With a hybrid conference, you put on a face-to-face (F2F) event and then provide a virtual component. The first thing you need to do to create a virtual conference or the virtual component of a conference is to determine what kind of participant experience you want. The key to success is to find ways to get virtual participants engaged.  In general, the more virtual engagement you provide, the more the conference costs.  

There are a lot of engagement options for virtual and hybrid conferences: 

“Happy New Year!” is a phrase that I am sure we have each uttered countless times throughout our lives, but have never truly felt the passion and relief behind those words like we have in the past few weeks.

Like many of you, I enter this new year hopeful, fatigued, concerned, and focused on continued growth, both for my own company and across our entire industry. I appreciate the confidence you have placed in me, during these challenging times, to serve as the chair of the AMC Institute in 2021.

As we near the end of the year, it’s always a good time to reflect on where we’ve been and more importantly where we are headed next. There’s no question, this has been one of the most challenging years for the meetings industry as a whole, and most of us individually as well. But with that, we’ve learned so many lessons. We’ve listened to our partners; we’ve learned how to innovate quickly, and most importantly we’ve come together as an industry to demonstrate incredible resiliency in a time of great uncertainty and change.

The sales team at MGM Resorts International has worked tirelessly to address our clients’ most immediate needs this year and also begin planning for events longer term. We’ve had to pivot quickly as guidelines rapidly evolve and change, and we are grateful to all of our partners who continue to entrust us with their business.

“From the moment meeting attendees step foot in The Palm Beaches, they will be welcomed with an unprecedented level of safety and the open ‘palms’ of a passionate community ready to provide them with an energizing and unforgettable experience.

 Groups will have this peace of mind throughout their entire journey, thanks to destination-wide GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council) STARTM Accreditation and other initiatives such as The Palm Beaches Pledge. The council’s industry-acclaimed “good housekeeping seal” requires facilities – including Palm Beach International Airport, the Palm Beach County Convention Center, its connected 400-room Hilton West Palm Beach hotel, and several other properties and cultural centers – to undergo a rigorous, 20- element training and implementation process while following consistent health and safety protocols.

You likely spend a lot of time drafting and sending emails. So naturally, you want people to read them, and not only that, but take some kind of action. 

If you’re struggling with email click-throughs at your association or chamber, take a look at these three copywriting MUSTS:

Delivering value to sponsors can feel almost impossible these days. In-person events are on hiatus, and so are most of the traditional sponsorships. But don’t worry – there are tons of great ways to engage your sponsors, provide value, and keep those dollars rolling in! 

Here's our quick and dirty list of sponsorship ideas based on what we’ve seen work for us, our customers, and in the events industry at large. Scroll to the bottom for the full list! 

ALHI’s goal is to lead the way in 2021 by demonstrating how face-to-face meetings can happen safely without sacrificing engaging on-site experiences.

Since July, ALHI hosted nine face-to-face meetings across the United States that served as learning labs for upcoming events. The meetings offered unique opportunities to observe and participate in new room settings, food and beverage setups, and safety measures, along with virtual experiences.

In short, employees with strong wellbeing perform better at work, and companies with a thriving workforce have greater success and a solid competitive advantage. While that sounds simple, the reality is that life and business are complex, even more so over the past eight months. The good news is that savvy employers are stepping up, even with limited budgets, to make a positive impact on employee wellbeing through wellbeing programs. 

However, not all employers are embracing these programs. In a recent poll, when asked “Do you feel prepared to develop a competitive wellbeing program?” 63% said they were not prepared or unsure if they needed to be. Perhaps knowing the many advantages of developing and sustaining a thriving workplace culture will shift that response – and benefit those employers who make that shift.

So what are the specific advantages? They include, among others:

When tourism officials in Raleigh say, “Wish You Were Here,” they really mean it. This past August, Visit Raleigh launched a robust new recovery campaign centered around this very slogan. And the meetings industry is a key part of the destination’s strategy for success.

Raleigh’s DMO continues to increase its promotional efforts, thanks in part to a Sept. 2020 infusion of $1.25 million in CARES Act funds. The organization is using the additional assistance to promote the destination through a variety of channels, including marketing, advertising, and public relations, as well as strategic meetings, convention, and sporting event sales efforts.

“The island of Puerto Rico is rich in festivals, traditions, art, and music – but it doesn’t end there, the culinary scene is exploding, and mixology is a true art form.” From the soulful food to the hip-shaking music, the things that make Puerto Rico such a special place to visit are also what make it a captivating destination for meetings and events. Here are some ideas for giving your event a uniquely Puerto Rican vibe.

Farm-to-Table Caribbean Cuisine
Puerto Rican chefs have always taken a farm-to-table approach to their cooking. The island’s original settlers, the Taínos, used local yuca, corn, and peppers to craft dishes like mofongo and pastelón. Over the centuries, an influx of settlers from Spain, Africa, and Latin American countries have introduced new flavors and cooking techniques to the island’s palate, but the focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients remains the same.
Your guests can get a literal taste of the island’s history on a themed food tour. The Discover Puerto Rico team can help arrange experiences like a mofongo and mojito walking tour or even cooking lessons with a local chef. For an only-in-Puerto Rico experience, hop aboard the Chinchorreo Bus to visit some of the island’s best — and most authentic — food stands and kiosks. Your group will sample local dishes like fritters and fried plantains while enjoying an adventurous ride through the mountains and rainforests.

As an association leader, you know the importance of engaging your members. How you communicate with members and the opportunities you offer directly impact their experience with your organization and the chance that they’ll renew.  With a dedicated and comprehensive engagement strategy, your member retention rate is much more likely to increase!

However, it’s likely that your more traditional engagements are on pause. As the global pandemic continues to keep many indoors and away from large in-person events, your regular member meetings and large conferences must either be postponed or pivoted to the online space.

Dear AMCI Institute Members,

I'm Megan Woodburn, a board member for AMC Institute and the owner of Strategic Association Management in Austin, TX. In my board role, I have the honor of serving as the board liaison for the Emerging Leaders Task Force, a newly formed group for the Institute. 

In the past few months, associations have found it challenging or impossible to hold in-person strategic planning sessions due to global pandemic restrictions. However, strategic planning sessions are essential for organizations to chart their paths forward, and alternative approaches must be explored.

Typically, strategic planning sessions require an in-person format and last 1 ½ - 2 days.  This year the pandemic has impacted travel, participation numbers, and engagement spacing.  A virtual format is the most viable alternative given existing constraints.

As part of the AMCI community, your firm is invited to participate in Looking Forward 2021; the nation's longest-running, most comprehensive environmental scanning research of the association business environment and the first association sector scan that takes the pandemic into account. 

For the first time ever, individuals completing the survey will receive complimentary access to a dashboard of the survey results, giving you timely access to valuable data on the state of the association business sector and allowing you to compare your responses to those of your peers.

Business as usual and 2020 are two terms that go together about as well as oil and water in today’s climate. To that end, the COVID-19 outbreak has forced associations to reassess the status quo of standard annual events. The Southern Association of Wholesale Distributors, a.k.a. “The Southern,” was no exception. Here’s how the 97-year old organization maintained the goal of its annual meeting and created virtual connections this past August.

A trade association representing convenience wholesale distributors in the southeast United States, The Southern’s membership spans from Texas to Virginia. Member companies have an annual gross revenue of $50 billion and represent nearly 50 percent of all convenience stores in the United States. In other words, The Southern means business. And its Annual Meeting is a place where business gets done.

The Insurance Society of Philadelphia (ISOP) has a commitment to support the education and industry connectivity of future and early-career professionals in the insurance and risk management sector. In the last three years, the organization has exponentially increased its scholarship program, donating more than $100,000 in scholarship dollars last year to college students and young professionals pursuing specific industry education. This year, in lieu of the in-person annual fundraising gala, a respected Philadelphia tradition, the association pivoted to a new Un-Gala format, turning their scholarship fundraising efforts into a larger opportunity for high-level education and member connections.

Awarding scholarships has been an ISOP initiative for years, more recently the association's dynamic NextGen Committee has initiated programs for those coming behind them. This past spring, hundreds of students lost their opportunities to participate in a professional internship within the Philadelphia insurance community due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ISOP’s NextGen board stepped up to coordinate a series of webinars over the summer, leveraging their professional networks and the ISOP Board of Directors to allow over 200 students to make connections with the region's most senior leaders in a virtual environment. Not only did the students appreciate the industry’s effort to pro-actively engage, many of them attended most of the program series and leveraged the presentations to make LinkedIn connections to local insurance professionals, and in some cases, securing employment.

Although some AMCs had already made the move to a work-from-home environment, there were many of us that were unexpectedly propelled into this model because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Due to the nature of our work, many on our teams already had laptops with the ability to carry out their day-to-day tasks using cloud-based programs.  This was a blessing when the call came to quickly adapt.  But staff did not routinely work from remote locations except on a short-term basis (mostly during an annual meeting) which does not hold the same expectations as working 100% from home. 

Now, six months into the pandemic, we are seeing the benefits from the work-at-home model with many of us in the process of evaluating the future of our physical office needs.  However, with the speed at which we needed to transition to this model, we did not have time to put in place or communicate a clear list of expectations to our team for working from home. 

Beth Quick Andrews, CAE, Owner,  Q&A Business Solutions, Inc., and Greg Brooks, Executive Director/President, AMC Source

“It is kind of fun to do the impossible!”

Anyone who has taken a Disney Institute training program knows this quote well…Walt Disney uttered these immortal words many years ago and they resonate as much today as they did back then.

By Jonathan Strauss
Strauss Association Management

Since social distancing protocols were set in place, 2020 has seen association events cancelled left, right, and centre. As social gatherings are now restricted to small groups, we have seen hotels, convention centres and other venues prepare and publish new health and safety guidelines with the pandemic in mind.

In August, I hosted an online brainstorming session with several event and industry leaders of Manitoba. This brainstorming session welcomed guest panellists from Marriott International, Laura Pallotta, Regional Vice President, Sales and Distribution, Canada and Susan Saganski, Account Executive, Global Sales Organization, to speak on their company’s handling of event planning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is a client partner of Association Headquarters (AH). AH is a best-in-class association management company dedicated to enabling associations and societies to fulfill their missions, create value, and advance their causes, industries, and professions. AH understands association trends and best practices and has professionals experienced in management, meetings, marketing, non-dues revenue growth, technology, recruiting, finances, and more.   

JPMA has been working hard to educate and support our members, stakeholders, and other key players in our industry during COVID-19 and beyond. We aim to create an inclusive environment filled with kindness as we all navigate our new normal. Below are just a few examples of how we have been and continue to implement these crucial values.