This one time…at product camp

I promise, this will be my last post about product camps for a little while. But, I am in a unique position to share some thoughts. I have attended three of these events over the last four months – starting with Boston in November, Minneapolis in January and Atlanta in February. And, I’m not a sponsor.

What did I learn? Well, the obvious response is that I learned a ton about product management and marketing topics, as well as networked with great people in the field with whom I share challenges and opportunities. All of the events were well worth attending.

What was different? The logistics were changed. The number of attendees varied. Each product camp had some shared sponsors, and some unique to their market. The Boston and Atlanta product camps followed tradition and had food brought in (boxed lunches), while the Minneapolis event was a “catered” affair using the facilities’ services.

What struck me as the greatest difference were the presentations that each city had for their audience. Boston had more people step forward for social media topics and more “instructional” sessions; Minneapolis seemed to have more “strategic” and leadership sessions; and, Atlanta had a larger focus on development issues (as related to product management) than the other two.

Looking in from the outside, the takeaway here is that each product camp knew their market and responded with a format that worked in each city. In product marketing, we adhere to one rule – Know thy market. These camps did, they responded to what their individual market sought, and it worked. I would say that each was highly successful and I am confident that the other attendees would agree.

(If you haven’t attended a product camp, and invest in yourself and do so. A list of planned events can be found here.)