In the last 90 days, Colleen Barry, CMO at Ketch, ran two of the biggest plays in B2B marketing at once. She hosted Ketch’s second annual US Privacy Summit, a free, industry-wide event co-hosted with a law firm and a nonprofit that grew from 150 to 250+ attendees. Two days before it opened, Ketch was named a Leader in Gartner’s first-ever privacy Magic Quadrant, ranked highest for both ability to execute and completeness of vision. She still rated the quarter an 8, because neither win counts until it shows up in pipeline.
This episode of The Last 90 Days is worth a watch for any marketing leader weighing a big event or analyst bet and wondering how to make it pay off in revenue.
Colleen’s Last 90 Days:
Building Your Own Industry Conference: Why Ketch chose an open, industry-wide summit over a user conference, what the $200–300K budget covered, how co-hosting with a law firm and a nonprofit helped bring regulators on stage, and how to set registration targets around free-event drop-off.
Earning a Gartner Magic Quadrant Placement: How years of analyst inquiries and growing market presence led to an invite, what the RFP and 45-minute scenario-based demo involved, and the choice between speaking your own product language or the analysts’.
Turning Analyst Recognition into Pipeline: How to go from a no-limits brainstorm to a must-have launch list, prioritize assets sellers can use with late-stage deals, work within Gartner Citations approvals, and read early signals like demo requests dipping as report downloads rise.
Ketch’s biggest quarter came from two bets that took months to build and landed two days apart.
A Gap in the Circuit
Privacy’s established conferences had grown big, and attendees were quietly asking for more substance. Colleen and her law firm partner built the US Privacy Summit to be more intimate and community-oriented. They opened it to the whole industry, not just users, because privacy buyers lean heavily on word of mouth and their outside counsel. Attendance grew from 150 to 250+ in its second year. When anyone in the room could recommend you, it pays to invite everyone.
$200–300K, All In
The summit was free to attend and cost Ketch between $200K and $300K. That included VIP experiences and flying out a few high-priority speakers. An external planner handled catering and room logistics, while Colleen and her law firm partner owned the agenda and speakers. Sponsors were added this year at modest prices, helping but not offsetting costs. Outsource the logistics, but keep the content in-house.
45 Minutes to Prove It
Gartner had long said it wouldn’t publish a standalone privacy quadrant. When it did, Ketch earned its invite through years of analyst inquiries, a small Gartner membership and fast customer growth. The process ran from a detailed RFP to a 45-minute live demo built around analyst-chosen scenarios. Ketch was ranked highest for both ability to execute and completeness of vision. Analysts are buyers too, so they need to know you long before the evaluation.
Put It Everywhere
Once the draft placement arrived, the team brainstormed every surface imaginable, then cut to a must-have first wave. That meant landing pages, customer thank-you emails and quick notes for sellers to send to late-stage deals. Every asset had to clear Gartner Citations, and the green light came on October 13, two days before the summit. Demo requests have since dipped as buyers download the report, but late-stage deals are already moving. Lead with what sales needs first, then keep the rest flowing.
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