Written by: Insights Account
5/2/2012 11:09 AM

By Elizabeth Shea, CEO, SpeakerBox Communications

Two of the most respected news organizations in the DC-metropolitan area, Capitol Communicator and Potomac Tech Wire, collaborated to create the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit (MAMS) which brought together over 350 marketing professionals from the region for an all-day session. The conference was held, April 20, in the beautiful Gannett facility in McLean, VA, and headlining sponsors included Gannett, Citybizlist, Comcast Spotlight, 522 Productions, Rocket Fuel and many more who helped pull the conference together.

It became obvious that this was a conference the region sorely needed; typically marketing-centric conferences are held outside this region, and marketers have to travel to be able to meet, greet, and hear from the caliber of folks that are located right here in the DC-metropolitan area. As an inaugural program, it validated the need for this kind of conference and set the stage for next year. The speakers, most located here, represented some of the most respected minds in the ever-changing marketing landscape.

The day began with two strong keynotes from David Payne, SVP and Chief Digital Officer from Gannett, and Sean Murphy, EVP, eCommerce from CustomInk, who passed out his trademark Inky-branded stickers as a testament to the power of branding. Marcia Moran recaps Murphy’s remarks in her column in Modern DC Business, InTheCapital recaps in its blog post.

The third keynote joined us in the afternoon: Mike Volpe, CMO from Hubspot, the company that is helping to make inbound marketing a household term. Mike’s remarks centered on how to ensure marketers are strategic in their development of content to drive leads … leveraging the power of search and social media.

Also in the morning was a panel of CMOs—the conversation became lively—three panelists who talked about best practices and where they see the future of the CMO. Brave for folks to talk about the future of where the CMO job is headed! InTheCapital recaps the panel discussion.

To hear a recap on several of the panels, take a look:
B2B Marketing: The New Trends
The New Realities of PR
Inbound Marketing: Pulling With Content
The Changing Media Landscape
What’s New in B2G Marketing
Mobile Marketing: Beyond the Hype

During the panel on the new realities of PR, the conversation heated up around the topic of whether the press release was dead. Check out Marcia Moran’s take on the conversation.

The networking was phenomenal, the programming was top-notch, the venue perfectly suited for the group. Already waiting for dates for next year’s program. Hope to see you there!

Elizabeth Shea is CEO of SpeakerBox Communications (Twitter: eliz2shea)

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