Prepare to join the ultimate gathering of B2B executives, digital publishers, niche operators, M&A strategists, private equity leaders, and association media professionals at BIMS 2025. This event is your gateway to cutting-edge insights, industry-shaping strategies, and meaningful connections with key decision-makers and forward-thinking innovators, including marketing and supply chain partners.
Schedule
Registration opens at 1:00 pm
- Revved-Up Revenue Accelerator
- AI: An Operational-Efficiency Force Multiplier
Preconference Workshop is free to members.
There’s no higher media priority than revenue. In this deep-dive session designed for all sellers and their managers, we’ll cover: Ad and sponsor sales, sales management, sales-related tools, paid, paywall, and other audience strategies, forecasting and more. You’ll learn:
- Techniques for selling across channels, including print, digital, marketing services and events.
- How to create more accurate pipelines and forecast reports.
- How to use AI in sales efforts.
- Post-COVID sales strategies.
- Mastering tech tools like the CRM.
Speakers:
Jim Elliott
President
James G. Elliott Co.
John French
CEO, Owner
French LLC
Media organizations are deploying artificial intelligence across the enterprise to streamline work processes. Data processing that used to take hours can be done by AI in less than a minute. Content producers and marketers use AI to speed up processes and refine audience insights. Hear three leaders take you through what they’re doing, what’s next, and how you can apply their findings at your organization. You’ll learn:
- To identify where AI can make the most impact in the shortest time.
- Lessons learned about what you should—and should not—do.
- How to mine and enrich data using AI.
- Opportunities in back-office automation, business analytics, customer service, sales support and more.
Welcome reception in the French Quarter Balcony Room
All attendees, speakers and sponsors are welcome to the registration desk for important conference materials and updates.
Start the day off at breakfast with the most important B2B publishing network.
Welcome remarks and conference kick off from:
Chris Mohr, President, SIIA
Tony Silber, Managing Director, SIIA Media
Social platforms have revolutionized how media companies acquire and engage audiences. In a conversation covering both policy and business strategy, hear Meta Director of Public Policy Brad Weltman—a media-industry veteran—outline the social platform’s views on privacy, AI and continued successful collaboration with media companies. You’ll learn:
- How Meta approaches the policy process as a part of its business strategy.
- Meta’s perspective on the role and identity of B2B and vertical B2C media.
- How changes in policy have changed Meta’s approach to media.
Negotiating With LLMs: What You Need to Know
It’s a stark choice: Allow AI bots to scrape your content and incorporate it into models that may ultimately replace your brands, or cut deals in exchange for appearing in searches going forward. Hear the pros and cons from those who’ve done it. You’ll learn:
- Why many media organizations have done deals with AI companies.
- Typical terms—what’s in the agreement and what’s not.
- Pricing models.
From the Frontlines: Fresh New Research on Media Planning and Ad Spending
Advertisers focus more on the bottom of the funnel and expect ROI and leads. Search and social spending continue to grow, and retail advertising is ascendent. Media planners are stretched thin, lacking time to assess options and goals. Sit in for the findings of the fifth survey of media planners and buyers, co-produced by the James G. Elliott Co., AdWanted SRDS, and Readex Research. You’ll learn:
- The impact of AI on planners and buyers.
- What marketers expect from their campaigns.
- Where content marketing, marketing services, events, and more fit in the mix
Modernizing the Full Funnel, Customer-Journey Model
The traditional ad-sales funnel model goes from awareness, to consideration, preference and intent. Media operators must provide platforms for clients around marketing services, niche events, lead-gen, education, and more. Hear how and why you should make this happen, and how not to find yourself in a race to the bottom of the funnel. You’ll learn:
- The shortcomings in the traditional model.
- Collaborating on new ways to press the advantages of full-funnel marketing.
- Why lead-gen without brand recognition produces fewer valuable leads.
- The role technology platforms fill.
Leveraging In-person Engagement: Extending Your Brands into New Events
Events bounced back from the pandemic, and demand remains high even while the landscape gets busier. The big opportunity now is to extend strong brands into new events: Conferences, hosted-buyer, awards programs, festivals, tours, and more. Hear case studies in success. You’ll learn:
- How to identify opportunities by pinpointing audience heat around various topics.
- How to zero in on the right format and scope of a niche event.
- How you can deploy influencers and creators from within the market.
Why leveraging in-person brand extensions enhances everything you’re doing
M&A Outlook 2025
M&A activity is an accurate window into the state of B2B media, revealing how buyers look not just at the sector overall, but the assets they value most. Sit in on an expert panel where we examine the deal drivers in 2025. You’ll learn:
- Valuations compared to prior periods.
- Why PE Investments are extending beyond the three-to-five-year exit.
- An assessment of the 2025 pipeline.
- The impact of external forces, like interest rates and the strength of the economy.
- What to know if you’re thinking about selling your company.
From the Frontlines: Fresh New Research on Media Planning and Ad Spending
Advertisers focus more on the bottom of the funnel and expect ROI and leads. Search and social spending continue to grow, and retail advertising is ascendent. Media planners are stretched thin, lacking time to assess options and goals. Sit in for the findings of the fifth survey of media planners and buyers, co-produced by the James G. Elliott Co., AdWanted SRDS, and Readex Research. You’ll learn:
- The impact of AI on planners and buyers.
- What marketers expect from their campaigns.
- Where content marketing, marketing services, events, and more fit in the mix
Driving More and Better MQLs to sales teams
Marketers place a huge premium on campaign ROI, which is usually measured in qualified leads. But even when quality leads are produced and vetted by the marketing team, getting them to the sales team—or directly to the client—can be a challenge. In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to mitigate delays and distractions.
- Where you can streamline workflows.
- Technologies that can break logjams.
Converting Trade Show Exhibitors Into Year-Round Multichannel Buyers
In some markets, even very successful ones, show producers report that it can be difficult to convert sponsors and exhibitors into making full-year, multichannel digital-marketing investments. Hear from two show operators why that reluctance exists and how they’ve overcome it. You’ll learn:
- The need to educate marketers, especially at the senior levels.
- How to create media packages that are more likely to appeal to event marketers.
- Why the essential synergy between the annual event and 365-day exposure needs to be emphasized.
- Ways of presenting proof of ROI.
Speaker:
George Jackson, Executive Producer, GovExec TV, GovExec
Enjoy this mid-day break, lunching with old and new friends.
Social platforms have revolutionized how media companies acquire and engage audiences. In a conversation covering both policy and business strategy, hear Meta Director of Public Policy Brad Weltman—a media-industry veteran—outline the social platform’s views on privacy, AI and continued successful collaboration with media companies. You’ll learn:
- How Meta approaches the policy process as a part of its business strategy.
- Meta’s perspective on the role and identity of B2B and vertical B2C media.
- How changes in policy have changed Meta’s approach to media.
Outlook 2025: The Media CEO Perspective
Sit in our annual CEO Panel, featuring four CEO innovators, as they discuss their priorities, pain points and anticipated trends for the year. You’ll learn:
- How this group of executives defines itself today.
- How that definition informs its priorities.
- Areas where the industry needs to get stronger.
Speakers:
Matt Reilly
CEO
Fusable
KC Crain
CEO
Crain Communications
Dive in to an interactive discussion during a series of roundtables.
Protecting Your Business With a “Moat”
It’s a great metaphor, and it involves protecting your brand(s) from any number of disruptions: Unexpected competitors, poor execution, technology shortcomings, and more. Hear two strategic thinkers define their moats and help you approach how to build yours. You’ll learn:
- How SWOT analysis can help identify vulnerabilities.
- How to find points of differentiation that help construct a moat.
- How to correctly read early warning signs.
- Getting the workforce to watch for shifting dynamics, internal or external.
Addressing Attrition Among Small Print-Only Advertisers
Print remains among the top revenue sources for B2B media. But reports suggest steady attrition among smaller advertisers—and that they’re not transferring their spend to digital channels. Hear strategies for addressing this dynamic from those who’ve done it. You’ll learn:
- How to find out where budgets are going.
- Why some marketers have stopped spending with print brands.
- Digital sales pitches that resonate with smaller advertisers.
- The product mix and the outcomes they’re looking for.
Building Events That Scale
Scalable events not only amplify impact but also engage more stakeholders, foster enhanced collaboration, and maximize ROI. Join a discussion of essential strategies and best practices for planning and executing exponential event growth that can be applied in all markets. You’ll learn:
- How to employ efficient frameworks to create engaging experiences.
- How to establish sustainable practices to create a dynamic that resonates with audiences.
- The elements that ensure lasting impact and significant value.
- How to seamlessly blend innovation, technology, and strategic planning to scale events.
Finding, Training and Keeping the Next Generation of Top Sales Talent
Media salespeople juggle different channels, different technologies, different objectives, different KPIs, different ways of measuring ROI, and different brands, all simultaneously. Learn how to build the ideal profile of a successful seller, then find and keep them as they drive growth and innovation. You’ll learn:
- How to map the characteristics of a great seller.
- How to win talent wars.
- Creative approaches to WFH and in-person meetings.
- How to create innovative training programs.
- New ways to approach compensation, training and job satisfaction.
Existential Threat: AI’s Impact on SEO and Web Traffic
Google and other platforms now offer AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. If a search produces all the information being sought without clicking through to a link, it potentially represents a catastrophic loss of traffic. Hear strategies needed to successfully respond in the ongoing battle for audience engagement. You’ll learn:
- The scope and immediacy of the situation.
- How it totally upends years of SEO planning and spending.
- Three different approaches for muting the impact.
Outside is the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content, with 41 brands, including Yoga Journal, SKI, Backpacker, Climbing and the legendary Outside itself. Hear Chief Media Officer Heather Dietrick outline the company’s strategies on building value and accelerating growth. You’ll learn:
- How Outside Inc. leverages audience data into new opportunities.
- What Outside’s B2B brands learn from the business strategies of its B2C portfolio.
- The company’s approach to events and in-person monetization.
- It’s innovations in marketing and sales.
Speaker:
Heather Dietrick
Outside Inc.
Join us at the BIMS Big Easy Bash – an exclusive event where relaxation meets networking!
Take advantage of this opportunity to unwind, mingle with peers and prospects, and enjoy a delicious dinner in a captivating setting.
Registration opens at 7:00 am. Stop by the registration desk for updates and information.
Coffee, croissants and conversation. Join friends and peers as we kick off the second full day of BIMS.
Welcome to the second full day of BIMS.
Private-Equity: Helping Power Up Media Success
One of the most common forms of media ownership in both B2B and niche B2C is private-equity. In this session, hear what PE firms look for in a potential acquisition, and the specific components of a media business they value most. You’ll learn:
- What PE finds attractive about media businesses.
- PE ownership’s growth expectations, and what they measure.
- The effect of macroeconomics, including interest rates.
- Optimal conditions for how and when PE firms look to exit.
Case Studies and KPIs For Optimizing Subscriber Acquisition and Engagement
Messaging strategies and subscription pricing techniques are becoming more precise and effective. All kinds of tech-dependent data points go into establishing engagement criteria, including visitor frequency, cost per acquisition, cost per conversion, keywords, lookalikes, lifetime value, churn, and more. Hear two brand leaders share case studies and their formulas for ranking audiences. You’ll learn:
- How to get prospects to experience your content.
- The tech tools needed to refine messaging and offers
- Ways to differentiate between casual visitors and those with more potential.
- How to manage costs while maximizing subscriptions and tamping down on churn.
The Attention Economy: How Deepening Engagement Diversifies Revenues
Media companies face an advertising squeeze, as more budgets move to large programmatic companies and small influencers. Growing audience influence is an effective countermeasure, strengthening advertiser interest in podcasts and video, and increasing ad performance. You’ll learn:
- How Farm Journal measures media consumption across audio, video, and written content.
- How it uses this knowledge to increase audience loyalty.
- How that provides better avenues to event and paid subscription revenue.
Speakers:
Jennifer Richter
VP/Digital
Farm Journal
Todd Peterson
SVP/Audience
Farm Journal
A New Blueprint for Supercharging Attendee Marketing
Marketing teams are stretched thinner than ever, the event universe is more crowded, and pricing events is a delicate balance. By leveraging tech-based approaches and data-driven insights, organizations can craft compelling messages that drive deeper connections with greater impact. Hear the latest strategies and tools for more effective event marketing. You’ll learn:
- How to harness data analytics for more personalized content.
- The value of cross-channel integration to create targeted campaigns.
- How to engage audiences more effectively.
Speaker:
Annie Bruce, Senior Director, Event Marketing, GovExec
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