“I think first-time attendees can sometimes feel overwhelmed. We wanted to help them start with a road map,” said Angela King, senior event marketing manager at Microsoft, which hosted more than 15,000 developers in July in Toronto for its Worldwide Partner Conference.
Microsoft initially rolled out a program to target first-time attendees, who make up close to 40 percent of the delegates, four years ago. King said this year marks a significant expansion of its scope, starting with an orientation the Sunday before the conference kicks off where a panel walks new attendees through best practices for planning their time at the conference to get the most value out of the education and networking opportunities.
The tutorial goes beyond the conference itself. “We’re adding a post-event workshop to tell first-time attendees how to make the most of what you learned, walking them through what do you do next, how you take what you’ve learned and follow up with leads, and what are the next steps after this,” King said.
The other big assist first-time attendees get is a staffed “help desk” on site just for them, where they can ask questions or find out information. “We wanted to give them a place where they could go,” King said.
Reassuring new attendees they won’t get lost in the shuffle is important. “That’s one of the key pieces,” King said. The information desk gives them a home base with the idea that, “If you’re new, go here, and we can help you find your way around.”
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