Last week saw the second running of POSSIBLE in Miami Beach and the biggest names in the industry gathered in the Florida sunshine to hear from the likes of Bozoma St John, Michael Kassan and Pitbull.
As ever, NDA was on hand to record the thoughts of those at the event.
Matthew Doherty, CEO, North America, EXTE.
“For the second year straight, POSSIBLE 2024 demonstrated itself as an impressive and valuable forum convening thought leaders and innovative technologies from across the advertising landscape to explore emerging trends, strategies, and the renewed capabilities therein that are shaping the future of our industry.
“One of the key themes that stood out to me was the meteoric rise and growing value of automated, AI-driven marketing solutions. The undeniable importance of data privacy and continued vigilance around media ethics was also a clear topic of interest. As well as the growing influence and opportunities available to brands and content creators to develop new and immersive consumer experiences, which has the potential to entirely reshape the relationship between how they interact with their customers.
“Many made it a point to share their thoughts on the importance of creativity and not losing sight of the role it plays in the advertiser-to-consumer exchange. Instead, marketers were encouraged to push themselves to find synergies between utilizing the latest tools and technologies available to adapt their traditional creative strategies to meet evolving consumer behaviors.”
Ariel Sande, VP of Global Client Partnerships at Cedara:
Possible not only delivered an engaging mix of content, networking, and innovation, but it also left a lasting impression. With its welcoming ambience reminiscent of Cannes and a diverse global presence, the event facilitated seamless interactions and inspired meaningful connections. While the desire for more brand and agency representation was noted, the event’s emphasis on technology showcased its forward-thinking approach. As someone deeply invested in the industry, I found the sessions both informative and inspiring. Therefore, I’m already looking forward to returning next year. Possible has truly established itself as a must-attend event, and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to once again be part of this dynamic gathering.
Stephanie Lawrence, Head of Agency Development, Nextdoor
POSSIBLE ‘24 was a must-attend event for Ad industry execs. In addition to the quality in real-life connections being made, there were top-tier sessions that gave me something to think about in terms of how we approach audience engagement. One of the Group Black sessions focused on “Embracing the Multiracial Consumer.” The discussion tasked publishers and advertisers to think beyond black and brown but to dig into the various cultures within the demographic. These audiences are not one-dimensional and we need to get a bit more personal with our messaging. Michelle Crossan-Matos, CMO Ulta, talked a bit about unleashing possibilities through beauty and how their users feel empowered after using beauty products. Ulta gets to tell that story in various ways through various products. It’s not just about how you look but how you feel.
I also think it should be repeated that the conference is held in sunny Miami, giving attendees the perfect setting for networking and learning. Check out POSSIBLE in 2025. You won’t be disappointed.
Lydia Oakes, Co-Founder, Bluestripe Group
We attended the first POSSIBLE last year and it was great to see that the event had already grown and evolved. Other events such as Cannes have the adtech and media community piggy-backing on them but POSSIBLE puts our clients front and centre of the debate and that’s fantastic both for us and our clients.
This year saw a rise in visitors from the UK and I can only see that trend growing. The level of visitors to the event meant that the networking opportunities were fantastic and with everything being self-contained in one venue, it’s so much easier to meet people and spend your time effectively.
The event is now firmly in the ‘must attend’ for those in the industry and I can see that spend may shift from other events to support it.
Fern Potter, SVP Partnerships and Strategy, Multilocal
The advertising industry, both economically and as a community suffered throughout 2023, many feeling the effects of the economic downturn, coupled with a myriad of complexities to navigate, real change to solve on privacy, compliance and cookie deprecation, let’s just say, it’s been A LOT!
Fast forward to April 2024, a young conference has made a major impact, not only in the quality of content and set-up, but the buoyant nature of the community it brought together.
POSSIBLE, now a tentpole event in the diary, gave us an ample range of content, networking opportunities and partnership discovery, in a fast-paced, upbeat location. Providing an uplifting environment and creating spaces to bring the advertising community together to embrace and solve for it’s challenges. Making the impossible, seem Possible.
Key takeouts – I was blown away by the attendees, shit hot topics covered and the networking was non-stop! I genuinely cannot wait for 2025.
Mike Szmurlo, Director of Marketing, US and Canada, RTB House
The key takeaway from Possible for me is that Ad Tech is changing rapidly. The unknowns from last quarter are now being answered with new insights and results from tests and experimentation.
The industry is actively preparing for the cookieless future. Despite Google delaying the deprecation of cookies, there is no doubt about whether it will happen eventually. The focus is now on testing, and while early results from test campaigns are promising, there are still some challenges to solve for the industry.
During this new reality, it’s crucial to focus on solutions built on first-party signals that will hold a significant advantage for personalization.
Possible is a great platform for all those who want to innovate and push the boundaries with integrity, and we intend to remain a part of that. We will continue to actively participate, engage in conversations, and share insights and test results, to shape the future of advertising.
RTB House, Cedara and Exte are clients of Bluestripe Communications, part of the Bluestripe Group , the publishers of New Digital Age
