“The conference model is broken and needs a rethink”

Wise words, not spoken or written by anyone at Conference Bay (even though we agree with them partly) but by a columnist at the Financial Times in this weekend’s edition of the paper.

What he describes in his column (read the full text here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7564dd38-ee5b-11dd-b791-0000779fd2ac.html)  is the difference between “Homo Conferencus” and “Homo Noninterestus”.  Basically, Brulee identifies 2 types of people visiting conferences and comes to the conclusion there is a lot wrong with the current model of organising these events.

As you know, Conference Bay has at the basis of its business model and beliefs that one of the most basic things that conference organisers could do differently is the pricing of the tickets for their events. In most cases an Early Bird discount and some group discounts are available, but customers nowadays expect something more sophisticated than that, having experienced how (budget) airlines and hotels price their similarly perishable goods.

Since its inception in September 2007  Conference Bay has been chipping away at reactions from organisers like “this is the way we have always done it” and “we do not offer discounts as we have a very high quality event”. In many cases, reactions such as these were followed a few weeks later by phone calls and e-mails asking us to help the organiser sell some additional seats. We believe that especially in the current economic situation conference organisers have a great opportunity to change the way they market and price their product. By asking people how much they are willing to pay for a seat they will not only get a much better understanding of the price point at which they would sell the optimal number of seats (from a profit point of view) but they would also be able to find out if there are price points at which they might be able to sell additional products (say a 3 hour or one day conference instead of the standard 2-3 days).

So when it comes to rethinking the conference model, Conference Bay is ready to help conference organisers to change one of the most important aspects of the marketing mix, namely the pricing dimension. We welcome any courageous and ambitious organiser to join us on this journey.

Visiting conferences during a recession

It’s hard to believe but the turbulent economic times we are in actually provide opportunities for some: Conference Bay has seen a marked increase in the number of bids for conference seats recently, which we believe has to do with the difficult economic climate.

While some people have experienced a total travel ban until at least the end of the year, others have found that visiting a conference is an excellent way to save money on business trips to meet several clients (in many industries it is easy to meet a lot of people at some of the key industry events). Less widely admitted, but no less true, is the fact that at a conference a lot of networking takes place which may help finding a job when the times are rough.

Conference Bay would be interested in finding out what your attitude towards visiting conferences is at the moment, which is why we have developed a little poll. Please let us have your views by choosing one of the responses.

As you know, making a bid for a seat at a conference (and saving significant amounts of money) is quick and easy on our website www.conferencebay.com and if you can’t find the event you are looking for there just drop us a line.

Unconferencing Some Elements of Mainstream Conferences

Matin Brown of Isite wondered if it could be “The future of conferences?”. He was refering to the BarCamp a form of unconference that’s gaining a lot of popularity among the tech savvy conference-goers. Pam Broviak has so interestingly reported her Barcamp Chicago event in a post entitled Barcamp, Social Media and Pizza.

In a previous post, we have pointed out a few shortcomings of the unconferences and to read that you may hop in here. All these notwithstanding, we understand how innovation is so crucial to the growth of the conference industry thoughout the world. While we do not think mainstream conferences will take the form of Barcamp and other unconference types on the whole, just the same, we are of the opinion that the way future conferences are organized may consider a lot of the elements of uncoferences in it. Here, we came up with this list of what mainstream conference organizing can learn from those who calls themselves “unconference unorganizers”:

1. No Spectators. That’s the Barcamp motto, and is reflective of how a conference, ideally, ought to be designed for maximum participation.

2. More Participant-focused. A regular conference can evolve from the speaker-centered events to an exciting mix of experts engaging the delegates with the more participatory workshop type where the audience are active co-creators of content.

2. Networking Value. Pam Broviak tells of how “I retained more from this conference than I normally would at a more traditional event and met more people”

3. Pricewise. Its low-cost if not totally free. While it certainly cannot be duplicated by high-fee corporate mainstream events for the infrastructure and preparation they mount for every event, it can make organizers re-think pricing models and innovations that gives conference-goers options for smart conference going at less price.

4. Social Media rules! “Because many of us were following each other on Twitter, we could post comments or converse online with others in the room or even with people we knew who were not there.” Pam Broviak on Be2Camp.

4. Real global interconnections. Pam Broviak recounts “I sent out a Twitter about the online tool with a link. Martin Brown picked up on this, as we follow each other on Twitter, and he visited the Web site noticing that it was run by someone in Hungary….So within hours, information from a presentation given in Chicago reached London and then Hungary resulting in the participation of a professional in Hungary at a future barcamp in London.” That’s lightning speed in today’s interconnected world and emphasizes how important connectivity is to a well put-together conference.

5. Conferences can be “fun”. “The basis of the conference seems to be that it is totally informal and completely engaging “. While a lot of conference goers are keen to go about their events in style–urban tastes, exciting destinations– there can be ways to make the rmainstream events features more spontaneous, fun and stimulating.

6. Persistent conversation. Unconferences run attractive wiki pages prior to and after an event where ideas for topics are welcome prior to the event, and collaborations are made persistent and structured long after the event is over. This can be adopted as a way of incorporating social media softwares as a way by which new conference learning styles can be constructed and propagated.

7. Don’t forget cuisine. A specially prepared, full course meal that caters to variety of tastes is part of the entire conference experience that organizers must never fail to consider. Please, no cold, boring lately-served meal that looks like you ought -to -pray -it will be tasty. Otherwise, we’d have to say Barcamp’s “coffee and doughnuts in the morning, pizza for lunch, and a get-together at an Irish bar” sounds far more exciting.

The Future of Conferences

The conference industry, like all industries in a global downturn, has some tough issues to face. If the recent results of the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) is indeed a crucial barometer for what is true of the industry all over the world, the conference sector will have to change gears or re-invent itself.

The BCAD’s 2008 British Conference Venues Survey reveals vital insights into the current state of the industry from a supply-side perspective. The survey based on data supplied by a record number of 446 venues across the UK, shows that the UK conference market experienced a revenue downturn in the period from 2005 to 2007 and registered an estimated value of £8billion compared to £9.8billion in the three-year period before.

• There was significant reduction in the average number of conferences per venue

• A slight shift away from residential conferences in favor of the one day conferencing or what we call as non-overnight conferences. This has critical economic impact as residential conferences account for almost two-thirds of overall venue income.

• 30 per cent of venues noted a shortening of lead times in recent years, with many venues commenting that this was now becoming the norm. Eleven per cent reported greater pressure on client budgets

• The survey also revealed an increased level of interest and awareness of CSR and environmental issues, a higher demand for Fairtrade and organic catering, and an increasing demand to meet special dietary requirements.

• The 2008 report confirms a trend noted in the 2007 survey, which highlighted the importance of public sector and association conferences. These now account for 52 per cent of all meetings and conferences, compared to 48 per cent for the corporate sector.

• The dominance of city venues continues. The huge investment in infrastructure and facilities enjoyed by most city destinations over the past couple of decades is reaping benefits in the business events market.

We believe that face-to-face meetings at traditional conferences as we know it here to stay but must necessarily evolve with the times. There are insights from this survey that gives the industry players an informed view  of how to best manage change, and indeed, even capitalize on current trends.

E.Factor Conference 10th September, New York “New Economy: Do or Die”

We are living in challenging times! We are technically in a recession, or recovering from it, depending on whether you see the glass as half full or half empty. As always, we can hole up or find hidden opportunities to turn an adversity into something positive.

Kevin Kelly’s brilliant essay on New Rules for the New Economy has this to say:

“As power flows away from the center, the competitive advantage belongs to those who learn how to embrace decentralized points of control.”

“As fortunes are made by training machines to be ever more efficient, there is yet far greater wealth to be had by unleashing the inefficient discovery and creation of new opportunities!”

Step up into the future of enterprise !

A number of different paths seem to be converging again, paths that have traveled separately – although always connected – for some years. Many eyes are shifting again to the “new generation entrepreneurs.” By new generation, we do not necessarily refer to a reflection of age. New generation entrepreneurs in a downturn can also be those whose spark of vision, daring spirit and sense of adventure lead them to open up their own shop rather then spend more time working for their employer.

Politicians, economists, financial institutions and many other individuals and organizations are suddenly all-ears to the latest buzz among small business owners. News in both mainstream and online media report on the percentages of new businesses that are started and other valuable statistics that creates an environment in which being part of this “New Generation Entrepreneurs” can actually open you up to exciting opportunities.

Emerging markets, globalization, convergence of technologies and industries, and ubiquitous connectivity, all these have changed many aspects of business. They have also changed the nature of consumers. We have consumers who are informed, networked, active and global. At the same time these events have changed the nature of companies. Today firms can fragment their value chain in ways that they could not have done before. Not just the physical products, but the intellectual part of my company – the business processes, management processes, including research and development, engineering – all that can be fragmented. Businesses today, is not restricted to one geographic location, various aspects of its operations can be located and managed from anywhere. 

Economic experts believe small businesses will help the world to a more positive economic plateau again as they go in for the much needed rebound and come forward to create new wealth !

Now for the questions — how do you manage to start out in this environment, or expand your business in different geographic regions? Where CAN you find funding? How can you leverage new technologies, media and marketing? All of these topics are part of the E.Factor half-day conference in New York on the 10th September – Titled: “New Economy: Do or Die” – this is one afternoon you should mark in your diaries. The sessions are topbilled by Fred Seibert of NextNewNetworks, Tom De Bruyne of BoonDoogle, and Robert C. Raciti of GE Commercial Finance. Howard Greenstein of Harbrooke Group, a social media strategist and evangelist will be the moderator.