“An “inciting incident” disrupts the status quo. This happens in every film and it needs to happen in business.” Clay Hausmann, CMO, Aktana
At last year’s #ThinkContent 2017, Clay Hausmann, Aktana’s CMO, delivered an important message to disrupt. But now, not even a year later, instead of one “inciting incident,” marketers are faced with endless factors that are disrupting their status quo, from quickly developing markets to technology. There is so much confusion as to whether marketing strategy, objectives, or platforms should change. In a politically, economically and technologically volatile market where time is of the essence, the speed at which the market changes and the volume of options make planning so much more difficult. B2B marketers are constantly being sold to by conference companies, trade associations, publishers and more – the B2B media and events space is expanding quickly, with the number of suppliers currently standing at around 8,000 on EI’s database. The general increase in the amount of media suppliers is further explained when we examine growth in individual markets.
This rise in the number of events and suppliers is presenting marketers with so much choice – how can you sift through the new opportunities and know that they are worth pursuing, whilst justifying legacy sponsorship of events you have attended for years? It is overwhelming for marketers who are now bombarded with so much choice, yet at the same time, presents exciting opportunities to pursue new activities and to identify those engagements that really do bring tangible ROI.