Last week, one of our co-founders, Donna, had the pleasure of attending Unbounce’s Call to Action Conference (CTA Conference) in Vancouver. As one of the top digital marketing conferences in the world and, arguably, the most enjoyable, the CTA Conference was filled with brilliant speakers, superb social events and takeaways companies can actually use.

As an online boutique, Carolily was among the few companies who were not a digital agency or marketing firm. While it was seem surprising at first that we have such an interest in conferences like these, we have three specific takeaways that make the CTA Conference one every company should consider (especially brands!).

Picture courtesy of Unbounce & Stephanie Koo Photography.

Networking.
We believe that getting to know people is one of the best ways to help your business grow; after all, you never know who you are going to meet! There were people from all over the world attending the CTA Conference that we may not have ever met otherwise.

While we enjoyed meeting everyone, there were a few standouts that we felt we should mention.

First and foremost, the Unbounce staff was an absolute treat to spend two days with. From emcee and Director of Customer Success, Ryan, to Event Marketing Coordinator, Stefanie, and VP of Marketing, Georgiana, there was an abundance of smiling faces and high-fives everywhere you went. Thank you for hosting such an enjoyable and informative conference. We will be back again next year!

Secondly, we enjoyed being welcomed into the Jelly Marketing group, by team members Sarah, Aman and Tim. They were an absolute joy to spend time with! This innovative team even brought jars of raspberry jam to share with the new friends they made. How sweet (pun intended!).

Thirdly, we had the pleasure of meeting two members from the Goat Social Team- founder, Terrence and developer/designer Joseph. A full-service, digital agency based out of Vancouver, Goat Social is breaking the mold on how agencies interact with their clients. We took a particular liking to their company when we realized that they worked with two of our favorite brands- Petite Puff and Jillian Harris.

Finally, we met the lovely Constance, who is a registered counselor in Vancouver. Aside from her impressive professional life, it was Constance’s genuine interest in everyone she met that we found particularly endearing. So much so, that we will be featuring Constance in an upcoming blog post. Be sure to stay tuned!

We don’t know everything.
We know that we do not know everything. The CTA Conference gave us the opportunity to hear world renowned speakers discuss a variety of topics- from copy writing, to work culture, to writing campaign headlines, and everything in between. It was wonderful to hear so many opinions and to be given actionable items we could bring back to Carolily. If you are interested in any of the speakers, Unbounce has kindly provided notes and videos for those who were unable to attend.

These handy summaries can be found here. 

Picture courtesy of Unbounce & Stephanie Koo Photography.

We never want to stop learning about our customers.
We are dedicated to providing you, our lovely customers, with exactly what you need when you need it; that would be impossible to do if we didn’t take the time to get to know you. While at the conference, we took note anytime one of our necklaces was complimented, when we heard a fellow female complain about another brand or dream wistfully of a piece she wished she had. All of this information is incredibly important to us and difficult to obtain without meeting people in person. We love the digital world, but nothing compares to sitting down after a conference and having a one-on-one chat with someone. We want to learn everything about you, so we can make Carolily the brand you’ve always dreamed was out there and one you can rely on for years to come.

The two days spent at the CTA Conference were unforgettable; we met such wonderful people and left feeling inspired and empowered. We believe that everyone should push themselves to learn more, meet new people and step out of their comfort zone every once in awhile. While not the norm for a lifestyle brand to attend a digital marketing conference, the takeaways Carolily got from this conference will enable us to improve our brand!