"One person last year said the reason they decided to set up shop here in Cleveland is because of what's going on here," said organizer Joe Pulizzi. "Cleveland is the base for content marketing."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Content Marketing World, the largest annual gathering of content marketing specialists from around the world, returns to Cleveland in full force Sept. 8-11.
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View full sizeKevin Spacey, with Robin Wright in a scene from "House of Cards," is the closing speaker at this year's Content Marketing World in Cleveland.With more than 2,500 people from more than 50 countries registered to attend -- quadruple the number who came three years ago, including hundreds of first-time visitors -- the City of Cleveland will be just as much in the spotlight as the dozens of speakers, experts and celebrities scheduled to take the stage.
Organizer Joe Pulizzi, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of Content Marketing" and founder of the Content Marketing Institute, couldn't have scripted it better. He relishes the chance to show off his hometown to visitors.
"You've got decision-makers coming who want to hire people, who are looking for where to set up their companies," he said. "One person last year said the reason they decided to set up shop here in Cleveland is because of what's going on here. Cleveland is the base for content marketing. There's a lot of venture capital funding coming into the area."
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View full sizeJulie Fleischer, director of Data+Content+Media, for Kraft Foods, is one of the keynote speakers at this year's Content Marketing World. This year's featured speakers include:
Julie Fleischer, director of Data+Content+Media, for Kraft Foods, and winner of CMWorld's 2013 Content Marketer of the Year, talking about "the ROI on content: how Kraft learned the true value of their content and rebuilt their marketing around it";
Andrew Davis, author of "Brandscaping: Unleashing the Power of Partnerships," will discuss "inspired content: how brilliant storytellers create a sudden urge to act."
and Jay Baer, the New York Times best-selling author of "Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype," will offer tips on "creating content that provides mobile youtility."
This year's closing keynote speaker is Kevin Spacey, Oscar-winning star of the popular Netflix political thriller "House of Cards," which changed the way entertainment content was created and distributed. "Every other show on the planet started with a pilot, except for House of Cards," which won a 26-episode deal with Netflix from the start, Pulizzi said.
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View full sizeContent Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi chats with actor William Shatner at last year's Content Marketing World conference in Cleveland. This year's event is expected to be even larger. Last year's event, featuring closing remarks by actor and TV personality William Shatner, generated more than 26,600 tweets, with a reach of more than 16.6 million, according to Cathy McPhillips, marketing director for CMI.
This is exactly the size and caliber of crowd Pulizzi envisioned when he hosted the first Content Marketing World here in 2011, drawing 660 people to the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. Last year's event, also held at just-built Cleveland Convention Center, drew more than 1,750 people from as far away as Australia and Thailand.
At least 37 of the Fortune 100, America's largest companies by gross revenue, are coming to Cleveland. "Here's the amazing stat: We have more than half of the Fortune 20 attending, including Walmart, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Verizon, General Electric, Ford, AT&T, Fannie Mae, McKesson, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Apple," Pulizzi said.
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View full sizeLast year's Content Marketing World conference brought more than 1,750 attendees from 40 nations to the Cleveland Convention Center. Pulizzi said he is incredulous that some local companies trying to do exactly the kinds of marketing that is taught, practiced and perfected at CMWorld "still need a little extra convincing" to let their employees attend.
"How many times do you get the leading experts in any field all coming to Cleveland? We're the only major marketing event of our kind in the area," he said.
"We have completely sold out of our room block for downtown hotels," he said. With more than 4,000 room nights booked, "you can't get a hotel room downtown during that week. I'm anticipating that well over half of the people coming have never been to Cleveland before and will be actively spending money in the area."
According to statistics from Positively Cleveland, the region's convention and visitors bureau, Content Marketing World will contribute about 5 percent of the total group hotel bookings for 2014.
Content Marketing World will open with an Ohio City Pub Crawl, co-hosted by Market Garden Brewery, Bar Cento and Great Lakes Brewing Co. A networking party at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica will feature 10 local food trucks, as well as entertainment by the band Welshly Arms and the Beatles cover band 1964.
And some sponsors, such as SAP, are also hosting their own parties, receptions and client dinners at places like BIN 216, Shooters and Urban Farmer, "and we are working with most of the establishments at East 4th Street to offer special discounts for attendees," Pulizzi said.
Content Marketing World - Cleveland 2014 from Content Marketing Institute on Vimeo.
Content Marketing World will be held Sept. 8 -11 at the Cleveland Convention Center, One St. Clair Ave. NE, in Cleveland. Registration costs up to $2,395, depending on when you sign up. For more information: contentmarketingworld.com or 216-941-5842.