Intellicast S6E15 — An IIeX Recap with Mike Herrel of Directions Research
June 2, 2023
Consumer TV Habits: To Binge Watch or Not to Binge Watch
June 7, 2023
I was in Austin a couple of weeks ago to be a first-time speaker and attendee at IIeX. Overall, it was a great experience. There are lots of people putting blogs out about the content and the discussions that went on. I actually did that in a recent Intellicast episode (check it out). But as a first-timer at IIeX, I had some overall observations beyond the sessions and speakers. Here are my top 3:
1. Plan Ahead
There was a ton of great content going on at IIeX. Four stages worth of content to be exact. If you were to try to attend the conference without looking at the agenda prior to going, you would be destined to miss something. I spent time the week prior to the conference combing through the agenda, marking the sessions I wanted to take in, and scheduling time to meet with people. To make sure you get the best use of time, you really need to plan ahead.
2. Multiple Different Perspectives
I found that IIeX gave me a better perspective on the hot topics impacting the industry. We all know generative AI is being talked about and applied in what seems like everywhere today. There were a lot of speakers at IIeX talking about AI, but there was an almost 360-degree perspective to it. You had people talking about how it can be used in different facets of market research, from analytics to design. You also had brands, full-service firms, and sample companies all talking about how they are using it and their view of it. Overall, it gave a good perspective and some insights into how others are thinking about AI.
3. Be Flexible
This observation really is about being a speaker at IIeX, specifically when you are a track chair. I chaired the Demo track on Thursday morning, which really means I moderated the demos, introduced the speakers, and facilitated the Q&A. When doing this, I thought I had what I wanted to do worked out, but realized I needed to remain flexible as each speaker had different needs and requests. I did my best to honor them all. It also included some troubleshooting so we could have audience Q&A that was outside the app.
