Laura Davidson ran a search agency for a decade and she is blunt about what is happening: the touchpoints have collapsed. Someone asks an AI, gets one answer, believes they have done thorough research, and registers. Her argument is that this is not new marketing at all. It is a return to something much older, and the event brands that already invested in being known are the ones it rewards.
In this one:
What zero-click search actually means for event marketing, and the two metrics her team watches now that attribution is breaking
Why a B2B buyer is only in market roughly 5% of the year, and what to do during the other 95%
The one question that decides whether your event gets funded, and why a well-known bad event beats an unknown good one
What connected TV and ChatGPT ads really cost, and whether an event marketing budget can actually reach them
The ambassador program setup that cut cost per acquisition by 49% on a single creator video, and the contract clause that makes it work
If you are heading into budget season with a number you are not sure you can defend, start here.
Mentioned in this episode
Zero-click search study, SparkToro via Similarweb clickstream data: Search Engine Land coverage
About the guest
Laura Davidson spent 14 years running paid search and paid media for global trade shows before selling her agency to Freeman, which means she is watching the collapse of click-based measurement from inside the discipline it disrupts. She now leads digital at mdg. She has also produced her own events, which is why her advice sounds like someone who has been on both sides of the invoice.
Connect with Laura Davidson and Tag Digital:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lauratagdigital
mdg, a Freeman company: mdg.agency
Instagram: @tagdigitalglobal
About Your Host
Megan Martin is the founder of M Squared Dynamics, a consulting, facilitation, and content strategy firm helping event leaders, marketers, and sales teams turn live experiences into measurable business growth. She’s the host and executive producer of Event About It, co-founder of Opportunity Hunters, and a two-time PCMA Visionary Award nominee (2022 winner). With nearly 20 years in the industry, Megan operates at the intersection of event strategy, marketing alignment, and behavioral intent signals, turning events from line items into pipeline drivers.
Connect with Megan and M Squared Dynamics:
Podcast: EventAboutItPodcast.com
Newsletter (Step and Repeat): msquareddynamics.com/stepandrepeatsignup
Consulting and strategy: msquareddynamics.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmartincmp/
Instagram: @m2dynamics and @eventaboutit
TikTok: @eventaboutit
Keep the Conversation Going
The best conversations start after the show ends, and the best ones keep going in your inbox. Subscribe to Event About It wherever you get your podcasts and sign up for the Step and Repeat newsletter at msquareddynamics.com/stepandrepeatsignup.
Until next time, stay curious.