Value of Association Events
10
June 2019
Everything you need to know from
the Associations World Congress
AEM travelled to Gothenburg, the world’s most sustainable meetings destination, where the
Associations World Congress 2019 served up some food for thought. And spiky lobsters
Towers, a hotel venue connected to the
Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre
(Svenska Massan koncernen).
Across a three-day programme, delegates
heard from speakers on a variety of topics,
ranging from how to market associations
and attract young leaders, to sustainability
and how events can raise the profile of an
association.
What’s the point of events?
he concept of Fika is an
important part of Swedish
culture.
Translated literally, it means
a “coffee and cake break” – but it has a
greater significance than that. Fika is a
ritual. It means taking time to refresh the
brain, to relax and meet with friends or
colleagues over a drink and something to
eat.
It’s a spirit which was tapped into by the
Associations World Congress 2019, which
took place from 7-9 April in the city of
Gothenburg. Gothenburg is the home of
Swedish car giant Volvo, which directly
employs over 21,000 people in the city.
It has also been ranked the world’s most
sustainable meetings destination for three
years running, according to the Global
Destination Sustainability Index.
AWC 2019, which was organised by
the Association of Association Executives
(AAE), delivered insight and opinion from
key figures in the industry, who gathered
to discuss the trends and challenges facing
associations today. It took place in Gothia
Day one kicked off with an opening
keynote by Paul Welander, senior vice
president and advisor to the CEO of Volvo.
He talked about how closely connected the
company is to the city of Gothenburg, and
Sweden as a whole - Volvo makes up more
than 10% of the country’s entire GDP, and
is Gothenburg’s largest employer by some
way.
In the Events Strategy Forum, Rodney
Cox, events director at International Gas
Union, then delivered a keynote titled:
“What’s the point of events? Assessing
their value and contribution to objectives.”
He talked about the difficulty, but
also the importance, of balancing an
association’s objectives with marketable
events. “Associations move slower than
the marketplace,” he said. “So if you want
the money, if you want to stay on trend
in events, do you begin to leave your
association objectives behind? There’s a
balance you have to find.”
He said it was critical that associations
clearly communicate what their objectives
actually are, and that everyone working
within the association is aware of them.
Many organisations do not have a clearly
defined set of values, or objectives.
“Ensure your events are magnifiers of your
objectives,” he advised. “Break down silos
within your organisation, and get everyone
speaking the same language.”
Once that happens, he said, associations
can start to generate advocates – people
who will independently preach the
benefits of membership. “Advocacy is
an underexplored area in the association
world,” he said. “International Gas
Union has heavily shifted our focus to
advocacy, when it comes to marketing and
communication.”
Lastly, Cox also discussed the networking
benefits which events can bring to
associations. International Gas Union
events, he said, always received feedback
from delegates saying they wanted more
networking. The difficulty, however, was
that as an industry gas is very hierarchical,
and top execs had no reason or desire to
network with those lower down the food
chain.
As a solution, the organisation
implemented a ‘traffic light’ system, which
Cox says made all delegates feel like they
“had permission to say hello”. It made
all attendees feel welcomed, and led to
an increase in community and advocacy
among the association.
“Associations move
slower than the
marketplace” –
Rodney Cox, events
director, International
Gas Union