ETA Expert Insights: Four Ways to Get the Most Out of Your TRANSACT Experience
By Michelle Jenkins, NCR and Dawn Murray, FIS Global, Members of the ETA Communications Committee.
TRANSACT is the world’s premier payments technology event. For three days, thousands of payments technology professionals descend on Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to connect with partners, get leading-edge industry intelligence, see the latest products and get business done.
Whether you’re a TRANSACT pro, or a heading to the biggest show in payments for the first time, following these four steps will help you get the most out of your TRANSACT experience.
- Make a Plan
There’s a reason they call it the biggest show in payments. Across its three-day agenda, there are hundreds of education sessions in seven different educational tracks, booths to visit, new partners to meet, high-profile mainstage speakers plus a myriad of networking events.
With much to capitalize on, having a plan is a simple but important step to getting the most out of your time. Identify your goals, then study the agenda to find the networking events, educational sessions and show floor exhibitors that help you achieve them. For example, if you’re interested in meeting and learning about new software players with whom you can partner, make sure you include the ISV Luncheon sponsored by Preston Todd Advisors and Payment Facilitator education track, sponsored by Discover, First Data, NMI and Worldpay, on your schedule, and plot out a show floor path that includes stops at the Worldpay NexTen Startup Zone during the Google Pay Opening Reception. Just be sure to consult the map! Keep in mind, Mandalay Bay is a big place, so you might have to account for some travel time.
By creating a plan, you can maximize the usefulness of your time by getting to the educational sessions that are most relevant to you between your partner meetings on the show floor. Plus, a detailed plan can help you navigate the show floor itself, so that you are interfacing with the right partners and meeting the people who will help your business grow.
- Don’t Forget the Education Sessions and Main Stage Speaker Events
The educational sessions and mainstage speakers at the event are chocked full of useful information and impressive speakers. Going into TRANSACT with a focus on your network and partners is a key way to increase your ROI but keep an eye on what’s happening in the session rooms and on the SecureTrust Main Stage. ETA has assembled an impressive agenda (view it here) that combines leading-edge topics with a robust base of useful information for payments professionals. Successful payments professionals need to know the details of new software innovations, new disruptive companies, mergers, acquisitions, new sales methods, new business models, and everything in between. From tech companies to payments company mainstays, the tracks and main stage events will have you covered, so make sure you write some into your plan.
- Leverage the Media
TRANSACT isn’t just a gathering of payments professionals. Analysts and reporters will be walking the show floor, in the Old Line Bank media lounge and across the networking sessions. If you’re making an announcement, looking to connect your executives with press opportunities or demoing a new product on the show floor, ETA’s communications team can connect you with reporters onsite to help get your news out there. A little press coverage can go a long way to making the TRANSACT experience unforgettable and valuable to your company’s brand.
And if you’re interested in learning more about interacting with media, or want to network with reporters covering our industry, attend the ”Meet the Media: Industry Reporter Roundtable” session on Tuesday, April 30. This session will help demystify working with the media and give you actionable tips to increase your company’s media exposure. Plus, a Q & A with reporters from outlets like Payments Source will be part of this moderated panel.
- Connect with ETA
Finally, don’t forget about the organization behind all the hustle-and-bustle at TRANSACT: ETA.
ETA is a global organization with over 500 member companies from across the payments ecosystem. They’re experts and advocates for our industry, for the event and for your company. Every member of ETA’s staff will be on-site at TRANSACT, there to help you get the most out of your experience.
TRANSACT is where a lot of us get business done across the week, but ETA provides a perpetual forum to get connected to new partners, new industry trends, research, analysis and advocacy. From payments advocacy, to committee meetings, to thought-leadership and media, TRANSACT is a great opportunity to find more ways to get involved in ETA and extend the utility of the meeting across the rest of the year. Stop by the membership booth on the show floor to learn more about the work ETA does and to find ways to get involved.
With TRANSACT only weeks away, the entire payments ecosystem is gearing up for another incredible event. With these four steps, you can be sure that this TRANSACT is one that is hugely impactful you and your payments technology company.
TRANSACT is the world’s largest payments technology event, happening April 30-May 2 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Over 4,000 payments technology industry professionals will attend the show, coming from every corner of the payments ecosystem for unrivaled networking and leading-edge networking. Click here to register.