Innovation Missions have had far reaching impacts on media executives who have attended them over the years. From launching digital marketing service agencies to developing data strategies, the takeaways have been huge and impactful.
The Local Media Association’s next Innovation Mission is its biggest of the year, a weeklong trip from New York City to Seattle with stops at Amazon, Facebook and more.
Here are 10 stories we’ve collected over the years that demonstrate the impact the trips have had on people and their organizations.
1. A few light bulb moments from meeting with leading media companies and research institutions.
This is by LMA’s Chief Innovation Officer Jed Williams and captures some of his biggest takeaways from the last regional Innovation Mission in Atlanta and Raleigh.
2. What Bob Woodward learned from attending a regional Innovation Mission
Woodward Communication’s Bob Woodward got a ton from an Innovation Mission to Boston in 2017. We asked him to tell us about everything he’s doing because of that trip in this post.
3. What 4 media executives learned and actually implemented after attending an Innovation Mission
We connected with a few executives who had attended Innovation Missions in the past and captured initiatives they actually put in place. Big scale stuff here.
4. 31 Tweets from the Innovation Mission we’re still talking about
In real-time through Twitter, participants often share what they are learning and what they are thinking about doing when they get back. This post captures some of that during our last regional Innovation Mission.
5. How Innovation Missions provided meaningful networking circles for 3 attendees
We took a look at three executives who took part in recent Innovation Missions and focused on what the relationships they have built have meant for their careers.
6. How an Innovation Mission trip in 2014 changed my outlook on journalism
Former LMA Chief Content Officer David Arkin wrote about how an Innovation Mission trip to BuzzFeed in 2014 changed his outlook on how to use data in newsrooms.
7. Engagement has become critical to attract customers and keep them coming back
This column written by Williams showcases takeaways he picked up — it’s sometimes our staff that benefits just as much as participants — on a recent Innovation Mission. Here’s another column Williams wrote on visits to Entercom and HubSpot.
8. LMA goes small to spread disruptive ideas among local publishers
This story written by Street Fight focused on why LMA is doing these trips and what is happening when local media executives get back from atttending one.
9. 16 takeaways from those who attended Innovation Mission Boston
At the end of every Innovation Mission we spend a few hours downloading with the group on the biggest takeaways. This story looked at some of the biggest takeaways from our trip to Boston last year.
10. Better user experience and culture are top takeaways for 2017’s Innovation Missions
LMA executives shared at last year’s Media Transformation Conference what the top takeaways for attendees had been. Even though the trips are in different areas of the country and to different companies, many similar themes evolved last year.