Irina Mushtina: “We need to focus on accurate segmentation of the target audience, personalized message delivery and innovative formats of interaction with consumers”

In February, representatives of the country's best agencies traditionally meet at the UADigitals conference to discuss future trends and set the rhythm of Ukrainian online marketing. This year UADIGITALS 2018 was a two-day event for the first time in its history. Best cases from agencies - leaders of professional ratings and an innovative view of digital marketing were the topics of the first day's streams. The second day was memorable for all conference participants with AdTech sections about the technologies of the advertising future and the most unexpected life hacks of professions from experienced digital specialists. The moderator and ideological inspirer of the second day of the conference was Irina Mushtina, CEO of CF.Digital, founder of the DDC committee, member of the UAC, speaker of Best Marketing Practices, and participant of the Google Elevator program.

- Iryna, on the first day of the conference you were a speaker in the Understanding Digital Marketing stream, and on the second day you moderated the AdTech and Life Hacks of the Profession streams. How do you feel about your new role as a conference moderator?

Yes, it was the first time I moderated such a large professional event. Frankly speaking, I thought it would be easier. Giving a presentation is a short-term concentration, half an hour or an hour. I focused, spoke and relaxed.

When you moderate, everything is different. You have to be fully focused before, during, and after the presentation. First, you have to introduce the speaker correctly. I know this from experience. It gives you enthusiasm, self-confidence, and relaxes you a bit. After all, many people are professionals in their field, but not a speaker with a lot of experience. This always causes anxiety. Therefore, my task was to support them both before and after the presentation: with a good question or communication with the audience. And let me tell you - it was incredibly useful: I identified several interesting points for myself.

- What did you discover in this challenge?

In this challenge, as in any other challenge - and I have just finished my 300 words a day challenge - I always discover one thing. A challenge is a test of the strength of your desire or goal. When the goal is really important, the process of achieving it is easy and there is almost no chance of losing. I really wanted to spend the second day on top, especially since it was my initiative to expand UADigitals by adding AdTech and life hacks of the profession. So I took on the responsibility of making sure that the audience was useful and interesting, and that the speakers felt comfortable. I had been preparing, so I think it turned out incredibly well. So, the conclusion of the challenge: the importance of the goal determines the process of achieving it. If it didn't work out, it wasn't necessary.

-Where is it easier: giving a presentation to the audience or moderating speakers?

It is easier when you feel that the audience is interested in the report. Of course, it largely depends on the speaker, on their presentation, charisma, emotions. But sometimes the audience freezes, “plunges into their phones,” walks out in the middle of the report, or talks right in the front row. Such a dismissive attitude always brings speakers down, unless they are professional “speakers”. But we have such people mostly in the Verkhovna Rada - there's nothing to bring them down!

-Iryna, why did you choose AdTech and life hacks of the profession as the topic of the second day?

The days when it was enough to draw a beautiful picture and post it on billboards or make a website out of it are over. Creativity is always a necessary (I emphasize this word) component of any communication, but it is no longer enough. Now we need to focus on accurate target audience segmentation, personalized message delivery, innovative interaction formats, and resource optimization at all stages of communication with consumers. “It is impossible to do this manually. Therefore, technology is becoming an unchanging and very important component of the advertising and communication market.

The material was published on www.rbc.ua