Company: Globalpress Connection
Timeframe: Sept. 2005 to March 2006
Starting a new trade conference is never a simple proposition, especially in the high-tech world. Between long-established trade shows and vendor-sponsored gatherings, it
would appear this area has a surplus of competition.
But don't tell this to high-tech PR veteran Irmgard Lafrentz. Founder and president of Globalpress Connection in San Jose, CA, Lafrentz recently completed the fourth
annual edition of her Globalpress Summit, which brought 47 companies and 57 technology journalists from around the globe. While those numbers may lack the scope and
magnitude of conferences such as Comdex, it nonetheless offers an intimate way for vendors to connect directly to the international technology media.
Lafrentz came up with the idea for these conferences following her agency's success with what she dubbed "reverse press tours." Initially Lafrentz organized road show
presentations for her high-tech clients, but over time these became increasingly expensive (especially when the road show went overseas), and following 9/11 the enthusiasm for
corporate travel dropped dramatically.
Instead of sending her clients out into the world, Lafrentz turned the process around and coordinated junkets with tech media from across the globe coming to Silicon Valley,
where they could meet her clients in their corporate settings.
"The cost is shared by the companies," she says, noting the media delegation consists of 10 people. "We take the visiting media to their headquarters, where their PR people
can focus on content. In one week, they visit 10 or 11 companies. The companies love it because it is totally cost-effective; the CEO can give the media a half-hour of his time,
and there's no longer any need for the CEO to go to Europe to meet these editors."
The success of the reverse press tours encouraged Lafrentz to take her skills to a higher level and start her own high-tech conference. "In 2003, we began with 25 companies
and 30 editors," she recalls. "We have panels focused on a particular topic and a special day for start-up companies, where we train them and make sure they are doing a great job
so they come back again and again."
A Work In Progress
Planning the Globalpress Summit requires adequate time to ensure all of the pieces are in place. The work begins six months prior to the opening day.
Lafrentz spends two to three months planning the agenda for each conference. This involves coming up with topics for panel discussions, securing speakers for the conference
sessions, and exploring sponsorships with the industry's top companies.
"Through research and ongoing dialogue with leading U.S. and international editors and analysts, we develop ideas for a theme," she says. "Then we test-market the theme with a
focused group of stakeholders. The best suggestion nets a reward and acknowledgement at the Summit opening gala dinner. Our first four Summit themes were the direct result of
creative brainstorming and collaboration with participating editors, who guide our development of panel topics."
After the agenda is set and moderators and speakers are secured, the next step is the marketing phase. This covers five months and begins with blast e-mail campaigns to the
media and sponsors (both returning and potential). Telephone follow-ups ensue, and Lafrentz employs two full-time sales people to handle this function. "We achieve a 10% average
response for returning sponsors, which is a very nice ROI for this type of campaign," she says.
People Power
One consistent factor has been the location: the California resort of Monterey, which Lafrentz points out as being accessible to Silicon Valley and more than entertaining for
out-of-town visitors. Oddly, some California journalists have raised objections to Monterey. "We had a guy from San Jose who told us: 'Oh, it's too far!'" says Lafrentz.
For this year's Summit, Lafrentz pre-arranged 149 one-to-one interviews between her clients and the visiting media. "We take all of the guesswork and legwork out of planning
press events and tours and connecting their spokespeople with key international editors," she says. "The clients can focus on the core tasks of their PR programs like message
development and product launches."
Lafrentz also keeps track of media coverage (there were 470 articles generated around the world from this year's Summit). But even as the final Summit-related articles appear
in print and online, Lafrentz herself has to hit the road -- to check out other tech conferences in search of potential speakers and ideas to bring to next year's Summit.
"The main focus of any conference must be on content," she advises. "No one comes on a junket just to travel. People need to come with the idea of returning home with result
they can use."
Contact: Irmgard Lafrentz, [email protected].
Lessons Learned: Working The Press Correctly
If you handling the PR for a trade conference and you are planning to incorporate the media into the mix of attendees, here are quick tips to consider:
- Maintain an on-site pressroom. This enables the journalists to have access to press announcements from the conference organizers and press kits for new product
announcements (which, obviously, need to be gathered in advance). The pressroom should also be promoted as a quiet setting for press conferences and interviews.
- Don't treat the media like second-class citizens. Allow journalists full access to all trade conference events and social gatherings. If you are arranging assigned
seating for banquets, don't segregate the media to a single table (especially not one in the far corner of the room).
- Maintain an online pressroom. To accommodate the media at the conference, and to secure coverage in media outlets that did not send journalists, keep an up-to-the-
minute online pressroom complete with high-resolution photographs of the guest speakers and podcast-ready recordings of their speeches.