I went to an all-day party yesterday with a few new friends. It had to be a party, because there was music, laughter, and drinks. They called it the IDEA Conference. Creatives, marketers, and artists gathered to discuss ideas. Sounds like an excuse to party to me. Had it not been for the absence of dancing, you wouldn't be able to tell me otherwise.

The new friends I speak of were sitting at my table and in my Blackberry. Since I had been following the twitter hashtag #IDEAConf, I had already made a few friends before the conference. We shared laughs, conversations, and ideas - just not all in-person (since I didn't get to meet everyone at the actual conference.)

It was quite an experience being surrounded by such creative and brilliant people. Working in an isolated environment, as a voice-over artist, I'm not usually involved in the thought process from the "other side of the glass." Not to mention, that by the time a voice-over comes into the picture (no pun intended,) much of the ingredients are already in the pot and cooked. So, this was an opportunity to learn about the ideas that generated not only some of the most recognizable recent commercial campaigns, but some of the most forward-looking businesses and products as well. Little did I know that I would also come away from this conference inspired and with a few new friends.

I arrived relatively early at the venue and grabbed some breakfast from the wonderful spread. The setting was intimate and seemed to be intentionally set up for conversation and brainstorming. Which is exactly what we did during one of the afternoon sessions, called the Interactive Workshop, where together we worked on tackling the challenge of education in this country and around the globe. Each group was assigned a creative director and off we went. Not only were the ideas being exchanged lofty yet thought-provoking, but I got to see firsthand how creative directors can bring several ideas from several different people into one cohesive thought and presentation.

Although I missed two presentations (Gagan Biyani of Udemy and Nathan Martin and Eamae Mirkin of Deeplocal) because I had to run out for a voice-over session for the NBA in the middle of the day, here's a rundown of the rest of the presenters and what I learned from each one:

• Chris Czarkowski, VP Sales for Syfy, welcomed us. He set the tone for what this conference is all about - an appreciation of great ideas that come from great imagination.

• Tony Post, Pres & CEO for Vibram USA, told us the story of their Fivefingers shoe and was a testament to believing in yourself and your ideas even in the face of underwhelming support.

• Christine Mau, Brand Design Director for Kimberly-Clark, illustrated how design can not only overcome internal objections but change external perceptions as well.

• Rana Sobhany (pictured,) iPad DJ & author of "Mobilize," almost made me get up and dance (I'm sure I wouldn't have been alone,) but, more importantly, was an example of how someone can position themselves first in a previously-non-existent category and use that platform to send a message that people will listen to (and maybe even move to as well.)

• Tim Westergren, Founder of Pandora, looks at music as an incredibly powerful way to allow people to re-connect with life. I learned that a powerful idea will grow organically.

• Mick Ebeling, Founder, Not Impossible Foundation and Eyewriter Project, pushed us to think with no limits and not to judge your ideas too early in the thought process or risk creating mediocre work.

• Mary-Ann Somers, VP Strategic & Operational Marketing for Coca-Cola, made me realize that there is indeed a balance between gut instict and research where one doesn't necessarily override the other in creating success.

• Russell Weiner, CMO of Domino's, and Tony Calcao, VP / Group Creative Director of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, wowed us all with what it really means to be both transparent and relentless.

• Michael Shuman and Adam Kidron of 4food taught me that there are new ideas hidden within old ideas (healthy and delicious ones at that.)

• Finally, there was Dushan Zaric, Creative Mixologist and Partner at Employees Only and Macao Trading Co., taught me that in order to be great, "you have to give a piece of yourself." Perfect technique without the right energy eminating from your mood (and your heart, if you will,) yields less than stellar results.

I can't say enough about the IDEA Conference. It truly was a mixed bag of wonderfully talented and creative people with nothing but the desire to do great work born out of great ideas and no-limit thinking. If I can sum up this learning experience in one line, it would be this:

The IDEA Conference teaches you that your strongest currency is your imagination and ideas.

Bravo! See you next year. Thanks, AdAge and David Teicher for the invitation and the opportunity to tweet on your behalf.

-Anthony