Re:Invent Isn’t the Finish Line. It’s the Starting Block.
In less than three weeks, thousands of professionals will descend upon Las Vegas to attend AWS re:Invent. Some will come to learn, others to network, and many to close deals. At this time, the event and campaign plan for the show are already baked and you are putting the final action items as your event plan comes to life.
But what about your post-event plan?
Oftentimes, that part gets left behind or deprioritized with a “let’s get through the event first” attitude. That’s a missed opportunity. Re:Invent takes place the first week of December, and many people take the following week off to recover. Then it’s the holiday season, and before you know it, it’s 2026 and your re:Invent leads are as enticing as a cold burrito.
So how do you keep the momentum going after the event? With the right planning, you can use re:Invent to jumpstart your 2026 pipeline.
Here are 5 tips to keep your pipeline working for you into 2026:
Score your leads- Not every lead scan at a conference is ready to buy. Many of your booth scans are for people picking up your fabulous pieces of swag, but you will also have prospects that will pick up your swag, watch a demo, and even attend a theater breakout session in your booth. By scoring your leads, you can define different nurture paths for prospects that are casually interested versus enthusiastically engaged. To take this a step further, many of the lead scanners allow the booth staff to include notes on the contact. Train your booth staff to enter quick notes while scanning if the prospect views a booth demo or engages in a meaningful conversation. When possible, have the same contacts who will follow up with the prospects staff the booth to foster a 1:1 rapport. A memorable and personal connection sets the engagement apart from the typical “thank you for stopping by” follow-up.
Build your nurture paths before you board the plane- The common reaction after a successful week as re:Invent is to breathe and rest. While I highly recommend breathing, this is not the time to take your foot off the gas pedal. Have your nurture paths planned before you leave for re:Invent. Some paths may be digital and content-focused for casually engaged prospects, while other paths may include deeper content and high-touch engagements such as events, hands-on labs, or roundtable discussions. Send your invitations by mid-December for your January events to get on calendars early. Don’t wait for January!
Operate in harmony with your stakeholders- Business runs smoothly when sales, marketing, technical and operations teams are working together. Marketing may own the branding presence at the event, but sales and technical teams have a critical role to play both on-site and post-event. Ensure there is a single place for all communications, such as a team Slack or shared drive, for all teams to access. Share updates with stakeholders weekly leading up to the event, daily during the event, and weekly post-event. Work with sales to understand their goals. Are they targeting a certain number of meetings? Engagements? What about the technical teams- are they seeking speaking opportunities or will they be blogging/posting during and after the event? Loop in your operations team early to ensure that reporting, lead uploads, follow-ups and scheduling won’t hit roadblocks later.
Plan around budget timing- re:Invent takes place in December, just as budgets start to close. This is a problem that haunts marketers operating on a calendar year budget every single year. The solution to this dilemma is two simple words: plan ahead.
Are there components, like content creation or venue deposits, of your follow-up strategy that can be completed and invoiced in 2025 with your existing budget? For 2026 execution, which must be paid with 2026 funds to satisfy accounting principles, check with your leadership if there are options to leverage funds in advance, like a “pull forward” for Q1 execution. Come to your leadership prepared with your plan, forecasted return on investment, and the cost of NOT executing your plan. Demonstrate how your plan directly supports the business goals beyond vanity metrics like attendance or registration.
Communicate early, often, and broadly- You invested a significant amount of time, budget, and resources in your re:Invent presence, so don’t let that impact get buried in your spreadsheets. Share your findings across your stakeholders and leadership. Ask your business and technical teams how they are tracking to the goals they set at the beginning of the campaign. Can any of the tactics in your nurture strategy support and accelerate the achievement of those goals? Are there components you can add to your campaign to better support their goals?
Keep a shared tracker of goals and learnings and invite collaboration. What things worked well, and what could be done better for re:Invent 2026? Encourage the sharing of insights across the teams. You only have two eyes and two ears, but multiply that across your extended team and your insights and results grow exponentially.
Bottom line: Re:Invent isn’t the finish line; it’s the starting block. With a solid follow-up strategy, you can turn one week in Vegas into a growth engine for the year ahead. If you’re heading to Vegas, or prepping from afar, now’s the time to map out your post-event game plan. I’m scheduling strategy sessions with partner and marketing leaders in the weeks leading up to, and during, re:Invent. Let’s make sure your 2026 pipeline starts strong. Book your appointment today! Talk soon!