So, we’ve left the beautiful Italian Dolomites and the region of Trentino behind, returning back to rainy England. We had an incredible week at Traverse 19 and wanted to share some of our highlights with you.
(Header image: Michal Tomas @londonviewpoints)
In total there were 400 content creators in attendance; bloggers, vloggers, instagrammers, podcasters, digital marketers and writers. We had people from all over the world (quite literally) come and join us in the wonderful town of Trento for our conference. Over the course of the week we put on over 50 Mid Week Experiences, 55 seminars and sessions as well as 6 amazing (hangover-inducing)evening parties.
The Traverse Creator Awards
We hosted, for the first time ever, the brand new Traverse Creator Awards. These awards were incredibly special to the Traverse team. It was important that these did not involve any sort of public voting or popularity contest, as so often the winners are decided by who can rally the most troops to vote for them. Instead we put together a panel of creatives, experts and those who work on a daily basis with content creators – all of whom know the hard work that goes into content creation. By judging it not on broad, wide-sweeping categories such as ‘Best Blog’ we could hone in on the specific skills that make a great channel, i.e. by giving an award for ‘Best Storytelling’ or ‘Best Opinion Piece.’ A blog post will soon follow where you’ll be able to see every single winning entry. The award ceremony itself was held in the absolutely breath-taking venue MART, with its beautiful roof in the town of Roverto. See the photo below for an idea of how the evening ended (hint: lots of Trentodoc, dancing and crowd-surfing).
(Image: Michal Tomas @londonviewpoints)
Weekend Conference
The conference itself was held on the Saturday and Sunday in the Teatro Sociale, a stunning traditional Italian theatre in Trento. The team from Trentino also constructed the Pavilions in the middle of the Piazza Duomo in the centre of town. Luckily there was plenty of coffee and cake in the Pavilions to get through the aforementioned hangovers. Here we hosted our sponsors in the Partner Lounge, with whom creators could connect to discuss potential collaborations and partnerships. We were joined by Magnetic Latvia, Three, Visit Hamburg, Sri Lanka Tourism and GetYourGuide.
Over the conference weekend there were sessions on everything ranging from SEO, how to start a podcast, how to edit videos, how to run a successful Facebook community, how to pitch to brands, to name just a few. We had speakers join us from all over the world to give their time and expertise. I know people have come away from the conference with long lists of points to action and with a renewed sense of determination, inspired to make their channel the very best it can be. In your feedback we noticed quite a few people saying they’d love to see sessions on Pinterest and WordPress, so fear not, we will take this on board and it will be something we implement for future conferences.
Our closing panel was also incredibly well received with a great Q&A at the end, touching on some really important topics including ethics in blogging, diversity, inclusion and taking personal responsibility. Thanks to Sassy, Erick and Chloe for taking part in this and covering such important issues.
Post Event Adventures
For some, the conference was extended by an extra four days as they embarked on the Post Event Adventures. These adventures allowed attendees to fully explore the region further, whether on bikes, hiking, canyoning or through their stomachs… If you’d seen any of the Instagram Stories, you’ll know how epic the scenery was and just how much food they seemed to polish off.
A final thank you (for the millionth time) to the absolutely incredible team from Trentino for their hard work. We were so delighted to come and discover the region and all it has to offer; from the beautiful views of the mountains, the incredible food (and delicious gelato), to the stunning buildings and welcoming locals.
If you attended, we’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the event. You can anonymously complete this form here.
Charlotte has been a Marketing Executive for the past year now. Prior to this she spent three years at Bristol University studying English Literature.
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