Lessons from global medical conferences

ASH works with government agencies, airlines, venues and partners to advance medical science based on reliable data

When the goal is to produce 66^th anniversary of an important event in Classical and Malignant Hematology, then our first priority is to do everything we can to bring the best people in the world to the plenary session. As chief event strategy officer for the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Bill Reed, FASAE, CMP, brings together 30,000 conference professionals from more than 110 countries to share research on the causes and treatments of blood disorders. While conferences will move around, he’s still limited in the number of venues where he can host all events, although he has resorted to tent parking and taking up other spaces.

This December, the destination will become the San Diego Convention Center for the second year in a row. He has also conducted conferences in New Orleans, Atlanta and Orlando. The annual conference, the largest of the many global events he hosts each year, provides a wealth of lessons learned in meeting professionals looking to scale.

Sometimes maximizing international attendance requires knowing how to work with government agencies, being willing to influence human behavior and asking hard questions about data.

visa program

Even if you hold the most high-profile educational course, if they can’t get the legal documents to enter the country, they won’t come. ASH partnered with the U.S. Department of State on a pilot last year to help facilitate entry into the U.S. for international participants from countries that do not have a visa waiver program.

Reed made it clear that ASH does not mediate or advocate on behalf of any individual, but the association does provide data on where participants have historically come from so that the agency can predict demand at consulates in those countries.

One thing that can be helpful is to share the message with attendees that they should request an appointment before registration opens in order to get the process started and schedule an interview early. Even if there is a three- to six-month wait, attendees can use that time to book hotels and flights, rather than the other way around.

Read more: Brand new and refurbished: meetings in international cities

Reed acknowledged that some countries face the challenge of adding additional measures, such as government-imposed restrictions on Chinese nationals or the need to check Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lists before admitting attendees from sanctioned countries. But he thinks the extra work is worth it because some of these areas are producing important scientific results. “We have to have everyone at the conference teach everyone else what they’ve learned through research and take that shared knowledge home to accelerate the pace of research around the world,” he said.

“We are building a relationship with the State Department to provide them with the information they need to be more effective without having to provide any personally identifiable information,” he said. “Things are getting better.”

Smart Tip #1: For international conference organizers looking to help attendees travel smoothly, start messaging potential attendees early to get them into the visa queue, even if you only have a date and location.

Strategic improvement

A close examination of historical registration data can reveal opportunities to improve attendance. Reed noted that the last time the group was in San Diego, the number of attendees from France was down. He asked some of the “loyalists” who had participated in all the other projects and learned that the problem was the lack of direct flights between Paris and Santiago.

The news set off a flurry of events to find solutions, including working with Air France and Delta to charter a full-service aircraft so hematologists could get the experience they were used to receiving and pay for it. The event was a success, with flights filling up and the airline being able to sell discounted seats to San Diegans seeking a four-day trip to France to fill seats on every return flight.

“Often, if you’re willing to ask questions and look for honest answers, there’s a story in the data.”

——Bill Reed

Reed even agreed that in addition to placing in-flight magazines in seat pockets, he could also place academic journals with directional information. His team greets flights at the gate and adds a personal touch.

Playing the role of detective to identify a problem, coming up with a reasonable solution rather than over-engineering it, and then running tests until the problem is solved is no different than a hematologist looking for patterns in a group of patients and then coming up with a hypothesis that could lead to the result. different. A new discovery. “It’s in our DNA,” Reed said.

Smart Tip #2: Look for patterns in registration data and work with stakeholders to come up with solutions that remove friction so more people can participate.

Mixed model implications

Another example of finding insights in data comes from mining the wealth of information provided by attendees who access on-demand content. Historically, ASH has been an in-person conference, but as the group has recently moved broadly toward offering virtual conferences, the result is a loyal global audience that may never be able to attend in person but can benefit from access. “We are reaching new audiences around the world and better understanding the needs of virtual and in-person participants,” he said.

An example of how people change their behavior was a live attendee from India who attended the conference for five days but never stepped foot into the conference room. However, the same person watched over 200 meetings on the virtual meeting platform. One-on-one interviews revealed the strategy is to maximize meeting time with peers in dedicated collaboration spaces and then drill down by watching on-demand content for a limited time at a sign-up price.

The data also found that some attendees attended one meeting while listening to another on their laptops, the modern equivalent of hopping from room to room. There were 35 meetings every 90 minutes, which contained more information than anyone could reasonably absorb in four days. Thanks to virtual meeting platforms, the average in-person participant attends 40% more content sessions than before the advent of virtual meeting platforms, and thousands of researchers will now never be able to attend an in-person meeting to gain access to the latest findings. Reed calls this formula “one plus one equals three,” because the sum of amplified research’s spread exceeds the sum of its ratings.

He also reports that revenue from selling streaming attendance at discreet time slots is used to pay for investments in larger AV fees and a separate events team to document all sessions. “We chose to take risks and pursue growth during the pandemic, and it continues to pay off,” Reed said.

Understanding the dynamics of how people access content also allows Reed to eliminate one of those early morning hours that everyone hates, giving them time to rest so they’re sharper for the rest of the day because they know they can always One of the concurrent sessions was streaming later in the day.

“This is changing the way people consume conference content,” Reed said.

Smart Tip #3: Offers tiered pricing that includes specific time periods when content is available on-demand for remote and on-site attendees, with separate prices charged for extensions if they don’t complete all content during the first or second window.

Conference room alternatives

As the need for exhibition and networking space expanded, Reed and the team got creative with meeting rooms designed seemingly out of thin air. He uses the outdoors—tents, pavilions, and patios—to expand the managed environment. Additionally, the fresh air and more casual atmosphere are in line with the wellness focus introduced in recent years.

Read more:Alternative venues: Not your usual suspects

“It’s fun because we’re using our creative DNA to design interesting outdoor spaces,” he said.

Smart Tip #4: Think outside the convention center. How do you use parking lots, green spaces, and adjacent streets to bring in food trucks, set up stages, and get people moving?