A week ago I posted that I would be attending the MarketingProfs' B2B Forum here in Boston and, long story short, I did.
My überboss asked if I would put together some slides on what I learned there, but I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone by writing about it here. After all, isn't Web 2.0 about sharing knowledge, insight, information, and, well, love?
So, in no particular order, "My Learnings."
1. Aquent Finds Marketers Job
Here's an anecdote: I was late to lunch on Tuesday and had to find an available seat for David Meerman Scott's presentation. Introducing myself to one of my tablemates, she said, "I know Aquent. I got my first job through you and a good friend and mentor of mine used to work for you guys." This was actually the second meal in which I heard words to that effect.
2. Aquent Finds Marketers Marketers
The other type of conversation I had, again fairly randomly, involved people who identified themselves as clients of Aquent. These were smart people doing innovative things at big companies.
3. Marketers Turn to Aquent as a Resource
I met people who said, "Oh, I was on your site looking for a new gig." I met others who said, "Oh, maybe you guys can help me find a new job." Another person wanted to know if job titles were a good vector of segmentation (if that makes sense).
4. Marketers Respect the MarketingProfs Brand
I think I attended four or five sessions and was consistently surprised at the varying assessment of their quality by my fellow forum-goers. Some found them good, some found them wanting. In fact, any given session could get either review, depending on the attendee.
The variety of opinions highlighted two things for me:
a) People who attend forums like this are intelligent, thoughtful, and critical; and
b) People have a high opinion of the quality of content provided by MarketingProfs and accordingly held the presenters to a relatively high standard.
5. It's Hard to Know What People Want to Know, Especially if You Don't Know What They Already Know
If people were critical of a particular presentation, it was usually due to the perception that the presentation was too general and did not contain enough practical advice - stuff that someone could "use when they get back to the office." Talking with one of the speakers, Jordan Ayan about this, he told me that the challenge he faced was striking the right balance content-wise when the audience consisted of both seasoned pros and newcomers to emarketing.
6. Presenters of the World: You Are in Control!
Since this event was a forum, audience sizes at most of the sessions seemed to be in the 50 - 75 person range. That's not tiny, but it's not gi-normous. My recommendation to anyone who would listen was that they should have kicked off their sessions by asking participants what they were hoping to get out of it. You're not going to be able to address everyone's interests, concerns, or speak to every level of experience, but you will be able to set expectations and even start things on a more conversational footing.
Frankly, I went to this forum in order to meet people. Some of those I met - Lewis Green, Valeria Maltoni, Ann Handley, Greg Verdino - I had corresponded with, even spoken to, but never met in person.
Others - Paul Dunay, Lena West, Chris Brogan, Rich Krueger, Scott Monty, to name but a smattering - were pleasant surprises.
8. I Gotta Get Out More
I really do.
Image Courtesy of puzzlement.
Thanks so much for dropping by, Matt. Hanging out with you was indeed a highlight of last week for me!