Our team shares their top questions heading in to IMS 2026.
2026 marks our third year of attending the Industrial Marketing Summit, and the first when we are attending as sponsors. Each year, our team has been impressed by the quality of the presentations, and we’ve come to view it as our primary opportunity to soak up some of the industry expertise from our fellow conference attendees.
We polled our team to hear some of their biggest open questions prior to the summit. While we attend, we’ll be keeping our ears open to hear what others are talking about, if our curiosity is shared, and what thoughts others have on these topics.
1. Economic Climate: Last year we were rolling into tariffs, which meant broad uncertainty. What’s the mood in 2026?
To anyone whose job it has been to track the success of marketing campaigns over the past few years, last year’s tariffs felt like a particularly personal slap in the face. The lingering effects of Covid-era supply chain disruption had barely passed, and tariffs will have added another wrinkle in year-over data. How did companies weather the storm?
2. How many companies felt the effect of tariffs?
For our own client base, tariffs affected nearly everyone, sometimes in unexpected ways. Looking back, what decisions did companies make in response to tariffs, and how did those choices pan out?
3. Is purchasing hesitation still high, or has the anxiety eased?
Our impression is that many companies are feeling more confident in 2026, and are beginning to spend money on marketing and business development that they’d previously held back when the future was less certain. Are others feeling the same?
4. AI Enthusiasm vs. Burnout: We keep hearing that “AI is the worst it will ever be.” Are we reaching the limits?
Our team has a healthy mix of AI adherents and skeptics. That balance is part of what’s keeping us grounded as we watch how new technologies are shaping industries—and marketing strategies. Last year at IMS, the AI enthusiasm ran high, with a number of keynote speakers making bold (dare I say prophetic?) claims about upcoming AI capabilities.
Since then, we’ve noticed a bit of a vibe shift. Yes, there are still AI visionaries, but some applications of the technology have alienated users. We’ll be reading the room, paying close attention to where people are finding value, and where they’re inclined to throw the technology in the trash.
5. AI impact on SEO: How have content strategies responded to generative search?
It’s still easy to opt out of AI in many use cases, but generative search has become an inescapable tool to all but the most obstinate users. It’s also an opportunity. How are companies shifting their content strategies to respond?
6. AI impact on content: What has worked and what hasn’t?
Has anyone found meaningful success with an AI-led content strategy? (Is our skepticism showing?)
7. AI impact on reporting: Has AI enabled insights?
We see a lot of promise here, but also room for pitfalls. AI can generate a lot—and quickly. But whether it can do so reliably—and whether what it generates is worth anything—is an open question. If it takes 10 seconds to generate a report but 10 minutes to determine if the report was worth reading, then it’s just more slop for the pile.
8. LLMs, specifically Notion and N8N workflow automation: Is the true value in AI task delegation?
Where are people finding the most success with AI? Our team has found traction with task delegation, coding assistance, and developing visual resources for videos and storyboarding. We’ll be curious to hear what other use cases people have deployed effectively.
9. ERPS, CRMs & Marketing Attribution: What success have people had in connecting the dots?
It seems that everyone struggles with linking together their systems. SalesForce in particular is a full-time job, and if there’s one mantra we’ve heard over and over again, it’s that most people think they’re just not quite big enough to get the most out of its system. Is that a truth that hits home?
10. Beyond the theoretical, how much success are people having with multi-touch attribution in the real world?
We all know intuitively that the relationship building that happens at conferences and tradeshows and is reinforced during subsequent marketing follow-up leads to sales. Tracing it is another matter. How clear is the picture for others in the industry?
11. Ad Spend: How are people handling the nuances of paid media with regard to lead capture vs. brand awareness and engagement?
Not all ad campaigns are created with the same end in mind. Some are strictly for lead gen, and some follow a longer path. We’ve been working recently with emerging tactics around account-based LinkedIn advertising, and we’ve seen a drop-off in the effectiveness of Google Ads. This is an area where generative search is causing significant disruption, so we’re interested in how others are approaching it.
12. Where are people finding their audiences? Google Ads? LinkedIn? YouTube?
Every year there’s a new potential platform for advertising. Are companies exploring these channels, or sticking with the tried and true?
13. Tradeshows: Are businesses cutting back and putting more into digital, or beefing up their presence?
For decades, tradeshows have the biggest priority for manufacturing and manufacturing tech businesses. But Covid disrupted the flow for many organizations, and for a while it seemed like some may be pulling back. What we’ve heard from our own clients has been split between those who see tradeshows as the only marketing path worth pursuing, and those who are finding greater success with digital strategies. We’d like to see where the trend line goes for the industry at large.
14. Which shows are the ones you really can’t miss: Big shows, or regional niches?
It’s an IMTS year again, and we know a lot of industrial marketers will be there. But we’ve also spoken to businesses who say the big shows are too big. Is niche the way to go?
See you at IMS 2026!
If you’re going to be at the Industrial Marketings Summit, be sure to say hi! We’ll have a table up with plenty of excellent swag, including socks and a magnet series that you absolutely won’t want to miss.
And if these questions caught your attention, can we interest you in our industrial marketing survey?
We know that marketing in the manufacturing and manufacturing technology sector carries a unique set of challenges: sales cycles are long, deal sizes are large, and many of the best growth opportunities lie with current clients—if only you could get the right person to listen to you.
Most of the popular marketing advice doesn’t apply. That’s why we’re running a series of one-on-one interviews with business owners and marketing directors in the manufacturing and manufacturing technology sector. We want to hear how they build their decision framework, the strategies they’ve tried, and where they’ve found success.
If you’d like to take part, simply sign up for a 30 minute slot with Laura, our Director of Marketing. We’ll even Venmo you $10—coffee on us!