You can imagine my shock and delight when I received an email inviting me to be a part of the renowned group of speakers at this year’s Silicon Beach Fest!

Invited to speak on the Digital Marketing Panel, I covered some of the teen trends I studied this summer and which general marketing trends I expect will carry into 2018!

At the center of it all is Gen Z, a generation that demands personalization and accountability from the companies they support. As AdWeek shared (and as is at the top of my mind all the time), “Gen-Zers are expected to account for about 40 percent of all consumers by 2020.” Catering to them would be a good idea. Because this generation is more likely to engage in social justice at a younger age, it’s imperative for brands to be on the right side of each of their three top sensitivities: racial equality, gender equality and sexual orientation equality. (Barkley and Futurecast)

At the panel, I was able to present the marvelous case of Fenty Beauty’s success in all three of these areas. Rihanna’s newest beauty brand earned $72M (earned media value) in its first 30 days because it was able to do what Kylie Cosmetics and other brands could not: address colorism rampant in the beauty industry by providing a wide spectrum of shades, empower women from all walks to feel beautiful in their own skin, and encourage vloggers of all orientations to share their opinions on the product.

In addition to social justice sensitivity, I believe brands should keep community activations at the front of their minds! I had the great fortune of being accompanied to SBF17 by Mira Zimet, who shot and recorded my words from the panel on this opportunity:

“When asked about the future of marketing, Ofodu said, “I think in 2018 the biggest opportunity for brands will be to engage with consumer communities. Visiting communities where they are is something I’m really excited to dive into when I return to Instagram.”

Major thanks to Marc Weber Fernandez of Denizen Company, the Annenberg family and Instagram family for supporting my appearance at Silicon Beach Fest 2017 alongside WeWork, Netflix, Mattel, Inc. and Innovation Acceleration Capital!

So grateful!