The recent Digital Summit in Dallas was Foreword’s first conference since pre-pandemic times (and my first ever), and it lived up to the anticipation. We enjoyed learning new tips from fellow marketers, of course, but it also felt great to receive confirmation that the advice we give our clients is in line with the research and experiences of others in the industry. Apparently, we’re onto something here!
There were a few standout learnings that our team took away from the presentations we attended. Here are our highlights from the Dallas Digital Summit:
The conference opened up with a fireside chat with VP of Brand Communications & Marketing at Everlane, Lisa Perez. She discussed how Everlane prioritizes leading with “radical transparency and authenticity” in their social media and marketing efforts.
The brand achieves this by staying true to their values of being an ethical alternative to fast fashion by highlighting quality, intentionality, and sustainability. They also bring authenticity by showcasing shots and videos that are not highly edited. Perez revealed that sometimes she grabs content using only a friend and an iPhone—one of our fave techniques for budget-friendly content creation here at Foreword.
The moderator of the session, Southwest Airlines’ Manager of Public Relations, Derek K. Hubbard agreed, adding, “From an audience perspective we are trained to skip ads… the more produced it is, the less engagement you’ll typically see.”
In the age of AI, consumers want to *see* the human touch in content. And oftentimes, this means seeing the human imperfections—from pimples and imperfect lighting to D.I.Y. content with unedited mistakes or bloopers. Companies must adapt by shifting their image and video strategy to reflect consumer preferences.
As specialists in developing content that connects, the Foreword team prioritizes strong storytelling. Your company's story can be a powerful tool in your arsenal that connects you to customers.
During his presentation, Hubbard from Southwest Airlines mentioned that “great storytelling is creating and capturing moments that matter.” He shared how their social team came across a video by a first grade teacher transforming her classroom into a Southwest Airlines plane so her students (many of whom have never been on an airplane) could experience what it is like. In response, Southwest invited all of the first graders from her school for a once in a lifetime field trip. It was a big hit on social media, and even gained the brand free coverage by news organizations.
Coldwell Banker also recognizes this power, and created a storybook for each new licensee about the brand and what it stands for. The company remarks in the book that “our story is our most prized asset.”
In his masterclass, University of Iowa professor Nick Westergaard breaks down the historical and scientific facets of storytelling. He explains that when a story resonates with the audience, it generates a biological response called neural coupling that links the storyteller to the listener and generates oxytocin.
Are you in an info-heavy industry and worried that focusing on storytelling will take away from communicating the hard and fast details? Don’t be. Just because you have a lot of data to communicate, doesn’t mean storytelling can’t be a vital tool.
In fact, renowned psychologist Jerome Bruner found that humans have a 22x higher probability of remembering stats when they are included in a story. Westergaard used the analogy about how when you struggle to get kids to eat their veggies, we often put cheese on top to make them more appetizing. Storytelling is the cheese to make your stats more memorable and palatable to audiences.
Community-building never ends, and companies must always be investing time in nurturing their audiences. The Vice President of Marketing at the NAACP, Vanessa Mbonu reflected on her time at AARP and discussed that to ensure the future of the organization, they were focused on appealing to Millennials who wouldn’t need their services for at least 30 years.
Mbonu also discussed how for different age groups an organization needs to be different things. For example, younger generations likely do not have financial means yet to be able to donate to the organization, but the NAACP needs to foster the relationship by being a thought partner and a resource.
Listening and adapting to be what the audience needs from your brand was also a common thread in Perez’s fireside chat presentation. She discussed that in an uncertain economy where consumers may be more price conscious, Everlane decided to invest in organizing in-person events to “provide value to existing customers” and continue to "surprise and delight them” through connection-driven touchpoints.
We’ve seen this firsthand with one of our longtime clients. The brand hosts an annual 5K/10K race and last year the Foreword team had boots-on-the-ground at the event. We chatted with runners and supporters, taking pictures and taking time to tag them in Instagram stories and reshare all posts that the brand was tagged in. As a result of our guerilla social media efforts, our client gained nearly 300 followers on Instagram in a single day—beating their average monthly growth rate by a significant amount.
If you’re waiting for a key takeaway wrapped up in a nice bow, here it is: To foster connection, brands must find ways to be part of their audience's daily life, must be responsive to shifting consumer attitudes, and must not be afraid to keep it real with their audience.
Ready to harness the power of storytelling to win over your audience and build a community? Get in touch with Foreword to talk content strategy, and be sure to check out our tips for social media in 2025.
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