When Lorraine and I first discussed going to Posidonia this year, we couldn’t quite believe that in the decade of working within the maritime sector, we were still ‘Posidonia virgins’. At last, the stars aligned (or should I say diaries) and 2018 was going to be the year we experience this legendary event.
Speaking to our customers and maritime journalists, we had heard a lot about this event. We were fired up, excited, but also somewhat apprehensive. The words ‘stamina’ and ‘party’ were mentioned a lot and true to form, the three days we were there did not disappoint.
What did we learn at Posidonia?
Preparation is king – our clients hear this a lot from us but it really does pay off. Not only for the clients that we support with media engagement, but also for EC-PR in helping to further raise the profile of our brand. After deciding to invest, we were determined to work this show hard – and that we did.
With 31 stand meetings over three days, it really was non-stop. Couple this with the British Embassy reception and copious other networking drinks/dinners, we were officially ‘pooped’ and ready to leave by the end of day three. And yet sad that, for us, the experience was all over!
Despite the extensive commercial, operational and regulatory challenges this industry continues to face, this didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. With smiles on their faces despite the sweaty brow and sore feet, people were engaging, inspiring and the perfect hosts.
What will we do differently in 2020?
Our preparation was spot on. We had a focussed few days so, while initially we thought we would stay longer in 2020, I’m not sure this would be any more effective. We are great believers in process and trust our BD approach. Doing the leg work before the event meant we had a very productive few days and our follow up is methodical and imaginative. There have been a few bits of collateral which we would craft differently and follow-up information which has taken longer to develop than we expected. We will start the process on these materials earlier and the messaging within them will be more incisive.
Roll on 2020!