Procure Con Marketing Overview and Re-Cap

Highlights: Lots of fireside chats, panel discussions, and interactive roundtables at Procure Con Marketing this year. For a visual learner who loves slide decks and digging through content,  it was a bit rough.  But they still covered a wide range of topics from the future of marketing procurement to managing agency rosters, and cost savings for exhibit/booth providers. It left me wanting more new and innovative solutions, but I digress.

Break-away sessions and round table discussions on both days were again interesting but could have used some additional content to look through. One of the more interesting sessions was regarding direct print. The fact that direct print is still relevant and the digital channel is starting to decrease in recent years due to Millenials is a bit shocking. Direct mailers, leave behinds, and other print outs are growing again and need to be taken into account for when planning your channel mix.

Another presentation that was insightful was regarding the blurred lines between IT and Marketing.  Something I’m all too familiar with and not the biggest fan of.  Two different approaches to the topic were (1) changing their organizational structure so that they could bring include IT-specific personnel during RFPs with Commercial as the lead and (2) Become the “jack of all trades” and masters of none to take on the additional IT work despite being Commercially focused.

Dependant on the size and structure of the organization, I could see how each would work.  It’s a lot easier to pull in IT support when needed, but most smaller companies don’t have the luxury or bandwidth given the number of FTEs.  Small companies tend to have overworked staff and taking on additional projects just isn’t a good option.

Exhibit and Booth Providers  – The full-sized blow-up elephant stole the show for Tidesmart Global!

The second exhibitor to note was: Robertson Marketing (Link: https://www.robertsonmarketing.com/) was the first on my list and kudos to them for executing a seamless pre-event promo strategy that filtered into the onsite discussion.  Sending out a “pre-travel” kit was genius and pulling people into the booth or additional promo items that tied together the theme was impressive.

They even had a printed card with your name on it as a way to hand out t-shirts without having them on-site to manage and run out of. This group was sharp and impressive and their strategy highlighted their strengths and creativity. MsCategoryManagement.com

It was also great seeing my old colleague from Gilead – Phil and catching up.  Along with seeing Tim from BeekMan associates and all the family at Ebiquity.  Familiar faces always add a nice level of comfort to being able to enjoy a conference! They also make each conference a little bit easier to navigate and network at.

I may have missed the ANA finance conference this year, but ProcureCon did a good job of filling that void. And for that reason I will definitely be going back!

Looking for other reviews? Check out – ANA FM 2019