In the past we were so focused on the event delivery. Now, the event is part of an integrated set of activities that build communities. Events are no longer isolated and no longer just about the event.

We sit down for a long overdue chat with our good friend Nick Laurence, Marketing and Demand Gen Leader at Sage. Our association with Nick goes back more than fifteen years and if you think, coupled with us idiots, this is an old dog conversation, then be prepared to learn new tricks as Nick charts the evolution of events over the past two decades. Nick tells us “We’re human, we’re social, we want to be together. The advent of digital marketing has given us the opportunity to expand the reach of events we’re running” and helps us answer the question "What’s right for event growth?"

We’re doing too much. We’re rushing and we’re struggling to measure success” sighs James Houselander, EMEA Marketing Director Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba Networks - this weeks esteemed Bums on Seats guest. “However, there is one HPE story has enabled Aruba Networks to leverage a fully engaged, wider audience.”

James, Dom & Martin dive head-first into discussions around openly sharing event strategy with sales, marketing, and channel - sharing responsibility to vastly improve outcomes and how content, networking and experience combine to guarantee a powerful event.

If you’re struggling to align sales, marketing to improve event outcomes, you need to listen to this episode. James brings experience, proven success stories and a sense of humour to this episode.

“As an organisation we’re trying to veer towards to what I refer to as Account Based Everything” declares this week’s guest Chris Willman, EMEA North Marketing Director at global cyber resilience firm Commvault. “The more we think: how does this fit into everything we’re doing, the better it performs”

The ‘this’ Chris is talking about is The Event: how do events fit into everything you do as a marketer? That’s the key question.

To answer this Dom and Martin dive into an engaging conversation with Chris about the power of aligning events and marketing strategies. If you’re grappling with the challenges of audience acquisition and long-term engagement, Chris brings valuable ideas to the table for streamlining these efforts. Plus, we explore his take on personalization, audiobooks vs. podcasts, and ask the big question: if events are the answer... what’s the question?