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AAI: THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF IMMUNOLOGISTS Immunology 2010—May 7–11, Baltimore www.immunology2010.org

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The AAI had been struggling for years to keepattendees within its housing block, said Meetings Manager Diane E. Kovats, CMP. The organization turned that around for its 2010 meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center by developing a partnership program with contract hotels and offering raffle prizes to attendees who booked within the block. The prizes included complimentary room nights, restaurant vouchers, and free Internet access, and everyone who booked within the block was automatically entered. Kovats said: “We achieved our room commitment—even sold out in two hotels.” The AAI also went back to printing and mailing advertise-

ments for two five-day summer courses it runs, instead of relying solely on e-mail blasts. “We decided to invest the additional funds to do a print piece to gain more exposure to our target audi- ence,” Kovats said. “It worked! The courses were both sold out.” The AAI is looking at adding an additional print marketing piece for Immunology 2011, she said. —Barbara Palmer

incredibly difficult for peo- ple? What is it about how our brains are wired that resists change so tena- ciously? Why do we fight even what we know to be in our own vital inter- ests?”

These are powerful

questions—whether the issue is personal or orga- nizational survival.And they are the questions I was dealing with. True, I have no health problems. I just wanted to shed some pounds. But it’s a goal I've been unable to achieve for more than 25 years, despite exercising hard virtually every day of that quarter century. So why did I succeed this time, when I’ve failed so often before? Here are three explanations for why I was able to down- size myself—and some thoughts about how they apply to the broader chal- lenges of change. 1. Language mat-

Busting Moves

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) did it to Lady Gaga. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) did it to the Black Eyed Peas.And ASAE did it to Cascada.What is it? A flash mob, the phenomenon in which groups assemble suddenly to sing and dance and then melt back into the crowd. All three organiza- tions included them for the first time at their annual meetings in 2010. (You can read about the NRA flash mob in “As Seen on TV” on page 49.) The trend is still going strong—and for good reason, Elizabeth Ireland, public

relations program manager for Stalwart Communications, a San Diego–based marketing, public relations, and events firm, wrote on her company’s blog (www .stalwartcom.com). For one thing, flash-mob routines are inexpensive, using volunteers organized through social media, she wrote. They get talked about, since people share the experience by way of cameras and cell phones, she added.And finally, they are energizing and engaging. At an event for a client that installed solar arrays at the University of San Diego, even the speakers joined in the dance. “Price- less,” Ireland concluded. “It felt like the flash mob was inviting the crowd to become part of this new solar movement.”

pcma convene January 2011 ]

ters, and the language of hope beats the language of fear. I never, ever told myself (or anyone else) that I was “on a diet.” I always told myself, and explained to others, that I was on a “nutrition pro- gram” to make me more fit. That was a distinction with a real difference. The language of “dieting” is the language of sacrifice, denial, and eventual futil- ity. It’s all about the bad things you’re going to try to stop doing, what you’re giving up, and not about all the good things you’re going to start doing, what you’re building towards. The sense of “embracing a program” focused my attention on positive

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