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

Quick recap

The team held their final weekly check-in meeting before Ruth's departure, focusing on MautiCon 2026 planning updates. They discussed ticket sales status, which remained at zero, and decided to extend the early bird ticket deadline to May 31st while leaving the call for speakers timeline open. The group reviewed marketing strategies, including social media promotion and email campaigns, and debated the timing of announcing the conference schedule and keynote speakers. They also discussed potential keynote speakers, considering both marketing experts and open source figures, and agreed to explore previous speaker recommendations. The conversation ended with a discussion about bringing on Sarah as a program manager to help reduce the workload on Barsha and Sven, particularly during upcoming announcements.

Next steps

• sven: Add new sponsors to the website (tonight, after receiving ping from Ruth).

• Ruth: Check and ensure Maegy has access to JIRA, and confirm if it's set up with her Mautic email.

• Maegy: Check in with Barsha to ensure call for speakers properties and messaging are ready before launch, and update Barsha on the new early bird ticket end date (May 31st).

• Maegy: Update Barsha on the decision to leave the call for speakers deadline open for now, and inform her of the new early bird end date.

• Ruth: Post in the Email Geeks channel (and potentially other relevant channels) to attract potential keynote speakers and point them to the CFP.

• Maegy: Inform Sarah that she can come on board as program manager for MautiCon 2026.

• Maegy: Update the team on her conversation with Margareth regarding support for Barsha and Sven.

• Maegy: Update Barsha on the changes to the early bird and CFP timeline, and ensure communication is updated accordingly.

• Ruth: Share the learnings from the Mautic World Conference document in the channel.

• Maegy: Check out JIRA and flesh out important tasks for oversight.

• (Team/Barsha): Research and suggest potential keynote speakers from the marketing/email world or open source/government sector, as discussed.

Summary

Sprint Location Planning Discussion

The team discussed plans for an upcoming Sprint location, with Budapest being proposed as a potential option pending political stability in the region. They agreed to fix a tentative date and keep the location flexible, with Berlin or German cities like Hanover or Hamburg as backup options. The meeting appeared to be a weekly check-in, with participants including Ekkehard, Sven, Maegy, and Ruth, though Barsha's participation was uncertain.

Maegy Handover Documentation Discussion

The team discussed handover documentation for Maegy's transition. Maegy requested a handover document, but Ruth indicated that most information is already documented for the leadership team and suggested that Maegy refer to those existing documents first. The group also briefly mentioned sharing learnings from previous conferences, with Ruth offering to share a link to Mautic World Conference learnings in the channel.

Event Planning and Ticket Sales

The team discussed ticket sales, which remain at zero, and the need to add new sponsors to the website. They agreed to use JIRA for task tracking and visibility, with Maegy needing access confirmation. Maegy announced that the call for speakers would go live the following day, pending a check with Barsha. The team also discussed the status of early bird tickets, but no clear decision was made on whether to proceed with them yet.

The Call for Proposals Timeline

The team discussed the timeline for the call for proposals running from April 1st to June 30th, with Maegy confirming Barsha was aware of the schedule and requesting the copy be shared in the MautiCon channel for review. They reviewed the early bird promotion that had been posted on Facebook and discussed strategies for additional marketing, including sending emails to the community segment and potentially pushing the promotion again on Thursday. The team debated the optimal end date for early bird tickets, with Ekkehard questioning whether the current April 2nd deadline made sense given that people might not be ready to commit at that time.

Early Bird Deadline Alignment Discussion

The team discussed aligning the early bird ticket deadline with the call for speakers (CFP) timeline. Sven proposed closing the CFP in mid to late May, allowing 4-6 weeks for speaker collection and at least two weeks to publish a preliminary schedule before closing early bird tickets. The group considered that having the early bird end around the same time as the CFP announcement would encourage fence-sitting attendees to purchase tickets. Maegy noted two tentative options: April 30th or mid-May (May 15th), and requested confirmation of which date to communicate to Barsha.

MautiCon Planning Timeline Discussion

The team discussed the timeline for MautiCon planning, particularly focusing on the Call for Papers (CFP) and early bird ticket deadlines. They decided to set the early bird deadline for May 31st, but left the CFP closing date open, planning to assess submissions before setting a specific deadline. The group also briefly discussed the selection of the keynote speaker, considering both open-source experts and marketing celebrities, though no final decision was made. Additionally, Ruth updated the team that she had created the process for the Mautic Awards 2026, with nominations opening in August.

Conference Keynote Speaker Planning

The team discussed plans for finding keynote speakers for the upcoming conference. They agreed to review a previous list of potential speakers and consider reaching out to them, while also promoting the CFP to attract speakers who could potentially be elevated to keynote status. Ruth suggested involving Barsha in researching potential speakers, particularly from the German government or public sector. The team also discussed bringing on Sarah as a program manager to help reduce the workload on Barsha and Sven, particularly in the run-up to event announcements.