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BuyerForesight
Dubai Tech Marketing Un-Conference 2023 Report

It was great to be here because I haven’t actually been to an event that was targeted at marketing folks before. I loved the format. It was really good to hear each other’s ideas and learn what other marketers in Dubai are doing.”
– Head of Field Marketing, Snowflake

In July 2023, BuyerForesight hosted the first-ever Tech Marketing “Un-Conference”, a half-day event premiering in Dubai.

What is an “Un-Conference”? A new and better way to network with peers, expand knowledge, find solutions to problems, and share professional insights. Un-Conferences ditch the typical conference format and take content inspiration directly from real conversations we had with local B2B tech marketers. By taking a peer-to-peer conversational approach for most of the agenda, we were able to prioritize discussion to address attendees’ most pertinent pain points and preferred learning opportunities.

This conversation-driven event also offered one of the only true community-building opportunities for senior B2B tech marketers in the region. The brilliant marketing leaders who participated, sharing their challenges and best practices, made the event a success.

Sessions:
Insight to Impact Presentation, “Intelligence Reimagined”

A walk-through of a proven 7-step methodology for developing strategy-defining Account Intelligence.

Group Conversation, “How Much is a Customer Worth to You?”

Avoiding pitfalls of “Cost Per Lead” obsession and considering forward-thinking, ongoing nurture approaches.

Challenger Brainstorming Discussion, “Addressing Popular Challenges”

Participants submitted key challenges they’re facing in their day-to-day ahead of the event. During the event, select marketers shared theirs with the group, who suggested ways to overcome them based on their own experiences.

I think this Un-Conference is a really good opportunity to network with your peers. The sessions were really insightful and the format of having everyone talking about their concerns in the industry was really helpful. I would recommend this event for future marketers to join.”
– Regional Marketing Manager, EMEA Emerging Markets, Commscope

Some Challenges our Participants Shared:

  • Securing qualified leads and converting them into opportunities
  • Tracking and proper attribution of marketing-generated leads
  • Weathering global challenges
  • Driving ROI from event marketing initiatives, especially virtual events
  • Making engagement efforts stand out in a crowded market
  • Brand visibility
  • Localizing content
  • Assuring top notch data quality

Outcomes:

1%
of survey respondents “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that this event offered them a good networking opportunity.
It was a really good opportunity to meet peers and I got a lot of insights regarding marketing [strategies]. I really appreciate the efforts taken and hope you can do more of these types of events in the future.”
– Marketing Manager, Prompt Tech

Participants:

Chief Growth Officer

CMO

Global Marketing Programme – Strategy and Operations Leader

Commercial Director

Chief Business Development Officer

Global Marketing Director

Head of Strategic Partnership- Middle East

Head of Field Marketing

Group Sales Director (EMEI)

Head of Marketing

Commercial Marketing Manager – Middle East & Central Asia

Global Channel Campaign Manager

Regional Marketing Manager, EMEA Emerging Markets

Senior Content Marketing Executive

Participating companies

I had a really good time. I’ve met really nice colleagues that I’m hoping to keep in touch with.”

– Head of Field Marketing, Snowflake

1%
of survey respondents were satisfied with their overall event experience.

Key Insights

ROI is getting harder to achieve: Driving effective ROI from marketing activities is a widespread challenge, stemming from areas such as limited budgets due to current economic conditions and industry changes.
Account Based Intelligence is a boon: Understanding your prospects through Account Based Intelligence is the essential starting point for successful marketing and revenue generation.
Campaigns that are built on this intelligence, i.e., what your prospects care about and are struggling with, will always outperform campaigns based on what you want to pitch.
There’s more than one way to think about CPL: There are two main ways to think about leads:
  1. A narrowly focused, cost per lead perspective
  2. Thinking about them over a longer period of time and across multiple channels. The latter involves additional investment in getting to know the prospect and interacting with them meaningfully. For example, taking the time to speak to them, understand their problem and its scale, and then adjusting outreach accordingly. When at any given time only a small percentage of your market is ready to buy, this approach will yield more worthwhile revenue growth overtime
BuyerForesight hosts Un-Conferences around the world. Be on the lookout for one near you!
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ABOUT BUYERFORESIGHT™

BuyerForesight™ delivers research and demand generation services that produce superior value because they are based on thought leadership conversations with the most qualified prospects.

If you’d like to evaluate BuyerForesight™ yourself, email grow@buyerforesight.com.

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