Finding my way through Adobe Summit 2019

After attending several years of Marketo Summits, I’m sure I’m not the only one who discovered A Whole New World this past March at Adobe Summit 2019! With an expansive Community Pavilion, more than 200 sponsor booths, over 17,000 attendees, a multitude of sessions and hands-on labs, Keynote speakers and celebrity appearances…these 3 days packed a little something for everybody!

I found myself sifting through the information that was available to me to find those things relevant to my business, as well as wondering how those people in need of my company’s services would figure that out as well. It’s always a bit tricky that time right after an acquisition (btw, Adobe acquired Marketo in October 2018) where people are figuring out who is who and how all will fit in. Other sponsors I spoke with were also trying to figure out how changes would present themselves. But through a bit of this confusion, I found much value in this well-established, but new to me, event.

Even in the new Adobe environment, the Marketo ties and long term relationships were still feeling strong…..

I would like to be sure to note at this point how organized this event was. Even though the attendance was 3 to 4 times that of Marketo Summit, the efficiency made that increase almost invisible. From the amazing staff and infrastructure that guided all of our booth submissions, designs, and set up, to the registration process at the event, all the meals, and especially those smiling, friendly sign holders who helped make sure we were walking in the correct direction through the casino and hotel maze while still in a morning fog. And if any of you tried to cut through the aisles to get closer seats for the keynotes, then you personally met our friend we deemed “Die Hard.” If you were there, you know exactly who I mean! We were well taken care of at our booth and every question address quickly and patiently. The Adobe event staff did a truly exceptional job which enabled us to have a little fun!

Additionally, the Keynotes from Adobe, Marketo, and other partners were engaging, and the celebrity guest appearances we’re great. Reese Witherspoon offered some pretty cool insights based on her experiences with owning businesses, creating brands, and marketing in the social world. And getting a picture of Drew Brees just scored me some points with my husband and boys!

Inside the Community Pavilion, or the main expo hall, there were some cool features set up with different companies sponsoring scoops of cookie dough, professional photos, an exhibit to revisit the 90s, and a puppy petting area (where it looks like I wasn’t the only one who came close to going home with a new puppy)!

But back to business, we were trying to make sure we get the most out of the event from our company’s perspective, which was definitely a different experience at Adobe.

At all of our previous years at Marketo Summit, every opportunity presented itself in a pretty obvious way. There are always partnerships with other products and services that we can incorporate into our projects to help our clients; current and past customers always visited the booth for some catching up in person; prospective customers could easily find us since most attendees were current or prospective Marketo users, many looking for the best agency to help them on their growth path; and of course there were some competitors which we collaborate in someway or another with most of them anyway. It was easy to miss that familiarity and immediate recognition at the Adobe Summit, where Marketo was a little mixed in the crowd and not as heavily attended since it was a late addition to the plan. So then what does one do to not get lost in the mix? That was the challenge we were happy to accept!

Our company Marrina Decsions has been around for several years offering high level strategy for all marketing automation and CRM platforms, and this event actually debuted Marrina Decisions, a ShowMeLeads company, which specializes in our fine-tuned, flawless email production services. There’s always a lot of excitement around such a launch, and we brought our A-game!

With a lot of people finding our booth in our little Marketo corner, we got to know about a lot of cool companies out there facing some familiar challenges: wanting to focus more on strategy than day to day execution, needing fine tuned skill sets that are missing, or wanting to get more executed than current resources allow. To me, talking about these pain points is what Summit is all about, and showcasing our work and expertise is always fulfilling. If you’re curious about what we shared with people, watch our video…

But how could we get to know everybody else?

To take on this challenge we decided to produce the Marrina Decisions Flawless Talkshow series. We traveled the demo floor, creating over two dozen videos, conducting interviews with other companies at Summit, large and small, to get to know about how they also bring flawlessness to their customers. It was a great way to spread our word and hear about theirs, and we can’t wait to share the interesting, and often funny, video series. Some of the cool companies we interviewed include ContentSquared, ReachForce, Mintigo, Integrate, ObservePoint, Invoca, LeadSpace, and so many more! Here’s a sneak peek of our Flawless Talkshow series. Don’t miss our intro video below, it’s hilarious, then stay tuned for more….

The other part of not getting lost in the crowd, is getting out there to the evening events. This is still defined as work, but is it? So great to connect again with existing partners, meet up with customers, and get to know some great new people in the industry. This was an opportunity to attend events that were more relative to our Marketing Automation clients and business,

We also arranged for some of our next day’s interviews at these events as well. Check out the awesome view from one of the parties…

Additionally, we were coming into this event as a new Adobe partner. With expertise in Adobe Campaign, along with our Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot, Eloqua, Marketing Cloud, etc. expertise, we appreciated the conversations that ensued around the Adobe booth as well. Being able to connect with the Adobe Partner Sales team at the Adobe Partner corner and forge those relationships for their future needs opened some great relationship building opportunities as well. We definitely have a lot to offer each other!

From keynote speakers to sponsor booths to after parties, a lot happened in those few short Adobe Summit days, but undoubtedly it provided a lot of inspiration on so many levels – for kicking off campaigns, optimizing system investments, growing partnerships, advancing careers. And I spoke with so many people looking for solutions, connections, and collaboration.

Looking forward to building those relations and resting up for next year!