1. Improve media results: Educate journalists as to why your strategies and messages are relevant and important and you'll significantly improve the effectiveness of all future media interactions
2. Save time and money: To meet the number of journalists you'll reach at Kickstart would take months and cost a fortune
3. Build relationships: If you don't return from Kickstart with a rolodex full of new or improved media relationships you just weren't trying
4. Pitch Stories and Ideas: Journalists come to Kickstart looking for stories and ideas so help them out!
5. Meet one-on-one: Target those journalists that you consider especially relevant for one-on-one interviews
6. Position your spokesperson: Speak authoritatively on a hot issue and you'll have journalists phoning for comment next time they need that expert quote
7. Improve mindshare: It's critical to stay in front of journalists and remain constantly on their radar and this is the perfect way to do that en-masse
8. Reach the unreachable: Kickstart 2009 flies in journalists from all over the country as well as New Zealand
9. Gain credibility and goodwill: Journalists respect and appreciate companies who make the effort to participate in this multi-vendor Forum
10. Understand the media: Our reverse educationals present you with the opportunity to hear from the journalists themselves as to how you can best work with them

Improve results
The very best PR results are built on a foundation of knowledge and understanding. Help the journalist community to understand what your client does and why and all your client's future PR campaigns will be so much more successful. If your client doesn't have a media profile, this is the perfect opportunity to grab attention.

Learn
Running in parallel with the main Kickstart sessions are our PR educations, in which different groups of journalists talk with PR and marketing delegates to help them understand their needs and how they can interact most effectively with them.

Take the lead
While MediaConnect will engage directly with vendors interested in participating in the Kickstart Forum, our preferred model is to work via our PR partners, so as to ensure participating vendors get maximum value from the event. Take the lead in informing your client about Kickstart Forum 2009.

Add value
There's considerable opportunity for PR pros to add significant value for their client's outside of the main conference sessions. Conduct one-on-ones, pitch news stories and case-studies, organise follow-up meetings and opportunities.

Learn
The Kickstart Forum isn't about vendors lecturing to journalists - it's about participating in informed and thoughtful discussions about the industry's most important upcoming IT issues. No one will walk away from Kickstart Forum without a better understanding of their industry and the forces that will be shaping it.

Make contacts
With over 50 of Australia's leading IT executives, it would literally take months to meet and get to know this many contacts. Kickstart Forum is the most time-effective way for any journalist to build up their contact book.

Spark ideas
Story ideas are the most valuable currency for any journalist or blogger and after hearing many of the country's leading IT executives announce 2009's hot IT issues, it's bound to generate a multitude of news and product stories, feature ideas and case studies for the following months.

Broadcast
Not only will Kickstart Forum have a media room that can be used to file stories, but the event also features a podcast booth and video equipment. With so many potential interview subjects this is a dream opportunity to record podcasts or video material.