The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) keeps the needs of attendees in mind. Photo by Braden Mitchell / PCMA

For years, the association meeting and event space prioritized the quantity of events offered each year to attendees, with the assumption that the more touchpoints an association had with attendees, the better. But as the events industry has evolved in recent years, associations are emphasizing the quality of events rather than the quantity in order to enhance the attendee experience and improve their overall success.

In her experience in the meetings and events industry, Beth Surmont, vice president of event strategy and design at 360 Live Media, has seen planners embrace the “Jobs To Be Done” (JTBD) model, whereby event planners focus on surface-level attributes and quantity (the number of speakers, the variety of sessions, the attributes of a venue or destinations) in events. But this mindset is evolving.

“We think that the starting point for a successful event is understanding what jobs the audience needs the event to do for them. I agree that this is a shift in thinking,” Surmont says. “It means moving from a tactical plan to a more strategic, audience-centered mindset.” Events are the last “one size fits all” model, and understanding how the event encompasses different audiences with different needs and motivations is the key to creating a compelling event.

As Surmont points out, some groups really care about the destination because it’s their opportunity to add on a vacation. Some groups need an easy trip with just the right amount of highly-relevant material. And everyone wants to understand why the in-person event is worth their time and money.

Find Balance

“We work with our clients to help them understand what their audience defines as quality, and then design the event around these needs,” Surmont says. Specifically, at 360 Live Media, they use a model called the “Four Dimensions” to help ensure the balance across the event. The proposed dimensions of an event are:

Physical – everything you can see and touch. This includes how you access rooms, navigate a property and the way the meeting room feels.

Physiological – this is the wellness aspect. Is there access to water, sunlight and healthy food? Is there enough time to sleep? Does the audience have some down time to breathe and absorb the information?

Emotional – this is the narrative arc of the event. Surmont and her team like to think of the event like a story, each session is building on each other to help the audience connect dots and have “Aha” moments. This is also the dimension where they think about how the audience sees themselves as part of something larger. Are they sharing testimonials, success stories and images that make the audience feel connected to the community and goals of the event?

Intellectual – this is the learning part of the event. It is important to remember that learning happens in multiple ways. Surmount tries to ensure a balance of learning from experts in formal sessions and learning from peers through facilitated networking and hands-on collaboration.

“Looking at your event through these four lenses can help you to see if there are any gaps and make sure you have a well-rounded experience,” Surmont says.

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is continually a model for high-quality events. As Surmount explains, they are very intentional in their design and tuned into the needs of the audience. This is an association for event professionals, so they are always toying with new formats and ensuring highly-relevant content.

“In particular, their EduCon event is designed as a place of experimentation, so event planners can experience different things that they can incorporate into their own events,” Surmont says. “The event feels like a playground with interactive sessions, hands-on tech demos and highly-relevant speakers with takeaways the audience can use immediately.”

On the other end of the spectrum, The NADA Show, orchestrated by the National Automobile Dealers Association, is laser focused on quality and is one of the largest trade shows for auto dealers.

“The event is successful because the team is always innovating and iterating. They focus on building momentum throughout the event so that the energy stays high,” Surmont says. “They craft an intentional narrative with their main-stage speakers that motivates on the first day, connects to the larger community the second day and sends them off with inspiration the final day.”

The main stage opens right onto the show floor so people leave the session feeling pumped; it’s a big hit of energy that drives instant business conversations in the expo. That narrative continues through the education sessions, which are curated and balanced to provide the information that dealers need to be successful. It shows that even an event with 23,000 people and more than 100 sessions can still be intentionally designed for the audience needs.

Marcia White is the senior manager, strategic events & incentives, at MCI USA, an agency that works with associations on event management, marketing and communications. White says that planners working with associations should know what needs to be accomplished, the goal of the event, what attendees need to take away from it and if there are any restrictions that need to be in place.

“If you know the answers to all four of those, you can plan a successful event,” White says. “Event planners are turning more toward the quality of events, but do still think about the surface level attributes. Event planners still need to pick a venue or destination that meets the needs of the meeting. They still need to make sure there is some variety in the session content to keep attendees engaged. But we also look at the quality of the event. It’s all encompassing. You need to have the surface level attributes and the quality to have a successful event. Without both, an event may not be as successful and the attendees may not be as engaged.”

Spend Wisely

Gregorio Palomino, meeting manager and CEO of CRE8AD8, worked with a client that continuously spent money on sponsor branding, wasting money on activations no one used, dropping funds on trying to be the “cool” guys and, although it was cool, it wasn’t growing and it wasn’t gaining notoriety, except just being a “party.”

“When we stepped in over a decade ago, we identified the issues plaguing their movements and actually invested time getting to know their sponsors, underwriters and paying attention to their attendee communications,” Palomino says. “Their overall goal was to do a good job, throw parties and have celebrities all over the place. That’s good and all, but their programs were stale and money was being wasted on things that really didn’t matter because the attendees heard from celebrities that had zero knowledge about the industry and really just signed autographs.”

Since then, Palomino and his team have elevated the learning environments, provided activations that tied in and added gamification in a way that made sense to these attendees and their learning goals. Sponsor packages were redesigned to implement attendee-driven engagement and RFID tracking was implemented to watch the way in which attendees moved throughout the venue and event space when messages were sent out.

“For the first time in their history, and for many years since, not only is the operation more efficient, but it provides a more focused and value-added component to the sponsors,” Palomino says.

For another client, namely a holistic/medical association that was focused on their look, styling and process of the entire experience and the pre-experience was key.

Spark Interest

Start attendee engagement before the event even begins by implementing unique ways to invite them to your event.

“Most associations turn on their program onsite. This association cared enough to turn it on from the beginning … treating the attendee as a true guest from the moment of registration,” says Palomino. They shipped out thoughtful messaging with fragrant scents on how to best experience the conference before they even stepped onto the property. “It set them up for success and their attendance has grown ever since. Their team (with our direction) set the tone, set the mood and provided a full pre/post experience leaving positive memories that continue to grow for their association. The cost was actually less than most other conference expenses due to the efficiency and identifying pain points early on versus going through the movements and discovering hurdles along the way.”

For planners looking to enhance the quality of events they plan, Surmont recommends they always start with the audience. It is critical to understand what the attendees need to get out of event.

“This can best be accomplished with one-on-one interviews and focus groups,” Surmont says. “Asking people what they need, what doesn’t make sense, what keeps them up at night, and what motivates them, helps to identify and understand who is coming to your event.”

Next, it is vital to understand what is going on in the industry. Surmont usually completes a STEP analysis (Social, Technology, Economic, Political) to get a sense of the landscape and what major issues the audience needs to know about. She will pair this with a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis for the association to see what internal strengths can be leveraged and what opportunities can be addressed. This will inform the content and the narrative for the event.

“The third step is the experience, using that four dimensions model to ensure balance and that there is enough time dedicated to ensure that all of the different needs are being met, and that we are providing a relevant and memorable experience,” Surmont says.

White adds that knowing the audience is important. What do they want to focus on? What do they value most? Once you know the target audience, it’s just step by step, working through the learning, engagement and social aspect of what you want to provide.

One recent association event that White helped orchestrate had quality at the forefront – taking everything into consideration: education, networking, exhibitors and time to have those social events to make connections.

“The event had half-day educational sessions with exhibitor and networking breaks dispersed within the half day. The afternoons were open to do whatever the attendees wanted and the events were family friendly so they were able to bring their significant others and children,” White says. “The evening social events brought everyone back together to just kick back and relax with each other. Encompassing all of these aspects of the event made it a high-quality event.”

Palomino also points out that being efficient with the agenda is always key, but that doesn’t mean an event needs 100 breakouts in three days. Just because you have more content doesn’t make your program more valuable … it just makes it busier.

“Attendees want to get the most out of the program, but if you overload the agenda and attendees miss out on opportunities, it’s more of a negative than having enough down time for them to regroup,” Palomino says. “Conferences, meetings and conventions are supposed to be busy, but they’re not supposed to be overwhelming and many are trying too hard to make that a reality. Stop and rethink your objectives.  Focus on the experience and purpose rather than how many sessions you can fit in.”

White would definitely recommend association event planners be organized to ensure a positive attendee experience.

“A well-organized event will shine through and the attendees will have a great experience,” White says. “If it’s running smoothly and they are enjoying themselves, that’s a quality, successful event.”

Focus on Event Access & Aesthetics

It is important to make sure that you have the space you need to achieve everything you are looking to achieve. Pay careful attention to how the space will be laid out. White says, “Planners can use the rooms to make the best layout for learning and then use other rooms to get attendees to interact and socialize to get the most out of their event.”

Surmont suggests focusing on the following: Is the brand dynamic and interesting? Does it “pop” on the signs and stand out against the backdrop of the venue? Does it feel like the event itself is the destination? This even carries over to things like the food – is there a variety of color or is everything brown and fried?

Next, is the event easy to navigate? Was the attendee given information in advance that really tells them what they need to know, like which entrance to use at the convention center or where to get coffee in the morning? Are there enough signs, or human greeters, to help attendees find their way? How long did the attendee have to wait to pick up their badge? When they sit down in their first session, does the attendee feel calm and ready, or are they stressed and exhausted from navigating through hurdles?

And is the event designed for relevancy? Is the attendee going to walk away with what they came to get? That goes back to the audience needs, but it could mean that sessions are not sales pitches and the attendee walks out with a one-pager and practical next steps. Or the attendee is given a specific guide to the show floor that points them to the right products to solve the problems they’re having. Or that they had the chance to make valuable connections through facilitated high-value conversations, not just an open reception space filled with small talk.

“Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I know this all sounds like a lot to pile on top of your already overfull to-do list,” Surmont says. “There are experts who can guide you through this process.”

Measure Your Success

After your event is over, it is crucial to measure how the event went. Did it hold interest? Was it within budget? Did the audience get the messages you had hoped they would walk away with? How did they feel about what you put together?

“Hold focus groups after your event to understand what is working and what isn’t, and address the pain points,” Surmont says. “Have a goal of trying one new thing each year. Make sure you designate time to step back and really watch your audience onsite, so you can see how they are behaving in real-time and see how you might enhance their experience.”

And keep learning – watch what other events do. Try to go to competitor events if you can. This is how you stay at the top of your game.

Doing your due diligence and taking the time to create the best event possible to hold attendee engagement and help to meet their needs, as well as your company’s, will result in an event that will bring attendees back year after year. | AC&F |