The Show Must Go On

How big groups are staying afloat and carrying on with annual meetings during trying economic times.

Even in troubled economic times, the show must go on. The fiscal climate has hurt all levels of the meetings industry. Does it hold true that the bigger an event, the bigger the pain? Not necessarily, but the challenges do come on a grand scale, according to the planners we talked to who stage annual events for groups with attendances larger than 10,000.

For associations whose last annual meeting fell before the fourth quarter of 2008, their attendance figures and exhibit hall sales may not have seen dips. But groups in annual January or February rotations definitely had the economy factor into the planning process.

Planners are looking warily at the rest of 2009—especially those whose association's budget sinks or swims based on the success of the annual meeting. Some large groups generate upward of 40-50 percent of yearly income at their annual shows.

So does a down economy mean a show organizer needs to cut corners? It might. But a savvy planner uses her relationship with vendors to create a program that retains value to attendees—and doesn't risk the entire future of the event.

We wondered if planners of large association meetings were concerned that events were perceived as overly lavish, in a time when that might be frowned upon by the membership. It's a bit of a tightrope, apparently. Some say it's bad if your group is a nonprofit, and attendees believe frugality has been ignored. Others say there are ways to spend less but still maintain a meeting at a level that longtime attendees have come to expect.

Here, then, are looks at four large association groups that hold annual events and are finding success amid the current economic landscape.

Making It Count

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) drew 14,352 to its 2009 International Convention, following 20,000 in 2008. BIO's 2007 conference in Boston set an attendance record with 22,366, and organizers attribute the drop-off partially to the economy but more so to the higher concentration of biotech practitioners living in the Boston/Cambridge area.

BIO is a 17-year-old business meeting about science, says Vice President of Conventions and Conferences Robbi Lycett. "We get a lot of the research and development people in the biotech field," she says. "And there is a lot of partnering and networking going on." In San Diego in 2008, more than 14,500 structured partnering meetings were scheduled in the BIO Business Forum. These are 30-minute get-togethers that might be between biotech companies and investors, licensors, or anybody else involved in the industry. The 2009 event saw only a slight dip to 14,202 meetings.

Lycett says attendance for the San Diego meeting was strong on a week-to-week basis. About 50 percent of registration comes in six to eight weeks before the annual June conference. But for the last three to four weeks, when numbers usually spike, they simply leveled off.

On the exhibition floor, BIO has seen growth every year. But Lycett had anticipated a possible flattening out for its 2009 meeting in Atlanta. In part, this is because of consolidation in the market—there are fewer biotech companies in existence this year; some have gone out of business and others have been bought up.

"We've had several smaller business development conferences so far—and the quality remains high," says Lycett. "We see the senior people are still coming. But each company is not bringing as many total people."

One way BIO is trying to maintain its attendance figure is to co-locate smaller events with its international convention. In Atlanta, 11 meetings that are related to BIO but are not strictly biotech events met concurrently.

"Some of these events have been with us for awhile," says Lycett. "For example, there's a human resources conference that normally is a stand-alone. But this is a good year to co-locate. They get 300 registered at this HR conference. They'll be able to attend our sessions and walk the exhibit hall. We hope this will help make up for the lower concentration of biotech companies in the Atlanta area."

Because the convention was in Atlanta, where the Centers for Disease Control are based, BIO also partnered with the CDC, which offered two half-day academic programs. Those participants were also eligible to tour the exhibit floor.

Many companies that do business at BIO have their own receptions and dinners, and Lycett expects that will continue to be the case moving forward. But she believes those companies will be more selective in who they invite, to help save money.

"With BIO events, we'll make some cuts here and there," she says. "But we will maintain our quality. We won't do anything this year that will affect us in future years." The 2010 BIO will be in Chicago.

"We'll keep up the level of our big party, because everybody loves it," she says. "It's not just a party—it's a continuation of people doing business, with the partnering and the networking. And we'll keep getting high-level keynote speakers." Recent notables have included President Bill Clinton in 2006, actor Michael J. Fox in 2007, and General Colin Powell last year. This year's speakers included Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), Gov. Howard Dean (D-VT), and Karl Rove, with a keynote speech by Sir Elton John.

Prescription for Success

The American Thoracic Society's (ATS) International Conference attracted 16,000 to Toronto in 2008. The year before, a record 17,000 attended the conference in San Francisco. This May, in the face of a down economy, organizers hoped attendance numbers would stay up when the group met in San Diego. They remained fairly strong, but slightly down, with attendance figures coming in just shy of 14,000.

The ATS's membership is composed primarily of doctors, and the conference and exhibition attract physicians and pharmaceutical representatives, as well as other vendors. About half of the doctors that attend are international visitors.

The meeting is always held within the United States, but ATS now sets up an International Hospitality Lounge. This is where people from other countries can gather and find people who speak their native language. The lounge is staffed by people who circulate and help make introductions.

Debbie Richardt, senior director of meeting services, has been with the ATS for 23 years. "Especially when there are economic issues, relationships are all the more important," she says. "With the convention and visitors bureaus, and with the big hotels, you develop working relationships. And you get the best price for catering and meeting space. That's what gets you a quality meeting where you don't have to cut corners."

One thing that affects Richardt's bottom line is pharmaceutical guidelines that dictate what vendors can give out in booths. If some vendors are prohibited from giving out certain samples, that can lead to them withholding sponsorships.

"Attendance held its own for our San Diego meeting, but sponsorships were down $1.5 million," says Richardt. She also says some vendors opted for smaller booths this year—downsizing from 40-by-50 foot booths to 10-by-10s.

Richardt regularly communicates with about 15 other planners who work in a variety of industries—insurance, medical, and other trades. She says everybody reports they are off by 10-20 percent in attendance this year, as a direct result of the economy.

So what are possible solutions? "We're looking at the registration categories on a regular basis, and seeing which ones aren't on track from last year," says Richardt. "We have a marketing strategy where our communications department will tailor a mailing to those groups."

ATS also targeted the local California market for the San Diego meeting. People who don't have to travel as far may be more likely to attend a meeting in their own backyard. "A doctor from Germany may be more inclined to stay for a meeting in Brussels than make it to San Diego, with the economy and the cost of travel as factors," says Richardt.

She's confident the ATS conference will not be killed by the economy. The 2010 meeting is scheduled for New Orleans, and Richardt says she's looked into site selection through the year 2026. But she's crossing her fingers that the U.S. market picks up the slack this year during a likely international attendance decline.

See You in Singapore

The FDI World Dental Federation holds an Annual World Dental Congress that is fully international in scope. It's 2007 convention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, drew 14,293 attendees. The 2008 meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, saw an increase to 15,254.

The group represents roughly 200 national dentist associations and specialty groups. It's a non-governmental organization that has official relations with the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Delegates come from more than 100 countries, and the event includes approximately 100 speakers over four days. There's also a trade show that showcases state-of-the-art dental technology, equipment, and products.

The federation's next meeting is September, in Singapore. Because of the world economy, Chief Executive Dr. David Alexander has some concerns about attendance and exhibit floor sales.

"For the Stockholm meeting, the economic situation wasn't a major problem," says Alexander. "Now, we have some concerns."

As such, the FDI World Dental Federation team is working on a promotional push. "We are focusing our resources on finely tuning efforts that highlight the 'experience' attendees will have from both the congress and the host city," says Alexander. "The host venue is very important, as our attendees make a big personal investment to attend. Delegates look at the whole package—including cost of flights, hotels, the congress program, and activities available."

Talking Turkey

The National Wild Turkey Federation's (NWTF) 2008 annual convention in Atlanta saw a deep drop in attendance. The event usually draws over 40,000; last year it got just 25,000.

The Edgefield, SC-based nonprofit group, with more than 500,000 members, was formed in 1973. It initially focused on the restoration of the wild turkey population but has evolved into a habitat and hunting heritage organization. Part of the outreach effort of the organization is aimed at allowing outdoor access for youth, women, and the disabled.

The meeting includes breakout sessions, dinners, functions, and an awards ceremony that attracts about 4,000 people. A four-acre exhibit hall, with a sold-out floor containing 545 booths, is packed with vendors that relate to outdoors industries.

The annual convention is also the site of the Super Bowl of Turkey Callers. More than 150 contestants vie for about $25,000 in cash and prizes.

This February, the event shifted back to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Resort in Nashville, TN. Before the foray to Atlanta, the NWTF had met five of the past seven years in Nashville. Seemingly recession-proof, the attendance this year shot back up to the 40,000 level.

Like many large association meetings during this economic downturn, attendance figures for the NWTF seem to rely on local turnout. "I'd say 80 percent of our people live within driving distance of Nashville," says public relations manager Brian Dowler.

To that end, Dowler says they've signed on for the next seven years at the Opryland. "We'll wait and see, but I don't think the economy will hurt us," he says. "Weather can hurt us—if it's a nice day, well, a lot of outdoors people don't necessarily want to stay inside. But despite the economy, people generally come looking for us."

Originally published Aug. 1, 2009

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