iMedia Agency Summit Gets A B+

A disclaimer to preface this entry: I only attended one panel, one presentation, and spent the rest of the time in Austin, TX schmoozing and hustling.

Having said that, I still feel confident that I can give the summit an overall positive grade; a B+. Not an official attendee, I was there supporting clients, both of whom rocked. popsauce network sponsored the opening shuttles and absolutely killed. The power of offering cold beer to people who’ve been flying for four hours. Next client presentation was Sportgenic, who grabbed everyone’s attention with a hilarious rendition of “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader,” aptly titled “Are You Smarter Than A Media Intern.” Goes without saying we threw our brand new intern on stage and broke him in. As usual, passing out free Pearl Izumis to the agency folks got us on everyone’s good side, and most people admitted that it was the best presentation of the week.

In my opinion, and most will agree, the most amazing evening of the week was the presence of Annie Griffiths Belt, renowned National Geographic photographer. She blew the crowd away with her tales of travelling the world and dazzled the group with absolutely stunning photos. The display focused on her book “A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel.” The agency attendees standing ovation was said to be the first in iMedia history, and all who were there will most likely never forget it.

There are a few negatives from the trip worth mentioning. One, the sense of entitlement from the agency people that bordered on rudeness really stuck with me as I passed out free shoes courtesy of Sportgenic. Only a small percentage made an effort to thank myself or the sponsor for the generous gift, and the undeserving sense of privilege really rang true from the agency side of the business. Two, me and my team being called “minions” and “durhamites.” Really nothing against the industry here, but if you are going to fault everyone who is under 30, than you are a complete hypocrite, because there isn’t a single person in the marketing world that started at a senior level in their mid thirties. Everyone has to work their way up. And without being cocky or rude, I’d gladly take my team of sub- thirties strategists against competing thought leaders any day of the week.