Promotion of a congress

How to communicate about your congress before, during and after?

2 Objectives to reach :

o Le number of participants
o A Financial participation sufficient to at least balance the budget

For this, it is important to promote your congress well and apply the marketing techniques similar to a product launch. It will be necessary to determine the media, dissemination dates and the type of information best suited to the target we want to reach.

You will certainly have other competing congresses. It is therefore essential to make the congress as interesting as possible. by choosing themes, dates and a place that will suit everyone. Everything must be properly presented.

It is important tooptimize your promotion according to the budget that you have identified for it and adapt it according to the results obtained (participation of sponsors, registrations, ...)

We must also ensure that everyone is involved in the organizing committee and determine the roles of each.

1. Creation of documents

• Un presentation file of the congress (service providers, sponsors, official body, organizer, practical information, ...).
• Creation of a graphical charter to ensure consistency of all conference documents (program, letters, website, etc.)
• Program validation on paper document and validation by people outside the congress. Emphasize dates, addresses and headlines.
• Have the draft registration form completed for a test outside person to the organizing committee.
• First announcement (date, place, themes) for potential delegates.
• Exhibitor file/ sponsor with commercial information
• Preliminary program including all the information that participants need to register (registration, accompanying, abstract call, hotel reservation, ...)
• Final program.
• Turnkey reminders are to be scheduled regularly in order to reach a maximum of people.
• A registration rate of 10% compared to the paper mailing sent is completely correct.

2. Sending documents for your congress

• Constitution of a file by target (delegates, exhibitors, media ...)
• Purchase, rental or merger of existing files (members of an association, people who have already participated in the conference, ...).
• Verification of the file
• Impression a personalized letter
• Envelope and sending documents
• Telephone contacts if necessary
• Faxmailing
• Emailing
• You have to stagger the shipment  documents and send them if possible at a period depending on the target (ex: do not send documents in August to delegates)
• You have to keep your file up to date, on average it is estimated that a file has between 20% and 30% of erroneous addresses after 1 year. To keep our file up to date, we process each return (call to find out who replaced the person who left, but also to find out where the manager left)
• Insertion into the file of incorrect addresses to test the return, and of a personal address to verify any improper use of the file.
• Faxmailing can be done in a few minutes (for sending to more than 2000 people at a very low cost (approximately 0,15EUR / sending)

3. Website

The creation of a website is essential for your congress, it allows you to broadcast updated information (times, place, date, access, program, accommodation, social program, registration conditions, ...) worldwide and for a very low cost (With Meeting-Web-Solutions, prices from 999 EUR). In addition, a website also allows you to offer online registration and payment as well as a hotel reservation with online payment.

You save a lot of time on the management of registrations for your congress.

4. Media plan

Use the Professional press for the promotion of your congress and to have in its official partners a media can be a huge benefit.

Exchange negotiation with the media: Free publicity on their media against a presence on site during your congress (in the form of a newspaper circulation, insert pocket or stand)
Regular sending of Press Releases.

If resources allow, a specialist will be able to take care of your media plan in a very professional manner.

5. Use of partners to relay and involve conference information

Exhibitors and sponsors can transmit the program and registration form. They can be very useful because they know the market and are in the field. On the other hand, they have an interest in having people at the congress. So you have to involve as much as possible.

Professional federations and associations can lend their file or send your program with their newsletter.

The scientific committee and the speakers can communicate about the congress [on other congresses where they are speakers, with the exhibitors (as a client) ...]

Make agreements with other conference organizers on the same theme so that they broadcast your program.