2020 was crippling for many associations, organizations, and independent show organizers. The roughly 15 billion (pre-pandemic) US trade show industry is now a third of what it was, currently at 5.6 billion dollars. CEIR reported that a virtual event typically only generated approximately 30% of the gross revenues than the most recent affiliated physical event. These reduced event revenues, along with other business forces impacting revenue, is simply unsustainable. Our recent study further highlighted how critical events are for organizations and associations since many reported that historically 40-80% of their revenue comes from events! As the country opens and the final round of the Paycheck Protection Program funds are depleted, organizations will be forced to generate cash flow from their activities without the support of further government assistance.

So Why is Everyone Avoiding the Revenue Discussion?

The US and many parts of the world are still in a pandemic – some places even on lock-down. Organizers are struggling to strike a balance between recognizing current conditions and, at the same time, pushing forward as a revenue-generating event (or business). On top of that, many of these professionals must consider the additional risk factors in organizing and planning events for the first time in their career. Organizers may have children, family members or themselves may not be eligible to get a vaccine. Some may also not want to vaccinate for personal reasons. These increased personal risks and choices may come at personal odds to professionally open an event at full capacity, let alone driving revenue through these increases of in-person activities.

I recently traveled to the SISO CEO Summit myself and had to balance my personal well-being with the need to move forward for the events industry. As I shared in my blog about the experience, I not only felt safe as a vaccinated individual, I realized this was the direction we (as an industry) were moving quickly. Even at this smaller event, from the flight crew who genuinely thanked us for flying to the drivers who brought me to and from the hotel to all the event and hotel staff, the economic impact could be felt.

While associations often advocate, educate and solve global problems, the organization must remain solvent. For that matter, every organization, including nonprofits, must remain solvent to continue to provide jobs and accomplish their missions – and many of them do this through events.

And It’s Beyond Just the Events Industry

The fear to recognize that events (and their organization) must make money to survive is only one side of the equation. We have to celebrate that our events generate revenue for not only industry jobs, but for those who support the industry as well. From every rideshare driver to a restaurant near a convention center, those businesses and staff also require a return to in-person and hybrid events. Each event can often bring millions of dollars to a city in just a few short days.

So, it is time to start talking about how the industry can collectively generate higher revenues through 2021 and beyond!

But Wait…Can In-Person Events Be Safe While Still Making Money?

Of course! As I shared in Trade Show Executive Magazine, before organizers try to boil the ocean by creating vaccination event bubbles (which are impossible given the size of the events ecosystem), we need to realize that the CDC has provided us clear guidance on how to interact with the public safely. From our local grocery store to a trade show, it will be up to the individual to decide how to manage (participate) and mitigate any risks associated with the activity. We will be mixing with the general public as we move to the “new normal.” Events will be a part of that equation and we must start to recognize that.

I also understand there is still unknown and discomfort in this new reality. For many, we just somewhat figured out how to “virtual,” and now we have to “hybrid” with little to no experience with that either. While I shared in my webinar, hybrid will be different than originally envisioned, many will still participate virtually while more and more will attend in-person. Those additional revenues will help make up for likely smaller revenues generated from the in-person events. While many in-person sponsorships and exhibitions may be smaller in 2021, the margin on these activities will further support a revenue return – all while conducting events safely.

Will the Demand Be There if We Meet In-Person?

Understanding and surveying your audience frequently is key to understanding how your event(s) will perform in this new climate. Nationally, Freeman continues to track the sentiment of event audiences. In their most recent update, 85 percent of attendees and 86 percent of exhibitors expect to return to in-person events by the winter of 2021. And while this survey was conducted shortly before the change in CDC guidance, fall return data came in at 74%. The numbers will likely increase during their following survey given the recent changes in guidance, growth in vaccinations and more states opening up venues and restrictions.

Personify A2Z Events clients have anecdotally shared their in-person events generate overall higher NPS (Net Promoter Scores) from both attendees and exhibitors. Those attending events are highly engaged with all levels of the event, from education to conducting business with exhibitors and sponsors. It only makes sense this channel was forced online for over a year. As retail and many other industries have shown, the pent-up demand point to a stronger than expected recovery in most sectors.

So Where Do Should I Start?

It’s no easy task to fundamentally shift back to what we were doing with such frequency and expectancy just a little over a year ago. We must recognize much has changed with how we consume, travel and venture outside. We must change everything from our messaging and marketing to how we sell to exhibitors and sponsors as we return.

It is why we created the first-ever, Events Revenue Summit!

Watch on Demand Now.

The post The Events Elephant in the Room – Events Revenue appeared first on Personify.

My colleague Megan and I had the privilege of visiting the Broadmoor Hotel last week to coordinate logistics and activities for next year’s PersoniFest. I’m rounding up some of my favorite things about Colorado Springs and how we plan to make this the best PersoniFest yet.

1. The History of the Broadmoor

Our upcoming conference will be hosted at the Broadmoor Hotel, which was opened by Spencer and Julie Penrose in 1918 with the goal of creating a property where European elegance met Western hospitality. The Broadmoor boasts 779 rooms, three championship golf courses, 18 restaurants and 25 unique retail shops. Additionally, it is the longest running Five Star, Five Diamond property in the United States.

My expectations were pretty high going into this trip but, in spite of that, I was amazed by how tranquility and beauty of the resort. The Broadmoor has several historic buildings that are situated around Cheyenne Lake, which was originally built by Count James Pourtales who developed a casino on the property before it was the Broadmoor. Pourtales built the lake to enhance the beauty of the property but found it mysteriously empty 14 days later, so he went to great expense to fill the excavation with clay and, thus, prevent this from happening again.

Today, the lake is home to two beautiful white swans that I enjoyed seeing swim as we walked the property and coordinated the layout of our event. Interestingly enough, in the 1950s, the lake kept a few sea lions on property. One of them decided to take a “stroll” one day and went into the Mezzanine, down the escalator and proceeded to bark at incoming guests until it was removed by staff. While it’s probably best to not have sea lions on property for several reasons, I’m a little bummed that I won’t get to see this happen at PersoniFest.

The Broadmoor has a captivating history that includes visits from celebrity guests such as Prince Harry, Margaret Thatcher, Buzz Aldrin along with Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt to tunnels that were built under the property for sneaking in illegal booze during prohibition. We’re excited to allow our guests the opportunity to learn about the Broadmoor’s history and explore the beautiful grounds of the hotel while also brushing up on their technical skills and expertise and becoming a Personify power user.

2. The Garden of the Gods Park

During our recent site visit, our team drove through the Garden of the Gods Park, a public park that was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1971. In the 1850s, two European surveyors were awestruck by the formation and remarked that it “is a place fit for the Gods to assemble” and, therefore, how it was named.

The Garden of the Gods’ red rock formations are stunning and seem to pop up out of nowhere as you’re entering the park. The formations were formed during a geological upheaval along a natural fault light millions of years ago.

While driving through the park, our guide pointed out that many of the formations have shapes that resemble animals and people. For example, there are two kissing camels at the top of North Gateway Rock and a bear and seal atop the Three Graces Rock. The Garden of the Gods is an easy drive and only a short distance from the Broadmoor. If you have time during the conference, I highly encourage attendees to check it out.

3. CAE, CEM and CPE Credits Galore

While we’re thrilled about the location and the activities available in Colorado Springs, our team is working hard to ensure that attendees have a wealth of programming tailored to their interests, roles and industries. In 2019, we had more than 35 sessions that were available for Certified Association Executive (CAE), Certified Exhibition Management (CEM) and Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. We plan to provide even more compelling content and breakout sessions in 2020 that allow attendees to grow their skillsets, learn best practices from their peers and become more effective users of our suite of products.

I’ll be sharing more details about PersoniFest in the coming months such as our keynote speaker, conference party details and more. But I did want to share that we recently opened registration for 2020 and are offering 20% off with the code “earlybird” if you purchase an All Accesa Pass.

Learn more about PersoniFest

The post 3 Reasons to Get Excited for PersoniFest 2020 appeared first on Personify.

As someone who has worked in marketing and membership longer than I’ll ever admit publicly, ASAE’s Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference, kicking off later this week in Washington D.C.’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center is among my favorite events of the year.

In addition to having the opportunity to connect with association professionals the topics discussed are always top-notch. Each session is uniquely targeted to address the needs of marketing, membership and communications professionals as they look to optimize their efforts across the various stages of the membership lifecycle, from acquisition to retention.

There are no shortage of amazing opportunities for learning but here are the five sessions I’m looking forward to the most this year:

Thursday, June 6^th:

Viral Business Starts at Home

9:00AM – 10:00AM

We know both from our research into young members and anecdotal feedback from clients that few things are as effective in building buzz and in the acquisition of new members than word-of-mouth endorsements from peers. In his keynote, entrepreneur Johnny Cupcakes will share what he learned from the launch and success of his own business but also the implications for associations who need to ensure their staff will engage with their brand on a deep-level for an exceptional member experience.

How Issue Advocacy Can Increase Member Engagement

2:45PM – 3:15PM

We’ve seen in our own Personify Community how advocacy can only drive an organization’s mission forward by mobilizing members in support of a specific cause but also serve as an important opportunity for engagement. I’m looking forward this session, which will dive into issue advocacy and how associations can leverage social media and digital tools to further the reach of their advocacy campaigns and engage members.

Bringing Member Personas to Life – Hollywood Style

3:30PM – 4:15PM

What kind of marketing person would I be if I didn’t use this opportunity to plug my own session? Personas have become a critical component in the success of marketing teams, but often they’re authored in response to a single situation or in the context of a specific need. How can we take our understanding of personas to the next level and given them new life? I’ll be taking a trip to the TV stages, writer’s rooms and Hollywood studios for this exciting session. You don’t want to miss it!

Friday, June 7^th

Making a Splash With an Integrated Campaign

10:15AM – 11:00AM

At Personify, we’re big fans of the integrated campaign. This session will share a real-world example of how one organization leveraged an integrated campaign to stand out among brands with flashy booths and global name recognition to make themselves not only relevant, but cool!

How to Capture the Attention of the Generation Z Constituent

2:45PM – 3:30PM

Another Personify-led workshop that you don’t want to miss! Our young member research looked not only at Millennials but also the emerging Gen Z audience. While Gen Z may bring new energy, ideas, and opportunities, they also bring the NOW Effect: information must be mobile, transparent, and delivered in real-time. Personify’s VP of Marketing, Teresa Zimmerman will dive into the art and science behind creating compelling campaigns that resonate with Gen Z. With a focus on content, social media, analytics, and more, we’ll share the necessity of using the right and left side of your brain when marketing to younger generations.

We look forward to seeing you in our sessions and on the show floor! If you’re attending ASAE MMCC please stop by booth 121 on the show floor. We’d love to hear what you’re learning and what’s resonating!

The post 5 Sessions to Check Out at ASAE MMCC appeared first on Personify.

Game Changer Spotlight: The Climate Reality Project

Speaking of global change… Let us introduce you to one of our newest Game Changers: The Climate Reality Project! The Climate Reality Project was founded in 2006 by former US Vice President Al Gore after the release of the Academy Award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth. While the film’s goal was to get the world talking about climate change, the creation of the Climate Reality Project helped move the conversation forward to inspire activists, organizers and scientists alike.   

The Climate Reality Leadership Corps, Climate Reality’s flagship program, set out to empower everyday people to become activists. Technology, or the lack thereof, was a key challenge as Climate Reality set out to build a foundation of tools, resources and training for their Leaders. Reality Hub powered by Personify Community became their one-stop-shop for delivering training tools, hosting presentations, planning and promoting local events, and more. Not only did the Community allow Climate Reality to empower and support their Leaders and activists, it also allowed the community members to interact and engage with each other. Read more about how Climate Reality continues to grow their reach with a network of more than 19,000 Leaders in 152 countries using Personify Community.  

And the award goes to…  

Along with being a Personify Game Changer, the Climate Reality Project was recently awarded a 2019 PERSI Award in the “Impact” category for their use of Personify technology to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis. Each year, the Climate Reality Project’s constituents commit to completing Acts of Leadership, such as organizing or speaking at events, writing articles or participating in campaigns. Since the community launched, the number of annual Acts of Leadership has grown an astonishing 270 percent from about 11,000 to 30,000. 

See the full list of PERSI Award winners.  

The post The Climate Reality Project: Reality Hub appeared first on Personify.

As you may know, we launched the Persi Awards in 2018 (see last year’s winners) to recognize the incredible accomplishments that our clients have made over the past year and to highlight their success stories.

Innovation Awards

To kick off the Awards Program, we recognized organizations using innovative approaches to acquire and engage their members, donors, attendees, exhibitors and more.

The Texas Hospital Association received the Innovation award for the Association segment because of their efforts to move billing and collection process in house. They worked with Personify and our partner Intellidata to re-tool and modernize their invoicing approach for the program, which processed invoices amounting to over $3 million annually.

Through the use of technology, the Texas Hospital Association was able to reduce program expenses by more than 10 percent, had zero membership attrition, increase client satisfaction and has an impressive collection rate of 90%. Congratulations to the Texas Hospital Association for this impressive transformation and for modernizing your billing and collection practices.

Our next winner was Girl Up, a movement founded by the United Nations Foundation, that received the Innovation award for the Charity segment because of their use of CommUnity to enable the organization’s mission of creating and supporting a sustainable global movement of advocates for gender equality. This goal is not without its challenges. Some regional Girl Up members in areas such as Zambia, Malawi and India have limited access to computers and internet connectivity issues and constituents sometimes have difficulty due to language barriers.

Over the past year, Girl Up launched multi-country outreach in multiple languages, improved accessibility, simplified the registration process and optimized its mobile experience. Their efforts continue to pay off: The number of active club members has increased by 21%, and overall club activity has increased 33% from last year. Congratulations to Girl Up for the growth of your community and the work that you’re doing to further gender equality.

Our next winner received the Innovation Award for the Health & Wellness segment. While they have been a Personify client since 2004, the YMCA of Greater Charlotte received a 2019 Persi Award for the significant strides in their approach to e-commerce. The breadth of their organization is significant; the YMCA of Greater Charlotte engages nearly 300,000 men, women and children from varying ages, incomes and backgrounds – at 19 locations and two resident camps each year.

Through the use of workflows, they now drive 65% of product revenue from digital transactions and 92% of their resident camp sales now take place online. People come from all over the country to attend these camps, so an e-commerce solution is huge for them. Campers can now choose all of their activities online, which has freed up limited staff resources. The YMCA of Greater Charlotte also began selling memberships online recently and, of the membership types that are sold online, 40% are now sold through the website.

Our final winner in the Innovation category is VBN Paving Unlimited, a client who was in the process of applying for what is known as the Certificate of Recognition. This process is no small feat; it can often take up to three years plus to complete. There are many benefits to having the certificate in this organization’s industry including having a strong corporate image and appealing to safety-conscious workers.

VBN Paving was able to obtain this certificate because they tracked and documented all data in Wild Apricot for the application process. This is a ground-breaking achievement and the organization is now in talks to make this application available to others in the industry.

Impact Awards

The Impact awards are for organizations who have leveraged Personify’s solutions to drive their mission forward and meet their organization’s goals. They have fostered advocacy, vibrancy and collaboration through the use of technology.

The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) was chosen as the Impact winner for the Association segment. AAOMS represents more than 9,000 surgeons in the U.S. and is dedicated to supporting its members’ ability to practice through education, research and advocacy.

They use Personify360 to manage a constituent base that has over 100 different membership types and a member process that is driven by nominations and is invitation only. Through Personify Community, this organization provides a secure, collaboration space for their board of directors, committees, delegates and clinical interest groups. Congratulations to the AAOMS for the way you have connected and engaged with your members via Personify360 and Community.

The next Impact winner is the Climate Reality Project in the Charity category. Their mission is to transform climate change awareness into global action through a robust network of activist influencers. Each year, the Climate Reality Project’s constituents commit to completing Acts of Leadership, such as organizing or speaking at events, writing articles or participating in campaigns. Since the community launched, the annual Acts of Leadership goal has grown an astonishing 150 percent from about 12,000 to 30,000.

Additionally, the organization will roll out a tour feature this year to help acclimate new users, to ensure everyone can leverage the community’s power. Congratulations to the Climate Reality Project for the impact you have made using Personify Community to power your Reality Hub community.

Our Impact winner for the Health & Wellness segment is the YMCA of Sarasota. This organization was looking to provide a better online experience to constituents at its three locations with nearly 9,000 families and programs that range from gymnastics, swim lessons, youth shelters, resident camps, early childhood education and more.

Prior to working with Personify, the YMCA of Sarasota did not have an ability for users to sign up for programs online. Constituents would have to drive to the branch or call when they wanted to sign up for a class. They recently opened online registration for resident camps and saw a big jump in signups in the first two weeks. Because staff do not have to spend time signing up people for classes and managing paperwork, they can focus more on developing new programs. Congratulations to the Sarasota YMCA for developing a robust digital experience for their members and community.

Our final Impact winner is the Denver Ballet Guild, a non-profit organization that supports youth dance arts and whose mission is to stimulate interest in ballet and other forms of dance. In 2018, the organization wanted to modernize a legacy website and database, provide online registration for events, be able to support diverse membership types, receive online donations and conduct email marketing outreach to its constituent base.

The ability to take online donations helped the organization move closer to its fundraising goal. Additionally, they have been able to drive significant increases in event revenue, membership renewals and more since launching their new site. Congratulations to the Denver Ballet Guild for the impact you have made to support and promote dance in the Denver community.

Trailblazer Awards

Our next category is the Trailblazers category. These are organizations that use several of Personify’s solutions to take their constituent management and engagement approach to a new level. They leverage technology in innovative ways and are making significant strides to better acquire, engage and retain their constituents.

Our first winner, the American Society for Quality (ASQ), uses Personify360, Community and A2Z Events to provide value to 70,000 members across multiple industries. In 2018, they launched an online community for their 250 chapters to collaborate and share best practices. Since then, over 6,400 people joined the community and members drove 94% of the content. When users drive the content, you know your community is a success.

ASQ uses A2Z Events to enhance exhibitor and attendee management and show planning for their annual conference. Since they begin working with A2Z Events in 2017, ASQ increased the amount of exhibitor space sold for their annual show by 45%.

The final Trailblazer is the American Urological Association (AUA) who uses Personify360 and A2Z Events to manage and optimize their relationship with constituents. What makes them a Trailblazer is their recent effort to update a 10-year old manual membership application.

As a result of the new application, the time for users to complete has been cut in half, and they are now able save the application and come back later to finish. Additionally, members can pay upfront or have an invoice generated and they can elect to auto renew in the future. AUA staff are now able to process twice as many applications and no longer need to spend time manually verifying the data, processing group payments, assigning applications to staff and uploading documents.

Congratulations to all of our 2019 Persi Award winners! This is just a sample of the great things our clients are doing every day and truly what the PersoniFest user conference is all about. We’re thrilled to be able to recognize the work that they do to grow their organizations and increase their impact!

The post Meet the 2019 Persi Award Winners appeared first on Personify.

I’m excited because this is my first NTC Conference and only my second visit to Portland. If you will also be in attendance at this conference, please stop by and visit the Personify team at booth #725.

Here are some of the sessions that I’m most looking forward to attending:

Put a Cat Gif on It: Linking Storytelling and Social to Donations

Wednesday, 3:15-4:30 PM

Yes, that’s the actual session title. In this session, Ann Nguyen will look at how Lung Cancer Foundation of America went from an April Fool’s idea, #CatsAgainstLungCancer, to a digital engagement campaign with clear and measurable results to show for it.

Participants will learn how to identify concrete actions for users to take in a campaign and how those align with key performance indicators of moving their mission forward. Nguyen will also look beyond April 1 to see how the unexpected bright spots of LCFA’s website can still drive meaningful action — and help lung cancer research.

The Future of Work: Looking Through Nonprofit Tech Lenses

Thursday, 10:30-11:45 AM

In this session, Katherine Lagana, Rachel Paris and Arjun Reddy will explore how the future of work trends will impact nonprofit internal tech operations and the digital expression of each mission. When considering the evolution of Digital Ethics & Privacy, the Gig Economy and Augmented Analytics – how might these change the speed and method by which board pitches occur or the means by which donors are engaged? With this session, the speakers will don three trendy sets of specs – some with the bifocal of speed to explore the future of work.

Dirty Data? Clean It Up.

Thursday, 3-4:15 PM

Shameless plug: My colleague Maggie Cameron, Director of Enterprise Products at Personify, and our client Michael Fiaschetti, Senior Director of System Integration & Business Intelligence/IT at the Alzheimer’s Association, will share how poor data hygiene can have a massive impact on every aspect of your organization.

These impacts range from not being able to accurately report on your donors and advocates, to missing the chance to connect with them in an efficient and effective way. Join Maggie and Michael to discuss the challenges that bad data creates and how you can use tools and best practices to overcome them in your organization.

Storytelling for Impact: Helping Donors Understand the Value of Their Dollar

Friday, 10:30-11:45 AM

In this session, Andrew Buck and Becca Montjoy will share that if you want your donors to give more than once, you have to turn them into investors in—and not merely supporters of—your mission. Donors want to feel the impact of their gift. They want to see the concrete outcomes of their dollars. And they crave evidence that your organization is using their gift to make the world a better, fairer, safer, and happier place.

Storytelling compels your donors to stay engaged—and to donate again. Learn how to tell a story that cuts through the noise, and to transform data into real, specific, human stories.

The post What We’re Looking Forward to at NTC appeared first on Personify.