Events have moved from a side business to a core commercial product at The Wall Street Journal. CRO Josh Stinchcomb says the long lead times and scarcity let publishers lock in sponsor commitments earlier, which matters when advertising budgets are volatile.

The event is increasingly the beginning of a larger marketing program rather than an add-on at the end. It creates the executives, conversations, video and podcast material that can then become a broader branded-content campaign.

The value is less about filling a big room than convening the right 100 or 200 people, facilitating introductions and making the event accountable to actual business outcomes.

Chapters:

• 00:00 EX.CO Spot

• 00:36 Intro

• 01:24 Welcome

• 01:45 Inside Journal House

• 03:17 Convening as Strategy

• 04:25 Events as Main Dish

• 08:46 Stitching Dow Jones Assets

• 10:38 Cannes Memory Lane