A reading list for the event leaders, event marketers, and GTM teams
Before I was building global B2B event programs for tech companies, I was working in luxury hospitality and experiential events, designing guest experiences for luxury hotels and global restaurant groups and learning firsthand what it actually takes to make someone feel something. Not just satisfied. Not just “that was good.” But genuinely, emotionally moved.
That background shaped everything about how I approach field marketing and B2B events. And honestly? I think it’s one of the most underrated advantages anyone can bring into this space.
Because here’s what I keep seeing: as AI accelerates, as digital channels get noisier, and as buyers grow more selective about where they give their attention, the event marketers who are winning are the ones who understand that we are not in the logistics business, we are in the human connection business. The memory business. The trust business.
And the best teachers for that? They’re not always in the B2B event playbook. Sometimes they’re running Michelin-starred restaurants. Sometimes they’re reimagining what a hotel stay could feel like. Sometimes they wrote a book in 1999 that the entire experience economy has been catching up to ever since.
Over 8 years building global B2B events, field marketing, user/flagship conferences, executive roundtables, and years before that in public relations, communications, trade marketing, luxury hospitality and experiential marketing, these are three books that have shaped the way I think, the way I build. If you’re serious about elevating events as a GTM lever, community builder, pipeline drive in 2026, I think they’ll do the same for you.
Let’s get into it!
The Experience Economy, Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore
This book changed how I think about planning. Pine and Gilmore’s argument, that businesses who design memorable experiences create exponentially more value than those simply delivering products or services, was published in 1999. But honestly, it reads like it was written for 2026. Their framework, often called the 4Es, suggest experiences fall into four categories: Entertainment, Educational, Escapist, Esthetic. This is the framework that is more relevant than ever. AI has commoditized content overnight. Digital marketing is noisier than ever. And buyers are more skeptical, more distracted, and more selective about where they give their time. That’s exactly why the smartest B2B marketing teams are going bigger on in-person, executive roundtables, curated dinners, flagship conferences, intimate customer communities. These aren’t nice-to-haves anymore. They’re an elite GTM strategy. The insight that drives everything: attendees don’t show up for slides or branded lanyards. They show up for access, identity, inspiration, and belonging. Engineer your events around that, and you start creating something customers genuinely want to be part of.
Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara
I genuinely think every event and field marketer should read this Unreasonable Hospitality: Creativity and Intention in Pursuit of Relationships book immediately. Guidara ran one of the world’s best restaurants and built his legend on one radical distinction: the gap between service (giving people what they expect) and unreasonable hospitality (giving people a moment they will never, ever forget). Coming from luxury hotels and high-end experiential, this hit differently for me — because I’ve seen firsthand what happens when a team is obsessed with those unexpected moments. Guests don’t just come back. They talk. They bring people. They become advocates you couldn’t buy with any media budget. In B2B field marketing, that word-of-mouth is everything. And here’s what excites me most about this right now: AI is handling the routine. The follow-up emails, the scheduling, the content. Which means the best marketers have more time than ever to do something genuinely thoughtful instead. Anticipate. Know what your key accounts eat and drink before the roundtable. Send a follow thank you or special gift based on something specific to the conversation you actually had. Those are the moments that get screenshotted, shared, and remembered, and they cost nothing but intention. And it’s the one that always wins.
Setting The Table, Danny Meyer
This is the book I recommend to anyone who wants to understand why some event brands become institutions and others stay forgettable. Danny Meyer — NYC Restaurants — Union Square Hospitality Group philosophy, Enlightened Hospitality, is built on something beautifully counterintuitive: look after your team first, and they will naturally create extraordinary experiences for everyone else. A team that feels genuinely valued brings a warmth and energy into the room that no production budget can manufacture. I felt this deeply working across luxury hotels and global food brands before moving into B2B events. The best venues, the best events, the best brand experiences I’ve ever been part of all had the same thing in common: people backstage who actually cared. That energy is contagious and guests feel it immediately, even if they can’t articulate why. In field marketing, your event brand is built on every single touchpoint, from the first invite to the final follow-up. In an AI accelerated world where so much communication feels automated and transactional, the teams that lead with genuine human warmth are the ones building reputations that do the selling for them, and this book is one of the reasons I believe in it so deeply.
Happy reading!
Jodi xx
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