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Promotion of a congress

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

2 Objectives to achieve:
  • The number of attendees
  • Sufficient financial participation to achieve at least a balanced budget
For this, it is important to promote your congress well and to apply marketing techniques similar to a product launch. It will be necessary to determine the supports, the dates of diffusion as well as the type of information best adapted according to the target which we wish 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 presented correctly.

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

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

Document creation

  •   A presentation file of the congress (providers, sponsors, official bodies, organizer, practical information, etc.).
  • Creation of a graphic charter to give consistency to all the documents of the congress (programme, letters, website, etc.)
  • Validation of the program on paper document and validation by people outside the congress. Be sure to emphasize dates, addresses and headlines.
  • Have someone outside the organizing committee complete the draft registration form as a test.
  • First announcement (date, place, themes) for the attention of potential delegates.
  • Exhibitor/sponsor file with commercial information
  • Preliminary program including all the information participants need to register (registration, accompanying person, abstract call, hotel reservation, etc.)
  • Final program.
  • Reminders are to be planned regularly in order to reach as many people as possible.
  • A registration rate of 10% compared to the paper mailing sent is completely correct.

Sending documents for your congress

  • Creation of a file per target (congress attendees, exhibitors, media, etc.)
  • Purchase, rental or merger of existing files (members of an association, people who have already participated in the conference, ...).
  • File verification
  • Printing a personalized letter
  • Envelope and mailing of documents
  • Phone contact if needed
  • Emailing
  • It is necessary to stagger the sending of the documents and send them if possible at a time according to the target (ex: do not send documents in August to the delegates)
  • You have to keep your file up to date, on average it is estimated that a file has between 20% and 30% of incorrect 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.

Website

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

This saves you a lot of time managing your conference registrations.

Media plan

Using the professional press to promote your congress and having a media in its official partners can be a considerable advantage.

Negotiation of exchanges with the media: Free advertising on their media against an on-site presence during your congress (in the form of a newspaper distribution, insert 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.

Use of partners to relay information from the congress and involve them

Exhibitors and sponsors can send the program and registration form. They can be very helpful because they know the market and are on the ground. On the other hand, they have an interest in having people at the congress. They must therefore be involved 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.