Quality lies within

Article published: January 2006

Nexus Collections’ Nick Jones discusses the need for quality within delegate packs.

It is easy to assume that delegate packs are a low priority for an event organiser, after all a conference manager has so much to plan, from the venue and speakers to the hotels, catering and transport. The reasons why so much attention should be paid to delegate packs are varied but above all it is vital that the product properly portrays the image of the event in terms of content, suitability and quality.

When creating delegate packs a careful balance needs to be created between the organiser, sponsor and recipient. For many, the satisfied sponsor will be the hardest to achieve as they will only want to be identified with high quality packs and branding. Usually the sponsor’s "ideal delegate pack" is similar to that of the organiser and I have rarely come across widely differing opinions. However, the branding “discussions” between competing sponsors can be a never ending headache to resolve for all.

The benefits of sponsoring the packs are clear and sponsors will only choose higher quality products with a high perceived value and therefore greater retention. However, since we started printing delegate packs more than twelve years ago, we have seen the emergence of two schools of thought regarding the actual branding and therefore the pack’s longevity. There is the "discrete and subtle" school, using branding like a designer label and the "big and bold" brigade where the logos are large and everywhere. I have often questioned the merits of the latter approach, but have learned that it often ties in with other elements of the event branding and is designed to achieve maximum exposure during the event at the expense of product longevity. The former approach builds on product retention so that delegates are maintaining their link to the sponsors’ brands for a longer period. Both methods have their place.

Ultimately the delegate is the most important person to please, as the pack will be their first impression of the event - and possibly the last if the pack is useful enough to take home rather than leave in the hotel room bin. Essentially, a delegate pack’s usefulness and longevity will be based on two separate elements, the quality of the content and the quality of the bag/folder it comes in.

The content must be relevant and match the same quality control prevalent throughout the rest of the event. An organiser will spend months planning the conference theming and this should extend to the packs. To ensure a professional look and feel there needs to be a balance between technical material, conference notes and promotional material. The inclusion of branded mints, CD's, fancy pens and bottled water always make a pack look more interesting .But beware of going over the top with too many gimmicks, quality control needs to be stringent. Whilst individual items often relate to sponsorship deals, a single tacky or poorly made item can ruin an otherwise professional pack.

There is no doubt that the quality of delegate packs has improved substantially over the years, as organisers see their importance and the ongoing interaction with sponsor brands. When we first started manufacturing bags, most delegate packs available at the time were either ringbinders or mass produced bags from Chinese state factories costing two to three pounds each. Fortunately, over the years, organisers and sponsors have come to realise the much higher perceived value that can be gained by spending as little as an extra pound on a conference bag by choosing higher quality fittings and materials.

A final consideration for the organiser is the delegate packs’ creation, nobody wants to unpack several boxes, take off individual polybags and open a zip just to get the conference literature into the bag - especially on the night before an event for 500 delegates. The time and cost must be considered at the earliest stages of planning. Even if the organiser can outsource packing, it can have a considerable impact on cost. Although there is a strong argument for outsourcing in most cases as it can save office space, shipping directly to the venue is also usually part of the service.

Above all, organisers need to remember that the one item a delegate is likely to take away is their pack and those that think they can scrimp on quality are fooling themselves. No matter what we like to believe, people do judge on appearances.

Quality lies within

Article published: January 2006

Other articles: