How to Talk to the Media at Events: A Practical Checklist for IT Arena Attendees

Every year, IT Arena brings together innovators, investors, and thought leaders, while also attracting top Ukrainian and international media. With strong competition for journalists’ attention, attendees need to carefully plan their communication strategy in advance. To make this process easier, here’s a checklist with practical tips for effective media interaction during the event.

Before the event:

• Review the list of IT Arena media partners and explore the topics they cover.
• Research who covered the event in previous years, and check posts with the event’s official hashtag.
• Announce your participation on your company’s social media — this helps journalists find you.
• Prepare a news hook: company updates, product launches, or a funding round announcement.
• Create a media kit: short company profile, photos, logos, and suggested topics for comments.
• Refine your pitch — clearly explain what you do, the problems you solve, key numbers, and your call to action.

During IT Arena:

• Assign someone responsible for handling media contacts.
• Arrange interviews in a quiet, comfortable location.
• Take care of journalists: offer water or coffee, and check if it’s a good time to talk.
• Always agree on next steps: exchange contacts, share materials, or schedule a follow-up call.
  

After the event:

• Send a follow-up: remind them about your conversation and attach materials.
• Save contacts in your CRM or a spreadsheet, along with notes about the journalist.
• Track publications: who covered you and in what format.
• Analyze what worked well and what could be improved.

Journalists attend the event with clear goals in mind. Think about how your pitch will look in their story: which numbers, facts, or examples will make it strong? Your job is to help create content that’s valuable for their audience.

This checklist was prepared in collaboration with our friends from Calibrated agency.