Event Marketing: Redefined

Hosted by Matt Kleinrock

Business Marketing

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Episodes

212

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to the go-to resource for event marketers. With each episode, we dive deep into the world of event marketing, bringing in industry leaders to discuss trends, strategies, and success stories. We're not just talking about creating trade show booths; we're exploring how to craft success stories that drive tangible results. We believe trade shows and events are not just a cost of doing business but an essential sales and marketing strategy, and have the potential to propel your brand growth and significantly impact your bottom line. We understand the industry can be complex, with challenges around under-resourced staff, budget allocation, and much more. That's why we're here—to provide guidance and expertise so you can do better, be better, and expand your career. Join us on this journey to get results, grow your brand, and experience the revolution of event marketing! “Event Marketing: Redefined'' is hosted by trade show and event marketing expert, Matt Kleinrock, CEO of Rockway Exhibits + Events.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 19, 202632 min

EP 193 | Your Event Isn't the Problem. Leadership Is.

Your event wasn't the problem. Ask any event marketer to be honest, and they'll tell you exactly how they'd build a stronger show if they had the budget, the runway, and the right people in the room saying yes at the right time. But shrinking resources, last minute executive pivots, and stakeholders who show up late with big opinions are quietly wrecking programs that were never broken to begin with. This conversation echoes what senior leaders spent two days saying out loud at Event Marketing Congress 2026. In this episode, Matt Kleinrock and Coty Adams get honest about: ✅ Why leadership keeps chasing the shiny object instead of sticking to a plan ✅ The sales and marketing gap nobody wants to name out loud ✅ Who actually owns event decisions and why the answer is usually nobody It's the conversation event marketers wish they could have with their own leadership team. Tune in live August 5 at 1 PM ET. Bring your own war stories, we're reading comments live. -------------------- Connect With Us Matt Kleinrock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Coty Adams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cotykadams/ Our Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

August 5, 2026Episode 19230 min

EP 192 | Stop Measuring Customer Events Like Lead Gen

Customer events are not prospecting campaigns, so measuring them by leads alone misses their real business impact. The better questions are whether customers become more loyal, engage more deeply, and strengthen their relationship with your brand. Inside this episode: ✅ The customer-event metrics that reveal more than attendance and satisfaction scores ✅ How attendee-versus-nonattendee comparisons can uncover revenue, retention, and participation trends ✅ Why host books, peer interaction, and voice-of-customer sessions lead to more meaningful connections Ashley Claborn (Senior Manager, Events & Incentives at Lennox Residential HVAC) joins Matt to explain how customer feedback, attendee data, and thoughtful interactions can reveal an event’s influence on loyalty, retention, and business growth. From comparing attendees with similar non-attendees to preparing internal teams with meaningful customer insights, this conversation offers a smarter way to define success. ---------------------------------- Connect with Ashley Claborn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyclaborn/ Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

July 29, 2026Episode 19111 min

EP 191 | Stop Asking For More Budget. Start Asking For This.

Your VP asks why events deserve more budget next year. You could defend every line item. Or ask for something else entirely. Matt says fighting for more money is usually the wrong fight. Alignment first, results second, budget third. That reframe is what separates event marketers who get taken seriously from the ones stuck justifying their existence every cycle. Part 2 of our summer Q&A series covers what event marketers actually lose sleep over: booth psychology, credibility with leadership, and which KPIs are real versus which just look good in a slide deck. Still poolside. Still surprisingly tactical. ✅ What Matt actually watches on a show floor once the booth design stops holding his attention ✅ Why leading metrics tell you the story while you're still in it, lagging metrics only tell you the ending ✅ The one detail from post-show debriefs most teams skip: pairing the numbers with what sales actually felt in the room Oh, and the hot dog versus hamburger debate. Some things matter as much as pipeline. ---------------------------------- Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

July 15, 2026Episode 19032 min

EP 190 | Your Booth Is Only as Good as Your People

What's the point of a stunning trade show booth if nobody inside it knows why they're there? Casey Smalley, Director of Global Events at Avetta, joins Matt Kleinrock to make the case that the smartest line in your event budget isn't the build. It's the briefing. In this episode: ✅ Why treating booth staffing as a "scheduling exercise" quietly costs you pipeline, not just optics ✅ The one trait that separates a floor-ready team member from a liability (it has nothing to do with product knowledge) ✅ Inside a secret shopper program that graded booth staff posture with photos and why it worked Most event teams obsess over booth design, tech, and swag, then leave staffing decisions to the final 48 hours, if they think about them at all. Casey brings 20 years in event marketing to explain why that gap is more expensive than most marketers realize. She and Matt swap stories from the floor: a secret shopper program that once graded booth staff on posture, and the beautifully built booth with nobody working it. What surfaces is something every senior marketer already suspects but rarely says out loud. Attendees forget the screens. They remember the humans. Tune in to find out what actually separates a booth that converts from one that just looks good. ---------------------------------- Connect with Casey Smalley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywalkersmalley/ Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

July 1, 2026Episode 18944 min

EP 189 | Safe Doesn’t Sell: Why Smart Event Marketers Create Demand

Too many events still rely on the same booths, the same activations, and the same “safe” playbook. The result: experiences people walk past, forget, or never meaningfully engage with in the first place. Ashley Nuske, Director of Field & Event Marketing at Goldcast (now Cvent), joins Matt Kleinrock for a candid conversation about what’s broken in event marketing today and why safe strategies rarely produce standout results. Ashley shares how she approaches audience-first event design, builds experiences around business outcomes instead of assumptions, and pushes teams beyond repetitive execution. The episode explores everything from creative field event concepts to executive buy-in, experiential trends, and why immersive experiences matter even more in an AI-saturated world. Learn: ✅ What stale event execution actually looks like in today’s market ✅ How thoughtful personalization creates stronger audience connection and recall ✅ Why event marketers need market awareness, not just internal opinions, to innovate Tune in for a practical conversation on how modern event marketers can create experiences people actually remember and results leadership can actually measure. ---------------------------------- Connect with Ashley Nuske LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynuske-expmarketing/ Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

June 24, 2026Episode 18810 min

EP 188 | Are You Summer-Busy or Fall-Ready?

Are you heading into fall events the same way you did last year? Same booth, same playbook, same hope that something sticks? Most event marketers aren't lazy. They're just busy. And busy has a way of turning strategy into autopilot. That gap between teams who show up and teams who show up READY starts forming right now, in summer. As part of The Summer Circuit, we're dropping a special compilation episode where host Matt Kleinrock shares the unfiltered advice he'd give any event marketer preparing for the back half of the year. (Yes, Matt filmed this from a kiddie pool. The advice is still dead serious.) Here's what you'll walk away with: ✅ Why chasing a perfect ROI calculation before you have any measurement at all is the fastest way to measure nothing ✅ How a real event theme works and what it has to be rooted in to actually move through your entire execution ✅ When to stop order-taking from internal stakeholders and start asking the questions that get to the why Fall is coming faster than most strategies are ready for. Give this one a listen. ---------------------------------- Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

June 17, 2026Episode 18726 min

EP 187 | Signals vs. Metrics: What Actually Tells You Your Event Is Working

Your booth traffic looked good. Badge scans were high. Leadership wants ROI numbers. But none of that fully explains whether your event actually moved deals forward. In this episode, Matt talks with Cynthia Montalvo (Regional Field Marketing Manager at Steno) about the growing gap between event metrics and actual event influence. Cynthia, an event strategist known for pushing teams beyond surface-level reporting, explains why signals like stakeholder expansion, deeper conversations, follow-up meetings, and peer validation can tell a far richer story than lead volume alone. Together, they explore how event teams can become more intentional about designing experiences that create momentum across the customer journey—especially in complex B2B sales environments. Learn: ✅ Why conversation quality often matters more than booth traffic ✅ The signals that reveal trust, deal acceleration, and buying intent ✅ How to design events around influence instead of activity metrics Listen in for a practical conversation on how modern event teams can better understand what’s really happening at their events and how to prove the value of it. ---------------------------------- Connect with Cynthia Montalvo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-montalvo/ Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

June 3, 2026Episode 18646 min

EP 186 | If Your Trade Shows Aren’t Driving Pipeline, What Are They Doing?

Most event teams are still measuring trade shows by booth traffic, badge scans, and “good vibes.” But when budgets tighten and leadership wants answers, those metrics stop meaning much. Bethany Gustafson leads events at ACTIVE Network, where her team manages everything from small pop-up trade shows to large-scale flagship exhibits across multiple markets and products. In this episode, she joins Matt Kleinrock to break down what it actually takes to run a high-volume event program strategically—not just operationally. They get into the pressure event marketers face to prove impact, why clean attribution is harder than executives think, and how strong teams build scorecards, feedback loops, and sales alignment around real business outcomes. Learn: ✅ How Bethany structures Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 event strategies across 75–100 shows a year ✅ The leading indicators she watches before ROI is fully visible months later ✅ Why operational systems and sales alignment matter more than flashy booths If you’re being asked to prove the value of your trade shows while managing more events with fewer resources, this episode will probably feel very familiar. ---------------------------------- Connect with Bethany Gustafson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethany-gustafson/ Connect with Matt Kleinrock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

May 20, 2026Episode 18514 min

EP 185 | Most Booths Are Designed for the Wrong View

Most trade show booths are still being designed for the render. Not the person walking a crowded aisle deciding in seconds whether your booth is worth their attention. Recorded live from EXHIBITORLIVE 2026, Matt Kleinrock and Coty Adams break down what they’re noticing on the show floor right now: bigger structures, tighter aisles, shorter attention spans, and event teams trying to balance nonstop execution with pressure to deliver better ROI. ✅ Why some of the “best-looking” booths still fail to pull people in ✅ How immersive, eye-level design impacts dwell time and engagement ✅ What burnout is doing to strategy, creativity, and event performance This episode goes beyond booth aesthetics. Matt and Coty dig into why many exhibits are blending into the noise, why themed experiences tend to stick with attendees longer, and why connection still matters more than spectacle. They also talk openly about the reality many event marketers are facing right now: running at full speed while still being expected to think strategically, innovate constantly, and prove results. If your team is trying to create more meaningful event experiences without burning out in the process, this conversation will probably feel very familiar. -------------------- Connect With Us Matt Kleinrock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Coty Adams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cotykadams/ Our Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

May 6, 2026Episode 18445 min

EP 184 | Everyone Wants Better Event ROI. Few Teams Are Set Up for It.

Everyone wants better event ROI, but most event marketers are navigating a frustrating reality: they are expected to think strategically while being buried in execution. In this episode, Matt and Coty break down their EXHIBITORLIVE experience as a live case study in what it looks like when an event is planned more intentionally from end to end. From pre-show planning and alignment to on-site engagement and post-event momentum, they walk through how thinking about events as a full campaign—not just a moment—can change outcomes. They also share key takeaways from the “State of the Race” poll, revealing what event marketers are trying to achieve right now, what is getting in the way, and why the gap between strategic expectations and day-to-day execution keeps holding teams back. You’ll learn: ✅ How to approach events as a full campaign (pre, during, and post), not just a booth experience ✅ Where creativity and scrappiness actually show up and how to use them to drive engagement ✅ What 150+ event marketers are focused on right now, and what’s slowing them down This is a practical conversation for marketers who want to create stronger event outcomes without pretending they operate in perfect conditions. -------------------- Connect With Us Matt Kleinrock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/ Coty Adams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cotykadams/ Our Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/ 🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined