Are you feeling the need to mobilize your industry? Then you need a convention!
After all, it’s through conventions that major decisions are made in unions, labor organizations, companies, and public institutions.
Basically, conventions serve to align positions, make collective decisions, approve proposals, renew terms, or mobilize members around a cause.
But advances in technology have made everything simpler! Now it’s possible to organize conventions in an accessible and secure way. In this article, you’ll learn:
- What a convention is;
- Why it’s worth holding an online convention;
- Examples of famous conventions;
- How to organize your convention with ease and security.
What Is a Convention?
When we talk about events, a convention is one of the most formal types. It’s a kind of collective meeting to discuss strategic matters for a specific organization.
For example, a technology sector workers’ convention meets annually to decide on that year’s union agenda.
That’s exactly why conventions tend to bring together representatives, delegates, members, and staff from the institutions that organize them.
But a convention can have different goals, such as:
- Approving changes to bylaws or regulations;
- Holding internal votes;
- Setting political, union, or administrative agendas;
- Electing representatives and officers;
- Announcing results and reporting on finances.
You’ve probably already noticed this type of event is very common in the union world, right?
Beyond that, conventions are also organized by labor organizations, political parties, and even large cooperatives.
Is It Worth Organizing an Online Convention?
In the past, large conventions relied on old-fashioned word of mouth, gathering people from local organizations and holding an event with people who already knew each other.
But the digital transformation of work has put that old model to the test!
With remote work and new technologies, it makes a lot more sense to use online platforms to centralize the organization and registration for your event. Here are some benefits:
- Greater reach: Promote your convention with an event website and reach attendees from anywhere in the country;
- Convenience: Use a platform that brings together all the tools you need to organize events in one place;
- Secure voting: Use digital systems to count votes securely and with more control;
- Online registration: Collect data from every attendee with whatever registration forms you need;
- Record-keeping and transparency: Make it easier to document everything that happened at your event with digital records and data.
The 3 Most Famous Conventions in the World
To understand the importance of conventions, check out some examples that gained international attention:
1. United Nations Climate Change Convention (COP)
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the world’s leading climate convention.
Every year, world leaders gather to negotiate global action against the climate crisis.
To give you an idea of its importance: in 2015, COP21 made history with the Paris Agreement, an international commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Democratic and Republican National Conventions (USA)
Political parties are always big fans of conventions!
A great example is the conventions held every four years by the two major political parties in the United States.
These are where the parties officially nominate their presidential candidates, present their governing plans, and mobilize their political base.
Beyond their symbolic value, they’re highly strategic and heavily covered by the media.
3. San Diego Comic-Con (United States)
San Diego Comic-Con is the largest and most influential pop culture convention in the world.
Founded in 1970, it brings together fans, artists, celebrities, studios, and brands for movie, TV, comic, and game announcements.
Today, the event draws more than 130,000 people per edition and serves as a global showcase for entertainment.
How to Organize a Convention
As you can see, conventions can be quite diverse, right?
So, let’s go over the essential steps for organizing any type of convention:
1. Define the Convention’s Goal
To start, define your convention’s goal. This will determine how you’ll use an event platform, promote the convention, and more.
2. Collect Information With an Online Registration Form
Next, it’s time to open registration. Start by creating your online registration form.
This is a required feature for conventions!
That’s because the data collected during registration is essential for staying in touch with attendees by email, building a profile of your registrants, printing badges, and much more.
So, look for platforms that collect and store this data online, like Even3.
3. Create Your Convention’s Website
Now you’ll need to promote your registration online, right? Use a website that reflects your convention’s identity!
Event platforms like Even3 offer an event website where you can add your brand and institution’s name, all without touching any code!
This way, you’ll easily be able to centralize all the important information in one place.
With Even3, you can build this website with:
- Your institution’s visual identity (colors, logo, URL, banners);
- Information about the schedule, bylaws, agenda items, and official documents;
- Your organization’s event portal, with every convention and meeting you’ve held.
💡 Even3 Tip: you can also enable a button for a WhatsApp or Telegram group in the registration confirmation email. That way, attendees join your official communication channel right after registering.
4. Sell Registrations Bundled With Membership
As mentioned, many conventions are aimed at members and affiliates. Or they’re a great opportunity to attract new members!
That’s why it’s a good idea to offer the option to pay for membership at the time of registration.
Naturally, whoever gets this type of ticket should get extra benefits.
So, it’s ideal to use a ticketing platform that lets you add a description of the ticket and the benefits it includes.
You can do this on Even3! By integrating event registration and membership fee payment on the platform, you can also:
- Formalize new members during the convention;
- Charge annual fees, monthly dues, or other charges;
- Easily issue receipts and financial reports.
5. Promote It Early
As you can imagine, a convention is nothing without a wide audience.
So, if you want to reach more people, it’s really important to start promoting your event early!
Build a promotion plan focused on the channels your audience actually uses.
For example, for a professional council’s convention, focus on formal networks like LinkedIn.
For union conventions, it’s a good idea to also use WhatsApp and Telegram groups.
Some ideas include:
- Segmented email marketing for members, affiliates, and representatives;
- Specific groups, such as regional unions, professional institutions, and collectives;
- LinkedIn Ads, ideal for institutional, public, or corporate events.
6. Check In Attendees Quickly
At a convention, checking in attendees is extremely important.
After all, there will be formal votes at the event, and you need to confirm that voters were actually present!
On top of that, check-in works as an official attendance record, something many institutions need to keep for legal or auditing purposes.
With digital tools, you can speed up this process.
For example, on platforms like Even3, you have access to an attendance list, online check-in, self-check-in kiosks, and check-in apps with QR code scanning.
This makes the event safer and more organized, and reduces check-in line times.
7. Prepare the Agenda and Bylaws
To ensure an effective and organized discussion, the convention should have a predefined agenda.
This also matters so attendees can decide whether or not to attend the event.
That’s why the agenda should be clear to everyone and available on the event website along with the convention’s internal bylaws.
Include:
- Discussion times;
- Order in which proposals will be presented;
- Voting procedures.
You can also email these documents to registrants using Even3’s Notify People tool.
8. Use Surveys to Collect Votes
Voting is a central part of many conventions, whether to elect representatives, approve agenda items, or amend bylaws.
With the support of digital tools, this process can be done securely, transparently, and quickly.
For example, you can create evaluation forms on Even3 with voting options.
The responses are then stored on the platform and available for review. This prevents fraud, ensures the integrity of the process, and makes audits easier.
9. Record Everything and Report the Event’s Results
Your event has finally come to an end! Now, it’s time to share the results.
Conventions typically produce final documents explaining what was decided by vote and outlining next steps.
At this point, having an event platform to centralize all your information will make your life much easier!
After all, everything will be available in one place.
You can also send emails to attendees directly from the platform and successfully handle every post-event task.
So, how about using the Even3 solution?
Create your first event for free! Or talk to a consultant to learn about Even3 Empresas and all its advantages.
