@jeffreyrbunch

Are you ready for Awesomeness? Then get signed up for Jason Falls’ Explore Portland event Nov. 15-16.

The nationwide tour is making a victory lap around the United States and will be touching down in the Rose City in less than 10 days. Falls is bringing an all-star cast to town with him in what will be a top-tier digital marketing event.

Where else, in one sitting, can you feast on a full serving of best practices delivered by some of social media’s top national luminaries?

As Jason asked in a recent blog post, “What’s in it for you? How about Unmarketing himself Scott Stratten? Jay Baer? Edison Research’s Tom Webster? SME Digital’s Nichole Kelly? Smart Business Social Businessauthor Michael Brito? His Edelman Digital colleague and mobile marketing expert Tim Hayden? Tamsen Webster from allen+gerritsen?”

I asked Falls about his vision behind the Explore tour and what the tour has been delivering for conference attendees.

“We decided to take Explore on the road in 2012 for two primary reasons,” said Falls. “First, we felt like there were a number of great cities that were underserved by what I would call ‘national social media events’ and it was relatively easy for me to tap into my network of friends to find 10-15 national type speakers to do these events with me. Instead of one guy or gal coming in for one night, we thought we could put together a 2-3 day event that would really give a local or regional audience some good ideas to help their business.”

Falls also said he saw an opportunity in the events space to hold a different type of conference, one with a unique point of view.

“Most social and digital marketing conferences are either so 101 and basic that marketing decision-makers are bored at them or they’re nothing but sales pitches for their sponsors,” said Falls. “We have a hard and fast rule – If we put you on stage, you’re there to deliver value. If you pitch your product or service, we don’t put you on stage. And we don’t put very many of our sponsors on stage in the first place. I personally curate the speakers and content to make sure we’re delivering optimal value. ”

Having attended conferences where Jason presented, I’ve found his knowledge and entertaining delivery are reason enough to justify attending an event such as Explore Portland. However, you won’t see so many national thought leaders at one venue this side of South by Southwest. When you put it all together, “awesomeness” is clearly ahead.

Every stop on the tour has drawn capacity crowds, so see the full schedule and get your tickets on the event website. The Social Media Club of Portland, which is hosting a kickoff event the night before the conference, is offering a $200 discount off the full price. Just enter the code:  SMCPDXVIP when you purchase your two-day pass to Explore Portland! If you get a ticket to the Explore Portland conference, you’ll get in free to the Nov. 14 kickoff event.