Next month marks ten years since the launch of B2B Marketing, with the first issue published way back in June 2004 (see our first cover below). It has been an extraordinary decade for us as an organisation – and for the industry as a whole – with a veritable mountain range of highs and lows. The new decade begins, we believe, with B2B marketing better placed than ever before to demonstrate genuine leadership and make a real difference in today’s business world.
But before we look to the future, I hope you’ll forgive us for taking this opportunity to look back at the past – to examine the progress made and the milestones passed by the industry over the last decade. After all, as an industry, we need to know where we’ve come from to truly understand where we’re going.
To do this though, I’d like your help – please can you help me determine the key developments in B2B marketing over the last ten years. All this will contribute towards a celebration of an incredible decade of B2B marketing, which will be the centrepiece of our special 10-year anniversary June 2014 edition.
As a starting point, here are my thoughts:
• The emergence of marketing automation
• The demise of the IDMF
• The launch of BMC
• The launch of the B2B Marketing Awards
• The rebirth of data/The arrival of Big Data
• The demise of Precision Marketing magazine
• The BoS ‘Head for Business’ campaign/The credit crunch
• LinkedIn’s IPO
• The acquisition of Mason Zimbler by Harte Hanks
• The launch of the first B2B marketing conference – by Information Arts in 2004
• The launch of the first B2B marketing qualification – by the IDM
• The arrival of content marketing
This is just a work in progress, but your thoughts, observations or suggestions below would be much appreciated. Many thanks.
