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“You have to go and meet so-and-so, she’s the best I know in the industry at what she does.”
“I vibe coded this platform and have been wanting someone to test it - can you give me some honest feedback about the workflow?”
“My Creative Director just resigned and the whole team is really sad about it.”
“I’ve been wanting to meet so-and-so for ages, I’m so glad she’s here!”
“How are your team coping with it all at the moment?”
“Well I’ve been in the industry for twenty years now…”
“Oh my accountant is great, let me give you their details!”
“You’ve worked with those publishers as well, haven’t you?”
“Can I get your email? Let’s continue this conversation!”
These are just a few of the conversations you’d have heard if you were a fly on the wall at Arcade in London the other week, as the Significant Women in Branded Content gathered for a first-of-its-kind dinner event.
Sometimes you don’t need a conference, you don’t need a video call, and you definitely don’t need an agenda. Sometimes, all you need is to gather executives from one industry into one room and to create the space for what comes next.
Here at the NAI, we’ve been creating a list of the 100 Significant Women in Branded Content for a few years now. This year, for the first time, we also hosted a breakfast to mark the launch of the list and international women’s day (thanks to our good friends at the Digital Voice!)
The energy was infections. And the feeling was clear: we want more of this.
So when the team headed over to London for Native Advertising Days, we saw an opportunity. And then we took it.
Thanks to Veronica Valdes, we gathered at Arcade, an excellent venue for this sort of meet-up - long tables, a variety of delicious food, and an easy central location. We didn’t have any questions, we didn’t have any discussion points. We just bought the women together and provided a space.
Conversations flowed, immediately, and constantly. So did the laughter. We didn’t need an agenda and we didn’t need a speaker, we just needed a space where women working at executive level in this industry had a chance to openly come, share, and connect.
The aim wasn’t to solve any problems. But that’s exactly what happened: email addresses were shared, LinkedIn connections made, content suggested, freelancers recommended, and so much more.
The native advertising and branded content industry is still just a small part of the market - it’s a niche little corner full of passionate geeks. The industry is small. The group of senior executives in it is even smaller. Focus on the women in senior positions, and you’re down to a small group of insanely talented and hardworking people, who have put no insignificant amount of work in to achieve their positions.
Then offer these women the opportunity to give up their free time and money to gather - for some that meant rearranging childcare, for some it was choosing an earlier international flight, and some entered a dinner where they knew no one. All for the sake of connecting with other people in the same space.
The result was a group of open, honest women who were keen to share, connect and lift each other up - while having the exact industry expertise, insights and connections to help each other. And conversations that solved real problems, discussed real solutions, and created a unique space for sharing.
That’s something you can’t create or manufacture or put in a cost analysis.
And yet for many of us, it was one of the most important events we’ve attended this year.
A place with no judging, with people who just ‘get it’, and industry stars connecting.
We think it’s worth doing again, so in the true spirit of the evening - anyone know anywhere that could host us?!
If you'd be interested in sponsoring, hosting or partnering with us in order to help us facilitate valuable spaces like this for meaningful conversations in the industry, please get in touch!