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‘Figuring Out a Happy Medium’; Finding a Balance of Value and Price for Events

by Media

In an article last month on the Eventbrite blog, Adriana Gascoigne of Girls in Tech was asked the most compelling element to get attendees to attend their virtual events? “…the speakers: high-caliber speakers and content that’s difficult for attendees to access if it weren’t for [us].”

In a normal year, a Girls in Tech Conference costs $300 and maybe their Global Classrooms anywhere from $35 to $150. When the pandemic began, they went to free. “But as the year moves on,” Gascoigne says, “we’re figuring out a happy medium for next year’s event to offer up a fee that keeps them signing up and actually attending the event. We’re trying to figure out what that number is.”

There is nothing trickier than event pricing right now. We’ve seen prices run the gamut from free to $600, and no one seems sure about their strategy—at least until after the fact. Gascoigne looks at the bright side, however. “We’re able to produce more and reach a lot more people globally through digital programming and it’s also less expensive overall to produce.”

That Eventbrite article listed these three foundational strategies to price your event:

  • Create demand with discounted prices for new events.
  • Cover your business costs.
  • Play up your value to attendees.

Let’s focus on that third one: value. The Financial Times put their value on special access and on-demand networking. For their FT Live event in October, they offered three tiers: The Knowledge Pass ($299) gave you access to the live talks and the Q&A and polls. The Professional Pass ($599) added meet-the-journalist sessions and that networking—and video—on demand. The Group Pass ($3,000) multiplied everything by six people.

On the lower end, Christine Weiser, content/brand director, Tech & Learning, a Future plc division, said they charged just $25 for a big virtual event they put on—with good value—and more than 1,300 people signed on! “We had no idea,” she said. “Will they pay more? For education they do have professional development budgets.” She said if you do price low be ready for late signups. I’ll bet they charge a little more next time.

“We feel that people are getting a lot more value [this year],” Jared Waters, training director for Business Valuation Resources, said about their recent Virtual Divorce Conference. “We can do a lot of things to add value to an event. So we figure a price point—[they are charging about half of what they charged last year]—and then throw a lot of value on it. It really is a great deal for our attendees.” That value included pre- and post-conference bonus sessions and a $200 credit on their registration to a future in-person event.

“Consider the value [of] what people are getting in exchange for what they’re paying,” said Darrah Brustein, lifestyle designer and founder of Network Under 40, a series of networking events for professionals in Atlanta, Nashville, and Baltimore. Brustein only charges $10-$25 for her networking events but $97-$297 for her summit because she knows it provides in-depth value.

The National Association of Broadcasters broke pricing down for their big October event, offering a $75 Marketplace Pass, and then content passes that varied in number of days and in pricing—$149 to $499.

“We started off at a lower number when we first offered our classes,” Susie Martin, co-founder, It’s for Charity! Events, said. “Once we saw the popularity, we slowly raised our prices until we found a good spot. It was experimental.”

Experimental is a good word for these times. Your audience is unique so what works for you in pricing may be as well.

Then there’s the Bloody Mary Festival. “The normal in-person festival costs $50 (general admission) and you get two-and-a-half hours sampling Bloody Marys from 10-15 different vendors,” Evan Weiss said. “The virtual event ticket costs $75 and includes five bottles of artisanal Bloody Mary mix from around the country shipped direct to the ticket holder. Then on October 10th, each ticket holder can tune into the virtual Bloody Mary Festival.”

Whether attendees make it that far after getting their swag boxes is a story for another day.

 

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October SIPA Member News

by Media

Industry Dive Launches Cybersecurity Dive

On Monday, Industry Dive officially launched Cybersecurity Dive. The latest newsletter and website will bring news and analysis to chief information security officers and other executives tasked with keeping brands’—and customers’—data safe.

 

Cybersecurity Dive marks the 23rd site in Industry Dive’s portfolio of online publications and industry-focused newsletters. The new Dive will look at industry regulation, along with legal, technological, economic, social, labor, and geopolitical risks.

 

“While the TV trope of hackers wearing hoodies in dark basements may be fun to watch, businesses know security breaches are no laughing matter. As the world has become increasingly digital, cybersecurity has quickly evolved into a top priority for enterprises from startups to the Fortune 500,” said Industry Dive editor-in-chief Davide Savenije. “Bringing Industry Dive’s award-winning journalism and exclusive insights to cybersecurity will help executives in the space stay ahead of the curve.”

 

Cabot Wealth Network Acquires The Turnaround Letter

Cabot Wealth Network, celebrating 50 years of business, has acquired contrarian investment newsletter, The Turnaround Letter, from New Generation Research, Inc. of Boston. Relaunched as Cabot Turnaround Letter, the new financial advisory expands Cabot Wealth’s suite of advisories to 16 publications and a financial retirement club.

 

Founded in 1986 by publisher George Putnam, the publication became one the most established and longest-running Wall Street investment publications of its time. Editorial focuses on providing insight into potential turnaround situations and recommends stock purchases that have potential for large and imminent or long-term increases.

 

Longtime Turnaround Letter Editor Bruce Kaser will join Cabot Wealth Network as the value stocks expert and chief analyst of Cabot Turnaround Letter and Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor.

 

Ragan Communications Announces Workplace Wellness Insider

Ragan Communications has announced the launch of a subscription service tailored to wellness, human resources and communications professionals. The Workplace Wellness Insider will provide insights and solutions needed to build corporate wellness initiatives that make an impact.

 

At the core of this important product launch is the belief that fostering the physical and mental well-being of employees is no longer just nice to have, but critical to an organization’s sustainability and business performance.

 

“While employee wellbeing has always been important, never before has it been central to organizational health,” said Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan. “The stressors—mental, physical, financial and social—caused by the pandemic, social injustices and ongoing isolation cannot be ignored, and those overseeing wellness programs need a trusted source for guidance. We are both thrilled and humbled to be able to provide that with the Workplace Wellness Insider.”

 

Relias Named 2020 Leader in Diversity

Relias, a trusted education and training partner to more than 11,000 healthcare clients and parent of SIPA member Relias Media, was recognized by the Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) as a winner of its 2020 Leaders in Diversity Award.

 

TBJ’s 2020 awardees consist of eight companies, including Relias, and 14 individuals who have demonstrated respect for inclusive treatment of others, advocacy for underrepresented groups, and multicultural marketing from a variety of industries including technology, healthcare, commercial real estate, finance, education, and life sciences.

 

“Relias values diversity and continually works to create an environment where employees of all abilities, ethnicities, sexual preferences, identities, race, age or creed feel they can bring their authentic selves,” said Tina Krebs, Relias chief people officer. “Relias is honored with the recognition from TBJ, and we congratulate all the awardees who have set the bar high and are committed to diversity and inclusion.”

 

Op Ed on The Company Dime: John Harvey on the Future of Business Travel Demand

SIPA member The Company Dime publishes some excellent content, especially in this hectic and changing time for business travel.

 

“A step-change has already taken place, which cannot be ignored. This is not about when governments say we can travel again, how clean and safe travel feels or what tests and vaccines emerge, but rather a realization that people were traveling more than they needed to.

 

“COVID is a spotlight that will put a new focus on qualifying the actual demand on every trip… Change will happen across the program. Individuals who may have been drivers of travel — by inviting, suggesting or requiring others to travel — will think differently. Many travelers themselves will question the value, importance and necessity of each trip.

 

“That everyone will be inclined to travel less in the future is not just a subjective or conceptual view. There will be four tangible forces applying downward pressure on qualifying and reducing demand going forward…”

 

Read more here.

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How to Shine Brightly During the Pandemic (But Not Too Brightly)

by Media

“I’ve been a Toastmaster for roughly two years now and up until March, I never had to worry about what the picture window in front of my desk did to my round, cherubic cheeks. In the last eight months, however, I’ve added pro at lighting, make-up, and background-interior-design to my ever-growing public speaker toolbox.”

 

That’s from a terrific Working Wit blog post by Erin Hallstrom, digital and content strategy director for Putman Media—and a great follow. Her column earlier this month was titled Lights, Camera, Work: A Non-Influencer’s Guide to Virtual Meetings. Her main point is that as much as we like to play down virtual meetings and joke about our wardrobe choices and blank walls, they do matter.

 

“As much as my mother told me growing up that looks didn’t matter, the fact of the matter is, they do. What your clothing, your home, and how well the light reflects off of your tired, low-hydrated skin can say a lot about you.”

 

Here are some suggestions from Hallstrom and others on improving your virtual meeting experience:

 

Adjust how your Zoom call looks. Instead of trying to focus on everyone in a Zoom meeting at once, shift from gallery view to speaker view so you only have to focus on one person, Fast Company’s Elizabeth Grace Saunders suggests. Cover up the portion of the screen showing your face with a Post-It note so you’re not distracted by yourself. “Research shows that when you’re on video, you tend to spend the most time gazing at your own face.”

 

Go all in on your background. How many Zoom calls have started with someone commenting on a background or two? There are many places where you can download the virtual backgrounds. But perhaps you want to hang something behind you that you’re proud of or passionate about. I have a French aqueduct with Tour de France cyclists riding over it in the 1920s! Of course, bookshelves rule—makes us look smart—so that could give you some incentive to find that book you put down five years ago because you didn’t have time.

 

Avoid the default to Zoom. A Harvard Business Review article suggests switching to Slack. Lesley Ellen Harris of Copyrightlaws.com, who preceded us all on Zoom with her Zoom On Ins, did this. “One thing I did in my last class this spring was a Slack Live Chat…similar to a Twitter chat but private,” Harris wrote to me. “My students really liked it and what’s great is that there’s a record of it and people can continue to discuss the issues… It worked for that group of students. We’ll experiment with it further this fall.”

 

Light up your life. “Four different light fixtures, one screaming match with a mini-blind cord, and dozens of YouTube videos later, I found the precise angle and diffusion to keep me looking my best, no matter what time of day or night,” Hallstrom wrote. She also mentioned something I know well, the reflection of your glasses. “Nothing says ‘hey, I’m reading off of my screen’ quite like the illumination of your screen in your glasses… There’s a lot to be said for a well-placed lamp and a perfectly-angled camera.”

 

Say yes to dressing up (a bit). “Since people would only be seeing me from the shoulders up, I concentrated on shirts that had a flattering color, neckline or (and this was a new one for me) shoulder silhouette,” Hallstrom wrote. “This all sounds extremely egotistical, but I definitely noticed an uptick in the number of people who paid attention when I talked once I paid attention to what was on my outside.”

 

Choose a workstation. If you have a desk at home work from it. Or a room with a door that you can close (for the times that you do want to keep the dog or cat out). Though I was told (on Slack) this morning that Oct. 29 is National Cat Day—seems a little broad for the niched days we get now—and we should send Marketing our cute photos.

 

Limit your direct eye contact. If you’re uncomfortable with how you look on video calls, take some time to adjust your camera settings or the lighting in your house, said Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. Or change your view. “What we’ve done inadvertently is design every default on every videoconference system to increase the amount of direct eye contact you get from very large faces constantly,” he said at the recent Fast Company Innovation Festival. “If you think about your real life, when somebody is very close to you and looking you in the eye, one of two things are going to happen. You’re going to get in a fight—or maybe you’re going to have a meeting experience.”

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‘Helping Readers Do Their Job Better’; for Money-Media, Subscriptions and a High Renewal Rate Stem From That

by Media

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s a simple formula,” Dan Fink, managing director of Money-Media, a Financial Times division, said. “We create great content, then we drive engagement with that content and then we monetize the engagement. We work very hard not to overcomplicate it. Everything feeds into that formula.”

 

After listening to Fink deliver a SIPA webinar on Cornerstones of a Successful Subscription Business Thursday, I can most assuredly say that at Money-Media there is no resting on your laurels. Or anything else. Renewals are close to 100%, yet they’re still working it.

 

“Renewals are critical,” Fink said. “You have to remind people why they bought [the subscription] to begin with. Restate your value proposition—99% of the renewal decision is based on engagement of that user… It’s critical to onboard new subscribers successfully. Make sure they can easily log in. And if they haven’t accessed anything or they’re not receiving your news alerts, you’ve got a problem.

 

“We use different levels of analysis to look at every subscription we have. Are there any at-risk subscriptions? [If so,] we need to increase engagement to reduce that risk. You have to communicate regularly [with your subscribers]. For each company that subscribes, they have an administrator who we send a report that we generate. ‘Here’s how many users you have—we want that number to keep going up. Here are your top 10 users. Here are the top 10 headlines people are reading across your company.’ We do this every quarter.”

 

Here are other highlights from Fink’s webinar, which will soon be available on-demand to SIPA and media division members shortly.

 

This is a good time. “Subscriptions have reverse correlation to economic downturns,” Fink said. “When the going gets tough,” people still cling to their subscriptions. “Society has acknowledged that good journalism is expensive to produce; people are recognizing the need to support high-quality journalism. It’s a simple and straightforward business model. There are very few third parties in the value chain along the way.”

 

Define your audience. “Make sure you can clearly define your audience in a way that they are identifiable and reachable. For Money-Media, one of our core [audiences] is the asset management industry—retail investment managers, institutional investors, intermediaries in this industry. We’re going to serve people in those specific sectors.”

 

Know your value proposition. It has to resonate with the audience, and being unique or proprietary works best.

 

Make your content “simply better.” “Maybe it’s more accurate or more timely. For our Health Payer Specialist, we announced its launch one week before the pandemic became a real thing in the U.S. We converted a beta test into a full-fledged product with a paywall and subscription fee. It proved surprisingly successful… Our news is very specifically dedicated to that audience. The way we write, our coverage, and what we’re not covering makes our product better [in this case] for health insurance providers.

 

Your paywall has to be aligned with your value proposition and audience. “We use a walled garden where no content is accessible outside the garden,” Fink said. “They can get a tour of the garden but that’s it.” He admitted that it’s pretty severe in this age, but it reflects the confidence they have in their content. Fink called the paywall where access must be paid for special content a “VIP lounge.” And the third and perhaps most popular paywall is the volume meter, where you get access to a certain number of articles a month.

 

Is your content helping your readers do their job better? “Producing great content is not cheap,” Fink said. “It has to keep people reading and really engaged. It’s helpful to have a clear mission. How does your product affect your audience? At Money-Media our mission is helping our readers do their job better. We’re all pretty much B2B, targeting very specific sectors. That [mission] gets used by us on a daily basis. Maybe they’re interested, but does it affect their success level in their business?”

 

How do you know if the content you’re producing is great? Audience engagement. “The ultimate measure of quality content is about engagement. ‘Is it great in the eyes of the audience I’ve identified?’ We track everything. It’s very easy to look at clicks, but you have to go deeper than that. We’re looking at page time spent. Most clicks don’t equal aggregate page time. Did they scroll down? Did they share it with colleagues? Did they post it in social media? Did they come back? Even page time is not a perfect measure. They could walk away with it open and make a sandwich.”

 

Ask for renewals early. “Even 30 days in advance is cutting it close,” Fink said. “We start at 90 days. [If they expire,] we might extend service beyond that date. But there has to be a risk of an interruption in service. Renewal time is also a great time to upsell or raise prices. If you have a great product and people are engaging with it, you really need to raise the price. If you can’t do that, you have a content or product problem.”

 

Again, the webinar will be loaded shortly on the SIPA website.

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‘Our Recent Alignment Progress Enabled Us to Hit the Ground Running’; A Q&A With PMMI Media’s Joe Angel

by Media

Joe Angel is president of PMMI Media Group, a division of PMMI. He will be speaking with three other CEOs on an all-star Power Panel at our Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS) Dec. 2-4 titled Operating in the New Normal.

Amid running a company that serves manufacturing markets that are all deemed essential, he was kind enough to take the time to conduct this interview with us over email.

CONNECTIV: Everyone has had to pivot over the past year, whether it’s with events, workflow, digital products, company culture, etc. What are some of the most significant (and effective) ways that PMMI has responded to the crisis?

JOE ANGEL: Early in the pandemic especially, manufacturers were hungry for information to help them quickly respond to a range of challenges. We set up a task force to meet frequently to address the needs of our employees, our subscribers and our customers and to define communication plans. PMMI Media Group had been focusing on better alignment with our parent company, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, whose member companies are our customers. It’s no exaggeration to say that our recent alignment progress enabled us to hit the ground running when response time was critical.

Our editors conducted multiple surveys to gain insight into what was happening in packaging and processing plants across the country. We were uniquely positioned to be able to share industry-specific intelligence with essential businesses. PMMI produced 18 podcasts, nearly a dozen Town Hall meetings and established a COVID-19 dedicated resource page visited by over 5,000 individuals in the manufacturing community, which included our coverage of relevant developments. Topics like resource reallocation to produce PPE, remote access, e-commerce challenges and how to bring workers back safely have been hugely popular. Together we were able to produce and distribute timely information for our readers and PMMI’s member companies, our customers.

For PMMI Media Group, our most significant response to the pandemic was to build a virtual event, which is PACK EXPO Connects, launching on November 9th. Due to COVID-19, PMMI’s physical trade show, PACK EXPO International, was cancelled. This event held at McCormick Place in November usually attracted about 50,000 attendees and 2,400 exhibitors. In just a few months, our team developed a virtual event and supporting media. PACK EXPO Connects will open with 700+ exhibitors, over 2,600 live demos and more than 60 educational sessions featuring well-known brands like Amazon, L’Oreal, Smithfield Foods, Annie’s Organics and more. It’s been a massive undertaking requiring full-time collaboration between PMMI Media Group in Chicago and PMMI in Herndon, Va.

How has revenue mix changed over the past year? What has PMMI’s experience been with virtual events? Are there other products that have really stepped up this year? Why?

The new virtual show caused an acceleration of innovation for our media products. And, while I can’t speak specifically to revenue, we have generally experienced an increase in media sales over the same period last year. Our virtual event media packages and live demo products—print and digital—were developed by our incredible digital team, led by Dave Newcorn, senior VP, digital and data, in cooperation with PMMI’s trade show team. Many of the features available at our virtual event were developed exclusively for us by Map Your Show, the platform on which PACK EXPO Connects is built. We also modified some of our traditional media offerings to support suppliers navigating a new way of doing business. And we developed new products, like our Virtual Event Guide, which is polybagged with our October issue of Packaging World. While we will be evaluating the virtual experience post-event, we anticipate being in-person again in September for PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021. What we have learned will position us for future hybrid models and potential new virtual events.

How has the way PMMI Media Group operates day-to-day changed?

As at most companies, the pandemic has created challenges and opportunities. For the Media Group, our day-to-day operations have been mostly unchanged. We had a strong IT department going into the crisis and many on our team were experienced in working remotely. Aside from delivering a few external monitors and desk chairs, the transition was pretty seamless. We encouraged virtual meetings to be held with cameras on, to bring a more personal feel to our interactions and I think that’s a change that will endure. Our outreach and engagement with our customers has been a real bright spot; our video-based products and PACK EXPO Connects helped us develop new business.

Is the company fully remote? Has this experience prompted any lasting changes in the way PMMI will operate post-pandemic?

PMMI’s Herndon, Va., employees are working in the office with staggered schedules; safety protocols are in place and there are very few, if any, who typically commute by mass-transit. This is a huge difference from PMMI Media Group in Chicago, where almost all of our employees use mass transit. We still do not feel it is safe for our employees to be using trains and buses, so we will continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future.

What have been some effective ways to keep employees from getting burned out and keep morale up?

It’s a challenge, as you know. We frequently remind our employees that we want them to take care of themselves and their families, and we encourage folks to take advantage of time off. We have regular Zoom happy hours, which often feature a theme or contest and offer an easy way for employees to connect with co-workers. We’ve also sent occasional gift cards, masks, pizzas and other signs of appreciation to employees to keep morale up until we can be together again.

What is your outlook for 2021? When are you anticipating the return to the office (if that’s relevant) and of in-person events?

We are cautiously optimistic about 2021 but are budgeting conservatively. With no vaccine or proven treatment for COVID-19, it is hard to say where we’ll be. PMMI Media Group has a tremendous portfolio, and PMMI is known for its very successful trade shows. Almost all the manufacturing markets we serve are deemed essential—the packaging and processing of products we use every day—food, beverages, cosmetics and household products, medical and pharmaceutical items. And many of our customers are busier than ever. The long-term impact of the pandemic is a bigger issue and the upcoming election could affect the business outlook, as well. That said, we consider ourselves fortunate to be aligned with packaging, processing and automation. And we are also fortunate to have dedicated, knowledgeable colleagues at our parent company, PMMI.