How do you know if the event agency you hired is actually a strategic partner? Or just a middleman?

Choosing the right agency partner can shape the success of an entire event program, yet many teams still rely on RFP processes that miss what truly matters.

In this episode, Matt Kleinrock sits down with event strategist and fractional Head of Events Gianna Gaudini to unpack how organizations should rethink agency selection from the start. Together, they explore how event leaders can run smarter RFPs, ask better questions, and evaluate agencies based on strategic value rather than surface-level proposals.

You’ll learn:

✅ Why many RFP processes fail to reveal whether an agency can truly be a strategic partner

✅ What questions event leaders should ask agencies to uncover real capabilities and alignment

✅ Red flags that signal when an agency relationship may create more friction than value

With experience spanning Google, AWS, and Airtable, Gianna brings a unique perspective from both brand-side and agency-side roles.

Tune in to rethink how you choose agency partners and how better questions can lead to better event outcomes.

----------------------------------

Connect with Gianna Gaudini
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannagaudini/

Connect with Matt Kleinrock
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/
Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/

🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

Most event programs are built around visibility: booths, sponsorships, brand presence

For years, that approach was considered the safest way to drive pipeline. But what if the deals you care about aren’t won on crowded show floors? And your highest-value buyers respond to something far more intentional?

In this episode, Matt sits down with Bronwen Gregg, who leads event strategy from inside sales enablement, not marketing. After seeing diminishing returns from large trade shows, her team shifted toward curated micro-events designed specifically for executive decision-makers.

The result: hosted experiences functioning as late-stage deal accelerators, with activations reporting ROI in the five-figure percentage range.

Instead of treating events as lead generation tools, they built a program where each experience has a defined role in the buyer journey and micro-events are engineered to close.

Here’s a look inside the playbook:

✅ Why micro-events outperform large trade shows for executive audiences

✅ How to design experiences that move deals forward instead of just starting conversations

✅ What changes when events are owned by revenue leadership, not just marketing

If your events create activity but not outcomes, this conversation offers a blueprint for turning intimate, high-signal experiences into real business results.

----------------------------------

Connect with Bronwen Gregg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwengregg/

Connect with Matt Kleinrock
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/
Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/

🚨 Register for the show: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined

Most event teams are doing everything they’re supposed to do: booking the booth, training staff, showing up with the right materials.

And yet, the results rarely match the effort.

The issue usually isn’t poor execution. It’s that the event was never designed to drive revenue in the first place.

In this episode, Matt and Coty break down the thinking behind the session they’ll be bringing to EXHIBITORLIVE 2026… and why so many event strategies stall long before pipeline is even possible.

Instead of tactics or checklists, this conversation focuses on the decisions that shape everything downstream:

✅ Why events fail when emotional outcomes, strategic intent, and revenue goals aren’t aligned

✅ What actually needs to be true before a show starts and after it ends for revenue to follow

✅ How to treat events as a revenue accelerator within your go-to-market strategy, not a standalone moment

This is a zoomed-out, strategic look at what separates busy event teams from effective ones, and why most execution never gets the chance to work.

--------------------

Connect With Us

Matt Kleinrock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kleinrock-9613b22b/

Coty Adams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cotykadams/

Our Company: https://rockwayexhibits.com/

🚨Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/EventMarketingRedefined