My key takeaways from DigiCon Valley 2022
DigiCon Valley 2022, which ran from October 10-14, 2022, is now over but what a conference it was! As I previously wrote here and here, the theme for the year is about entrepreneurial spirit and start-ups, as well as innovation and problem-solving.
With an increase in investments for Philippine firms in the next three years (a much higher rate when compared to the past five years combined), there is set to be a tipping point in the country’s start-up scene.
When asked about the focus on start-ups for this year’s theme (DigiCon Valley being, of course, reminiscent of Silicon Valley), QAIROS CEO and DigiCon co-chair Denise Haak said “We realized there is a perception of start-ups that is very pigeonholed. People seem to think that start-ups are separate things from enterprises or institutionalized organizations. But a start-up is a mindset, it’s a practice.”
The goal was to “Break down the walls of ‘we are not a start-up’ vs. ‘we are an institution,’ and show them that it’s a practice, a methodology, it’s attitude and it’s not merely a place. That’s why we have DigiCon Valley, which is not a place. It is a state of mind,” said Haak.
The idea of start-ups being a state of mind resonated with both actual start-ups and stable companies, said fellow co-chair and General Manager of FutureProof PH Trish Elamparo-Esteban. “From 2020 onwards, we all had to be agile and apply these problem-solving skills that start-ups do. We all had to be a start-up in one way or another.”
As always, after a conference like DigiCon, filled with quotable quotes and insights, I needed time to gather my thoughts and create a list of my key takeaways. There was just a lot of notes that I had to wade through to pick out the best among the best so here goes.
Takeaway 1: Focus on the key moment
The opening keynote for DigiCon Valley went to Jake Knapp, New York Times Bestselling Author and inventor of Design Sprint, a process that uses design when bringing new products to market in five days. Credits to his name include Google Meets, Gmail, and Microsoft.
Knapp discussed Design Sprint, which is centered on the belief that solution planning can be condensed into one week, rather than a drawn-out timetable. “Focus on the key moment,” he said.
Takeaway 2: Have the determination to fight using disruptive innovation
Angkas CEO George Royeca related the experience of his company during the pandemic.
He said Angkas had to quickly innovate as they faced one problem after another such as their office shutdown, their office being raided, and the impounding of their bikes. Royeca said that as he heard the testimonials of people during government hearings who were helped by Angkas, it made him more determined to fight. “Think of how to identify a real problem and the steps needed to solve it,” he said.
Takeaway 3: Make the complex simple
Another keynote speaker, Mark Ritson, a world-leading expert in marketing, talked about doing the 180-degree change in mindset.
Ritson said that oftentimes, businesses get it wrong by going after the wrong customers. There are too many strategists but little clarity in terms of where the company wants to go. He gave some points to consider:
- Be choiceful – Ritson quoted Michael Porter who said “The essence of strategy is choosing what NOT to do”.
- Simplify the complex – Businesses should look at its processes. Complexity does not necessarily mean a business is better or superior. Making the business less complex for its customers often draws more of them in.
- Focus more on brand building rather than performance marketing
Takeaway 4: Build brands your conscience can live with
The keynote talk of Rupen Desai, CMO of Dole Sunshine Co., struck a warm chord in me as he spoke of many brands that still have an extractive mindset (profit at the cost of people and planet). Instead, he called for a radical mindset (regenerative growth) that does less harm and where people, planet, and prosperity work and thrive together.
Desai told the story of Dole and how it partnered with Ananas Anam, a startup behind the vegan pineapple-based leather alternative, Piñatex. Dole collects its leftover pineapple leaves and turns them over to Ananas Anam who turns it into a non-woven mesh that serves as the base of Piñatex. According to this UK article, “Piñatex is an increasingly popular vegan replacement for leather used in a range of goods, predominantly in fashion but also in upholstery and automotives. Aside from Nike, other brands now using Piñatex to create new cruelty-free products include H&M, Paul Smith, and Hugo Boss.”
Takeaway 5: Work-life integration, not work-life balance
I was in awe listening to Arianna Huffington, Founder/CEO of Thrive Global, author of multiple books, and co-founder of the The Huffington Post (now shortened to HuffPost). I have read her articles since her Huffington Post days, still follow her on LinkedIn, and have read two of her books (Thrive and The Sleep Revolution).
Arianna had a very rude awakening to burnout. She collapsed one day, hit her head on a desk, and broke her cheekbone. ““It helped me realize that burnout was not just my problem but a global epidemic.” she said. Although HuffPost was already doing very well, Arianna decided to leave and instead, set up Thrive Global, a “behavior change technology company.” The aim was to help people adopt healthier practices and to make them believe it was possible to go from awareness to action.
She said that what we need to strive for is not work-life balance since there will be days when balance is NOT practical (such as when you have a sick child). Instead, we need to strive for work-life integration. She advocates compassionate directness (being honest when things don’t work out for us). She also emphasized a direct connection between business metrics and employees’ mental health.
Asked her opinion about quiet quitting (a trend where employees put no more effort into their jobs than absolutely necessary), Arianna reacted by saying it was the wrong response to a problem. For her, quiet quitting is giving up on a job you love and is not the response to burnout. Post-pandemic, she believes we will have the opportunity to define how we work and live and employers need to be able to help people take care of themselves and work better as well.
Takeaway 6: Move from people-centered design to humanity-centered design
In a breakout session, I got to listen to Wendy Johansson, Co-founder and Chief Product Experience Officer of Mi Salud Health, a healthtech company with a mission to close the health equity gap for Hispanics in the United States.
Johansson described Mi Salud’s rude awakening when they realized that many of those they planned to serve did not know how to download their app, was prevented from downloading due to parental locks, or were using 3rd generation phones that could not download apps.
She emphasized the importance of moving away from what she considers people- or human-centered design to humanity-centered design. In other words, user interface designers should focus on people’s needs, not as individuals, but as societies with complex problems.
People-centered design focuses on people while humanity-centered design focuses on an entire ecosystem. People-centered design takes a systems view into consideration; humanity-centered design takes on a much longer view with the realization that most of the damaging effects on a society show up only after many years, even decades. Design should always consider the community at large.
Lastly, Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, also a keynote speaker, focused her talk on the damaging effects of disinformation. She talked about how social media’s power in influencing credibility is a double-edged sword that has repercussions in both personal and public life. She said there is now a global phenomenon where there are new gatekeepers and upside down rules.
Ressa called on laws to protect, among others, free speech, online content moderation, user safety, and data privacy. She also believes that data privacy must be protected from those trying to profit from it.
She emphasized three important pillars for rebuilding trust: Technology, Journalism, and Community and went on to talk about how these pillars resulted in the coming together of different stakeholders to form the FactsFirstPH community. Learn, speak up, draw the line, trust and grow our shared reality, and believe in the goodness of human nature.
Ressa ended by saying, “Ask yourself: what will you sacrifice for the truth?”
I thoroughly enjoyed past DigiCon conferences and DigiCon Valley 2022 is no exception. The 5-day forum was absolutely packed with insights and trends that digital marketers attending could take back with them.
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Thanks to everyone who made DigiCon Valley 2022 a huge success! Below are the brands and institutions that helped make the conference possible.
Co-Presenter: Angkas
Platinum Sponsors: Manulife Philippines, Share Treats, and TikTok
Gold Sponsors: GrabAds, Investing in Women (an initiative of the Australian Government), Kroma Entertainment, Maya Philippines, McDonald’s, Meta, MetaverseGo!, and Smart
Silver Sponsors: Digital Turbine, Hepmil Philippines, and Metrobank
Platinum Media Partners: GMA New Media, Inc., Manila Broadcasting Company, and Rappler
Gold Media Partners: ABS-CBN, CNN Philippines, Manila Bulletin, One Mega Group Inc., Podcast Network Asia, The Asian Parent, and The New Channel
Silver Media Partners: adobo magazine, BusinessWorld, Inquirer.net, Kroma Entertainment, Manila Times, and Philippine Star
Event Partners: CICP, Endeavor, Eventscape Manila, and Kickstart Ventures
