|
Selling the Destination,
by Timothy Schneider, Publisher, Association News
|
Los
Angeles, CA – August 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / There are many ways to
market a meeting or event, and associations are equipped with a number
of valuable selling points to drive registration and attendance. While
items on the agenda—such as learning from expert speakers, building lasting
relationships with fellow professionals and exploring the latest industry
trends—are all valuable features that are worth promoting, it may also
be worthwhile to consider whether you’re using the event’s location to
its greatest advantage.
Associations
can miss a major marketing opportunity by not highlighting a destination’s
unique features. While it’s true that attendees are ultimately there for
business purposes, it is also important to provide them with a rich experience.
Highlighting your chosen destination’s distinct features may also be a
way to lure attendees who are choosing between two meetings offering similar
content. Here are some ways to incorporate the destination into your meeting
or trade show:
Identify
what sets the destination apart. The first step is to give some thought
to exactly what makes the destination special. What can attendees find
in this location that they can’t find anywhere else? Create a list of activities,
attractions and features that are unique to your event destination.
Partner
with local organizations. Local destination marketing organizations
are always happy to partner with associations in helping to promote their
unique offerings, perhaps even helping attendees to extend their time in
the destination before or after the meeting with leisure-travel options.
Additionally, they may be able to help promote your event by tapping into
their own resources of community members who might benefit from the offerings
at your event.
Add
a corporate social responsibility component. Bringing your attendees
together with local nonprofits is another way to really get to know the
destination. And what better way to get to the heart of a community than
to perform some local service projects as a group. Many destination marketing
organizations already have insights into appropriate community partners,
and providing your attendees with a chance to get involved allows them
to build relationships with each other as well as with members of the community.
Incorporate
a destination’s unique features into your agenda. Although most events
will involve a hotel ballroom or convention center, it’s good to get your
attendees into the community for an off-site event or activity that offers
a window into the unique qualities of the destination. Chances are, your
attendees will thank you for allowing them to experience the destination.
On
September 9–10, we will apply this very approach when Meetings Quest, the
nation’s longest-running series of educational and networking events for
association and corporate meeting planners, roars into Cabarrus County,
North Carolina. Home to Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cabarrus County is considered
the nation’s motorsports capital and is a unique destination for meetings
and events. For more information, see the ad
on page 45, visit MeetingsQuest.com
or call 877-577-3700.
|
###
|
 Timothy
Schneider is the publisher of Association
News and SportsTravel
magazines, which serve group travel planners responsible for generating
106 million hotel room nights annually. Schneider
Publishing also organizes Meetings
Quest, America's longest-running series of trade shows for meeting
planners, and the TEAMS Conference
& Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers.
TEAMS '14 is being held in Las Vegas, November 10-13, 2014. For further
information on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call toll-free
877-577-3700 or 310-577-3700 if calling from outside the United States.
The
current issue of Association
News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking
here.
|
 
|
Media
Contact:
Timothy
Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider
Publishing Company, Inc. |
