you think about your role as a design professional on the internet.
Discover:
- What type of content you need to have to play
- Why this will elevate your brand to a whole new level
- Who would be interested in working with you
- How to maximize the opportunity with the least amount of time and effort
Kelly Fallis is the founder and CEO of Remote Stylist, the online furniture platform with 350+ brands, $1 shipping duties included in Canada/USA and free Stylist sourcing help. A true pioneer in the online furniture world, she can dazzle you with stories journeying her trials and tribulations when it comes to import/export, logistics, custom development, marketing, brand management, web development, ecommerce, big data and real estate matters. Follow her on Twitter @kellyfallis
Keynote: Nathan Turner
Upon moving to Los Angeles, Nathan successfully merged his greatest passions- design, travel and food-into his eponymous shop. Nathan’s store has become an expression of his years traveling, his love of simply prepared, elegant food, and a commitment to exploring his ever-evolving sense of interior design. As a faithful source for the country’s leading interior decorators, as well as some of the most stylish individuals from coast to coast, Nathan’s shop has become an iconic part of the Los Angeles design landscape. The consummate host, Nathan has become known for his stylish and entertaining parties. Having played host to the likes of Carolina Herrera, India Hicks, Carolyne Roehm, Anya Hindmarch, Chris Benz and Soledad Twombly to name a few, Nathan is known for creating highly elegant affairs that nevertheless maintain an accessible friendliness that epitomizes his version of the well-lived life.
Nathan starred in Bravo’s Million Dollar Decorators, a show focusing on the lives of successful Los Angeles based designers as they navigate the high-pressured design world. In 2008 Nathan Turner for Elite Leather was launched and can be found in Bloomingdale’s stores across the country. In 2012, Abrams published Nathan Turner’s American Style, a lifestyle book authored by Turner. Nathan is a regular entertaining expert on The Today Show, and has appeared on Extra, CBS The Early Show, TBS’s Movie and a Makeover, CW Now, Good Day LA, and Good Day NY. Nathan’s designs, parties and products have been featured in major national and regional publications including Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Vogue, Veranda, Domino, Vogue Living, Town & Country, House Beautiful, Details, Food & Wine, and C magazine. Read Nathan’s full bio.
“Visual Web” Marketing + Instagram Power Tips
The web has turned visual and that’s a perfect development for the design industry and creating content that drives results! This session will:
- Demonstrate Mobile’s impact on Social Engagement
- Provide Case Studies in Design and other industries on excellent visual web marketing
- Demonstrate how to combine social, mobile, and video platforms for great results
- Offer metrics for content success
- Map the evolution from design blogs to current day visual marketing approaches
- Unveil Instagram as the most powerful social platform and provide insights into excellent Instagram marketing
Adam Japko has spent the last year studying the organic shift to the “Visual Web” and its implications for new approaches to powerful home design marketing. Hear how logical and simple it can be for you.
Connor Dwyer lives in Atlanta while working on his masters in graphic design at SCAD. He has amassed 76.4k followers on Instagram with his compelling photography. He thinks graphic design and photography for building brands, but mostly enjoys making people feel loved. Hear how Connor creates inspired Instagram campaigns with powerful results.
11:30AM
Special Excursion and Lunch
Buses leave the Grand Hyatt Buckhead Hotef for the Pirch Atlanta Showroom and the Phipps Plaza
12:00PM
Program and Lunch at the Pirch Atlanta Showroom
1:15PM - 2:00PM
KEYNOTE: MARY MCDONALD
AT PHIPPS PLAZA
Mary McDonald is an award winning, internationally published Los Angeles-based interior designer. She is the one of the stars of Bravo TV’s “Million DollarDecorators” & “Property Envy” series and is consistently ranked as one of House Beautiful’s Top 100 Designers. She is the author of “Interiors: The Allure of Style” from Rizzoli publishing and has been honored as one of the top 25 designers by Veranda Magazine. Her licensed product lines include two acclaimed fabric collections for F. Schumacher & Company, lighting for Robert Abbey, rugs for Patterson, Flynn and Martin, and furniture for Chaddock Home.
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles and Phipps Plaza have collaborated to host the seventh annual Luxury Living Show. Showcasing the latest luxury products and trends from around the world, the show has become an Atlanta favorite. The 2016 exhibit will feature the DREAM KITCHEN, DREAM BATH and OUTDOOR LIVING DISPLAY, on view all month at Monarch Court at Phipps Plaza.
2:30PM
Return To the Grand Hyatt for Home Design Digital Marketing Summit
Home Design Digital Marketing Summit
Tuesday, March 8 - Wednesday, March 9
Tuesday, March 8
3:00PM
HOME DESIGN DIGITAL MARKETING SUMMIT BEGINS
Design Bloggers Conference registrants should attend by selecting or upgrading to an All-Access Pass. Learn more about the Home Design Digital Marketing Summit.Keynote – Digital Impact on Design Commerce
Monica Dodi is Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund and investor and Board Director of Decorist.com, a next generation B2C interactive home design platform. In this session, she will share her insights on the internet’s lasting impact on new ways design businesses and consumers engage in commerce and interior design.
Monica is both a visionary on the cutting edge of the high-tech landscape and a sought-after advisor and angel investor to new ventures in internet innovation spanning multiple business sectors. As Managing Director and Co-founder of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund, she is also focused on investments in new companies with gender diversity, an overlooked yet high potential opportunity growth sector in venture capital. Monica earned her BS in International Economics from Georgetown University and MBA from Harvard Business School.
Gretchen Hansen founded Decorist.com and continues to serve as CEO. House Beautiful calls Decorist.com “affordable, game-changing, and fun”. Gretchen will share her vision and experiences in taking interior design to the web.
The launch of Decorist.com was conducted under Gretchen’s vision of making great design accessible simpler for everyone to create amazing spaces that reflects a personal style; all within their budget. The site allows consumers to describe their room, get custom plans, and have their design product ordered and fulfilled. A Harvard MBA, Gretchen is passionate about understanding consumers and creating products that meet their needs.
4:00PM
How the Digital World Transformed My Business
Hear first hand how Jaime Derringer, creator of Design Milk, expanded her business by successfully launching new ecommerce sites.
Jaime Derringer is Founder and Executive Editor of modern design blog Design Milk, which quickly became the “go-to” site for unique modern interiors, home furnishings, art & architecture and is now one of the most popular design blogs reaching millions of readers across the globe through various channels.
Design Milk has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, San Francisco Chronicle, Singapore Home & Decor magazine, and Real Simple magazine, and was one of the Google Engineers’ Staff Picks and is a Twitter influencer in Art & Design and a Google+ Partner.
Inspired by her love for dogs, in 2010 Jaime launched modern design blog Dog Milk to expose dog lovers to pet design that fits their uniquely modern sense of style. Her most recent venture, Adorn Milk, is an online shop devoted to architectural and statement jewelry.
Digital Online Marketplaces Versus Going It Alone
This session will uncover practical approaches to bringing your brand, products, and services for sale online.
- Building your own e-commerce platform, integrating into a larger marketplace, or both?
- Resources and operational issues for starting independent e-commerce
- Overview of the broad spectrum of existing opportunities with third party platforms and sensible approaches for online selling
Anna Brockway is Co-Founder and Chief Curator of Chairish. Chairish.com provides an easy resource for design lovers to buy and sell vintage furniture, decor, jewelry and accessories to one another and exclusively features curator-approved treasures in a full-service and trustworthy environment.
5:30PM
Emerging Digital Marketing Trends with a Focus on Video
To connect with consumers at the local level, small and medium businesses increasingly have been turning to digital marketing channels due to their cost effectiveness and ability to target specific market segments. BIA/Kelsey’s long running Local Commerce Monitor™ provides a deep set of insights into how and why small and medium sized businesses are using various digital marketing channels and based on their ROI assessments what they’re planning to do next. Additionally, BIA/Kelsey tracks paid media ad spending by all businesses targeting local audiences which helps to provide a competitive context for your media mix. In this session, we’ll provide some basic data points from our research to set the context. Then we’ll dive into two focus areas, social and in particular video digital marketing channels. We’ll go beyond the data to share insights and recommendations from case studies and where we’re seeing the market heading. Key takeaways from this session include:
- How small and medium sized business are using and evaluating the effectiveness of digital marketing channels, particularly social and video.
- What marketers are spending and how they’re allocating their budgets between traditional and digital marketing.
- Gain insights and recommendations on how to best use digital social and video marketing as part of your overall marketing mix.
Rick Ducey is Managing Director at BIA/Kelsey. Rick focuses on digital media strategy. He brings a tremendous amount of management experience and expertise to this role, and is an expert in digital media innovations, competitive strategies, new product development and new business models, including digital ecosystem collaboration strategies. He assists clients with their business planning and revenue models, strategic research, market assessment, and designing and implementing strategies for leveraging video media assets and inventory in local markets.
With more than 30 years of experience, including management positions, inside private industry and associations, Ducey is a sought-out expert for his coverage and analysis of how disruptive technologies; emerging competition; shifting consumer demographics and media usage trends are driving changes in the media ecosystem and what C-level executives must do to be successful. As a media strategist and technologist, Ducey has consulted with major media and Fortune 500 companies including Google, Microsoft, Time Warner, NBCU/Comcast, Gannett and Yahoo. He’s also served as an expert witness primarily in intellectual property and search engine marketing litigation.
6:00PM
Networking Reception at Grand Hyatt Hotel
Wednesday, March 9
KEYNOTE: Building Your Brand Through Content, Commerce & Community
How can you develop a powerful design brand and reach an audience craving your unique ideas and expertise? Today it’s all about marketing your own brand at the intersection of content, commerce & community.
Houzz’ mission is for designers to cultivate dedicated followings with targeted clients, launch product lines, and win contracts. Join Houzz VP Liza Hausman for inspiring stories of how designers on Houzz have built their businesses and brands by engaging Houzz’s massive global community.
This session will outline the key elements of building a design brand on Houzz, plus:
- How to truly differentiate your business
- Secrets to high-impact photography
- Why every online interaction counts
Liza Hausman is Vice President of Industry Marketing at Houzz, an innovative residential remodeling and design platform and community. Liza co-founded her first internet startup in 1998, a home improvement retailer eventually sold to Walmart. Over the last seven years she’s worked with interior designers, architects, contractors and landscape designers to remodel and decorate nearly every inch of her home in Palo Alto, CA.
The Role of Traditional Media in the Digital Marketplace
Domino had the luxury of pausing their brand while they developed a business and produt model for the future of digital interior design content and media. Hear about the paths they took and how they have reconciled a traditional business model in the design industry with the dramatic shift in consumers shopping and looking for ideas on the internet.
Jessica Romm is domino‘s Editorial Director with over a decade of experience working for prominent media properties and brands identifying and driving trends in design, home decor, fashion and style. Talented in writing and packaging fresh editorial content, leveraging a lifestyle vision that draws inspiration from decor, fashion, travel, entertaining, design, and art. Recognized as a style expert for national and local media outlets. Jessica has written and edited for many publications including GQ, Elle Decor, Elle, Conde Nast Traveler, Martha Stewart Living, Wall Street Journal and most recently worked on strategy and concept for a new Estee Lauder media property.
Beth Fuchs Brenner is domino‘s Chief Revenue Office and served as the founding Vice President and Publisher of domino from its launch in 2005, until its close in 2009. Her effective leadership resulted in numerous industry honors including Adweek’s “Hot List” and Advertising Age’s 2005 “Launch of the Year.” Brenner’s Condé Nast experience also included eleven years as Vice President and Publisher of Self Magazine, from 1994 to 2004.
10:00AM
Refreshment Break
Email: Your Direct Path to Driving Audience & Customers
A consistent and well-planned email program is a critical part of turning your digital connections into active customers. In this session, find out how email fits into your overall audience strategy, how to leverage your visual aesthetic into a email content program and what industry best-practices are essential for you to adhere to in order to make email work for your business. Dan will share real-life insights that show how email serves as essential driver of every facet of Taunton’s customer relationships, and will give you practical tips that you can put into place on your trip home
Daniel R. McCarthy is President & CEO of Taunton Press, a leading specialty media company. Taunton operates a sophisticated direct-to-consumer model that leverages high-quality content and deep connections with its customers to generate long-lasting relationships. Taunton’s leading brands include Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Fine Cooking, Fine Gardening, Threads and Green Building Advisor.
Dan is also the Principal of Gallarus Ventures, LLC, a unique business advisory and strategy firm that works with a wide array of companies and entrepreneurs to identify new paths for growth and increase enterprise value. He has a successful record in transforming media and information companies to adapt to new business realities.
Applying Science to Social Media
So what can a published geneticist tell us about social media? It turns out a lot. Afif Khoury, Founder and CEO of SOCi, Inc., has been at the forefront of technology for 20 years. From his early contribution to the Human Genome Project, a career as a high tech M&A attorney, a manager of two successful Venture Capital funds and Founder & CEO of two successful startups, Afif has made a career out of following the data. He will be joining us to talk about what the data is telling us about consumer behavior on social media, and how you can benefit from the trillions of messages that came before you.
Key takeaways include:
- What does a published Geneticist know about Social Media?
- The world of Data Analytics – how data is being used in the world today and how it can be applied to achieve success in Social Media
- Breaking down social media behavior (how can one comments lead to 17,000 new views)
- Stop guessing at what to say! What is the data telling us is actually working?
- What’s working in the design community specifically (content, messaging, types of posts)
- How does that compare to what is working in other verticals
- What are some other tricks of the trade
Afif Khoury, Founder and CEO of SOCi, Inc., has been at the forefront of technology for 20 years. From his early contribution to the Human Genome Project, a career as a high tech M&A attorney, a manager of two successful Venture Capitalist funds and Founder & CEO if two successful startups, Afif has made a career out of following the data.
12:00PM
Lunch at the Grand Hyatt Hotel
Leveraging Digital Platforms for Home and Design
Elizabeth Brown and a panel of top interior design stars will share their experience and provide how-to for building brand in a collaborative way. There are lots of digital design marketplaces on the internet to buy and sell product. But, as a designer or brand, how can you use these platforms to build your brand and engage new prospects with an eye towards offline business? Founder of Viyet, Elizabeth Brown, will provide and overview and case study covering ways for designers and brands to actively build their business and personal brands through third party Home Design digital marketplaces.
Elizabeth Brown is the Chief Executive of Viyet, a New York-based ecommerce startup in the interior design space specializing in consignment services for pre-owned designer furniture and accessories. Elizabeth began her career in investment banking at Credit Suisse. Elizabeth holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Christopher Kennedy has quickly and not-so-quietly emerged as one of the nation’s freshest voices in home furnishings and interior design. Working from his studio and shop in Palm Springs, his name is quickly becoming synonymous with Jet Set modern luxury and vibrant California glamour. Christopher’s work and products have captured the attention of such leading publications as Architectural Digest, Dwell Magazine, Elle Décor, Luxe Magazine, and The Los Angeles Times.
In 2010, Christopher launched his own line of luxury furnishings, which is sold in tothetrade showrooms across the country. The following year saw the expansion of his brand into candles, home décor, and outdoor furnishings. His first book, California Modern, was released in 2015.
The New York Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association [IFDA] named Drew McGukin a ‘Rising Star’ in 2012; Departures Magazine has included Drew as a member of its Home Design Council since 2014; and Houzz.com, the leading online platform for home remodeling and design, continues to honor Drew with its “Best of Houzz” distinction in design for driving extraordinary online traffic through his online portfolio. Drew McGukin Interiors participated in the “Project Design” collaboration with Kravet Inc. and The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island encompassing a two-phase renovation of the facility from the Spring 2013 to Fall 2014. Most recently, Drew was selected by Sunbrella as one of five designers across the US to design a complete room showcasing the breadth and style of Sunbrella’s interior fabric lines. These designs were unveiled in New York in October 2014, and again Feburary 2015 in Atlanta at the 2015 Design Blogger’s Conference. Drew is one of five notable designers selected to represent Cosentino as a 2015 Silestone Trendsetter.
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Online Shop
Hindsight…If Only…Why Didn’t Someone Tell Me?! Leave armed with a long list of shortcuts to save time and money. Help yourself fast track your own online journey and find out what not to do en route to a home run.
Learn from Kelly’s real life examples:
- The absolute “must-do” list to for today to have a live site tomorrow
- Avoid being your own worst enemy – the most common mistakes of online selling
- Where to invest your money and time
- Features needed for selling products and services online
- 5 things that matter with e-commerce sites
- Who to call when you need help
Kelly Fallis is the founder and CEO of Remote Stylist, the online furniture platform with 350+brands, $1 shipping duties included in Canada/USA and free Stylist sourcing help. A true pioneer in the online furniture world, she can dazzle you with stories journeying her trials and tribulations when it comes to import/export, logistics, custom development, marketing, brand management, web development, ecommerce, big data and real estate matters. Follow her on Twitter @kellyfallis
Tips for E-Commerce Success
E-commerce has never been more popular and there are no signs of a slowdown. No matter what business you are in, you can use these e-commerce techniques to grow your bottom line:
- Low cost ways to start your new business. Bootstrapping made easy.
- How to drive more traffic to your site with authentic content
- Tips for using search engines and social media to target qualified buyers
- Embracing e-tailing for online success. Turn showrooming on its head.
- How to create a top-notch customer experience that drives sales
Craig Vodnik is a co-founder of cleverbridge, the market leading global subscription billing platform for relationship focused online businesses. Craig started the business with 3 co-founders in 2005 and bootstrapped the company to profitability in two years. Today, the company has over 300 employees and offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Cologne, Germany and Tokyo, Japan. Before cleverbridge, Craig worked at companies in the financial services, e-commerce, banking and publishing industries, starting with his first job as the webmaster at the Chicago Tribune, where he led the technical efforts to launch the newspaper online in 1996.
Digital Branding: Color and Message Are Critical
Eric Haydel is a designer who blends the warmth of Southern Hospitality with the sensibilities of New England. Now serving as President of the ASID New England Chapter, he is regularly published in the likes of New England Home, Design New England, Boston Common, and many others.
Eric recognized that color and message are equally meaningful for creating a constant connection with the right consumers for your business. This program explores the digital branding success of design-based businesses and corporations in today’s market while allowing the participant a hands-on approach to recreate their company or personal vision and value in the marketplace.
In this session you’ll learn how to:
- Define brand identity and how it communicates value in the marketplace via case studies.
- Determine how color communicates an effective brand using examples of the 10 effects of color based in color psychology.
- Recreate your vision and value statements using brand identity and color theory principles.
- Implement your own framework through a hands on process for recreating your personal and professional brand identity and it’s relationship to the marketplace.
4:00PM
Wrap-up and Closing Remarks
Thursday, March 10
10:00AM – 5:30PM
ADAC Digital Day
Today’s most sought after interior designers have mastered the art of promoting their brands throughout the life of their projects and beyond. In this day-long session, learn how to effectively define who you are in words and images, and maximize your presence across multiple digital platforms.
Digital Day is intended for interior design professionals and design aficionados looking to share their stories and get noticed in creative new ways. Learn more.
Location: ADAC – 351 Peachtree Hills Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30305
The ADAC shuttles will run continuously from 9 am to 5:30 pm starting from Grand Hyatt Buckhead.
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