Picture it. It’s the first day of the official MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2024.
You hit up the Welcome Home party last night to dip your toes into the vibe that will be the event, and now you’re sitting next to your new B2B Besties in the big, decked out general session room as DJ Graffiti’s music thumps through the floorboards.
It’s time.
Ann Handley dances her way onto the stage in an epic suit, arms expanding wide enough for the entire room to feel the air hug she’s giving you.
And we’re off to the races.
Ann brings us back to a moment in time when we all rallied around stories that galvanized us, particularly about that big discussion over who would win and who would lose–when social media was on fire, for better or worse. When we were united despite our differences.
That’s right; what else but the Olympics?
Ann dubs Boston home of the 2024 B2B Olympics and we dive headfirst into what’s new in the world of B2B marketing. Because there’s always something, isn’t there?
And the biggest constant is…well, change.
Customer journeys are no longer a clean, linear path but more like a red yarn-ridden crime scene board. Our in-market buyers are a small group while the need for us to be present in their minds is more important than ever to cut through the noise.
So how do we get those individual people in our markets to trust us through our own heart and creativity?
Ann says through the Great B2B Marketing Renaissance.
You double down on your personality no one else can copy to create emotional connection. You champion fearless thought leadership. You find the thing only you can offer and do it like only you can.
Through the barrage of changes and trying to stay up-to-date on all-the-things, Ann urges you to remember that we’re all just doing our best. And that for a few days, we all chose to be in this room together, joined in community to learn how to do things not just differently but better.
And she teaches you how to properly spell zhuzhing, which you’ll now remember forever.
Next up, David Fortino, General Manager of NetLine and owner of a rebus-able last name, takes the stage to dig into ROI. No, not that one. Resonance, Originality, and Impact. To explore how we can work to turn every marketing touch into a remarkable moment.
Marketers like fun. We like to make our marketing fun. But when it comes to getting budget for “fun” marketing? Crickets. So we end up with cluttered content that leaves buyers overwhelmed by how underwhelming it all is.
Very few marketers have proper support to champion creativity into content. There’s a black hole that steals that creativity away from you. But going against the grain is necessary.
David explains how, for NetLine, this insight gave them a clear path to their visionary goals, and how space ended up playing a part in it. And how that translated into Luna the astronaut, who’s now a shepherd for marketers to connect the dots between what NetLine has to offer and what they need in that moment.
He touches on a skill all marketers need to hone—how to find your voice.
To be a memorable resource by being a brand that can stand out, embracing your quirks, and really doubling down on what makes you YOU. Which requires you to get into the uncomfortable space (hey, Luna!). That’s where the uniqueness that resonates lives.
And now Marketoonist Tom Fishburne sashays onto the stage, here to remind you that marketing can be funny! That your marketing can be improved when you get to infuse your own humor into it.
Years ago, Tom found himself working a marketing job at General Mills and noticed how much daily life in marketing went unsaid—especially the difficult parts. So he started drawing them.
He shared what he did with his coworkers and noticed the impact it had on his teams to bring them together around those unsaid things, suddenly making them approachable and easier to talk about.
And just when he was sure he was about to be fired by his CMO, Tom instead was praised for being bold enough to share the things on everyone’s minds. It gave him the courage to continue.
Tom gave you homework ahead of the event to send him captions to an image he sent, and attendees delivered one of the highest response rates he’s ever seen—as he stated, a testament to everyone in the room and the community built at B2B Forum.
He shares his top 10 responses to said image, including the winner:
Tom walks you through situations where B2B marketers can often have marketing myopia, focusing too much on your own business needs and solutions over the actual needs and wants of your customers.
And he reminds us that marketing is too important to just belong to marketing. He emphasizes the power that comes when the entire team is not only on board and championing what you’re doing, but doing it with humor on top of that.
He leaves us with a fantastic quote: “If we have the courage to laugh at ourselves and to bring our true selves to the office, we’re going to be in a much better place to navigate the future of B2B marketing and everything that can come our way.”
And with that, day one is officially kicked off and you’re off to all the amazing sessions you’re planning to catch.
The ideas Ann, David, and Tom hit on will be rolling around in your head for days, though.
The need for marketers to be able to be our smart, flawed, humorous selves in our work because that’s what helps us—and by extension the brands we work for—stand out from the crowd.
The need for championing: fearless thought leadership, marketing creativity, and the impact of marketing throughout the entire company.
The need for unity. Marketers cannot work in silos; we need other humans to bounce ideas, share jokes, swap friendship bracelets…to GET each other.
And the feel of community at B2B Forum resonated in that room like it was our own little planet for just a few, magical days.
Published Dec 04, 2024
MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2024 was our favorite yet. There was a buzz in the air that’s hard to explain. It’s like we all needed to be in those rooms together more than ever to combat the chaotic state of the world around us and how challenging B2B marketing has been since the last few years.
If you missed it, you can’t go back to get that feeling. But there is still a chance to catch the keynotes and all other recorded sessions to get the amazing insights our speakers shared. Attendees who were there and our PRO members get access to all recordings! So if you’re PRO, simply log in and get to watching. Or, upgrade to a PRO membership today for access. Recordings are available through March 31, 2025.
And don’t miss out on MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2025. Registration is now open at our lowest rate!
