As a B2B marketing leader who, for decades, has had to help teams separate the signal from the noise, there is no better partner than the B2B Marketing team. I have never not once invested in sending my team to any event hosted by any other organisation.
B2B as a space has suffered for decades from a proliferation of utter nonsense largely from the tech founder ecosystem and the content cabal. Organisations trying to sell their own tech or get butts in seats, eyeballs on pages, will do and say the most self-serving things. And you know what? They’re really good at making their snake oil sexy.
But what they’re selling is often the opposite of what B2B marketers need. The exception to the rule is the team at B2B Marketing.
I’ve attended their events, spoken at sessions and keynotes and panels. I’ve sent my team to in-person, online, and hybrid learning opportunities. The content is truly exceptional. Curated, designed, and executed by a team that understands that B2B is a spectrum and is keenly focused on their customers’ (that’s us!) needs.
Ignite USA
I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at and attending the Ignite events in both the UK and the US. Great quality content, targeted at the right moment in time. I love the variety of people and topics and while I certainly design my experience around my own needs, it’s always fun to pop into sessions that may not seem on the surface a complete fit for you. In the seven years I’ve been participating in B2B Marketing events, I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by a single session.
Because these events are curated so well, you’ll even find some great debates on panel sessions. There’s no one right answer for every situation so it’s great, as a marketer, to be exposed to a variety of views.
Unlike other conferences, this isn’t a recycling of the same speakers who’ve all been buddies for years. The B2B team is continually listening to the market to find brilliant speakers, authors, and practitioners.
The value to me – The other practitioners
As marketing teams, we are buried in work and expectations. We have serious work to do, with imperfect tech infrastructures, and often have to bat away bizarre requests from colleagues (can we monetise this by making it go viral on Instagram? Sure, Jan.)
If I can learn from others, what went well, what failed – then that saves me a ton of time in my own endeavours. With the B2B Marketing community, I’m learning at events but I’m also meeting super cool folks I can connect with later. It’s an opportunity that keeps on giving long after an event is over. I attribute this to the fact that the B2B Marketing zeitgeist simply attracts the best of the best.
Attend with your team
Not only do I recommend *you* attend Ignite 2022, but I’d highly recommend you join with your team. Try this:
- The week before the event, discuss the sessions you want to attend and make sure someone from the team is covering all sessions that are deeply important to you.
- During the event, have an Ignite channel open on whatever collaboration platform you use so you can share notes and recommendations.
- After the event, have lunch and learn where you can brief each other on key takeaways. This may sound ultra-nerdy, but I’ve run these sessions and they’re highly valuable to teams.
Can’t miss
For me, almost always my can’t miss sessions are with speakers I haven’t known previously. I’m always trying to expand my learning circle. But one person on the agenda this year that I’ve been following for some time, and I have her book, is April Dunford. If you don’t know her or haven’t heard her speak, she’s a can’t miss for sure.
Hope to see you there!
