Buildup to MWC 2011... Won't somebody think of the PRs?!

If you have anything to do with technology, especially in the mobile space, it's unlikely to have escaped your notice that we're on the cusp of the year's biggest mobile industry event; Mobile World Congress.Anybody who's anybody in the mobile space is about to descend on Barcelona for the year's biggest embedded technology love-in.By this time next week several hundred sales execs from all kinds of technology companies will already have raided the mini bar and been discovered face-down in a marghuerita wearing nothing more than a cocktail umbrella and a few shreds of their complimentary hotel towelling gowns...We should really take this opportunity to talk a little bit about some of the prominent technologies on display at the show. But we ain't gonna.This is putsimply, EML's 'personality' blog, not an outlet for promoting its clients. Therefore, instead, we're going to have a good, old-fashioned PR gripe about the amount of work involved.The buildup to MWC is always a ridiculously hectic time in technology PR. We spend roughly 3/4 of our time trying desperately to prep attendees, and the remaining time is split between trying to convince those who aren't going that they *should* go, and trying to compensate on behalf of those who definitely *aren't* going,( and may therefore be drowned out of the mobile news scene for a couple of weeks).Pitching: Our pitching for attendees at our clients' stands starts earlier and earlier every year, or so it seems. This year it seems to have started around 2003.Regards pitching, you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't. Some journalists start booking in December, and when PRs approach them at the average time of the second or third week of January, they'll tell you you're too late. On the other hand, most journos, at the other extreme, don't sort out their appointments until one or two weeks before the show.Briefing documents: Very important. Again, a lot of work goes into putting truly useful information into these documents; logistics, key messages, appropriate responses to difficult questions, when an interviewee last spoke to your client, what they're like, what they tend to write about, what their attitude is. These documents can easily run to many tens of pages, and it's easy to seperate a good PR company from a bad one, by the quality of their briefing documents.Accomodation: Companies that haven't booked accomodation by now might as well try to get a four-bedroom condo on the moon.Actually, that's not quite true. We've found that a few rooms have come back onto the market now, but you're not going to be within walking distance of The Fira, that's for sure.We've been jigging, rejigging, and getting bumped off our clients' hotel lists for months. Last-minute rebookings are fairly par-for-the-course, as is trying to meet your clients particular hotel criteria.We're very excited about this year's show. It looks to be a good one.Over the next few days we'll offer you a couple more blogs, imparting some useful general business and security tips for keeping happy and healthy in Espana.