Comments on: The Recession’s Lasting Impact On Conference Attendance http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/ Helping improve your annual meetings, conferences & education Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:13:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Cameron258 http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2583 Cameron258 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:04:53 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2583 Our country had been so much affected by this Economic Recession. there are lots of job cuts and company shutdowns. We are seeing some signs of economic recovery right now and we hope that it would continue. ***** Our country had been so much affected by this Economic Recession. there are lots of job cuts and company shutdowns. We are seeing some signs of economic recovery right now and we hope that it would continue.
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]]> By: Jeff Hurt http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2391 Jeff Hurt Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:37:04 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2391 @Conference Coordinator Thanks for the comment--and a great comment it was too. I concur with your statement "...that there will be shift in cashflow..." and "As event planners we have to continue to evolve, to stay on top of trends (if not ahead of them)..." Great insight there. Thanks again for stopping by. @Conference Coordinator
Thanks for the comment–and a great comment it was too. I concur with your statement “…that there will be shift in cashflow…” and “As event planners we have to continue to evolve, to stay on top of trends (if not ahead of them)…” Great insight there. Thanks again for stopping by.

]]> By: Conference Coordinator http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2378 Conference Coordinator Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:20:25 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2378 Some of us of course, (me, because I saw the impossibility of prices continuing to rise in property out here on Spain which led to us being thrifty from a year or two back) were not 'that' suprised by the recent (and ongoing) recession. Having said that we were still way off base with our adjusted targets and it really has been a year of hurt. Maybe we have survived but certainly have not grown at previous trends. If we hadnt have already started being 'tight' then things could have been a lot worse. I definately agree and have been saying myself that there will be shift in cashflow at least. Event holders are going to be looking more closely at their budgets from here on in, less waste, more streamlining. Social media and things like the new Google Wave are changing the landscape as we speak and more and more companies and corporate bodies will be joining and adding them to thier marketing mix. As event planners we have to continue to evolve, to stay on top of trends (if not ahead of them) to change some marketing avenues, to utilise and track new media solutions, to be more heavily involved with tech and gadgets than ever before... I say the worst is over for us personally, we were one of the first and worst hit industries, particularly for Spain's Business tourism on the whole. Now I see some light. I predicted much later enquiries over the next year still with events being arranged much closer to the actual date and already this is 'starting' to show signs of activity. Great blog, I think I will add this to my blogroll, keep it up! Some of us of course, (me, because I saw the impossibility of prices continuing to rise in property out here on Spain which led to us being thrifty from a year or two back) were not ‘that’ suprised by the recent (and ongoing) recession.

Having said that we were still way off base with our adjusted targets and it really has been a year of hurt. Maybe we have survived but certainly have not grown at previous trends. If we hadnt have already started being ‘tight’ then things could have been a lot worse.

I definately agree and have been saying myself that there will be shift in cashflow at least. Event holders are going to be looking more closely at their budgets from here on in, less waste, more streamlining. Social media and things like the new Google Wave are changing the landscape as we speak and more and more companies and corporate bodies will be joining and adding them to thier marketing mix.

As event planners we have to continue to evolve, to stay on top of trends (if not ahead of them) to change some marketing avenues, to utilise and track new media solutions, to be more heavily involved with tech and gadgets than ever before…

I say the worst is over for us personally, we were one of the first and worst hit industries, particularly for Spain’s Business tourism on the whole. Now I see some light. I predicted much later enquiries over the next year still with events being arranged much closer to the actual date and already this is ‘starting’ to show signs of activity.

Great blog, I think I will add this to my blogroll, keep it up!

]]> By: Janet Reyen http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2357 Janet Reyen Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:41:51 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2357 Our country was also hit hard by the Economic Recession. At least we are seeing some signs of economic recovery now. I hope that we could recover soon from this recession. a.- Our country was also hit hard by the Economic Recession. At least we are seeing some signs of economic recovery now. I hope that we could recover soon from this recession.
a.-

]]> By: Dave Lutz http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2309 Dave Lutz Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:37:40 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2309 Jeff, I'm a little late visiting this post. The analytical side of me had to double check your math to make sure that the four groups added up to 100%. You did good! I'm thinking there's a missing segment though...the <b>"Voluntary Apathetic Frugalists"</b>. These are the people that showed up last year, didn't get enough out of the conference and ain't coming back because their money is better spent on other stuff. This group represents 18% of your audience and runs across the board on age and gender. ;-) No question that 2010 is going to be a tough year for lots of segments/events. Most sponsor and exhibit commitment for 2009 were made before the bottom hit in Q4 of 2008. Tougher decisions were made in 2009 for 2010. Less sponsors/exhibitors makes it harder to keep registration fees down. Associations are going to have to ratchet things up for 2010 to compete. It's going to be another interesting year for many of us. Dave Lutz - @velchain Jeff, I’m a little late visiting this post. The analytical side of me had to double check your math to make sure that the four groups added up to 100%. You did good! I’m thinking there’s a missing segment though…the “Voluntary Apathetic Frugalists”. These are the people that showed up last year, didn’t get enough out of the conference and ain’t coming back because their money is better spent on other stuff. This group represents 18% of your audience and runs across the board on age and gender. ;-)

No question that 2010 is going to be a tough year for lots of segments/events. Most sponsor and exhibit commitment for 2009 were made before the bottom hit in Q4 of 2008. Tougher decisions were made in 2009 for 2010. Less sponsors/exhibitors makes it harder to keep registration fees down. Associations are going to have to ratchet things up for 2010 to compete.

It’s going to be another interesting year for many of us.

Dave Lutz – @velchain

]]> By: Jeff Hurt http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2285 Jeff Hurt Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:51:03 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2285 @Michelle - Fantastic comments. Thanks for adding them and I agree 100%. @Michelle – Fantastic comments. Thanks for adding them and I agree 100%.

]]> By: associationjam.org http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2271 associationjam.org Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:16:57 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2271 <strong>Midcourse Corrections » The Recession’s Lasting Impact On Conference Attendance...</strong> "Many have internalized simplicity and thrifty-living and expecting conference attendance to return to 2008 numbers may be a fallacy of the past." ... Midcourse Corrections » The Recession’s Lasting Impact On Conference Attendance…

“Many have internalized simplicity and thrifty-living and expecting conference attendance to return to 2008 numbers may be a fallacy of the past.” …

]]> By: Michelle Bruno http://jeffhurtblog.com/2009/11/30/the-recession%e2%80%99s-lasting-impact-on-conference-attendance/comment-page-1/#comment-2231 Michelle Bruno Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:14:20 +0000 http://jeffhurtblog.com/?p=1161#comment-2231 Jeff: I agree that there will be a new normal, if and when the recession blows over for no other reason than remembering the behavior of my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. The experience was traumatizing for them and it affected them their entire lives. When they scolded us about wasting electricity or not eating all of our food, they were still reliving the hardships they experienced. What do I do now with my own children? I walk around turning off the lights and making sure they don't waste food. I believe there will be an institutional legacy of the same sort for our industry. Exhibitors were already complaining about the costs to exhibit. Attendees were already weeding out some conferences from their travel plans because there were too many conferences, not enough time to attend or the content wasn't compelling enough. The recession is the final, decisive blow. If event organizers aren't well on their way to delivering conference content (at the very least) differently, via more channels to a larger audience, they are in trouble. If exhibition organizers aren't invested in taking matchmaking to another level and reducing the costs to exhibit, they will be in trouble. Jeff:
I agree that there will be a new normal, if and when the recession blows over for no other reason than remembering the behavior of my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. The experience was traumatizing for them and it affected them their entire lives. When they scolded us about wasting electricity or not eating all of our food, they were still reliving the hardships they experienced. What do I do now with my own children? I walk around turning off the lights and making sure they don’t waste food.

I believe there will be an institutional legacy of the same sort for our industry. Exhibitors were already complaining about the costs to exhibit. Attendees were already weeding out some conferences from their travel plans because there were too many conferences, not enough time to attend or the content wasn’t compelling enough. The recession is the final, decisive blow.

If event organizers aren’t well on their way to delivering conference content (at the very least) differently, via more channels to a larger audience, they are in trouble. If exhibition organizers aren’t invested in taking matchmaking to another level and reducing the costs to exhibit, they will be in trouble.

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