As many of you know Experient concluded its 2009 e4 Conference on Wednesday, 8/5 with a free live webcast of the panel discussion “Technology and the Future of Meetings.” Great news  — if you missed the live version of this event, a free archive of the webcast is available for post event viewing.  To access it click here.

Approximately 300 ppl were present in the live audience for the event and another 216 participated virtually. The Experient  official hashtag #e4chat drew 44 active Twitter users, some onsite at the event and the rest participating from cyberspace.  To view a recap of that entire chat transcript please click here.

The session featured the following oustanding panelists:

• Stephen Nold (Moderator) – Advon Technologies
• Nicole Buraglio – Hanley Wood Exhibitions
• Mike Immerwahr – Microsoft
• RD Whitney – Tarsus Online Media

(L to R) Mike Immerwahr, Nicole Buraglio, RD Whitney, Stephen Nold

For a recap of the discussion during this session about social media as well as the rest of the conference please visit my personal blog, McCurry’s Corner and view the article entitled “The New Business Culture.” There really were some terrific insights about the future of technology presented.

Adrian Mabry posting on "Tweetdeck"

A remarkable aspect of this event was the fluidity of dialogue exchanged between the live and cyber audience via Twitter.  It felt like those folks tweeting from afar were right there in the room with us.  The panel fielded questions from the live audience, but more significantly they responded to the cyber participants as well.  This is the essence and spirit of a hybrid event!!

Face2Face Meetings are so important to the culture of doing business, but it is crystal clear to me that social media will play a critical role in enhancing the reach and value of these events for months and years to come. Please make sure you watch the archive version of the webcast.  You don’t want to miss it and we would love your feedback!

Question — In your opinion what is the next step to raising the bar in creating educational content that is viewable both live and from cyberspace?  I look forward to your comments.

Thanks to all who attended our session at e4.  I hope you all enjoyed the topic.  We loved the passion that you all showed in coming up with “What will the meetings of the future look like?”.  We looked at five burning areas/questions and focused our attention on them.  Below is a recap that you as a group developed through your sharing.  Stay tuned for a great study that will be released in October from Oxford Economics on this very topic.  It will be very educational and pivotal to our industry.  We will post it once we received.

1. Grow/Retain Membership and Attendance – What role do conventions and meetings play in increasing and maintaining membership for an association, driving attendance or motivating people to attend an association’s meeting?  Will larger meetings be a thing of the past associations shift to smaller regional meetings costing less to produce?   Do you believe associations will begin merging or partnering with other similar accredited associations to build attendance?

• Considering tying together annual meeting fees with a free 1-year membership.  However, are associations doing a good job of converting non- members to members? Consensus says “no”.  This is an easy way to recruit new members.  People interested enough to attend the annual meeting should be prime candidates for membership.
• On-line tool kit – See ASAE website as they have a great justification tool kit outlining reasons why you should attend the meeting, how to calculate the ROI, etc….Don’t recreate the wheel.  Use these resources that already exist.
• Voice broadcasting – Consider having the Executive Director/President of the association do broadcast voicemails to grow attendance and retain current membership.  PCMA has done this on many of occasions.
• During a tough economy consider extending membership dues, allowing grace periods or setting up a payment plan for those that are on a limited budget or have lost a job.  It is easier to maintain a member than acquire a new one.

2. Technology – How will meetings of the future differ from those of the past and present due to the advancement of technology?  Will social networking sites and teleconferencing and video conferencing eventually totally replace face to face meetings?

• Use technology to enhance F2F meetings, especially with social media.  But don’t assume  everyone is up to date on all social media.  Provide education on how to use social media from the very basic through the advanced technology.
• Incorporate audience response systems in meetings, not just for general session but also for break-out sessions.  Interactive services are important especially with the X and Y generations.
• Don’t just use technology during the meetings but also pre and post events.

3. Marketing to Many Generations – How will the fact that we have four “generations” in the work place affect the growth of association membership and convention attendance? How do we market to the various generations so we can grow membership and attendance?

• Make certain you have an effective marketing plan that is focused on hitting all generations.
• Spend time training to educate on the various generations.
• Are you asking your members / non-members how they heard about your association and / or meeting?
• Are you maximizing your “viral” marketing ?
• Does the three touch rule apply when marketing to various generations?
• Develop focus groups representing different generations to solicit their feedback on what works and what does not work when marketing to them.

4. Deliver Increased ROI to attendees – How will meetings of the future differ from those of the past and present in order to deliver increased ROI?  What will this increased ROI look like?

• Increase networking opportunities – These can fall into several areas; peer to peer, mentor protégé, vendor/buyer and having the access to network with executive leadership.
• Educational Content – Keep it fresh and relevant, can attendees receive CEU’s/CME’s while at the meeting?  If so, it will drive ROI, provide case studies and fan panels of hot topics.
• Offer flexibility while at the meetings so attendees can still get their job done while away from the office.

5. Leverage the importance of F2F – Will the need for F2F meetings ever change or disappear? If yes, what will it look like?   If no, what will it look like?

• F2F meetings will change but never disappear.
• Technology will enhance F2F meetings but not replace meetings.
• We need to tailor F2F to service all generations and cater events to target and accommodate all attendees.
• Supplement F2F using technology rather than replacing the meetings.  Look for companies who can assist with integrating F2F with technology.
• Understand the makeup of your audience when determining what media to use.

Just got back from e4 – what a terrific time we had networking with clients, partners and colleagues. I learned a lot too. For instance, I learned that people really will follow me on Twitter, even though I’m not exactly sure why yet. I learned that I need more than five hours sleep a night and apparently that I get cranky if 45 minutes goes by without eating something. I also learned that it is unwise to drink an entire Diet Coke if the session is going to be 90 minutes long and the bathroom is a mile and a half away.

But seriously, I also had the pleasure of attending the closing general session where we learned from Roger Dow, President and CEO of the US Travel Association about what’s going on with the events industry.

Roger shared a number of interesting facts with us, such as:

• 1 in 8 jobs in the United States are related to travel and tourism
• Meetings and events contribute $101 BILLION in spending in the United States
• A survey of Chief Marketing Officers indicated that meetings offer the highest Return on Investment of any marketing channel
  

  Roger Dow

With facts like that, it is shocking to me that our industry is facing such scrutiny. How can people, including our own government not understand how valuable our industry is to the economy of our country? According to Roger, part of the issue is us. He says that “we can no longer afford to play to not get hurt; we have to play to win.” The meetings business is America’s Industry – travel and tourism plays a role in every state.

Paco Saldaña

I was moved by the story of Paco Saldaña. Saldaña, director of guest services at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla., was chosen by thousands of his peers to be the new ‘Face of Travel.’ More than 16,000 people participated in the Faces of Travel contest creating and voting on hundreds of videos submitted from around the country. Paco Saldaña was selected as the industry spokesperson that embodies the vitality of travel and the importance of increasing travel to and within the United States. Unfortunately, when business meetings and events are cancelled, its people like Saldaña – not corporate CEOs – who pay the highest price.

We must speak out to change the perception of our business. Perception does not pay the electric bill, or feed our families. We are all the “Face of Travel”. So put a “face” on our industry – write letters to elected officials, post articles about the meetings industry on your Facebook page, Linked In, and Twitter. Tell your family, friends and everyone you meet what you do and how important it is to our country and our economy.

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.” – Henry David Thoreau