Fresh Ideas for More Engaging Association Events
Great association events don’t happen by accident. They happen by design. Whether we’re planning an annual conference, educational program, networking reception or member gathering, the challenge is the same: How do we create an experience that truly engages attendees, delivers meaningful value, and leaves a lasting impression? The complimentary Association Event Design Playbook offers fresh ideas, practical strategies and creative approaches to help association professionals rethink how they design events.
The Association Event Design Playbook grew out of a collaborative discussion among association leaders attending an Association Leadership Coalition (ALC) Summer Conference. Participants, including Metro NYSAE, shared their experiences, creative ideas and approaches to designing more engaging and meaningful association events. Bringing those ideas to life was Arel Moodie Co-Founder of Talkadot, who took the collective insights, experiences and recommendations shared by the group and transformed them into a comprehensive, practical and easy-to-use guide. Through his leadership, creativity, and considerable effort, what began as a lively exchange of ideas became a valuable resource that association professionals everywhere can put to work.
Designing Events Around Four Value Stages
The Playbook introduces four distinct value stages to help association executives and event planners better understand what attendees are looking for:
- Self-Centric: Creating opportunities that address individual attendee interests and needs.
- Group-Centric: Fostering connections, relationships and a sense of community.
- Skill-Centric: Providing opportunities to learn, develop and apply new skills.
- Achiever: Helping attendees accomplish goals and experience meaningful outcomes.
By considering these different stages, association professionals will move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and design events that deliver value to a wider range of attendees.
Association professionals are encouraged to explore its recommendations, put new ideas into practice and contribute their own successful approaches. The goal is to build a resource that continues to evolve through the shared knowledge and creativity of the association community.
Access the Association Event Design Playbook
Share it with your colleagues, your planning committees and fellow association professionals. The best ideas often come from learning from one another.
For more information or to contribute ideas to the Playbook, contact Arel Moodie at arel@talkadot.com.
Metro NYSAE is pleased to share this resource as part of our commitment to connecting association professionals, encouraging innovation and advancing the power of peer-to-peer learning.
