Lessons Learned from the 2023 Associations World Congress

Though I have been an Association of Association Executives (AAE) member for a few years, this week was my first year attending #AWC23 and it was a real pleasure to meet so many people who have faced similar challenges. It was a particularly useful time to attend this conference as all professional societies have had a tough period over Covid, but we have now had time to reflect and implement lessons learnt which could be shared with others.

Common issues included dealing with non-traditional revenue streams, keeping members engaged online, and doing more to incentivize and excite members to attend in person events. There were some fascinating additional talks on how AI will affect the industry, and novel strategies for stronger member engagement. ?

One common feature is that as membership associations, we all heavily rely on support from the industries that we represent. So, for many associations we must wait for the industry to recover before they start thinking about coming back to conferences or pay their fees again. While industries are now recovering, individual members are still struggling. As a result, many societies are trying to source revenue from the companies who tend to benefit from active and educated employees, rather than putting that cost on the members themselves.

At AWC this year there was plenty of representation from associations tied to pharmaceuticals, food retail, and the energy sector. All of those sectors have announced record profits in the past few years. However, that does not seem to be filtering back down to associations just yet. This is likely down to the lack of stability in the markets due to war, AI, and climate change all playing on people's minds. Even highly successful industries do not seem confident to invest back into association bodies just yet, despite it being the ideal home to help members learn about these issues.

Training budgets were largely stopped over covid, replaced by free and untested online platforms, and it’s a big chunk of time and money to reintroduce. I had my own problems with flights during this conference which was also a frank reminder of the consequences of international travel. It’s clear that industry needs gentle encouragement and a rebuilding of confidence to consider investing in us again.

However, over my time at AWC, it started to become clear that the only way to break this cycle is simply to do better. As associations we have to remind Industry the value we bring, the support we can offer, and the memories and opportunities we can create. Simply returning to normal ways of doing things is not enough, and we cannot afford to wait for industry to remember how we can help them.

This means embracing new technologies, looking good, and being ambitious and creative with our events. It means not only utilizing the venue, but the location and culture as well, in order to leave a lasting and impactful experience. The content from online webinars will always be useful, but it will never be that memorable. No one will think back to that amazing day they watched a webinar over Zoom. But they will remember the sights, sounds, and smells of a new environment.

When creating memories we can use mnemonics, which help us create something unique and unforgettable in our minds. But if our events remain the same as 5 years ago, our participants won’t remember it is us who provided the valuable contact or information they used. They also won’t talk about their experiences with their friends and colleagues either.

On a fundamental level we have all changed since covid. And while there is a nostalgia in how things used to be, when industry professionals think about pushing their career and industry development, they want to be ahead of the curve, not looking back. Our events and activities must reflect this to show we will help our members through these uncertain times.

It is no longer enough to provide technical content and hope that attendees have a nice time while they are with us. We have to ensure that we are providing those experiences and opportunities, on top of a useful and applicable programme.

Few will share a picture of a standard training session on social media, but they will share a selfie of the unique venue, or outrageous banner, or historic city they are in.?

This is a challenge because it obviously costs money to invest in this. But until we do this, people will not talk about our events/association, and sponsors will not care if they are seen supporting us. Without industry support that will put the burden of cost onto the very members we are trying to help.

In a similar way, if companies want to retain their key staff, they also need to invest in their team, and show they are worth spending hundreds of dollars on to attend a conference that will invigorate them or pay for their membership that will get them recognized professionally. If your company values your development and is willing to invest in you as a person, you will invest in your company too.

But we cannot leave it up to industry, companies, or even individual members to remember this themselves. We have to prove to them all over again the value we bring, and do so in a way that will invigorate, excite, and entertain them.

Technology suppliers and venues are coming up with a lot of exciting methods to allow us to achieve this, and it was a real pleasure to see all the novel ways they are using new technologies and data which allow us to create a unique attendee experience.

Of course, this puts the burden and responsibility of our success back onto us as association bodies. It is up to us to put more effort and consideration in to our planning, to expand our creativity and innovations, and risk putting money into something we haven’t tried before. I am a control freak, so I would rather have risk in my hands than wait for economic markets, political situations, and industry reputation to repair themselves. Yes, it’s scary, and I’m certain some things will go wrong, but it will also be a chance to learn, grow, and succeed as well.??

As part of the event, it was my pleasure to present my company as winner of “Best Digital Transformation”, and it was fun and rewarding to share my experiences with others. But it also was so amazing to see the great work other associations are doing to push the limits and purpose of their activities. The other Award winners ( Diana Yordanova , Simon Darvill , Helen Monument ) were all very worthy and exciting to hear about, and I will certainly stay in touch with all of them. They have given me insight and hope that there are so many people who continue to push societies and help members achieve their goals.

Through supplier meetings and training sessions, the conference was also able to provide more practical insight on how this can be achieved. So it is now my job to take all of this new knowledge to plan for the future. It’s going to be a bumpy journey, but it will be a memorable one, and I can’t wait!?