Turning events into ABM power plays

Sunrise by Blackbirds @Carriageworks, Sydney

The event season is heating up again, and I’ve been in more conversations than I can count with B2B marketers wondering the same thing: How do we make events actually work for ABM?

Marketing teams are pouring time and budget into booths, panels, roundtables, and happy hours — but without a clear link to account-level outcomes, it’s hard to say whether they’re worth it.

Here’s the truth: events can be a goldmine for ABM, but only if we stop treating them as isolated activities and start building them into our account strategy by design.

1. Start With the Account List, Not the Event Calendar

Instead of picking events based on what’s trending or where your competitors are going, flip the model: look at your target accounts and ask, Where will they be? What do they care about?

For example, if your top 50 Tier 1 accounts are all in the insurtech or fintech space, don’t just show up at Money20/20 and hope for the best. Curate your presence with them in mind — from pre-event outreach to post-event follow-up: what you ‘surround’ your event with is as important as what happens on the actual event.

2. Pre-, During-, and Post-Event: ABM Should Be Everywhere

Treat the event like a moment in a longer account journey. That means:

• Pre-event: Personalized outreach from sales to key account stakeholders (not generic invites). Use intent data to prioritize who gets white-glove treatment.

• During: Don’t just rely on badge scans. Book 1:1s, host invite-only roundtables, and make sure marketing and sales are aligned on who’s showing up and why.

• Post-event: Custom content follow-ups, not just a "nice to meet you" email. Think curated recaps, short videos, or direct intros to product experts based on what was discussed.

3. It's Not Just About Leads — It’s About Momentum

I loved these examples from Thomson Reuters and ServiceNow. They demonstrate how world-class ABM programs use events to accelerate momentum with high-value accounts, not just generate new leads.

Thomson Reuters strategically hosted nearly 700 in-person and online events across North America, inviting stakeholders from target accounts to engage with their offerings, network, and access industry insights. For accounts at risk of churning, they doubled down with exclusive executive events and opportunities for client leaders to participate in panels and thought leadership, resulting in a remarkable 95% win rate-80% of which came from renewals or expansions.

Similarly, ServiceNow’s ABM program focused on deepening relationships and driving pipeline growth within strategic accounts through highly targeted experiences, including webinars and collaborative content creation. This approach delivered over $12 million in new revenue, $132 million in qualified pipeline, and a 73:1 ROI, with meaningful engagement in 75% of prospect accounts and more than 120 C-level meetings.

What do these examples show us? Two things, at least:

1. That the real ROI comes from using events to move the right accounts forward in their journey, measuring success by account progress and influence - not just net new leads.

2. And that events became a way to deepen relationships with buyers already engaged - and that’s where the real ROI showed up.

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This shift is key: Events shouldn’t be judged by how many net new leads you generate, but by how much progress you make with the right accounts.

4. Metrics That Matter (And Ones That Don’t)

If you’re reporting on total scans or booth visits, it’s time to level up. Instead, ask:

• How many Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts engaged pre-, during-, or post-event?

• How many meetings were booked with decision-makers?

• How much pipeline was influenced or accelerated post-event?

• Did we deepen relationships with existing buyers or customers?

5. Cross-Team Collaboration Is Non-Negotiable

ABM at events can’t be just a marketing initiative. Sales, customer success, and even product teams need to be part of the plan. One of the best event plays I’ve worked on during my time at Kingston Technology in South Africa (a country we were just launching into so we were focused on creating awareness) involved product leads hosting invite-only product deep dives for prospects. Talk about impact there!

Final Thought:

Events aren't dead. Attending (or organising) events is not a waste of time. If you’re serious and strategic about account based marketing, you can start making events a strategic touchpoint within your GTM, and not just a logo on a lanyard or a stand.

Plenty of B2B brands are mastering this right now, and they are taking things next level with ABX (account based experience), but that’s a story for another time.