Reaching Decisions Makers With Conference Communication Has Changed

If you’re trying to reach decision makers—those attendees that matter most to your conference success—you need to understand that nine to five thinking is dead.

These senior level executives have adopted a philosophy that work is no longer a place; it is a state of mind says the Forbes 2012 gyro report “The @Work State Of Mind Report.”

“The boundaries between work and leisure have disappeared,” states Christopher Becker, CEO and Chief Creative Officer for gyro. “It’s now just life.”

The @Work State Of Mind Report Details

Gyro partnered with Forbes to survey nearly 550 executives and conduct dozens of one to one interviews. Gyro and Forbes focused on how executives consume information today and how it influences their business decisions

All of the respondents identified themselves as decisions makers. 62% said they were focused on business operations and 60% said they focused on strategy within their organizations.

More importantly, they asked how these C-suite leaders feel about @Work State of Mind. Their goal was to understand @Work State of Mind in order to identify how to best ignite emotions.

Consider the following @Work State Of Mind results:

When we work and communicate

• Only 3% said they did not send or receive emails while on vacation.
• Only 2% said they never worked weekends or nights.
• 52% said they received information related to business decisions 24 hours a day and weekends.
• 59% said they made business decisions while at home.
• 64% said they made business decisions while traveling for work.
• 30% said they made business decisions while traveling with family.
• 98% said they dealt with personal matters while in the office.
• 41% said they spend 10% or more of their time with personal matters while at work.

Empowered Or Threatened

• 40% said the constant stream of information makes them feel empowered to make business decisions and 44% said it made them feel well-prepared.
• 30% of European responders feel irritated by the new @Work State of Mind.

The Role Of Social Networks

• 67% said work-related social networks play a significant role in their business.
• 57% said personal social networks influence their decisions.

The Changing Dynamics Of Work As We Know It

Work has changed. And the people at work have changed with it. Being at work is not a place or a fixed period of time. It is now a state of mind: a @Work State of Mind.

The internet, mobile technology, social networking and the global 24-7 economy have eliminated the boundaries of time and space that once defined work and offices. Work goes home. Home goes to work. Homes serve as offices.

We are all making decisions every hour, every minute about our personal and professional lives. We are learning how to master time instead of letting time master us.

“Technology has caused work to expand to longer hours of the day and has attached work to people wherever they are,” says Rick Segal, president worldwide and Chief Practical Officer, gyro.

The Impact On Your Conference Messaging

New conference business practices must emerge to adjust to the radical changes of the @Work State of Mind. To some these changes will seem obvious, to others who refuse to acknowledge the data, it will seem sacrosanct to divert from the way they’ve always marketed their conference.

Conference messaging must intersect with decision makers and their influencers. And it must find new ways to engage the most engaged. The next post will identify some tips from the @Work State of Mind report about marketing and how to apply it to your conference messaging.

How do you feel about the blurring of work and leisure in today’s connected world? If your conference is trying to secure more decision maker attendees, how do the results of this study affect your traditional conference marketing?