The Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS) returned last month as senior B2B executives among both buyers and sellers converged in Orlando for a day and a half of education and networking. It was the first in-person BIMS event since 2019, and it was clear the industry wanted to return to a live event format following the three-year pandemic.
“It was fabulous,” said Mark Holdreith, partner at the M&A firm Media Advisory Partners. “One of the best BIMS I have ever attended. Hats off to you and your team. I am thrilled I made it and am thankful for what you do.”
Sean Griffey, CEO of Industry Dive, who was named the 2023 McAllister Fellow at the event, said “It obviously isn’t easy to reboot a show, but I thought BIMs was fantastic. It was my absolute pleasure to be there! Congratulations on pulling off a great event.”
Sean Griffey.
BIMS is the successor event to the old American Business Media’s Spring Meetings and Top Management meetings. It has a legacy of nearly 120 years of service to B2B media.
Priorities for ongoing market innovation included a broader focus on product development, including content-oriented initiatives as well as data and especially artificial intelligence. One well-received keynote session featured Hebba Youssef, chief people officer at the B2B startup Workweek, who described her company’s business model innovation. The company has a focus on creators who’ve built followings in various markets, and combines them under the workweek brand, providing them with an array of support services.
New forms of advertising were also a point of focus. Over the last five years, digital advertising has surged, and one session tackled whether it will continue, and either way, how sellers need to prepare for what’s next. Advances in ad ops, enhanced measurement, more engagement and expanding opportunities in video, audio and commerce been key.
Hebba Youssef.
Attendees displayed a sense of common purpose as they compared notes and share ideas about serving their markets in new and innovative ways. Topics ran the gamut from the outlook for in-person events going forward, and M&A, to business-model disruption and the future of work.
While there was a general sense of bullishness about business opportunities and revenue growth, there was also a wariness. Five out of five CEOs on a keynote panel named disruption as their biggest concern going forward. You wouldn’t know that from the results of AM&P Network’s annual B2B Media Benchmark Report on Revenue and Cost Patterns.
In a keynote panel on the future of work, an all-star panel had an insightful, 55-minute discussion that touched on all of work’s biggest issues in 2023.
Kevin Turpin, president of the National Journal, Terri Travis, vice president of human resources, Industry Dive, and Nick Schacht, chief global development officer, SHRM, explored the processes, trends and challenges of remote work and the impending move to return to an office environment.
Terri Travis.
The panel made clear that one size does not serve all. There are no cookie-cutter solutions company culture, the purpose of in-office work, company culture and more. “Running a hybrid company brings challenges,” Turpin said. “Trying to manage a group that is in the office sometimes. There’s a fairness perspective [with in-person people vs. remote], but more importantly from a communications standpoint.
“People under 30 have very specific ideas about where they want to work,” Turpin added, pointing to the challenges of recruitment and retention. Skills development is crucial. Can that be done remotely? “They’re trying to be a professional.”
“We’re going back to the office two days a week,” Travis said. The most important question for her is defining the purpose of going to the office. “We’re trying to take the best of both worlds, she said. “We had a great onboarding process onsite and now pivoted to a great onboard experience remotely. You can’t rest on your laurels on how you execute those.”
Fox Associates’ Bill Bell at BIMS.
Whether it was that session or any others, attendees were thrilled. “I was honored to be included on a panel with such amazing CEOs,” said Tim Hartman, CEO of GovExec. “Great discussion about the future of data, products, artificial intelligence, and remote work.”
Added Matthew Person, senior director for corporate development at IDG/Foundry, “It was a great event, I look forward to attending next year.”