Connective issues
We've all been there: a stuffy hall with rows and rows of chairs full of sweaty men in suits, a speaker standing at a podium droning on in a monotone, and the only respite the odd sip of warm sparkling water.
Is the conference as we know it facing extinction? Do delegates need to travel hundreds of miles to face the ordeal described above when they could just switch on their laptops and watch speeches from the comfort of their own desks?
The advance of the kind of technologies used in conferences is rapid, to say the least. The Internet, in particular, has made live global broadcasts of any event relatively simple - anyone can be a delegate, if they don't mind the jerky picture.
Events horizon
But the truth is that the conference is far from dead. Associations held 3,840 events in the UK during 2001, 3% down on 2000, and there were 2,760 events in the corporate sector, a 5% reduction on 2000, according to the Meetings Industry Association (MIA).
This shows a slight drop in the number of events, but these figures have been distorted by the 25% drop in meetings held between 11 September 2001 and February 2002.
And 83% of organisers say meetings and conferences are an effective and significant business tool. "There's no doubt that the live event is still alive and kicking," says Charles Blowfield, the MIA's commercial director. "The new technologies are certainly developing, but they're not taking over, and that's an important point to make. It will never replace live events, because you need to have the reaction of a live audience."
Plus, as Blowfield points out, how much work at a conference is done attending sessions, and how much is done in the bar or on the golf course?
So there's obviously life left in the conference yet. What is interesting in the stream of statistics produced by the MIA is the size of the different events. The average number of delegates attending corporate meetings fell from 128 to 111 between 2000 and 2001, yet for associations that figure increased from 118 to 186.
And this is probably the real impact of technology on the general conference market.
For the corporate market, the size of gatherings, and to a lesser extent the number of meetings being held, has gone down, due partly to the increased use of videoconferencing and teleconferencing. The former increased from 60% of users to 62% of users between 2000 and 2001, and the latter went from 60% to 72%.
Meetings eliminated
More significantly, improvements in delivering results, reports and presentations via e-mail and internal intranets have also eliminated many meetings. E-mail use among corporate organisers now stands at more than 99% and use of intranets was up from 73% to 96% between 2000 and 2001.
On the flip side, the improved communications provided by e-mail and the Internet has probably increased the number of delegates attending association events. Corporate attendees are more obliged to attend meetings of their own company, so marketing is almost redundant; association gatherings use the Internet significantly more.
Sixty per cent of organisers use the Internet to market association events, up from 50% in 1999; and 65% send personal e-mails to attendees, up from 32% in 1999. The use of the Internet to take registrations and memberships and provide information has also leapt in the past year.
"The differences between the two markets of corporate and association are quite marked in their use of the Internet," says Blowfield, "although the gap is closing slowly. The corporate sector doesn't really have to use the Internet, whereas the association sector has much more reliance on it these days."
Equipment
Apart from promoting the conference and helping to get delegates there in the first place, technology such as audiovisual equipment is required in the venue to make it run as smoothly and successfully as possible.
However, this is low on the list of priorities when organisers are choosing a venue: the MIA report lists location, price and access as the three main deciding factors. The biggest influence of technology on venue choice is that corporate organisers, especially, are using the Internet to make their selection rather than relying on word of mouth or print brochures.
In fact, according to MIA figures, the most requested piece of kit (87%) is still the flip chart, although that is followed closely by data projection equipment (86%) and a video and monitor (77%).
"What organisers want in a venue depends on so many factors," says Blowfield. "The size of the event, the duration, the purpose. If it's 15 people round a table, then a flip chart is fine; if it's a product launch involving hundreds of people, then something much more sophisticated is needed."
This is certainly the case at the larger venues. The Hilton London Metropole hotel has conference facilities for 3,000 delegates following the opening of a major extension. "It is important that a venue is able to offer conference and meeting space that gives a client the flexibility to hold a technically demanding event," says Chris Sanderson, the hotel's director of conference and banqueting operations.
"When we built the extension, a fully integrated Cat 5e cabling infrastructure [wiring that allows very high speed data transfer] was installed. This allowed the hotel to host technically demanding events such as the Internet Engineering Task Force and European Bank of Reconstruction and Development conferences."
If the flip chart is still so popular, what are the technologies that the conference delegate will be seeing in the next 10 years?
"There will be more and more interactivity between the speakers and the audience," says Blowfield. "That's made a significant change to live events over the last few years, with voting, anonymous questioning using laptops, etc. Two-way communication is the key."
Sanderson has a more technical prediction: "Without doubt, the use of broadband Internet access and wireless connectivity will become more common for conferences and meetings in the immediate future. It's probable that wireless connectivity will become the most notable trend in the next five years."
Top five tips for a successful meetings or conference room
Charles Blowfield, commercial director, Meetings Industry Association:
Comfy chairs.
Correct lighting for the size of room and number of delegates.
Sound provision - can everybody hear clearly?
Good heating or air conditioning.
Soundproofing from the outside world.
Chris Sanderson, director of conference and banqueting operations, Hilton London Metropole:
Have the right cabling and connectivity infrastructure.
Use the right suppliers.
Ensure the equipment is user-friendly.
Have fixed pricing for connections.
Keep in touch with the latest technology.
Contacts
Meetings Industry Association 34 High Street, Broadway, Worcestershire WR12 7DT
Tel: 01386 858572
Web site: www.meetings.org
Hilton London Metropole 225 Edgware Road, London W2 1JU
Tel: 020 7402 4141
Web site:www.hilton.com
