"In 2005, without the help of YouTube, John Cleese helped create one of the first viral videos on the Internet for a B2B company," the Content Marketing Institute said in its announcement. "... Now he's helping marketers become better storytellers by embracing their own creativity."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- John Cleese, the British comedic actor, writer, producer and director, will be one of the keynote speakers for the fifth annual Content Marketing World conference Sept. 8-11 in Cleveland, the Content Marketing Institute announced this morning.
View full sizeComedic actor and writer John Cleese will headline Content Marketing World 2015 in Cleveland. Best known for "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Fawlty Towers," "A Fish Called Wanda," and his 2014 memoir, "So Anyway..." Cleese's unmistakable comedic style has inspired numerous writers and comedians. But he is also the founder of Video Arts, a global provider of business training programs, and brings those award-winning videos to life on the lecture circuit.
"In 2005, without the help of YouTube, John Cleese helped create one of the first viral videos on the Internet for a B2B company," CMI said in its announcement. "As the star of LiveVault's 'Institute for Backup Trauma,' he helped generate thousands of sales leads for the backup server provider and increased web traffic by ten-fold. Now he's helping marketers become better storytellers by embracing their own creativity."
Cleese, who has has long been featured on CMI's video and infographic on the history of content marketing, says that using humor in training decreases listeners' anxiety and increases their retention. "When the training point is surrounded with humor, it can be readily digested, remembered and applied," he said.
"As content marketers, we need to stand out from the rest to get attention," said Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and host of the CMWorld conference. "I'm looking forward to hearing John Cleese's thoughts on how to plan, manage and execute programs - with measurement in mind - while still hitting our creative limits. Sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it means we need to change our thinking. John Cleese is an ideal person to communicate this to content marketers."
"Aside from imparting his content marketing wisdom on our full house of 3,500-plus attendees, we're also looking forward to hearing about creativity and the creative process -- something we content marketers deal with on a daily basis, in many forms," he said. "And of course, Cleese's comedic style, we promise you, will leave us all engaged and inspired."
Billed as the largest content marketing event on the planet, this year's Content Marketing World will again be held at the Cleveland Convention Center with the theme "Bright Lights, Big Content." The 2014 CMWorld drew more than 2,600 attendees from more than 50 countries, including many who had never been to Cleveland before.
In 2014, actor and producer Kevin Spacey's closing keynote speech at Content Marketing World generated so much buzz that event security had to turn away people who weren't officially registered for #CMWorld.
This year, Pulizzi has said he plans to feature more than one celebrity speaker.
The CMWorld lineup includes marketing experts from some of the world's largest brands, including Marriott International, Intel, Lenovo, the Cleveland Clinic, Lincoln Electric, Rust-Oleum, Kraft and Avery Dennison.
Last year's attendees included representatives from companies including: Rockwell Automation, 3M, Kent State University, Nationwide, Dell, Progressive Insurance, Moen, Costco, SAP, FedEx, Oracle, Verizon, Citrix, Fidelity Investments, and Cardinal Health.
Registration is open, with super early bird discounts available through Feb. 28 at www.contentmarketingworld.com/registration/ .