If you weren’t there to witness it for yourself, I’m delighted to report that B2B Marketing’s first annual Summit took place on June 14th and was a great success. It was a new kind of event for B2B Marketing, and although the multi-stream format created logistical challenges, I’m confident that we overcame most of them well.
For me, it confirmed once again that B2B marketers are eager to learn and improve their expertise – both by listening to formal presentations, and by networking with contemporaries and sharing notes. There’s an ethos of collaboration which we’ve sought to foster through this event, and which we’re eager to build on going forward.
The Summit was focused around four separate streams of content, focusing on what we perceived to be the biggest areas of interest for B2B marketers: content marketing, data insight, lead nurturing and social media. Sessions in each stream then ran concurrently, allowing delegates to switch between streams and develop their own agenda, based around their own specific needs and objectives from the 36 sessions on offer. In other words, in short, the event was totally customisable, enabling a unique content experience for each attendee.
Anecdotal feedback from delegates, speakers and sponsors has been excellent, and we’re currently evaluating the forms submitted on the day for a more scientific view of sentiment. But by one extremely crude evaluation criteria, the number of people attending the post-event drinks, the Summit was a huge success, with courtyard area outside the Brewery remaining full of networking B2B marketers long after the event had closed – and despite the very real threat of rain!
We’re currently discussing ideas for how we could improve the event for next year and would welcome any additional feedback – both from those who attended on the day, or those who might consider attending in future. In particular, we’d like to focus on a few specific areas, and any feedback would be appreciated.
For example: should we run a keynote address for all attendees, to set the tone of the event, and kick things off properly? Should we provide more formalised networking with vendors/suppliers at the event – such as supplier speed dating? Which other features, or session types, might improve the visitor experience?
The following links may be of interest:
• Top 40 key learnings from the speakers
• Video highlights
• Gallery of images