[ONLINE] MautiCon Working Group Meeting (12:15 p.m. UK time)

The team discussed updates on event planning, including ticket sales, sponsorships, and marketing strategies. They decided to offer early bird tickets at £149, general admission at £179, and a community ticket at £229, with a target of selling 25 tickets to meet revenue goals. The team agreed to release 3-4 event videos per week using YouTube premieres, with content focusing on Mautic 2026. They also discussed improvements to the website, including fixing a broken email link and potentially adding a sponsor sign-up form. The team noted that only one person had applied for open roles and planned to follow up with the candidate. They concluded by discussing the need for a marketing strategy and agreed to reuse last year's event design while waiting for a new designer.

Next steps

• Sven: Set up the event in Pretix and provide Ruth with an account for payment processing by end of this week.

• Sven: Fix the "get in touch" mailto link on the website to ensure compatibility with Mac/Gmail and improve button/link placement (add both brochure and contact options prominently).

• Ruth: Begin sending out template emails to last year’s sponsors this week, opening discussions before raising invoices, and coordinate with Margareth on follow-up.

• Margareth: Support Ruth in following up with previous sponsors once templates are ready.

• Sven: Remind Zina next week to reschedule the Sea Containers meeting for the 17th if she hasn’t replied.

• Ruth: Schedule and premiere videos on YouTube (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday) over the coming weeks, with social media posts timed to releases.

• Ekkehard: Fix the button link in the email/landing page to point to the correct webpage, not mautic.org/tour.

• Margareth: Send Ekkehard screenshots of the newsletter/landing page mobile view for review.

• Margareth: Schedule a conversation with the only applicant for the open roles and request their CV if not already provided.

• Sven: Next week, look into creating/adapting a design template for early bird ticket announcements and social media, reusing last year’s London design as needed.

• Ruth and Margareth: Once the early bird ticket setup is live, coordinate early bird ticket announcements across social media.

• All (Ruth, Margareth, Sven): Begin drafting a marketing strategy for the event, to be discussed further next week or asynchronously.

• Sven: Share a screenshot of the Pretix event account with the group once set up.

• Ekkehard: Send email blast to past attendees once the website/domain is ready, after incorporating team feedback.

Summary

VML Meeting Rescheduled Discussion

The team discussed a rescheduled meeting with VML colleagues and Sea Containers, which was initially postponed to the 17th but was subsequently cancelled due to Zina's workload. Margareth requested an update on the meeting details and suggested getting the new meeting invite early to block calendars. Sven explained that Zina, who organised the meeting from the UK, had cancelled it due to being overwhelmed with work this week.

Sponsorship and Ticket Pricing Updates

The team discussed sponsorship updates, with Ruth reporting that no sponsors have committed yet but n8n.io is a promising lead with a decision expected by mid-February. They agreed to offer a 10% discount for sponsors who sign and pay by the end of February, with the possibility of extending this for larger companies on a case-by-case basis. The team also decided to keep ticket prices the same as last year, with early bird tickets at £129 and general admission at £150, and discussed adding a community ticket option at £229 to provide more pricing flexibility. Margareth suggested implementing a refund policy where refunds would be available up to two months before the event, after which tickets would be non-refundable but transferable.

Mautic Event Ticket Planning

The team discussed ticket options for an upcoming Mautic event, including student and community tickets that could be offered to small companies as a form of sponsorship. They agreed to launch early bird tickets next week, requiring a landing page with information about the event and a link for ticket purchases. Sven proposed setting up the event in Pretext and providing an account for payment processing, with plans to create a beautiful widget linking to the landing page. The team also touched on the need to consider subdomains for tickets and a potential Call for Papers in the future.

Video Release and Event Planning

The team discussed plans for releasing videos, with Ruth suggesting a scheduled premiere strategy on YouTube and Margareth recommending the videos point towards Mautic 2026. They agreed to use the website's "Get in Touch" button as a temporary measure for sponsor sign-ups until a proper form is implemented. Ekkehard shared a landing page for collecting speaker suggestions, which Margareth reviewed. The team also discussed the need for a marketing strategy and design template for the event, with Sven suggesting they could adapt last year's London theme.