B2B World Fest 2022 agenda: here’s what’s on this week

The two-day event will kick off live on November 9 from our pop-up studio in London – filmed in front of a live audience – and will be broadcast around the world.

Here’s an overview of the agenda for Wednesday and Thursday:

Wednesday November 9:

8:45am ET/1:45pm GMT, B2Brunch

The Drum and friends set the scene for a day of B2B action. Join hosts Lynn Lester, Craig Duxbury and Cameron Clarke as they preview the day ahead and discuss some of the key trends shaping the industry.

9:10am ET/2:10pm GMT, B2B One2One with Michelle Klein, vice-president of global business marketing, Meta

Ken Hein, The Drum’s US editor in conversation, with Michelle Klein, vice-president, global business marketing at Meta.

Where does the metaverse fit in B2B marketing plans, especially amid current belt-tightening? Klein gives an in-depth look at both the opportunities and the obstacles for B2B brands looking to excel in this emerging, yet often confusing, realm.

9.35am ET/2.35pm GMT, The Grow Show

It’s time to think bigger. With all the talk of global recession, how can B2B marketers and agencies efficiently deliver brand-to-demand marketing to drive growth?

Most B2B brands are global; almost all larger B2B brands are. Yet global B2B marketing remains a big challenge. What’s the right model to achieve global consistency and local relevance? What are the right brand and agency models and relationships to address and drive all funnel stages, from top of funnel through pipeline across all geographies? What’s the optimal role and interrelationship of central and field marketing? Most importantly, how can you best manage all the moving parts and players without over-complexity and inefficiency?

It’s a big subject in search of a better solution. Here’s your starting point.

10am ET/3pm GMT, Funnel Vision

Demand be damned? Are B2B marketers placing bigger bets on brand? Will it pay off?

There is an interesting inversion happening in the world of marketing. Consumer marketers are talking a lot about the bottom of the funnel. Business marketers, meanwhile, are focusing more on brand building and awareness. The question right now is how do B2B marketers interlock brand and demand? How do they improve (and prove) the impact of the brand-to-demand mix?

10:55am ET/3:55pm GMT, The Horror Show

How do B2B marketers – with so many roles, pieces and parts – avoid turning into a Frankensteinian monster? Here’s how to avoid a modern-day horror story.

Try to define the role of a B2B chief marketer. Go ahead. One sentence. Do they own brand? Pipeline? Insights? Data? Growth? Internal comms? Customer relationships? Tech stack? Product? Creativity? DEI? Culture?

Where does it begin? Where does it end? What does success look like? So many twists and turns. This session reveals all.

11:35am ET/4:35pm GMT, The Big Commit

Reuben Webb and guests on how a full-on commitment to creativity is supercharging B2B effectiveness.

Has B2B creativity finally arrived? At the inaugural Creative B2B Lions at Cannes, 2% of the work was considered ‘wow-worthy’ enough to win. But what about the 98% that didn’t win? And all the work that wasn’t even entered? Cannes revealed a lot about the state of creativity in B2B. And it showcased why it takes a particular approach in B2B to reach not just the creative heights, but the effectiveness heights.

12pm ET/5pm GMT, Trending

Lynn Lester, Cameron Clarke, Craig Duxbury and marketers discuss key takeaways from B2B World Fest 2022 today.

Thursday November 10:

8:45am ET/1:45pm GMT, B2Brunch

The Drum and friends set the scene for a day of B2B action. Join hosts Lynn Lester, Craig Duxbury and Cameron Clarke as they preview the day ahead and discuss some of the key trends the industry is talking about.

9:10am ET/2:10pm GMT, B2B One2One with Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing officer, Mastercard

Mastercard’s Raja Rajamannar in conversation with Stein IAS’s chief client officer Craig Duxbury.

Best-selling author, award-winning chief marketer and World Federation of Advertisers president Raja Rajamannar is one of the preeminent voices in marketing. He sees the more human and emotionally enlivened future of B2B, and also where the tripwires are for marketers. You won’t want to miss this compelling conversation.

9:35am ET/2:35pm GMT, The Golden Shot

Kendra Clark and her star-studded B2B guests discuss how B2B could be on the brink of a golden age.

B2B marketers have a lot to be excited about. They have been ahead of the curve in terms of performance marketing. They’ve sprinted into the digital realm and are investing more in creativity and brand than ever before. But have we truly arrived at the golden age of B2B marketing? Is the effectiveness truly, consistently, meaningfully there? This panel has a frank conversation about what’s next and what needs to be done.

10am ET/3pm GMT, People2People Show

Ellen Ormesher and her guests talk about the power and need of internal communications.

If there’s one thing the great resignation and DEI imperative have taught companies, it’s the value of their own employees and the need to be a talent magnet. But who ideally should own talent and employee branding? HR? Marketing? Both? Neither? And why, despite everything that’s happened, do internal communications often still play second fiddle? Here’s what needs to happen and why.

10:55am ET/3:55pm GMT, Tomorrow’s World

Remember when 2030 seemed the far-distant future? Well, it’s coming up fast, led by millennials, gen Z and, oh yeah, here comes alpha. On top of that, a generation of marketers who made B2B what it is today has started to leave the industry. Change is in the air. Want to know what the B2B marketing future could and should look like? Make sure to tune in to this panel moderated by The Drum’s senior reporter Sam Bradley.

11:35am ET/4:35pm GMT, Risky Business

Tom Stein and his guests look at the lessons that can be learned from the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and various financial meltdowns.

During a period of unknown and known risks, what are the best approaches for marketing teams to take? Ethical considerations must be reflected – both within a company and among its external audiences. The same goes for geopolitical considerations.

Economic ‘macros’ are affecting customers’ businesses. Chief marketers and their teams have a major role in developing the right strategies and narratives, as well as supporting customers under stress. As we saw during the pandemic, challenging times can be B2B marketers’ time to shine. How best can we prepare?

12pm ET/5pm GMT, Trending

Lynn Lester, Cameron Clarke, Craig Duxbury and marketers discuss key takeaways from B2B World Fest 2022 today.

You can register to watch B2B World Fest online, or apply to attend in person here.