Coffee shop conferences
March 2017 Measure of Success 5
Capturing the legacy
Coffee shop conferences
ABPCO board member and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau’ s head of conventions, Aileen Crawford says measurement and extending value are keys to success
Legacy: a word we’ re all familiar with, but what does it really mean and, more importantly, how do you demonstrate it? You worked for months, preparing your association’ s annual meeting and, to all intents and purposes, it was a success – your delegates gave rave reviews about the content, the venue, the destination and the social programming. Now your attention turns to next year; but have you captured the full impact of your previous congress? The knowledge exchanged or generated, the research initiated, the business deals cemented? Did your meeting foster collaboration? Was it a catalyst for change; did it break down trade barriers? Was there a tangible effect on the local community?
Global standard Last January the Joint Meetings Industry Council( JMIC),
Smelling the coffee with keynote speakers in Glasgow
together with ICCA and the University of Technology in Sydney, began an initiative to develop global standards for how associations can measure and report these impacts. The same principles underpin our‘ Tomorrow’ s bureau, today’ campaign looking at the next generation of conventions measurement. Globally, destination marketing organisations and convention bureaux have traditionally validated the benefits of a conference in their city through delegate spend and the direct financial impact on the economy. However, the business tourism industry is increasingly recognising the need to delve deeper and demonstrate the wider legacy benefits that conferences return. At GCMB, this has included interviewing clients and conference ambassadors, analysing quantitative and qualitative data and conducting evaluation research. We also report our findings to JMIC. We believe that legacy goes hand in hand with planning. Be clear not only about the objectives of your conference, but how you will measure them. And don’ t be afraid to take your meeting outside the walls of the convention centre. Academics or medical professionals, for example, are always looking for ways to record the impact of their research and engaging with the local community does just that. It has the dual benefit of highlighting their research to a wider audience while informing local residents about the congress taking place in their city. An example of this was Glasgow’ s hosting of the sixth Europaediatrics Congress, in 2013, which brought child healthcare specialists to the city.
Our collection of‘ coffee shop conferences’ saw keynote speakers from the congress meeting with Glasgow families in local coffee shops to discuss early years learning. Another example was our hosting of Diabetes UK’ s conference. We supported Diabetes UK with the delivery of a‘ Know Your Risk’ roadshow in the heart of the city, which helped 250 people find out their risk of Type 2 diabetes, with 33 % of those subsequently being referred to their GP. Organisers can play their part in the‘ beyond tourism’ benefits of conference measurement by working with clients to:
• Ensure meetings have clearly defined objectives;
• Look to leverage additional benefits around knowledge transfer, innovation and societal impact;
• Encourage or even fund evidential documentation of the KPIs and actively promote the outcomes.
Showcasing the legacy that our industry has will ultimately enrich our understanding of the true impact of meetings – going beyond the economic to include scientific, academic, societal, industrial and destination profiling outcomes, which, in turn, will further position our industry in the context it deserves.