Christian Muche in Miami: The pink-suited energy dealer rewriting the principles of B2B occasions

But Muche isn’t right here to promote spirits – he’s right here to promote a brand new imaginative and prescient for advertising occasions.

In simply 3 years, Possible, the display he introduced throughout the tail finish of the pandemic, has transform some of the talked-about fixtures within the trade calendar. Set towards the sun-drenched backdrop of Miami Beach, it attracts CMOs, tech innovators, media moguls and platform giants. And this yr, Muche made something transparent: this isn’t Cannes, and it isn’t CES – it’s one thing else totally.

“I would like to see Possible become the Davos of the marketing world,” he informed The Drum. It’s the primary time we’d heard that and it appeared a notable shift from the best way the development has been located till now. Many had dubbed it the “Cannes of the US,” interested in the palm bushes, high-profile panels and logo events..

“Davos brings together the biggest decision-makers from politics, science and industry,” he mentioned. “We need the same for marketing.”

Muche is one of these user you generally tend to hear a he has an excellent monitor document. He co-founded Dmexco in Germany in 2008, rising it into one of the vital greatest advertising business displays on the planet with over 60,000 attendees and 1,200 exhibitors.

He introduced it from New Zealand the place he moved after Yahoo hoping for a quieter lifestyles along with his circle of relatives. But the urge to construct returned. “Three months after moving, I told my wife I was doing something new,” he says. “It is Dmexco in Germany. She was surprised.”

It was once unexpected for one more reason. Because he introduced it in 2008, proper in the midst of the credit score crunch. He believes, he mentioned, that moments of disruption create openings for daring new concepts. After a decade on the helm he left in 2018, however obviously he was once motivated by way of some other length of disruption. Possible introduced in 2023 as the sector got here out of lockdown.

Many had been nonetheless wondering whether or not large-scale occasions would leap again. Rather than search out institutional capital, Muche constructed the display via private connections: greater than 60 angel traders together with Michael Kassan, Shelly Palmer, Laura Desmond and Terry Kawaja all introduced in now not only for their wallets, however for his or her networks.

“Google signed on as a founding partner before we even held the first event,” Muche says. “It wasn’t just about funding. It was about belief.”

This yr’s version of Possible attracted 5,400 attendees – up from 3,000 in yr one – and it’s already making plans an expanded footprint in 2025. The Possible Connect programme, which pairs entrepreneurs and resolution suppliers in high-speed 15-minute conferences, will transfer directly to the seaside to deal with call for. Meanwhile, the development will take over new area on the neighbouring Eden Roc lodge.

Despite the expansion, Muche insists Possible isn’t chasing numbers. “It’s not about how many, it’s about who,” he says – even though with an expanded venue and emerging world attendance (44 international locations this yr), the size v high quality query is rarely some distance from the skin.

That mentioned, Muche’s imaginative and prescient doesn’t seem to conflict with that of Hyve, the UK-based occasions staff that bought 100% of Possible in 2024 for a reported low eight-figure sum. Hyve’s CEO, Mark Shashoua, has emphasised the desire for each high quality and scale in B2B occasions – and to this point, the partnership turns out to permit for each. Muche stays on the helm via a two-year earn-out and is supported by way of an 18-person advisory board of CMOs and tech leaders. While the unique traders now not hang fairness, many stay actively serious about shaping the display.

One of Possible’s defining options is the way it positions itself towards different flagship trade occasions. CES and SXSW get name-checked frequently, however Muche isn’t offered. “CES is a great tech event, but C-Space always felt disconnected,” he says. “I’ve heard it might not even survive. It never really delivered for marketers.”

As for SXSW? “Fantastic for inspiration. But marketers fly in, give a talk, and fly out. It’s not built for the marketing function itself.”

Cannes Lions, alternatively, is “a real marketing event,” Muche concedes – however a pricey one, and a long-haul go back and forth for many US manufacturers. “You can bring 10 people to Miami for 10% of the budget it takes to do Cannes,” he says. But nonetheless, he’s now not seeking to reflect it. “Others might call this the US Cannes. I don’t. I’ve always had a different idea.”

That thought? A contemporary advertising summit that blends content material, trade, schooling and networking – with sufficient construction to make issues occur and sufficient daylight to stay folks smiling.

Looking forward, Muche says the crew is thinking about world growth – in all probability into Europe, Asia, or South America – however provided that the native context is correct. “You can’t just copy and paste this format,” he says. “You need to know the market. And frankly, you need good weather. This doesn’t work in Oslo.”

And what occurs when his earn-out ends? “Honestly, I don’t know,” Muche shrugs. “This is still my baby. I’m not done. But maybe one day I’ll finally retire in New Zealand. My wife’s still waiting.”

In the interim, Possible is a compelling case find out about in how essentially the most trendy occasions are frequently constructed at the maximum old-school foundations. It could have introduced as martech summit within the solar however it’s also a reminder that even in an AI global, the important thing to trade good fortune is folks.