Board Blog: Getting the Most out of the CBI Convention

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Warren Kozireski, CBI Immediate Past President.

You and your staff are making the trip for the National Electronic Student Media Convention in Seattle later this month. For most student operations it is quite a financial commitment, so how can you get the most bang for your buck—ROI using industry language?

Tips:

• If your media operation is paying all or part of the bill for a member to attend, you might want to consider having everyone sign a travel agreement stipulating in writing what is expected of them. How many sessions should they attend each day? Are 9 a.m. sessions mandatory? Can I go sightseeing during the day? What happens if I don’t meet the minimum? What happens if … ? A good example to use as a template is this one from Ball State.

• Have all attendees meet in advance to sift through the program schedule and pre-select what session each would like to attend. With six sessions going on at once, to get the most out of it you should rarely have more than one person from the same media organization in the same room. Maybe even have other students leaders from the organization who can’t go to the conference also look through the schedule for things they would like information on. This could help fill any schedule gaps. You are representing the entire organization—not just yourself.

• Bring a notebook, pens, business cards, station swag (for the swag swap) and electronic device chargers.

• Schedule a daily debrief among all of your attendees at the end of each day to share ideas, experiences and begin to brainstorm changes you want to make back home.

• Hang out with people other than from your own station. You know what you do, so gather new perspectives and ideas by talking with students and advisers from other colleges. Whoever comes home with the most new social media contacts wins.

• Whether your station is a CBI Award finalist or not, attend the Awards presentation. Audio and video clips from the winners are played, so you can measure where your operation stands, and maybe pick up a few creative ideas to use next week back home.

• Have an open mind. There are an endless number of student media operating models out there. Just because someone doesn’t do things exactly like your operation doesn’t mean you can’t glean a nugget of information that might prove beneficial.

• Catch up on sleep when you get home. The CBI conference only happens once a year and, for some, this is a one-time only experience. Milk it for everything you can and enjoy!

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