Background
Intertask was contracted to produce a prestigious inaugural medical congress, held as a joint collaboration of six annual accredited meetings and conferences.
Scale of the Event: the joint Congress attracted 6,700 participants to 375 sessions, featured over 300 exhibit booths, and generated exhibit and sponsorship sales in excess of $3M.
Challenge
To produce one large, inaugural joint event while concurrently strengthening and safeguarding each organization’s distinct brand and mission in the process. As it relates to sponsorship, we had to ensure each organization’s sponsorship program and revenue stream would remain intact during and after the anomaly of the joint Congress was over, and the organizations returned to their “regular” conference.
Solution
Working with our counterparts within each organization, we developed a comprehensive overview of all companies participating as a supporter or exhibitor at each organization’s annual conference.
Intertask identified the level of participation of each company in each of the individual conferences by benefit and level of support. For example, AstraZeneca may have been a Grand Patron at one, a Diamond Sponsor at another and an exhibitor at a third. Our objectives were twofold: (i) to determine the total spend of each company by conference in order to establish what the cost would be for each Level of Support at the joint Congress, and (ii) to ensure the benefits of each conference could be carried forward to future (individual) conferences. Intertask’s ultimate goal was ensure that companies would spend their combined amount of support (or more) for each of the individual conferences within the one-off joint Congress.
In addition to being recognized as a supporter of the joint Congress at the levels developed, participating companies were required to maintain their level of recognition in each separate conference publication and on recognition signage.
Each partner organization of the joint Congress maintained a connection with their supporting company representatives to ensure the continuity of their sponsorship program. Intertask managed the entire process from selling, contract development, communications and fulfillment – before, during and after the Congress.
Outcome
The target for exhibition and sponsorship revenues was over $3M and was surpassed by 6%. Additionally, the partner organizations of the joint Congress surpassed their internal revenue targets for the year.