Industry conferences and live events remain an important part of marketing calendars. Sales teams can leverage these get-togethers to connect with new leads, while founders can expand their partner network and identify future investors. For larger events (in tech these can include Mobile World Congress, RSA and CES – but every industry has their big shows), there are also journalists and analysts in attendance. Smart companies will leverage the convergence of reporters to unveil new products, but there are a few tricks to help you stand out from the crowd.
If you’re not the biggest player in your industry (AKA a startup) don’t try to compete for attention with the notable brands. The first day of a conference will be when the Apples, Metas and Googles make their announcements. If your company is not on that level and you put out a press release the first day of a conference, you will get swept away by the giants. Reporters can only cover so much news in a day and if you send them a press release the same day as the biggest players in your industry, you will not get coverage. It’s best for startups to get their releases to reporters in the weeks before the event.
The most important thing about conference PR is starting early. Calendars start filling up two to three months before the big shows. Especially if you’re hoping for in-person meetings at an event, you need to start your media and analyst outreach well in advance. Again, you are competing with every other startup for that reporter’s time. You need to nail them down early and confirm a few days before that they are still available to meet. Expect at least 30% of your confirmed in-person meetings not to show up. It’s easy to get lost or mis-judge the distance between meetings in expansive convention centers. Even with the best of intentions, reporters frequently miss their assigned meeting times traveling between booths.
Your meeting location can help you get reporters to actually show up for their briefings. If you can find a quiet, easy to find spot that is near the main-stage/expo floor, reporters and analysts are less likely to get lost and won’t have to travel as far to make it to your interview. If you have a booth or can afford a meeting room, this is a great option but you can also stake out a cluster of couches or chairs near the registration area to ensure the people you’ve scheduled your meetings with can find you.
Another option can be a nearby restaurant or hotel lobby but keep in mind that this will require reporters to leave the conference to meet with you. If your meeting is scheduled at the same time as a major presentation or talk, they are likely to choose the bigger story over a one-on-one conversation with you.
The most important thing to remember with event PR strategies is to be flexible. An experienced PR person can help keep things running smoothly, direct reporters to your meeting location and ensure your news is getting into the hands of every relevant journalist. What they can’t do is teleport reports from one side of the expo center to the other, make a reporter answer their phone in a noisy theater or make sure every reporter that confirmed their meeting the day before shows up to their briefing.
Part of the event strategy should include following up to reschedule virtual meetings for all the no-shows at the event. Executives hate to feel like they were stood up or wasted their time hanging around a booth for a reporter that didn’t make it to their meeting, but having the ability to graciously connect online after the event can still deliver the coverage and relationship-building that would have occurred at the event.
