Events – Tell Your Story

June 3, 2016

in Social PR News, Interesting Things, Events, Business Marketing Association

5 Takeaways from #BMA16

I had the pleasure of attending my 4th BMA National Conference this week at the Hilton Chicago. Every year the conference seems to grow and change, this year with the ANA partnership front and center. Regardless, I can always count on the BMA Conference for great networking, quality content and a wealth of insights and ideas to bring back to my job and my clients. Some of the most common themes from this year’s conference included how marketing can and should drive business results, ways to build compelling brands through storytelling, and making marketing more important within organizations. There were plenty of great B2B insights to choose from, but I’ve narrowed it down to my top 5 takeaways over the 3-day event. It’s not B2B or B2C its B2H= Business to Human. While this isn’t a new idea, it bears repeating. Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Office at GE, reminded us that business...

September 23, 2015

in Association, Interesting Things, Events, Business Marketing Association, Brand Communications

by George Rafeedie

8 Steps to Storytelling Success

Tell Your Story Founder George Rafeedie gave a recent breakfast seminar with the Chicago Business Marketing Association where he taught a group of B2B marketers how to develop and share stories on any budget. In his dynamic presentation, George explained how every organization (big, small, start up, non-profit, division) has a story. And our job as marketers is to find it. Then develop it. Tell it. Measure it. And lastly, improve it. The story should be unique and tied to an organization’s purpose, the difference they make in the world, says George. He shared the following 8-step process that marketers can use, right now, to develop and share their story/purpose. 1) Executive download & brainstorm. This is where executive buy-in happens. It is where you go to your boss/CMO/President/whomever and explain the process and why your organization needs it. This step is crucial as it ensures your stakeholders feel like they are part...

May 29, 2015

in Blog, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Nicole Benzer

Be More: Top 5 Themes from #BMA15

“Be More.” Two words, countless nuances, depending on whom you’re talking to. For the hundreds of B2B marketers that attended BMA15, this slogan invariably implies how we must continually adapt and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of a world guided by technology and innovation. B2B’s potential is overwhelming, yet promising, as we continue to strive for improvement in all areas. After attending dozens of sessions and combing thousands of posts on Twitter over the past few days, these 5 themes seemed to rise time and again for marketers looking to Be More. Customer experience and satisfaction is the catalyst for all marketing initiatives, but great customer service isn’t enough anymore. Experiential marketing is becoming the norm and successful brands are learning how to deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. Employees are the foundation and support system for customer loyalty, acquisition and retention. Every brand, regardless of industry, should make employee...

May 29, 2015

in Blog, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Ellen DePodesta

Top 10 Takeaways from Day 2 of #BMA15

[caption id="attachment_3187" align="aligncenter" width="675"] The #BMA15 tweet wall on Day 2[/caption] There were some really strong presentations at BMA15 Thursday. I like the cadence of this conference, with most sessions half an hour or 45 minutes long—enough time to delve into a topic without getting slow. There were many remarkable speakers today; heavy hitters from companies like Forrester Research, Pinterest, Dow and Daimler Trucks. Here are some of my favorites and some of the memorable sound bites from the day. 1. Joe Pulizzi. Just the guy to jump-start our brains after a night of staying out way too late. He talked about some of the characteristics of great content marketers, and gave examples of companies that do it right. Those who succeed document and write down their content strategy. It’s not enough to think about it, or have it in your head. And, they work to build an audience, a key component...

May 28, 2015

in Blog, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Amanda Pollard

Top 10 Takeaways from Day 1 of #BMA15

[caption id="attachment_3175" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Google's Jim Lecinski presents at #BMA15 Photo Credit: DejaViewsUSA.com[/caption] The Tell Your Story team proudly joined more than 950 fellow b2b marketers for Day 1 of the world’s biggest and best b2b marketing event, BMA15. In addition to staffing the press room and managing press for the conference, our team soaked up a plethora of valuable ideas, insights and takeaways that we can apply to our b2b marketing programs and careers. The conference has our entire team inspired and energized to “Be More.” Here are our top 10 takeaways from Day 1 of BMA15: [caption id="attachment_3177" align="alignright" width="325"] The number of B2B searches has tripled in the past two years. Photo credit: DejaViewsUSA.com[/caption] Millennials now make up almost half (46%) of b2b buyers. Reach them via mobile and video, or get left behind. Data, data, data! We don't need more dashboards, we need insights to guide decisions. There’s much disconnect between...

May 26, 2015

in Blog, Interesting Things, Events, Business Marketing Association

by George Rafeedie

Top 10 Takeaways from BMA15 Chapter Leader Day

[caption id="attachment_3162" align="aligncenter" width="500"] #BMA15 kicked off today with the Chapter Leader pre-session[/caption] No long blog posts here this week! The 2015 edition of the National Business Marketing Association National Conference, BMA15 / Be More, kicked off today with a pre-session of Chapter Leaders. Chapter Leaders are those who serve in leadership positions at the 20+ local chapters that make up the BMA. As promised, no long blog posts from Tell Your Story this week. So here are my take-aways from today. Watch for our other lists from my colleagues at the end of each day. 10. Chapter Leaders are passionate. We have all built great communities. That needs to continue – local B2B community building. 9. The merger with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) could potentially be a good thing in terms of promoting the profession of B2B Marketing, but the beauty of BMA is that we are not too corporate. ANA is...

April 24, 2015

in Blog, Client News, Events

by Nicole Benzer

B2B Marketers Can Learn a Thing or Two from the LMA

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Annual Conference on behalf of client One North Interactive, a digital marketing and technology agency that has historically worked with some of the world’s largest and most prominent law firms. [caption id="attachment_3110" align="alignleft" width="383"] One North Interactive's booth[/caption] Maybe it was due to the event backdrop, which was set on the glorious San Diego Bay, or maybe it was the stellar lineup of keynote speakers and session leaders (including One North!), but more than 1,300 legal marketers attended the trade show, setting a record for the international conference. Although this event was specific to the legal industry, many of the insights and conversations shared apply to all business marketers and professional services organizations. Here are a handful of the ones I noted during my time there. Relationships don’t build themselves [caption id="attachment_3109" align="alignright" width="403"] LMA Welcome Session[/caption] Even though building and maintaining business...

February 11, 2015

in Blog, Interesting Things, Events, Tell Your Story News

by Nicole Benzer

Give Back the Love

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston S. Churchill The team at Tell Your Story prides itself on making a living by doing what we love: working with some of B2B’s brightest innovators and marketers, creating award-winning marketing and social media campaigns, and getting impactful results for our clients. But outside of the 9 to 5, our team members are more than just marketers: we’re volunteers, fundraisers, and community supporters. Giving back is an important part of our culture and we do so in many ways. Two highlights of the past year are our involvement with non-profits Barbells for Boobs and Tutoring Chicago. Barbells for Boobs Fundraiser [caption id="attachment_3058" align="alignleft" width="175"] George raising the barbell.[/caption] Tell Your Story, through CrossFit Wilmette, participated in a fundraiser for Barbells for Boobs, a non-profit organization dedicated to the early detection of breast cancer, with an emphasis on women under 40...

January 22, 2015

in Blog, Interesting Things, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Nicole Benzer

Just Use a Pencil: Knowing How to Apply Big Data

[caption id="attachment_3011" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Jim Carey talks "Dancing With Big Data"[/caption] What do marketing, sales, finance, and IT professionals have in common? Apparently, we’re all really confused about big data. More specifically, how to use the vast amounts of data we have at our fingertips. By (Wikipedia) definition, big data is “any collection of data sets so large or complex that it becomes difficult to process them using traditional data processing applications.” I had trouble processing that sentence. Undoubtedly, big data is a pain point for most professionals; many have made it their personal mission to wrangle the beast. Jim Carey, adjunct professor at Northwestern University Medill IMC, is one marketer with such an attempt. Carey, who specializes in data mining for B2B and B2C companies, led recent BMA Breakfast Seminar “Dancing With Big Data,” where he shared his insights and findings on what makes big data so…big, based on interviews with leading marketers and industry pros. Here’s...

October 28, 2014

in Blog, Brand Communications, Interesting Things, Events

by George Rafeedie

“The story is everything.”

Without a doubt, one of the high points of Content Marketing World 2014 was Kevin Spacey's closing keynote. Storytelling was at the heart of his address, and he challenged all content marketers to tell better stories. During his presentation, he talked about the three important elements of storytelling: conflict, authenticity and audience. Watch this video of keynote highlights for more words of wisdom from Kevin Spacey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJnP2wsgnoA&feature=youtu.be...

Top 10 Takeaways from Day 2 of #BMA15

Top 10 Takeaways from BMA15 Chapter Leader Day

B2B Marketers Can Learn a Thing or Two from the LMA

Give Back the Love

Just Use a Pencil: Knowing How to Apply Big Data

“The story is everything.”

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