The Blank Badge: Turning Missed Attendance Into Event Growth<\/a><\/em>, qualifies that idea somewhat.\u00a0<\/p>\nAccording to the survey of around 750 association and event professionals, content definitely does matter: 54 percent of respondents said that \u201ctimely and relevant content\u201d is a key motivator to get them to attend. But time and money are stronger barriers to attendance: 56 percent of respondents cited workload as a factor to their non-attendance, followed closely by \u201cbudget approval from employers\u201d (55 percent) and \u201ccost of attendance\u201d (49 percent). In 2025, practical money matters are getting in the way of event engagement.<\/p>\n
Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP, senior director of industry relations and community engagement at Personify, which produced the MemberClicks report, says association leaders often neglect to consider nonattendees when they\u2019re thinking about their event strategy. \u201cWhen you survey the people who came, of course they were excited about the content or the connections, but we\u2019re not surveying the people who didn\u2019t come,\u201d he says. \u201cSo content is king for those who came.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nPractical money matters are getting in the way of event engagement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n
The report suggests that associations have an overconfidence problem when it comes to understanding attendees\u2019 motivations\u201453 percent of those surveyed said they understand why people attend their events only \u201csomewhat well.\u201d \u201cAssociations are building strategies on shaky ground,\u201d the report says. \u201cFor example, an organization may believe that networking is the top reason members attend, when many members actually prioritize certification credits or leadership opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
To that end, Vallester suggests that planners make a point of factoring in some of those cost and travel factors into their understanding of attendees. \u201cAs an attendee, I could want all that content and I could want all that networking,\u201d he says. \u201cBut how do you as an association tackle things where you don\u2019t have a lever to pull? You can\u2019t make flights cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moreover, he suggests testing assumptions about what members want in terms of location and timing of events. \u201cI find sometimes, associations will say, we\u2019ve just always historically had events at certain times,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd when you talk to attendees or exhibitors, they\u2019ll say, \u2018This is the worst time for us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The MemberClicks report proposes that planners look to build in more flexibility around events to address these challenges\u2014rethinking pricing, event length, hybrid options, and more. It also recommends that planners move beyond marketing strategies that don\u2019t address the practical constraints on attendee travel. \u201cPersonalized emails and content refreshes can spark interest but do little to overcome time, travel, and budget constraints,\u201d the report says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, Vallaster says, associations should do more to provide potential attendees to persuade their employers to free up time and funding for conference attendance. That might include ROI calculators, budget justification templates, manager request letters, post-event reports, and case studies showing how attendance benefited the employer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI see more convince-your-boss kits,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m also seeing more employers saying, if we\u2019re going to send you we want you to come back and present five things you learned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When it comes to association events, is content really king? The (ahem) conventional wisdom around meetings is that if you have a solid education lineup, people will attend. But a recent report from MemberClicks, The Blank Badge: Turning Missed Attendance Into Event Growth, qualifies that idea somewhat.\u00a0 According to the survey of around 750 association […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":347381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169623,169624,101208],"tags":[79911,18526,11465],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-347380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brand-connection","category-financial-smarts","category-onsite-experience","tag-attendees","tag-meeting","tag-planners"],"yoast_head":"\n
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