Association events generally consist of learning, professional development, and networking. Members attend events that provide them with an environment where they can be educated, and connect with their peers.

Even in the era of website content, advertising and social media, associations still greatly depend on their events to deliver value to their members, and sponsors. However, many association budgets are lean, and with rising expectations, it can be a great challenge to execute amazing experiences that impress your stakeholders.

Using Audio Visual solutions can greatly enhance the experience your association delivers through the core components of your event in various ways.

 

The Plenary

Keynotes and speaker presentations kick-start the energy and tone of your conference. If your audience can not see or hear what is being presented, your event will not be a success, no matter how great the food was.

The stage is the first thing you attendees see and experience at your event. Work with your AV Company to engineer a stage that is reflective of your event theme. The impression can enhance the experience for all.

Having the right size screen(s) for your event can ensure every attendee – no matter where they are sitting – can view the content being presented. A stage set up that hold attendee attention is favourable because the more attentive they are to the content, the greater the value your event will hold.

The audio experience is especially powerful because it determines how well your attendees hear and learn. A great audio experience ensures that those sitting at the front of the room have the same audio experience as those in the back row. Have you ever sat too close to a stage only to be hard of hearing for the next few days because the speakers were right in front of you? If so, that’s probably not the audio experience you want to deliver at your event.

Finding great presenters is hard work, you want your presenters’ voice to be heard and to hold your audience’s attention. For many associations, as part of sponsorship packages, speaking sessions are quite popular. Your sponsors want the chance to get in front of your audience and deliver their message. Often times though, the speakers elected by the sponsor, may not have a lot of experience in public speaking and often use repeat presentation decks. If your sponsor goes up on stage and delivers a message that does not resonate with your audience members, at the end of the day, both attendee and sponsor walk away with little value.

What a different scenario it is when a speaker takes the stage, is energetic, inspiring, and leads your attendees to action – connecting with them after the presentation.

 

Breakout Sessions

For any event, your audience is diverse, although your members are likely in the same field or industry their key responsibilities vary. Many conferences use concurrent breakout sessions to deliver a variety of different topics and educate on multiple areas of expertise. Your delegate then has the flexibility to attend the sessions that are most relevant to them.

Sometimes it can occur that your attendee wants to participate in 2 sessions happening at the same time. AV can help, recording your sessions and making it available online to your members after the event can keep your member engaged after the event has concluded. It will allow them to see the missed content and refer back to that content when they need to, it even opens up opportunities to additional members that were unable to attend.

Presentation management solutions can help to ensure your breakout sessions start on time and don’t overlap into other sessions.

Attendees like to feel engaged, they like to feel part of the event, after-all they are a major stakeholder. Polls are great for either plenary or breakout sessions to collect information on who is in that audience and what their thoughts are. The results can even shape on stage content in real-time. You can even go as far as innovating the way your audience asks questions, whether that is through an app, whereby they can submit questions throughout the presentation without interrupting the speaker, or a microphone cube they can throw and catch.

 

Trade show AV

If your association event includes a trade show component, you might often face challenges of delivering value to your exhibitors.

Exhibitors want attendees to visit their booth, to interact, and to engage in dialogue, but they often struggle on how to reel in their attendees to do that.

AV solutions such as digital games, prize wheels, and virtual reality can be fully customized to immerse a trade show attendee in the exhibitor booth. Virtual reality can bring the delegate into a sample of what they can expect if they were to partner with that exhibitor. For example, if your exhibitor is the City of Toronto, they might highlight some amazing spots around the city and allow the delegate to walk down the streets of Toronto and even into attractions such as the CN Tower.

Some associations can be concerned with incorporating ‘fun and games’ into their event. But we, as human beings are attracted to out-of-the-ordinary activities; activities that provide incentive, and evoke emotion, perhaps even competitiveness. You can customize the solution to accommodate your theme and still provide a fun interactive environment. If you want to stay professional, why not create a virtual golf experience or a competitive game of golf, where the winner goes home with swag?

It will get people moving, talking, and interacting – which is exactly what you, and want your exhibitors want.

 

How can you use AV to enhance the stakeholder experience?

Having the right AV solutions to suit your event, size, and objective(s) can position your event to deliver an impactful experience to your members. Audio Visual solutions make up the very foundation of an event and holds a great importance for each stakeholder experience.

AV can be used to create an environment that engages and immerses your stakeholders.

Every experience your member has before they attend your event increases their demands and expectations. While budgets vary, there are still great technology solutions you can utilize that deliver value to all your stakeholders and fit within your budget.

Solutions that allow you to use those opportunities to deliver value for sponsors. Engagement technology so you can collect attendee feedback in real-time at the event, and perhaps even use that feedback to better later sessions or improve experiences on day 2. Technology also helps you track and measure attendee interaction so you’re Association Director can see your success in numbers.

 

If you would like to discuss how to create a better experience for your association connect with us now!

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