forward thinking Dave Lutz, CMP The Two P’s and Your Attendees

— you need to figure out whether your group has a Promotion or a Prevention mindset.

R

ecently, one of my co-workers shared a big idea that she picked up from Heidi Grant Halvorson,

Ph.D., and E. Tory Higgins, Ph.D., who work at Columbia University’s Motiva- tion Science Center and are the authors of Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence. Their research has led them to the con- clusion that what motivates a person depends on whether he or she is more focused on getting pleasure or avoiding pain. Halvorson and Higgins have iden- tified these two dominant mindsets as Promotion and Prevention. People with a Promotion orienta-

tion derive pleasure from making progress, advancing, accomplishing, or gaining things. They experience pain when they fail to achieve these things or they stay stagnant. At the other end of the spectrum, people with a Pre- vention mentality get pleasure from maintaining the status quo, being safe and secure. Their sense of pain comes when they make mistakes or fail to keep things running smoothly. Obviously, Promotion and Preven- tion professionals are wired very dif- ferently, and this really got our brains cooking about the meetings industry. How do these two mindsets influence the way conferences are designed and the way marketing messages are crafted to encourage individuals to attend? The best meeting professionals need great analytical and planning skills and are therefore more likely to fit into the Prevention category. But these same planners may be creating experiences

36 PCMA CONVENE AUGUST 2013

for an audience that is more Promo- tion-dominant. For that reason, apply- ing the Promotion/Prevention concept as a framework can help in your confer- ence design and attendee-acquisition strategy. Thinking broadly:

1 If 30 percent or more of your conven- tion’s revenue comes from sponsorship or an expo, more often than not, these investors — sponsors and exhibitors

— are interested in seeing Promotion types in your audience.

2 Prevention-dominant attendee targets may have less of a professional- development budget than their Promo- tion counterparts. So when you are designing an education experience and creating marketing for them, your best bet is to focus on content that helps them avoid pain (e.g., sessions on PhRMA codes for health-care adminis- tration professionals).

3 On the other hand, Promotion- dominated groups are motivated by content that is focused on innovation, risk-taking, and making progress.

4 Incentives resonate better with a Promotion-dominated individual.

Dave Lutz, CMP, is managing director of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, velvetchainsaw.com.

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In order to help answer three of your most pressing questions — Who are we designing this experience for? Who do we need to attract today, so we’ll be relevant for the next-generation participant? Who are the economic buyers that our sponsors and exhibitors want to see most?

BREAKOUT

Subtle Messaging Shifts Make a Difference

Innovation is a hot topic for all professionals, but how you tee it up will differ depending on your target audience. For Promotion types, just the word “innovation” makes them lean in. These pro- fessionals want strategies that help them accelerate inventive thinking and drive more break- throughs. They play to win.

For Prevention types, a focus on innovation stirs up concern. To get their attention, the message must shift to: “What happens if you don’t innovate?” It’s a subtle distinction, but they are more focused on not losing than on winning.

ON THE WEB

Listen to “The Secret to Effective Motivation,” a 15-minute podcast on the Harvard Business Review Blog with Heidi Grant Halvorson and E. Tory Higgins at convn.org/ HBR-motivate.

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ILLUSTRATION BY BECI ORPIN / THE JACKY WINTER GROUP