Live events are back, and this one crushed it.

In a world where AI dominates the headlines and screens consume our time, live events are making a comeback. Movable Ink’s Think Summit in NYC brought together 800+ marketers from innovative brands to talk CRM and more. The energy was outstanding.

Here are my top takeaways (in brief).

Beyond Performative AI: Innovative brands (and smart CMOs) recognize that it’s not about performative AI, it’s AI for meaningful change.

Conversation wins: Brands that cannot engage in a conversation with their consumers will lose to those that can.

Personalization is the standard: Personalization can be ubiquitous, continuous, and dynamic. Omnichannel remains the white whale for all marketers; most are not yet there. 

AI is the new UI; agents are the new API. AI is often the first consumer of our content. We are experiencing this daily with email summaries and “search” results. 

Change is still hard: The status quo is a comfortable place. Leaders have to light a spark to drive change. Intentional, cross-functional programs that consider the “implementability” of  AI tools will set successful organizations apart in generating business results.

Dynamic everything: Most of the brands we admire are delivering dynamic campaigns. Many are finding success with “Spotify Wrapped” homages based on customers' habits. 

Loyalty is a feeling and a transaction: Loyalty isn’t a program; it’s a result of an emotionally intelligent experience. Brands are leveraging real-time behavioural data and dynamic personalization to create exclusive, elevating experiences, and customers are buying.

Brand back to basics: Knowing your brand is crucial. People are looking for authenticity.

Career back to basics: With the advent of AI, we all need to know our value added.

Frontrow Hot Tip: When delivering a speech on stage, consider AI as an audience member. Are you speaking in a way that the AIs can accurately interpret, transcribe, and summarize? Think Otter et al.

It may seem like a paradox, but people are craving opportunities to be in community, to share their successes and struggles with peers, and to learn from others who have gone before.

And the bar has just gottem higher. Event attendees want the time to be well spent. They expect flawless operations, and they plan is to be educated and entertained. Oh, and don’t neglect the AIs in the audience. They are listening, too. Speak to be and understood.

Congrats to Alison Albeck Lindland, Vivek Sharma, and the team for an exceptional conference. You crushed it.