I miss Cleveland

Content Marketing World, the world’s biggest content marketing event, will not take place as we know it. So, no Cleveland for me this year. People always say you can’t miss anything from Cleveland. It would have been the third year in a row that I would go there. Second time as a speaker. And you know what… I miss it. I miss Cleveland. There it is. My confession. I miss Cleveland. I miss getting lost at the convention centre. I miss the pancakes with fruit in the Hilton with an infinite amount of coffee, the double charged bottles of wine at the top floor of our hotel, the flight show from the rooftop-bar, even the Cleveland Indians game. But most of all, I miss one week of content marketing vibes with other professionals. And there is nothing that can replace that.

Content Marketing World, The European Edition

But there is a second-best option! Content Marketing World will be a virtual event this year. And there is going to be a European Edition as well. A talk show hosted by Bert van Loon and AJ Huisman (CMWorld’s community champions 2019) with guests from all participating countries in Europe. Three days in a row binging keynotes from top speakers and the added commentary by European experts.
So, I’ve looked at the program and here’s what I think:

Tuesday, October 13

Of course, if you are in content marketing, you are obligated to watch Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on Tuesday. Joe is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute and CMWorld. And Robert, for the ones who don’t know him yet, what I can hardly imagine, is my top strategist in content marketing. I have had the honour to hear him speak multiple times and he always finds a way to add new elements, current affairs and urgency, but also history and general knowledge into his story to make his point. And the fun part for me is that I am part of the expert panel on this day. Accompanied by experts from Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Germany.

Wednesday, October 14

For the second day I would recommend having diner ready at 5.45 PM (cet), have a glass of wine with it and sit down for Andrew Davis. He is the only one they gave one hour of video speaking time. And I’m sure he is also the only one to pull that off. I think it is going to be a rollercoaster ride of energy, but always building up to one or two main take-aways. He is like Jochem Meijer, a brilliant Dutch comedian but always about content marketing. Although it is one complete hour, I’m sure you’ll remember his points.

If you would like to add more creativity into your content marketing productions, start at 4 PM (cet) on Wednesday October 14. Melanie Deziel is scheduled at that time with her talk: More Brain, Less Storm: The Power of The Creative Process. After reading her book ‘The Story Fuel Framework’, I was really interested in her talk. So, I interviewed her via Zoom and she has a really structured way of adding creativity to content. Sounds like a paradox, but I’m sure she will surprise you.

Thursday, October 15

Probably another usual suspect for insiders, but I really have to recommend Ann Handley on Thursday October 15. Last year she had a complete show about a bunny in her backyard and although it sounds out of spectrum, it completely made sense in the field of content marketing. So, I am very anxious to learn what she is going to share this year.

And then last, but not least I am curious about Pam Didner. Her talk is about three trends we can’t miss as content marketers. The fact that it is not just a representation of trends, but a discussion about how technology is reshaping the way we consume content. And more changes we have to be aware of. I haven’t seen her speak before, but they say that she is fun too.

The second-best thing to Cleveland

So… it is not a pre party at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, no speaker’s dinner and no bowling game at the sports bar with our Dutch and Belgian friends. Not even the Butcher and The Brewer for IPA’s, but we can still add pancakes and infinite coffee, too expensive wine and chat with our collegues during this 3 day binging event. So, lets create the vibe ourselves as the second best thing to Cleveland.

If you don’t have any tickets yet for your European access, there still is time: CMWorld, The European Edition

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