The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) continued to prove The Experience Matters at its 2013 Convening Leaders annual meeting, Jan. 13-16. The meeting brought innovation, design and engagement to attendees in Orlando, evidencing the organization’s skill to consistently deliver education sought by meetings professionals by matching its record attendance of 2012. Additionally, the 2013 meeting realized a year-over-year 4 percent increase in professional planner participation.
From fueling ingenuity for exhibit and tradeshow organizers in The Show Reimagined, a learning environment at the show, to using unconventional room sets in the new Corporate HQ learning tract, the three-day experience challenged planners and suppliers to explore new opportunities for bringing people together.
“As the meetings industry continues to look for ways to turn meeting spaces into truly transformative environments, our staff and volunteer teams adopted a forget-the-status-quo mentality for Convening Leaders 2013 and continued to take risks,” said Deborah Sexton, president and CEO, PCMA. “With the help of Freeman, Sonic Foundry and Active Network, Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center became a new-age learning center for planners and suppliers.”
The convention center also became home court for the first-ever Convening Leaders mobile game. With more than 750 participants racking up 101,075 points, the game brought learning to life and awarded three lucky winners with complimentary registration to the 2014 Convening Leaders from Jan. 12 – 15 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
A Year of Firsts
In a continuing effort to raise the bar for the industry, Convening Leaders featured a number of firsts.
The Industry Business Forum for Local Leaders, an all-day program supported by the PCMA Education Foundation, brought together industry representatives from destination management organizations and convention centers with their volunteer leadership and policymakers to discuss critical issues.
The PCMA Business School presented a series of courses to prepare meeting planners for senior-level discussions on strategy, finance and marketing.
The PCMA Education Foundation delivered an interactive discussion on the Foundation’s cutting edge research for the future of tradeshows, scientific meetings and millennial attendees.
In addition these 2013 firsts, this year’s meeting included encore performances of two of PCMA’s most well-received 2012 additions, the PCMA Learning Lounge and the Enhanced Event Mobile App.
All-Time High for Hybrid Participation
While the majority of the meetings industry was in Orlando for the face-to-face experience, PCMA continued to embrace hybrid innovation with more than 700 unique registrations who joined Convening Leaders from remote locations. The hybrid audience represented more than 18 countries.
“This year’s hybrid audience was bigger and more engaged than ever before,” said Mary Reynolds Kane, director of online marketing, PCMA. “With moderated discussions, hybrid attendees from around the world contributed their own questions and comments to spark conversations both online and on-site.”
2013 Convening Leaders: By the Numbers
- 3,751 face-2-face attendees
- More than 20 people received Convening Leaders scholarships funded by the PCMA Education Foundation
- 48 states, Puerto Rico, Washington DC and 22 countries were represented
- More than 1,500 people attended Party With a Purpose
- More than $3000 in donations and 290 lbs of school supplies were collected to support of the PCMA Network for the Needy® Donation Drive, benefitting A Gift for Teaching
