Since 2004, Impact XM has been hosting Rethink, our proprietary thought leadership conference that brings together event and experiential marketers from across the globe to connect and network with their peers and industry leaders. Attendees learn about the latest trends in the experiential marketing industry, from technology and design to metrics and more. For our 15th anniversary conference, Impact XM’s goal was to address the challenges that the industry had faced throughout the pandemic, while giving attendees hope for the future of the industry by sharing trends, case studies, and best practices.
Originally being planned as a one day, in-person event in 2020, Impact XM’s Rethink conference was postponed to a two-day, virtual event on June 15-16th, 2021. Rethink 2021 targeted a wider audience than years past, and the team set ambitious goals for attendance, sponsorships, speakers, and brand awareness. Through a public call for speakers, Impact XM secured over 55 speakers from a variety of industries within events and experiential marketing, including some of our own team, to share their knowledge with our attendees. Adam Grant Organizational Psychologist and Bestselling Author, and Tiffani Bova Global Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce were the event’s keynote speakers.
Other notable speakers include event marketing executives from Citi, AT&T, GSK, MGM Event Production, Intelsat, Comcast Business, Visible Wireless, Exhibitor Magazine, and more.
Rethink 2021’s robust program started with hosts and entertainment in the morning, followed by keynote speakers and moderated panels, three tracks of breakout sessions, dedicated time in the sponsor expo hall, and ended with nightly happy hours each day. Impact XM secured 14 sponsors for the conference populating their branded virtual booths with product demos, sizzle reels, and chat forums to share their latest innovations and content with our attendees. The theme of the year was to reconnect, redesign and reinvent, with topics covering how to reconnect and get back to work, redesign how we work, and reinvent business for the future.
Impact XM’s virtual Rethink 2021 conference welcomed over 70% of the nearly 1,200 registrants, (20% more than the industry average at the time) with 90% of them being first time attendees. Impact XM saw a 122% increase in web traffic year over year. Rethink 2021’s event website had more than 18,000 pageviews, with an approximate 300% increase in Impact XM’s social engagement and impressions. Through pay-per-click advertising, Impact XM had more than 78,000 impressions with a 7.42% conversion rate.
After the event, Impact XM shared a survey with the participants and found that 96% of the respondents said that Rethink was a valuable use of their time and 93% of respondents are excited to attend the next Rethink.
Here’s some direct feedback from our attendees:
“The event was state of the art and provided important industry information that will help in my sector and career.”
“This was one of the best run conferences I have attended virtually. I enjoyed the wide array of topics and breakout sessions.”
“I loved the speakers and how they spoke to really current and relevant topics that made me engage my mind to think differently.”
Nomination Title: Rethink 2021
