Conferences can do better. Here's how.

Home Delivery World USA was the first conference I participated in at a panel level.  It's a different experience when you put dollars down isn't it... With that, I wanted to share some thoughts that could improve these conferences for vendors and customers alike.

The most under-rated weapon a conference has to building value is content.

A best friend of mine, Callum called me two days ago as I wrote this article to check in on all things life, work, and the holidays. Specific to the panel I participated in, he asked:

"How was it? I tried to find the video but there is nothing on the (HDW) website."

That's right, there was no footage available from the show beyond b-roll footage of attendees hustling, the standard buzz, busy-ness that we attendees like to see.

Ted Talks slogan since 1984 has been "Ideas Worth Spreading". Why aren't Home Delivery World's Keynotes worth spreading? Why can't I go to their website today and watch the Keynotes from this year, and last? Why isn't it the first thing I see on their home page like Ted?

From what I understand, it's sometimes hard to attribute value to video views, impressions and likes. That is where #darksocial comes in.

If you produce valuable content, your audience will share it in LinkedIn threads, Whatsapp and Facebook groups. They will quote a speaker from a your Keynote's, seminars, panels. They won't always reference the conference but their colleagues will certainly find you when they put that motivational line in google and land on your page.

Suggestion: Set targets that look at content distribution.

Keep your attendee goals, booths sold, sponsorships signed. All well and good today but it will be the content you deliver, retarget and distribute that will grow the value of the business for the years to come. Build that brand value whilst growing your coffers and more profit will come.

If you don't show us the city, it might as well be in Vegas!

Philadelphia is steeped in history. It is here Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of Independence. It's the city that brought you Rocky Balboa ;) Unlike the West Coast, the spaces available are often 300 years old! You can actually smell the industrial revolution, the machine lubricant, the girders. It's got a grit that is just beautiful. 

That being said, if attendees aren't going to see the city, why not just put the conference in Vegas? Commoditized hotel rooms, endless material entertainment, a pool and gym at every turn, the advantages are endless.

WARP hosted an activation off site at the Black Squirrel Philadelphia, a 150+ year old steam-works, turned Naval construction shop, turned auto-body shop, turned event space! I wanted to show attendees the city, and importantly, a different side to #Warp . It was in the heart of Fishtown, an up and coming district well worth the visit. It has a beautiful auditorium space, a foyer for booths alongside a patio for a drink. What's more, attendees could explore the area rather than feeling stuck in a conference center. I lived in Mexico for a year and I think I had the best tacos in my life at Sancho Pistola's right around the corner from the Black Squirrel!

Suggestion: Use city spaces to host #keynotes, after-parties and more.

We are explorers, we are curious. We are travelling salesman. Show us the city. Give us something to talk about when we get home to our families beyond who's booth was the best.

People work hard enough to get there. Make it special for the attendees and the city. Make it something to remember. I know we did.

Use our attention wisely. It's very sh... 

Our generation's attention is so poor, there is a strong likelihood, readers won't get to this sentence.

We participated in a roundtable. There was one attendee. I don't blame the audience. The day prior, we were asked to 'bring people'. What am I paying for if I have to bring shippers to my roundtable? How would you know to go to the basement where there was a maze of throw-away conference rooms? 

When I first got down there, I honestly thought it was a coat check. 

I appreciate these conferences need to make money but there had to have been some passion and inspiration behind the OG? The roundtable experience wasn't it.

Suggestion: Have scheduled booth breaks that force vendors and clients to see keynotes, panels and attend roundtables.

I can promise you, the value per booth, per roundtable, per seminar and therefore profitability altogether will go through the roof if vendors and clients know they will have dedicated time with the right people. 

I will pay you more money for a booth if there is a greater likelihood your conference will give me business. It's that simple.

Use Vendors to host after-parties. A mediocre stall at the exit for 15 minutes won't do the trick. 

There are plenty of creatives in the room. These creatives have at one time or another thrown activations that connect their product to clients.

Suggestion: Have vendors throw activations (after-parties) and It's a win win.

The vendor of choice gets the exposure they need. The conference host doesn't need to think about planning, drinks, entertainment, or the space. As long as its on-brand, it works.

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Conferences are valuable. Are they necessary? I'm not sure. Thats a conversation for another day.

Post Pandemic ways of life have so many of us working from home. There is little opportunity to meet customers and colleagues in person in a way that is cost effective. Conferences could be the place to do it but it has to be more engaging and not over-stimulating. It has to be an adventure, and not 'another work trip'.

I don't know how valuable conferences are today but I do know to retain any value left after the #covid19pandemic, they will have to do more.

I'm excited to see how they shape up.