In this episode of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders, Jen VanAntwerp shares her extensive experience in marketing across various industries, including cybersecurity.
She discusses her journey from automotive to healthcare and finally to cybersecurity, highlighting the importance of community and knowledge sharing in the industry.
Jen also introduces her nonprofit, Sober and Cyber, which aims to create inclusive networking events without the pressure to drink. She emphasizes the significance of thoughtful event planning, content strategy, and the need for a welcoming environment in professional settings.
Watch Jen's sober networking movement unfold by connecting on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenvanantwerp/ Learn more about this "swiss army knife" marketing professional: https://www.jvanconsulting.com/
Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders Sponsor: MKG Marketing tailors digital marketing strategies for B2B SaaS organizations are transparent and measured to make every impression count. You're welcome: https://mkgmarketinginc.com/
Want to tell your story on video, podcasts, or live events? Holler at Your Podcast Sidekick: https://yourpodcastsidekick.com/p/yps-overview
Chapters
Introduction and Background of Jen VanAntwerp
Career Journey and Transition to Cybersecurity
The Importance of Community in Cybersecurity
Generalist Skills and Content Strategy
Event Planning and Sober and Cyber
The Origin of Sober and Cyber
Creating Inclusive Networking Events
Thematic Events and Engagement Strategies
Mocktails and Event Experience
Final Thoughts and Future Plans
In this episode of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders, Jen VanAntwerp shares her extensive experience in marketing across various industries, including cybersecurity.
She discusses her journey from automotive to healthcare and finally to cybersecurity, highlighting the importance of community and knowledge sharing in the industry.
Jen also introduces her nonprofit, Sober and Cyber, which aims to create inclusive networking events without the pressure to drink. She emphasizes the significance of thoughtful event planning, content strategy, and the need for a welcoming environment in professional settings.
Watch Jen's sober networking movement unfold by connecting on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenvanantwerp/ Learn more about this "swiss army knife" marketing professional: https://www.jvanconsulting.com/
Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders Sponsor: MKG Marketing tailors digital marketing strategies for B2B SaaS organizations are transparent and measured to make every impression count. You're welcome: https://mkgmarketinginc.com/
Want to tell your story on video, podcasts, or live events? Holler at Your Podcast Sidekick: https://yourpodcastsidekick.com/p/yps-overview
(00:00) - Introduction and Background of Jen VanAntwerp
(01:53) - Career Journey and Transition to Cybersecurity
(05:39) - The Importance of Community in Cybersecurity
This podcast helps Marketing Leaders who work at Tech Companies get their brands found via transparent, measurable digital marketing. Tech Marketing leaders join our host Kerry Guard to discuss what challenges they're currently facing and the creative solutions they've found to solve them.
It's presented by MKG Marketing - a digital advertising agency of experts who specialize in SEO, Digital Advertising, and Analytics.
Be sure to subscribe so you catch every episode as soon as it drops each week.
Kerry Guard:
I'm Kerry Guard. Welcome back to Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders. I so appreciate each and every one of you who signed up for this event, and then I had to reschedule. I'm so, so sorry. Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
I had to go pick up my daughter unexpectedly, and she's good. She's fine. Just, you know, kids. You know what I'm saying? But we're here now, and I'm so grateful to Jen for her flexibility.
Kerry Guard:
A little bit about Jen Van Antwerp before we get started. And, of course, I lost my notes, which is so great. I swear I'm organized. Here we go. With twenty years of experience in marketing and leadership roles in cybersecurity, health tech, health care, and automotive industries, Jen offers a strong balance between business savvy and creative capabilities.
Kerry Guard:
Leveraging excellent communication and interpersonal interpersonal skills, she is able to cultivate strong customer partner media and public relations. In her previous positions, she has managed all aspects of the creative and production process to design and the developed the developed integrated marketing communication and ad campaigns. She has been honored to build and spearhead top performing teams, providing the strategic guidance, training, and support needed to meet and exceed business objectives. Jen, welcome. Welcome.
Kerry Guard:
Finally. Finally. Finally. Welcome. Yes.
Kerry Guard:
Great that
Jen VanAntwerp:
you're here. Hi, Carrie. So so so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
Kerry Guard:
So excited to have you. And, you know, that was a lovely little blurb. Thank you for doing my job for me. I appreciate you. That's one of the one of the one of the greatest bios I've ever got to read, so thank you for that.
Kerry Guard:
But you're more than a a quick blurb. It's really about your story. So Yes. You know, what do you do now, Jen, and how did you get there?
Jen VanAntwerp:
I am a bit of a Swiss army knife. So I like you've mentioned, I've been in marketing for a little over two decades. And my positions have kind of run the gamut. I know there's some contention with the word generalist, but I am a bit of that because I've been able to do both the strategy and managing large teams all the way to being a solo marketer at an organization. And then I currently do a lot of contract work.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So I'm a consultant. My company is called JVM Consulting, and we do marketing for early stage security startups. And then my passion project, and I think a big part of the reason why I'm here and why I'm wearing this tie dye today, is I have a nonprofit that I started about a year and a half ago. It's called Sober in Cyber. We do alcohol free networking events and, different types of activities and engagements during security conferences.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So the goal of that nonprofit is to really increase the number of, alternative events and things that are just inclusive for everybody who want to go and and network without any pressure to drink. I started my career, in automotive industry, and I was in automotive for a little over a decade. Absolutely loved it, but started to get a little bit burnt out on, you know, helping folks sell cars. And so then I I shifted gears, pun intended, and I went over to health care. And I was in health care marketing then for about seven or eight years.
Jen VanAntwerp:
But the whole time, I'd met my husband at the automotive dealer group, and he had started his career in security. When we first met, he was in IT. He was, desktop support, and I was in marketing. And my laptop broke, and that's kinda how we initially met. So it's a very, very nice little meet cute.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So he had already started his career, and he kept kinda telling me like, hey. I think you would like this. I I think you should apply for these jobs. You would love it. And I resisted because I I did really love health care, and I just kind of kept pushing back.
Jen VanAntwerp:
But then I went to RSA with him in 2016, met a lot of the people, saw what the industry was like. And, honestly, it was just the people. I was talking to a lot of folks about, you know, my desire maybe to transition into the industry. And I asked them, what do you love about your marketing? What do you hate about it?
Jen VanAntwerp:
And everybody was really open and, just not holding on to their their cheese and was just so, excited to have another person interested in joining the industry that I just fell in love with it. And I've I've never wanted to turn back. It's just such a fantastic community.
Kerry Guard:
It is. It's so arms open. It's why I absolutely it's the same reason why I absolutely fell in love with the industry too is the something that's so different about cyber than some of the other industries I've been in is their everybody's willingness, and that's why this podcast, I think, has been so successful, is is to share and all grow and learn together, realizing that we're all in the same boat of cyber, the security aspect and wanting to kind of save the world. And so it's just such a nice change of pace from people being like, Oh, I can't give away my secret sauce. I can't tell my computer
Jen VanAntwerp:
to do it. The missions are powerful. The things we're protecting are critical, literally critical. I have clients in the OT security space. So these are things like, you know, our critical infrastructure that we're trying to protect.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And the threats are changing so quickly. The attackers attackers tactics change so fast that, I think that's why folks are often really quick to share knowledge and intel because we're all, you know, trying to fight this battle together. And I honestly one of the biggest things that really, really won me over was I started to get involved with the cybersecurity marketing society in 2020. And just absolutely fell in love with the founders, with the people there. It's such a fantastic close knit community that, yeah, I've realized, yeah, these are my people.
Jen VanAntwerp:
These are my little weirdos. I'm I I'm never going anywhere else. I absolutely love it. And, honestly, everyone in this industry, the more you talk to them, you realize there are so many layers. The hobbies that folks in security have, even that are completely separate from their work environment, everyone's just so cool.
Kerry Guard:
It's yeah. They all like, there's a vibe. Just a really wonderful vibe, authentic vibe of really being able to show up as yourself and be accepted, which is not something you get everywhere. I came from the big agency side, and I started in New York City. So suiting up and going to work.
Kerry Guard:
Oh, gosh. Yeah. Like, that was
Jen VanAntwerp:
It's different vibe altogether. Totally
Kerry Guard:
different. And Yeah. You know, I put this I put the armor on and showed up and did my job, but it's nice to, like, not have to do that and to Right.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And not to say that it's perfect. Mean, we have our we have our we have our bumpy bits. We have our times where, you know, there are blockers and barriers and everything, but it really is coming from the perspective of having worked in a few different industries as far as, like, knowledge sharing and people getting excited about folks coming on board. We still have all those entry level jobs that require, you know, 10 different certs that, you know I know that's a struggle. But when it comes to, you know, sharing sharing their intel and sharing their best practices, people really are, you know, arms wide open, which is fantastic.
Kerry Guard:
So open. One of the things you mentioned is being a generalist, and I I feel this too where I I'm a bit of a Swiss army knife. But I still feel like I have my thing that I'm best at. I can do the other things whether whether I want to or not, but I there's things I sort of prefer and feel like I'm better at. Do you have sort of a certain skill set that you tend to lean into in terms of your generalization?
Jen VanAntwerp:
I do. I do. So I typically start with content, content creation, content management. I let that kind of drive some of the other aspects. And that lends itself really nicely to, like, social media management.
Jen VanAntwerp:
The the areas that I'm strongest in really are in, you know, content strategy, social media, and then events management now, especially with sober and cyber. I'm like constant party planner. So I I have a lot of experience in in that regard. Some of the other areas that I'll typically tap a specialist or get some other folks involved, I can I can do the on the strategy side, but when it comes to actual implementation, it's on the, like, the digital marketing side? I feel like that field changes so so rapidly and so quickly.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Like, best practices are constantly changing. So I I it's been a while since I had my hands directly in digital management, so I typically tap a specialist for that. But, yeah, content, social. Also, PR on the PR side. I'm good at drafting content that optimizes really well for wire distributions, but I don't I haven't had the time, to really build relationships with media.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So that's something that, like, PR agency or PR specialist is fantastic about because they have those established relationships. Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
Yeah. I could talk about this all day because PR's gonna get more important as, as CLMs pick up. But so
Jen VanAntwerp:
Oh, goodness.
Kerry Guard:
And being able to write for it and then work with an agency to actually see it. I mean, wow. What a powerhouse of a combination. So that is awesome. Before we move on to the next segment, if you're here with us, say hello.
Kerry Guard:
We'd love to know that you've joined us. Drop any questions, comments, below, and Elijah will hang out with you and make sure that we see those, and we come back to them as the show goes on. If you are listening while we are not live and you still have questions, don't be shy. Drop them on in, and we will follow-up with you asynchronously. I pinky swear.
Kerry Guard:
Okay. Jen, let's talk about event planning. So Sogren Cyber, how did you where did it how start Origin story.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Okay. Origin story.
Kerry Guard:
Take us from the beginning of where this came how this came to be.
Jen VanAntwerp:
I was born no. I won't go back that far. But it was a long time ago. So I got sober twenty four years ago, a long, long time ago. And so, I've been sober through working across a few different industries, and, I've found different ways to navigate social events, like work related networking events.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And while the industries that I've worked at are are pretty different, you know, automotive, health care, and now security, all of the networking events and the after hour events are almost exactly the same. It's typically been, you know, an open bar or a, you know, whiskey tasting or wine pairing or a lot of things that just kind of revolve around alcohol. And I understand why as a marketer, I've thrown a lot of those types of events before. I know that they're popular for a reason. But as someone who is trying to stay away from drinking myself based on a personal choice, I like I said, I found different tactics and and tips, like always have a beverage in your hand.
Jen VanAntwerp:
That way people are less likely to just bring you something alcoholic or to ask what you're drinking. I'm very open about my sobriety, or my, you know, desire not to drink, but not everyone is nor should they have to be. It shouldn't really be a point of discussion, but it does come up quite quite a bit. If you're not drinking at some of those types of events just because it is so it is so prevalent. So I've found different ways to navigate those environments.
Jen VanAntwerp:
There have been times where if I'm not feeling really confident or secure in my own sobriety, I'll just opt out. I've, you know, learned to give myself permission not to pressure myself to go into those situations if I don't feel really comfortable. Or if I'm at a sit at an environment or a party and it starts to be a little hairy, I just get the hell out. So I've given my myself permission not to go, and I know a lot of other folks do as well. But that kinda sucks because there are a lot of really great connections that happen at those events.
Jen VanAntwerp:
There are, you know, continuations of discussions that might have started earlier at the booth. I joke that the close of a deal might start at a booth, but it closes at the bar. And that happens pretty frequently where opportunities for career advancement or development happen at these, you know, after hours networking events. And so I I always had this daydream of, like, how cool would it be to have a networking event, you know, a work related social activity where there was literally zero pressure to drink? And I didn't really see that happening.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And so I started initially, I started just kinda talking about the idea thinking like, you know, because I of course, at first, I overanalyzed it and thought about it to death. And then I thought, I need to start opening my mouth and talking about this idea and just seeing if there would be interest from the community. And the times that I started to talk about it, everybody was really welcoming and receptive to the idea and honestly very excited. So a year it was in July 2023 that I think I start no. Actually, it was March 2023 because I started with I created the website.
Jen VanAntwerp:
I spun up a Discord server. And then we had our first big event right in between Black Hat and DEFCON in 2023. It was at the Mob Museum, and it was a sober speakeasy. And we rented out part of their, you know, underground speakeasy area. And it was just it's just exploded since then.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Last year, we had the same event at the same spot in between, you know, at the Mob Museum. But this time, we rented out the entire underground bar. We had over a hundred people there. Past closing hour, I had to do a little announcement like last call for now on alcohol. It was crazy.
Jen VanAntwerp:
It was the events have been phenomenal and the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. So that's how I realized, okay. We've got a good thing going here. This isn't just something that I selfishly want to do. Like, this is something that a lot of people are excited about.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And not just folks who have you know, there are a lot of people who come to our events who have never ever had a problem with drinking. Like, they just don't drink at all. They choose not to drink, or maybe they are pregnant and not quite ready to share that news with their coworkers. So they know that if they come to our event, they're gonna have zero, you know, nobody's gonna ask, oh, why aren't you drinking? There are a lot of folks who will come because they know they have a multitude of other events to go to that night or later in the week, and they're just kinda trying to pace themselves.
Jen VanAntwerp:
But they still wanna engage in, like, building those connections within the security community, and our events are a great place to do that with zero pressure to drink.
Kerry Guard:
It's so important to network in person. At our marketing con, I actually found the best networking to be in the lobby of the hotel after hours. Like, people like, there though I don't know if the bar was open. I didn't even really see people drinking. It was just like everybody hanging out, and I it was awesome.
Kerry Guard:
I think that's it's so nice to now have somewhere to go to be able to do that such important networking in a way that is zero pressure because there is an uptick around people not drinking across the board, especially for the younger folks coming up. It's it's Yeah. Awesome and and surprising in a good way. Yeah. How did you so you had this idea.
Kerry Guard:
You started talking to people about it. You had your very first event in March of twenty two twenty three. It sounds like it's more than just hanging out at a bar that's mocktails. Yeah. You know, you talked about this mob and the the speakeasy aspect.
Kerry Guard:
Can you tell me more about how you think about these events in a and to make it engaging and to bring people in and invite them into a space that's maybe not traditional?
Jen VanAntwerp:
Yeah. Absolutely. So it's very intentional. When I'm getting ready to host, like, a full Sober and Cyber event. So we also will, like, host or sponsor, different mocktails at, you know, regional conferences.
Jen VanAntwerp:
If someone doesn't wanna have, like, a fully dry event, I totally get that. It also is a lot of work to put those together. So we'll do everything from, speaking with event organizers to help them learn how to make things a little more inclusive. But when getting ready to do a full Sober and Cyber event, the main things that I wanna focus on, I want people to be able to, like, hear each other at the event. One of the biggest benefits is being able to talk and connect.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And I'm sure you've been to a lot of networking events where the music is so loud that it's almost impossible to hear each other without, like, spitting right across from each other. And that's that's not fun. So I wanna make sure that people will be able to hear each other. It's a nice, cool, fun vibe, but we do still have we've got some good tunes, but the main event is the, you know, the connections and the people there. So I wanna make sure that people can hear each other.
Jen VanAntwerp:
There's food. There's going to be, like, actual food, not just, like, tiny little appetizers on sticks. We wanna have real actual food for people to eat. One of the benefits of not spending as much money on the alcohol, there are a lot of these venues that do have food and beverage minimums. You have to meet this minimum threshold.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And since we're not spending it on alcohol, I can pick, like, the really nice platters or some of the the hot plates to to feed people. Yes. And then I wanna have places for people to sit. I think it's it's usually a mix of, like, open spaces for people to mingle. But typically, at the conferences, we're running around all day.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Tip people are going from one event to the next. I want there to be, like, little clustered seating spaces where people can actually sit and visit, like get into deeper conversations with folks. So you can hear each other. You will have real real honest to goodness food. You'll be able to, like, sit your butt down for a little while and actually hang out.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And then that that fourth item is really delicious mocktails. And I just want the event itself to be so much fun that even if somebody has like never had a mocktail before or never been to an alcohol free event, when they come, like, oh my god. That was so much fun. I wanna come again. Because our events are open to everyone.
Jen VanAntwerp:
The only requirement, obviously, is that don't come there if you're drunk already. Like, just be respectful of that. Don't don't come there if it's gonna be triggering for folks see it. Obviously. Exactly.
Jen VanAntwerp:
You'd you'd think we wouldn't have to say that, but, yes, don't do that. Not cool. But other than that, everyone everyone is welcome. I really want people to come and see. You can have not not even just as much fun.
Jen VanAntwerp:
I honestly I know I'm a little biased, but I think it's even more fun because you remember the conversations that you're having. The the engagement level is so high. People are they're connecting on deeper levels because you don't have folks that are there just for the open bar or the free drinks. I mean, maybe they're there just for the free mocktails, but that's a little weird. I think the folks that are there are there for the right reasons because they wanna connect with other people within the community.
Jen VanAntwerp:
It's it's magic. I love
Kerry Guard:
yeah. The four pieces are so are so key and not something people always think about. Yeah. And so what an environment to be able to actually go and network. Yes.
Kerry Guard:
Yeah. I think a lot
Jen VanAntwerp:
of times, myself included, I've been guilty of this too as a marketer. I'm thinking of, like, I wanna be able to have as many people in the space as possible. I wanna make the vibe, like, really hip and happening. Although I probably don't sound very hip and happening since I just said hip and happening. We wanted to wanted to feel like a party, and a lot of times we've that's become synonymous with, like, standing room only and so loud that we can barely hear each other.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So it's it's a different vibe, it's one that's been really successful. And one of my favorite parts, especially at the events that we have where it bumps up, between Black Hat and DEFCON is you'll have people there, you know, dressed to the nines in their little, you know, executive business suit. And then we've got, you know, a whole slew of ethical hackers there with, like, crazy rainbow color hair. And folks are interacting and mixing it up with each other that might not have had, you know, other opportunities to be at the same type of an event Because this isn't focused on a specific type of technology or a specific vendor. It really is just focused on bringing people together who want to, you know, connect with other security folks in an environment with zero pressure to to drink.
Kerry Guard:
I love the food piece because there is there is clearly, like generally, you go to these events, there is more effort on the bar than there is on on the food, and that's really counterbalanced because you really shouldn't drink on an empty stomach. Right. Yeah. So I I love that even when I I don't do a ton of event planning, but I we always do an annual an annual summit with the team, and we get together and we always go out and do something. So we go to last year was really fun.
Kerry Guard:
We went golf we went did mini golf inside.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Oh, nice.
Kerry Guard:
And so everybody and then the mini golf area was in New York City. They had food trucks, so you got to pick which food truck you wanted to go to, then you ordered from there. And I always tell the team, I'm like, we will cover your first beer or wine. If you wanna go fancy, that's up to you. And then after that, it's on you guys.
Kerry Guard:
And so to your point, it allows us to make sure we're taking care of them and getting them food. Yes. They're more important than than that than alcohol, obviously. So I I absolutely love that.
Jen VanAntwerp:
It's tough at conferences too because I think there are sometimes when I meet folks who have worked in insecurity primarily or like, oh my gosh. Our industry is so bad when it comes to, like, substance abuse and and alcoholism. I'm like, it's it's not atypical. It's not it's not that it's so much worse than other industries. But I think, within our industry, we do have a lot of, you know, people with neurodivergence and, folks who like myself, I've I'm an extrovert, but I do have pretty bad social anxiety when it comes to like meeting new people or being in new situations.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So when you you couple that, when you've got some social anxiety issues, and you're going to a conference, maybe it's the first conference you've ever been to, or you get uncomfortable around groups of large people, or you're nervous about meeting new folks, or that, you know, horrible impostor syndrome creeping up. We've got all these other issues going on in the background. And then we've had a long day of conference. We are more than likely very dehydrated because sometimes at the conferences, it's hard to even find places to refill your water bottle. So you're dehydrated.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And then you've got maybe two or three different evening events that you need to, like, make an appearance at that you've been invited to. If you're just having one or two drinks at each one of those, by the end of the night, it it can be a really bad situation because if you start to use alcohol as sort of that social lubricant, it can start to to cause you to have even more than you normally would. And people are just usually trying to be polite when they're, like, bringing you a new drink or saying, hey. What can I get you? What can I get you?
Jen VanAntwerp:
And it's free. So it's harder to it's harder to say no. So it's like this, you know, these cascading errors that start to happen where by the end of a conference or an event, you know, people might have done or said things that they normally wouldn't have that they might regret or just feel icky, just feel like Yeah. Dried out and hungover and and nasty. So having alternative options, whether it's through Sober and Cyber or, you know, hopefully, I this message helps to inspire other marketers and other people to, like, throw different types of events, whole different kinds of activities that don't just revolve around, alcohol.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And I don't think it's been intentional. I don't think it's anything that we as an industry have done on purpose. It's just what's been done and what's worked. Yeah. It I mean, it works, you know, really well Yep.
Jen VanAntwerp:
In the past. But, man, we're so creative. We can find so many cooler things to do.
Kerry Guard:
Yeah. I think as we learn you know, we talked about the authenticity of the of the cyber crew in terms of all the people who show up. And I think the inclusivity that this creates, you know, the other thing to I I think we have to rethink events collectively across the board from sober, from allergies, from anxieties, we mentioned. I think one of the wonderful things that you're doing is thinking about the space as a whole from an inclusive standpoint. We're talking about places for people to sit and be able to actually hear one another Hear.
Kerry Guard:
Are wonderful attributes. How do you is it just those things in terms of people knowing that if they're going to a sober and cyber event, those are things to look forward to? Or is there some aspect you you mentioned having a vibe and keeping the music source off, but do you have other pools of, you know, you talked about I guess I'm talking more about themes. You talked about sort of the oh, at the mob club where you did the So for Speakeasy. Yes.
Kerry Guard:
Speakeasy. That's the word was before. Yes. Yeah. So do you always have sort of like a theme or a thing or a hook to, like, make people excited and bring them in?
Jen VanAntwerp:
Yeah. For for our two so we have, I I say this like we've been doing this forever. We're only on year, like, 1.5 right now, but there are two, main events that I'm more than likely going to have every single year. Initially, I wanted to start by having a Sovereign Cyber event with some of the larger security conferences. I'm starting here within The US, but I definitely want to, like, make this more global as we have more volunteers.
Jen VanAntwerp:
We'll be able to help cover some stuff.
Kerry Guard:
Know Carrie's like, come on over.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Come on. Have a home. Gracie's nice this time of year. Come on down. Like, InfoSec.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Yeah. That would be fantastic. But RSA and, like, hacker summer camp are the two, main events that I wanna have a big sober and cyber event during. So with RSA, it is the Rock and Mocktails event. So we have that one actually coming up on April 28.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So Rock and Mocktails is like punk rock, a rock and roll themed event. We're gonna have a temporary tattoo artist who's gonna be there this year who can give you some guilt free ink wherever you'd like. You know, rock and roll themed arts and crafts, which was really, really fun last year. So I definitely wanna do that again this year. And some good music.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Like, still, can hear each other, but it's, you know, it's it's rock music. And then at the the Silver Speakeasy, that one, the Mob Museum does a fantastic job of they've got some, like, chill vibe music that, you know, feels like you're in a underground speakeasy back in the day. It's like twenties, thirties instrumental stuff. But we had some good little costume pieces, the little, like, I think they're fedora hats and the little, like, feather feather headbands, like and people some people dress up in flopper costumes, and it's just it was a ton of fun. We had a really cool photo booth there this last year.
Jen VanAntwerp:
But the venue itself is phenomenal at the Map Museum. During our event, people are able to go and tour the museum for free. So they come in through the underground speakeasy. They have to know, like, a secret word. But if you don't actually know it, they'll as long as you have your ticket, they'll they'll let you in.
Jen VanAntwerp:
But they have you go through the whole like, oh, what's that? Like, a little door and ask you for the secret word. It's just a whole the experience helps to make the event. It helps to make the party more memorable and something that people want to come back to the next year. So I'm a big I'm a big theme fan.
Jen VanAntwerp:
I love costuming. I love oh my god. Yes. I love like themed themed mocktails, themed, you know, just everything. Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
Okay. Let's talk about the mocktails because I saw some pictures from one of your events not too long ago, you had some ones that looked glorious. So what are some of your favorite go to mocktails for these things?
Jen VanAntwerp:
Oh my gosh. I I try to work with the bartenders. So I myself am not a mixologist. So I I need to learn more about, like, mixology, especially doing this. Think it would be helpful for me, but I know what tastes good.
Jen VanAntwerp:
I know what I like. And as a sober person, there are a lot of times when in the past, we've kind of been relegated to, like, oh, yeah. We have nonalcoholic beverages, soda, and that's about it. So I wanna have some things that still feel elevated, that aren't just syrupy, sugary, sweet, and that, you know, I love, like, the little garnishes and things that just make it feel extra. I'm I'm a little extra myself, and so I like to have things that feel like additional effort has been taken to put them together.
Jen VanAntwerp:
So that's usually what I'm looking for when I look at a a mocktail menu from, you know, from a venue or or somebody that I'm gonna be working with is like, what what's that thing that's gonna make people feel extra special? Like, oh, look at this fancy, you know, swizzle stick with, you know, sugar crystals on it. I don't know. All those things that make it feel a little extra fancy. Oh, a a little piece of a plant.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Oh my goodness. Little things like that. A burnt part of an orange peel. It's the little things that help to, like yeah. Little things that help to kind of push it over past Shirley Temple into something that feels a little more grown up.
Kerry Guard:
Fair enough. Fair enough. I do love a good Shirley Temple. I've been ordering those. They are they are Forever.
Kerry Guard:
I still order them.
Jen VanAntwerp:
They are tasty. I'm not And kind of a mix of I love when when bartenders can do a mix of some things that are on the fruitier side and then others that are a little more savory. So that that way it's not just like sugary, fruity, sweet for each drink. A variety a real variety of of flavors.
Kerry Guard:
Yeah. That's nice because I do find that without because the alcohol eats the sugar. Right? So if you don't have that in it, then things do come across. I asked a friend the other day.
Kerry Guard:
We after tennis, we always go to the cafe and have drinks. And I've been since January, I haven't been drinking. And so I was like, what's the in The UK, the big thing here is cider. Right? Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
And they now have nonalcoholic cider. And I was like, what's is it does it actually taste like cider? And he's like, unfortunately, it's basically just glorified fruit juice.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Fruit juice.
Kerry Guard:
Yeah. Okay. I I will not do that now. Go for the fermented tea instead. Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
But yeah. So I was really curious if that's, you know, how you sort of overcome that in this scenario a bit. And it it sounds like the garnishes, the going more savory than sweet, all those things. So we'll have to get some of your favorite recipes from some of the events you've held and share those with folks because I think we're all I would love to be able to go to, like, a bar and say, can I have this, but without that? And, you know, have something a little bit fancier, you know, when you're holding that drink to elude people, but, like, it still looks like a
Jen VanAntwerp:
thing. My typical go to for that, it's really simple. I'll just have them put, like, sparkling water in a glass with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime wedge, like a lemon or a lime wedge. And I called it Susie Q, and that's because my aunt Sue I think she tried to name something after herself. That's what she always drinks when she goes out.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And so I tried to order them before and, like, I don't know what that is. So I think she named that herself, which is adorable. I guess now my uncle, you know, all the places that they go know, oh, yeah. I'll get you a Suzy Q, but I think it's because they've been going there for a long time. But, yeah, just sparkling water, a splash of cranberry juice, and then a lime.
Jen VanAntwerp:
It's really light, refreshing, and it it does kind of look usually, they put it in, like, little lowball glass. So it does look kinda like what everyone's drinking. And honestly, bartenders are usually my MVP. Like, if I'm going to a place where I don't feel really comfortable talking about my sobriety, I will tell the bar center, like, hey. I'm I'm not drinking.
Jen VanAntwerp:
I'm sober. If anyone does happen to order me anything that has alcohol in it, don't don't do that. And they're always so great about, like, getting my drink ready even before I'm halfway done with the one that I have so that we can just kinda swap it.
Kerry Guard:
Oh, that's so nice.
Jen VanAntwerp:
And honestly, a lot of bartenders are soaked for themselves because I think they've seen the other side of things for so long that they they get it. For sure. Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
What other in terms of event planning in general, I I love that you found this empty space. What sort of advice would you give to folks as they think about event planning and finding opportunity that's maybe nontraditional and in that, you know, empty space. I think what you did, if I had to summarize, which I think is so lovely, is you were like, well, what where would I want to go? What would this look like for me? Yeah.
Kerry Guard:
So I think that's one great way to do it. But do you have any other tips and tricks of, like, what if you could, like, paint us a picture of, you know, what events would look like for the future as we move into this realm? What would you love to see more event planners do?
Jen VanAntwerp:
Talk to the people who you want to come to your events. Ask them what interests them. They're we just had a fantastic call with the the cybersecurity marketing society yesterday. The we have a field marketing monthly meetup, and we were talking about just this, like, alternative ideas for different events. Instead of maybe just having the standard booth, what other types of activities would you wanna do?
Jen VanAntwerp:
And like I was saying, this industry, the the people in this space are so creative. If we just start thinking about that earlier on and asking our our prospects and our customers, like, what interests you? What would be fun for you? A lot of folks too are starting to do more things that can involve people's families. If it's a regional event or one where, you know, people are gonna be coming from home, what's something that people can bring, you know, their kids to or their significant other to that might help to, you know, eke out that different alternative type of a space where people really remember you because not only did you treat me nicely, I think a lot of the executives are so used to getting, like, wine and dine.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Not only did you try to treat me nicely, but, you know, you helped me find a really good, like, a a cooking event or something that I could do with a date or with a spouse or, you know, take my kids to a a painting event or something really, really fun that's outside of the box. So just start your planning earlier, than you normally would so that you're not stuck with like, oh, what do we do? I guess what we've always done. Start the planning earlier and be intentional. Talk to the people that you want to be at the event.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Ask them what would interest and intrigue them and leave a lasting impression. And then start talking about those things. Once you decide all the cool stuff that you're gonna do, if if you're going to have some alternative types of activities or beverage options, make sure you talk about that. Celebrate it. Let people know.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Because that way folks who are maybe attending that conference, instead of going back to their hotel room because they think, there's not really anything out there for me. It's going to be the same the same thing as always. They'll know like, no. This this event is going to be cool. This one I know at least I'll be able to feel welcome or find a a place where I can kind of belong.
Kerry Guard:
Talk to your audience. It's been a theme, folks. Yes. The theme. I hope we're finally, like, breaking through here.
Kerry Guard:
Talk to your audience. What do they want? What's important to them? Everything we do as marketers is is for them. So what is that?
Kerry Guard:
And, I just I'm so grateful. Thank you so much, Jen, for sharing with us how you created Sober and Cyber, how you've differentiated it to make it interesting and welcoming, and all the wonderful tips you've given to us in terms of how we too can make a more inclusive environment. If you'd like to learn more about Jen and Sober and Cyber, please reach out. Jen, when's where's the best place to find you?
Jen VanAntwerp:
To reach me directly, just go to LinkedIn, and then our Sober in Cyber website at soberincyber.org. And you can see the upcoming events that we have on the calendar, any sponsorship opportunities. If you are an alcohol free person within this industry, we've got a Discord group. Now while our in person events are open to everyone, the Discord server, I do try to reserve just for sober alcohol free people within our industry. That way we can anonymously, like, share ideas, resources, you know, have the buddy program or, hey.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Are you going to this conference? I'm going to this conference. I've got your back. Yeah. So reach out to me on LinkedIn.
Jen VanAntwerp:
Find us on online, and I'd hopefully get to see you at a party one of these days. Yes.
Kerry Guard:
Next next year, Jen, we're it's gonna be yes. Is on. Austin. Austin, here we come. Yes.
Kerry Guard:
Here we come. Wonderful. Well, before we close out, you are more than a marketer clearly, with all of the wonderful event planning you're doing with your with your nonprofit. But outside of work and and your nonprofit, what is currently bringing you joy? I
Jen VanAntwerp:
love cars. Part of that came from working in automotive industry for a long time, but my my dad has had classic cars for a long, long time ever since I can remember. And in 2020, I bought a 1965 Ford Ranchero. And so I've been working on that and going to car shows with my dad. So it's, you know, multiple times each month.
Jen VanAntwerp:
We'll get together either in the Ranchero if it's working at that moment, or we'll just go to car show together with also with my husband and my husband's dad. So, you know, hanging out at car shows and talking about cars and trying to fix cars that are more expensive than they have any right to be. Always say, like, I work for parts money. I'm just trying to make some parts money. That's all I'm doing.
Jen VanAntwerp:
That's that's been bringing me so much joy, just getting to hang out there and be in that environment. It's been phenomenal.
Kerry Guard:
I love learning how things work. I could imagine with not only, like, loving cars and the look of them, but actually understanding the parts and how it all fits. It's just It's a
Jen VanAntwerp:
learning process. That's for sure. It's a good question.
Kerry Guard:
From what I understand, it's very complicated. So Wonderful. Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Jen. I'm so grateful to you.
Kerry Guard:
If you like this episode, please like, subscribe, and share. This episode is brought to you by MKG Marketing, the digital market agency that helps complex companies like Incyber get found via SEO and digital ads. This episode is hosted by B. Carey Gard, CEO and cofounder of MKG Marketing. Music mix and mastering done by the amazing Elijah Duran, my podcast sidekick.
Kerry Guard:
And if you'd like to be a guest, I'd love to have you DM me. Come be on the show. Thank you all so much. Give me that.