My 7 Personal Highlights from Dreamforce #DF19

Describing this week at Dreamforce is going to be a challenge; it’s been a whirlwind of big-bang announcements, relentless networking, and of course, parties!

What, specifically, made Dreamforce ’19 a week to remember? I was asked which moment was a highlight; delirious and sleep-deprived, I didn’t have a straight answer to serve up there and then. Dreamforce Day 4 (the finale) is wrapped with the theme of mindfulness, and the perfect time to reminisce. So here they are – my 6 personal highlights from #DF19.

Pardot Roadmap Session

Pardot Roadmap sessions give you a sneak peek into the product’s future features – they always make it onto my ‘don’t miss’ list! The latest Pardot Roadmap session at Dreamforce ’19 was no exception, full-to-the-brim with big-bang announcements wrapped in ‘wow’ moments.

Major highlights include Pardot Sandboxes, Account-based Campaigns, and a sneak peek at the Lightning Email Builder. Read my favourite picks here.

Einstein Analytics for B2B Marketing Demo Session

Another big Dreamforce announcement for B2B Marketers was Einstein Analytics for B2B Marketing (EAB2BMA), an analytics platform for marketing data that adds a predictive element into the mix; in short, EAB2BMA will crunch the numbers and tell you what happened, why it happened and predictions and improvements for you to action.

There may be some confusion around how EAB2BMA is different to B2BMA, and how each product is licensed (yes, they are significantly different). Here’s a post that explains what I’ve found out so far.  

Trailblazer Community Leader Breakfast

Trailblazer Community Groups (commonly known as user groups) are groups of Salesforce Admins, Developers and users that gather in their free time to discuss how they use Salesforce and get answers to thorny questions. Groups are run not by Salesforce employees, but members of the community that volunteer their time to bring people together.

I overslept that morning, and rocked up late feeling far from fresh. Wow – the scale of the event was a complete surprise, hosted in a grand ballroom.

As well as being a reward for leaders, the breakfast was a celebration of the Trailblazer Community groups growth. Some unbelievable statistics were shared, including the explosion of new groups (1357 total, 45 new/month), global reach (87 countries, 13 new in 2019), and excellent attendee feedback.

It was worth being an ‘early bird’ at this conference: the Marketing Trailblazers Breakfast was certainly a highlight! With some big movements in the realm of Salesforce Marketing Automation, the recently-appointed CEO of Marketing Cloud & Pardot founder Adam Blitzer, shared his vision over muffins and granola, which got my mind whirring with the exciting potential the platform holds.

Meeting Marketing Movers and Shakers

Being based in the UK, it’s not very often I get to meet members of the wider Pardot/Salesforce Marketing community – but luckily, Dreamforce was the perfect chance to meet marketing movers and shakers I’ve known only virtually for the past few years.

I really enjoyed meeting Casey (Founder, Cheshire Impact), Ines (MVP & long-time SFB writer), Lara (MVP & Pardot guru), Maura (VP Marketing, Qualified), Jacqueline (Pardot for Non-Profits Influencer), Michiel (Founder, Journey Builders), Yvette (Founder, MModern Marketing) – plus, Sara McNamara answering a burning question I had (yes, Sara does manage all her own social media)! These are the conversations, insights and banter worth attending Dreamforce for.

Speaking Slot: 5 Tips for Creating Awesome Community Content

After 3 years of trying for a speaking slot at Dreamforce, I had the opportunity to take to the stage!

The Breakout session covered what Ben and I have learned running and growing Salesforceben.com, I wanted to include something for any budding writer to learn – whether writing as an individual Trailblazer, on behalf of an ISV (AppExchange Partner) or a Consultancy.

Tips included target audience, go-to topics, structure, headlines and distribution – all specific to this exceptional ecosystem, fertile for ideas to spread.

Despite the many hours of preparation and the nerves, I wanted to get straight back up and deliver it again!

Salesforce Labs DemoJam

The DemoJam was a wildcard addition to my Dreamforce schedule, and was hands-down worth attending. The rules for a DemoJam are simple – contestants have 3 minutes to demo their solution without using any slides; once all demos are done, the audience votes, and the winner announced.

This DemoJam showcased Salesforce Labs solutions, which are developed by Salesforce Employees and available for free on the AppExchange. It was a lucky dip, where I struck lucky! Two of the six solutions would make perfect additions to Salesforce marketing operations – more content coming soon on Consent Capture and Event Force.

B2B Marketing Party

Hosted by the Pardot team in collaboration with Sercante, a Pardot Consultancy recognised by their dragon mascots, the B2B Marketing Party was an impressive event. The nautical theme gave the venue a unique vibe, plus the performance by Mustache Habor got everyone dancing (despite the sleep-deprivation and swollen feet). Thanks to all that organised it – stellar job!