First month as a Conference Producer
My first month as a Conference Producer
Going into a role in Conference Production straight out of University was daunting, there’s no way of avoiding that reality. Prior to starting, I felt that collecting primary data for my undergraduate dissertation had provided me with a relatively good idea of how to conduct research. While this was a good foundation to build on, it’s safe to say the learning curve has been huge.
My first couple of days consisted of a series of meetings with other departments, giving me a good indication of how my role in production fits into the conference machine. This was closely followed by a trip to a European event. This opportunity to see all these different elements in person really made it clear how all the various departments work together to build an event. This was a fantastic learning experience and a great way to meet some of the people I’d be working with.
In this role, I was given direct responsibility from day one. I am producing my own content track on a 1000+ delegate event which has been running, and growing, for several years. While I have had great support from my team, building this track of content has very much been my own venture. The production cycle comprises of research calls, agenda building and speaker recruitment, rounding off with a handover to sponsorship and marketing teams. Although I had great support from colleagues throughout the process, I feel very much responsible – and proud – of the agenda which has started to take shape.
The key takeaway points for me so far, are that the production cycle is massively process lead and hugely rewarding. Each research call is structured to help build the agenda, prising as much information as possible out of each respondent. Off the back of these calls, the agenda quickly starts to take shape. Once a first draft was formed, I found it incredibly daunting to send this document out industry professionals for feedback. What if they thought it was dreadful? What if no-one wanted to speak on these topics? However, I was reassured that if research calls are good, the agenda will follow suit. Sure enough, once positive feedback comes in, it is so rewarding to hear industry professionals praise the agenda and even more satisfying when big industry names appear in your inbox asking to speak.
In summary, like any job straight out of university, going into a role in Conference Production is a huge learning curve. However, as with any new challenge, hard work and a willingness to learn make for an immensely rewarding experience.