If Web Summit were a masterpiece, would you be the artist?
Hijacking Web Summit Communication
There are weeks when nothing happens and days when weeks seem to happen in only a few hours. One day Web Summit might claim this slogan, but for now, we will focus on our own field of mastery: communication in a busy world. Take a step back and imagine. This morning you rushed into a big venue to make it to the next scheduled talk, with thousands of people doing the same thing. How do we turn the tables here?
As in the word “storytelling”, the story comes before the telling, and that’s key to standing out at Web Summit — and anywhere else for that matter. Your brand should be the protagonist, just like the Mona Lisa filling up the room at the Louvre. For this to happen, you might consider creating a conversation with those who cross paths with your brand to be a good starting point. Make sure they will remember it and easily pass it on to others. Over 5 years of wearing the blue and purple lanyards, we’ve come across a few good examples of stories that started with the telling and stood out. Based on these, here’s some of what we’ve heard in the halls of Web Summit communication.
- It’s showtime: save up some news for it
There is this feeling of urgency at Web Summit, where everyone has something buzzy to deliver. Thus, it’s a good idea to save up some of that big news, 2023 projects, and weighty funding round announcements that you have been prepping up for this showtime.
Do you have a brand-new service? Is your app kicking in with a new UX design? Are you announcing your next step into broader horizons or ventures? Save it for this moment. Journalists will grab it, angel investors might talk about it on LinkedIn and that person right next to you will sit up and take notice.
Yet, remind yourself: if you don’t like to be bamboozled, don’t bamboozle others. Meaning, it’s not new if you have told everyone about it throughout the year. So, decide what your gig is and prepare your storytelling to make it the next changemaker in an ocean of last-minute statements.
2. Tease them before the pitch
“Pitch, pitch, pitch” is often Web Summit’s command, but you can always give something to your audience that will lure them in to your story even before you get to the pitch. Make it relatable and invite them to feel your startup even before handing over a Calendly slot.
It’s not by chance that the old saying in Silicon Valley is “don’t tell me, show me”. A good approach is to set the stage, one where your startup can unlock your audience’s needs, and then use your communication assets to make them experience it. Whether that’s an in-loco immersion at your branded stand or a sniff of the freshness of your free app trial, give them something to hold on to.
3. They say the summits are conquered overnight
Among hikers, there is always the 5am team that goes for the summit push. At Web Summit, you might not need to go that far into late-night hours, but it can be beneficial to mingle at the side events. This is the ideal setting for networking, but also to make your brand stand out at a less-crowded venue without overly promoting it.
Now, you might ask: how? The magic can be in simple things. Talk casually about the impact of another startup in the ecosystem and then bridge the conversation with the impact you aim to create with your project. Or, for example, bring your digital communication to the in-person event by talking about a #WebSummit trend that is going on Twitter and that your startup has engaged with. Mention a few events you have in mind to participate in after the conference week. If feeling a bit more adventurous, you can always break the ice with a glimpse of your startup-branded stocks.
At the end of the day, there’s one thing that matters the most: grab the nuggets you’ve gleaned from a year of experiments in communication and put them into practice now. Perhaps it’ll always be a bit of a trial and error process, but you can add that into your storytelling and liven it up.
Whether you are a born storyteller ready to hijack communication at Web Summit or giving your first steps, there is nothing you can do better than prepare for it. Going back to our first point, it’s show time. So, hats off to those who are true artists and have been perfecting this art of Web Summiting. Salute to those who are putting the thought-out plan in action for this long week. Remember, like everything, the core aspect of enjoying such a conference is to prepare for it, be flexible and make the most of it.
Will we see you around? Get to know our team there.
