April 2013
I had the opportunity recently to discuss the New Mexico Dental Association Annual Session with Assistant Executive Director Nancy Arenas. With the 104th session to be held in June of 2013, Arenas discusses the tricks of organizing an annual state show, from building the show to building relationships.
What attendance trends have you seen over the last few years at your meeting?
Our numbers went down last year because of some other meetings in Texas, like the Houston Dental Meeting, and this last year there were three at the same time. We usually know when our numbers will go down as a result of other meetings. We hope to have an increase back up to 12 or13,000 next year, but the San Antonio meeting in 2013 will definitely affect that.
Have you seen an increase or a decrease in your attendees, or has it been stable?
I have seen an increase in our numbers, and we are happy about that! We attribute it to our continued efforts to get better and better each year by bringing in more diversified speakers and introducing topics for the whole dental team – not just the dentist. We also think that the economy has actually helped keep our attendance figures up. Attendees are staying local due to finances, so we expect another great turnout to our 2013 meeting.
When do you start to promote your meeting?
While we were still working on our 2012 Annual Session, “Making Lasting Connections,” we had already started on our 2013 Annual Session, so we are always promoting our meeting. Our meetings are in June, and by April we need to know who the speakers are for the following year. With that said, on the last day of the June meeting we are recruiting exhibitors for the following year. It is continuous.
What other methods do you use to promote it?
We use every medium of communication that we know: meetings, word of mouth, ads, mailings, emails, ticklers, and online media, such as our website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other online calendars.
What are some of the best aspects of your meeting – the things you like to brag about?
Besides having the best national speakers around, diverse exhibitors, and great topics, we have fantastic attendees, volunteers, and staff. We are a well-respected meeting, especially for such a small state. I love it when it all comes together on that first day!
What changes have you seen in your show over the last five years?
We have seen more attendees, new exhibitors, and speakers wanting to be a part of our Annual Session. We have been improving in all aspects of what it takes to make these sessions work, from the work behind the scenes right up to the Annual Session itself. We are building relationships and community.
What are some changes you are making for future meetings?
We are continuously changing as we get feedback from attendees, speakers, and exhibitors. For instance, we have added free morning coffee breaks in our exhibit hall to draw more attendees to the floor, and added a treasure chest booth where attendees can try to win a prize by visiting the participating vendors. Each year we try to add some more value for all the people connected with our session, including speakers, attendees, exhibitors, volunteers, and staff.
What should visitors look forward to that they haven’t seen at your meeting before?
They should look forward to our steady growth, exciting speakers, topics, and vendors. For the 2013 session, we are working towards adding a “hands-on workshop” on the exhibit hall floor, which we have never tried before.
How do you keep your exhibitors happy so that they come back again?
We respond to their requests and concerns promptly. We provide an exhibitors’ lounge with coffee and water in the morning and a continental breakfast on the Friday of our session where the exhibitors can join us and give us feedback on the show and share their ideas on how we can make it better for them in the upcoming New Mexico Dental Annual Session. Our association president and president-elect, the Annual Session chairpersons, the convention center, food, audio/visual, and setup/takedown representatives are all a part of it.
How do you draw doctors to your show?
We encourage our dentists and staff to support their local association, the New Mexico Dental Association. We remind them of the convenience of proximity – traveling to other meetings is expensive. We remind them that our speakers are the same speakers you find at the bigger shows and our registration fees are way lower. We remind everyone that we are a team.
We remind them to build their office’s team by attending together and experiencing the Session together – catching up with old friends and making new ones.
How do you make sure the doctors are spending time in your exhibit hall?
We have done different things in the past to draw dentists to the exhibit hall floor such as wine and beer tastings, morning coffee breaks, the treasure chest booth, providing tote bags, and the CEU forms. We are working on the “hands on” workshop for dentists in the exhibit hall, and maybe even a photo booth for fun. This is another aspect that we try to constantly improve.
Can you provide a synopsis of what your meeting aims to do, and how?
We aim to continue to provide the best possible speakers and topics of interest to our dentists and the whole dental team, further the education of our dental community to keep up with their high standards, bring in wonderful exhibitors whose products are necessary for our field of dentistry, be money-wise for our attendees, foster new relationships within the whole dental community, and continually improve our meeting every year.
