Know Before You Go: Your Guide to a Successful Opticon

It’s conference season in the world of MarTech and one of the most anticipated conferences this fall is Opticon – put on by a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for both DXPs and CMPs, Optimizely (formerly Episerver). Whether you are going or still stewing on the idea, I am here to share some tips for attending one of the biggest events of the season Optimizely says to join them to “experience the magic that happens when art and science collide”. While that is true, you should join for a chance to be surrounded by some of the smartest industry experts in the field of creating impactful digital experiences, for 3 days of collaboration and learning in addition to that sprinkle of magic. Whether you are a current Optimizely customer, or a prospect considering Optimizely for your next client project, this event has something for everyone.

Optimizely’s focus for Opticon 2023 is around the next frontier of digital customer experience. Over the last few years, we have learned that things are changing faster than ever, which is why there will be a significant focus on how Optimizely is evolving to support the changing market. Session topics this year will focus on going composable with headless solutions, the use of GraphQL to deliver dynamic content experiences, the power of Generative AI and its role in the future of content, leveraging Optimizely to empower marketing processes, as well as the vision for Optimizely CMS and Commerce.

You might be asking yourself, that’s great but I attended last year…what’s new? Great question!

In addition to hearing about all the advancements that Optimizely has made to its products, there are now workshops! Yup, they brought back labs – or at least a version of them. Something that last year’s event lacked were the labs that the community had grown to love at prior Episerver (now Optimizely) events. Well looks like they listened and created a good mix of more technical sessions as well as hands-on workshops.

There’s a lot to unpack there and the agenda is chock full of some great options so I’ll share some of my favorites that might help make planning your days at Opticon 2023 a bit easier.

If you arrive on October 10th:

• While the conference doesn’t start until October 11th, use your early arrival as a chance to beat the lines and sign-in at registration. Don’t forget to grab your free SWAG too! If you are an Optimizely partner like Velir, the Partner Forum will be taking place in the afternoon so that you can get a preview of announcements that will be made at the main event, as well as hear from the Optimizely partner team.
• Whether you attend the Partner Forum or not, make sure to pop in for the welcome reception to meet other attendees, network and ensure you know some friendly faces to continue to connect with at the conference.

In addition to the opening keynotes, here are some agenda items that caught my eye that I would recommend:

October 11th

• Empowering Women in the Digital Universe luncheon
  • Hear from Angela Ahrendts DBE (former CEO of Burberry / SVP of Apple Retail), Sara Tresch (Managing Director, Digital Strategy & Transformation at Charles Schwab), and Rupali Jain (Chief Product Officer at Optimizely) to celebrate women in marketing, product, and all things digital. They’ll discuss how to overcome challenges and find a good balance to life in the industry.
• Anticipating the future of B2B commerce: top trends and insights
  • Tina Nelson (Principle Product Evangelist and industry leader in B2B at Optimizely) joins Nicole Wolverton (Digital Product Leader at Polaris) to discuss emerging trends in B2B Commerce and the strategies they’ve developed to overcome any challenges.
• The art & science of what's possible: Omnichannel experiences with personalization at scale
  • This is an immersive session to give you a look into the backend of DXP and the ways it can power your personalization strategies. They’ll show you the tools and integrations available for Optimizely’s CMS, Recommendations, Experimentation, ODP, and Search.
• Optimizing your marketing process: unveiling inefficiencies and leveraging technology for success (Workshop)
  • Get hands-on experience in the Optimizely tools that will help you streamline your marketing processes. You’ll be able to leave this workshop with a better understanding of the inefficiencies that may be plaguing your current processes and how to solve them.

October 12th

• Unleash the power of GraphQL: navigating the transition to a Headless CMS
  • You may be hearing the term “GraphQL” more often in digital transformation conversations so what better way to learn more about it from an industry expert, Simon Chapman (Director of Partner Enablement & Solution Architecture at Optimizely). Simon will cover all the way going headless can help your organization and the key role GraphQL plays in getting that done.
• Planning for content at scale with Optimizely CMP
  • This session is run by our very own Velir team! Join Jill Roberson (VP of Digital Marketing at Velir) and Dan Murphy (VP of Digital Solutions at Velir) while they help you plan for content at scale and how Optimizely’s CMP supports that process.
• Beyond basics: Advanced techniques for A/B experiment architectures (super technical)
  • Taking things a bit more technical, get an elevated level of learning about Optimizely’s Experimentation tools and how to build advanced testing architectures within the platform.
• Digital means girls, Experimentation essentials: Building a strategic framework for success (Workshop)
  • On Wednesday’s we wear pink but on Thursday’s we learn about improving the customer experience through hands-on exercises and group discussions regarding usability, navigation, messaging, and design. Optimizely’s father might not be the inventor of the Toaster Strudel, but they’ll make sure you leave the session with a better understanding of your user behavior and being able to act on the insights that matter.

If you do attend Opticon, come say hi to the Velir team on the Optiplex floor! Make sure to join Jill Roberson (VP of Digital Marketing at Velir) and Dan Murphy (VP of Digital Solution at Velir) for their session about using Optimizely CMP to build a strong omnichannel content foundation, swing by our booth or attend our hosted after party at The Deck at Moonshine Flats (trust me, it’s one you won’t want to miss)! We’re looking forward to a week of discussing innovative digital solutions with Optimizely and can’t wait to see you there!