The Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) is a global leadership community of chief executives driven by the shared belief that the world needs better leaders. With 30,000+ members worldwide, it is a powerful forum for networking, peer-to-peer learning and access to exceptional and unique program experiences.
YPO needed an overarching event strategy that would ensure it was meeting the educational and networking needs of a diverse membership of CEOs in 145 countries. Hosting 850+ events worldwide annually, YPO struggled to deliver consistently high-level experiences to their discerning audience. With no criteria for evaluating or sunsetting its portfolio of events, and no process for approving new events, its programming model had become unsustainable. Our fresh event strategy had to deliver on several goals. It needed to engage more members in events while significantly reducing the total number of events produced annually. It needed a standardized process for designing events around member needs. And it needed to more consistently deliver best-in-class attendee experiences.
Our fresh event strategy had to deliver on several goals. It needed to engage more members in events while significantly reducing the total number of events produced annually. It needed a standardized process for designing events around member needs. And it needed to more consistently deliver best-in-class attendee experiences. MYB performed a comprehensive portfolio analysis, which included a deep dive into content, target vs. actual audience, satisfaction results, attendance patterns, financials, and more. That gave us a clear picture of the value of each event and who they served. Through stakeholder interviews, a member survey and segmented focus groups, we were able to uncover audience perceptions, gaps, and unmet needs. We then assessed YPO’s event marketing strategy to evaluate its effectiveness in creating awareness and driving registrations.
YPO now has a fresh events strategy. Within two years, 150 events were separate while overall unique attendance increased by 8 percent. Satisfaction scores rose by 6 percent, exceeding expectations. Based on this success, YPO brought MYB back to craft new positioning and marketing strategies for its six largest events.
