LAST Conference is becoming Signal Not Noise.

A message from Ed.

This message also includes some people who have been a LAST organiser in previous years but are not involved at the moment.

You might have heard me talking about rebranding over the past months, and you've likely picked up on the reasons why I think there is a perception that LAST "isn't for me" by some people. We all know there is a wider audience for what we do, but we need more cut-through.

I want to let you know what is happening.

LAST is becoming Signal Not Noise

Why I'm telling you now

It's time to include everyone who's been making LAST happen. You're really important and are part of the team that has built LAST into a wonderful thing over the years.

You deserve to know before we go public, and honestly, I need your help to make the transition a success.

I have been thinking about this for the whole year and have discussed this with Craig multiple times and a handful of other people, too.

Having come up with multiple different concepts, none of which quite hit the spot, I'm very excited about Signal Not Noise and its potential for us in the future!!

The reality check

I heard someone use a phrase once, thanking people for "picking up what we've been putting down".

For LAST, there have been fewer people submitting, sponsoring and registering, and I need to change that. We need to send a message that it's not only catering for what people wanted in 2015. I hope that Signal Not Noise opens the door.

Not everyone in the existing community will love this. Some stalwarts will feel like we're abandoning something. I know we can't please everyone but we need to adapt, survive and grow.

A lot has changed since LAST started in 2012, particularly in the last 5-6 years. We've been doing great work in welcoming a wide variety of subject matter, but need to reach more people outside the core community, as that core is not as strong as before, even if its principles are still valid and useful.

What's changing

• The name. Signal Not Noise Conference - making it clear we deliver valuable and practical insights that seek to filter out the noise
• Positioning. A bigger effort to appeal across more digital disciplines and communities (Product, Design, Data, Engineering, and more)

What's staying the same:

• Same team, same values, same commitment to substance
• Same approach: practitioners sharing real work, cross-functional learning, community-driven
• Practitioner-focused content from people doing the work
• Affordable, accessible, community-driven
• Maintaining connection to lean, agile, and systems thinking roots…they remain great and valuable.
• All the things that made LAST worth building and got you excited about it

The timeline

Melbourne (21 November 2025): We'll announce the rebrand at LAST Melbourne as a "this is where we've been, here's where we're going" moment. We may also start to foreshadow this via signalnotnoise.com/.com.au

Adelaide (May 2026): First conference under the Signal Not Noise name.

Other cities: Your timeline depends on when your next conference is scheduled. We'll work with you on local rollout.

What this means for you

In your city:

• You'll be running Signal Not Noise Conference [City] in 2026
• Very similar approach, same community-building, broader tent
• We'll support you with messaging, branding, marketing materials
• You'll have flexibility to adapt messaging for your local community

Right now:

• Process this information
• Think about how it lands for you
• Consider how your local community might react
• Start thinking about timing for your city

Your input matters

I need your help and input on how we execute it in your cities.

Questions to think about:

1. How do you think your local community will react?
2. What concerns do you and the others in your team have?
3. When and how should we tell your local community?
4. What support do you need from me to make this work locally?

The materials

I've got a couple of announcement documents that I've been working on:

1. For LAST community - addresses stalwarts' concerns, emphasises continuity (link)
2. For external audiences - focuses on value proposition, no LAST history needed. (Coming soon)

 They could be templates you can adapt for your city.

What happens next

The next few days:

• Digest this information
• Share your initial reaction with me (concerns, questions, whatever)
• Think about your local rollout approach

Before LAST Melbourne (21 Nov):

• You can discuss questions or concerns you have with me more (and also after the 21st). Schedule a time for us to catch up - https://calendly.com/ed-wong-tabar/

After Melbourne:

• We have a call for each city to work together on timing for communicating to your local LAST communities
• Finalise local rollout plans
• Execute rollout in your cities according to your timelines
• Support each other through the transition
• Build Signal Not Noise together

I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think it was necessary.

LAST has been an incredible community-driven effort, and you've all been central to that. Signal Not Noise is us staying true to those values while opening the door to people who need what we offer but currently don't see themselves in our audience.

As mentioned, please let me know your thoughts - concerns, questions, reactions, whatever.

Thank you! Ed.

P.S. If you want to see the logo concepts and visual direction, let me know. Happy to share where we're headed visually as well. If you know anyone who would be able to lend some expert advice, that also would be good. What you see on this page is a starting point to kick this thing off.