As the producer of one of FC's biggest and most established events, my job is to drive the event from inception to successful completion.  What this means is that for up to 6 months, whether full-time or as part of my day, I think about and act on the information collected straight from the biggest players in that industry.  This starts with research, where I delve into the growth areas, areas of uncertainty and change, and key changes in the business models for the part of the industry that I'm focusing on.  It doesn't stop until I have a real understanding of the challenges members of this community are facing, and what would attract them to a meeting of industry members.

I speak to the right executives from the companies that are doing the newest and most innovative work in this space.  Knowing that business intelligence and networking are key to movement and success in this niche area, I work towards devising a conference agenda that feeds the needs of executives that want to get ahead.  I create a website that drives those genuinely interested in this market to start interacting with our brand, and collect the details of members of this community. 

With my ideal agenda in hand, I go to the most interesting and respected members of the community and invite them to speak.  I call, email, speak to colleague and secretaries - whatever it takes to get the best people involved.  I use my research to identify the key marketing channels that will help me reach this community, and negotiate marketing deals with magazines, websites and journals.  I work with my colleagues to identify the companies that should sponsor the event, and help sell the benefits of supporting a dynamic meeting place for this community.

With a highly relevant agenda populated by the best speakers possible, I create marketing material that will make the benefits of getting involved in the event clear and exciting.  I work with designers and copy writers to make sure my message is clear and focused, and use offline and online marketing to spread the word about the event.  I use social media including blogs, community websites, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other new techniques to reach the community via multiple channels, and through interesting and sometimes unexpected means.  I also work with my sales team to ensure that we reach out to people and help them make arrangements to attend.

After months of driving the conference from a mere idea to one of the industry's most respected networking events, I travel to the conference and make sure everything pan's out as it should on the day.  After months of working in the area I don't miss the opportunity to meet with the best people in this area, and start the research for next year's conference while I have a coffee with them.  And so the cycle starts again, as I look for new ways to tap into a fast-moving, ever-changing business area.

Katherine O’Reilly
Conference producer, EyeforTransport