Seven Steps to MWC Success: Step 6 -- Final preparations

Goodness me the MWC noise has stepped up a notch this week.

We’re almost at the end of the series and this time, Dominic Pannell, Buzz Method’s founder offers a few tips for what you should think about once you arrive at the Fira de Barcelona.

In case you missed the other parts of the series, here they are:

– Step One – Announcements
– Step Two – Always be relevant
– Step Three – Tailor your approach
– Step Four – You can never over-plan
– Step Five – Scheduling Meetings

Ok, take it away, Dominic.

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5. Final preparations

If you are running the booth, be sure to (over-)communicate the requirements and expectations that you have at the event. This is the culmination of a lot of effort, but if it doesn’t look right on the day, all of the preparation will have been in vain. Be very clear with all members of your company what they are expected to do at the event, from how you want them to dress on the stand, to staffing levels at various times of the day.

Moshe Peterfreund, Director of Marketing at FTS shared the following with us:

“Mobile World Congress is always an important show for us, but that is because we work hard to get it right. This year we will demonstrate our technology on our stand and we have different spokespeople that can talk about different areas – and they will all be prepared fully for the show. Pre-show meetings and training sessions are taking place now and messaging documents are being readied. Our sector, billing and policy control, is very competitive and so it is important that we can present ourselves in the best possible way.”

“One key area of preparation is to have different spokespeople that can talk about different areas – for us that will include communications trends in emerging markets, telecoms challenges in Africa, monetising mobile broadband and more.”

It is also worth doing some basic media training with EVERYONE who will be a part of your public presence at the show. Your technical support manager may never have spoken to media before and so it will help to give people some tips on what they should do when a journalist comes on to the stand. It’s also important that everyone understands what they should and shouldn’t say during the event. It sounds simple, but some basic guidelines and training will ensure that your messages are communicated clearly and effectively – and that nobody gives away your trade secrets!

Gavin Patterson, Chief Market Analyst, mobileSQUARED and journalist of 22 years agrees:

“Unfortunately, a dose of media training is usually imperative for anyone dealing with the press nowadays. Not only with regards to spreading the corporate mantra, but also to ensure there are no little ‘indiscretions’ with regards the latest planned M&A or IPR dispute.”

“There is nothing more inviting to a journalist than a free-talking senior executive. Equally, there is nothing worse – and more likely to ensure zero or negative coverage – than interviewing someone fluent in media babble.”

“Make sure you prepare your message beforehand, back it up with facts and data and make it interesting.”

“Agree scheduled interview topics with journalists – without dictating the subject area, and, if possible, be controversial.”

If your senior executives are conducting formal briefings, whether press conferences, or meetings with media and analysts, you will need to work closely with them to help them prepare. Establish the key messages and ensure that they are comfortable with them and have an arsenal of proof points ready to support them with. If they are making presentations, work with them to finalise the material in plenty of time to ensure they are very familiar with it.

It’s always worth considering bringing in a third party consultant to help with this process, as they can bring an outside world perspective to the material, as well as coaching your executive on how to deliver their messages for the greatest impact. Sometimes it’s hard for you to give honest feedback to your own CEO and having a third party can really help.

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Thank you Dominic. I think you’re absolutely right. Having been in the coal-face position (from the media viewpoint) watching individuals panic when I ask a particular question or being handed an out of date press release, I really do identify with your points. Prepare, prepare, prepare! I’d also like to point out that your suggestion on having a third-party consultant hanging around can actually be really valuable. Last year, when I visited a stand, everyone of the employees wearing shirts refused to talk to me. But their third-party consultant stepped up to the mark and helped me out with a story. I wonder if being independent — and perhaps not having a long-term career to panic about gave the chap more confidence to deal with my queries, as apposed to the employees who ‘had not been media trained’.

I always find it strange when people on stands are perfectly fine talking to everyone else who approaches the stand but feel they must treat me in a different manner. That ‘nobody’ they’re talking to could just as easily write a note on Twitter that’s then picked up and sent around the planet.

Anyway, in case you haven’t come across Dominic and the team at Buzz Method, here’s a quick overview:

Buzz Method is a boutique communications consultancy based in Barcelona and London. Its consultants have decades of experience in advising ICT companies of all sizes and from all regions on how best to identify and engage with different stakeholders. Moreover, Buzz Method partners with the world’s best PR agencies to deliver award-winning international communications programmes for their mutual clients.

Buzz Method’s senior consultants will be onsite in Barcelona in the run-up to Mobile World Congress and are available to help you in your final preparations for the show. They can give you feedback on your presentation content and delivery, coach senior spokespeople in working with the media, or run ‘media handling’ sessions for your stand staff. It’s well worth bringing in someone external to ensure that what you are planning to say really is compelling and relevant.

Meanwhile if you’ve got an opinion or perspective, do drop me a note: ewan@mobileindustryreview.com.

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