By Samantha Saffold on July 18, 2024

Insights learned from a Highwire client user conference

This past June, along with my colleague Haley White, I had the opportunity to attend Splunk’s .conf24 user conference in Las Vegas. This year’s conference agenda spotlighted product announcements, media panels, and so much more for the thousands of developers, security professionals and engineers who attended. It also offered us an opportunity to meet with clients and reporters from all over the world. 

Here are a few of our key takeaways that we think every PR professional can benefit from at future events:

The distinction between US and EMEA reporters

We connected with many EMEA, APAC, and US reporters who provided insight and perspective on how they like to work with PR professionals. Many of these reporters shared that the significance of a story angle and its connection to the broader technology industry are essential elements. Most notable, however, is that reporters from the US and EMEA take different approaches when it comes to interacting with media. Here are a few insights:

  • EMEA reporters are extremely straightforward and know what stories they are trying to chase, while reporters in the US are generally more drawn to exclusive stories and embargo processes. 
  • Both US and EMEA reporters can be particular about the stories they wish to cover, but EMEA publications typically have more creative leeway when it comes to story angles. 
  • EMEA journalists would prefer to attend an in-person meeting or conference over a virtual briefing, while US reporters typically prioritize a “quick” phone chat.

Ultimately, media publications globally are searching for the industry tie-in more than anything else when covering a story.

The future in tech is women 

A Women in Tech panel at .conf24 addressed the obstacles, difficulties, and successes that women encounter on a daily basis in the tech sector. This discussion highlighted the brilliant and driven women who fight for equality in all facets of the workplace in addition to bringing attention to the ongoing diversity gap in the tech field. 

Not only did this .conf24 panel incite conversations with media who attended, but also with those who could not make it. Although a majority of conference attendees were men, many felt inspired by the women who took the stage to discuss their day-to-day workflows and how the industry impacts their lives as women. 

Importantly, the panel inspired us as women to continue amplifying these discussions around hiring bias and how to prevent it within any company or organization. They also offered ideas and tactics, like removing schools and universities from resumes and turning off cameras for the first 30 minutes of a virtual interview, as ways to combat hiring bias.

Supporting clients In-person

Our biggest highlight from this conference was being able to support our Splunk client in person for four days. It’s essential for those of us who work in PR to bring excitement and energy to conferences like these which are often crowded and hectic (and in this case, in 106-degree heat). 

By connecting with clients in person, we were able to seamlessly and swiftly move through the long 12-hour days, coordinate onsite briefings with ease, and connect with the media as one team, rather than two. 

Having face time with clients (and reporters) also allows for continued building goals and team relationships, helping to improve and up-level skills and communication tactics. In particular, our time spent with reporters onsite gave us an opportunity to learn about their passions outside of tech and the topics they’re interested in covering - critical to pitching stories.

Being able to support on-site isn’t an opportunity that all PR professionals have, but it’s one that changes the way you work and interact with both clients and reporters. I plan to use these key takeaways from my experience onsite at future client user conferences and industry events, like Black Hat and KubeCon, and to most importantly share them with my colleagues as they get the opportunity to attend their first in-person events. 

Published by Samantha Saffold July 18, 2024