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Content was interesting and insightful. Day two a little less so than day 1.

Overall, it was a decent conference to attend. Some of the sessions were really good and others were not. In addition, I found it frustrating that it appeared the tracks were either 'A: Digital Marketing' or 'B: Emerging Technologies'. However, track B literally had a session called 'Marketing Beyond Digital to the Human Experience. Therefore, the tracks were not aligned appropriately which lead us to miss certain sessions.

The majority of the topics and speakers were good. Having a conference focused on transforming the Insurance Customer Experience and Digital Marketing realms does lend itself to its own annual event. Here's some constructive feedback in the areas I feel need improvement. Event leadership/facilitation: As I'm sure others have shared, the event facilitator (Kickoff, panel leader, even the persons floating with microphones) on day 1 were NOT equipped or experienced enough to lead/open the event or to interview an industry leader like Ann Bair from Nationwide. Day 2 lead and facilitation was much better. Lots of attendees talked about it and you probably lost some day 2 attendees and future registrants/speakers because of it. Networking: I've been to other conferences and events at the Westin River North and have experienced other exhibitor and networking layouts. Coffee, snacks, cocktail network event should all have been placed in the main area (outside the meeting rooms) to allow for better flow. From a networking lens the event was very disappointing and having exhibitors, coffee, drinks crammed into one small meeting room was not conducive to meeting and networking with other attendees. Attendance at the cocktail reception was limited and the small space definitely contributed to it. Day 2 Agenda changes : several sessions, roundtables were cancelled, with event concluding at 2 rather than 4 pm. With attendance way down from day 1 (suspect it was because of issues highlighted above), attendees did not receive the full value (for our time and $$ commitment) and it was especially strange that the additional table roundtables and speaker tracks were cancelled on day 2. Exhibitors: My firm did not exhibit this year (was evaluating to do so next year) and based on experiences this week, will consider attending but will not exhibit. We have a lot of expertise in the CX and Digital transformation space and should be invited to speak versus having to pay for a speaking engagement. Note - we're not a tech vendor, rather a strategy/consulting firm. Shannel Clubb, our Insurance Consulting leader is a sought after speaker. Event fees for service firms and advisors: $3000 (double the carrier rate) is much more expensive than other well established conferences. As consultants, we expect to pay more, however the typical conference fees we pay do not exceed $1500-1800 per person for a multi day event.

For a first year summit, I think it was insightful. I think the chairperson on the first day needed to be more prepared and a better communicator. He lacked the skills needed to introduce agenda items, speakers and facilitate conversations. His lack of skill became the joke and icebreaker for those attending. I would like to see the summit more divided by Products. I think some of the P&C organization were less interested in Life organizations. I think it'd be great to divide the conference by tracks that are product relevant. I felt the roundtable sessions were too large in size. I could barely hear the participants at the other end of the two tables. I appreciated the speakers being a mix of Insurtech and Carrier companies. I think more case studies like The Zebra's service improvements would be the level of detail to advance toward at this summit.

The conference was hit or miss for me. It seemed very "salesie" One of the sessions I planned to attend and one of the big reasons I chose to attend was cancelled and I didn't know until I arrived. The roundtables that I attended were basic in content. I was disappointed with the roundtables. I was pleased with the majority of the keynote sessions. I think if there were breakout sessions with some of the speakers, that would have been beneficial. Possibly a for questions to be submitted through an app to help the speaker prepare for the breakout sessions. I did make a few good contacts while there. I did get to hear about some new technologies as well. I just feel like I needed more time for the keynote or more info.