Marketo’s annual summit is only a few weeks away, and as I reflect back on my own experiences at past Marketo User Summits (2012 – 2015) as a Marketo employee, I can’t help but look at this year through an entirely different lens. A Las Vegas lens mind you; but still coming from a new wide-eyed Marketo employee in 2012 to a seasoned Marketo Speaker and University Day Instructor to an actual attendee has been an amazing journey as a Marketing and a Sales professional. What my experience has provided me with is true behind-the-scenes insights and some noted NOT TO MISS sessions that I am excited to share.
A few sessions on my DO NOT MISS list and why:
1. Marketo is Great, Why Doesn’t Anyone Else Get It?
Speakers: Caroline Ruggiero (Marketo Value Consultant) and Mindy Chase (Marketo Value Consultant)
This will be 
an interactive workshop session that focuses on the often under-estimated “people factor” and the challenges we face in making the leap to Marketing Transformation. This session is so key in fact that I am here to tell you that I work with this profile day-in and day-out as a Marketing Automation Services Provider. While serving on the Marketo Sales Team I was paid on selling the dream. I am now paid on delivering the dream and as my former colleague and personal friend, Caroline Ruggiero, will share in this session these are two TOTALLY different ball games. Caroline will focus on strategies and tactics for getting your organization on board and firing on all cylinders. Caroline is not only a friend, she happens to be one of the smartest marketers and well versed individuals on Marketo on the planet. She is employee #75 or something like that. She is amazing, don’t miss out on her session!
Session info: Marketo is Great, Why Doesn’t Anyone Else Get It?
Date/Time: May 10th at 2:00pm
Location: Room 306/307
2. Building in Marketo for Global Enterprise Scale: Learn How Microsoft uses Marketo?
Speakers: Charles Eichenbaum (Microsoft Director of Marketing Technology) and Payal Gupta (Microsoft Director of Marketing Automation-Cloud)
While at M
arketo I was privileged enough to briefly work with Charles. I was so impressed with his ability to understand how Marketo would be a value for the business. He was an evangelist and focused on the promise that Marketo would be the secret sauce to his marketing team’s success. As he has moved up in the organization the proof is in the pudding as they say. I always tell my clients that Marketo is a path forward to professional development and opportunity. Charles is a shining example of this and one who I would pay acute attention to if you are looking for the same kind of opportunity!
Charles has two sessions. Both will be brilliant.
This session will cover scaling with Marketo and highlights, if planned for and used properly, how your teams will become more efficient and key drivers of revenue creation. If not, your teams can quickly become mired in the quicksand of inefficiency. They learned this the hard way. Charles tells the story of how Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise adopted Marketo – failed – and then rose from the ashes by successfully rolling out Marketo to 500 marketers, in over 100 countries, supporting 25+ languages, and 10 product lines. He’ll also cover practical examples of some of the key learnings they’ve discovered in how to set up your marketing architecture for success at the start.
Session info: Building in Marketo for Global Enterprise Scale: Learn How Microsoft uses Marketo
Date/Time: May 10th at 3:30pm
Location: Room 306/307
3. How Microsoft put Marketo at the Center of its Digital Marketing Strategy to Drive Transformation
Speakers: Charles Eichenbaum (Microsoft Director of Marketing Technology) and Payal Gupta (Microsoft Director of Marketing Automation-Cloud)
Charles is joined in this session by yet another Microsoft leader whom I was so lucky to briefly work with while I was at Marketo, Payal Gupta. Last year I walked Payal and a few of her colleagues around the exhibitor floor to meet with other MarTech vendors so that her team could get in touch with the best and the brightest. Again, these are two shining examples of why making the right investments in Marketo and the services model to support Marekto pays off big time!
Hear their story about staying on course as the company was in the middle of a dramatic transformation with its mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Come hear the story of how the marketing and IT teams partnered closely to build an enterprise grade modern marketing cloud for its commercial business with Marketo at the center.
Session info: How Microsoft put Marketo at the Center of its Digital Marketing Strategy to Drive Transformation
4. Embracing a Consumer-Led Era: Perspectives from Innovative Marketing Executives
Speakers: Duane Schulz (Xerox VP Marketing Technology and Global Brand)
This is a full panel of evangelists who are critical in moving marketing forward. It is a laborious journey! But, as they say, somebody has to do it and these are a few that I find to lead the pack with their tenacity, dedication and abilities to lead the Marketing Transformation Journey for their respective organizations and it is paying off BIG TIME! I highlight Duane here because he is also a colleague and personal friend whom I happen to admire for his accomplishments and if I were you I would put this on my MUST NOT MISS LIST.
In this session the panel will explore the creation of omni-channel experiences that are personalized, relevant and seamless. With all of the technologies and data available to marketers, we all know that the biggest challenge has become determining which one (or combination) will help them meet this customer demand and prove their ROI. Hear marketing these executives share ideas for adapting successful frameworks to the practice of marketing.
Session Info: Embracing a Consumer-Led Era: Perspectives from Innovative Marketing Executives
Date/Time: May 10th at 1:00pm
Location: Room 320
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