American Society on Aging Case Study - Attendee Interactive

Case study of how Attendee Interactive supplied conference management software on American Society on Aging.

Customer Profile

Founded in 1954, the American Society on Aging (ASA) is an association comprised of over 6,000 multidisciplinary professionals who are committed to improving the quality of life of older adults and their families. ASA offers superior educational programs and resources to the largest and most dynamic network of professionals in the field of aging. ASA fulfills their commitment to education through two annual regional Conferences on Aging and one annual Aging in America Conference where they are known for offering well-noted presenters and cutting-edge information.

Situation

Prior to contracting with Attendee Interactive (Ai), ASA was using an in-house software application for registration for their regional conferences. Unfortunately, the staff member who maintained the registration application left the organization and ASA was "stuck without any documentation to fix any problems," says Anne Ornelas de Lemos, Sr. Director, Member Relations. The registration process was complex in many aspects: attendees paid for individual sessions instead of a full conference fee, members had to be verified in order to receive a discounted rate, and other specified groups received discounts. Onsite registration was also an issue because they had to pre-print all of the badges and tickets. ASA hired volunteers to alphabetize hundreds of envelopes and many times attendees were not found or simply overlooked. Speaker submissions and event registrations were lost in cyberspace creating additional problems and delays. At this point, ASA did not have a good reputation for providing service to its constituents. ASA eventually dissolved the Registrar position and looked into other solutions for managing their registration processes.

Solution

ASA decided to utilize Attendee Interactive's online Registration Module which was customized to follow their complex registration rules and processes. They also decided to use Ai's Speaker and Event Module to collect topics and build their educational program online. Speakers were able to confirm their speaking engagements, request the appropriate A/V equipment, and upload a biography and photo to be viewed by attendees. Once the educational program was completed, attendees were able to view, select and pay for the sessions they wanted to attend through a simple step-by-step, online registration process. The registration system allowed participants to register up to the last minute, "Our attendees were very happy with the process," says Anne. Ai provided complete onsite support including laptops and efficient badge printing machines, which made the check-in process quick and seamless. Additionally, attendees were able to download handouts before, during, and after the conference. "We conserved paper and the costs to print out hundreds of pages," says Anne.

Benefits:

Anne explains the benefits of contracting with Ai, "...particularly in handling the registration data. Ai built a system for us that met our business rules and was much more successful than our old homemade product in every way. In fact, we were able to provide better customer service, streamline our processes, and add new features. We could not have done it without Ai's software and more importantly, their personable and competent project management."