For this behind the curtain peek at event organizers we're learning more about the Association of the United States Army and two of their more popular events. LTG(R) Roger Thompson, vice president, membership and meetings at AUSA, took the time to talk to us about the planning behind the group's Global Force Symposium and LANPAC.[Tweet "Behind the curtain peek at AUSA and their events. #GovEventsBlog"]
The Global Force Symposium runs March 15-17 in Huntsville, AL, just outside Redstone Arsenal. The featured command at the symposium will be the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC), the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness - technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection, and sustainment. If a soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC provides it. LANPAC takes place May 24-26 in Honolulu, HI. This annual event brings together military and industry to highlight the role of land forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific theater and their contributions to the Joint Force in peace and war.
We talked with LTG Thompson about how trends in the event industry and the government market in general are shaping the way they produce events.[Tweet "We talked with LTG Thompson @AUSAorg about trends and the events they produce."]
Q: It seems that travel and training budgets are starting to loosen up. Are you seeing this?
Yes. Our military and government attendees depend on the interaction at shows like ours to get their jobs done through learning, interacting with peers and understanding the potential inherent in products and services of the defense industry. This is being recognized at the highest levels. In fact, the Defense Secretary has made public comments about opening up event attendance to maximize job performance. We see our attendance tracking up from two years ago.
Q: What changes (if any) have you made to your events in recent years to deal with the reality of time and budget crunches of attendees? Will you keep those changes in place now that budgets have opened up a bit?
We've taken a "go local" approach to our events. In the past we would have five or six large symposia at a variety of locations around the country. Locations were chosen based on where there was space for our large attendee numbers and exhibits. With the travel budgets tightening we looked at ways to hold a larger number of smaller, more targeted shows - many without exhibits. For example, Global Force used to be the Winter Symposium held in Ft. Lauderdale. When we looked at who was really attending that event, there was a huge contingent from Huntsville, AL, home of Army Materiel Command and a number of other commands and organizations. Those attendees that were from other places often worked with Huntsville-based teams. We tailored the show to the Huntsville audience and brought it to them. Now even if people have to travel in, they can usually combine it with other business at Redstone.
When the Commander in Chief announced the United States' pivot to the Pacific, we wanted to help put the spotlight on the military there. We saw that the base for that show was actually stationed in Hawaii. With its focus on the Pacific theater, people not in Hawaii had relatively easy and affordable travel options. Again, once people get there they can combine other work to make the most of the trip.
For our DC-based audience we've stopped holding large exhibitions and instead host a number of "Hot Topic" sessions around a single theme such as sustainment, aviation, cyber security, and disruptive technology.[Tweet "For DC-based audience we host a number of Hot Topic sessions. #GovEventsBlog"] These one-day events feature panel discussions and tend to be much more interactive than traditional conferences. We hold these at the state-of-the-art meeting space at AUSA headquarters which makes it possible to hold many of these smaller events without having to pay for an outside venue each time.
Q: Are you hearing any new requests/expectations from attendees? Exhibitors?
DoD has spoken long and loud about the need for innovation and shortened procurement cycles to be able to get technology to force more rapidly. At our Annual Meeting and at Global Force we've allocated a part of the exhibit floor as "innovator's corner." This allows smaller businesses, think tanks, and even universities to directly reach our military attendees with demos and discussions.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of planning your shows? How do you make it work?
The two biggest challenges are finding a place and a date that works for everyone involved. Then we have to control costs. While we've tailored our events, they are still large events with thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibitors, so finding a space large enough in the localities we're targeting is tough. Our audience is busy. Between business and military organizations attending events and having immovable dates as part of their operational schedule we have to de-conflict. That means time and location, of course. But is also means event content. Making sure our events don't overlap with other major defense events is also challenging. When we have had conflicts with other shows, we try to work with the other organization to tailor the agendas to avoid direct overlap and give people the opportunity to attend both.
Q: What is your perspective on hybrid events? Virtual events?
So much of the value we bring to attendees and exhibitors is the multi-day interactivity. That is hard to achieve with a virtual event. At live events the conversation continues in the hallways and subsequent sessions long after formal Q&A has ended. With that said, there is a place for virtual events as a great way to transmit information and (if done right) cultivate some interaction. We're looking into ways to use more virtual as part of our full event mix.
Q: What are you most excited about for this year's events?
I feel like Global Force is becoming a place to get lots of things done. In addition to the speakers and over 200 exhibits, we'll have local AUSA chapters holding events. We also have a number of ways to interact with the STEM community. We'll host a hiring event at the show as well as a forum on medical issues for military families. It is a rich and rewarding experience for so many!
LANPAC is truly becoming an international show. It's not just an Army event. We're drawing attendees from other nations' senior military as well as businesses from allied countries. Its potential for long-term growth is huge!
Thanks again to LTG Thompson for his time. Click here for more information on Global Force Symposium and LANPAC.
