What's on the agenda?
The B2B Ignite 2025 agenda is packed with exclusive research, insights, and evidence to show you what’s changed in B2B, and what’s coming next. You’ll hear detailed, no-holds-barred case studies: exactly what’s working, and what’s not. And with more than 70 speakers and hands-on workshops to choose from, your whole team can find relevant, practical advice for their specific needs.
Take a look at the agenda below or download it as a PDF!
2025 is the pivotal moment for B2B marketers, as the entire industry is hurtling towards a fork in the road, with no time to ponder a decision.
At the end of one path lies a world in which marketing is a respected, commercial engine, and a valued voice in the big decisions that will shape the future of our businesses. At the end of the other path lies a world in which our influence fades into terminal decline, and we live out our days on a reactive task wheel until the last human marketers leave the building. This isn’t just bad news for the discipline of marketing; it’s bad news for our careers. If marketers fail to take the right path, we’ll never been seen as invaluable commercial partners, and we’ll limit our own professional advancement.
In this keynote session, the CEO of B2B Marketing, Richard O’Connor, will be joined by finance and markets expert and former BBC News anchor, Susannah Streeter. Drawing on their combined expertise of recent world economic affairs and developments in audience behaviour, this session will provide a unique look at:
- How recent political and economic shifts have affected businesses in the UK and US, and what this has meant for investors and boards controlling budgets.
- How this has impacted the perception of marketing from the board.
- How fundamental changes to buyer behaviour in the past five years have affected traditional approaches to marketing.
- How and why B2B marketers need to re-invent themselves if they’re to take charge of their futures.
This session is an absolute must for every B2B marketer at any level. This is the single biggest challenge we face as a profession. Only by understanding the scale and cause can we overcome this and become world-class marketing teams central to business strategy.
2025 is the critical moment for B2B marketers. We have a once-in-a-lifetime to opportunity to step up, speak up and become the commercial powerhouses we have the potential to become. Alternatively, we could miss the moment, and be formally anointed as the ‘pens, PowerPoints and parties’ department. So, how do we grasp the moment and become true commercial marketers?
As with all things, it helps to know what a great commercial marketer looks like to set the standard for all of us.
This panel is your opportunity to hear from industry-leading B2B marketers – marketers who have transformed their marketing teams into teams that are laser-focused on business growth, hold huge sway in the strategic direction their businesses go, and which consistently deliver great creative and the results to boot.
Specifically, this panel will share:
- The fundamental skills that commercial marketers need to build trust and influence in their organisations and drive measurable business impact.
- The challenges that often get in the way of becoming a commercial marketer, and how to start tackling these.
- How these specific individuals have transformed marketing in their organisations.
Marketing is on the hook for revenue. Organisations are investing millions of dollars into their content but a widening gap exists between content investments and the revenue it generates.
The Revenue Gap Report, based on insights from over 500 UK & US B2B marketing leaders reveals a troubling disconnect: while 95% claim confidence in linking content to revenue, the numbers tell a different story - one that's costing businesses growth and profitability.
In this session, we’ll unpack the key findings from the report and provide actionable strategies to close the revenue gap. Get ready to learn:
- How to create a marketing strategy that goes beyond MQLs to drive real revenue impact
- How global businesses like 8x8, Kantar & Peoplesafe are successfully driving revenue from content
- 3 proven playbooks to help you turn content into a revenue engine - starting now
Today’s self-directed B2B buyers are overwhelmed by increasingly cynical about the mountain of content and sources available to them to ‘aid’ their decision making. AI is making a bad problem worse, reducing the cost of content output, often at the expense of quality or objectivity, flooding already saturated markets. Simply put, B2B marketing has a problem with trust. So what can we do about it?
In this session, leveraging insights gleaned from the B2B Marketing Awards (the world’s biggest B2B marketing celebration), and his forthcoming book, Joel Harrison will explore this growing trust gap in more detail, examining the causes and implications, and going on to discuss practical solutions based on real world examples. Joel will focus on the following in particular:
- How thought leadership is being reinvented in a trust-impaired world
- How to optimise the impact influencers and intermediaries
- Cultivating advocates and advocacy
- Building trust in the sales conversation
Track: Authenticity and Brand
Many B2B marketers feel overwhelmed by high volumes of unstrategic tasks and struggle to get the results demanded of them. The reason? They’re not starting with a solid strategy, and their businesses often don’t understand marketing properly. Most aren’t even sure where to begin with writing a successful marketing strategy!
In this session, we'll introduce the key steps to creating a simple marketing strategy that leads to real results and almost guarantees leadership buy-in.
Track: Harnessing Creativity
People don’t move through a traditional buyer journey anymore. The standard, go-to strategic frameworks don't always reflect the shifting priorities, tricky decisions, and unpredictability of decision-making processes today. That is why at Revere, we created a new approach to the buyer journey, which we call the ‘Wheel of Consideration’. In this hands-on, practical session we’ll explore the benefits of keeping buyer behaviour at the heart of your strategy, unpack your challenges and share real-world examples.
Key learning points:
- How the model can help you adapt to the latest trends in buyer behaviour
- Identify which stages of the buyer journey are most important to your business to achieve marketing success
- Practical techniques to engage buyers throughout their buying process
- Manage, educate and inform your stakeholders on the value and importance of understanding the buyer journey
Track: Skills Development Workshops Room 2
Deep cultural change takes time—but this session gives you the tools to start. In 70 minutes, learn how to bridge gaps between cross-functional teams, leaders and stakeholders—moving from friction to collaboration. Discover practical strategies improve communication, and build trust for measurable results in complex environments.
This session will explore
- How to go beyond alignment to build a cohesive team that works together to achieve shared goals.
- Overcoming collaboration challenges like silos and resource allocation, especially in large organisations with specialised teams (e.g., digital, martech, brand).
- Achieving true collaboration across functions, managing conflict productively, and ensuring seamless teamwork amid structural or organisational changes.
Key Focus Areas:
- Alignment – Practical methods for internal collaboration among teams and for external alignment with stakeholders
- Communication – Break down silos with clear, cross-team dialogue.
- Trust and teamwork – Foster transparency to strengthen collaboration in fragmented or newly merged teams.
- Conflict resolution – Proactively address resource clashes and integration challenges.
Who Should Attend?
Marketing professionals, cross-functional leaders, and stakeholders who want
- Reduce misalignment between teams, groups, leaders, stakeholders
- Improve collaboration across digital, martech, brand, and other specialised functions.
- Turn conflicts into productive conversations during periods of change (e.g., M&As).
Why This Workshop?
You’ll leave with:
- Actionable steps to align priorities amid complexity.
- Real-world tactics to improve communication between disparate teams.
- A shared language to build trust with stakeholders and colleagues.
Track: Skills Development Workshops Room 1
Using data and marketing automation for full-funnel measurement proves the value of marketing and is a well-trodden path in the Tech sector. But how can it be done effectively within large, industrial, heritage businesses?
Cummins is a 100-year-old company – the world’s biggest engine manufacturer and a Fortune 500 business. That kind of icon status can make it hard to justify marketing investment. All the more reason for the marketing team to close the loop; all the more reason for the business to be cautious. It takes serious grit to implement.
Join us for an account of Cummins’ three year journey to win hearts and minds, establishing end-to-end marketing in one of the oldest and most respected industrial B2B brands in the world.
This live case study, presented by Cummins and their Agency, Bray Leino, lifts the bonnet on the process, sharing lessons learned and giving marketers first-hand advice on how to:
- Make the business case for full funnel measurement
- Secure the funds
- Build an effective team
- Implement closed loop marketing within an industrial business
Great storytelling is the secret weapon B2B needs to thrive. In this session, Cath reveals how marketing redefined Flintfox’s trajectory, transforming it into a powerhouse. By ditching jargon, refining its message, and adding a sprinkle of AI, Cath drove 350% business growth.
From bold rebranding to record-breaking results, she shows how storytelling connects with customers, inspires teams, and delivers measurable impact—transforming strategy, culture, and performance while elevating B2B marketing to new heights.
In this session, delegates will learn how to:
• Be brave with storytelling – prioritising customer pain points, not just product features!
• Be brave with technology - leveraging AI to enhance productivity and efficiency enabling small teams to achieve cost-effective growth.
• Think like a B2C marketer and use short, engaging narratives to create impact.
Track: Harnessing Creativity
This session will explore:
• How marketers can align with the agendas and priorities of the C-suite and demonstrate success - on a personal and departmental level.
• How marketers can tell a data story that builds buy-in, trust and influence at the top table and enhance marketing’s strategic and commercial impact.
• What areas of business do marketers need to engage with to become “commercial marketers."
Track: Marketing Leadership: What's Next?
In a fracturing B2B landscape where every marketing dollar faces unprecedented scrutiny, can you truly afford to remain in the dark about your digital advertising investments? Beneath the shiny surface of programmatic platforms, advanced targeting capabilities, and sophisticated dashboards lies an uncomfortable reality: much of that investment may be wasted, misattributed, or simply unaccounted for.
As economic uncertainty makes decision-makers increasingly cautious with budgets, the old playbook for digital advertising no longer applies. This panel brings together industry experts who are challenging the status quo and pulling back the curtain on digital advertising's "black box."
We'll explore why the digital advertising ecosystem has evolved to reward opacity rather than transparency, how industry benchmarks have become diluted to the point of meaninglessness, and how forward-thinking marketers are getting beyond vanity metrics to understand what truly drives revenue. Most importantly, we'll discuss practical approaches to regain control and drive genuine business impact in this new reality.
Why Attend:
- Discover the critical questions you should be asking your agencies and vendors in today's changing landscape
- Learn to identify problematic data and meaningless metrics that obscure rather than illuminate performance
- Gain practical strategies to improve transparency and performance when budgets are under pressure
- Connect with peers facing similar challenges in navigating the increasingly complex digital advertising ecosystem Ready or not, change is happening now in digital advertising. Join us for an honest, insightful conversation that will equip you with the knowledge and strategies needed to respond with confidence.
This session will explore:
• How a tailored GTM strategy drives product success, customer engagement, and market penetration.
• How to structure teams and processes, like Revenue Operations (RevOps), to streamline operations and boost productivity.
• How to design an effective technology ecosystem to drive business efficiency, centralise data, and enhance customer experiences
Track: Making Data Meaningful
'Brand to demand' is a popular aphorism of the way that marketing teams should work, but behind it lies a complexity of how you plan, prioritise and execute marketing across teams, functions, specialisms and channels. It implies a hand-off from one team to another, whereas from a customer's perspective they simply see an organisation that speaks with one voice or many. True connection of brand to demand is as much about how you work as the work you do.
Track: Authenticity and Brand
Join Corinne Doherty, Director of Account Based Marketing at Kyndryl UK, as she shares her insights on the power of human connection in her 1:1 Account Based Marketing (ABM) strategy. This session will explore how focusing on shared values and creating engaging experiences can transform customer relationships and drive business success.
Corinne will present a compelling case study on how a simple initiative, like a collaborative beach clean-up with a customer, evolved into a significant partnership that strengthened relationships and advanced sustainability goals. She will demonstrate how evolving the experience continues to educate and engage on both personal and business levels, building Kyndryl’s reputation in the process.
Track: Harnessing Creativity
Get ready for a thrilling debate that’s shaking up the world of B2B marketing! The question on the table: Is AI transforming B2B marketing for the better, or is it slowly chipping away at the human touch that makes marketing truly powerful?
Two sides, one epic battle. And you, the audience, are the judge. Who will win? It's up to YOU to decide!
For AI: The future of marketing
On the pro-AI side, we’ll explore how AI is turbocharging B2B marketing making processes faster, smarter, and more effective. From automating lead generation to hyper-personalising content, AI is helping businesses understand their customers like never before. It’s about optimising every step, scaling efforts, and driving real results.
Against AI: The risk of losing the human spark
But hold on, on the anti-AI side, the argument is clear: AI could be diluting the personal connections that are essential in B2B marketing. With AI handling everything from content creation to customer engagement, is B2B marketing becoming too robotic? There’s a real concern that we’re losing the trust-building, emotional human touch that drives authentic relationships.
The stage is set: Let the debate begin
Each side will present their case, followed by rebuttals, and then YOU get the floor to ask your burning questions. The stakes? Nothing less than the future of B2B marketing.
Key questions:
- Can the efficiency of AI-driven content come at the cost of humanised, emotional connections in marketing?
- Will AI make B2B marketing too formulaic and generic, stripping away creativity and authenticity?
- Is there a danger that AI could make marketers obsolete by perfectly tailoring content to buyer behaviours?
Meet the Experts: We’ve gathered a powerhouse panel of marketing experts ready to go head-to-head on these critical questions. Get ready for some serious insights, some fiery opinions, and the chance to cast your vote on who’s right.
Please note this session runs from 12:45-1.30
Track: New Methods and AI
Clear, sharp writing is essential if you want your content to win trust, engage audiences, and make your point to busy B2B decision makers. But how can you do that in a technical or regulated market, without “dumbing down”?
Grab a plate of lunch, and bring it along to this informal taster for our popular B2B copywriting course. You’ll get practical tips and advice to help you write sharp, authoritative copy and – crucially – convince your stakeholders to agree to a clearer writing style.
Among other things, you’ll learn:
- How to separate the technical details you need from the buzzwords you don’t
- Simple, effective alternatives to help you cut out common B2B nonsense
- When and how to measure your content’s readability
It’s a great opportunity to refresh your approach to B2B writing, and pick up some tricks of the trade (and you’ll still have time left over for networking).
Lunch break for all attendees and a chance to network and visit the sponsor stands.
Join us for a relaxed and informal networking lunch at the B2B Ignite Conference. This session offers a unique opportunity for solo attendees and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to connect, share insights, and explore potential collaborations. Whether you're looking to expand your network, seek new business opportunities, or simply exchange ideas with like-minded professionals, this session provides a valuable space for meaningful conversations in a friendly atmosphere. Don't miss out on this chance to grow your professional network!
This session will explore:
• How to speak the same language as your CFO.
• How to take more control over your value-creation plan and build influence over your
• The key KPIs to report to their CFO, and how to move away from a narrow focus on marketing metrics to having real business impact.
Track: Marketing Leadership: What’s Next?
As a challenger brand in a mature market (CRM), with two dominant players, the same old playbook was not going to work. The CMO devised a radical new strategy. Grounded in market research, the plan was to call out the existing big brands as providing 'Bullshit CRM', and positioning Workbooks as the 'no-BS alternative'.
The result was a bold, creative and award-winning campaign that pulled the rug out from under Workbooks’ competition.
In this session, delegates will learn
1. How to pitch and achieve buy-in for radical ideas.
2. The importance of emotional resonance for connecting with B2B audiences and why, for SMEs, playing it safe means being ignored.
3. How to balance data with creativity.
4. Why traditional channels are still indispensable.
5. The power of focusing on differentiation and long-term brand recognition, over immediate conversions.
Join this session to learn how to run a bold and disruptive marketing that connects with customers and undercuts the competition.
Track: Harnessing Creativity
In today's B2B marketing landscape, there's a growing emphasis on a more human and emotive approach. However, achieving this consistently in a complex, matrixed PS firm is challenging.
Hear how one firm has tackled this, embracing the power of the individual & celebrating human connections by:
- forging a rebrand in the midst of the pandemic
- activating employee-led marketing through authentic storytelling
- leveraging technology to empower lawyers to become content creators
- enabling professionals to best use content for their own sales outreach
Hear lessons learned & what's coming next...
Track: Authenticity and Brand
Professional services firms stand at a crossroads: within 3-5 years, AI will completely transform how services are delivered and valued. Doing nothing is now the biggest risk AI poses to your business, not AI superintelligence.
But despite the urgency and the incredible technology at our fingertips, there's still a massive gap between AI's potential and what most professional firms are achieving with it.
Drawing on Bidwells' ongoing AI transformation journey—where they've moved from initial exploration to practical implementation—Ben shares what he’s learned in three years of putting people and process before AI, sharing his 2030 vision for providing human services with AI-driven software.
As someone who's transitioned from head of communications to head of data and AI, he's seen first hand how systems thinking can break through the organisational silos that have existed as long as we've had knowledge work.
Watch Ben demonstrate how we can reinvent people-led professional services - one AI workflow at a time - before AI superintelligence does it to us.
What you will learn:
- A practical three-phase framework to guide professional services firms from AI pilots to strategic implementation
- How systems thinking enables firms to break through silos between AI experts, IT and business teams
- Real-world case studies, including meeting management automation, marketing content creation, and business development acceleration
- A vision for professional services firms transitioning from knowledge providers to knowledge system designers
- How firms can prepare for the evolution from billable hours to value-based delivery models
Track: New Methods and AI
In a world saturated with metrics, great marketing leaders know that real breakthroughs happen at the intersection of insight and instinct. This session explores how to balance data with gut feel to shape strategy, spark creative vision, and navigate complexity in a B2B go-to-market landscape by drawing on a wide array of evidence-based industry examples. Let us take you on a journey of discovery.
Track: Making Data Meaningful
Standing out, staying front of mind, and building genuine connection with buyers isn’t always easy in B2B. But as social media plays an increasingly prominent role in buyer research and decision-making, there’s a huge opportunity to engage your audience in a more authentic and meaningful way.
This workshop is designed to help you and your team leverage the power of personal branding, increasing visibility, building credibility, stimulating demand, and strengthening relationships with peers, prospects, and clients. You’ll get practical tips on optimising your LinkedIn profile, creating social-first content that actually resonates, and turning online interactions into valuable conversations.
Track: Skills Development Workshops Room 1
This session will explore:
• How to build a data-centred case for creative, “risky” and out-of-the-box campaigns through performance metrics from similar campaigns, competitor analysis and audience insights.
• Risk mitigation strategies backed by data including A/B testing plans, performance monitoring and clear success metrics.
• How to achieve cross-functional buy-in and executive alignment for creativity.
Track: Harnessing Creativity
In today's data-driven B2B landscape, CMOs face increasing pressure to quantify how investment in brand drives real business outcomes. Our panel brings together industry experts who understand the challenge of translating brand marketing campaigns into metrics that make sense to leaders.
Our panel reveals what CEOs and CFOs actually want to see when evaluating brand performance. Panellists will share years of experience quantifying how bold B2B approaches create lasting industry change as well as sharing practical frameworks that have helped brands measure transformation beyond traditional metrics.
Moderated by alan’s Benedict Buckland (MD and Chief Strategy Officer), this session bridges the gap between marketing ambition and business scepticism. Attendees will gain valuable insights into effectively positioning brand in B2B marketing, developing meaningful metrics that demonstrate how brands drive industry transformation, implementing practical frameworks for measuring ROI on bold marketing investments and employing strategies to secure C-suite, especially CFO, buy-in for innovative brand initiatives.
Whether you're struggling to break through in crowded markets or facing persistent pressure to justify brand investments, this session will set you up for success.