[October 12, 2010]

FutureM Confirms Boston is the Epicenter of 'What's Next in Marketing'

FutureM, the brainchild of MITX (Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (News - Alert)) and a group of leading thinkers in marketing and media, is the first ever week-long, multi-location series of events that brought together the freshest thinkers in marketing, media and technology to showcase the depth and breadth of Boston's new marketing community. FutureM, which took place in greater Boston over 162 hours across five days (October 4-8, 2010), and consisted of 53 events and activities at 31 unique venues, marks Boston's significant influence on the future of marketing both locally and nationally.

"FutureM far surpassed our success metrics and proved what we've known all along. Massachusetts people, companies and their thought leadership are driving the reinvention of marketing and advertising," said Kiki Mills, president of MITX and FutureM committee member. "The buzz, excitement, and participation around each event put FutureM on the map - it joins the ranks of SXSW (News - Alert) and Advertising Week as a leading event providing marketing and technology practitioners the opportunity to investigate the convergence of marketing, media and technology to uncover 'what's next in marketing.'"

Marketing Revolution Taking Place in Boston Observed

FutureM's Opening Night Keynote, hosted by Brian Bergstein, deputy editor of Technology Review, set the stage for an exciting and thought provoking series of events that took place throughout the week. Insights and predictions from the keynote presenters, included:

• Chris Brogan, president, New Marketing Labs - advises companies to "make good content" and remember that social media is not a marketing tool. "Listening is the new black" and companies need to "put the human" back into marketing efforts.
• David Kenny, president, Akamai Technologies - predicts that companies need to keep ahead of the cloud and forecast the video movement that will matter most to marketers. Kenny also claims that technology skills and scale are the new 'buying clout' and to evaluate wisely "what companies are doing with people that can be done with machines."
• Josh Bernoff, author and senior vice president, Idea Development, Forrester (News - Alert) - noted, "Customers are more than a revenue stream, they are an invaluablemarketing channel." Companies should increase investments into getting people to talk nicely about and to share their positive experiences with the company.
• Brett Keller, CMO, Priceline - shared that pay per click and marketing targeted at behaviors will continue for the near future, and that Facebook (News - Alert) advertising will lead the way in directed advertising that is targeted to customers' interests, demographics, conversations, and plans.

The hosts' collaborative, crowdsourcing efforts to build and create FutureM made the weeklong event successful. Several companies used FutureM to announce new products, conduct live product demonstrations, or showcase strategic, innovative approaches to marketing. "For innovation around media, technology and marketing, Boston takes a back seat to no one. We applaud MITX and FutureM for drawing attention to this fact, and Hill Holliday (News - Alert) was proud to serve as FutureM HQ," said Baba Shetty, chief media officer, Hill Holliday.

Massachusetts' digital marketing, media, and technology industries are vibrant and it is obvious that Boston is ready for an annual program like FutureM that highlights local talent, taps innovative thinking, and uncovers leading edge technology. Mills concludes, "This year's welcome reception by Boston's technoratis and marketing thought leaders generated significant momentum and positive buzz among attendees, partners, and sponsors. FutureM 2011 planning is already underway."

FutureM was presented by Microsoft New England Research and Development (NERD). Additional sponsors included Hill Holliday, Headquarters Sponsor and IBM, Digital Experience Sponsor. Founding sponsors included Bridgeline Digital, Mullen and Hivefire. Opening Night sponsors included Arnold, Boston Globe/boston.com, Eloqua, and Unica.

About FutureM

FutureM is a first-ever multi-location event experience consisting of panels, roundtables, summits, parties, start-up demos, office hours, user groups, meet-ups and virtual events dedicated to what's next in marketing. Over the course of five days, dozens of events and activities will take place to share and explore how the newest technologies and insights are changing the way marketers think, create, engage, and measure. FutureM takes place October 4-8, 2010 in Boston & Cambridge, Mass.

The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX), the nation's largest nonprofit trade association for the digital marketing, media, and technology industries, created FutureM. For more information go to www.futurem.org. Follow FutureM on Twitter: @futuremboston and Facebook: facebook.com/FutureMBoston.

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