The events pipeline
Every event has the same problem. Someone says "we should be there," and then six weeks of small jobs pile up. The page, the graphics, the posts, the deadline for the program ad that was due before you noticed.
At mode40, the pile now starts building itself.
Why the work starts late
Events get decided in a spreadsheet, a forwarded email, or a hallway chat. The marketing work doesn't start until someone remembers to ask.
By then the lead time is gone. You end up rushing a graphic at the last minute and writing the post from a half-remembered brief.
A kit built backward from the date
When an event is added to our plan, it enters a pipeline. The kit gets built backward from the event date, and a research brief comes first. Everything after it is written from that brief.
- ResearchWho runs the event, who's in the room, what the theme is, and where mode40's experience fits.
- Landing pageA draft on our event template, with a form, when there's an offer to follow up.
- GraphicsA speaker graphic with a real headshot, when someone from mode40 is speaking.
- Social postsAn announcement a week out, a reminder the day before, a recap after.
- Meeting linkOne booking link per event, set up by a person, so interested people can reach the right one of us.
- DeadlinesEvery date counted back from event day, including ad deadlines set by the organizer.
Where people stay in charge
Each finished piece comes to me as a single question, and a person approves it before it goes out. The event lead on our team gets a look before anything is scheduled.
Adding email to the checks
The first version came up thin on a big event in the US. Every key detail was already sitting in a colleague's forwarded email. The system only checked calendars and our project tracker, so it missed them.
Now it checks my email too, and fills in what's missing instead of skipping it.
The 11 p.m. scramble
A trade show invitation is a bet that you'll show up well. The pipeline is there so you aren't doing it at 11 p.m. the night before.