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Oct 7, 2009 |
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Trying to capitalize on the momentum, the MN PCamp planning committee scheduled our second meeting only two weeks after the first. Yep, we’re serious about this event…and serious about bringing it to us in the Upper Midwest. Once again, the planning committee cannot be applauded enough for their stellar efforts!
We went around the table for our updates, and here we go:
- We have a venue, and a date. But, the commitment for the venue means we have to order food there. Of course, the food costs are higher than if we did it on our own. This led to a discussion about whether we felt we could get the sponsoroship money to meet the higher cost. The overwhelming feeling (6-0) of the committee was that the venue was worth it, so we would have to raise the money. The venue contracts are being reviewed as I type this and we should shortly be able to announce the finalized and secured date & location.
- Our sponsorship plan rocks! The initial draft is “borrowed” from the compilation of other PCamp plans. We are planning to have three levels of sponsorship, and offer great exposure to all sponsors, regardless of their level. We have an aggressive goal, to meet the food costs, so we have to nail this. I have no doubt our sponsorhip lead will do so with gusto and zest!
- Our marketing guy is really a guru. Yep, we’re lucky. He came in with not only a list of ideas and activities we need to undertake; but, knowing we are all in product management, he presented a positioning document first. Seriously. He gave us this doc which features who our targets are; why these targets are validated; how the event will meet the target needs based on their attributes; how the targets will benefit, and why the event is unique. It really is quite the positioning. All of our speaking points are clearly articulated. Now, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have a discussion about them; but, when we left, we all knew what to say, why and how. And, that was before we talked about how to generate the buzz in the market up here to spur attendance.
- We thought there wasn’t much for our programming chair to bring back. We were wrong! She went through and combed the previous sites, compiled the most common schedules and presented us with options. She put all the best practices about the programming structure in a clear document which we reviewed and discussed and agreed on how to move forward. It was simply amazing.
- Then our tech guy went. You would think at this point in the meeting we would have been exhausted, but everytime someone spoke about what they had learned and what they recommended, the energy level rose. Mr. Tech talked about the options for creating our own site, how he could easily maintain and grow it, keeping it linked with others and integrating options. We will have a draft site before the end of this month, and plan to launch it before this time next.
The group simply amazes me. It’s not that I ever doubted anyone would have the skills or abilities – seriously, we’re all in product management and marketing, this stuff does have some second nature elements to us all. But, how well we work together, collaborate and discuss is incredible. We are on the same page.
Now, for other PCamp efforts out there, you may be laughing at us. We know that these events are “somewhat loose” and we need to be flexible; but, our planning committe is somewhat compulsive about organization. Not just one – all of us. We are documenting our plans (more than can fit on one Twitter) and hope to make this even easier to replicate in the future.
And, finally, to help our cause, I am going to the Boston PCamp on Sat. Nov. 7th. I thought that it would make a lot of sense for me to see one of these events “live” before trying to run one here. Are you going? Want to meet up?
