Walking down the streets of Cleveland (Ohio) on the September 8th 2014 morning, I was intrigued. Tall buildings, wide, Manhattan-like streets, but hardly any people. “Where is everybody?” thought I, when a car stopped close to me and the driver asked if I knew where he could find a parking space. “I don’t know, I’m not from here” I replied, and he added, looking irritated: “Nobody’s from here.” Maybe it’s true Cleveland is America’s most miserable city? This is according to the annual ranking 2010 by Forbes. Maybe there are no locals here, only those who’ve come to the Content Marketing World 2014? These were my thoughts as I was entering the conference center…

See the gallery with infographics from CMW
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The place was buzzing with work: sponsors were getting ready to take their places, the registration has started (more than 2,500 marketers from more than 50 countries, over 175 lecturers and over 70 sponsors.) The panache and arrangement were impressive. After four intensive days, I can definitely say Cleveland has its bright and very interesting sides, and the event itself is the largest and most impressive content marketing conference in the world.

Content Marketing World includes lectures, practical sessions, fairs, and much space for informal talks. The program is scheduled so that several lectures (those key and most universal) are addressed to all participants, and the remaining lectures are organized in blocks, where everyone can choose what is most interesting to him or her. Each subject matter has its room, e.g. BTB, BTC, strategy, ROI, social media, etc. Naturally, choosing one room does not mean you must stay there for good – you can easily change the rooms according to your needs and preferences.
Of great convenience is the printed guidebook describing each lecture, its goals and deliverer.
You can also use a mobile application, where you can choose lectures, put comments, rate speakers, etc.

Even if you follow your heart, choose something intriguing and miss another interesting lecture, you can easily go back to any presentation on the app. The guests can use a free platform with all the lectures – which allows you to go back to something you liked, or watch a highly rated presentation you haven’t been to.

The great power of Content Marketing World is its lecturers. You can listen to and talk to such great personalities as Adrew Davis, Robert Rose, Jay Bear, Rebecca Lieb and many many more.

One lecturer that was like a magnet to the participants was actor Kevin Spacey, who talked about the power of good stories, based on his experience.
The lectures were dominated by strategy – just like in Poland, this is an element nearly non-existent in the United States, and few people know how to develop and execute it.
I will surely go back to Cleveland in 2015, because my mind is full of thoughts, questions and ideas. If you’re still wondering if it’s worth the effort, why not take a risk and buy access to our video.

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