AGENDA

Where is B2B marketing, the key challenges and opportunities for B2B marketers and brands in 2026.

Tomorrow’s B2B buyers are digital natives with new rules of engagement. This session will dive into how Gen Z and millennial behaviors are reshaping the buying funnel - from Instagram to Slack channels - and what B2B brands must do now to stay culturally relevant and emotionally resonant in the face of generational disruption.

What can a Renaissance banking dynasty teach today’s B2B marketers? This session dives into the power of creative ambition and why settling for the safe option is the fastest route to irrelevance. We’ll explore the “Creative Ambition Gap”: how bold ideas get watered down between brief and execution, and what leaders can do to protect them. Just as the Medici built a legacy by backing daring, untested talent, modern marketers can achieve lasting impact by defending creativity, thinking beyond quick wins, and building brands that inspire. Are you brave enough to go Medici?

The Motion: 'This house believes that modern B2B buying decision are actually driven by emotion and fear and not rationality and logic as was once believed.' Brand and agency leaders go head-to-head to challenge one of B2B’s most deep-seated assumptions – that unlike most consumer buying decisions, B2B buying decisions are always based on sound logic – they aren’t. Are B2B buying decisions as emotional and B2C buying decisions? You decide.

Once the domain of big consumer names, sports marketing is fast becoming a powerful platform for B2B brands. In this session, agencies and brand leaders unpack why more B2B marketers are investing in sponsorship, sport-led content, and partnerships to boost visibility, build emotional connections, and engage hard-to-reach audiences. From F1 to football, discover how B2B is playing to win on and off the pitch.

In an age of scepticism and signal overload, community is becoming the new trust currency. This session unpacks how B2B brands are building, nurturing, and activating communities to drive pipeline, loyalty and advocacy. Discover what it takes to move from CRM lists to truly connected audiences that grow with you.

At B2B World Fest, we know one size doesn’t fit all. That’s why we’re hosting a series of masterclass breakout sessions designed exclusively for CMOs and senior marketing leaders. Running simultaneously across The Drum Labs, these interactive sessions let you dive deep into the challenges that matter most to you – from harnessing AI to reimagining B2B customer experience, brand building, and beyond. Each session is a chance to step away from theory and focus on practical strategies, peer discussion, and actionable insights. Choose your challenge, shape the conversation, and leave with ideas you can put to work tomorrow.

There's never been a more exciting time to be a B2B marketer. To get you fired up again after lunch senior B2B marketers pull back the curtain on the high-stakes, high-velocity world of B2B leadership. From shifting remits to talent challenges and shareholder expectations, they’ll share how they’re adapting, surviving and reshaping the role for the future. Explore the evolving remit of the B2B CMO and how to survive it.

To close our B2B day, we invite B2B specialists to take to the stage to outline the future of B2B. From the rise of entertainment-led marketing to the death of the funnel, expect bold ideas, big-picture thinking, and a dose of optimism for where B2B is heading next. A future-gazing talk to end the day on a provocative and optimistic note.