Kickstart FAQ
Where and when will Kickstart Asia be held?
What's the dress code?
During the day it's casual. It will be hot and we are on an Island. Our experience however has shown that keeping the dress code casual encourages networking with the media. You are welcome to dress up for the dinners. When the themes have been finalised we'll post details here.
Why should I attend Kickstart?
Kickstart represents the best possible opportunity to position a company and its spokespeople as being authoritative on the issues that will be relevant to them in 2007 and beyond. Successfully plant a seed in journalists’ minds as to why the issues you will be talking about are important and you can be guaranteed that your future media relations activities will be measurably more successful. Every media relations campaign should be built on a firm foundation of education and understanding and Kickstart is the undisputed, most effective vehicle for achieving these goals.
Journalists are inundated with information. Unless they can very quickly understand the significance of an announcement or story pitch, they’ll press the delete key or politely hang up the phone. The key to media relations’ success is to get in their ear before a strategy or product is announced, so that when you do ask for their attention, they’re interested because you have already laid the groundwork by explaining your announcement’s significance or importance.
Build relationships. The relaxed, informal setting of Kickstart provides the perfect opportunity to talk to journalists outside of a traditional work setting and start to develop meaningful, powerful relations with media.
How do I register?
To register for Kickstart you will need to:
- Confirm session or delegate only package with MediaConnect sales team (kickstart@mediaconnectasia.com or +65 6259 2195)
- Fax us your signed contract
What media will attend the event?
Without exception, the past three MediaConnect Forums have attracted the cream of Asia’s IT media. About 40 or more journalists have been in attendance at every single event. Representatives have attended our Forums from all of the key publications in the region including Digital Life, MIS, South China Morning Post, Computerworld, The Straits Times, The News Straits Times, Bangkok Post, PC Magazine, Channel News Asia, ZDNet, CNET, Comms Day, HWM, eCNBC and many more.
Very few companies can ever hope to attract this many journalists, or the caliber of journalists we get to their own event. This is especially the case for educational activities, as few journalists have the time for many background briefings. However, even more importantly, the multi-vendor, informal atmosphere and time-effective nature of the event allows journalists to focus on learning and building relationships, which simply cannot be replicated by self-organised media events.
You can also conduct one-on-ones. All participating vendors are free to approach attending journalists for one-on-one interviews or pitch stories and ideas to them. This often results in media coverage. Kickstart always sparks feature and story ideas in editors and journalists that often show up on feature lists or in press in the months after the event.
How do sessions run?
At Kickstart, you are guaranteed a personal audience with every journalist that attends your session. Rather than simply lecturing to an anonymous audience, Kickstart employs our famous “speed dating” format, whereby each vendor representative spends 12 minutes with a table of approximately 8 journalists, before moving on to each of the next five tables.
This means you’re guaranteed the opportunity to sit down with a huge number of journalists, shake hands, change name cards and ensure you’re able to make a personal connection with each and every journalist you’re hoping to target. Prior to the “speed dating” each vendor is given the opportunity to present for seven minutes.
Sessions will be started by a 10 minute analyst presentation and 10 minutes is also allocated for group question and answer following the discussions.
In addition to the main stream of sessions run for the media, a parallel stream of sessions is conducted for the PR and vendor community. There will be 7, hour-long sessions in which editors and journalists will address delegates with the aim of giving greater insight into how to more effectively work with them and how they see their jobs changing in 2007.
How can I prepare for Kickstart?
If you are presenting, try to think about the following:
- What technologies or trends will become important during the course of the year and in to 2008 and why?
- What technologies or trends will not meet expectations and why?
We are more than happy to sit down with you to discuss your objectives so you can get the most out of your time at Kickstart. Please contact Glen Myles on +65 6259 2195 to schedule a meeting.
Please don't hesitate to contact us at any time in the lead up to Kickstart if you have any questions.
How do I contribute to the journalist gift bag?
All journalists attending Kickstart will receive a journalist gift bag full of vendor sponsored giveaways. These can be anything from branded pens, notebooks, vouchers or even one of your products.
Please clearly mark your items "Kickstart Forum" and send 50 items for the bags to:
Attn: Glen Myles
MediaConnect Asia
3c Stanley St
Singapore 068722
The deadline for sending the gifts is Friday, July 22. Items sent after this date will not be included in the conference bags.
Why should journalists not miss out on Kickstart?
Kickstart provides all attending editors and journalists with an overview of the key trends and technologies that will shape the course of the year. You'll have the opportunity to meet and listen to up to 20 different IT executives as well as analysts and our special keynote speakers in a very time-effective three-day format.
Which vendors will attend Kickstart?
The following vendors have confirmed their attend at Kickstart this year: Verisign, Vignette, Orbis, SEVEN, Ovum
Where do I go for media registration?
To register you will need to:
- Email: melissa@mediaconnectasia.com to confirm your attendance
- Closer to the event you will receive a travel form to fill in and return
- We will send you confirmation of your accommodation and travel arrangements
Can I attend without a participating vendor?
MediaConnect allows a limited number of MediaConnect subscribers to attend the event from non participating companies.
Are there any sessions especially geared towards PR delegates?
Yes, there are. In addition to the main stream of sessions run for the media, a parallel stream of sessions is conducted for the PR and vendor community. There will be 7, hour-long sessions in which editors and journalists will address delegates with the aim of giving greater insight into how to more effectively work with them and how they see their jobs changing in the future.