From Roundtables to Real Connections: My 2023 B2B Ignite Experience

This year's B2B Ignite conference in Chicago proved to be an incredibly valuable experience for me, personally. Not only was the content shared in the two-days of sessions informative and relevant to the most pressing topics in B2B marketing, but what truly made a difference were the new connections I forged with fellow B2B leaders. Despite having watched and listened to countless B2B webinars and podcasts from my at-home desk over the past few years, being present at this event added a whole new level of value. For those who couldn't attend, here are a few of my highlights.

Undoubtedly, the dominant theme of this year's conference was Artificial Intelligence (AI), and for good reason. My key takeaway is that AI in marketing is here to stay, and B2B marketers who fail to embrace it will be left behind.

While it seemed that more than half of this year's sessions touched upon AI or machine learning in some way, my personal favorite was the day two keynote by neuroscientist Carmen Simon, titled, "Could a Robot Replace Your Marketing Team?" Her enlightening session left a lasting impression. A few of my favorite callouts from her session include how important clean data is, how more data isn’t always better because of data’s diminishing return, how essential critical thinking skills will become, and how AI cannot and will not create demand on its own. Carmen’s session reiterated how robots (AI) and marketers will need to partner together in this new world.

Between the insightful sessions, I thoroughly enjoyed the candid debates and conversations that took place between new and old colleagues. Topics ranged from the best ways to utilize AI and which technologies to adopt (highest mentions were ChatGPT and MidJourney by far) to the ethical considerations of using AI. There is still much to explore and discuss here.

In addition, I had the chance to meet a few B2B thought leaders in-person, which was exceptionally valuable. Some of the notable individuals I had the pleasure of connecting with include:

Michael Brenner , a renowned B2B content marketing expert, who shared invaluable wisdom about why more than 56% of the content we produce as marketers goes unpublished and unnoticed.

Ted from Park & Battery , shared his passion for creating true value in B2B content marketing, approaches to gating (or not gating) valuable content, and ideas for transforming content into a buying experience.

The Radish team, whom I had the opportunity to meet after attending their informative LinkedIn webinar about B2B marketing in the metaverse. Our in-person conversations delved deeper into their work with clients in the metaverse, providing invaluable insights I wouldn't have gained solely from the webinar. Additionally, Digital Radish hosted an engaging roundtable discussion about a recent account-based marketing (ABM) program they executed for their client Quantexa. They not only shared the results but also provided detailed insight to their strategy and process, which proved to be timely and valuable for me as we navigate new ABM program strategies for a few of our own clients.

This year's attendance doubled compared to last year, which is fantastic news and promising to hear for those that are looking forward to more in-person experiences. I eagerly anticipate next year's event, as well as other similar in-person B2B marketing gatherings – they provide continued opportunities for learning and networking within the Ad industry.

Written by Matt Mudra, Vice President of Planning & Performance at SCHERMER