New BVA Conference

RE: New BVA Conference

Sarah Keir — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 16:47:55 GMT

I think the in-attendance conferences would of had their day and faded away in the next decade, COVID has just hastened it. I've been to several excellent online conferences during lock down and with the right software, exhibitors get better contact with attendees and ad hoc and small group socialisation still happens in break out groups and invites to group meetings etc.They were far from the sterile experiences you might imagine them to be and I made loads of new contacts that have lead on to exciting new ventures and opportunities. They are also a lot more convenient for people - they can be anywhere in the world or country, in any time zone or any working pattern, or with kids or not. As more of an introvert then an extrovert, I also found it easier to approach people and make new contacts. I'm excited about the new world that emerges from COVID and I'm embracing the positive changes.

Now, if we can just persuade the Government that HS2 is pointless....

RE: New BVA Conference

Mark Holmes — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 15:33:34 GMT

[quote userid="6897" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224667#224667"]I'm afraid I've largely given up going to the big conferences in recent years - too crowded, noisy, confusing - chasing from one lecture hall to another with minutes to spare between lectures you don't want to miss. LVS at ExCel I thought was the pits - lecture halls screened off with drapes - so the noise from the adjacent lecture/commercial exhibition all but drowned out the speaker. Add in the cost/aggravation of registering/ travel/parking/accomodation etc....I'd far rather do it virtually.[/quote]

My tip - sit and drink a coffee and read the lecture notes then bugger off to the bar. I read the notes on 4 lectures in the space of one at the last LVS.

RE: New BVA Conference

bob lehner — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 14:49:30 GMT

I'm afraid I've largely given up going to the big conferences in recent years - too crowded, noisy, confusing - chasing from one lecture hall to another with minutes to spare between lectures you don't want to miss. LVS at ExCel I thought was the pits - lecture halls screened off with drapes - so the noise from the adjacent lecture/commercial exhibition all but drowned out the speaker. Add in the cost/aggravation of registering/ travel/parking/accomodation etc....I'd far rather do it virtually.

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 14:33:50 GMT

[quote userid="3169" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224665#224665"]The concept of local contacts is nice, but its also your competition.[/quote]

Yeah, that thought flashed through my mind. I suppose I was thinking regional enough thought you would meet new people who are not your neighbouring competition.

RE: New BVA Conference

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 14:28:59 GMT

[quote userid="2100" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224660#224660"]

I think of it this way ... when I used to work on behalf of Novartis, it would spend HUGE amounts on taking space at a Congress, designing the stand, building it, staffing it, catering etc. etc.

For what?

[/quote]

The value extends way beyond any direct sales at the show. You meet the face of the drug company - the company rep is exactly who I think of when I think of a company - not the HQ and the shareholders.

I agree they are expensive, but once you are there you engage in the content. If it was online then something would happen and I'd miss it. I've missed more webinars over the years than I've ever managed to attend. The intentions are good but work and life gets in the way.

The concept of local contacts is nice, but its also your competition. I'd much rather find out how a practice in Cornwall tackles a common problem, than give the answers to my neighbouring competition! Personally I feel they are very valuable and would hate them to die a death because the drug company thought they could spend their budget more 'efficiently'.

RE: New BVA Conference

Bob Russell — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 13:41:48 GMT

I met my wife at WSAVA in Bangkok in 2003. Hows that for a blo+dy expensive bit of CPD!

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 13:09:08 GMT

Mark Holmes I'm not saying congresses don't have a social value, or that it is unimportant. Just thinking that perhaps there is a better way of creating those professional social networking opportunities than the old national congress model. Is the future more regional for example? Is the future about using digital to connect people more strategically than just flinging thousands in a conference centre?

Maybe not. Maybe the reason conferences have persisted thus far is because there is nothing to beat them. On the other hand, as buying power is more centralised, with coronavirus still hanging around in the air, and as more cost-effective ways of communicating are developed, I wouldn't bank on that!

RE: New BVA Conference

Mark Holmes — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 12:43:38 GMT

[quote userid="2100" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224660#224660"]I'm not sure how pharma companies could add more value, I just have this feeling that if you took that huge amount of money that was spent on national congresses and conferences and said: "OK the world is different now. Could we spend this money in a way that adds more value for vets, whilst still achieving our marketing objectives?" I am sure the answer would be yes. [/quote]

I worked in sales for a bit and the large conference didn’t really wash its face as far as returns were concerned. Particularly as the buying power moved out of the hands of the practices and towards the operations team.

I appreciate when you look at it purely on the basis of financial return things are probably moving on fast but as a delegate, a professional and actually a human being who has connections and friends in the industry. The large conference has a social return which is immeasurable. It’s not just figures ££$$

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 11:53:16 GMT

[quote userid="4181" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224659#224659"]good for pharma companies but necessarily better for vets?[/quote]

Well, I wouldn't go as far as 'necessarily', but quite possibly. I suppose it depends on whether you think their marketing buck could be better spent communicating with you in different ways than on a stand in Manchester/Birmingham/London.

I think of it this way ... when I used to work on behalf of Novartis, it would spend HUGE amounts on taking space at a Congress, designing the stand, building it, staffing it, catering etc. etc.

For what?

Largely to share information about half a dozen well known brands which most people were familiar with and had no need to see and touch, so the information was usually some new piece of research or a special offer. More the latter.

Pre the Internet, Congresses and magazines were probably the most cost-effective way to communicate information with the largest number of vets, the former with the added benefit of face-to-face contact.

Now they aren't. The Internet is.

I'm not sure how pharma companies could add more value, I just have this feeling that if you took that huge amount of money that was spent on national congresses and conferences and said: "OK the world is different now. Could we spend this money in a way that adds more value for vets, whilst still achieving our marketing objectives?" I am sure the answer would be yes.

RE: New BVA Conference

Rob Loxley — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 11:35:20 GMT

[quote userid="2100" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224653#224653"] I they've realised that there are more cost-effective ways of interacting with customers[/quote]

good for pharma companies but necessarily better for vets?

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 09:47:46 GMT

[quote userid="7232" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224654#224654"]The beauty of the large conference are the serendipitous meetings.[/quote]

Funny, I was discussing exactly that with the developers last week. The importance for delegates of 'discovery' at commercial exhibitions.

[quote userid="7232" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224654#224654"]People you wouldn’t probably arrange to meet but run into at the food stand. New contacts you make.[/quote]

But then they go back to the Hebrides from whence they came, and that's the end of that. Wouldn't more local contacts be of more practical value?

[quote userid="7232" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224654#224654"]I resent the drive to make everything faster, more efficient more online. More faceless. It’s horrifying.[/quote]

Hmm - I guess I feel a bit more divided about it. I like the efficiency of finding information more easily, when I want it.

Yes, I guess that does come at a cost of being more faceless at times. But at others, it is becoming LESS so. Example, my developers are based in Birmingham. I've worked with them for years and years and probably met them three times ever. Now we've started making more use of video communications, and I find that far more engaging and less faceless.

RE: New BVA Conference

Mark Holmes — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 09:37:29 GMT

[quote userid="2100" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224653#224653"]Mark Holmes But it may not mean the death of the social side of the profession, just perhaps different, more localised, more intimate events. [/quote]

The beauty of the large conference are the serendipitous meetings. People you wouldn’t probably arrange to meet but run into at the food stand. New contacts you make.

Prople with whom you’d never meet if you didn’t trek up or down the country.

I resent the drive to make everything faster, more efficient more online. More faceless. It’s horrifying.

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 09:19:30 GMT

[quote userid="7232" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224643#224643"]I worry about the death of the conference. The profession is disparate and fragmented as it is. The social side was the reason I went and the lectures justified me going.[/quote]

Mark Holmes But it may not mean the death of the social side of the profession, just perhaps different, more localised, more intimate events.

In the techy world, there is lot of development going on at moment in trying to create virtual conference experiences, where you visit a conference on your computer, navigating round a virtual world and interacting with various things as you go.

I think these things are ghastly sterile experiences that perhaps have a novelty value for about five minutes as you enter the virtual conference hall and register, but the novelty soon wears off and thereafter navigating around the lifeless world just becomes a barrier to what you want, which is information.

Anyway, the interesting thing is that so many blue chip companies are funding this kind of stuff. The point is that coronavirus or no coronavirus, I they've realised that there are more cost-effective ways of interacting with customers that don't involve flogging up to the other end of the country and the huge costs of exhibiting.

So although I think virtual conferences are a bit of a red herring, I do think companies will probably start spending less on the big exhibitions, and moving that spend towards holding more localised smaller events, coupled with Zoom meetings at your leisure, and better online resources.

RE: New BVA Conference

Mark Holmes — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 07:18:03 GMT

I worry about the death of the conference. The profession is disparate and fragmented as it is. The social side was the reason I went and the lectures justified me going.

RE: New BVA Conference

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:06:29 GMT

Birmingham NEC is a horrible place. I wouldn't go to a burlesque show there.

RE: New BVA Conference

Bob Russell — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 08:07:36 GMT

As many see these meetings as social get togethers I suspect no congress is going to be that successful until COVID is under control.

Lectures can be done online very efficiently in the present format.

I quite agree that in the corporate world and diminishing number of veterinary companies the commercial side of these events will be on the decline also.

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 08:05:20 GMT

[quote userid="3607" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224592#224592"]the prospect of spending a summer weekend in the dark, in a large shed somewhere outside of Birmingham is not immediately attractive.[/quote]

Laughed out loud.

[quote userid="3607" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224592#224592"]the "exhibitors" are seeing these jamborees as increasingly poor investments.[/quote]

This year, I was invited to my very first online press conference. And what a relief it was not to feel guilty about turning down an invitation to drive half way across the country for a cheap sandwich and a presentation about some new product which would have added very little to what I get (or need) from a press release.

Surely this is the way that commercial exhibitions will go. Sure there are some products which really benefit from a demonstration. Things you want to hold in your hand. But often those can be sent on trial or return. So all people really need to know is: what is it, how does it work, how well does it work, and what does it cost. You don't need to go to a shed in Birmingham to find that out.

RE: New BVA Conference

Malcolm Ness — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 07:48:47 GMT

Good luck to them!

Hopefully, there will be something new - the 'bums on seats listening to re-hashed College lectures' format had grown stale some long time ago and the "exhibitors" are seeing these jamborees as increasingly poor investments.

There are still lots of options if going to veterinary congresses is your thing, too many really and for me, the prospect of spending a summer weekend in the dark, in a large shed somewhere outside of Birmingham is not immediately attractive.

RE: New BVA Conference

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 07:38:19 GMT

[quote userid="6897" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference/224586#224586"]The way things are going I'd be dubious about the future of any of these mass gatherings at all within the forseeable future.[/quote]

I think you may very well be right. I mean, with the indications being that immunity may only last a few months, a vaccine looks like being the only way out and that could be a long way off yet (possibly a very, very, very long way off).

RE: New BVA Conference

bob lehner — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 21:37:09 GMT

[quote userid="2100" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/29256/new-bva-conference"]Or will it make no odds because we'll all be in lockdown next year anyway?[/quote]

The way things are going I'd be dubious about the future of any of these mass gatherings at all within the forseeable future.

RE: New BVA Conference

Yantha Smyth — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 13:04:04 GMT

My first thoughts were- BVA in conjunction with Closer Still = this is a re-branded London Vet Show of sorts, but in a different location; from next year BSAVA will be at Manchester, but they are pretty close in the calendar year, which may result in a 'one-or-the-other' instead of both for some.