Eloqua Experience '08: A Review - Marketing Watchdog Journal

	\| Contact Us \| Bulldog Europe

\| Return to MWJ Home
		October 2008, Issue 56

Events
Eloqua Experience '08: A Review
By Chris Parisi, Vice President, Technology, Bulldog Solutions

Marketing, Technology and Las Vegas: Far from a Risky Combination

Wow...what an experience! The first-ever Eloqua International Users Conference completely exceeded my expectations and, honestly, I had pretty high expectations from the outset. I've been to plenty of tech conferences and a handful of marketing conferences, but I really found this "experience" to be unique in that it brought together seamlessly three of my favorite things: marketing, technology and, of course, Las Vegas. When more than 450 BtoB decision makers and influencers—industry analysts, Eloqua power users, thought leaders in the field of lead marketing—all gather in one place (and that place happens to be Vegas), it is bound to be a grand old time.

Eloqua Experience 08, held October 6–8, 2008, was the very first and largest conference dedicated to innovation in marketing worldwide. Being a long-time Eloqua power user and partner of Eloqua, I have had the fortunate opportunity to watch the technology and the solutions it enables rapidly evolve. Personally, the event was a celebration of how far we've all come. As a representative of Bulldog Solutions, a gold sponsor of the event, I was honored to be part of this historic event and look forward to doing it again next year. And if the rest of the attendees of this year's event have anything to say about it, there will be more. According to CRM Magazine's blog, 96% of attendees still left standing at the end of conference voted in favor of Eloqua hosting another event like this one next year.

Some of our favorite moments? The welcome reception at the Voodoo Lounge. What a view! I've been to Las Vegas a few times, but have yet to see the city like this. The event warm-up was a packed reception on the 51st floor of the Rio Hotel overlooking the city. Great minds, great conversation and great food!

Another noteworthy event was the kickoff to the conference itself, the Eloqua "State of the Union" address by Joe Payne, CEO of Eloqua. He kicked off the conference with a powerful presentation, in the midst of which, a choir made a grand entrance. Singing and dancing throughout the crowd, they set the energy level of the rest of the conference.

And finally, there were the Markies awards. The industry's version of the Oscars, "The Markies" showcase the groundbreaking accomplishments of marketers who are developing truly innovative campaigns. Examples of this innovation include campaigns for sales and marketing effectiveness, lead scoring, lead management and campaign management. Winners were chosen in the following categories:

Multi-Channel Campaign: Comcast-Spectacor
New Media Marketing Award: Concur
Best Lead Scoring Award: Forrester Research, Inc.
Best Lead Nurturing Award: Taleo
Global Marketing Effectiveness Award: National Instruments
Sales Efficiency Award: Sourcefire
Interactive Marketing Award: TriNet

In short, I encourage all of our readers to keep up to speed on the technological and marketing innovation coming from Eloqua and its partners and customers. And I look forward to seeing you next year at Eloqua Experience '09!

Return to MWJ Home

Chris Parisi is VP of Technology at Bulldog Solutions, the lead-generation optimization and management company. Visit www.bulldogsolutions.com to learn more.

Marketing Watchdog Journal is a monthly newsletter from Bulldog Solutions, a lead optimization and lead management company dedicated to helping our clients generate more, better leads and turn them into revenue. We welcome your feedback on this newsletter's content and design, and encourage you to share your ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future issues. Please send your comments or questions about Bulldog Solutions to Amy Bills, senior manager of Field Marketing.