By Conrad Winter, Content and Copy Writer for the Logistics Industry
Nothing has the power to command complete attention like a 1,000-foot-long container ship that’s as tall as a small office building passing 50 yards from you. It was an everyday occurrence during the 2023 TMSA ELEVATE Conference June 11th to 13th as steamships lumbered past the Savannah Hyatt. The word “awe” was invented for such a spectacle. For me and other conference-goers, it was a reminder of how big an idea can be. After all, a container ship was once nothing more than an idea in the mind of Malcolm McLean.
Every idea starts somewhere, gets nurtured and developed – just like the idea for a ship that can carry 20,000 containers across oceans and through impossibly small rivers and canals.
Supply Chain Is International News
Big changes are happening in the world today. Conference goers and presenters were talking about them. Supply chain, it’s importance and fragility, is international news and the people who market and sell transportation and logistics had much to discuss. Diversity, equity and inclusion is top of mind for companies everywhere, and logistics has its own unique dimension. AI, the 200,000-ton containership of technology, made its way into almost every conversation and presentation.
Shock and Awe
For three days, big ideas floated the hallways, conference rooms, ballrooms and sidebars of the Savannah Hyatt. The flotilla of inspiration was only interrupted by a series of storms swept in from the East which brought lightning, thunder and torrents.
Electricity, pent up and exploding forth, also describes the energy of the industry and much of the work featured in the TMSA Trailblazers award show. Brand-work, content programs and sales achievements were a welcome jolt to the system, revealing to all the possibilities.
Here are my 5 top takeaways of both awe and shock from the conference:
1 - Brand went Bananas
You could say that brand never left the stage, but I would say that content marketing and what I’d call “sales and marketing synthesis” has been the main focus in recent years at TMSA conferences. You could say brand went a little bananas this year.
The Savannah Bananas provided the opening keynote and a compelling lesson for marketers on delivering an authentic and agile brand experience. With their roots as Savannah’s minor league team, the franchise has become much, much more.
The lesson of knowing your customers and creating an experience for them – even if it runs counter to convention – is the foundation of their brand.
Recognizing the many aspects that make a brand from the traditions on the field to the special treatment the Bananas shower on fans, was a key takeaway.
The Bananas will often go to extremes just to satisfy one customer – often without any fanfare. How far is your organization willing to go to create a fan for life?
2 - Content-Generating Machines
The concept of finding just the right “content-generating machine”– a topic, cause or sideline that interests prospects and fuels content marketing – is nothing new. But everyone in marketing knows how elusive those big ideas can be.
Examples of content-generating machines in the transportation and logistics space were in full evidence this year.
ITS Logistics won a Trailblazer award for their Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index. This monthly report sources proprietary data to provide the prognosis of ports across the U.S. and the unique index has been cited in national media.
Knowing your market and what they’re interested in is the key to successful content marketing. Another 3PL made the leap into NASCAR sponsorship and has sponsored a popular country singer.
Content-generating machines have been a hot topic for years. TMSA’s annual conference even had Robert Rose of The Content Advisory open and close with it in 2019.
Every brand has an unconventional content-generating idea waiting to be supported, written about or podcasted about. What causes and topics can connect you with your prospects?
3 - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Front and Center
DEI in transportation and logistics was featured prominently on three occasions during the conference. It’s a major issue in the industry and progress is being made.
One example. Women in Trucking (WIT) reports the percentage of professional drivers who are female increased 3% from 2019 to 2022 to 13.7% and female executives make up 36% of leadership in transportation. (FYI, I wrote an article for WIT’s Redefining the Road publication about trucking technology that’s attracting the next wave of female drivers. Read it here.)
Aspects of DEI discussed during the TMSA conference included the business benefits of a diverse workforce, practical advice for logistics providers encountering bias at clients, and the creation of a DEI Taskforce at TMSA.
Marketing and sales play a tremendous role in promoting DEI within organizations, and improving conditions within the population of 14.9 million who work in transportation will do much to further DEI in the workplace at large. Does your company have a formal program yet?
4 - How to Social
Leveraging employees’ social networks is a tremendous untapped opportunity for logistics companies. Samantha Jones of Rocket Shipping pointed out in her presentation “Your People are your Brand” how people tend to have way more followers than companies on LinkedIn. She made a case for considering job candidates’ social profiles during the hiring process.
It makes sense to encourage employees to post about company goings-on. There are limitations to the strategy, though. Employees are either active on social or they aren’t, she says. In other words, good luck getting that SME or executive to start posting if it’s not something they’re already doing.
She said ghostwriting for them is a no-go because the authenticity isn’t there. It might not be all or nothing, though. As a ghostwriter, I am used to channeling other people’s voices. I can interview a reluctant SME or edit their words into authentic posts. So what are you doing to encourage your employees to post on LinkedIn?
5 - Should AI Write Your Content?
This was an irresistible topic for attendees. Comments ranged from skepticism to practical uses.
One presenter liked it for turning podcasts into blog posts. Collaborating with AI to see what kind of ideas are created for generic and market-specific blog content was another use cited by a conference attendee.
A skeptical marketing leader for one logistics company simply asked the question, “What about doing good work with original writing?” A marketing leader from another 3PL felt AI tools couldn’t replace writing that relied on interviewing people. Another industry leader expressed doubt that AI could ever replace the experience and insight of a human writer. What do you think?
Like Savannah with its contrasts of art and history, tidy parks and insouciant Spanish moss, AI writing will reveal many facets in the near future beyond shock or awe.
The conversation is sure to be considered in New Orleans, the site of the TMSA 2024 Conference. Get the details here.
