As the clock struck midnight Dec. 31, some reveled, some watched the end of a thrilling football game and some slept, but we said, “The true countdown has just begun! Our Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS), Feb. 23-24 in warm and wonderful Orlando is less than two months away!” We’ve been previewing this first, in-person BIMS since 2019 with Q&As from our incredible lineup of speakers. Here’s a big-picture, best-of from those interviews.
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How do you see the workplace evolving in the next half decade?
Terri Travis, VP, human resources, Industry Dive: The 40-hour work week will evolve and won’t look the same in the years to come. Workplaces will need to remain flexible to recruit and retain team members. I don’t envision workplaces returning to a pre-2020 model. The “hybrid” model—meaning in-office some days and working remotely on others—will continue. Video calls, messaging and other engagement platforms, or other technologies, will be an integral part for companies to keep a strong level of employee engagement with their teams spread across the country and globally.
In the Feb. 24 closing keynote, Travis will appear on a panel addressing The Future of Work in B2B Media.
What internal challenges need to be overcome, in a universal sense, to implement a [technology] strategy?
Rhonda Wunderlin, SVP, performance marketing, Questex: The strategy needs to be driven from the top so that there is one ultimate path that the entire company aligns to. Once the vision is set, the biggest challenge that companies face is the ability to bridge the gap between the vision and the day-to-day implementation. Ensuring there is a strong project manager, a detailed project plan (that is appropriately resourced) and realistic timelines is important. That said, transparency and consistent communication of milestones are also critical.
Wunderlin will be speaking Thursday afternoon in a session titled Enterprise Tech Spending Starts With a Coherent Business Strategy. Are You Focused Enough?
What’s your topline take on the state of B2B media for 2023?
Chris Ferrell, CEO, Endeavor Business Media: How 2023 shakes out for B2B will largely be determined by the underlying industry being served. I expect a ragged recession that impacts certain sectors significantly and others hardly at all. I do think that events will continue to rebound from the Covid downturn and that if events aren’t at or exceeding 2019 levels in 2023 then there is something wrong with the event rather than a hangover from Covid. Overall, I think the B2B industry is healthy. There are lots of companies doing interesting things and providing great content for their audiences.
Ferrell will also be speaking Thursday morning, Feb. 23 in the General Session titled Outlook 2023: A CEO Panel.
How have you developed the products that have become National Journal’s main revenue driver?
Kevin Turpin, president, National Journal: “We always start with asking our members questions like, ‘What’s keeping you awake at night this year? What new things are you investing in that you didn’t invest in a year ago, that you didn’t invest in five years ago? What’s the number one priority that your boss is asking you to complete this year?’”
Turpin will join Travis and SHRM’s Nick Schacht to close out the summit with The Future of Work in B2B Media.
What are the media products most in demand by marketers?
John Lerner, CEO of Breaking Media: Any marketing solution that leverages first-party data and/or contextually relevant content is in high demand. We get a lot of feedback that marketers are fed up with waste. This applies to the entire marketing funnel, even at the top. We are laser-focused on targeting appropriately for all marketing programs.
Lerner will be speaking Thursday morning at the session, The B2B Digital Advertising Surge—Will It Continue?
