Discover how to fully leverage Salesforce Connections 2025, the premier marketing event that brings together marketers and AI enthusiasts in Chicago or virtually.
Your Complete Guide to Salesforce Connections 2025: Everything You Need to Know This Week
The future of marketing is happening right here, right now as Salesforce Connections 2025 takes center stage in Chicago. From June 11-12, 2025, over 13,000 marketers and AI enthusiasts will gather at McCormick Place West Building for what promises to be the most transformative marketing event of the year. Whether you're planning to attend in person or join the thousands streaming virtually via Salesforce+, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to maximize your Connections experience.
Event Overview: Where Marketers and AI Agents Connect
Salesforce Connections 2025 centers around the theme "Where marketers and AI agents connect," putting Agentforce and agentic marketing at the absolute forefront of the agenda. This year's event features an unprecedented 270+ sessions covering everything from autonomous retargeting to real-time adaptive messaging, 50+ live product demos showcasing cutting-edge innovations, and 20+ hands-on training workshops designed to build practical skills.
The conference takes place at McCormick Place West Building located at 2317 S Indiana Avenue in Chicago, with sessions running from 10:00 AM to evening networking events both days. For the first time, the event includes Project CNX, an Agentforce pitch competition where marketers can compete for a $10,000 prize and free Dreamforce registration passes.
For In-Person Attendees: Maximizing Your Chicago Experience
Registration and Logistics
Last-minute attendees can still register using the promotional code CNX25FLASH to save 50% and pay just $449, though this offer expires June 6. The conference pass includes access to all main sessions, breakouts, keynotes, hands-on demos, training workshops, lunch both days, and networking events in the Campground.
Attendees should download the CNX25 mobile app for session audio streaming, agenda building, and real-time updates throughout the event. The app allows you to reserve seats in most sessions, filter content by role, industry, and product focus, and connect with other attendees.
Must-Attend Keynotes and Sessions
Wednesday, June 11 begins with the Main Keynote at 10:00 AM CST on Level 3, where Salesforce leaders will showcase how Agentforce is reshaping marketing through deeply personalized 1-to-1 customer experiences. The day also features "Bold Moves & Building Brands" with renowned marketing leader Bozoma Saint John from 2:00-2:45 PM.
Thursday, June 12 opens with the "Next Gen Marketing Cloud: Built for Agentic Marketers" keynote at 10:00 AM CST, where product leaders will reveal roadmap innovations and provide live demos of next-generation capabilities. The day includes "From Kickflips to Culture Shifts" featuring skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, followed by the Commerce Cloud Keynote highlighting AI-powered commerce innovations.
Critical breakout sessions include "The Future of Marketing Cloud: A Roadmap Sneak Peek" on June 12 at 2:00 PM, "Build Connected Journeys with Marketing Cloud Advanced" offered twice across both days, and "Data Strategy Made Easy for Marketers" providing hands-on workshops.
Enhanced Networking and Learning Opportunities
Community Hub Innovation
This year introduces a dedicated Community Hub located by the registration desk in Campground Level 3, featuring over 40 sessions led entirely by Trailblazers. The hub includes intimate Campfire Chats seating about 20 people each, focusing on customer success stories and practical skill development.
Key Community Hub sessions include "Marketing Yourself: Why Your Brand Is Your Best Channel," "Email A/B Testing: Prioritize, Progress, and Perfect," "Mitigating the Disaster that is Dark Mode," and "Commerce Without Chaos: Best Practices for Team Alignment." The space also hosts ice cream socials and networking games from 3:00-4:30 PM both days.
Campground Experience Redesigned
The Campground features job function-aligned booths demonstrating Marketing Cloud applications specific to attendee roles, 25-minute Agentforce consultations where you can build your own autonomous agent, and Ask the Experts stations providing personalized guidance on your biggest challenges. This year's layout emphasizes hands-on learning and direct access to product specialists.
Pre-Conference Bootcamp Opportunities
From June 8-10, intensive pre-conference bootcamp sessions offer certification programs in Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Specialist, Salesforce Administrator, advanced Marketing Cloud features, and Data Cloud Starter licensing and implementation. These bootcamps provide hands-on experience with Agentforce fundamentals, integration strategies, and responsible AI practices.
Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Salesforce demonstrates its commitment to accessibility through comprehensive accommodations including a Quiet Zone providing a low-sensory, tech-free space with dedicated ambassadors, English captions on all keynote stages, and sign language interpreters available upon request if requested by May 28. All venues feature fully accessible entries, seating, stages, and surfaces to ensure every attendee can participate fully.
For Virtual Attendees: Your Complete Salesforce+ Experience
Accessing the Virtual Event
Virtual attendees can create a free Salesforce+ account at salesforce.com/plus and register for the Connections 2025 virtual experience to stream from any device. The virtual experience launches June 11 at 10:00 AM CST with live streaming of all keynote presentations featuring real-time audience interaction capabilities.
Virtual Content and Resources
Live Streaming Coverage includes all keynote presentations, select breakout sessions featuring product demos and customer stories, live Q&A opportunities during certain sessions, and behind-the-scenes content from the Campground floor. The virtual experience provides unprecedented access to content that was previously only available to in-person attendees.
On-Demand Content Library offers keynote replays available immediately after live sessions, featured session recordings added throughout the week, product demonstration videos showcasing new Agentforce capabilities, and customer success story highlights from various industries. Session owners are encouraged to share their presentations after the conference, with registered attendees able to access shared content through the Sessions page the week following the event.
Virtual Networking and Engagement
Virtual attendees can participate in digital meet-ups organized by role and industry, engage in Salesforce+ community forums for real-time discussion, participate in social media engagement using #CNX25 and #SalesforceConnections, and access Virtual Ask the Experts sessions via chat and video. The virtual platform facilitates meaningful connections despite physical distance.
Key Learning Tracks and Focus Areas
Agentforce and Agentic Marketing Revolution
The conference emphasizes understanding AI agents and their transformative role in marketing automation, building custom agents for lead qualification and customer engagement, examining real-world case studies from early Agentforce adopters, and developing integration strategies across Sales, Service, and Commerce clouds. Sessions explore how Agentforce enables 24/7 lead capture, autonomous retargeting, and instant adaptive messaging.
Agentforce skills on display include:
- Resolving customer inquiries 24/7 with natural language across channels
- Engaging with prospects autonomously to answer questions and book meetings
- Providing personalized sales role-plays for realistic pitch practice
- Offering personalized product recommendations as a virtual stylist
- Creating and optimizing end-to-end marketing campaigns with continual performance analysis
Marketing Cloud Evolution and Innovation
Critical sessions cover Marketing Cloud on Core architecture and migration strategies, advanced automation techniques using Einstein AI, cross-cloud integration for unified customer experiences, and ROI measurement and attribution in the AI era. The "Next Gen Marketing Cloud" keynote will unveil how Marketing Cloud is evolving to meet demands of today's AI-first world.
Data Cloud and Personalization Strategies
Learning tracks focus on first-party data strategies in a cookieless world, real-time personalization using Data Cloud insights, customer journey optimization across all touchpoints, and privacy compliance with ethical data usage. Sessions demonstrate how Data Cloud integrates with Agentforce to create seamless customer experiences.
Financial Services Practitioners: Your Specialized Connections Experience
Financial services professionals attending Salesforce Connections 2025 have access to exclusive sessions, dedicated networking opportunities, and industry-specific content designed to address the unique challenges of marketing in regulated industries. Whether you're attending in person or virtually, these specialized resources will help you navigate compliance requirements while leveraging AI agents for customer engagement.
Dedicated Industry Spaces and Agent Use Cases
Financial services practitioners can explore agent use cases at dedicated industry spaces specifically designed for financial services, alongside retail, consumer goods, manufacturing, healthcare, and life sciences. These spaces showcase how Agentforce can be implemented within regulatory frameworks while maintaining compliance with industry standards like KYC (Know Your Customer) practices and data privacy requirements.
The dedicated financial services space features real-world implementations demonstrating:
- Compliant lead qualification and customer onboarding automation
- Risk-based personalization strategies for financial products
- Regulatory-friendly marketing automation workflows
- Cross-selling and upselling approaches using AI recommendations within compliance boundaries
Key Sessions for Financial Services Marketing
"Boost Email Revenue 54% with Data and AI on Marketing Cloud"
This Theater 4 session on June 11, 2025, from 1:45 PM to 2:05 PM CDT features Azul Airlines' implementation of Salesforce in 45 days, achieving 53x ROI. While focused on airline industry, the session provides practical insights into rapid implementation and revenue optimization that directly apply to financial services customer engagement strategies.
Data Cloud and First-Party Data Strategy Sessions
Critical for financial services organizations managing sensitive customer data, these sessions explore first-party data strategies in a cookieless world while maintaining strict privacy compliance. The sessions demonstrate how Data Cloud integrates with Agentforce to create seamless customer experiences while adhering to financial industry regulations.
Marketing Cloud Advanced Integration Training
Offered multiple times across both conference days, these hands-on workshops focus on building connected customer journeys using Marketing Cloud Advanced capabilities specifically relevant to complex financial services customer lifecycle management.
Financial Services-Specific Learning Tracks
Regulatory Compliance and AI Governance
Sessions address how financial institutions can implement Agentforce while maintaining regulatory compliance across different jurisdictions. Content covers built-in solutions for data privacy, automated KYC processes, and governance frameworks for AI-driven customer interactions in regulated environments.
Customer Onboarding and Lifecycle Management
Financial services professionals can attend specialized workshops on simplifying complex onboarding processes, one of the most challenging aspects of financial services customer experience. Sessions demonstrate how AI agents can streamline account opening, credit applications, and wealth management client onboarding while maintaining security standards.
Risk-Based Personalization and Customer Segmentation
These sessions explore how financial institutions can leverage Data Cloud insights for personalized product recommendations while incorporating risk assessment and regulatory requirements into automated decision-making processes.
Networking Events and Social Calendar
In-Person Networking Opportunities
Wednesday, June 11 networking includes official Salesforce-hosted events throughout the day and evening at the conference venue.
Thursday, June 12 concludes with the Women in Tech Panel from 3:30-3:50 PM in the Community Hub, the Salesforce People Leader Meetup from 3:30-4:00 PM in the Community Hub, and multiple official Salesforce events throughout the evening.
Virtual Networking Solutions
Remote attendees can participate in LinkedIn CNX25 groups for role-specific discussions, Twitter Spaces hosted by Salesforce MVPs, Slack communities organized by product focus, and virtual coffee chats scheduled through the event app. These digital networking opportunities ensure virtual attendees can build meaningful professional relationships.
Essential Resources and Tools
Mobile App and Digital Tools
The CNX25 Mobile App provides session audio streaming, agenda building capabilities, networking features, and real-time event updates. The Salesforce+ Platform offers free streaming service access with original content, while the Session Catalog allows filtering by role, industry, product, and session type. The Agenda Builder enables seat reservations and personalized conference schedule planning.
Post-Event Resources and Follow-Up
Shared presentations become available one week after the conference through the Sessions page, session recordings appear on Salesforce+ for premium content access, implementation guides provide actionable next steps for featured products and strategies, and community forums enable ongoing discussion and support. These resources ensure learning continues well beyond the two-day event.
Industry-Specific Learning Opportunities
Retail and Consumer Goods Focus
Sessions address omnichannel commerce strategies using Salesforce Commerce Cloud, customer lifetime value optimization through AI-driven insights, inventory management integration with marketing campaigns, and seasonal campaign automation using predictive analytics. Real-world case studies demonstrate successful implementations across various retail sectors.
Financial Services Applications
Content covers compliance-friendly marketing automation in regulated industries, customer onboarding optimization using Agentforce workflows, risk-based personalization for financial products, and cross-selling and upselling strategies with AI recommendations. Sessions address the unique challenges and opportunities within financial services marketing.
Healthcare and Manufacturing Solutions
Healthcare-focused sessions explore patient journey mapping using Salesforce Health Cloud integration, regulatory compliance in healthcare marketing, provider engagement strategies for B2B healthcare companies, and telehealth integration with marketing automation. Manufacturing sessions cover complex sales cycle support using Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and partner portal optimization.
Action Items for This Week
Immediate Preparation Steps
For in-person attendees: Download the CNX25 app and build your agenda today, review the networking event calendar and RSVP for relevant parties, prepare business cards and update LinkedIn profiles, plan travel logistics to McCormick Place with early arrival for popular sessions, and charge devices while bringing portable chargers for long conference days.
For virtual attendees: Create your Salesforce+ account and test streaming setup, set calendar reminders for keynotes and priority sessions, join relevant social media groups using #CNX25, prepare your workspace for note-taking and engagement, and schedule follow-up time to review on-demand content after the event.
For everyone: Define learning objectives before attending sessions, prepare specific questions about current challenges, research speakers and presenters you want to connect with, plan your follow-up strategy for implementing new learnings, and prepare to share your experience on social media to build your professional brand.
The Future of Marketing Starts This Week
Salesforce Connections 2025 represents far more than another marketing conference – it serves as the launching pad for the next era of customer engagement powered by AI agents and human creativity. Whether you're exploring AI agents for the first time or already implementing Agentforce in your organization, this week offers unparalleled opportunities to learn, connect, and grow with the global Salesforce community.
The convergence of AI, data, and human creativity is fundamentally reshaping how we approach marketing, and Connections 2025 is where these transformative concepts come to life through real-world examples, hands-on training, and peer-to-peer learning. For in-person attendees, embrace the energy of Chicago and the Salesforce community while taking advantage of every networking opportunity. For virtual attendees, leverage the unprecedented access to content and networking that Salesforce+ provides to ensure you don't miss critical insights.
The future of marketing is agentic, intelligent, and fundamentally human-centered, and your journey into that future begins this week in Chicago – or wherever you choose to tune in.
