Speaker slots at Money20/20 Europe are highly prized. It is an opportunity to address the industry. It provides a major boost for a company’s brand. It dramatically improves your spokesperson’s profile.
Needless to say, it’s the top table of fintech. But that means speaker slots are extremely difficult to secure.
Anecdotal feedback from the organisers is stark:
- In 2018, on average, 1 in every 50 submissions was successful.
- In 2019, 1 in 100 submissions was successful.
In 2019, Money20/20 raised the bar – insisting on more senior speakers, more creative formats and more cutting-edge topics. The big change was that submissions were not invited to address part of an agenda, but rather 10 of the biggest industry questions.
Money20/20 Europe’s speaker guide provides loads of great information.
Speaking to Gary Dempsey, Content Leader for Money20/20 Europe, he highlighted a number of key changes:
- Future Looking: The event is looking at bleeding edge innovation. Rule of thumb – “If you’d talk about it in a webinar now, it’s probably not good enough.”
- Less speakers and sessions: The focus on the event is on quality over quantity.
- Collaboration: Underpinning the themes for this year is the idea of collaboration and how the industry needs to better work together to deliver on its promise.
Gary was also kind enough to give CCgroup a sneak peek at this years’ themes:
- WHAT “Creating products you can’t imagine” – Who is your customer and what can you build for your customer?
- WHO “Defining a new cast” – Once you have your new products, who is best to build it with?
- HOW “Developing a rejuvenative gene”– How do you implement and make money and ingrain sustainable services?
- WHERE “Designing an intelligent environment” – What is required to create services that are truly fintech 2.0?
- USING “Finding problems for solutions” – What are R&D teams working on that aren’t being discussed in public?
With all the above in mind, here is our take on how the approach to speakers has changed for 2021.
What has changed?
Diversity
Given the events of the last year, it’s great to see the organisers focusing on the need for a diverse range of speakers. Money20/20 want to see diverse individual speakers and panels put forward.
As they put it themselves: “Sessions require a 50:50 ratio of male to female and a mix of diverse voices that reflect our community – inclusive of age, disability, race, creed, and sexual orientation. Homogenous panels will not be accepted.”
Speakers and sessions
Companies can now submit a speaker standalone rather than as part of a session. This is a positive step because:
- High profile speakers can be submitted individually and not get lost in a session submission.
- If the session submission is rejected, there is still a chance the speaker will be seen as relevant for another session.
Big brand speakers
Big brand customer or partner speakers are key. Money20/20 wants to see the biggest movers and shakers in the industry take the stage. However, these must be 100% realistic and achievable.
Previously, you could submit a list of potential speakers. Unfortunately, the content team has been burned with late changes to high profile speakers and companies.
If you are proposing additional speakers, you need to get buy-in and confirmation of availability first.
Interactivity
Money2020 want every single session “to be interactive in some way”. The event prides itself on driving real industry change, and ensuring that sessions involve the delegates is an important part of that.
As such the format of the session is important. And the more engaging and interactive it is, the better—this should not be an afterthought but part of the initial idea.
What hasn’t changed?
What hasn’t changed is one of the most important aspects of any submission. It’s all about the WHY.
Any submission must do two things to be successful:
- Audience – Why will the audience get value from the session? What new things will they learn? What takeaways can then expect?
- Company – Why do you want to speak at Money20/20? What is your objective? What impact on the industry are you striving for?
What next?
Submissions are open now and the deadline is likely to be extended to the end of May but that is not guaranteed. It’s always best to submit early if you can.
In our next blog, we’ll be sharing CCgroup’s top five tips for securing a speaker slot at the show.
Stay tuned!
