Does your conference education have coming attraction previews?

No, not those stale electronic and printed marketing pieces with descriptions, bios and pictures.
Does your organization provide smart, savvy, provocative short video clips of upcoming education designed to attract buyers?

The Movie Trailer Promotion

When you go to the movies, the first 10-15 minutes before the movie starts is spent on preview trailers of upcoming movies.
Movie trailers serve as short advertisements, commercials and previews for a feature film typically shown at that theater. Historically, those trailers were shown at the end of a movie but patrons were leaving the theater immediately following the film. Trailers were moved to the beginning of the movie and can now even be found on DVDs, Blue Ray and pay per view movies.

Those three-minute trailers are usually high-energy, cleverly edited videos designed to attract us to attend the full length version. Many production companies spend millions on crafting those previews. They even go as far as securing different directors to give it the best spin possible.

Most of us make a quick future purchasing decision based on those three minutes. We look at the emotional tug of the movie, the action, the humor, the context, suspense, setting, the plot, actors and more. There’s a lot riding on those three short minutes.

When an upcoming new movie does not have a coming attraction preview, we question if it’s worth our time and money. We want to see the sneak peek.

Ultimately, we want and need to see coming attractions in order to close the deal. And film producers want and need us to see those previews.

Creating Excited Anticipation With Conference Education Previews

Rarely do we provide learning previews of upcoming attractions notes education researcher
Elliott Masie.
Your potential conference registrants seldom, if ever, view an education preview of what they will receive from your conference. What if they could hear the presenter before they made the decision to register? What if they could get a quick context of the content and how it applies to their profession? What if they could see a rapid sequence of the content and the relevant connections?

If they could see an education preview of the conference presentations, it might encourage, or even discourage, them from attending.

In today’s rapidly changing world, potential registrants have a lot of education choices. They can attend live and asynchronous learning opportunities. So how can we help them make the best choice?

Viewing a preview of the conference education could give them an understanding of the experience. They might be able to judge the education’s intensity or restraint. It’s emotional connection or lack thereof. Supervisors might have a clearer understanding of which education opportunities to approve for their subordinates besides a written description and bio.
Is it time to go beyond the conference content description to a richer set of previews? It’s time to create and foster what adult learning expert Malcolm Knowles calls “excited anticipation” prior to the start of the conference education.