Panelists at Wednesday's Business Marketing Association's What to Expect 2006 formed a consensus that marketers should invest more in intellectual capital in the B2B arena and worry less about return on investment, writes BtoB Online (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Leaders from various companies, such as Ernst & Young, Doremus Advertising and Google, agreed on the importance of intellectual capital in 2006 - an interesting and, perhaps, ironic shift, as marketers have been urging their agencies to shine the spotlight on ROI in the last few years.

"What I see is a preoccupation with ROI; but the role of marketing is to stimulate activity, while ROI is more of a rear-view mirror. We have to get back to thinking about ideas that drive new business," Jim Speros, CMO of Ernst & Young, is quoted as having said.

Further discussion involved using wireless portable technology and live events in B2B marketing. Panelists also questioned new techniques of measuring a campaign's online and offline elements in tandem.