PCMA@LinkedIn: The Paperless Chase Lawrence Naiman, CMP, director of events and conferences for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, recently asked members of pcma’S LinkedIn group this question: “Have you ever created a ‘paperless’ conference or meeting? If so, how did you do it?” Here are some of the responses he
received:
The keys to success with this are communication, managing expectations, and patience. Start communicating immediately to attendees that the event is paperless. Include it in email signatures, on the event website, through any social- media avenues which you are using, and make sure people are talking about it. Tell attendees how to access the information that you have provided in print form in the past. Make it easy to find and easy to read/use. Don’t expect everyone to embrace
the change immediately. Some people will not like this move to green, and will be sure to let you know. Listen to their input, respect it, and explain why the move to green has been made.
Pattie Lanktree, Conference Manager, Global Events, Pink Elephant
We went fairly cold turkey into paperless conferences. There was far less pushback than we thought. We mitigate paperless by offering attendees access to handout and presentation materials online prior to the event — attendees can then print items if they choose. Remember that there is a difference between “paperless” and “paper-free.” We never went completely paper- free, because we still needed to print agendas/programs and to distribute some of our own materials.
Rich Heitke, CMP, CGMP, Meeting Planner and Membership Coordinator, California Redevelopment Association
We work with clients who are working on creating paperless conferences. Here are some ideas and notes: › Communicate your paperless goals and environmental impact early on to get attendee buy-in — you can estimate the environmental savings at ativ.me/co2 (it’s a free calculator designed specifically for events). › Ask attendees during registration if they are going to be using a mobile device or want a printed version. Reward sustainability and drop the registration price by $10 for the people who use their mobile devices (or charge people who want a printed version extra). › Take the program mobile instead of using USB sticks or PDFs — it’s a much more interactive and convenient experience. Ensure the event app really works offline; if the experience is frus- trating or cumbersome, your attendees will ask you for a printed program.
› Offer mobile session-handouts: Inte- grate offline PowerPoint presentations that allow users to take notes on slides (if they can’t take notes, they will prefer printed materials). › Include evaluations directly in the mobile app with the actual session. › Use your event app to communicate the daily news. › Ask your exhibitors not to bring paper or charge them extra if they do. › Use your event app to link to product factsheets, product videos, brochures. › Provide all event content, well- formatted, on the website so attendees access it as a resource after the event.
Silke Fleischer, Co-Founder, AITV Software
FromConvene’s blog For more on the meetings industry, visit our blog at pcmaconvene.blogspot.com. Here are a few of the things we’ve been writing about recently:
THE RED-CARPET TREATMENT Aaron Bludworth, COO of George Fern Exposition and Event Services, was looking for a way to make a tangible difference in the storm- ravaged Midwest, in addition to the $11,000 that the company and employees donated to victims. Meanwhile, students in Henryville, Ind., were headed for temporary facilities after their school was leveled by a tornado on March 2. Enter 22,000 square feet of trade-show floor carpeting. Read more at convn.org/donated-carpet.
Storm damage in Henryville.
THERE’S A BLOG FOR THAT? Our new blog feature “There’s a Blog for That?” introduces blogs with off- the-beaten-path perspectives on topics relevant to the meetings industry. Our first pick is Sound Branding Blog (soundbrandingblog.com), written by German sound-branding expert Karlheinz Illner. Sound branding is a new field — but as meeting planners pay more attention to the senses and the art and science of creating immersive experiences, we think Illner’s voice is one worth tuning into every now and then. Read more at convn.org/ sound-branding.