From Conference to Community: Marketing a 15,000-Attendee Event

ABM Playbook for Niche B2B Markets

In this episode of the WeMarketers Podcast, Andrew Demianenko sits down with Michelle Wols, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Beyond Product, to break down what Account-Based Marketing actually looks like in practice. Michelle runs B2B marketing campaigns for IT and cybersecurity. Markets where the target audience is small, sales cycles are long, and a generic LinkedIn campaign is the fastest way to burn budget. She has built ABM playbooks from scratch for multiple clients and learned the hard way which parts of the process get skipped. Most ABM advice is generic. This episode is the opposite. Michelle walks through the mechanics: how to build the account list, how to test messaging with paid prospect interviews, when to run a one-on-one campaign for a single company, and where the handoff to sales tends to fall apart. One key takeaway: ABM is not a marketing tactic. It is a coordination problem between marketing, sales, and the events you show up at. Run it alone and even the best campaign will stall. ⏱️ Chapters 01:19 Michelle's background: from history to cybersecurity marketing 04:40 What ABM really means in practice 07:00 Where to start with an ABM campaign 09:17 How to prioritize accounts on the spreadsheet 11:08 Why Michelle skips account tiers 13:24 The €180 one-on-one campaign for a single government organization 16:50 Choosing which people inside the account to target 17:35 Channels beyond LinkedIn: Meta, Reddit, and the K12 Sysadmin community 19:51 The most intimidating part of ABM: the sales handoff 23:48 Measuring success of ABM campaigns 24:57 Paying prospects €100 for messaging interviews 27:20 The mistake: a cease-and-desist letter for using a target's logo 29:58 Two failure modes: wrong messaging vs. wrong channel 32:24 Michelle's one piece of advice for marketers starting with ABM ____________ Connect with Michelle Wols: https://www.linkedin.com/in/-michelle-wols-457a256b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/-michelle-wols-457a256b/] Connect with Andrew Demianenko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian] WeMarketers Podcast Website: wemarketerspodcast.com [http://wemarketerspodcast.com] ____________ WeMarketers RSS feed: https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml [https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml] ____________ Would you like to become the next guest? Do you know someone who could be a great fit? Drop me a line at info@wemarketerspodcast.com [info@wemarketerspodcast.com]

The End of Easy Content Marketing

Content marketing used to feel predictable. Find the right keywords, publish blog posts, rank on Google, and gradually attract traffic. But that playbook is changing fast. In this episode of the WeMarketers Podcast, Andrew Demianenko sits down with Albert Mercadé, Marketing Manager at TalentUp.io, to discuss how the explosion of AI is reshaping the entire content marketing landscape. Today, marketers are no longer competing with just other companies. They are competing with massive volumes of AI-generated content, AI search engines, and platforms that summarize information without sending users to the original source. So the question becomes: how do you stay visible and relevant in this new environment? In this conversation, Andrew and Albert explore: • Why traditional SEO and blog-driven strategies are becoming less effective • How AI search is changing the way users discover content • Why marketers need to move beyond blog posts and diversify content formats • The power of high-value resources like reports and benchmarks • Why in-person events and real human connections are becoming more important than ever • How to build a content ecosystem instead of relying on a single channel • Why consistency and patience still matter in marketing One key takeaway: marketing isn’t about getting thousands of visitors tomorrow. It’s about building trust, staying visible over time, and reaching the right people at the right moment. ⏱️ Chapters 01:29 The biggest challenge for content marketers today 04:33 Declining visibility in Google search 06:04 Why relying on one channel is dangerous 06:26 The return of face-to-face marketing and events 07:44 Optimizing content for AI search engines 10:09 How search behavior is changing 11:28 Are blogs still effective today? 14:03 Building a content ecosystem 16:30 Turning subscribers into customers 19:08 The real goal of marketing: revenue 21:21 Measuring marketing impact and attribution 23:34 Why consistency matters in marketing 23:58 Marketing strategies for the rest of 2026 25:30 The rise of agentic AI ____________ Connect with Albert Mercade: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertmercad%C3%A9laborda/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertmercad%C3%A9laborda/] Connect with Andrew Demianenko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian] WeMarketers Podcast Website: https://wemarketerspodcast.comwemarketerspodcast.com [http://wemarketerspodcast.com] ____________ WeMarketers RSS feed: https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml [https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml] ____________ Would you like to become the next guest? Do you know someone who could be a great fit? Drop me a line at info@wemarketerspodcast.com [info@wemarketerspodcast.com]

Bringing Sexy Back to Manufacturing: The Art of Reinventing a Legacy B2B Brand

In this episode of the WeMarketers Podcast, I sat down with Carolina Rodriguez, VP of Marketing at World Emblem, the world’s largest patch and emblem manufacturer. World Emblem is a 30-year-old manufacturing business. Carolina joined five years ago and helped modernize the brand by upgrading creative, building a behind-the-scenes storytelling engine, and aligning marketing and sales around shared outcomes. We also discuss how executive thought leadership on LinkedIn became a powerful growth lever, and what it looks like to scale a marketing team across regions while adopting lean operating principles. Timecodes: 1:38 Intro to Carolina Rodriguez and what this episode covers 5:09 Rebrand execution, elevated creative, and bold unboxing kits 6:56 Internal buy-in, autonomy, KPIs, and sales alignment 7:46 Biggest challenge, translating customer needs into technical storytelling 8:58 Fixing marketing vs sales with the commercialization team 10:05 Scaling the marketing team from 8 to 18 10:48 Using lean principles for structure and performance 12:41 Why LinkedIn is their strongest channel 14:21 Executive storytelling and leadership presence on LinkedIn 15:23 The 360 approach across LinkedIn, PR, and ads 16:39 Why emblems are everywhere and how that reframed the category 19:59 Brand recognition growth and impact on sales 21:31 Carolina’s learning system, podcasts, team, and agencies 23:23 What they outsource in marketing 24:15 The challenge of SEO and evolving algorithms 25:07 Investing over 2M in AI to improve the buying experience 26:24 Advice on modernizing a legacy brand 27:29 How to connect with Carolina on LinkedIn About the guest Carolina Rodriguez is Vice President of Marketing at World Emblem, the world’s largest patch and emblem manufacturer. With over 20 years of experience across luxury, retail, and manufacturing, she has led high-impact campaigns, managed multimillion-dollar budgets, and driven digital transformation in the US and Latin America. At World Emblem, Carolina leads multi-brand, multi-market strategy, modernizing a 30-year-old manufacturing business through creative storytelling, distinctive packaging, and executive thought leadership that turns branding into measurable growth. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. Connect with Carolina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carorod/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carorod/] ____________ Connect with Andrew Demianenko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian] WeMarketers Podcast Website: https://wemarketerspodcast.comwemarketerspodcast.com [http://wemarketerspodcast.com] ____________ WeMarketers RSS feed: https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml [https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml] ____________ Would you like to become the next guest? Do you know someone who could be a great fit? Drop us a line at info@wemarketerspodcast.com [info@wemarketerspodcast.com]

From Conference to Community: Marketing a 15,000-Attendee Event

What does it really take to turn a large conference into a year-round marketing and community engine? In this episode of the WeMarketers Podcast, Andrew sits down with Ivana Spiridonovic, B2B Marketing Manager at WeAreDevelopers, to break down how one of Europe’s largest tech events is marketed before, during, and long after the event days are over. This is a practical conversation for marketers who work with events, content, or community and want to get more long-term impact from limited resources. Timecodes: 01:22 – Meet Ivana Spiridonović and the scale of WeAreDevelopers 02:44 – How WeAreDevelopers grew from meetups to a 15,000-attendee conference 05:12 – How marketing is organized behind a large-scale tech event 07:45 – What happens after the event ends: staying relevant all year 09:30 – Turning 500+ sessions into content people actually consume 12:24 – Using video, social, and speakers to extend event momentum 13:53 – Key lessons from running a first large-scale event 15:10 – Why event success depends on team trust and preparation 18:25 – Handling the unexpected (weather, scheduling, live chaos) 20:20 – How event agendas are built: audience-first vs speaker-led 23:54 – Getting speakers to commit to topics early (and how to push back) 26:14 – Why events feel different from traditional marketing work 28:55 – The hardest part of event marketing no one talks about 32:23 – Practical advice for in-house teams running events with limited budgets 35:11 – How to connect with Ivana and closing thoughts About the guest Ivana Spiridonović is a B2B Marketing Manager at WeAreDevelopers, where she helps shape large-scale tech events and initiatives like the HR Leaders Summit, connecting developers, HR leaders, and employers through content, community, and live experiences. Connect with Ivana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivana-spiridonovic-929177174/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivana-spiridonovic-929177174/] ____________ Connect with Andrew Demianenko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian] WeMarketers Podcast Website: https://wemarketerspodcast.comwemarketerspodcast.com [http://wemarketerspodcast.com] ____________ WeMarketers RSS feed: https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml [https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml] ____________ Would you like to become the next guest? Do you know someone who could be a great fit? Drop us a line at info@wemarketerspodcast.com [info@wemarketerspodcast.com]

Why Smart Marketers Copy: Using Competitive Insights the Right Way

What if winning in marketing has nothing to do with originality? In this episode, we dive deep into competitive insights -how smart marketers copy what works, spot hidden opportunities, use competitor data for ideas, and focus on leads, not likes. 🎙 Guest: Taylor Trusty Co-Founder & CRO at Newslever, a competitive intelligence platform used by 24,000+ marketers at companies like Nasdaq, Deloitte, Toyota, Airbus and more. You’ll learn why: * Deleted ads reveal more than ad libraries * Quiet B2B content outranks viral content in results * Long-form videos outperform short-term hype * Copying is a strategy, not a sin Timecodes: 01:36 — Who is Taylor Trusty? 05:27 — From agency trap to building a SaaS platform 09:37 — What competitive insights actually are 13:21 — Who really needs competitive intelligence tools? 17:05 — The RIGHT way to use competitor data (not clone campaigns) 20:03 — Copying vs. stealing: how to do it smart 21:13 — Biggest mistakes marketers make with competitor intel 23:50 — Hidden signals most marketers overlook 24:13 — Deleted ads = the truth your competitors hide 29:40 — Best advice: follow quiet signals, not viral noise 31:27 — Why long B2B videos convert even with 26 views ____________ Connect with Taylor Trusty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylortrusty/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylortrusty/] https://taylortrusty.com/ [https://taylortrusty.com/] ____________ Connect with Andrew Demianenko: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-demian] WeMarketers Podcast Website: https://wemarketerspodcast.comwemarketerspodcast.com [http://wemarketerspodcast.com] ____________ WeMarketers RSS feed: https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml [https://media.rss.com/wemarketers/feed.xml] ____________ Would you like to become the next guest? Do you know someone who could be a great fit? Drop us a line at info@wemarketerspodcast.com [info@wemarketerspodcast.com]