# Hosting a Niche Event and Building a Community Around It w/ Wendy Covey

- Show: [The Manufacturing Executive](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive)
- Published: 2026-02-03
- Episode: 295
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey
- Listen: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-manufacturing-executive#episode-021435ac-08fa-4963-80bc-e96e1476add0

## Summary

Wendy Covey, CEO of True Marketing, and Joe Sullivan, co-founder of Gorilla 76, discuss the strategy behind creating the Industrial Marketing Summit, a niche event for B2B marketers in the manufacturing sector. They detail the event's evolution from a track at Content Marketing World to a standalone gathering in Austin, highlighting the importance of building community and addressing the isolation felt by industrial marketers. The conversation covers the operational challenges, the value of long-term relationship building over immediate ROI, and practical advice for manufacturers looking to host their own events.

## Chapters

- [0:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=36) Introduction and Event Overview
- [2:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=176) History of the Industrial Marketing Summit
- [6:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=394) Event Programming and Speakers
- [9:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=560) Addressing Marketer Isolation
- [12:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=721) Building Community and Value
- [16:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=970) ROI and Long-Term Strategy
- [22:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-03-hosting-a-niche-event-and-building-a-community-around-it-w-wendy-covey#t=1346) Practical Advice for Hosting Events

## Topics

- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- TREW Marketing (company)
- Gorilla 76 (company)
- Industrial Marketing Summit (product)
- Cadinas Part Solutions (company)
- Content Marketing World (product)
- Rand Fishkin (other)
- Wistia (company)
- National Instruments (company)
- LabVIEW (product)
- HubSpot (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [256: Timeless Industrial Marketing Strategies and New Ways Manufacturers Can Reach Their Ideal Customer featuring Wendy Covey of TREW Marketing and Joe Sullivan of Gorilla 76](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-10-07-256-timeless-industrial-marketing-strategies-and-new-ways-manufacturers-can-reac) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [175: The Evolution of Industrial Marketing, Live from the 2024 Industrial Marketing Summit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-03-05-175-the-evolution-of-industrial-marketing-live-from-the-2024-industrial-marketin) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Building an Industrial Marketing Roadmap with Joe Sullivan](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2020-08-25-building-an-industrial-marketing-roadmap-with-joe-sullivan) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [12: The Conference Racket](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2016-04-21-12-the-conference-racket) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [228: Industrial Marketing from SMBs to the Enterprise, Live from the 2025 Industrial Marketing Summit in Austin, TX](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-03-25-228-industrial-marketing-from-smbs-to-the-enterprise-live-from-the-2025-industri) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

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