Association Event Network September 2019 | Page 18

Brightelm Column
DEAR ROB...
Brightelm’s Rob Eveleigh provides some troubled
association eventprofs with a shoulder to cry on,
and some practical advice
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Dear Rob - my association hosts an
annual flagship conference, but
we’re struggling after years of the
same old format. What can I do to
give it a fresh look, and shake things
up without losing the all-important
community engagement? Thanks,
Andrew, Edinburgh
Andrew, your issue is very common –
but fear not, so long as you keep your
community at the heart of your events,
you will not drift far. Besides, what makes
you think a shake-up is likely to result in
alienation? Many associations struggle
to stay relevant, but let me assure you,
keeping your event the same year after
year will put the nail in the coffin of your
organisation quicker than you can say
Many associations
struggle to stay
relevant, but keeping
your event the same
year after year will put
the nail in the coffin
of your organisation
quicker than you
can say ‘Association
Event Network’.
‘Association Event Network’.
In reality, most of your members will
welcome a fresh new look to engagement,
particularly those who are your future
leaders. Have you asked yourself: “why
are we running this event?” If you haven’t,
make sure you do, and soon. The answer
will lead you in your event design journey.
I recommend EventCanvas, by the Event
Design Collective. It’s a great methodology
for helping to review the event design
process, and the outcomes can be quite
surprising. Do use an independent and
qualified consultant to walk you through
the process, though.
A word of caution: don’t change for
the sake of change. If and when you do
change, you’ll deliver much better value
for your members if you focus on what’s
important to them, both now and in the
future…not what might have been 10 or
20 years ago. Good luck!
Dear Rob - I’ve been an event
manager in my organisation for a
few years now, but I’m never given
time to go out and learn more.
Can you suggest any good online
resources I can look at?
Priti, London
Priti, stop right there! There is a world of
online resources available to you, but let’s
www.aenetwork.co.uk
look at a slightly larger issue, which affects
many internal event professionals.
That’s the key word - professional.
How can you be expected to re-organise,
re-strategise and deliver new event
concepts without appropriate learning
and development? You are a professional
and much like accountants, lawyers, risk
managers and data miners, you need a
good and regular dose of CPD in order to
remain relevant.
I would imagine you’ll be asked to
write a business case for the funding you
need, but rather than writing the business
case ‘for’, try writing it on the basis of
what is likely to happen if you don’t get
the funding, such as less engagement at
events, and lower membership.
There are some great content providers
for the events industry. As you work in an
association, I’d recommend membership
of ABPCO, whose membership specialises
in delivering events for associations
(disclaimer: I’m on the board, other
associations are available!). If budget
allows, I’d also advise attendance at
the MPI European Meetings and Events
Conference.
If you are strapped for funding, then
most of the big industry exhibitions
offer free education programmes. And
finally, you might also want to check
out the Delegate Wranglers, a Facebook
community based in the UK that has
a membership of over 15,000 event
professionals.
Above all, value your own education
as highly as that of your members.
Ultimately, they will be the ones that
benefit.