In person cybersecurity events are back in full force in 2022, with RSA San Francisco, InfoSecurity Europe London and Black Hat Las Vegas all returning as we move through the post-COVID world. It is understandable that many within the industry are still reluctant to travel but attending conferences does present many business opportunities for both vendors and PR agencies.
Like most businesses, adopting a hybrid event model seems to be the way forward, with these events all providing an abundance of virtual content for those who could not or did not want to attend in-person. For us, a dedicated cybersecurity PR agency, we have welcomed the safe return of these events and here are 3 key reasons why:
- Conducting New Business – Going to trade shows provides the perfect platform for us to trawl through the various stands and conduct new business. Thankfully, many of our clients already exhibit so pointing out an Eskenzi client to a potential prospect is not difficult. Seeing vendors face to face gives us the opportunity to get a feel for the company and the people that work there. We get an understanding of what the company does to help us identify if there are any conflicts of interest and we do our utmost to avoid such situations. If the timing is not quite right for the vendor to seek PR services, we do not pursue it any further, but instead invite them to our industry leading events like the IT Security Analyst & CISO Forum, Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards and the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards, to help them get involved in the cybersecurity community. Many on the current Eskenzi PR roster have come from Eskenzi personnel having initial discussions at these shows.
- Meeting Clients – With some of our clients dotted around the UK, and the world, you can go a long time without meeting physically. Yes, having regular Zoom meetings is fine but nothing beats having a catch-up in-person. At the conferences, you can get a proper sense of the client, and its employees, from which you can build strong working relationships. Moreover, if the client has speaking slots, it’s always great to listen in and learn what new discoveries have been made – it could even make for great PR fodder!
- Meeting Journalists and Analysts – For us, conferences and industry events are also the perfect time to connect with reporters and analysts instead of over the phone or email. We can finally put a name to the face that we have been emailing for months and it gives us the chance to converse over coffee/lunch or even help make a connection with a client. Even if an interview doesn’t take place, making a positive connection with our client’s experts could plant a seed in a reporter’s mind to use the spokesperson for a future opportunity.
Honourable mention: Free S.W.A.G (Stuff We All Get) – multi-charging cables, power banks, free coffee, ice-cream, alcohol and much more.
We always make the most of conferences and industry events and will never pass up the opportunity to make an appearance. Luckily, we have the pleasure of working alongside Nineteen Group to launch International Cyber Expo on the 27th and 28th of September 2022, a new industry event created for the community, by the community. We strongly believe International Cyber Expo will quickly become THE cybersecurity event to attend.
The cybersecurity industry is a lovely network of incredible people, and we are lucky enough to work with some of the best.
