CHALLENGES 

Cara Tharp, CMP, JAM’s coordinator, was initially worried about the high cost of food-and-beverage in the Orlando market. (Read our Pre Con profile at convn.org/pre-con-jam.) But that turned out fine. “The Rosen Shingle Creek really went above and beyond to work with us on this,” Tharp said. “We had great food, and stayed well within our budget.” JAM’s planning team also wrestled with how to pack the right content into the three-and-a-half-day meeting. Their efforts paid off, as post-event feedback showed that attendees found the educational offerings well balanced.

INITIATIVES 

JAM’s free Wi-Fi initiative was also a rousing success. “We did see more people just hanging out in the hall this year,” Tharp said. “I think the Wi-Fi, and providing more food-and-beverage in the hall, both helped with that.” Equally well received was JAM’s new Poster in My Pocket app, which allowed attendees to view and share presentation posters over email and across social media. “We saw higher numbers of presenters sign up for the inaugural year than we expected,” Tharp said. 

Event Details:
July 12–16, 2015
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando

2015
Orlando
~3,400 attendees
77 exhibitors

2013
Indianapolis
3,293 attendees
101 exhibitors