World Congress on Positive Psychology
ASN Events organised the 2019 World Congress for Positive Psychology (WCPP). Before it was finished, the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) booked us for their 2021 Vancouver Congress.
The Brief
ASN Events were highlighted as having the ideal ethos to partner with the IPPA. Their collaborative approach and commitment to truly understanding their client’s requirements led to their successful tender.
The successful tender occurred 12 months before the congress date – compared to the usual 24 months. The scenario was further complicated because planning had already commenced. This meant ASN had to work quickly to collate and audit existing information and plan the next steps.
The IPPA wanted to boost membership outside of the Americas. By arranging a congress registration option which included two years of IPPA membership for current non-members, ASN facilitated 750 new members joining the society.
Professor Lea Waters says she appreciated how ASN’s team were interested in the science of positive psychology. “It wasn't just them lending their expertise to make a good conference run,” she says. “They genuinely got into learning the science behind the field which added a depth to the partnership.”
ASN effectively embodied positive psychology into the conference program, she says, using elements such as a gratitude wall and strength-spotting games. The social program included activities that encouraged high-quality connections and positive emotions, she says.
“A heartfelt thank you for making the 6th World Congress IPPA’s most successful conference. We are so pleased that the relationship between IPPA and ASN is continuing. Personally speaking, I loved working with you all. I appreciated your energy, open-mindedness, creativity, work ethic and competitive spirit…The photos from the Gala of us goofing around are a highlight for me.”
Lea Waters, IPPA President
Making it Happen
Collaboration and communication key to success.
The experienced team at ASN Events used clear and open communication to help achieve IPPA’s desired outcomes. Despite multiple time zones and schedules, they collaborated effectively with various stakeholders, including the congress chairs, IPPA board, IPPA’s membership management company in the USA, MCB, the event’s financial underwriter, Melbourne University and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).
“ASN were very timely, they listened to the needs of our association and took time to learn the association’s vision and mission, which helped with decisions later on,” Professor Waters says. “They were creative and prepared to suggest innovative ideas. They were good problem solvers and we really felt like we had a very positive and productive partnership. We felt like we were a team.”
The team approach enabled clear objectives to be confirmed and ensured all stakeholder needs were on track to be exceeded.
The Outcome
Outcomes of the WCPP 2019 exceeded IPPA’s expectations in several ways:
We secured 103% of the Sponsorship target
750 new members joined IPPA (more members was a key Congress goal)
Record abstract submissions received
Record registration numbers: 1,569 delegates attended, an increase of almost 20%
Sold out pre and post-congress workshops and high attendance at social functions
Record social media engagement for the IPPA
Efficiency and streamlined organisation achieve massive logistical feat
The MCEC was already secured for the conference and congress branding had been established. ASN were involved in all further aspects of planning, including:
Venue liaison, negotiations and management, including
Contracting and managing hotel accommodation for delegates
Organising catering and audio-visual equipment
Arranging logistics for a program of 13 concurrent streams over four days, including additional interactive elements such as yoga and guided meditation
Re-creating the congress website, managing the design and all content
Managing media liaison, social media and marketing
Designing and managing congress social functions
Investigating and costing an onsite name tag printing option – this process was used successfully for the first time at a IPPA World Congress
Designing and managing the lanyard, delegate handbook and satchel
Recruiting and managing Congress sponsorship and exhibitor
Customer service, delegate correspondence and the Congress app
Managing the registration and abstract submission portal
Organising exhibition floorplan, signage and interactive activities such as the positive emotions wall
Managing Invited speakers and VIPs, including VIP meetings
Managing a group of approximately 50 volunteers
Onsite registration desk
Pre and post-Congress workshops and tour options
Designing and managing the post-congress survey and reporting on results
Assisting with the student scholarship and award application program
Co-ordinating the onsite book-signing store
Social media was used extensively in our marketing campaign, producing some fantastic results
Posts about interactive conference events and social functions drove ongoing discussion about the WCPP program. For example, one social media tile promoting ‘WCPP 2019 activities’ reached over 51,258 people and had over 28,000 post engagements.
The live-streamed Twitter wall’s location (with food being served in the Exhibition Hall) meant delegates walked past it numerous times daily. This created huge social media interaction and engagement between delegates, trade, speakers, the IPPA and even people not directly involved in the Congress or Positive Psychology sector.
Local solutions boost delegate engagement
In addition to embedding positive psychology into program activities, ASN enhanced the delegate experience through:
Organising a local bookstore to sell presenters’ books and signings with high profile speakers.
Arranging a Melbourne-themed gala dinner, with various food stations and roving entertainers.
Marketing Melbourne as an exciting destination experience.
Sending targeted campaigns to different audiences, including schools and educational institutes
Working closely with IPPA membership communications team to ensure succinct messaging was delivered
“Thank you for organizing such a great conference – it was probably the most smoothly-running conference I have ever attended.”