Communication Strategy — Mountain Camp 2027¶

The Core Philosophy: The Art of Gathering¶

We treat Mountain Camp 2027 not as a corporate conference, but as a carefully curated dinner party.

The Host's Role¶

Like any great host, our primary responsibility is to:

1. Select the guests: Identify and invite the people who will make the gathering interesting, rewarding, and fun.
2. Ensure comfort: Make sure every "guest" feels welcome, comfortable, and has a great time.
3. Break the ice: Actively facilitate connections and "spark transformative conversations."

Quality over Quantity¶

We prioritize interesting attendees over large numbers. We aim for an intimate community feeling where every person adds value to the room. We would rather have 100 deeply engaged "makers" than 300 passive observers.

The Personal Invitation Model¶

Our strategy moves away from mass marketing toward intentional, one-to-one outreach.

1. One-to-One Communication¶

• The Wishlist: We maintain a list of specific individuals we want in the room.
• The Personal Invite: "We would like to invite you to the next Mountain Camp. We think you would be a great addition to our community gathering because [Specific Reason]."
• Validation: We test this approach early with key community members to refine the messaging.

2. Targeted "One-to-Many"¶

• AI-Assisted Personalization: Using AI tools to draft personalized messages that still feel human and authentic.
• Social Leverage: "Look who is coming" — showing the interesting people already confirmed to attract similar profiles.

Branding Shift: #MountainCamp¶

To reduce barriers and broaden our reach, we are shifting our visual and social branding.

• Primary Hashtag: #MountainCamp (replacing #DrupalMountainCamp in most marketing).
• Logo Strategy: Removing "Drupal" from the visual logo while keeping the DrupalMountainCamp.ch URL.
• Rationale: This makes the event more welcoming to front-end developers, the Symfony community, and AI "builders" who might feel excluded by a Drupal-only label.
• Clarification: We are not removing Drupal from our foundation; we are positioning the event to be inclusive of the broader ecosystem of makers and builders.

Partnership & Community Outreach¶

We aim to bring "one person from every community" rather than 100 people from one community.

• Symfony AI: Outreach to core leads (Chris Hertel, etc.) to discuss the evolution from Drupal AI to Symfony AI.
• Government & Sovereignty: Partnering with CH Open to create a dedicated track for data sovereignty and open policy.
• Apertus: Engaging with the Apertus community to support a more accessible and open-source-driven event.
• Press & Media: Inviting tech journalists (e.g., Republic) for significant announcements.

Speaker Appreciation Strategy¶

We are shifting from a traditional "speaker dinner" to a memorable takeaway gift.

• Goal: Provide a personal, high-quality item that fits our "mountain" and "tool" theme.
• Current Ideas: Engraved Swiss Army knives (with #MountainCamp or username), personalized chocolate, or branded outdoor gear.
• Rationale: A lasting gift provides more long-term value and fits our "personal invitation" philosophy better than a one-off dinner.

Communication Personas (Lenses)¶

We focus on "Makers" and "Builders" using these communication lenses to reach them. For full persona definitions, see personas.md.

Last updated: March 15, 2026 Related: See personas.md for detailed profiles.