Seven Steps to MWC Success: Step 1 -- Announcements

Here’s the first of the Seven Steps to MWC Success series, curated and authored by Dominic Pannell of communications consultancy Buzz Method.

Over to Dominic…

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Mobile World Congress (MWC) is coming up fast and now’s the time to prepare for it. Get it right and it’s a great opportunity to reach out to all kinds of mobile telecoms stakeholders, from operators and OEMs to media and industry analysts. Get it wrong and you won’t be heard above the inevitable cacophony from around 1,300 companies exhibiting in one place. In the face of such stiff competition for share of voice, it is important that you plan your marketing and communications activity carefully to ensure you get the right results for your business.

MWC is about business development, whether it’s fostering relationships, introducing new products, services and companies, or even striking deals. But, what are your communications goals? Many firms put enormous effort into announcing a new product or service at the event, only to see it drowned out by all the other news at the show – resulting in a lot of red faces among PR teams. But don’t let that put you off!

There are ways of ensuring that you achieve the results that you want, but you need to be clear – and realistic – about your communications objectives and ensure that you have enough time to plan for a successful show.

We have helped clients from across the mobile industry to ensure successful communications at Mobile World Congress so I’m delighted Ewan asked me to share our ‘Seven Steps to Show Success’.

STEP ONE: Be sure that MWC is the right place for your announcement

Many big name players make significant announcements during the show and smaller companies, not already firmly on the agenda of industry analysts and journalists, will find it hard to get ANY exposure in the face of such stiff competition.

However there are other approaches to take.

“The starting point for considering MWC announcements is whether an announcement is the right vehicle and whether MWC is the right platform. The critical point is to have a robust media strategy in place that asks that type of questions and considers the target audience and the means of cutting through the amount of ‘noise’ at any major industry event. MWC could well be the right platform if the announcement is industry focused, but don’t just assume you have to announce something to be seen as relevant.”
– Lee Brooke, Director, Communications at Nokia

Launch your new product or service in the run-up to MWC
Build awareness and excitement for what you are doing in advance of the event and offer your stakeholders (customers, partners, media, analysts) a first opportunity to see your new product or service in action during the event. The benefits are clear: you boost your chances of getting media column inches before the event when it is less competitive and you are more likely to make it onto people’s agenda at the event if they are already curious about what you are going to show.

Consider what else is happening
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and MacWorld both take place in the run-up to MWC. You may want to ‘piggyback’ off some of the news coming from these events to start to generate interest in what you have to say. Global companies often do a product ‘soft launch’ at CES, which builds buzz and excitement for the big unveil at MWC. What comes out of CES and MacWorld will be of interest to some media and analysts and even if you are not present at these events, it’s worthwhile thinking how you can link what you are doing to the themes that emerge.

It’s okay to say nothing
If you really don’t have anything newsworthy, don’t waste the time of media and analysts who will have packed schedules and need to make the most of their time at the event. They want to learn what is NEW, and won’t be impressed if you don’t deliver and miss a scoop elsewhere. If you are looking to build a new relationship with a key journalist or analyst, do this away from the event – it’s much better to meet someone for a coffee or telephone briefing when they haven’t met 17 of your competitors on the same day, are bored with smiling and wish they had worn different shoes. Make your face-to-face or telephone introductions in the weeks running up to the show. If you have something that interests them, MWC then provides a good opportunity to meet in person.

“If you are going to make an announcement, make sure it is significant. Line up a good pipeline of coverage by pre-briefing your best media and blogger contacts and talking to the show dailies. Don’t forget the opportunity to speak directly to your target audience through social media.  A lot of people attend MWC but even more can’t attend and avidly watch social media to track the latest.  An opinion, a comment or even a new company development, which might get lost as an event announcement, could receive a very positive welcome delivered directly via company blogs and social networks.  Media and professional blogs watch these direct channels themselves, but to get coverage that way, they need to be following you.  At the end of the day if the message gets through to the target audience, does it matter whether you also got a piece of coverage repeating the same message?  Is it just vanity PR or is there specific reputational value in wider acknowledgement.”
– Lee Brooke, Director, Communications at Nokia

But do what your business needs
In a perfect world, your media strategy will be totally in tune with product development and timed to ensure maximum impact, before, during and after the show. The reality is that decisions about what to launch at the show are often finalised in the days (and let’s face it, the hours) running up to the event. In this all too familiar situation, comms people need to think smart and act quick. How big is your announcement really? Consider why you are making the announcement at the show – it could be to gain global media exposure, but perhaps it is simply to demonstrate commitment to your partners. In this instance the objective is not really to secure media coverage at the event, but to make a formal announcement of a partnership. How many times have you seen biz dev people handing round a press release to their peers at other firms? It happens all the time at MWC, but now is not the time to educate your colleagues on the purpose of a press release. Do what they need you to do and if it has any news value, share only with those journalists who will genuinely be interested – don’t try the patience of key contacts who won’t give a hoot.

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Thank you very much Dominic — and thank you to Lee, for taking the time to provide a quote. We’ll have the next in Dominic’s series online shortly.

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

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