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Planning Events Your CMO Gets Credit For

Planning Events Your CMO Gets Credit For

The CMO shows up to a perfectly organized client dinner, knows exactly where to sit, has a conversation starter for each guest, and the wine is the client's favorite. Nobody sees the planning - they see a CMO who cares about the details.

That's you.

Types of Events You'll Plan

EventFrequencyLead Time
Client appreciation dinnerQuarterly or annually3-4 weeks
QBR or offsiteQuarterly2-3 weeks
Conference meetupAs needed1-2 weeks
Holiday giftsAnnually4-6 weeks
Lunch-and-learnMonthly1 week
Virtual workshopAs needed1 week

The Pre-Event Briefing

This is where Armbrain and your human judgment combine. Before any event, prepare a briefing that covers:

"Switch to Acme Corp"
"Who are the key stakeholders at Acme? What should I know about each one?"
Searching for a client stakeholder's personal preferences before an event
Searching for a client stakeholder's personal preferences before an event

Then add the human layer - things Armbrain might not know:

Store what you learn for next time:

"Quick note: Sarah at Acme is vegetarian and doesn't drink. Tom mentioned his daughter just graduated from UT. Good conversation topics for next event."

Client Appreciation Events

The goal isn't a fancy event - it's making the client feel valued. Small and personal beats big and generic.

What works:

What doesn't work:

QBR and Offsite Logistics

These are your most complex events. The checklist:

The CMO's job is to run the session. Your job is everything else.

Virtual Event Logistics

Post-Event Follow-Up

Within 24 hours:

  1. Thank-you notes to attendees (personalized, not templated)
  2. Share photos if you took any
  3. Capture any decisions or commitments into Armbrain
  4. Note what worked and what to change next time
"Quick note: Acme QBR went well. Venue was too noisy for the breakout session - book a room with doors next time. Sarah loved the coffee from Houndstooth."

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