Getting Prepared for Dreamforce 2023
Salesforce’s flagship conference, Dreamforce, is back in 2023. The event, a highlighted feature in many marketers’ agendas, provides countless opportunities to network and attend workshops and side events. Here is all the information you need to prepare for one of the biggest events of the year.
What is Dreamforce?
Dreamforce is one of the year’s most anticipated digital technology events. Touted as ‘the world’s largest software conference, with a healthy dose of magic’, Salesforce’s massive event attracts tens of thousands of attendees in the second half of every year. With over 1400+ sessions and workshops, the conference embraces the exchange of ideas and insights among the sector’s top leaders and elite innovators.
It is an ideal opportunity to converge with Developers, Admins, Consultants, Business Analysts, CIOs, Project Managers, Partners and Customers alike in an innovative hub that strives to conjure new solutions for every business. In fact, 93% of attendees claimed that they solved business challenges with insights that they learned at Dreamforce, while 89% discovered new tools or products that helped them with their business.
Dreamforce 2023: Calling all TrAIlblazers
Returning to the heart of the action, Dreamforce 2023 heralds the second consecutive in-person gathering since Dreamforce 2019. Resuming after a three-year thirst for face-to-face ideation, socializing, and game-changing insights, Dreamforce 2023 reopens the portals to the much-desired in-person events for 2023.
Embracing the lessons learned from their COVID-19-induced pivot to a virtual experience, Salesforce has successfully recalibrated the Dreamforce setting. The 2023 event eagerly reprises the most cherished framework of B2B events, buoyed by the success of Dreamforce 2022’s return to in-person participation. Themed “Calling all TrAIlblazers,” the event will also cater for virtual audiences with a hybrid approach to extend its audiences even further.
Dreamforce 2023 Dates: When is Dreamforce 2023?
As with the Dreamforce 2022 dates, this year’s Dreamforce takes place in San Francisco during the autumn, most often in September. This year, the event is due to take place on September 12-14 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.
Tickets are already available. With Salesforce expecting around 30,000 in-person attendees this year, the event will be packed to the brim, and let’s not forget that over 120,000 people are expected to attend online too.
What’s the price to attend Dreamforce 2022?
‘Early bird’ tickets start at $1,499. Signing up early for Dreamforce 2023 registration can save you as much as $800. However, most prices for August are $2,299.
You can also follow the event virtually on the Salesforce+ platform, which has free membership. People who want to know more can sign up on the website to receive additional updates on announcements regarding the event and join the conversation on social by following the hashtag #DF23
Who will be at Dreamforce 2023?
An event is only as important as the people attending it. There is a reason why event marketers are increasingly looking to event intelligence to make forecasts on who will attend events and to determine whether an event is worth going to or not.
Dreamforce attracts thought leaders, potential partners, architects and Trailblazers alike, across multiple teams and every industry that works within the Salesforce ecosystem.
Dreamforce’s speakers don’t tend to disappoint. At Dreamforce 2019, for example, participants varied from Barack Obama, Emilia Clarke or Tim Cook, among others.
Dreamforce 2020 included notable speakers like Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO at Bentley Motors, while Dreamforce 2021 included Ola Källenius, CEO at Daimler and Mercedes-Benz and (a pre-Oscars) Will Smith.
What should we expect at Dreamforce 2023?
The guest and speaker list has slowly been coming to light and this year’s guests do not disappoint. The brightest minds shaping AI like Fei-Fei Li, Margaret Mitchell and Dario Amodei, converge with artists like Matthew McConaughey and Rainn Wilson. For those who are more into politics, fret not, the Former Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden Alondra Nelson will be speaking. On the subject of climate and environment, other speakers like Jane Goodall will be present.
Then of course, there are CEOs and representatives of some of the biggest companies around. This year’s list will include Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; will.i.am, CEO of FYI.AI; Sonia Kastner, CEO of Pano AI; Aidan Gomez, CEO of Cohere; and Abhay Parasnis, CEO of Typeface, among more.
Finally, there are your peers and colleagues, of which there are a myriad of potential leads and partners that meet all the criteria required for the perfect marketing mix.
What kind of sessions are there at Dreamforce?
Dreamforce has a wide array of sessions you can attend. It all depends on what you’re looking for. Your role, industry, service or specific topic of interest can condition what session you want to attend.
The types of sessions are also quantious. You can attend hands-on workshops, interactive sessions, keynote sessions, campfire sessions, breakout sessions, round tables, and even theater.
Session levels also vary depending on if you are a beginner, intermediate, advanced, or executive thought leadership guru.
The topics are also widespread, and include issues such as artificial intelligence, business as a platform for change, customer success, automation, data culture, equality, philanthropy, integration, sustainability and security.
Where can you stay when you are traveling to Dreamforce 2023?
San Francisco becomes a major innovation hub during Dreamforce 2023. Fortunately, several hotels have contracts with Salesforce for discounted rates. These hotels can be seen when you register for Dreamforce, and rooms are subject to availability and are quickly sold out, so the sooner you book a room, the better.
As usual, hotel comparison sites can help visitors find budget hotels in San Francisco, along with Airbnb and hostels. Hostels do not always require sharing rooms with multiple people either; there are hostels available as close as five minutes away from Moscone that provide individual rooms. Ideally, it is recommended to stay in downtown San Francisco, as there will be plenty of walking to do.
There are also multiple options in the outskirts of the city where visitors can find accommodation at a cheaper rate, and that is still well communicated to Moscone thanks to the BART train system that can bring people from the outskirts of the city to Moscone in half an hour.
Will there be any other events surrounding Dreamforce 2023?
A great thing about Dreamforce 2023 is the buzz that surrounds the event and the side-events and parties that arise from it. For marketers looking to make data-driven decisions on what events are worth attending to reach marketing goals, the numbers add up with Dreamforce as ideal prospects are bound to be there.
Dreamforce in itself is a great place to network, learn and gather actionable insights for your business, but even after Dreamforce is over, there are still fantastic events to keep the momentum going.
For example, official Salesforce events include “Dreamfest”, which has previously been headlined by a wide array of the world´s biggest acts, including The Foo Fighters, Metallica and the Killers, a great way to have fun in a stadium, listening to great music and enjoying the moment, while singing along to California’s own, Red Hot Chili Peppers. There are also plenty of pop-up surprise parties which also attract renowned personalities.
When it comes to Dreamforce itself, there are multiple areas you can go to. You should attend the key speakers notes that you know will provide qualitative insights that you can transform into quantitative benefits for your company. Events like Dream Pitch are an ideal opportunity to pitch your business to a panel of judges, while True to the Core is where you can get all the answers you need from a Q&A session with Salesforce executives.
There are also official Salesforce events, which provide a brilliant opportunity to liaise and generate leads beyond Dreamforce. Additionally, there are lots of parties hosted by partners and Salesforce that provide the perfect scenario for networking.
Is there anything in particular I need to take to Dreamforce 2023?
It is easy to be forgetful when packing for an event, especially if you need to travel a long distance to get there while also trying to bring minimal luggage. If you are trying to suss out what are the essentials you may need to bring you Dreamforce, we can give you some tips.
Bring branded gear
Firstly, if you are going to be in an event with thousands of conference attendees and you want to showcase your business, be sure to pack plenty of branded gear to give your company the exposure it needs. This gear can vary from t-shirts to water bottles, agendas, socks or whatever your marketing team has brainstormed and mustered prior to the event.
Many people can also opt to wear something branded while attending the event. That way, you are more likely to have people who know your brand, or who work in your sector approach you. If they are familiar with your brand, they may ask questions or inquire about partnering. Even if they don’t recognise your brand, it is an opportunity to spark their interest and start a conversation.
Carry plenty of business cards
Once you’ve got the branded gear in check, then there are business cards. Order more than you do for usual events, as you really do not want to run our cards during Dreamforce. With so many parties, sessions and opportunities to attend, you will have hundreds of opportunities to hand out business cards.
Portable chargers
You will be walking a lot during Dreamforce 2023. In a similar way that you would not like to run out of business cards at the event, it can be even more frustrating to run out of battery during such a long event. Especially when you will be tempted to take photos, videos, swap contact details, keep up with emails and showcase your business whether it’s from your phone or your laptop. Another essential feature phones have that you do not want to lose is the GPS. Running out of battery in San Francisco when having to travel to multiple locations and not knowing your way around is not ideal, so it is crucial to keep your phone battery juiced up.
Bring comfortable attire
You may be tempted to think that as a B2B event you need to dress to impress. While that’s true to some extent, it doesn’t mean dressing in your finest suit, and more importantly, in those flashy but slightly uncomfortable shoes. Leave the heels or tight shoes aside. With multiple keynotes, parties and vendor booths to attend across multiple venues in downtown San Francisco, including the Moscone Center, Marriot Marquis, InterContinental, Palace Hotel, Hilton Union Square, Westin St. Francis and Park Central, you must ensure you bring shoes that are comfortable and not likely to bring foot pain or blisters that will only ruin your day.
Get ready for crazy weather
San Francisco is a lovely city, but the weather in September can be a bit hard to predict. Sure, it’s usually a dry month at the end of summer, but make sure you bring a variety of clothing in case the weather forecast changes and you find yourself under some heavy rain. A small travel umbrella, a raincoat, sweaters and waterproof clothes and shoes can be enough to stay in the safe in case the clouds burst while you need to stay dry in downtown San Francisco. Also, it may be best to bring some slight layering, as the weather can be quite cool in the morning. That way you are prepared for any changes in temperature during the day.
What to expect from Dreamforce 2023?
As exciting as it may be, your expectations from Dreamforce 2023 should be as high as your preparation for it. Dreamforce provides you and your business with the perfect scenario to drive leads, network and gather innovative insights that can help you transform your business or adapt to the new post-COVID landscape.
On your end, however, it is important to have set an objective of what you want to get out of this event, and this includes identifying a clear target audience. Attending a great event, but connecting with the wrong type of people, or not connecting at all, can be a huge waste of valuable time, resources and money.
Dreamforce attracts a huge audience, and not everyone in that audience suits your business objectives. Trying to reach out to everyone can be pointless and may result in you missing out on truly potential partners and leads. Furthermore, if you already know the exact type of audience you want to target at this event, great. But, what if you are still not so sure?
Identify your ideal customer profile (ICP) before arriving at the event and use event intelligence to forecast who will attend or sponsor events and how they can cater to your marketing strategies.
If you arrive at Dreamforce with your homework done, and backed with data-driven feedback on how to leverage the event, the rest is fun: Connect with trailblazers, meet new people, build the foundations for new ideas to boost your company and marketing projects, and enjoy the parties.
Does attending Dreamforce provide measurable results?
Learning, innovating, or having fun all sound great, but if you have convinced your CIO that attending Dreamforce is worth it, you will most likely have to back the investment with some measurable results. Investments and attending events shouldn’t be decided on a whim. More than ever, it is crucial to make data-driven decisions,and to have stats that back any claim. So, here they are!
A survey taken in 2023 and completed by 2,537 Dreamforce attendees showed that it really is worth attending this event. These events were helpful in accelerating company growth, with 90% of attendees learning something that helped boost their business growth and 93% taking home lessons to help create efficiencies to save time and money.
Visitors also want to learn how to innovate and solve problems. From the survey, 93% learned something that helped solve business challenges and 89% discovered new tools that helped them in business.
How can I convince my company to attend Dreamforce? Show me the stats!
We can’t talk about data-driven decisions without backing up our claims with statistics and anecdotes to back the buzz around Dreamforce 2023 and the claim that this event is a crucial opportunity to expand your lead portfolio. Dreamforce compiled some info incase you are still on the fence, or if you still need to convince your company to attend the event. But what you really need to know is who’s attending the event. For more insights on Dreamforce attendees check out what we have to offer.
Attending Dreamforce 2023 can boost your ROI
Past attendees saw a significant increase of over 20% in ROI on sales productivity, customer retention, marketing lead volume and deal sizes. Additionally, nearly two-thirds (61%) of respondents surveyed by Salesforce agreed that Dreamforce provided a positive return on investment.
You can take a sneak peek of who will be attending
Vendelux already has a list of thousands of attendees and hundreds of sponsors and exhibitors so you can analyze the kind of audience who will be present at the event. Of these attendees, 16% are C-suite, 28% are VP or Directors and 56% are Professionals.
The software industry leads the way, with 37% of attendees
Dreamforce attracts people from multiple industries, but the sectors most present on Vendelux´s contact list belong to the software industry (38%) and the telecommunications sector (22%), making it a crucial event for marketers and representatives within this industry vertical.
Dreamforce is a sustainable event
Holding a massive event and meeting sustainability goals can seem a difficult task. Dreamforce strives to be more and more sustainable in each event, and returning to in-person events should automatically translate to ignoring the importance of controlling carbon emissions.
Already in 2019, 9m gallons of water were saved through beef-less lunches, over 150 waste diversion volunteers helped in the event, over 5,000 trees were planted. Additionally, over 44,000 jobs were supported, over 400 local youths hosted, and 250 local middle schoolers participated in stem activities.
Overall, these initiatives helped respond to 6 UN sustainable development goals: Climate Change, Gender Equality, Quality Education, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Sustainable Cities and Communities.
The last in-person event was a major success
Numbers often do the talking. Dreamforce 2022, the latest in-person gathering since 2019, saw around 40,000 attendees on-site and approximately 120,000 online viewers. This was a significant increase from the 5,000 available tickets in 2021.
Despite the in-person attendance being lower than the pre-pandemic figures, it was a testament to the enduring appeal of the event. With over 1,400 breakout sessions, attendees had abundant opportunities for learning and interaction.
The event, held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, also presented over 40 hours of live content and unveiled 100 new on-demand episodes, showcasing the latest innovations and significant announcements from Dreamforce 2022.
While the 2022 numbers may not have matched the peak 2019 in-person attendance or the staggering online viewership of 2020, Dreamforce 2022 was the largest trade event in San Francisco since the pandemic began. This underscores the resilience and adaptability of these gatherings in the face of global challenges. This year, over 25k square footage has been allocated for booths, and there will be over 1500 breakout sessions, giving a lot of space and time for partner activity.
How do I plan for Dreamforce 2023 and what do I do after the event?
Big events and conferences can be pretty overwhelming. Not only is there so much to do and see at the event itself, you then have to prepare and organize yourself to know what events to attend after Dreamforce too.
Scope out the sessions that are of interest to your company, filtering out the key sessions, booths, training sessions or roundtables that are relevant to your sector and expertise, and proceed to whittle down the results to exactly the ones you want. Review the sponsors too and make a plan of who you want to connect with, and finally, get insights into attendees you want to network with.
To do this, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to get out of Dreamforce 2023 and the target audience you want from this event. This is a chance to follow up with all the opportunities you found at Dreamforce along with the chance of meeting new faces too, creating a buzz that had been lacking in conventional virtual events.
That is why a bit of pre-planning can work wonders, and there is technology that can help you pick out the events that best suit you, and understand who will be attending the event, so you can stay on top of where you need to go and who you will expect to meet on the way.
This is where Vendelux can help you parse the right target audience by analyzing their list of attendees and sponsors to evaluate who will be present at specific events. By filtering out which events you want to go to, you can make data-driven decisions to ensure that money, time and resources are not wasted on events that you know are unlikely to deliver positive ROIs in terms of leads, partners or agreements.
If I miss out on anything, will the content be available on demand after the event?
If you miss out on anything during your visit, you can see the streaming of the best of Dreamforce on Salesforce+ from September 12-14, 2023. This platform will include two channels across three days with over 40 hours of content. There will also be a limited number of top breakout and theater sessions on-demand from the in-person San Francisco experience available for users 24 – 72 hours after the event.
Will this event be as successful as Dreamforce 2022?
Predicting success can be a challenge until the event concludes, but previous records offer valuable insights. Notably, Dreamforce 2022 attracted around 40,000 attendees on-site and an impressive ~120,000 online viewers, showcasing the event’s robust appeal despite the global context.
The magnitude of the event was clear, with representatives from several Fortune 100 companies and over 1,400 breakout sessions providing abundant opportunities for networking and learning.
While the in-person attendance didn’t reach pre-pandemic numbers, Dreamforce 2022 was a landmark event in San Francisco since the pandemic’s onset. This resilience and adaptability set high expectations for future events. The scale of past successes and the anticipation for renewed in-person events suggest that the upcoming Dreamforce event could very well meet, if not surpass, the successes of the previous year.
Dreamforce 2023 Summary: Careful Planning Can Make a Big Difference
Dreamforce 2023 is a key event for many marketers. However, attending Dreamforce is also an investment in terms of money, time and resources. ROI is not always monetary, as Salesforce has designed Dreamforce to also be an experience and an opportunity to embrace face-to-face networking and encounters as well as the workshops, but people who travel to Dreamforce should not leave the event empty-handed.
Fortunately, event marketing strategies can be deployed to ensure that the experience delivers value to those who attend, and that when these people return to their offices, they have leveraged the experience to deliver insights, leads and proposals that can drive their business forward. This is hard to achieve on a whim and must be planned beforehand. This is where event intelligence and data driven insights can step into the fray and ensure that Dreamforce 2023 meets your expectations.
Once you have made your way to Dreamforce 2023, the pressure might be on to ensure that you provide the right deliverables to justify the investment. This can be tough when there is just so much to see! This is why it’s important to plan ahead and have a clear idea of what you want to get out of this event. If networking and building leads is one of your core objectives, then the ROI seems quite clear. The more quality leads, the better.
Quality is the key word here, so it should be embedded in your event marketing strategy.
Event intelligence can help provide you with the right information on the quality prospects who will be attending Dreamforce and other side-events so that you can go with your homework done and a clear idea of what to expect in terms of potential leads in each event. You will only stroll around Dreamforce if you want to, because with the right plan, the right data and the wealth of insights you get from knowing who is attending the event, you can enjoy Dreamforce 2023 and deliver positive ROI and lead generation results at the same time.
