IMS 2026 Detailed Schedule
From the your friends at Gorilla 76 and TREW Marketing: Welcome to the Industrial Marketing Summit!
This page is full of details about everything IMS 2026. If you find yourself running into questions about what is happening and when, please send us a message or look for anyone repping a IMS staff badge.
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Locations
The Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center
📍 9721 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX 78759
This is our base of operations for all things IMS 2026. We highly recommend staying in this hotel so that you can take full advantage of evening events and meal times while making your downtime as restful as possible. The IMS block rate ($229/night) is available when you book before February 10th. Book now.
County Line at the Lake
📍 5204 Ranch to Market Rd 2222, Austin, TX 78731
On Wednesday night, we’ve booked out this entire restaurant on Lake Austin for the Summit Soirée. We’ll provide shuttle service to and fro — so long as you’re staying at the Renaissance.
Detailed Schedule
Download a PDF schedule grid here. This schedule is subject to change.
Monday March 2
4:00 to 7:00 p.m. — Registration and Badge Pickup from Atrium
Grab your registration badge and your Industrial Marketing Summit gift bag (courtesy of IMS 2026 sponsors) from the Renaissance Atrium check-in desk. If you’re unable to check in during this window, don’t sweat it. We’ll open the check-in desk again in the morning.
Tuesday March 3
!! You must have an “All Access” pass type to attend morning workshops. !!
7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. — Registration and Badge Pickup from Atrium
Grab your registration badge and your Industrial Marketing Summit gift bag (courtesy of IMS 2026 sponsors) from the Renaissance Atrium check-in desk.
7:30 to 8:30 a.m. — Light Breakfast Buffet for All Access Pass Holders at Glass Oaks Ballroom
8:30 to 10:00 a.m. — [WORKSHOP] B2B PR: Make a Measurable Shift in Brand Awareness in a Month
Location: Glass Oaks Ballroom
Morgan Norris, Senior Brand and Content Strategist at TREW Marketing
Turn quick campaign demands into brand-building opportunities without derailing your marketing strategy. Learn to craft targeted messaging that fits your audience and brand, build effective media lists, and execute rapid PR campaigns that deliver measurable awareness gains in 30 days.
10:00 to 10:30 a.m. — Coffee Break
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. — [WORKSHOP] Level Up: Building Your Sales Enablement Roadmap
Location: Glass Oaks Ballroom
Wes Temple, Strategist at Gorilla 76
Brendon Forrest, Director of Accounts at Gorilla 76
Move beyond ad-hoc marketing support to strategic sales enablement that accelerates deals. Assess your current maturity, collaborate with peers facing similar challenges and build a practical six-month roadmap to advance your sales enablement impact.
12:00 to 1:15 p.m. — Lunch Buffet for All Access Pass Holders at Glass Oaks Ballroom
1:15 to 3:15 p.m. — [WORKSHOP] Create Your AI Marketing Assistant In Less Than An Hour
Location: Glass Oaks Ballroom
Dale Bertrand, Founder and CEO at Fire&Spark
Build a functional AI marketing assistant that accelerates routine tasks — no coding required. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll create a personalized AI assistant using ChatGPT to automate content creation, generate ideas, and streamline workflows, walking away with a ready-to-use tool built around your specific marketing challenges.
3:15 to 4:00 p.m. — Downtime
Grab your registration badge and your Industrial Marketing Summit gift bag (courtesy of IMS 2026 sponsors) from the Renaissance Atrium check-in desk.
4:00 to 4:30 p.m. — Welcome Message
Location: Grand Ballroom
Meet Morgan Norris, our IMS emcee, and hear a word from our hosts at TREW Marketing and Gorilla 76.
4:30 to 5:45 p.m. — [OPENING KEYNOTE] The End of Web Traffic (and What That Means for Industrial Marketers
Location: Grand Ballroom
Rand Fishkin, CEO and Co-Founder at Sparktoro
Rand is a respected marketer and entrepreneur. As founder of Moz and Inbound.org, and a co-author of The Art of SEO, his voice has been trusted for decades. As SEO evolves in the AI age, Rand continues to champion content marketing and the reality of how your customers are using the internet today to cut through the noise.
5:45 to 7:45 p.m. — IMS Marketing Mingle, sponsored by Navu
Location: The Lawn and Luna Blanca
You’re in Austin to learn, grow and be with “your people,” so what better way than to round out night one than mingling under giant live oak trees strung with twinkle lights? Flow from the Grand Ballroom straight to the Renaissance Hotel courtyard to enjoy conversation, drinks and hors d’oeuvres so heavy you could make a meal of it. This will be an indoor/outdoor reception.
Wednesday March 4
7:00 to 10:00 a.m. — Registration Open
7:25 to 8:30 a.m. — Breakfast Buffet and Morning Welcome
8:45 to 9:45 a.m. — Culture as a Content Engine: The Internal Foundation
Location: Grand Ballroom
Jim Mayer, Founder at The Manufacturing Connector
Stop scrambling for content ideas, your best material lives within your daily operations. Jim Mayer reveals how to identify authentic internal culture moments, build systems that transform routine work into compelling content and audit the stories you’re missing. Jim will share real examples that prove culture-rooted content outperforms polished campaigns.
8:45 to 9:45 a.m. — Video Marketing with Impact: Ideas, Tactics and Measurement for the Industrial Marketer
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Taylor Corrado, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Wistia
Video is one of the most powerful tools you can use to connect with engineers and technical buyers. But there’s a lot that needs to happen before — and after — your brand makes it to the “big screen”. In this session, you’ll learn five proven video ideas that engage B2B prospects, practical gear tips for tough environments and how to monitor your video’s success so you know where to double down for next time.
10:00 to 11:00 a.m. — Full Funnel Paid Social: A Campaign for Every Prospect
Location: Grand Ballroom
Allen Fennewald, Associate Content Director, Gorilla 76
Kevin McClary, Head of Performance Marketing, Gorilla 76
Too many B2B campaigns fail because they treat every prospect the same. In this session, we break down the five stages of buyer awareness and show how to build full-funnel campaigns that match messaging, channels and offers to intent — and how to measure what’s actually driving results.
10:00 to 11:00 a.m. — How AI Solutions Should Be Changing your Website Content Strategy
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
John Greely, Head of Marketing at Navu
AI has completely changed the industrial buyers journey, especially for companies with complex products that require significant research. But the businesses that stand to gain the most are often the last to adapt. In this session we’ll cover how to embrace AI and leverage your existing content to meet your buyers’ needs, gain valuable insights and get a leg up on the competition.
11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. — The Cartoon That Closed Deals: Making Bold Marketing Work in a Traditional Industry
Location: Grand Ballroom
Josh Rozman, Marketing Manager at Oberlin Filter Company
A cartoon character for industrial filtration? What started as skeptical reactions became full-scale adoption across sales decks, trade shows, and customer AI assistants. Discover the strategic framework that turned a bold creative concept into Oberlin Filter’s most powerful marketing asset. Get the playbook to make brave ideas work in traditional industries.
11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. — Unlocking B2B Influence on Reddit: Where Engineers Share, Debate and Decide
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Mandee Nguyen, Content Marketing Manager at SICK Sensor Intelligence
Engineers, plant managers and technical buyers are actively discussing solutions on Reddit, but most B2B marketers ignore this goldmine. Learn how SICK Sensor Intelligence leverages Reddit communities to build trust, drive qualified traffic and position themselves as automation thought leaders where their audience actually gathers.
12:00 to 1:00 p.m. — Lunch Buffet
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. — How to Be Successful on LinkedIn in 2026
Location: The Grand Ballroom
Jake Hall, Industry Advocate at The Manufacturing Millennial
Most industrial companies lurk on LinkedIn when they could be thought leaders. Learn proven organic content strategies that drive real impact with company business pages, navigate the changing algorithm, and transform your brand presence. The Manufacturing Millennial reveals what works now and what’s coming next for B2B success on LinkedIn.
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. — Build. Promote. Grow. A Practical Framework for Industrial Product Launches
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Katie Parlin, Senior Director of Marketing at Flow International Corporation
Industrial product launches face unique challenges: long sales cycles, technical audiences, and narrow launch windows. Master the BUILD, PROMOTE, GROW framework — a proven, phased approach for bringing products to market successfully. Learn to build the right foundation, execute focused launches to key accounts and scale for sustained growth.
2:15 to 3:00 p.m. — No Attribution, No Problem: Showing Impact in Long Sales Cycles
Location: Grand Ballroom
Karlaa Gregory, Digital Marketing Manager at Sumitomo Drive Technologies
Brittany McCall, Intl Marketing Manager at Sumitomo Drive Technologies
Industrial deals take months or years to close, making direct ROI tracking nearly impossible. Learn practical ways to demonstrate marketing’s value without clear attribution. Master engagement metrics, pipeline influence reporting and conversation strategies that position marketing as an essential growth driver in the eyes of leadership.
2:15 to 3:00 p.m. — From Presentation to Performance: Crafting Binge-Worthy Webinars for Technical Audiences
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Aya Takase, Head of Global Marketing Communications at Rigaku
Webinars are easy to host but easier to tune out. Transform routine presentations into binge-worthy content that technical audiences want to watch and remember. Learn performance techniques that minimize cognitive friction and maximize engagement, from visual pacing to audience retention strategies that keep people coming back.
3:00 to 5:00 p.m. — Expo Happy Hour in the Arbor
6:10 p.m. — Loading Shuttles for Summit Soirée at Renaissance Entrance
6:30 to 10:30 p.m. — Summit Soirée at County Line on the Lake
10:30 p.m. — Final Shuttle Departs Soirée
Thursday March 5
7:30 to 8:30 a.m. — Breakfast Buffet
8:30 to 9:15 a.m. — Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: How Al Changed the Way Sales and Marketing Work Together
Location: Grand Ballroom
Luke Wittenbraker, Marketing and Sales Director at Mactech, Inc.
Luke manages Al Robichaux, a 65-year-old who types with two fingers, calls LinkedIn “Facebook for work,” and is a top-performing sales rep. Discover how real sales-marketing alignment happens without buzzwords or AI platforms — just trust, transparency and practical tactics that bridge generational gaps and drive results in traditional industrial companies.
8:30 to 9:15 a.m. — Panel: Radical Authenticity in Action
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Paul Van Metre, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist at ProShop ERP
Mike Payne, President and Owner at Hill Manufacturing
Nick Goellner, VP Sales and Marketing at Hennig
Manufacturing leaders often hide behind curated messaging, but transparency accelerates growth. This panel will reveal how external honesty and vulnerability became their most powerful marketing tools. Learn concrete tactics to turn real stories into brand accelerators that resonate more than polished slogans.
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. — 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers – Exclusive Sneak Peek
Location: Grand Ballroom
Wendy Covey, CEO and Co-Founder at TREW Marketing
CJ Haight, Senior Marketing Manager at GlobalSpec
Be the first to see the results of our 9th annual research study that exposes how technical buyers seek and consume information to make purchase decisions. We examine how they engage with technical content and which sources and authors they trust most. You’ll get a pulse on webinars, newsletters, and podcasts; and learn how AI tools and brand familiarity influence the sale.
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. — Steel and Strategy: Using AI to Drive Full-Funnel Growth in Industrial Sales
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Eric Seiberling, VP of Sales and Marketing at MXD Process
Traditional manufacturers don’t need Silicon Valley AI solutions, they need practical tools that work. Discover how one industrial company implemented AI across their entire sales funnel to improve lead quality, accelerate deals, and scale capacity. Walk away with a proven “crawl-walk-run” implementation strategy.
10:45 to 11:30 a.m. — To Gate or Not To Gate: Finding a Balance That Works for You Without Alienating Your Customers
Location: Grand Ballroom
Craig Coffey, Content Strategy and Marketing Manager at Eaton
One of the most polarizing topics in industrial marketing is the practice of content gating — requiring a visitor’s information for content access. Despite strong opinions on both sides, smart gating strategies exist. Learn the if, when and how to approach content gating, and how one large manufacturer tackled their own internal struggle to create a process that actually works.
10:45 to 11:30 a.m. — How We Built a Distributor Benefits Program That Excited Everyone Involved
Location: Bluebonnet Ballroom
Emily Ting, Marketing Specialist at CCS America, Inc.
Revamping distributor programs requires more than good intentions — it takes strategy and buy-in. Emily reveals her step-by-step approach to redesigning legacy channel benefits that earned enthusiastic sales team support. Get the blueprint to make your partner programs more strategic, sustainable and profitable for everyone involved.
11:30 a.m. — Lunch Service Begins
Our closing keynote will take place over the lunch hour. Grab your plate from the buffet and head back into the Grand Ballroom to listen in.
11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. — [CLOSING KEYNOTE] Optimizing Content for AI Search and GEO
Dale Bertrand, Founder and CEO at Fire&Spark
Traditional SEO best practices are failing in the AI search era. Join expert Dale Bertrand for a deep dive into Google’s AI search engine mechanics and proven optimization strategies for ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and emerging platforms. Learn to track your organic visibility in AI systems and accelerate content performance.