7 reasons to get excited about Rakuten Optimism 2018
On September 7, Rakuten will host the inaugural Rakuten Optimism conference in San Francisco, California. The one-day event is packed full of inspiring speakers, insightful breakout sessions on adtech, data, building communities, influencer marketing, and more. The day will wrap up with a private concert by Shakira. Here are 7 reasons to get excited about the big event:
1) The big keynote – Hiroshi Mikitani
Rakuten’s founder and CEO, Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani will take to the stage early in the day to talk about where Rakuten is going in the connected, mobile world in which we live today. From the beginning, Mickey has built a business around “Optimism”, which is literally what Rakuten means. Lately, he has plenty of reasons to be optimistic, from the success of global partnerships with local heroes and NBA champions the Golden State Warriors, FC Barcelona, and Shakira, to promising breakthroughs in cancer research. At this event, we expect to hear his bold take on empowering customers and brands in today’s 24/7 connected world.
2) The big keynote, Pt.2 – John Zimmer
Mickey will be joined by John Zimmer, the president and co-founder of ride-sharing service Lyft, to talk about how they’ve connected over the years as Lyft has gone from strength to strength. Speaking of reasons to be optimistic, Lyft has been riding an incredible wave of momentum, last year surpassing 500 million rides, entering its first international market (Toronto, Canada), and most recently introducing a new bike-sharing service, Lyft Bikes.
3) All the latest Tech
One of the biggest benefits of having regional and global headquarters in Silicon Valley and Tokyo, respectively, is access to the world’s best talent and most advanced technologies. Rakuten’s tech leaders will unveil the latest innovations from around the world and look at how these technologies will change the future.
4) Insights from e-book leaders
In a session titled “Empowering brands to build fast and build to last,” Rakuten Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn will sit down with best-selling author Ryan Holiday (Growth Hacker Marketing, The Perennial Seller, Ego is the Enemy) for a primer on the future of marketing, PR and advertising. Later in the day, Rakuten OverDrive CEO Steve Potash will talk with Ryan Serhant, the star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York” and author of “Sell it like Serhant” for a session on empowering individuals and communities through reading and literacy.
5) The Walking Dead
Rakuten.Today recently had the pleasure of catching up with David Alpert, the executive producer of The Walking Dead and CEO of Skybound Entertainment. As a guiding hand behind one of the most popular shows on TV of the past decade, Alpert promises to share insights on how to build a fanbase even more numerous than The Walking Dead’s zombies.
6) Race with the Spartans
Spartan Race is one of the world’s biggest race organisations, with innovative obstacle races taking place on a global scale, including over 200 events in nearly 40 countries. While we don’t know if Spartan Race CEO Joe De Sena will be bringing the mud, fire, barbed wire and “Hell on Earth” that Spartan Race is known for, we can’t wait to hear about its remarkable growth story.
7) Shakira leads the way to El Dorado
Rakuten is proud to be the title sponsor of Shakira’s El Dorado world tour. What better way to end the day than with an exclusive concert for Rakuten Optimism guests by the reigning queen of Latin pop at the Bill Graham Theatre?
If you are interested in attending Rakuten Optimism, inquire here. Otherwise, be sure to follow Rakuten.Today for full coverage of the event.
About Rakuten Optimism 2018
Rakuten Optimism is a new retail and marketing conference that will provoke discussions and inspire by sharing the latest trends and insights from industry leaders, and bring together senior-level marketers, entrepreneurs, influencers, tech and industry experts from around the world. The inaugural edition of the event will be held in San Francisco, California, on September 7, 2018.
This fast-paced, one-day event will include speakers from some of the world’s most beloved brands and an exclusive evening of entertainment with a private concert from Shakira, global pop icon and one of the most successful Latin recording artists of all-time.
For more information about Rakuten Optimism 2018, visit here.
