Megan Harris

Managing Partner
SYZYGY

As a digital native and global business citizen, Megan brings a unique perspective to her role as Managing Partner at SYZYGY North America. She manages operations and business growth for the digital agency, which offers creative, technology, and media services to major travel, luxury, and financial services brands, including Avis Budget Group, Chanel and Paypal.

Prior to joining SYZYGY, Megan was Business Director and a member of the senior leadership team of Razorfish’s London office, running the full service media offerings in EMEA. Clients included Starwood Resorts, Holland America Lines, Ralph Lauren, and Mondelez. She spoke frequently at digital marketing and advertising symposia across Europe.

Megan started her digital career in as an Account Manager in Razorfish’s Chicago office in 2006 after brief but enlightening stint in finance at Deutsche Bank. She earned a Journalism degree from the University of Oregon.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Megan.

Download The Latest Agenda

The Digital Traveler: Getting to Know Your Customer

Saturday, August 5th, 2017

08:45 Chairperson’s Opening Address

10:30 Panel: Personalization and the Dynamic Customer Journey – Best Practices in Advanced Personalization

Travel brands are changing their business to focus first and foremost on the customer. Travel operators act as a vehicle to help drive the traveler’s story forward – sometimes quite literally! Our executive panelists from top airlines and hotels discuss their best practices in building a core digital foundation into their personalization model by:

• Constructing a 3D model of personalization to gain an in depth understanding of the customer journey and helping to create a narrative for the traveler
• Addressing the top five mistakes when rolling out personalization
• Knowing your customer: who are they? Where are they? And what do they want?
• Utilizing customer data to inform decisions

12:05 Panel: The Personalization Conversation 2.0: Sea, Land and Air

Personalization is the talk of the town this year, so much so that our audience has asked for an additional panel on this hot trend. We’ve got our cruise lines and airlines discussing their plans for personalizing the customer journey in 2017. Hear what they have to say:

•Success stories and pitfalls from marketing and E-Commerce experts representing the cruise industry and airlines

•What’s the future of personalization look like for these industry verticals

•Executing a win-win strategy for customer engagement and your brand

13:35 Chairperson’s Opening Address

13:45 Fireside Chat: Getting the Most out of Affiliate Marketing

There are endless untapped distribution channels out there, and the industry often turns a blind eye to these opportunities. During this Q&A, Mathias Eichelberger shares how he’s leveraging new and untapped channels for Korean’s Air’s affiliate marketing program, why it’s working, and why you should try it.

•Marketing where your customers are: gauging which best partners to allocate distribution

•Evaluating the role of agencies, meta-search and OTAs in partnerships

•Measuring KPI and ROI for affiliate programs

14:45 Panel: Redesigning Web to Improve User Experience

In today’s age of constant consolidation and ever-changing technology, there’s no shortage of companies in the midst of a complete web overhaul. Our esteemed panelists will look at evidence across every sector and share the best practices for website redesign with the customer in mind.

• Assessing the right time to redesign your web platform
• Utilizing the right resources for streamlined web experience across multiple devices
• The top three drivers for a successful website property overhaul
• Analyzing data post design launch

15:55 Panel: Driving Direct Bookings From Disrupter

Search and display are key in capturing the customer’s attention, and it’s what ultimately drives their decision to break out the credit card. But the industry can’t seem to agree on what’s best for the brand: investing in new technologies to boost direct bookings or elevating your online presence through meta-search and OTAs. Panelists from Virgin America, Trump Hotels and DayUse.com share strategies for staying at the top of search and how to drive bookings from disrupters.

• Are direct bookings always the most profitable bookings?
• Assessing which platforms are best to invest in for exposure
• Leveraging meta-search and OTAs for exposure, and re-directing to brand website
• Analyzing keywords to be at the top of search, and which keywords are best to bid on
• Showing your brand will give you the best service with direct booking
• Sweetening the deal: what offers that don’t cut into your bottom line to win the direct booking

16:45 Hotelier Panel: Driving Direct Bookings Through Online Platforms

Hotels are investing in new talent and technologies in order to drive direct bookings from their web and mobile property. Our panel of hoteliers from the world’s largest brands share what their companies are doing to win the booking, including:
• Strategies for incentive programs and exclusive, member-only rates to generate direct bookings
• Improving the way we use data to cultivate customer loyalty
• Understanding trends in the hotel booking war