November 2003

It's one of the worst nightmares to happen to a marketing professional: management decides to cancel a conference after invitations and promotions have been sent. What do you do?

Got a marketing problem that's been bugging you? Ask a BMA expert for his or her thoughts on a solution. Our other experts are Heidi Connor, advertising; Katherine Kerber, e-marketing; Donna Valentine, events; Laurie Beasley, direct marketing; and Mary Curtis, PR and advertising.

Penny B. Johnson, Principal & Founder, Edgewater Marketing Group

"I have to cancel my conference - what steps do I need to take?"

The key here is a clear communications plan for your cancellation. You'll need to communicate the cancellation, maintain or improve support from all your target audiences and control any damage to perceptions or awareness.

First, devise a truthful and compelling message to support the cancellation and deposition any downside. Then communicate the message to all your audiences in the appropriate venues. If possible, combine the conference value into other vendor and customer marketing programs, such as a seminar series or expanded training schedule, to continue to pull your product through the channels and recover the momentum planned for your conference.

Second, determine your cancellation policies for hotel room reservations, credit cards, airfares, and any incentive program points. Develop your Frequently Asked Questions and talking points with messages and policies, and distribute these to sales, marketing and telemarketing.

Third, you'll need to make sure you touch all your audiences as appropriate: employees, financial analysts and investors, industry analysts, business and trade press, sponsors, customers and your website audience. A press advisory might be appropriate for media, calls to financial targets if they were pre-briefed on the event, email and calls to sponsors, email to all employees, email to invited customer base, calls to registered customers, and a notice on the appropriate places on your website.

Make sure you reach every single person that has made reservations for your event so that they do not "show up" for an event that is not happening. This can take some sleuthing since registration programs frequently have incomplete information on up to 5 percent of registrants.

Last, be low key about it all. Remember that is it not "news" — it is a redirection of your marketing programs to be more successful in the face of your particular situation. Remind your audiences of your commitment to high-quality programs, and that you are devising programs to deliver to that standard for the future.