Our Favorite Photos from Postback 2018

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these photos say it all: #Postback18 was unlike any Postback in the past. Surprises, entertainment, networking, keynotes, exclusive events, all packed into two days in Seattle — but we’ll let the photos do the talking.

Without further ado, here are some of our favorite moments from this year’s event.

Not every CEO has a background in opera, so it’s Postback tradition to kick things off by serenading our audience. After an operatic ode to apps one year, followed by Broadway-style tributes to Hamilton and Moulin Rouge complete with cast, flames, and choreographed dancing, this year we started our own band — the Fine Tuners. If you missed it, the full video is here.

After his musical number, CEO Peter Hamilton suited up to give a state of the industry. He talked about how to balance the rise of machines, automation, and artificial intelligence with the things that will always be uniquely human, like partnerships and creativity. Then, he unveiled updates and enhancements to TUNE Links as well as new features for Attribution Analytics and HasOffers.

We all made it through the launch of the GDPR (well, almost all of us) but most companies are still trying to make sense of what’s ahead, as well as what the GDPR signals going forward for privacy, data, and transparency. In this panel, Ben Golden, General Counsel at TUNE got the scoop from Meredith Halama, Partner at Perkins Cole; Steffen Wachenfeld, Chief Product Officer at WeQ; and Carey DiJulio, SVP of Product and Marketing at Big Fish Games.

Attendees come for Postback content but stay for the people, parties, and new partnerships. Individuals caught up and made new connections during breaks between sessions at McCaw Hall.

 

Global Head of Martech at The Economist Steve Lok joined TUNE CEO Peter Hamilton for a fireside chat, where they discussed how to give customers what they actually want, instead of just bombarding them with advertising. “Listen to the customer and where their signals are for when they’re ready to do something,” Steve explained.

It was a packed house at McCaw Hall in the Seattle Center. This year around 1,000 marketers and advertisers from hundreds of companies attended from 14 countries around the world.

In her keynote, Tricia Wang, Sudden Compass co-founder and global tech ethnographer, explored how marketers can make better sense of big data and reclaim control over advertising technology. (Yes, she did that with memes of cats eating corn.) “We conflate reaching the customer with understanding the customer,” said Tricia. “We should be using big data to scale and accelerate an understanding of our customers — not to generate that understanding.”

No Postback is complete without a party. We ended Day 1 in the MoPOP Sky Church underneath the Space Needle.

Seattle is the home to so much legendary music, so we do our best to infuse that into every Postback. In years past we’ve had musical artists Odesza, Girl Talk, and Rufus Du Sol. This year, Saint Motel took us late into the night.

There are only three rules of Postback: be open, be social, and party.

 

 

After a late night partying at Sky Church, there was no better way to start Day 2 than with a hilarious, irreverent-but-relevant opening keynote, and comedian James Veitch delivered.

In the session Managing Your Ad Partnerships Directly, speakers addressed how the relationship between brands and partners is changing in performance marketing. Many brands are managing their top partners directly and evaluating them using tech platforms, instead of counting on affiliates to provide information about best-performing cohorts or opportunities for growth. We heard it straight from the pros: (left to right) Marie Langhout-Franklin, Head of Partner Marketing, eBay; Jonathan Claydon, CEO, Streamline Marketing; Matt Wool, Co-Founder, Acceleration Partners; and Lindsey Vreeland, Global Online Partnership Marketing, Microsoft.

The influencer economy is alive, well, and changing daily. A panel of influencers including Benjamin Von Wong, Photographer, Influencer & Founder, Von Wong; Adam Lieb, Founder & CEO, Innervate; and Taylor Nolan, Influencer & Mental Health Counselor, discussed what marketers needed to know to leverage and accurately measure their ROI with influencer audiences.

The promenade was home to happy hours, new partnerships, sunglass swag, and even a delicious dessert bar. (We’re still full.)

On Friday, TUNErs and guests alike closed out another incredible Postback. If you joined us this year, tell us in the comments below — what was your favorite part?

To see more photos from this year’s event, head over to our #Postback18 album on Facebook. (And don’t forget to tag your friends!) You can also read our Day 1 and Day 2 recaps, watch the highlight reel, or relive the live musical number that opened this year’s conference.

 

Check back for more #Postback18 content in the days and weeks ahead.