Party conference season is about to hit full swing. Labour is heading to Liverpool this week for its first conference as the UK’s governing party since 2009. Shortly after, the Conservative party conference will be held in Birmingham. Journalists, campaigners, and industry spokespeople will follow, all vying for attention from those with the power to shape policy, and the public.
This means that over the next fortnight, we’re expecting to see headlines generated – and in some cases, dominated – by the party conferences. It’s becoming increasingly expensive to attend, sponsor, or host an event there, and at around £3,5000 for a business day pass, many organisations don’t have the available time or funds to take part this year.
So, if you have party conference FOMO, you’re not the only one. But, with some preparation and creativity, it is possible to build brand awareness from outside the conference corden.
Attend party conference fringe events
Most brands who engage with party conferences will do so via fringe events. The real action often happens at these smaller, often more informal seminars, debates, and networking receptions, away from the main stage. They don’t require an expensive conference pass, so they are more accessible to a wider range of organisations. Some will opt to host or sponsor their own fringe events, often done through a partner hosting a larger programme such as a think tank, but this is still a prohibitive cost for many.
However, organisations don’t need to host an event to be part of the conversation. Sticking to the fringes can provide opportunities for company representatives to hear from, and network with, influential speakers and policymakers, with fewer barriers to entry. Asking a well-thought out question – only where strictly relevant and appropriate – during a Q&A session can introduce fellow audience members to a challenge or opportunity you’d like to highlight. Stakeholder mapping will identify sessions where key individuals are speaking. Your CEO can attend those events, ask thoughtful questions during Q&A sessions, and introduce themselves to speakers afterwards to break the ice and informally build relationships.
Fringe events are also an opportunity to secure potential speaking slots, although these are highly competitive. Brands can scope out a speaking opportunity by looking up the fringe agendas for organisations with a large fringe programme, such as charities and think tanks, to see if there is an event taking place where your company could provide real added value and expertise.
Host virtual fringe events
Online events often spring up around the main party conferences, so people can take part from the office, home, or wherever they prefer to virtually network. The sessions can be hugely insightful, whether hosted by a political party or an organisation. Hosting a virtual event during party conference season, such as a webinar, or a virtual round table or fireside chat, allows brands to actively shape the conversation on key topics and policy debates.
Inviting internal spokespeople, guest industry experts, or relevant influencers to share their insight at these events creates a platform for meaningful discussion. The audience is provided with interesting learnings, and the host organisation is showcased as a leading authority on the topic.
Boost media relations
Just because you aren’t actually in the conference hall doesn’t mean you can’t be part of the conversation in the media. If headlines are being generated on new policies or emerging trends that directly impact your sector, and you have brand spokespeople with strong expertise or a unique viewpoint, it’s a chance to become part of the news agenda. This could be through providing written reactive commentary to be included in news articles, or even taking part in an interview for TV or radio. Thought leadership content in the form of guest columns or opinion pieces are another opportunity to position your organisation as an industry thought leader.
However, these opportunities are competitive, so it’s important to understand what assets and supporting materials your organisation has available to share with journalists. Specific case studies, research, or data that can add context to a news story are powerful reasons to engage with the media and can increase the chances of being featured. This could be statistics that show the scope of an issue being debated, or a real-life story of how current policy has impacted on a business. It helps to validate the organisation’s key messages by adding tangible proof.
Take inspiration for content creation
Party conferences cover a range of topics, so there is bound to be something that feeds into your content strategy. Use the themes, announcements, and insight emerging from the conferences to create relevant and timely content. Think about how blogs, whitepapers, podcasts, or the brand newsletter could connect your organisation’s perspective with the conference agenda..
If investing some time into following key headlines from the conferences and the content of the main speeches, brands could go one step further and create a daily conference round up email, or review package, to share with pre-existing databases. Your organisation will be providing extra value to your audiences by explaining how the sector could be impacted by the announcements. If appropriate, this also provides an opportunity for the organisation to share how it can help.
Stay active on social media
Social media is where much of the real-time conversation happens during conference season. This makes it easy to stay up-to-date on the debates – and to join them, too. Getting involved with the online discussions shows that you are engaged with, and knowledgeable about, the key issues affecting your sector. You could encourage your team to share insights on LinkedIn, run polls, publish vlogs, and engage with key influencers. Be sure to stick to relevant topics that your organisation has true expertise in to avoid coming off as inauthentic.
With some creativity and strategic effort, you can still achieve strong results from party conference season without being there in person. By staying engaged with key discussions, leveraging relationships, and using it as an opportunity to learn, you can build your organisation’s profile – whilst still avoiding the dreaded conference flu.
