Your LTR 2018 Prep Guide: What You Need to Know

Every year, Braze hold its LTR conference to turn the spotlight on long-term relationships between brands and their customers, and the strategies and technologies that make it possible to build and sustain them.

On October 3-4, 2018, we’ll be holding the fourth edition of LTR in New York City. This year, we’re exploring the marriage of data, technology, and teams, and the role technology can play in supporting more relevant “human” experiences for the all the unique individuals who make up any company’s user base. (Read on for a bit more about what you can expect.)

But before it all happens, we wanted to help out by sharing a list of tips, tricks, and other guidance to help you make the most of LTR 2018. Read up, pack up, and get ready—this is going to be the best LTR yet!

(What’s that? Don’t have your tickets yet? Well, you can reserve a space now on our tickets page.)

Where and When Is This All Going Down?

This year’s conference will be held at Milk Studios in New York City. The address is:

450 W 15th St # 800, New York, NY 10011

Between 14th & 15th Streets

The two-day event will take place during the following days and times:

Day 1: Wednesday, October 3rd, 12:00pm–6:30pm | Open to Braze clients only

Day 2: Thursday, October 4th, 9:00am–7:00pm | Open to all

Want even more detail about what there is to see and when you can see it? Check out the agenda before you arrive so you know what to expect, and how to divide your time.

Not able to make it to NYC, but want to get the LTR experience? No problem—check out our livestream here.

Getting to and from LTR 2018

If you’re arriving by train, Milk Studio is walking distance from the A/C/E lines, the 1/2/3 lines, and the L line of the NYC subway. Milk Studios is a five-minute walk from the closest station (14th Street/8th Ave on the A/C/E/L); attendees will want to walk west from the station, in the direction of the Hudson River.

For people arriving by car, there are six parking lots within 8 blocks of Milk Studios; you can use SpotHero or ParkMobile to reserve a spot nearby in advance. Given likely traffic patterns in Manhattan, however, we strongly suggest that attendees take the train if possible.

Know Your LTR 2018 Must-Sees

Nathalie Nahai Keynote: Day 2/October 4 @ 10:10am, General Session

Noted psychologist and author Nathalie Nahai will dig into the psychological aspects of digital marketing and how technology and strategy can help brands improve their emotional intelligence. Why bother with emotional intelligence when we can data them into submission, you may wonder? Well, Nahai believes (and we agree) that it’s necessary to engage with audiences thoughtfully if we want that next-level impact.

{The AND} By The Skin Deep: Day 2/October 4 @ 3:30pm, General Session

In this live, interactive experience, Scott Dzialo from the Braze Customer Success team and Christine Hill, CRM and email marketer at Grubhub, will answer evocative questions about themselves, each other, and their ongoing collaborative relationship. (For a sneak peek at what the experience will be like, check out {The AND} website and watch the exclusive LTR/{The AND} teaser video, featuring Braze Cofounder and CEO Bill Magnuson and SVP of Marketing Marissa Aydlett.)

Teaming Up: Bringing Together Sports and Brands: Day 2/October 4 @ 4:15pm, General Session

Pete Giorgio, head of Deloitte’s US Sports practice, will oversee this panel discussion featuring current and former pro athletes—including the NFL’s Darrell Green, the WNBA’s Swin Cash, and the NBA’s Joe Harris—digging into how the modern fan experience is built on seamless, cross-platform customer experiences.

A special (secret!) announcement

We don’t want to say too much, but we’ll have a super special surprise announcement from Braze and Forrester that touches on the human side of customer engagement. Let’s just say if your target audience is humans and you care about communicating with them, you MAY want to attend this session...

What to bring to LTR 2018

Yourselves! And also some other things!

Whether you’re coming from uptown, across the country, or halfway around the world, here are a few ideas to help ensure a great experience at LTR and in the city we call home (or at least HQ).

Bring A Portable Charger

We’ll have outlets, of course, but it’d be such a bummer to run out of battery mid-event. Come prepared and fully juiced.

Fill Up Your Metrocard

Go ahead and put about $20 on your metrocard if you plan to use the subway. It’s $2.75 per ride, and it’s safe to assume you’ll ride the train 2-4 times in a day. You can always add more to the card if you do a little extra exploring, but this will be a major time-saver over relying on single-ride tickets—plus, those cost 25 cents extra. (PRO TIP: When you slide the card, the squared edge goes first. Oh, and if you see an empty subway car…choose a different one. Trust us.)

Explore and adventure without leaving the neighborhood

If you’d like to see some of the best of what NYC has to offer, you don’t need to venture too far from Milk Studios. In the immediate vicinity, you’ll find these gems.

Chelsea Market is one of the greatest indoor food malls in the world, with more than 35 vendors! This market is one of the most talked about, Instagrammed, and blogged about destinations in the city.

The Highline, a car-free, west side, elevated walkway was, once upon a time, an elevated freight railway. Abandoned and derelict for years, this piece of industrial infrastructure has been transformed into a beautiful, garden and art-filled public space.

The Rubin Museum of Art focuses on the culture and art of the Himalayas. (Also, their K2 Friday Nights film/music/cocktail event is not to be missed!)

The Whitney Museum of Art opened its doors in this new waterfront home just a couple of years ago after establishing its legacy uptown. The Whitney is known for twentieth-century and contemporary art collections with a focus on living artists.

The McKittrick Hotel, for their celebrated Sleep No More immersive theater experience (might want to book now!) or just its super cool and highly thematic bar and lounge.

Extending Your Visit?

Think you might want to stick around beyond the weekend? Timeout New York maintains a running list of events. The Skint is a great resource for affordable-and-awesome things to do while you’re in the city.

Pack For Early Autumn

As of now, the weather during LTR 2018 looks like a mild beginning of fall. Expect temps in the high 60s/low 70s, with some chance of rain.

Anything else?

Nah, you’re good! We can’t wait to see you at LTR 2018 in just a few days.