The Design Bloggers Conference is changing with the times. The convention, created for interior designers known for their online and social media presence, is changing its name. Debuting at the next gathering, to be held in Atlanta next winter, the newly named Design Influencers Conference reflects a changing landscape. It’s also celebrating a new partnership—Esteem Media, which created the convention, is launching and co-producing a new Brand track to be held with the Influencers track at the conference.
Explains Adam Japko, conference founder and CEO of Esteem Media, which also runs Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Garden Bloggers Conference, WineZag, and New England Home: “Since the conference’s inception in 2011, we have noted a growing portion of our audience are influential design professionals—some with blogs and others who did not have blogs but were using a variety of online and offline platforms to build their personal brands in the luxury design and home furnishings industry.”
He says, “Our work with the High Point Market Authority’s leading blogger and influencer marketing tours proved that there is a significant advantage for brands, manufacturers, and exhibitors to directly engage with influencers.”
It won’t be limited to just designers of the big-name, hundred-thousand-follower kind, however. The organization notes that its attendees arrive with “a variety of backgrounds, ranging from absolutely no experience to fully established influencer status.” The conference will focus on personal branding with digital marketing experts within the design industry discussing audience building, working with (or becoming) influencers, managing new and traditional media relationships, developing web and email marketing campaigns, and other topics. The initiative originally launched as a digital content marketing conference for the design industry in Los Angeles seven years ago.
“In terms of an overall experience, the interaction a buyer or influencer has with a brand inside a showroom is an absolutely vital component to his or her overall impression of High Point Market, and therefore it impacts their likelihood of returning in the future,” says Ashley Grigg, director of marketing and communications for High Point Market Authority. “This new educational opportunity will undoubtedly assist exhibitors in fine-tuning their influencer marketing strategies, while also touching on trade show marketing and how those two strategies can and should overlap.”
The Design Influencers Conference will take place at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead over February 24 to 26.
