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The Fintech Marketing Lab is a podcast where Araminta Robertson, Managing Director at Mint Studios, explores, experiments, and breaks down how fintech marketing actually works in practice.
Intro: If you work in FinTech
marketing, you know that events are
important, especially in B2B, but
a lot of advice mainly comes down
to go to money 2020, get a booth,
show up, and boom, you'll get leads.
Very few people will actually
tell you how to build an event
strategy that ties back to revenue.
Or, uh, tells you, you know, how to
decide which events are worth your
budget, how to design experiences
the people will genuinely remember.
That's exactly what today's
guest does for a living.
Kate Young is a senior event marketing
manager at Mid Desk, a San Francisco
based business identity platform
that helps financial services
companies verify on board and
monitor businesses with confidence.
Think KYB compliance.
Business verification fraud prevention.
Before landing in FinTech, Kate studied
neuroscience, worked in the music
industry and ran events for museums.
And I really think that combination of
backgrounds shows in how she thinks about
events is more than just logistics, is
really about how people experience things.
So in this episode we talk about
how to build an event strategy from
scratch, including how to get buy-in
from leadership, how to map your events
across the full funnel, from awareness
all the way to revenue, what to do
when your budget is limited, and where
should you focus on first and what
makes an event genuinely memorable.
Beyond like just good content.
I think this is one of our
most practical episodes.
So whether you're just getting started
with events or trying to get more out
of your current budget, I think you'll
find it really helpful and interesting.
Let's get into it.
Generic intro: You are listening to
the FinTech Marketing Lab podcast.
I'm Arminta from Mint Studios, a
content marketing agency specialized
in the FinTech space, and this
podcast is where we experiment,
explore, and break down how FinTech
marketing actually works in practice.
Each episode I talk with top FinTech
marketers about what they're testing,
what they're learning, and how
they're pushing the boundaries of
brand strategy and team building.
With that, let's get into today's episode.
Araminta Robertson: Okay.
So the first question I'd
love to ask is, you've got a
really interesting background.
So you were a neuroscience student and
then you worked in the music industry, you
helped set up festivals and music events,
and now you do events for tech companies.
So how do you feel like that a
background in music and neuroscience
helps you do tech events today?
Kate Young: Yeah.
So I think the neuroscience piece may be.
Goes into just being very organised,
like I was a really excellent student and
being able to process lots of information
and keep it organised was important.
We also talked in our coursework about
how perception works, so how people
kind of perceive content and how
they parse information and how they.
Experience visuals and sound
like all of your senses.
We would actually go through
medically how that happens.
So I think sometimes that
comes into play for me when I'm
designing an event for music.
I think there's an undeniable
parallel in terms of the style of
working in events and in music.
So for example.
You are prepping towards an event date
or a concert date, and you're doing
a lot of teamwork and planning and
practising , and then there's an actual
just like show that has to happen.
And I think there's.
That performance and like the little bit
of a high that you get from actually being
live and doing something whether it be a
concert and performing or an event day.
That cycle of work towards that event day
and then kind of the relief and excitement
of it actually going well Is consistent
between those two pieces of my career.
So I find that folks in events often come
from creative backgrounds in that way,
and I think that might be a piece of why.
Araminta Robertson:
Yeah, that makes sense.
And then you also did
events for museum, right?
Do you feel like that also helped because
that's more of a different, I mean, I
don't know, I haven't organised events
for museums, but is that a different
kind of style or a different target
audience or different, like skillset?
Kate Young: Different audience, certainly
like, a fine arts kind of often like
patron type audience, but I think for
museums in that role, I was an event
director, so I was selling events, but
then also executing lots of them for
external clients and internal clients.
I think what was really educational, but
educational about working in a museum was
the care and curation of space, right?
So literally they have curators too.
Guide people through a physical space
and guide that experience, educate them
through that with either signage or kind
of natural kind of curating an experience.
So that, I think, translated
into their own museum events.
I would see that in their own galas.
That we would host.
But then also I think that like
curation mindset helped me in my own
events when I got to be the leader of
a design of how do we really, really,
really want people to experience this.
That curation element is I think
what I took most from the museum.
Also, just seeing people
in a museum space.
And how inspiring it is for them.
really makes me think constantly about the
environment that you're putting people in.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah, I love that.
So it's like you're watching them
and you're, it's interesting 'cause
you can probably see what hooks them
and what, like, when they're going
through an experience, like what
is the thing that stops everyone?
What's the thing that
everyone seems to ignore?
And that's like a clue
of what attracts people.
I don't know if you have an example, I
know I'm putting you on the spot here,
but do you have an example of that
in like one of the events, the tech
events that you've organised where.
You've, it's an experience and it's
quite different in that way in, in
that it, you know what hooks people or
what kind of catches their interest.
Kate Young: I think one thing that I
could talk about would be curating, like
allowing for multiple experiences at
the same time would be a good example.
So like maybe the curators at
a museum want you to follow a
certain path, but people will
kind of take their own approach.
Similarly, I think for example, like
planning a conference in a large
area, you can't assume that all
500 of your guests or 2000 of your
guests will want the same pathway.
And so providing.
Areas, like maybe a pop-up swag
store, maybe some reclining chairs
for quiet time, maybe some like very
engaging like self-serve kiosks.
Like providing different experiences for
them to then kind of a spread out and
help your function space work better.
But also to give them option and choice.
I think that's kind of what comes to mind.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah, And the booth,
like when I went to see your booth in
Money 2020 Vegas, I remember that as well.
Like there was lots of different,
I'll never forget the MacBook that was
locked in the box
Kate Young: Yeah.
Araminta Robertson:
the code you could get.
And the person, I didn't get it, but the
person right after me got the MacBook
and I was like, oh, just missed it.
Kate Young: So yeah, for booths we like
kind of gamify that experience, right?
There's like gamification
layered on top of an experience.
The thing that you're talking
about literally looked like a
museum case that I physically made.
I literally, that's how I described it to
my vendor that I had produced that object.
For people that have never seen it
or listening, it was essentially
a plexiglass museum case that
you could unlock with keys.
And so like the game was that you
could pick a key and try to unlock it.
Very simple, like carnival game almost.
But it looked really like sharp.
It looked like we were kind of
elevating the object that was in it.
Like you said, a MacBook was in there.
To motivate folks.
So yeah, trying to combine
the things that we need to do
for events to drive behaviour.
And some of the things that I've seen
in the past get people's attention,
like in the museum for example.
Araminta Robertson: But importantly
as well, that plexiglass kind of
box was also kind of in reference
to unlock your data, right?
Like
it was connected to the mid desk.
Yeah.
It was
Kate Young: yeah, exactly.
There was a tie into a brand message
about what we offered, so, yeah, exactly.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah.
So, for this episode, I'd love
to focus on like event strategy.
I think you're one of the people that I
know that knows the most about this topic.
And it's funny because whenever I
organise events and con conferences,
events is always a key topic for FinTech
marketers, but it can be hard apart from.
Just go to x events.
There isn't that much
more advice around it.
So, when you hear the phrase event
strategy, like how do you think
about an event strategy and also
how do you communicate to leaders
who might say, you list them, okay.
Depends on what we wanna do.
And they say, okay, we
want all of those things.
I'm sure we've all had that experience.
So how do you think about event
strategy and how do you try and
put that together for a company?
Kate Young: I think of events
as tools to an end and.
When I am starting that process.
So I'm in my second role now as an
event marketer that is starting an event
marketing programme for the first time.
So that's kind of, I think, a
blessing because you get to really
come in and do your research.
So a lot of the exercises that
I do right at the beginning
might feel quite academic.
So I interview stakeholders,
like all those leaders that
you said, and actually here.
What it is that they want results
wise, not just revenue, right?
Like it actually has
to be a specific thing.
Let's get in the details.
I also will research, I've switched
industries a couple times, so
I research all of the options.
I research people.
In our competitor space and what they're
doing just to see how we can differentiate
or if we need to be doing certain things.
And then I kind of start working backwards
from those top line company goals.
if they say revenue is an important piece
of events, like, okay, well how much
revenue does the company need to make?
How much is coming from
other sources right now?
How much do I think I can.
Actually offer the company.
I also learn a lot about deal sizes
and I need to know how the company
actually makes money so then I
can work backwards to understand,
okay, how many opportunities might
I need to get to that number of.
that usually ends up taking me about
six weeks or more to really dig in.
And then I will propose usually some
sort of a hybrid programme that we're
looking for coverage in a few different
axes, like a graph on one axes.
I'm kind of thinking about.
Location in a sales funnel.
So mapping top of funnel to middle of
funnel to the conversion point and that
late stage deal and like where are we
having the most issues on another axes,
I'm thinking about types of events.
So from digital, like a continuum
of digital to trade shows to things
that might not be very obvious,
like speaking engagements at big
events.
S dinners, seminars, there's a
huge menu of options there of like
what we can be doing and where
they might map into that funnel.
And then lastly, I'm also
thinking about budget.
So how much do I have to spend, right?
We, I can do a lot of things if
you give me an enormous budget.
But what are we realistically
looking to invest and where
can we then best allocate it?
So it's like a three dimensional kind of
xi in my mind of like mapping in where
I think I can have the best impact.
And then maybe like one
bonus axes is bandwidth.
How much can somebody reasonably do?
It's not reasonable to ask one
person to go to four D trade shows.
So basically looking at all of that
and putting it backwards into a puzzle.
And then I think there's some mappings
that are better suited than others.
So even within one event type,
you could design programmes
that drive different results.
So I'll give you an example.
Paid webinars, like just focusing on
webinars, paid webinars with a large
media organisation might get you
lots of top of funnel awareness and
it might like we have done them with
a large organisation in our space.
We can get over a thousand
people registered for a one
hour webinar and that's great.
Or I can, but they're expensive.
I can also do short webinars that I host
myself that are essentially free and maybe
get like a hundred to 200 registrations.
And those are much more mid funnel
to bottom funnel and they are much
more about establishing ourselves
as thought leaders and sprinkling
in a little bit about our product.
And then I can also do
product demo webinars.
So that's geared towards like 20 people.
Very bottom funnel, again, like cheap.
And so each of those, even just
within webinars, I can design
three different programmes.
I have very different
outcomes and price point.
So that's typically what I'm doing.
And then that shifts
throughout the year, right?
Like I will pitch it and I will
explain, hey, each of these
events has a kind of purpose.
And a goal, and we're gonna work
towards that goal for that event, and
they will all sum up to this type of
result, and we're gonna experiment.
And so that's kind of the tool that
I use to educate people right at the
beginning of like, Hey, each of these
has a benefit, like a strong suit.
And we're going to create a programme
that, tries to hit all of these
marks and then we're gonna see what
actually resonates with this audience.
And then that way I can continually come
back to that language when they say,
well, how are we doing on this big goal?
Araminta Robertson: Yeah,
that's super comprehensive.
And would you say, I dunno if you
really have this kind of rule of thumb,
but like, would you say maybe 50%
of the events are top of the funnel?
30% are I don't know, middle
and then the rest are bottom?
Or would you think about it like that?
Or how do you decide what goes
Kate Young: That's a good point.
I actually visually will, once I
have that, I usually put that all
in one large Word document and then
I, because that's quite overwhelming
and it includes justification.
I will also do like a Figma
board or a visual of any kind
where I'm mapping those axes.
Maybe not the bandwidth and budget, but I
kind of am showing in colour coordinated,
like large trade shows, small trade shows.
This is where it is in the funnel.
I would say it genuinely depends
on what your business needs.
Like if you have an amazing top of
funnel, but everybody gets stuck
and doesn't convert at the bottom.
And I would only be doing like,
very account based marketing
sales dinners, like high touch.
I'd say for most companies, if
you just wanna get started, it's
good to just try and do a little
bit of everything in the funnel.
So I'd do like probably what you
said, like 50% at the top, 30%,
and then like, I lost track of what
percentage I just described, so I'm
not gonna fill in the last number.
So I'm only on my first
cup of coffee this morning.
But yeah, I think trying to do a little
bit of a spread across the funnel so
you can then see if anything's working
right and get used to the idea that
we're going to, or we're gonna be
doing events for different purposes.
I think that would
Araminta Robertson: Yeah.
But I think you've highlighted some
like a mismatch that maybe sometimes
happens is that leaders are like,
we wanna do events to bring in new
customers, and then they'll only do
like booths maybe at trade shows.
But if you want revenue, you should
be maybe doing more focused on like
sales dinners, executive dinners, that
kind of thing, which is maybe more
bottom of the funnel closer to revenue.
Would you agree with that?
Kate Young: Yeah, and expansion.
I like to think of the funnel
as like, obviously we convert at
that sales moment, and then you're
like curating and expanding often.
In tech, often we have the
ability to add new product
lines and get customers engaged.
And we want that net revenue
retention rate be really high.
That's a huge KPI for the business.
So even after that conversion point,
like what are you gonna do to take
care of customers and expand them?
So yeah, absolutely.
It is not all about, trade shows are
really cool and we'll talk about it later
about how to make them revenue generating.
But for most people, like
they're like more brand awareness
very, very top of funnel.
You might have to do a lot more
marketing effort to get them to
actually convert into a contract.
So not overindexing on
one thing is important.
Araminta Robertson: But even we could
take like money 2020 as an example.
You could even within money 2020 have
multiple parts of the funnel, right?
So you could have a booth,
which is more top of the funnel.
You could also do a side event,
which is like just a general fireside
chat, which is maybe more middle.
And then you could do like an
executive dinner throughout that
week, which is bottom right.
And you could have the
whole funnel in one week.
And I imagine that's kind of what.
People do.
Right.
And you take care of, 'cause it's one
of those rare, I think what is unique
about Money 2020 is that you've got all
those people in one place for a week.
So go full on.
Right?
Is that how you think about it?
Kate Young: For money 2020 specifically.
Araminta Robertson: Or
big trade shows like
Kate Young: Yeah,
I think if you have the luxury
of a bit of budget, yes.
If you're gonna, if you're committing
already to something, trying to expand
it out a bit incrementally to get
different parts of the funnel is great.
I totally understand that some
people will be able to afford
exactly the booth and that is it.
Or just one of those pieces.
But yeah, if you have kind of part
of your strategy as like, we're
gonna go big at this trade show,
whatever big means to you, trying
to make sure that you have different
pieces of the funnel covered or even.
Within one of those experiences,
making sure that you're paying
attention to the experience of
the different parts of the funnel.
What does it mean to be a totally new
person being invited to your dinner
that's never heard of your brand before?
How are you gonna do that and
convince them versus, Hey,
like, you're our best customer.
We really want you at this dinner too.
What does that experience look like
and who are they gonna talk to?
So everything can be.
Kind of subdivided into where
people fit in the funnel and you
shouldn't treat them all the same.
They don't have the same
experience with your brand.
They don't know you as well.
So, yeah, just like
taking that extra care.
If you're gonna spend the money,
let's actually dig into the
details and make it worthwhile.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah, exactly.
And we'll talk about executive dinners
in a second because they're very
popular now, and I think you're right.
They are the fastest, maybe
fastest way to revenue, but if
they've never heard of you before.
Then it'll be hard to convince them to
come to Your dinner.
So you do need to do the top and the
more middle funnel events, because
if not, it'll be harder to do the
more bottom of the funnel ones.
Right.
Which is an interesting point.
So yeah, a lot of companies,
every FinTech event or marketing
event I go to now says events.
Events are more important now
than ever, especially with ai.
Because it's more, people want more in,
in-person connection, all that stuff.
I think it'd be interesting, as we've
said, if you've got a big budget,
you can kind of do everything.
What's more interesting is if you've
got a small budget and I dunno I
put a random number between 200
and 500,000, which is probably.
You're probably have experience with
a lot more, but imagine we, we've
got someone starting with that.
And maybe it's a relatively
newer company, so they're kind of
established but not super huge.
what would you say to them, would you
say start with smaller events so people
get to know you start with dinners.
What would you kind of advise 'em to do?
Kate Young: Yeah, events are.
I feel great about job security
right now because AI is making my
job faster, but not irrelevant.
That trust is that buzzword that
everybody is saying because it is
harder to trust what you see on
the internet right now, at least.
So yeah, events are an offering
that feel very strong right now.
And you're right, like in events.
For a big company, 200 to 500,000 is
not enough money to do all of their
goals, but I totally understand that's
a huge investment for a smaller company.
Like that's a huge budget line.
And so I think you can absolutely do
different, you could do five different
programmes with that amount of money
that look completely different based
on what the company might need.
So I'll give you a couple
examples, like the different.
Some different audiences
that I've worked with.
So say the company has a tonne of users.
This is a co a, an example
that I worked with in the past.
We had an amazing content engine.
We had a tonne of newsletter
subscribers, like in the 10,000 plus.
So we had a lot of audience,
but we actually had a product
that was pretty much a freemium
product and we weren't getting a
lot of revenue from those people.
So we took, I don't know, I can't
remember now how much it was, but
in that neighbourhood, two to 500.
We just made a summit, like I had a
couple free webinars and then I did one
conference and I spent it all in two days.
It was a really bold choice, but it
was our re it was our goal to really
make those relationships, make them
absolute raving, loyal fans that would
pay for the product when we inevitably
asked them to start paying more.
And we really wanted product
adoption on new features.
So.
That's an absolutely valid strategy.
Like spend it on one thing and make sure
it's the best thing, and you can take a
whole year and plan a two day conference.
Like that's a legitimate use of
one person's time, honestly, more.
So that's one way that you could do it.
A totally different scenario.
So your company leadership maybe
says that they wanna be everywhere.
They want the sales team taking meetings.
We need more pipeline.
Like that's probably a more common ask.
And then I'd maybe take about
like 10% of that budget and get
yourself an amazing webinar tool.
And you're gonna do tonnes of thought
leadership now, so you're doing content,
but through events you partner with.
If you have a writer or just people
internally and you take a very little
bit of money, but you just constantly
are producing top of funnel content
that's going to get people registered
and interested in your brand.
Right.
Like, oh, they have something
interesting to say about X, Y, Z.
So you kind of establish yourself a
little bit more as a content creator.
And maybe it's podcasts
that's like what's hot now.
It doesn't have to be a webinar,
but create digital content.
There's absolutely a blurred line
now between what events do and
what digital content creators do.
Post COVID and just in
our world right now.
And then I'd maybe take the rest
of that 90% of your budget and
get a whole bunch of hospitality
events around key industry events.
So maybe you can't go to Money 2020
and pay what they're charging for
a booth, but you can rent out a
coffee shop for a morning and just
send all of your sales people out
to book lots and lots of meetings.
And you're gonna do that for
like six different events.
So if listeners don't know what a
hospitality event is, it's essentially
just almost like having people over to
your house, but it's at a trade show.
You're creating an environment
that feels really nice.
Maybe you have some gifts there.
Maybe you have all day coffee.
You may or may not have content
to anchor it to get people there
at certain times, but sometimes
it can just be like a lounge.
I did that for a company
around Dreamforce.
We could not afford to
be on the floor, and so.
I booked a really beautiful little
room at the Four Seasons, like
a little restaurant side room.
We had made it into the restaurant
or like a relaxation lounge.
We had snacks, we actually
had therapy dogs come.
We just made it a really nice
environment to step away from
Dreamforce, like, if you're overwhelmed
by the floor, come over here.
So that's what a hospitality event is.
I used to host a lot of them at the
museum because we'd be across the
street from the convention centre.
So that was kind of how
I learned about them.
And so that's, if I had like that type of
strategy where I'm gonna become a thought
leader and then I'm just gonna go out and
do lots and lots of little events, that's
another totally valid strategy that is not
anything like the first one that I talked
about, which is like hosting a conference.
So, I hate to say like it depends, but
I think like try to analyse if you're
in that position of like getting a
budget and needing to decide, try to
analyse what is the most important thing
for the company and try to anchor on
that and work backwards from the goal.
Events can almost do anything, so just
doing them to do them is not helpful.
It only has to be about that goal.
Araminta Robertson: No, these are some
really great examples and I think the
second one especially is a really good.
Framework or template for maybe a
company that's just getting into events.
I think that's a really good way to start.
And one other thing that I have found,
and I dunno if you'd agree with me,
is that especially if you're not
well known, doing your own events
is probably one of the best like
ways to get an ROI out of events.
Like if you just pay for booths.
No one's heard of you.
It can be harder to make the most of
them, but when you're the host of your
own events and you do the work of inviting
and making it a good event, it also
puts you a bit on a pedestal, right?
Because it's like, oh,
you organise the event.
So it helps kind of grow your reputation.
You're seen as more legitimate,
there's more credibility.
Would agree with that?
Like doing your own events is a good way
to like position yourself in the market.
Kate Young: Yeah, you
have to do 'em well, but
yes, I think, yeah, absolutely.
So I think you can get.
Like the best compliment I think I
ever got ever was just people coming to
that conference that I planned, right?
Like that first scenario was
something that I've done.
And people coming from all sorts
of really big companies and saying.
This is the best event I've ever been to.
And were you really
punching above your weight?
That's like the best compliment
because I was one event planner
and absolutely did not work alone.
I had a whole marketing team that was like
helping and supporting, but you know, in
terms of we didn't have an agency running
it for us, like in terms of the details
and experience, that was like my purview.
And so punching above your weight.
Essentially is what you were just talking
about, like if you can kind of, you
don't have to be a massive company to
host a really great evening for people.
So yeah, I agree that you can
really impress people through
this channel in a way that maybe
written content can't do right now.
Araminta Robertson: Yep, totally.
What are some details, can you share some
examples of those details that you think
make made that event or make your events
like that much more professional or better
than someone who's just kind of put,
slapped something together or whatever?
Like what?
What do you think makes
it that much more special?
Kate Young: Great
content that is not paid.
I think that is a huge piece.
Araminta Robertson: What
do you mean by that?
Is that like not have
Kate Young: so.
Araminta Robertson: basically,
Kate Young: Yeah, no sponsored content.
I
totally get the financial model of why
really big shows put people into paid
speaking positions, like essentially a
sponsorship to get on stage and I've.
Absolutely paid for those.
Sometimes I think the events that
I planned that got such great
feedback, we didn't do that at all.
You were not
allowed to pay to get on stage.
We are very, very rigorous about vetting
those people and working with them to
make sure the stage content was amazing.
So that was one really big piece I think.
A design element that really people
resonated with, even if they didn't
explicitly know this is why they
were happy, is that we designed the
schedule throughout the day to have
much longer breaks between content.
So we'd have like a pod of
content, like three 30 minute
sessions, so quick and snappy.
And then a 45 minute break for
them to get coffee and like
genuinely meet each other and talk.
So I think even just how do
you wanna be spending your day?
It's overwhelming to leave your house
and go and be with strangers for two
days, like taking care of people.
Even little things like.
Really caring about dietary restrictions.
Kind of boring, but making people
feel safe that they're gonna be able
to eat something and like personally
emailing them like, Hey, I saw
that you put that on your form.
I'm making sure that you have an option.
Here's my number in case
you need it on site.
Or we would have like a little
kiosk that was filled with.
Things like medical supplies
and feminine products.
And we had little kind of tactile
toys that people will fidget with.
And earplugs if you felt overwhelmed.
We also had a room for you to like
go and have, a maternity room.
A nursing room.
So just like making people feel
like comfortable and not like they
have to retreat back to a hotel
room if they need to be comfortable.
It goes a super long way.
And then last having what
people wanna drink and eat.
So
Araminta Robertson: Yeah.
Kate Young: be surprised when
you start planning events how
expensive coffee stations are.
Much less like, iced coffee
stations is even more expensive.
So like spending a good bit of money
on making sure that people have access
to whatever it is that they need, and
they're not just kinda like standing
there hungry or they need an extra
coffee, but they can't find one.
So little details like that
make it very human and able for
them to go enjoy the content.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah,
I love all those tips.
For me, one thing that I really
appreciate when I go to an event is like.
Actually good food
tasty food.
Not just like wrapped packed sandwiches
or pizza from the place next door.
Like actually quite nice that,
I dunno, it's such a small thing
maybe 'cause I'm Spanish and I
love like good food, but really?
Like they put effort into this.
They care.
Like Yeah.
I
Kate Young: and budget.
I mean, it It takes budget to have
good food.
So that's why I said that one
scenario, like maybe you spend all
of your money on one thing, right?
Like maybe you want it to be good.
So are you gonna like put half your
budget to it or the whole budget to it?
Araminta Robertson: And,
And one other thing I really appreciate,
and I've tried to do this with my
own events, is also an organiser
that tries to do a different format.
'cause it's easy to do a fireside
chat and panel like that.
That's what we all like
and do and everything.
But something like breakout, like
we did this one year where instead
of a fireside chat or we did a
fireside chat and then afterwards.
We did like, we put people on tables
and they had to just discuss for like
20 minutes and then people would share
takeaway, like changing things out a
bit and making it more interactive.
This is something I'm still trying to work
on and improve, but an organiser that is
like confident enough to play around with
the format, like that's brave I think.
'cause it can
also fail.
But even if they try, I am like impressed.
'cause that's brave and tough I think.
And can make a big
difference when done well.
Kate Young: People are looking for
something different, at this point,
you can't just slap something together
and be like, oh, well this is kind
of the format that everybody does.
Like, yeah, everybody's doing it.
Like you have to try to make it more
engaging, even if it's like Like at a
trade show, we did a sponsored lunch
where it was gonna be a workshop,
and we made sure that people knew
that if they came, they were going
to get like a special worksheet that
we were gonna work through together.
I know that sounds really silly, but
just even having the effort of like our
graphic designer and our content person,
like work together on something that they
can take away, that they can write on and
that, that would be part of the activity.
I know that sounds so simple, but
a lot of people don't put that much
effort in because it takes a few hours
before the event to really plan it out.
So it's about caring in advance and then
like just delivering what you promise.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah, no, totally.
One other thing I wanted to
talk about is executive dinners,
'cause these are all the rage now.
Have you done a lot of these and
what have you found works best here?
Because I think the biggest challenge.
Probably the organizer's
face here is Yeah.
Getting the executive in the room and
when they cancel last minute and say,
no, can I send this person instead?
And you're like, well, not really.
How have you managed those?
And yeah.
What are, what is your tip
for like getting the people
that matter in the room?
Kate Young: That's a great segue
from what we were just talking about.
You can't do what
everybody is doing for me.
You have to have an executive
there or a few, you just can't be
like, oh, come meet our sales dude.
Like sales guys are awesome and they
deserve just as much conversation
as your executive, but you need
anchors there, like human anchors
that are gonna pull people.
So that's one little thing.
If you're trying to do sales dinners
without your executives, they're, and
excited about it, it's not gonna work.
For me it goes a little bit back to
that museum comment I had earlier,
finding a venue that is unique.
Right?
Can you take them somewhere?
That maybe they can't get a
reservation, not normally.
Or can you do something where like the
chef is a draw, like you're kind of
giving them an experience of some kind?
Listen, I'm an event person and
I really would love to be cuddled
up on the couch with my partner,
like at the end of the night.
And so in order to get people to
come out and like, get childcare or
whatever it is, negotiate that you
really have to give them something that
is gonna provide them a bit of value.
So, for example, either content or talking
to that executive, like getting FaceTime.
And is going to be like an
interesting activity for them.
People have all sorts of activities
that are available to them, and
so unless you're gonna provide
something a little bit more special or
thoughtful, they just don't wanna do it.
The good news is you'd be really
surprised, like there are many Michelin
star or like very kind of like.
Hot restaurants that are maybe
very hard to get a reservation at
that are ready and willing to take
your private room reservation.
It's actually quite a bit easier
to get into those really nice
restaurants than you'd think.
So I'd start there.
we've also done like private chefs in
an apartment, which works really well.
Like, hey, this is kind
of a culinary experience.
You get to watch the chef make the food.
And then beyond draw, you
just have to oversell it.
Like people are gonna get busy.
These are obviously not paid
events, so they're not financially
on the hook for coming.
is actually an old music thing.
My clarinet teacher, when he was telling
me how to get people to come to my
clarinet recital, he'd say, you have to
invite 10 people for one person to come.
Araminta Robertson: Oh wow.
Kate Young: I don't think it's quite that
bad at these dinners, but it's close.
I mean, it's maybe halfway.
You really have to just we
can't invite 10 people and think
that 10 people are gonna come.
It has to be like, we have a list
of a hundred people and we want
15, 20 people to come.
And like 35, 30 RSVPs.
And then you have to just have a thick
skin right at the beginning of the event
that like, yep, we're pulling the chairs.
If they don't show up, like
some people are just not
gonna make it and that's okay.
I've had to do that too, like
where I've gotten sick and I
have to cancel last minute on an
So
Araminta Robertson: totally.
It happens.
Kate Young: and
Araminta Robertson: Yeah.
Kate Young: interesting.
Araminta Robertson: And it maybe
one idea is also to start with
a lunch instead of a dinner.
It's a little bit
less
Kate Young: love breakfast
and lunch lunches.
It does not need to be dinner.
Dinner is a
big ask, actually.
Like I think leaving the
office is much more interesting
than staying late out at night.
So yeah, if you can do something
else creative again, great idea.
Yeah.
Araminta Robertson: Start
with breakfast and lunch and
then From there.
The other thing I wanted to ask about
is you have a lot of an interesting blog
post on your website about like, booths.
Like, I have so many questions here,
but just for the sake of time, I'm going
to pick one, which is when you have
a booth, you had this in your article
you said about how you have like.
This kind of dream team for the booth.
I think that's what it was about.
So you have like your hook, you have
your partnerships, you have your sales.
So could you talk a bit more about that?
Like who are the people at
the booth and what are the
different roles that they play?
What have you seen kind of work there?
Kate Young: Yeah, I think of a
booth as really bringing, well,
any event is just bringing the
brand of your company to life.
And.
When I go to a big trade show and I
have the luxury of bringing more than
like two or three people, I bring a
couple sellers, an executive, usually
my head of marketing, a partnership
person, and an account manager or
sales engineer, sometimes both.
A solutions engineer, sometimes both.
And then.
A couple of other random people, sometimes
like a head of product or a product leader
that has been building something newer.
The idea is that when people come
to our booth and interact with us, I
wanna be able to answer every question
possible about strategy, about why
something was broken, and now it's
fixed about how our pricing model works.
Literally, I want the
entire team to be there.
And represented.
I also think it's not a fun experience
to walk up to a trade true booth and just
talk to two guys that are selling it.
I see that so much.
They're not the only people that
can sell the product convincingly.
The people that made the product
are really interesting to talk
to and they're really curious.
They have awesome questions for the
folks that walk up, or it's really good
for the CEO to come up and hear like.
Take sales meetings and hear what
people are asking for, like, that's
super valuable information for us too.
And so that's how I designed the teams.
If it's not just a teeny tiny trade show
where I'm sending maybe like a marketer
and one seller and one account manager,
it's gonna be like that full suite.
So people really experience the
company and what really happens is
then we have a very good idea about
if there's a true opportunity there.
We don't just get like, well,
we scanned all these badges.
We like really had a deep conversation
with them and we're ready to
talk about like, Hey, this next
meeting is gonna be about this
product because of this problem.
Araminta Robertson: Yeah.
Kate Young: that's a really
valuable strategy for us.
Araminta Robertson: Yep,
that makes total sense.
And my last question is you have
this tip on your website that the
best type of swag is swag that.
They need the person needs.
What's your favourite example
of swag that people need and one
that you've, offered to people?
Kate Young: Yeah, swag does not
always have to have your logo on it.
Um, It can be just like that human element
I was talking about designing, what
are people gonna need in that moment.
I think my favourite maybe is when I was
in Miami, Miami, we brought sunscreen.
Araminta Robertson: Oh,
Kate Young: So,
Araminta Robertson: Yes.
Kate Young: And lip balm and we
didn't buy, you can get really cheap
sunscreen with your logo on it.
I don't even know what that
sunscreen's ingredients are.
We got like sun bomb and brand
names that people recognise and
they really wanna pick it up.
They're like, Ooh, yeah,
I use that product.
Or I'm.
Willing to put that on my face.
So for us it's about even just thinking
about the environment that you'll
be going into and what will people
that are visiting their need, it's
all about that hospitality mindset.
Like I am hosting them, even if it
is for a few moments at my booth.
And people genuinely just get a better
impression of you because they think, oh,
they're smart, they've thought about it.
Araminta Robertson: exactly.
it's like clear that you
understand them 'cause you've
put yourself in their position,
Kate Young: Yeah,
it can be as simple as just little
toiletries that they need, but
Araminta Robertson: love that.
Kate Young: like a care.
Araminta Robertson: Yep.
I love it.
Amazing.
Well, thanks so much Kate.
This has been super interesting and very
comprehensive, so I really appreciate it
and yeah, thanks so much for coming on.
Kate Young: You're welcome.
Thanks.
outro: Thanks for listening.
You can find show notes and
information about guests@www.mint
copywriting studios.com/podcast.
And finally, huge thanks to orama
TV for producing this podcast.
Thanks for listening, and
see you at the next episode.