With GAIN 2025 right around the corner (Sept 18th, 2025), we asked one of our favorite industry marketing experts, Lesley Rogers, to step in and offer her perspective on why industry events are crucial for B2G marketers.
The rules have changed and if you’re a government marketer still playing by the old playbook, it’s time to reimagine your strategy.
As someone who’s spent over two decades shaping brand narratives, go-to-market strategies, and demand generation campaigns in the Public Sector space, I’ve witnessed evolution. But today’s pace is unprecedented. Generative AI, shrinking product lifecycles, shifting procurement priorities, and increasingly complex buyer journeys have ushered in a new era—one that demands agility, foresight, and continual reinvention.
This is no longer a moment to observe from the sidelines. It’s a moment to lead.
The state of government marketing: reinvention required
For mid- to senior-level professionals, our roles have traditionally been built on stability. Brand steward. Campaign builder. Market translator. Event architect. But now? These identities are shifting under pressure.
Market uncertainty has led to team consolidations, role convergence, and reevaluated business impact. Many of us, once buffered by consistency, now find ourselves adapting at full speed.
B2G marketers must embrace modern technologies like AI, navigate blurred buyer landscapes, and lead with data, not just instinct. Whether you’ve stepped back to focus on your day-to-day or settled into a familiar rhythm, now is the time to re-engage and reimagine.
For emerging talent: career clarity in a fast-changing space
Early-career professionals entering this space face a rapidly evolving profession. But with the right guidance and visibility, they can accelerate their growth and shape their trajectory.
When intentionally built, industry events offer the clarity, connectivity, and tactical learning that emerging marketers need. From exposure to real-world challenges to curated access to veteran mentors, these gatherings become launchpads for:
- Strategic career exploration
- Personal brand elevation
- Skill-building for lasting impact
Career development today isn’t linear. It’s dynamic, intentional, and guided by those who’ve walked a similar path.
Building what’s next: how industry events spark growth in B2G marketing
Today’s government marketing landscape isn’t just changing, it’s transforming. And the professionals leading that change aren’t doing it alone. Strategic industry events have emerged as essential platforms to recalibrate, reinvest, and evolve in the face of complexity.
Here’s what today’s most impactful gatherings offer:
Purposeful collaboration
They provide intentional space for peer connection, cross-sector dialogue, and long-term partnerships. Rather than surface-level networking, these events enable Public Sector marketers to exchange ideas rooted in real-world challenges, from budget cycles and mission alignment to multistakeholder influence.
Deep learning from experts who understand the landscape
Sessions go beyond theory. They feature seasoned practitioners with insights into procurement trends, agency priorities, and the rapidly changing role of technologies like AI. Attendees walk away with practical takeaways that refine positioning, fuel innovation, and strengthen market alignment.
Reinvention and strategic growth
Whether redefining an executive trajectory or exploring the industry for the first time, professionals are empowered to build new capabilities, embrace career pivots, and rethink their approach to leadership. These events spark reinvention, not just inspiration.
Tools to stay ahead
Actionable guidance is at the forefront: up-to-date competitive intelligence, emerging technology strategies, visibility enhancement, and performance metrics that connect marketing directly to business outcomes. It’s not about trends, it’s about transformation.
Creative stimulation through diverse perspectives
Attendees step outside the expected. Through immersive conversations, bold ideas, and real-world case studies, events reignite creativity and challenge conventional thinking, helping marketers sharpen their storytelling and execution.
Skill building with hands-on learning
The best events don’t just talk—they teach. Through targeted workshops and tool-specific learning, professionals refine everything from martech expertise to personal branding and campaign architecture. The result? Elevated impact and faster growth.
These are the environments where marketers stop reacting to disruption and start shaping what comes next.
When an event becomes a career catalyst
The best industry events don’t just deliver insights they leave a lasting imprint. They shape how we think, how we lead, and how we connect. Years may pass, but the ideas shared in a single session can echo through an entire career.
One of the most memorable moments in my professional journey came more than a decade ago, during a marketing conference session led by keynote speaker and strategist Tamsen Webster. She introduced a concept that still guides my thinking today: The Red Thread—the throughline that connects your idea to your audience’s hearts and minds.
Tamsen spoke about strategy and storytelling not as tactics, but as transformational tools. She challenged us to be bold, to build brands that could shape industries or even empires through creativity and innovation. She showed us how to connect the threads of a story in a way that made ideas not just heard but felt.
That session didn’t just inspire me in the moment. It changed how I communicate, how I lead, and how I help others shape their own narratives. I’ve followed her work ever since and continue to apply the insights she shared that day. She continues to teach me through her Red Thread methodology.
It’s a reminder that the right speaker, the right message, and the right moment can spark a shift that lasts a lifetime. That’s the power of a truly intentional event.
And that’s precisely why I’ll be in the room for GAIN 2025.
What sets GAIN apart
GAIN 2025 isn’t just another marketing conference, it’s the only event created specifically for government marketers navigating a fast-changing B2G landscape. Every session, speaker, and interaction is tailored to the complexities of Public Sector engagement, from procurement shifts and AI adoption to brand-building in an environment shaped by unpredictability.
This is not a moment to catch up, it’s a chance to leap forward. What sets GAIN apart?
- It’s the only event of its kind devoted exclusively to career development, strategic growth, and cross-sector innovation for government marketers.
- It’s the real-time response to an industry undergoing reinvention, helping marketers at all levels rethink their value, elevate their impact, and rewrite their future.
- It’s a space for conversations that don’t happen anywhere else—the ones that tackle market volatility, changing roles, and what it really means to lead in a profession that refuses to sit still.
Why I’ll be in the room — and why you should too
This is a new era in Public Sector marketing—one where creativity, agility, and strategic clarity are non-negotiable. GAIN isn’t just a conference. It’s a launchpad for what’s next. In a profession full of remarkable talent, GAIN creates space to evolve and grow, refine your impact, elevate your thinking, and lead with renewed purpose and clarity. If you’re ready to explore new possibilities, expand your influence, embrace what’s possible in a new era and shape the future of government marketing, this is where your next chapter begins.
For years, I’ve attended GAIN as a speaker, mentor, and peer and I always walk away with something invaluable. Whether it’s fresh insights that reshape how I think, connections that spark new collaborations, or friendships that stand the test of time, this community continues to inspire me. And now, as I navigate my own transition—building a new business and exploring what reinvention truly looks like, I’ll be in the room not just to share, but to learn and grow alongside you. Because no matter where you are in your career, there’s a seat waiting for you at GAIN and a powerful future ready to be built.
A new era of B2G marketing is here. Are you ready to step forward?
About the author:
Lesley Rogers: CEO and Owner of LMR Strategies
Lesley Rogers is an award-winning marketer and strategist and a trusted industry voice with over 20 years of experience. As the CEO and Owner of LMR Strategies, she helps drive brand and business growth through bold storytelling, visionary strategy, and dynamic collaboration—transforming vision into action that sparks growth and innovation. She is also deeply committed to mentoring and empowering the B2G marketing community, fostering meaningful connections, sharing insights and expertise, and helping fellow marketers grow and thrive in their own unique journeys.