By Michael Doyle, for Convene
By launching hybrid events, the American Public Works Association and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering increased both in-person and online attendee engagement.
When the organizers of the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) International Public Works Congress & Exposition sought a way to break down barriers between their education program and show floor in Anaheim on Aug. 26–29, the approach that general services contractor The Expo Group (TEG) suggested — a hybrid event — took them by surprise.
On the other hand, adding a virtual component to its two annual 2012 meetings — the ASHE Annual Confer- ence & Technical Exhibition, July 15–18 in San Antonio, and the International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction (PDC Summit), March 4–7 in Phoenix — seemed a more straightforward solution for the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, which wasn’t seeking to grow in-person traffic as much as to extend its live event education to a remote audience. Looking strategically at their overall goals, both APWA and ASHE determined that their trade-show floor and attendee-marketing efforts could benefit from digital event-technology solutions, said Dana Freker Doody, The Expo Group’s vice president of corporate communications. Both organizations worked with The Expo Group to broadcast education right from the show floor.
DRIVING TRAFFIC
In order to create a buzz and get attendees moving to and around the exhibits all day, APWA held special education programs in a streaming theater that The Expo Group created in the show hall…
Read the full article from Michael Doyle on page 45 in the December 2012 issue of PCMA’s Convene here.