About MacTech One Day Seminars
All MacTech events are meant to pack a lot of value into a short period of time — for both sponsors and attendees. This not only means session content, but breaks and lunch are optimized for mingling and networking between attendees and sponsors.
What Does the Event Look Like?
First, let’s give you some visuals. The sessions room varies from city to city, but here are a few examples from prior MacTech events. Your logo will be displayed on our trademark logo loop screen to the side of the stage (see the pictures where you see two screens).
Second, the lunch room has three elements: buffet line, round tables, and sponsor tables. The food and tables are all in the same room to ease the transition for the attendees to speak to the sponsors.
If you are an on-site sponsor, you’ll have a dedicated 6′ draped table on the perimeter of the lunch room. Some sponsors bring pop-up displays, others keep it simple with just an iMac or even a laptop. In all cases, make sure that you have business cards, literature (if appropriate), and anything else that you didn’t put directly in the registration bag (see below).
Your display setup is intended to be as easy as possible. WiFi is available throughout the event, and electricity at each table — so there’s nothing for you to do. Depending on the exact timing of lunch, sponsors will be provided lunch either before, or (more typically) after the lunch period. That way, sponsors can focus all their time on the attendees. You can setup your display after sessions begin in the morning.
Badge with QR Code
Sponsors have been asking for a way to gather information from attendees especially if the attendee has not brought business cards. With that in mind, we’ve included a QR Code on the badges. With this solution, you can use your smart phone to scan a basic QR Code and get a “meCard” that, if availalble, will have the person’s name, company name, email, and possibly web site. To use this, you need to (in advance), download a QR Code reader to your smart phone. We suggest something like QRReader by TapMedia which allows you to quickly scan, keep a history, and later export the contacts to a csv file and mail it to yourself. While this QR code approach has been working well at events, it is an added courtesy item. In other words, no guarantees, and it may or may not be a part of future MacTech events. This is an “as is” vendor benefit.
As an additional benefit, these instructions may help you with exporting the data from the app in the fastest and most useful way.
Equipment
While most of you will bring your own equipment, if you find that you need something like a larger display and want to rent it, please let us know. More notice gives us more flexibility to serve you, but we will always work to accommodate you.
Virtual Sponsors
If you are a virtual sponsor, you’ll have a setup like this using an iMac running video Skype (which we provide). The setup has a dedicated microphone and a MacTech staff member attending to invite attendees to speak with you, and be at your service. Note that the camera angle typically shows only those people right in front of the iMac (in these cases, the sponsor thought they were talking to just 1-2 people).
Get Visibility Even With Those Not Attending
We suggest you tell the world via email, your web site, social media, etc… about your sponsorship and show even those that aren’t at the event that you are sponsoring it. We have special discount registration codes for sponsors.
Registration Bag Inserts
If you have literature, tsotchkes, etc… for the registration bag, you are welcome to send. You should send 125-150 quantity so that there’s enough for each attendee.
The most effective items in the registration bag are those of value. For example, if you have a copy of software you can give … you are encouraged to do so. If you are able to send something of value for each attendee (e.g., software licenses are common), let us know this so that we can call it out and for the higher value items, we’ll even promote it pre-event so you get more visibility.
Raffle Items
As part of driving attendees to the sponsor tables, we will be doing raffles during the afternoon after lunch. Each sponsor will be given raffle tickets to give attendees as they visit their sponsor table.
If you can give us raffle items, please drop us a note with a list of what, if anything, you’ll be providing for the raffle. It’s best to ship us the items in advance, but if you need to bring them with you, give them to one of our staff members.
Shipping Details
The address for each event is different, and we’ll send that to you in email. In all cases, all items for the registration bag must be received two days prior to the event. In other words, if the event is on a Wednesday, any time on the Monday two days prior is fine. Note: Those items that are delivered on the day before, or the day of, the event will not make it into the registration bags.
Please send tracking numbers to us when your shipment has been shipped along with any other details we need to know on the shipment.
Timing and Schedule
Unlike many other seminars and conferences, MacTech events don’t hem people into rigid structures. We don’t force talks to conform to arbitrary blocks of time that work for the event, but not the presenter and attendee. Due to this, we don’t run by exact times, but instead more of a ‘running order.’ This invites discussion from participants and allows a natural flow to the event. It also means that we get more content into the day.
With that in mind, here are the details you need to plan your travel and such for the day.
8:15 AM: Registration (not available until 8:15am)
9:00 AM: Sessions Begin
Mid-Morning: Break
Mid-Day: Lunch
Mid-Afternoon: Break
6:00 PM: Conclusion. The event will be over by 6pm (give or take a bit).
Detailed schedules are made available a few days prior to each event.
QuickTalks
If a QuickTalk is part of your sponsor agreement, then there are a few things you need to know. It’s best to identify who the speaker will be and have them talk to us directly so that we can help them understand what works best for a presentation.
There’s a riser at the front of the room, with a table and a podium on it. We have things set up in such a way that we’re used to plugging your laptop in on the fly, and bringing it up (it’ll be switched to another laptop with a title slide up while we’re doing this). Depending on the event, sometimes the speaker podium will be in the center with a slide screen to one side, and a logo loop screen to the other — others are with the main slides in the middle.
Most speakers prefer to bring up their laptop so that they are confident of what the slide stack looks like. For the main screen, we’ll have up a VGA male connection with an assortment of Mac video connectors. If you need a sound hookup, let us know in advance — otherwise, we plan on video only.
We’ll be wiring you up with a wireless lavalier microphone for when you are speaking.
Check the schedule to see the APPROXIMATE time that you’ll be up. You should be ready to go 30 minutes prior to whatever it says on the schedule.
Remember, MacTech sessions/QuickTalks start when the one before it ends. We’ll introduce you, and mic you up prior to going on. The setup of getting you up does not count towards the 5 minutes. Do not get stressed over the 5 minutes. Plan for 5, and if it goes to 6, it’s ok. We’ll be right to the side of the stage if you need us.
Be “Mingle-Ready”
One of the key differences between MacTech events and others is that we are built to constantly mingle giving you the opportunity to network, meet new people. For sponsors, the result is one of the most impactful, relationship building experiences possible for a live event. Make sure you have business cards, and are ready to mingle!
Set up time
The primary “display” time is during lunch. And, depending on the venue, set up for the table (which should only take you a few minutes), happens between the mid-morning break and the start of lunch. Vendors are welcome to attend the entire event, and use the breaks to mingle as well, but there’s no need to show up particularly early for setup.