Strangled by Lanyards: A PMM's Guide to Doing Events Right

[Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdk4BOTwbl4)

How to work with event teams, protect your time, and still show up like the product hero.

Whoa, Events Everywhere!

I've been thinking a lot about events lately. Like, way too much. Probably because, at this exact moment, I just survived the RSA Conference and already have four more big events staring me down, including a massive event next week. And I'm realizing something: it feels like a huge chunk of my job these days is just about showing up and making sure we talk about our products right at these things. So how should we collaborate with event teams? Where should we put our energy and where should we draw the line?

Maybe you're reading this and thinking, "Wait, what? I'm focused on the messaging and strategic side, not this event craziness you speak of." And hey, good for you. But trust me, if you're rolling with a mid-size to bigger vendor, events are gonna get real for you quick. I get that startups are somewhat exempt because they don't show up at as many events but everything is about scale. Even a few industry events for a solo PMM is a beast.

And look, I'm not saying events are bad. Not at all. But it makes you wonder, right? Are we turning into "product event marketers" instead of just regular "product marketers"? I saw this post from Gabe Larsen, Prev. CMO @Kustomer recently, and he had this bullet on his list of what he's seeing in the marketing wild and how it's "way messier, and more chaotic than I imagined":

> ⇨ 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 CMOs are lost, so they're panic-punting half the budget into events.

It's not working but hey, nothing says "strategy" like booths, badges, and bar tabs.

Gabe Larson, Prev. CMO @Kustomer

In short, CMOs are kinda scratching their heads about where to spend their budget. They want to see a good ROI, and events? Well, they often show that.