Roadmap 2030, a multi-disciplinary conference to engage diverse communities in public policy.
Thank you card design sent to speakers and volunteers
Roadmap 2030 was a blockbuster conference, held in Toronto, 2010, organized to engage diverse communities in public policy. More than 400 individuals, organizational representatives, government employees and consultants met with each other to discus how and where people get involved, and create solutions for the future. Many are individually struggling with this task, but the planning team identified the need to combine the wisdom of the crowd to create a framework of best practices. The chief activity of the conference was problem solving, case studies, uncovering results from diverse sectors, theoretical and practical steps forward. Naturally, networking is a great activity to solidify relationships and build on potential and Two-Way Street provided tools to facilitate conversation.
Raising Awareness
The approach to conference ticket sales involved reaching out beyond their networks to raise awareness of the two-day event. To boost the interest of potential participants, we created a branded Twitter page (see image) and connected to the speakers and their organizations who were already using this platform. We also created a mini-blog using Amplify.com (see image) to expand on the ideas from speaker organizations and leverage the SEO capabilities of that tool. Two-way Street provided support material on both platforms.
A branded Twitter page connecting the community
Was Twitter helpful? We found it a good tool to alert the Roadmap 2030 followers before a radio interview on CBC Metro Morning on the topic of civic engagement. We sent each follower a direct message, who would have also received a direct email notification through Twitter. This effort provided two opportunities to remind our followers of the up coming event because direct email is a most cost-effective marketing tool.
Results
- approximately 30% of attendees declared that they heard about the conference through word of mouth and social media marketing.
- approx 40% of attendees heard about the conference through direct email
- less than 5% found it on the organization’s website
Community Building
To keep the community engaged after the conference we posted minutes from each session on Amplify.com. Each post continues to receive views and in two months since the mini-blog was created it has had over 1100 hits – a terrific way to continue the reach of this conference activity and record publicly the events on that day.
Using Amplify.com to raise awareness of the conference discussions and record speakers notes
The Message Board and Appreciation Wall helped to build the community feel at the event. (pictures below). We started the message board with a note to our speakers and the delegates continued on with notes to the speakers and greetings to new connections. We were able to send these notes as photos to attendees personally after the conference with the opportunity to request further feedback on the conference.
Notes to the speakers from the attendees
A message board for everyone at the conference to show gratitude and create connections
Appreciation shown to attendees, speakers and volunteers for participation
Attendee Appreciation Wall: “Thank You for contributing to the new kind of discussion about diversity and engagement. Please share your feedback with us.”
There are many more things that Two-Way Street can do to engage your delegates in the conversation before, during and after the conference. Contact us to find out what.
