Why Can't Startups and Advertisers Play Nice?

Charlie Taylor, Gloria Lin, Kaitlyn Trigger

Each year, more and more brand marketers make the pilgrimage to SXSW. For five days, they are awed by a parade of emerging technologies and digital innovations. In turn, startups are lured by the potential cash-flow and PR exposure that can come from partnering with a big brand. We all want to work together. But how?
Once the love-fest in Austin is over, the ideal of a symbiotic relationship between advertisers and startups often devolves into frustration and misunderstanding:
"Advertising spoils the user experience. We want to streamline things.""
""Startups shut us out and are inflexible.""
""Brands demand time-consuming customization. Don't they know we only have 5 engineers?""
""Startups don't understand how advertising has evolved. We don't want banners anymore.""
In this panel, tech entrepreneurs and brand masterminds will trade volleys about user experience, monetization, marketing, and what it really means to collaborate. Compelling visuals - like a side-by-side comparison of Foursquare and Nike's org charts - will prompt panelists to discuss the tension created by their cultural, structural, and philosophical differences.
Ultimately, attendees will come away with a greater understanding of how brands and startups can work together. We'll present a path away from the defensive, antagonistic ""partnerships"" of the past, and towards collaborative relationships that make everyone - especially the end users - feel like they've won."

Startups, Advertising    #PlayNice

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