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3 key reasons why Partnership Leaders' in-person conference 'Catalyst' was a big success this year.
There are conferences, and then there are conferences.
Partnership Leaders' Catalyst 2023 firmly establishes itself in a league of its own.
This annual conference serves as a catalyst for growth in the partnership and business development sector, with partnership professionals from around the globe coming together to discuss best practices, set industry standards, and elevate partnerships to new heights. This year, Catalyst 2023 was held in Denver. It was attended by 650+ professionals, all of whom left the event thoroughly impressed and inspired by the experience.
Here are 3 ways Partnership Leaders made this in-person conference an absolute hit among its members this year.
At many in-person conferences, the check-in process can be tiresome, often involving long queues, manual badge searches, and frustrating delays. Attendees frequently spend valuable time waiting in a line or tutting internally at the sluggish pace of checking-in.
It can put a damper on the event itself.
But at Catalyst ‘23, attendees were able to check in and get their badges printed in less than 60 seconds. It was a smooth-as-butter process because:
Conference apps, while intended to enhance the event experience, can often be bloated with unnecessary features and difficult to navigate. Attendees may struggle to find the information they need amidst a sea of overwhelming options, leading to frustration rather than convenience.
The Catalyst ‘23 app however was built with input from Partnership Leaders’ community members themselves, who logged in, tested things out and made suggestions. This sense of co-ownership resulted in 98% of Catalyst attendees downloading the conference app.
“They used it to navigate the venue and add sessions to their schedule. They could receive real-time updates to the agenda, and it allowed them to see who else they could network with based on their goals and interests,” says Asher Mathew, CEO of Partnership Leaders. “It helped to personalize the conference experience for them and strengthened the sense of community, as we had all built it together.”
Navigating the conference landscape can be a double-edged sword for both sponsors and attendees. For sponsors, qualifying attendees amid the hustle and bustle of large events can be a daunting task. On the flip side, attendees often find themselves overwhelmed, struggling to keep track of the multitude of opportunities that come their way.
The Lead Retrieval app at Catalyst '23 served as a bridge, simplifying interactions between sponsors and attendees. Sponsors could quickly scan attendee QR codes for instant data capture and qualification using simple lead scoring, making follow-up with highly interested attendees easy. And for the attendees, the same QR scan meant that they could just focus on interacting with the sponsor without the burden of manual note-taking, knowing that they would be sent pertinent information after the conference.
The collaborative energy championed by Partnership Leaders paved the way for streamlined interactions and seamless data exchange that attendees wholeheartedly embraced at Catalyst '23, and set a new standard for in-person conferences.
Email marketing is key to promoting upcoming events for your business or association. Learn some actionable tips for creating stand-out email campaigns.
Imagine you receive this email from a professional association you were once a member of:
Would you be likely to re-engage with the association or attend the event? Probably not. This short email doesn’t inspire action and would be unlikely to even catch your attention in a crowded inbox.
But what if you received this version?
Assuming you’re a badger researcher or enthusiast, this email would probably be more likely to grab your attention, right?
Email promotions are among the most important ways for organizations to get the word out about events, increase attendance numbers, and drive engagement. But there’s so much more you can be doing than drafting basic emails notifying supporters, members, or customers about the event and asking them to attend. The ways in which you design your email campaigns and craft your messages will have a huge impact on final outcomes.
Let’s explore four of the fundamental best practices to keep in mind.
Why would someone want to attend your event? When you’re knee-deep in planning and coordinating, it can be surprisingly easy to lose sight of what should be at the core of your event’s promotions: its value proposition.
Value proposition is defined as “a concise statement of the benefits that a company is delivering to customers who buy its products or services,” but it can be expanded to anything that you’re promoting. If you’re asking people to take action, you need to understand why they’d want to.
Break your event down into these elements to uncover and refine its value proposition:
As you lay out your email strategy, try answering these questions. They’ll give you a clearer sense of why people would want to attend the event and what they’ll get out of it. This is the core message that should anchor all of your promotions in one form or another.
Understanding your target audience will help you refine your email approach and ultimately maximize attendance and engagement. If you’ve already defined your audience with the exercise above, it’s time to dig deeper to uncover the more specific strategies and elements you might employ in your emails to target them.
Start by defining the specific characteristics of your target audience for this event—for an association, these could be markers like:
When you create a defined segment for your event promotions, you can then take a closer look to see what promotional strategies will work best for your emails. If you keep comprehensive records in a CRM or database integrated with your email tools, you should be able to review previous email campaigns that these segmented donors have received. Order them by clickthrough or conversion rate, and bingo—you’ve found the specific promotions, subject lines, perks, and more that successfully attracted this audience’s attention in the past.
But even aside from this kind of data archaeology, segmenting your audience will still be helpful for simplifying the process of drafting your messaging. It’s always easier to speak to a group when you know exactly who they are in relation to your organization.
Segmentation is also important if your event targets multiple audiences, like potential vendors and attendees for a conference. Segmenting them and developing distinct email streams will keep your promotions organized and effective.
Once you’ve determined the value of your event and who you’ll be promoting it to, it’s time to write some emails. You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to draft an engaging message, but you do need to follow a few best practices. These are the most important to keep in mind:
Above all, keep your email direct and concise. We all receive spam messages and know what they look like, so don’t let your email get mistaken for one. A direct, eye-catching subject line, compelling body copy, and thoughtful language and personalization choices can make a big difference in the ultimate impact of your emails.
Don’t forget the finishing touches that will drive engagement and more signups for your event—compelling visuals and clear calls-to-action.
Your emails can (and should) include visual elements that reflect the theme or content of your event. These could include:
Be mindful not to include any visuals that are too large—this will impact the email’s deliverability and load time, which will backfire and reduce engagement. But compelling visuals that reinforce your brand and trustworthiness, add an appealing look, or provide social proof can go a long way to drive results.
You’ll also need to include calls-to-action that clearly direct readers to the target action you want them to take. For an event, this action would be registering to attend. It’s important to have a single call-to-action so that your message doesn’t get muddled, but this request can be repeated multiple times.
The first couple of lines in your email should clearly state your call-to-action and link readers to your registration page. Then, sign off your email with a prominent button, graphic, or link that also sends readers to register.
With a well-designed registration page, you’ll start seeing registrations trickle (or flood) in.
But you’ll also need a way to actually track these conversions. Ensure that your registration page is set up to capture and report conversions, in this case sign-up form completions, to Google Analytics. You can then use this data to put the finishing touches on your event plan and learn more about your performance, both in real-time and once the event is over and it’s time to promote your next one.
Email can and should be a cornerstone of your event promotion strategies. It’s one of the most direct ways of reaching potential attendees, and it’s easy to create streams or chains of emails that educate your readers about the event and compel them to take action. Email performance is also extremely measurable, making it a helpful source of event metrics when integrated into your data collection processes and future email marketing strategies.
With a clear sense of who you’re targeting, why they should be interested, how to best design your message to catch their attention, and extra touches that drive engagement and sign-ups, you can see some incredible email marketing results for your next event.
A short but succinct guide of what to expect at the conference.
Insuretech Vegas is just around the corner!
This event is the place to be for the latest and brightest in the insurance and technology industries, packed with expert sessions, hands-on workshops, breakout sessions for networking, and more.
Here’s everything you need to know about Insuretech Connect Vegas this year.
First, here are the essentials:
When is Insuretech Connect Vegas?
October 31 - November 2.
Where is Insuretech Connect Vegas 2023 going to be held?
The conference will be held at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.
Where do I register?
Click here to purchase your tickets at ITC Vegas.
And here’s what you can look forward to checking out at the conference:
Hear directly from top insurance CEOs, regulators, and innovation visionaries on their strategic insights and vision for the insurance sector - these sessions are insightful, downright inspiring and extremely valuable. We’re looking forward to these fantastic keynotes this year:
There’s a fantastic variety of panels you can attend at the conference based on your specific interests, goals and pain points. We’d love to attend all of them to be honest, but here’s the ones that we wouldn’t miss:
From exploring emerging technologies like AI to mastering the intricacies of regulatory compliance, learn how to apply cutting-edge knowledge to real-world challenges in the insurance sector. Here are a few intriguing workshops that caught our eye:
You’ll have plenty of time and opportunity to meet businesses and professionals you’re interested in connecting with. There are booth/kiosks on the show floor, private meeting rooms adjacent to the show floor booths, a dedicated area on the show floor for international attendees as well as dedicated meeting tables on the show floor.
There are a series of networking meet-ups designed for key niche audiences throughout the day including a First time orientation, Black Founders reception, Women’s Leadership Forum and a Reverse Speed Mentoring session held by InsureTalent x RISE in which young professionals seize the reins and offer insights that challenge conventional wisdom.
And there’s an AI matchmaking tool available that will connect you with decision makers that matter the most to you.
It's not all business; there's lots of entertainment and socializing at the conference too! Enjoy social events, receptions, and after-hours gatherings where you can relax and unwind while building connections. Do not miss:
Insuretech Connect this year promises to be a captivating event where you’ll probably be witnessing the future of insurance unfold in real-time. You’ll also get plenty of opportunity to network with tech and insurance enthusiasts as well as industry leaders. Win-win-win.
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From 65+ badges in summer, we're now 98 badges strong on G2! Here are the highlights from our wins in the G2 Grid® Report for Fall 2023.
Another season becomes another reason to celebrate!
We’re super kicked to share that Zuddl has bagged 98 badges in G2’s Fall report across 8 categories. Back in summer. we secured 65+ badges, and now there's 33 more badges - which means 33 more reasons to smile :)
(Noteworthy categories: Virtual Event Platforms, Mid-Market Virtual Event Platforms, Small-Business Virtual Event Platforms)
Products in the Leader quadrant in the Grid® Report are rated highly by G2 users and have substantial Satisfaction and Market Presence scores
(Noteworthy categories: Event Management Platforms, Event Networking and Matchmaking, Mobile Event Apps, Event Registration & Ticketing)
The Highest Quality of Support product in the Relationship Index earned the highest Quality of Support rating in its category
(Noteworthy categories: Event Marketing, Event Management Platforms, Audience Response, Webinars, Event Networking and Matchmaking, Mobile Event Apps, Event Registration & Ticketing,)
Products in the High Performer quadrant in the Grid® Report have high customer Satisfaction scores and low Market Presence scores compared to the rest of the category
(Noteworthy categories: Event Management Platforms, Event Registration & Ticketing, Webinars)
The Easiest Setup product in the Implementation Index earned the highest Ease of Setup rating in its category
(Category: Mid-Market Virtual Event Platforms)
The Best Usability product in the Usability Index earned the highest Usability rating in its category
Our G2 report rankings are derived from genuine feedback given by actual users of Zuddl. As Sara Rossio, the Chief Product Officer at G2, points out, these insights are invaluable for potential buyers. They can confidently rely on this information during their software selection process, knowing it stems from thoroughly checked and genuine reviews.
Easiest Admin Mid-Market
(Key categories: Mid-Market Webinar, Mid-Market Event Management Platforms)
Easiest To Do Business With Mid-Market
(Key categories: Mid-Market Audience Response, Mid-Market Event Management Platforms)
Momentum Leader
(Key categories: Event Management Platforms, Virtual Event Platforms, Webinar, Mobile Event Apps, Event Registration & Ticketing)
Leader - India
(Key categories: Asia Pacific Mobile Event Apps, Asia Pacific Virtual Event Platforms, Asia Event Registration & Ticketing)
High Performer Enterprise
(Key categories: Mid-Market Asia Pacific Virtual Event Platforms, Mid-Market Asia Pacific Webinar)
As always, we thank you for cheering us on!
Psst.. we have exciting things lined up in the coming months - stay tuned!
Thinking of checking out Oracle CloudWorld 2023 in Vegas? Here's what's in store.
Oracle CloudWorld 2023 is all set to kickoff next week. If you're still on the fence about attending it, and don’t have the time to do your research, we’ve got you covered!
Here’s all you need to know.
It’s the largest gathering of Oracle customers and partners from around the world.
Oracle CloudWorld will be held between September 18–21, 2023 at The Venetian Conference and Expo Center in Las Vegas. It is an in-person first conference.
Discover how to rapidly transform customer experiences by leveraging Oracle's infrastructure and applications. Understand the benefits of Oracle's integrated cloud suite in delivering seamless customer experiences.
Dive into the capabilities of Oracle Advertising and CX to enhance your marketing strategies. Learn how to drive better results and ROI from your marketing campaigns using Oracle's suite of tools.
Experts from Atlassian, Intermedia, Cohere, Accenture, and Oracle will discuss generative AI use cases, success stories, deployment strategies, and best practices.
Oracle's sales and product teams are arranging small, by-invitation gatherings for individuals to interact with peers and specialists. The event includes a meal, beverages, and some entertainment in Las Vegas. Besides this, there are a host of sessions hosted by AMD, PwC, Accenture, etc. Plus, you can always spark up a conversation at CloudWorld Hub during your coffee breaks.
The passes and pricing deets are available on their website.
Dreamforce 2023 promises a blend of business acumen, AI innovations, and A-list entertainment. In this article, we unpack the highlights.
Touted to be the AI event of the year, Dreamforce 2023, Salesforce's renowned annual conference is happening between Sep 12 - 14 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA- and it promises to be a hoot!
For those of you who are wondering if it’s worth your time and money, here's a sneak peek into what’s in store.
Other important speakers include:
Marc Benioff - Chair, CEO and co-founder, Salesforce
Sam Altman - CEO, OpenAI - AI innovator and expert
Ayanna Howard, Ph.D - Accomplished roboticist, entrepreneur and educator
Viola Davis - Award-winning actress, producer and NY Times bestselling author
Rainn Wilson - Award-winning actor, comedian and NY Times bestselling author
Here are some of the standout AI sessions lined up:
Apart from the regular sessions, Dreamforce 2023 is introducing "TrAIlblazer Experiences," a unique blend of learning and entertainment. These experiences are designed to inspire attendees, offering a mix of hands-on workshops, luminary sessions, and networking opportunities.
To add a touch of entertainment to the event, the legendary rock band Foo Fighters will be tearing up the stage!
Interested in attending? You can register for Dreamforce 2023 on the Salesforce website. Given the event's popularity, it's advisable to book your spot asap!
How do you start off with influencer marketing in the B2B space? What are the key tactics to succeeding in it? This article has the answers.
Businesses are waking up to the potential of influencer marketing.
A recent poll by InvespCro revealed a staggering 94% of marketers believe influencer marketing is a game-changer for B2B businesses.
With such compelling stats, it pays to know how to tap into influencer marketing. At the same time, for someone starting out, it also pays to know what not to do. Luckily, we got some killer insights from Anton Shulke, Head of Influencer Marketing at Duda, in our recent edition of Event Heroes.
Here are four cool takeaways from that conversation that you can confidently bookmark:
One of the key points Anton underscores is the importance of investing time and effort in building relationships with influencers. No matter what the current trends are and what different strategies you’re following, at the end of the day, relationship building determines the success of your influencer marketing efforts.
"I think you will win in influencer marketing (B2B especially) if you kind of hold your horses and you invest, invest in not, not money, invest your time and, and, and effort in relationship with your influencer.” advises Anton.
Anton reiterates the power of trust and the human element in influencer marketing. Authentic recommendations can significantly influence purchasing decisions. He stresses the importance of working with an influencer who sees value in your business as well as your product. If they don’t like it - how will they vouch for you?
Highlighting this point, he says, "Only work with people who want to work with you who see value in working with you. It also is very important to work with people who like your products (not necessarily who use your product)."
On the topic of how influencers can add value to B2B conferences, Anton acknowledges that they can help you reach a wider audience and promote your event, but also highlights that it is important for an event marketer to know the difference between an influencer and an expert, and this will help you aptly reach out to them for different purposes to better your conferences.
"Expert and influencer - it's not the same. One expert would be absolutely fantastic - but nobody knows him because he doesn't want to be a public figure. Experts will bring some tips or some deep knowledge people want, of course, but this expert would not bring registrations of course because nobody knows him. So you need someone who will bring your registration.”
Getting started with B2B influencer marketing can be a bit puzzling. As a marketing leader who is planning to kick things off, how do you make the first move? Anton suggests that starting with low-cost initiatives, like webinars, can be an effective way to dip your toes into influencer marketing without a hefty investment.
You can watch our entire conversation with Anton right here.
Here’s how Zylo drove 46% growth in new pipeline from SaaSMe 2023
Every year, Zylo, the leader in SaaS management hosts SaaSMe, a multi-day conference dedicated to assisting IT and business leaders drive responsible growth through smarter SaaS management.
Day 1 of the conference is open to all who want to learn more about optimizing their SaaS portfolio, while Day 2 is dedicated to helping current customers dive deeper into deriving even more value from Zylo. Here's how Zylo delivered value to SaaSMe 2023 attendees and built relationships that turned into 46% growth in pipeline within just 2 months after the conference.
Here are 3 things that Zylo did which led to incredible growth in pipeline:
Despite having over 1000 registrations at SaaSMe, Zylo effectively understood the pain points and goals of each attendee by employing event engagement scoring.
They achieved this by first intelligently aligning session scoring with Zylo's value pillars.
Then Zylo analyzed each prospect’s attendance at sessions and engagement activity within each session.
This made it simple to see which were the prospect’s primary interests or concerns in SaaS management - for instance security, or licensing.
By leveraging Zuddl’s Salesforce integration, Zylo’s Sales team had easy access to information on the sessions that prospects and customers were most interested in at SaaSMe 2023 and questions or concerns on their mind. This insight, combined with existing account data, enabled them to reach out with personalized messages and content aligned with a prospect's interests—such as security for those engaged in SaaS security sessions.
Furthermore, Zylo also ensured that the right seller connected with the right prospect. For instance, because Day 2 of SaaSMe was customer-centric, only customer success executives were assigned follow-up with customers. Here too, because of the Salesforce integration, CS executives had more insight into a customer’s goals and challenges and could recommend additional Zylo service offerings.
Team Zylo, using Zuddl's built-in video production tool - Studio, were able to create SaaSMe 2023 branded video highlights within days after the conference. This meant that their Sales team could use the videos in their outreach to prospects and customers - a simple but impactful way to continue the momentum of the conference forward, cement Zylo as a partner invested in optimizing your SaaS management, and move the needle a little further towards conversion.
When the name of the game is building authentic connections and tailored solutions, Zylo's success stands as a testament to the power of meaningful engagement. Through their effective use of Zuddl’s platform features and integrations, Zylo turned their industry conference into an impressive pipeline engine for the company.
Read more about Zylo’s success here.
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We've dropped some game-changing enhancements to help you streamline in-person events, target audiences effectively, and communicate with precision. Read the article for more deets!
Hold onto your hats, folks…
We're about to unveil some game-changing updates that are going to revolutionize the way you craft user conferences. In a world where every event needs to leave a lasting impression, you need tools that are not just good, but exceptional.
We've been listening, tweaking, and perfecting Zuddl to ensure you have everything at your fingertips to design those standout experiences.
Ready to explore? Let’s jump in:
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Remember, every event tells a story, and with these updates, you're equipped to make yours legendary.
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There's no better teacher than experience. That's why we've compiled four invaluable takeaways from an event marketing veteran.
History informs us about the future - and the same holds true for B2B conferences.
By looking back, we can glean insights that help us move forward with clarity and purpose. And this perspective becomes even more invaluable when it comes from an industry veteran who has witnessed the ebb and flow of event technology over the years.
Enter Sharyn Fitzpatrick, a top-55 event technologist who currently helms events at Sysdig, a cybersecurity software company.
Sharyn has been in the events industry for over 25 years, and carries with her some invaluable learnings from her journey. She has seen the industry evolve, adapt, and transform.
So, when she shares a nugget of wisdom or a tale from her journey, it's not just a story – it's a roadmap.
Here's a quick look at some pearls of wisdom she shared with us in a recent edition of Event Heroes.
We’re not trying to sound like Captain Obvious when we say event technology is advancing at a rapid pace, because it’s still relevant - every passing day.
Platforms are evolving, new tools are emerging, and the integration possibilities are expanding. For event marketers, this means continuously updating their knowledge and being ready to adapt. Leveraging the latest features and integrations can significantly enhance the attendee experience.
When asked about leveraging event tech to build better events, Sharyn says "You need to be able to use an API or an embed code... platforms that have been more open source, open API, not a closed API will allow you to create a better experience for your attendee."
An event with zero challenges? - that’s Utopia!
Technical issues, unexpected changes, or disruptions can throw a wrench in the most well-laid plans. Sharyn emphasizes the importance of not just having a Plan B but also a Plan C and beyond. Being prepared for multiple scenarios ensures that you can pivot effectively, no matter what challenges arise.
“One of the stories I love telling is when we did this Charlie Miller webinar in February. I got a call at 4 am that one of our assisting speakers was sick and couldn't attend... so you've got to have kind of a backup plan for the different things that you do.” Sharyn remarks.
In the bustling area of event marketing, creativity is the only differentiator, and has always been.
It's not just about having a unique theme or engaging content; it's about reimagining the entire attendee experience.
From the way content is delivered to the engagement strategies employed, every aspect can benefit from a touch of creativity.
"Creativity is the soul of having a good events program... I believe in finding creative ways to deliver the right webinar experience." advises Sharyn.
The logic is simple, really. Unless you truly know who your audience is, how can you expect to create an impactful event experience that captivates and converts?
Knowing who you're catering to, their preferences, expectations, and needs, is paramount. Tailoring your event experience to resonate with the audience ensures that you're providing them with authentic value and not just giving them a lofty philosophy that won’t make a difference to their career.
After all, an event is as successful as the value it provides to its attendees.
Sharyn reiterates this approach by stating: "Make sure you know who you're doing the events program for, who the target audience is, and what experience you want to create."
We hope these pearls of wisdom help you shape your own memorable event marketing journey.
You can also watch our entire conversation with Sharyn at your convenience!
Discover the buzz around Google Cloud Next 2023: A hotspot for event marketers seeking the latest in cloud tech.
"Ok, Google, tell me why I should attend Google Cloud Next 2023?"
As one of the most awaited tech events of the year, this event promises a deep dive into the latest innovations in cloud technology.
If you're still wondering if you should attend, here's a sneak peek into what's in store:
Google Cloud Next is Google Cloud's premier annual conference, a gathering where technologists, innovators, and decision-makers come together to dive deep into the latest advancements in cloud technology. From illuminating keynotes to hands-on learning sessions, the event offers a unique blend of technical content, strategic insights, and opportunities to connect with experts and peers.
Whether you're an IT professional, developer, or a tech enthusiast, Google Cloud Next promises to equip you with the knowledge and tools to shape the future of cloud computing.
This event is up your alley, if you wish to:
With his vast experience and vision, Thomas's insights into the future of cloud technology are known to be enlightening. With nearly 30 years under his belt, he's honed his skills in engineering, cultivated strong business relationships, and effectively led large teams. Thomas is on the advisory councils for Stanford's Graduate School of Business and Princeton's School of Engineering.
Brad's sessions are known for their technical depth, providing a granular look into the workings of cloud technology. Brad Calder holds the VP and GM position for Cloud Platform and Technical Infrastructure at Google Cloud, managing networking, storage, data analytics, and core compute sectors. He has published over 100 papers in the areas of systems, architecture and compilers.
Aimee is a renowned expert in the go-to-market strategy for partner ecosystems and is notable for her contributions to DEI initiatives. Over her two decades in enterprise marketing, Aimee has led numerous leadership roles in both large and small firms, notably as the VP of Corporate Marketing at Pure Storage and the VP of Alliance Marketing for Citrix.
Experts including David DeSanto from GitLab, and key figures from Google and The World Bank, will delve into Google Cloud's advancements in generative AI. Learn how organizations are leveraging these innovations and stay tuned for exciting announcements in Machine Learning and Generative AI.
Join Harris Beber, Kristina Behr, Dave Citron, Yulie Kwon Kim, and Aparna Pappu from Google at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA from 12:15 - 13:00 GMT-7. Explore how Google is revolutionizing work by integrating AI into daily productivity tools. This session will unveil Google's vision for the future of collaboration and how Google Workspace can elevate creativity and efficiency in the modern hybrid work environment.
Join Brian Goldstein from Google, along with industry leaders from Dialpad and OpenText, as they discuss the transformative impact of AI on collaboration technologies. This session delves into how intelligent tools are reshaping the modern hybrid workplace, empowering employees to achieve peak productivity. Learn from experts at the cutting edge of AI and data integration, and discover strategies to future-proof collaboration while maximizing outcomes.
Innovators Hive is the go-to spot for developers and practitioners to discover the latest from Google Cloud. Whether joining in-person or virtually, this is your destination for up-to-date learning materials, Innovators program details, engaging challenges to test your expertise, and exclusive digital badges for Next ’23 participants.
Join Genevieve Chamard, Steve Jones, and Jennifer Marchand from Capgemini as they explore the synergy of human intelligence, cloud, and Generative AI. This session will guide enterprises on leveraging the latest technologies, showcasing real-world applications and strategies in the cloud for scalable and responsible business growth.
Want to master event budgeting? Let Kimberly Wong from Paddle guide you with 4 proven strategies
Ever felt the pressure of creating a standout event on a shoestring budget?
You're not alone.
Kimberly Wong, Senior Manager - Field Marketing, Global Events and Experiences at Paddle, knows that struggle all too well. Having worked in the hospitality industry prior to entering the B2B SaaS space, Kim’s experiences with running events are as unique as they come!
That’s why we sat down with her and discussed tried-and-true strategies to make every penny count and elevate your events without emptying your pockets!
And since ‘time is money’, let’s save you some and head right into the takeaways.
As event marketers, we all deal with vendors who help us translate our vision to reality. At this stage, it’s important to not think of your vendors as mere service providers, but rather as partners in your success.
Kimberly's approach underscores the value of these relationships. She notes, "Coming from hotels, I had a network of vendors that I rely on for various needs like swag, rentals, lighting, AV, and more. Building relationships with these vendors is crucial because you develop trust in their work quality."
How does this help with your budget? A better relationship means a better understanding of each other's needs. More open communication channels can lead to smoother operations, fewer misunderstandings, and even better deals or value-added services!
Every event rests on key pillars, the non-negotiable elements that define its core. Kimberly advises to identify and prioritize these from the get-go.
She suggests, "Start with the non-negotiables. Things that are never going to change." This isn't just about budgeting; it's about understanding the essence of your event. By identifying these pillars, you’ll ensure that the most critical aspects of your event remain uncompromised, allowing for flexibility and cost cuts in other areas without diluting the event's main objectives.
“For example you know how many people you're going to send on the team, you know you're going to need to do XYZ meals, you know you're going to have to pay this speaker right? When you start with that you get you get a base of what you're going to need to spend.” adds Kimberly.
In today’s super-saturated space of B2B events, no one person has all the answers. Kimberly champions the idea of leaning on the collective wisdom of the community.
She mentions, "Joining an association... you connect with planners and suppliers that become your back pocket." This isn't just about networking; it's about shared experiences, learning from others' successes and mistakes, and tapping into a reservoir of knowledge that can help you navigate challenges, anticipate trends, and make informed decisions.
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The phrase ‘do more with less’ is great - as long as you don’t end up coming off as a cheapskate.
Kimberly offers a word of caution that while cost cutting, you may want to steer clear of cutting high-impact elements too thin, which in turn dampens the “oomph” factor of your event.
For instance, she emphasizes, "You don't want to skimp on the kind of swag or giveaways... if it's good, they'll keep it; if not, they'll probably leave it back at their hotel room."
This is about the legacy of your event. It's about ensuring that every touchpoint, every interaction, and every takeaway resonates with quality.
Liked these tips? Try ‘em out and let us know what worked for you? Also, you can watch our full conversation with Kimberly Wong on-demand for more insights!
Virtual user conferences come with their own challenges, but with the right technology, event marketers can not only overcome them but also put up a truly masterful virtual experience. Here’s how.
Crafting a virtual user conference is more than just organizing an event; it's about creating a memorable digital journey for every attendee.
And as an event marketer, you know all too well that putting together an impactful virtual user conference comes with its own challenges.
The good news is that these challenges can be overcome when you have the right conference technology partner on your side.
So let’s break down the top challenges and see how the right event tech can help you obliterate them!
Every participant at your user conference, be it a customer, partner, or prospect, has unique expectations from your event. But without a tailored registration processes, event communications and experiences, it becomes impossible for you to engage with them in a meaningful way.
Your brand has its own identity and voice, and your design team is probably fantastic! But even they can be stifled by limited platforms can sometimes dilute that uniqueness, making your event feel less authentic and potentially alienating your audience.
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Data drives successful events. However, limited or clunky integration can disrupt the flow, leading to manual workflows, potential errors, and missed opportunities - aka a ‘pull-your-hair-out and scream’ situation for any marketer.
The absence of a robust, integrated studio in your conference platform can be a total dampener on your user conference, rendering your sessions low-impact and your session management glitchy, with a lot of room for panic for you as well as your speakers.
Of course, we can go on and on, but we highly recommend you watch this on-demand product tour to see how your next virtual conference can be your most epic one yet!
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Here's what's cooking at Zuddl - right from custom communication and better duplication to more integration support and improved registration, this post covers it all!
With the July updates, we bring you even more control for event creation and management.
The major highlights include custom communication, better duplication settings, more integration support, and an improved registration page.
Get even more control over your communications
You can now select attendees and send them custom emails from the People section. The section also has filters now - you can separate attendees by status (attended or not attended), by type (attendee or booth owner), and by custom access groups to help you choose the ones you want to email.
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Keep the settings you want, leave the rest behind
When you duplicate your event or webinar, you can now choose which settings to duplicate to the new version. Studio backstage is also duplicated now.
Push your webinar recordings to Wistia
We all know what Wistia does. If you don’t, go check out their homepage. We’ve been supporting this feature for our events app and extending it for webinars.
Yes, Wistia integration is now also available for webinars. You can now use the integrations to push webinar recordings to Wistia.
How cool is that?
Draw your attendees with a slick new page design
We’ve made multiple improvements to the landing page setup. You can add an image or video as a page banner (carousels are still supported for older pages), upload a logo for the page, and the countdown timer has a new animation.
That's a wrap for now!
Want to see Zuddl in action? Book a demo today.
Learn how Zuddl makes it easier for you to increase turnout, optimize conversions and accelerate pipeline.
Demand gen has just gotten harder over the past 2 years.
“A surge in competition for running ads, leading to a substantial increase in advertising costs, the absence of new channels and the decline of existing ones such as Bing, have significantly limited marketers' options, making it harder to reach and engage target audiences effectively” explains Anshuman Sethi, Digital Lead at Zuddl.
But against this backdrop, 74% of marketers say that events are their most important demand generation tactic, no doubt because they foster direct engagement and deeper connections than a post on a social media platform or an ad on your feed.
So in other words: yes, you definitely should be leaning more into demand gen events, whether roadshows, educational lunch and learns, or webinars. But you can also be smarter about how you’re going about it.
With Zuddl, you can orchestrate and control all your demand gen events from one dashboard. This means you have easy access to tools to run your events, and data to optimize critical processes that influence more and better outcomes! Win-win-win.
Here’s how Zuddl makes it simpler for you to get more out of your demand gen events - before, during, and after an event—as well as between events.
Getting prospects to turn up for demand gen events is half the battle won. To help cut through all the digital noise, Zuddl enables you to do the following:
With these tools, influence higher attendee turnout for your events.
Using different tools and platforms to collect and manage prospect event data makes it difficult to get a clear, full understanding of an individual’s use-cases, goals and pain points. Zuddl pulls real-time data from all activities and actions taken by prospects across the lifecycle of a single demand gen event, and across many events too. This enables your teams to do the following:
Better intelligence = better follow-ups = more conversions. Click here to read how Zylo drove 46% in pipeline from their virtual event using Zuddl.
If you’re not improving your results, you’re flatlining. Zuddl’s analytics dashboard helps you analyze what's helping and hurting the performance of every marketing activity, from registration rates to email opens to collateral downloads, with which you can make changes to improve results. For example you can:
Using Zuddl tools can make it easier for you to get more out of your demand gen events.
✅ Attract net new leads by creating fun and exciting registration pages using the landing page builder. Use customizable registration forms to collect pertinent info about attendee profiles.
✅ Keep your events top of mind and boost turnout by using automatic calendar block and email reminders.
✅ Optimize performance of your demand gen events using analytics to identify best day, time, duration and trending topics.
✅ Empower sales to interact with prospects and personalize their outreach with real-time and easily accessible attendee analytics.
✅ Use analytics and insights to create the right strategies to extend and continue engagement between events.
A breakdown of how Zuddl Webinars makes the registration process easier for marketers and registrants alike.
It seems simple enough: a webinar registration page that is simultaneously 1) engaging and simple to navigate for attendees, and 2) captures essential marketing intelligence about registrants for marketing and sales teams to nurture down-the-line.
But a registration page and process that can accomplish both is more an exception than a norm.
B2B event marketers can be hampered or limited in their efforts by tech that constrains customization and personalization — meaning that it can actually be extremely difficult to make the registration page look a certain way, or have your registration form display fields that are important for your business. This not only negatively affects attendee engagement but can also limit your valuable follow-up data.
Built to address these frustrations, here’s 3 ways Zuddl Webinars helps make the setup of webinar registration easier for B2B event marketers.
An intuitive interface allows you to simply drag and drop elements - text, images, buttons etc. easily. Then, input your brand's color codes and select matching fonts. This ensures consistency with your overall brand identity, creates an engaging and cohesive experience for your registrants, and just makes attending your webinar more appealing!
Most webinar platforms will allow you to capture the most salient details about your attendees such as their name, email address, company name and location. These details can help marketers personalize the attendee experience post-webinar. Zuddl's registration forms let you do so much more.
Zuddl Webinars takes registration form customization one step further by giving you the ability to employ conditional logic in registration forms - by which we mean, the ability to show or hide form fields or sections based on the user's previous responses.
An example: Let’s say your business has a plan for enterprise customers. In your webinar registration form, one of the questions you ask could be “Are you in a team of more than 100 people?” If they answer “Yes” from a drop-down option, the next question triggered from that response could be “Would you be interested in our enterprise plan?”. If your registrant is in a team less than 100 aka not an enterprise, then this question will never be shown as it is irrelevant to them.
This level of personalization lets you and your marketing team capture essential information on your leads that can be used by your growth and sales teams to reach out to MQLS generated from webinars, with better context as to the use-case.
Zuddl Webinars has ready integrations with most CRMs and martech tools, such as Salesforce, Pardot, Hubspot and Slack. This means there’s no manual effort needed for data entry, there’s less error when it comes to preserving data integrity, and that you can easily surface and share data with different teams in the company for better alignment.
An example: By having a dedicated Slack channel for webinar alerts, Cloudsmith’s Sales team were notified when prospects that they were working to get over-the-line registered or attended, and could use this information for timely and targeted outreach post-webinar.
Instead of piling more onto B2B marketers’ already full plates, webinar hosting software should be helping to relieve it.
Zuddl Webinars, by addressing the most common headaches marketers face with webinar registration, aims to deliver an experience that is flexible, convenient and targeted to solve the day-to-day challenges marketers face.
With setup of the landing page and registration form simple to execute and easy to customize, and integrations making it hassle-free to utilize registration data post-webinar, marketers no longer need to spend hours and effort on manual activities, and can instead focus on simply building a solid webinar strategy.
Drawing from her extensive experience and recent success with Unpacked - a virtual DevOps conference - Hillary Foster, Global Events Leader at Cloudsmith shares key insights on running successful virtual conferences.
If you’ve been watching our show ‘Event Heroes’ - a webinar series that features event leaders from across the B2B space, you know that we recently concluded one of our most exciting episodes yet!
Our guest speaker was Hillary Foster, who is the Global Events and Sponsorships Lead at Cloudsmith, a SaaS tool for developer teams.
Hillary brings a wealth of experience to the table. With a rich background in event planning and logistics, including stints at the Grammys and The Washington Post, she knows what it takes to create an event that resonates.
Recently, Hillary orchestrated Cloudsmith’s inaugural global virtual conference on Zuddl - Unpacked ‘23, which garnered over 1,200 registrations. We caught up with Hillary to get some insights into the inner workings of Unpacked.
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Here are our top four learnings from that conversation that are sure to help you run better virtual conferences.
Hillary emphasizes the importance of defining clear objectives for your virtual conferences and measuring relevant metrics. She says, "To measure the success of an event, it goes beyond just saying, 'Oh, we had 10,000 registrations.' If the 10,000 people registered aren't relevant to your business, then that doesn't really matter." This insight underscores the need to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to event attendees. It's not just about attracting a large crowd, but attracting the right crowd.
According to Hillary, fostering community engagement and promoting your event internally are crucial for its success. She states, "Internal marketing is as important as external marketing. Talk about your events, so people are on track, and you know, I imagine that also helps with employee advocacy."
This approach not only ensures that everyone within your organization is aware of and excited about the event, but it also encourages them to spread the word within their own networks, amplifying your reach.
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Hillary highlights the importance of a deeper vision when it comes to your event content. She points out, "Having things that can be captured in the virtual space live on forever on our YouTube or behind gated content is really important."
This highlights the value of virtual event content as a long-term content resource. In an increasingly on-demand world, the recordings from your virtual conference can be invaluable video assets that can be put up on your website or Youtube and continue to engage audiences and drive value long after the event has ended.
Finally, Hillary advises event marketers to personalize event promotion efforts and focus on reaching the most relevant audiences.
She says, "You want to target the people in your industry who are going to attend the events. What newsletters are they reading? What websites are they going to? What forums are they on? Those are the ones you want to target and use your paid media spend there." This approach ensures that your promotional efforts are focused and effective, reaching the people who are most likely to be interested in your event.
You can also watch the whole conversation here - it’s 100% ungated!
Learn how Zuddl Webinars reduces team dependencies, and empowers a single B2B marketer to run the entire production process with ease.
Usually, marketing teams work like Lego.
Sub-functions within the marketing team - designers, content writers, webflow developers, email marketers, etc. - come together like the fitting of different Lego pieces in order to build a website, publish ebooks and articles, run webinars, and so on. It's a smooth assembly line.
But sometimes, when the interdependency within a marketing team becomes too rigid, it can act as a blocker, hindering agility, causing project deadlines or go-live dates to be delayed or even canceled, and just causing all-around frustration and stress.
This is clear in the production of a webinar, for instance. Setting up and running a webinar is reliant on the involvement of different team members and requires a lot of orchestration as is clear in the diagram below.
To set up and run a webinar requires the effort of at least 3-4 people in the marketing team.
All in all, for the webinar showrunner, dependencies can make running webinar programs extremely stressful as any delays or absences could significantly derail the efficiency of the event.
Zuddl Webinars simplifies the setup and execution of webinars, making it easier for a single individual to manage the entire process. Here’s how the platform enables self-sufficiency:
Using Zuddl Webinars, the webinar showrunner can ‘own’ all the activities that occur within the webinar production process by themselves, thanks to the platform’s ‘clicks not code’ ethos. This means that all webinar assets such as the landing page, webinar ‘stage’ and email promotions can be created and customized by just one person.
This entire process is made easy through visual cues of every step in the process, and simple drop-down and toggle options, reducing reliance on dedicated technical support or IT personnel.
Building each email itself is as simple as using these drag-and-drop blocks.
By using ChatGPt to populate text for straightforward emails, you can also reduce dependency on your hardworking content team.
And by automating the sending of key emails - registration confirmations, reminders to attend, and post-event communication - you can make the attendee experience a smooth one. The bonus is that you won’t have to keep checking if messages are sent out on time.
The takeaway: With the availability of these user-friendly templates, webinar showrunners can now breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the days of painstakingly putting together landing pages, emails and webinar stages, and battling tech constraints and formatting mishaps are over.
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In today's visually-driven world, the design and branding of your webinar is really important. Zuddl Webinars makes it simple for organizers to add branding directly to all your webinar assets. You can customize banners, backgrounds, buttons, forms, alignment, error messages etc. all by yourself.
This means you can reduce revision rounds, and that you don’t need to badger team designers for around-the-clock assistance. (PS: This is not to take away from the importance of your team designer, without whom you wouldn’t have those essential hex codes, fonts, and logos to use in the first place).
The takeaway: Using these Canva-like editable tools, you can reduce dependency on your design team. You yourself can make your webinar look on-brand and aesthetically pleasing in a short amount of time.
Webinar organizers usually have a lot to juggle during the live webinar. You need to keep your speakers on track as well as the host. Visual aids (if any) need to be shared on time. The Chat has to be moderated. Polls need to be launched.
Normally, you’d need at least one more extra person from your team to help coordinate all of this and make sure that the webinar is on track. Zuddl Webinars can replace that person.
The takeaway: Studio capabilities give you better control over your run of show, leaving little room for error during your livestream. This means that you can fully concentrate on making your stream more engaging.
With Zuddl Webinars, gain more control over the entire setup and execution of your webinars than you’ve ever had before.
The platform tools enable you to carry out many activities by yourself, without having to keep going back and forth between team members. This in turn allows you to have better control over timelines and output, thereby improving efficiency.
TLDR: Here’s a quick breakdown of how you will reduce team dependency with Zuddl Webinars:
So, go on.
Make your life as a webinar organizer 100 times easier.
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