HOW SMART BRANDS TURN EVENTS INTO YEAR-LONG CONTENT ENGINES

Courtney Engel, VP of Strategy & Development at Magnet Media, shares why events offer a prime opportunity to generate content that fuels and strengthens your overall strategy.

Companies are investing more in face-to-face interactions at conferences and events than ever before. But without a content strategy, you're likely leaving money on the table. The goal isn't just to attend, it's to create a steady drumbeat of insights and thought leadership that keeps your brand top-of-mind long after the conference ends.

While event teams struggle to prove ROI of their buildouts, forward-thinking marketers see LinkedIn as the new sales floor, architecting year-long content strategies that turn temporary activations into competitive advantages.

Your sales team needs content that opens doors to meetings. Your partners need assets that showcase successful collaborations. Your customers need stories that position them as industry leaders. Events provide all of this and can be content goldmines optimized for social selling.

Content marketing needs a seat at the table during event planning, not an afterthought role once you're already on-site. The brands that win are the ones treating events as content creation opportunities from day one.

Reach Beyond the Beach: Serializing Content

At Cannes, we coined the term "reach beyond the beach" while working with brands like Greenhouse to develop social series that transformed their presence on the Croisette into ongoing content engines. The breakthrough wasn't just capturing moments; it was serializing them into narratives that maintained momentum long after the rosé ran out.

Serialized content treats conferences as seasons of a show, not one-off episodes. Each event becomes a chapter in your brand's ongoing story. Your conference content should create anticipation for the next installment, not just document what happened last week.

The Power of EGC (Employee Generated Content) & PGC (Partner Generated Content)

Employee Generated Content (EGC) has become increasingly popular. However, EGC often lacks the polish and strategic messaging needed to represent your brand at industry conferences. By providing your employees an opportunity to create content with professional pull-aside interviews, you can transform every attendee into a brand ambassador.

Then think of the multiplier effect with your partners and customers. It’s what I like to call Partner Generated Content (PGC), which transforms conferences into story banking opportunities. These stories become your most powerful sales tools because they're not coming from you—they're third-party endorsements.

How often do you hear that your sales team needs case studies? Set up dedicated interview stations. Plan partner spotlights. Create customer success showcases. Your partners and customers want to share their wins—give them the platform and production value to do it right.

From Activation to Amplification: Events That Are Content-Led

At Advertising Week, we produced a game show series that didn't just bring people into our client’s booth, it created a content franchise where the activation was the content.

"Participants weren't just playing for prizes; they were creating shareable moments that extended our reach into their networks, generating an entire ecosystem of branded content."

Content-led events flip the traditional model. Instead of creating an experience and hoping to capture good content, you design experiences that are inherently content-worthy. The activation becomes the amplification.

Think about experiences that participants want to share, not just attend. Create moments that look as good on LinkedIn as they feel in person. Design interactions that tell your brand story through participation, not presentation.

The Content Portfolio Strategy

The companies winning on LinkedIn aren't just posting about their conferences—they're creating content that extends the conference experience to their entire network.

Here is where video storytelling can take your booth to the next level with a stronger ROI on your presence.

Content Captured in Advance:

• Product Demonstrations: Compelling explanations that work harder than any static display whether UI or animated. Rather than premiering at the event, premiere it on LinkedIn as a teaser beforehand.
• Brand Anthems: Content that captures the energy and vision driving your presence that is played at your booth. This is an asset that can be edited in various social cuts and be leveraged ongoing.

Content Captured at the Event:

• Thought Leadership: Your executives sharing insights that position them as industry voices
• Employee Generated Content (EGC): Your team sharing authentic expertise and passion
• Partner Generated Content (PGC): Customer success stories and partner testimonials

The ROI Reality

When you create content that extends your reach, develop authentic voices that build trust, and give your sales team social selling tools that book meetings months later.Suddenly that conference investment works exponentially harder.

The reality is that ROI goes beyond handshakes in the booth—it becomes engagement, conversations, and shares on your LinkedIn.

While competitors pack up their booths, your content continues extending reach through authentic storytelling that works year-round.

Content is the future of event marketing.