Creating the 365 Day Long Conference & Expo
Barbara A. Myers, CAE, Vice President Association Services,
IMN Solutions
Kevin Miller, President, Frost Miller Group
LEVERAGE
THE POWER OF THE NETWORK.
IMEX Frankfurt 2014
21.05.14
10:30 – 11:00
Tech Hub, Show Floor,
Stand 3700
Learner Outcomes
• To learn benefits of a year
round event model.
• To develop a strategy for
transitioning an
event/exhibition to a year
round experience.
• To gain new ideas for
specific tactics that can be
implemented.
What is a 365 Day Experience?
• IAEE Future Trends Task Force – White Paper: Future Trends Impacting
the Exhibition and Events Industry.
• Transitioning “episodic” events to year-round communities
around specific content
• Implementing a digital media platform with the right mix of
technology, skilled personnel, consultants, vendors and “content”
strategy.
• Enables the show organizer, attendees, exhibitors, sponsors,
presenters and prospects to engage before, during and after a live
event (including, education, operations, promotion, sales, content,
data, social media, face-to-face)
Benefits
• Counters impact of digital media’s 24/7
competitive interaction with fixed date F2F events
• Increases engagement (among all event
stakeholders which increases value/ROI)
• Expands reach and generates impressions outside
existing databases, lists, etc.
• Financial (revenue generation/cost containment)
• Addresses generation challenges and reaches
“online generation”
Community Composition
Exhibitor/Sponsors
NonAttendees
Attendees
Speakers
Press/Bloggers
Strategy and Planning
Strategic Planning
Goals
Marketing
Engagement
Tactics
Execution
Strategy
• Identify events to transition from “episodic” to year-round
communities aligned with strategic priorities and growth
goals of event (or association if applicable)
• Evaluate current digital media strategy and use
• Answer question - “What kind of value should I be creating
for my audience year-round that makes the event the
natural next step in their buying process?”
Goals
• Engagement/
Attendance
• Revenue
• Satisfaction Rating
(increase
stakeholder ROI)
Marketing
• Clearly Defined Plan
• Describe Target Audience
• Tactics Align with Audience
• Maximize Registration Opportunities
• Use Social Media to Recruit, Engage, and
Retain Audiences
• Seek Ongoing, Persistent Relationships with
Audience
Execution
• Evaluate internal/external
resources
• Buy-in from organizational
stakeholders
• Roles and responsibilities
• Strategy/goals, goal oriented
tactical plan and time lines
• Budget
• Training
• Evaluate against goals
Engagement Tactics
Communication
Participation
• Digital content and media: streaming and downloads
• Online/mobile gaming and sweepstakes
• SEM advertising: banner and text
• Mobile-specific applications such as attendee
networking/notification
• Microsites and similar event-branded websites – content
hub!
• Content sharing: Slideshare, iTunesU, YouTube
• Email: both email marketing and updates/advisory
• Twitter (or similar) as back channel during presentation
• “Virtual/Hybrid” events and content distribution
(“remote” education, networking, etc.)
• Physical interactive touchscreens, interactive
environments
• Augmented/enhanced reality
Propagation
• Tablet-guided discussion — animations, imagery,
diagrams
• Blogs and similar one-to-many publishing platforms
• Gamification
• -Twitter, Facebook, association propriety social networks
and other one-to-one engagement platforms
• QR Codes — more info, check-in’s credential
exchange
• #Hashtags
• RSS and other content syndication
Contact Us
Barbara A. Myers, CAE
Vice President, Association Services
IMN Solutions
bmyers@imnsolutions.com
Kevin Miller
President
Frost Miller Group
kmiller@frostmiller.com