Opinion

Photo diary: Anatomy of a press junket

Alex HayesWant to know what really goes on behind the scenes at a press junket? Mumbrella editor Alex Hayes has channelled Buzzfeed with this photo essay of this week’s Adobe Digital Marketing Summit.

Speak to any hack and they’ll tell you it’s not like the old days, with long lunches and press trips in resigned as a thing of the past for many.

However, for the last few years the good people at Adobe have thrown rather a large Summit in the US to showcase their latest wares, and a chance to speak continuously to clients, analysts and the press for three solid days.

Let me take you behind the scenes of how it works.

First there’s the careful choice of venue, which for the seventh year in a row was Salt Lake City, Utah:

Source: Wikimedia commons

Source: Wiki commons

For those of you not familiar with it, Salt Lake is 4,000 feet above sea level in the Wasatch Front, is home to about 1m people, has main industries of winter sports and copper mining, and was home to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games:

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Source: Wiki commons

 

And where betterto evangelise about your products than the home base of the Mormons:

The Mormon Temple

The Mormon Temple

To get there you’ve got to get on a pretty tiny plane (with two young Mormons):

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Before checking in to a room with a view – mostly of the convention centre they’ll be spending the next three days in:

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Wine and dine them:

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Make sure people know you’re in town:

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Then perk them up with an appetising American coffee:

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Before they see the number of streams you’ve put on – mostly product demos:

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Then, after you’ve given them press briefings, start the sell using an understated video screen:

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And your top digital marketing guy (Audience Manager is not his nickname):

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And then wheel out a variety of people for the next two-and-a-half hours, like a client (can you guess who it is):

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Or Australia’s very own Todd Copeland (centre here with Rob Roy of Time Warner to the left):

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But don’t miss an opportunity to spruik your new products:

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But then bring out some more talent, like Moneyball author Michael Lewis:IMG_1773 2

Or superstar social good entrepreneur Lauren Bush Lauren:

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Or former Super Bowl winner and NFL most valuable player Steve Young:

IMG_1813Or maybe just Beetlejuice, Batman or Birdman Michael Keaton:

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Then make sure you get your CMO to interview him, and ask why he didn’t win the Best Actor Oscar:

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And make sure your sponsors have some geek-chic ready ads:

IMG_1749Whether there were 6,200, 6,500, 7,000 or 7,000 plus attendees (all figures quoted to me by Adobe execs on the attendance) there’s still a scrum:

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But keep everyone sustained with some interesting snacks (M&Ms and nuts – only in America):

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And make sure you have a Tesla parked across from the convention centre all week:

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Get some unique giveaways for your trade stands:

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Hire Who’s Line is it Anyway Wayne Brady to host your final session:

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Then hire a basketball arena:

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Deck it out like a winter wonderland:

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And hire Emmy award winning band Imagine Dragons to play:

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Because, why not?

IMG_1840All at the end of it you feel like this guy:

IMG_1734Alex Hayes was a guest of Adobe at the Summit in Salt Lake City

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