Conventions

[vogue65]

I have a friend who designs and builds convention booths.  Her business has totally dried up.

Conventions are fun, but costly.  Travel, hotel, entertainment, salaries, rental space, and cost of booths and transportation.

Young people live on the internet and may see little benifit in costly in person conventions.

Are we seeing a change in sales and marketing?

Will the old fashion sales call come back?  What goes around comes around?

[warriorchick]

The organization I used to work for has an annual educational conference.  Its net cost was a pretty significant part of their budget.

This year, they are taking it online and slashing the fee to attend.  Registrations have skyrocketed compared to earlier years, and because the cost to hold it is much lower, they may actually break even this year. 

[JWags85]

There needs to be some sort of leveling, cause of the 3 major conventions that I attend/present at each year, the cost for a booth and space has escalated rapidly over the last 4-5 years, without any net gain in benefit.  So I think much like a shift in higher education, there will be some change there.

That being said, I'm not sure blaming young people "living on the internet" will kill conventions. They won't be personally footing the bill and there is tons of networking benefit.   Acting like every millennial in a professional setting detests personal interactions cause they use a fad like social media is a bit overly reductive. 

It will depend industry by industry, but anything with a material tactile benefit won't be served by a virtual conference. CES won't go virtual. Restaurant or food industry conferences won't go virtual, etc..

[The Sultan]

The last few conferences, conventions I have been to have been filled with young professionals. 

[The Big East]

We powered ahead with our confrere schedule for the fall. Customers want to deal with actual people, not virtual.Everyone signs a wavier. Sales are up.

[GooooMarquette]

IMO, it depends on the purpose of the convention.

For educational conventions like chick referenced - continuing professional education, for example - I can very well envision a dramatic shift toward virtual conventions.

For trade shows, sales and marketing stuff, the online thing might just be a blip, since the most important parts are often personal connections made on the convention floor, in the bar, etc.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

IMO, it depends on the purpose of the convention.

For educational conventions like chick referenced - continuing professional education, for example - I can very well envision a dramatic shift toward virtual conventions.

For trade shows, sales and marketing stuff, the online thing might just be a blip, since the most important parts are often personal connections made on the convention floor, in the bar, etc.

Depends on the convention cost.  At manufacturing conventions I usually make some good new contacts and touch base with suppliers and customers that I might not ordinarily see.  Plus, the right discussion can gain info on a new project that leads to an eventual sales order that pays for the entire convention cost.

[Heisenberg]

It was a glorified zoom conference.  The ratings reflect this

(and to be non-partisan, unless the Republicans try something completely different, they are going to get the same dismal ratings)

Democratic Convention Viewership Falls 51% on Major Networks -  BNN Bloomberg
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/democratic-convention-viewership-falls-51-on-major-networks-1.1481749

About 5.7 million people tuned in to the first night of the Democratic National Convention on the major broadcast networks, cutting the viewership of four years ago in half as the virtual event proved a tougher sell than the traditional live gathering.

[GooooMarquette]

It was a glorified zoom conference.  The ratings reflect this

(and to be non-partisan, unless the Republicans try something completely different, they are going to get the same dismal ratings)

Democratic Convention Viewership Falls 51% on Major Networks -  BNN Bloomberg
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/democratic-convention-viewership-falls-51-on-major-networks-1.1481749

About 5.7 million people tuned in to the first night of the Democratic National Convention on the major broadcast networks, cutting the viewership of four years ago in half as the virtual event proved a tougher sell than the traditional live gathering.

Just a guess, but I suspect more people than usual already know who they are voting for.

[The Sultan]

Just a guess, but I suspect more people than usual already know who they are voting for.

And are generally tired with politics otherwise.

[real chili 83]

And are generally tired with politics otherwise.

On both sides of the aisle.

[GooooMarquette]

And are generally tired with politics otherwise.

On both sides of the aisle.

Agreed on both. Hence my suspicion that more people than usual have already decided who they are voting for.

Also, given an expected explosion of early/absentee voting, I doubt even some sort of 'October surprise' (in either direction) would move the needle this time around....

[vogue65]

Off poitics, back to conventions in general.
What is the future of the convention industry?
Will convention centers go the way of the shopping malls?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I'm a youngish professional (Class of 11). I've gone to at least one in person convention every year since I graduated. 2020 is looking like the first year I skip. Every convention I've gone to has been packed to the gills with young professionals so I'm not sure they were on their way out prior to the pandemic. Does the pandemic make the general populous realize that online conventions are a better alternative? Maybe. Personally, an online convention wouldn't do it for me. I'd sooner stop going to conventions than start going to online ones.

[Golden Avalanche]

It was a glorified zoom conference.  The ratings reflect this

(and to be non-partisan, unless the Republicans try something completely different, they are going to get the same dismal ratings)

Democratic Convention Viewership Falls 51% on Major Networks -  BNN Bloomberg
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/democratic-convention-viewership-falls-51-on-major-networks-1.1481749

About 5.7 million people tuned in to the first night of the Democratic National Convention on the major broadcast networks, cutting the viewership of four years ago in half as the virtual event proved a tougher sell than the traditional live gathering.

Why would you watch a virtual convention on network television?

[Lennys Tap]

Why would you watch a virtual convention on network television?

Or anywhere else, for that matter.

[dgies9156]

Conventions, whether they be trade shows or educational conferences, are a critically important way to network. I've been on a few Zoom conferences and you really can't network that way. People still want to know who they're buying from and know something about the seller's character.

Admittedly, few deals get inked at conferences, but the effective marketer takes the contacts at the meetings, uses them with social media and finds time to meet with the networkee in a more private setting later.

They're also a way to reward and build relationships with your most important customers.

(NO, I don't work for a trade show)

[GooooMarquette]

Conventions, whether they be trade shows or educational conferences, are a critically important way to network. I've been on a few Zoom conferences and you really can't network that way. People still want to know who they're buying from and know something about the seller's character.

Admittedly, few deals get inked at conferences, but the effective marketer takes the contacts at the meetings, uses them with social media and finds time to meet with the networkee in a more private setting later.

They're also a way to reward and build relationships with your most important customers.

(NO, I don't work for a trade show)

With respect to educational conferences, I think it varies by trade or profession. The two I'm most familiar with are medical (CME) and legal (CLE) conferences. In my experience, the networking that takes place at those is nice, but a very minor component of the conferences. I could easily see most of both going to a virtual format.

Like I said, it may be dramatically different in other fields.

[Hards Alumni]

Or anywhere else, for that matter.

+1  What a waste of time.

[4everwarriors]

Virtual anything blows donkey balls, aina?

[jficke13]

With respect to educational conferences, I think it varies by trade or profession. The two I'm most familiar with are medical (CME) and legal (CLE) conferences. In my experience, the networking that takes place at those is nice, but a very minor component of the conferences. I could easily see most of both going to a virtual format.

Like I said, it may be dramatically different in other fields.

CLEs serve only one purpose, to transfer resources from the members of the legal cartel to established entities. There is minimal education and minimal networking.

In WI, one of the biggest purveyors of CLEs is the Wisconsin Bar. It's just a means for the Bar to fund itself and to shunt resources to connected people who "teach" at the things.

It, like the entire regulation of the legal field, is a scam. I guess the only silver lining is that its lawyers scamming themselves instead of the public for a change.

[warriorchick]

CLEs serve only one purpose, to transfer resources from the members of the legal cartel to established entities. There is minimal education and minimal networking.

In WI, one of the biggest purveyors of CLEs is the Wisconsin Bar. It's just a means for the Bar to fund itself and to shunt resources to connected people who "teach" at the things.

It, like the entire regulation of the legal field, is a scam. I guess the only silver lining is that its lawyers scamming themselves instead of the public for a change.

So you who would you prefer to represent you - the lawyer who hasn't completed any continuing education since he graduated from law school in 1980, or the lawyer who has completed all of his required CLE hours?

[jficke13]

So you who would you prefer to represent you - the lawyer who hasn't completed any continuing education since he graduated from law school in 1980, or the lawyer who has completed all of his required CLE hours?

Trick question, they're the same. The lawyers who complete their CLEs sign over the $ to the bar, file the statement, and move on with their lives. Besides, the threshold for compliance is so comically low that it shows the same degree of commitment to principal as going to court for a speeding ticket and pleading it into a more expensive parking ticket just to save the points.

The seminars are online, there's no test or even a mindless "your key word for this segment is Apple, write it down so you get credit at the end."

The legal cartel is a joke.

[jesmu84]

CLEs serve only one purpose, to transfer resources from the members of the legal cartel to established entities. There is minimal education and minimal networking.

In WI, one of the biggest purveyors of CLEs is the Wisconsin Bar. It's just a means for the Bar to fund itself and to shunt resources to connected people who "teach" at the things.

It, like the entire regulation of the legal field, is a scam. I guess the only silver lining is that its lawyers scamming themselves instead of the public for a change.

CMEs aren't much better.

Granted, some providers do actually educate themselves frequently. Most do the absolute bare minimum they have to do to get by the requirements.

Essentially, you're paying a fee to extend your license. That's it

[warriorchick]

CMEs aren't much better.

Granted, some providers do actually educate themselves frequently. Most do the absolute bare minimum they have to do to get by the requirements.

Essentially, you're paying a fee to extend your license. That's it

But without anyone keeping track of it, how do you know who is keeping themselves educated and who isn't?