Make Your Case to Attend

“R&D Beyond Four Walls” in Boston, May 8 – 11, 2017

Below is a template of information you can use to make your case to attend the 2017 IRI Annual Meeting

  1. Cost of attending the event:

    • Airfare:  Flights to Boston from major US airports are inexpensive – ranging from $100 - $325 roundtrip!  For best domestic fares, book 30-60 days in advance (according to historical airline data, 57 days out has provided the lowest fare over time).
    • Hotel: ($319/night at the Westin Boston Waterfront) To participate in the full meeting, arrive Monday afternoon and depart on Thursday, for  3 nights = $319 x 3 = $957 + taxes
    • Registration = $0 (every IRI membership includes at least one complimentary registration to attend the meeting, and two additional at large registrations may be available.)
    • Food and other expenses are very economical:
      • Food: most meal functions are included with the registration for the meeting – the event starts with a reception Monday night and all meals are covered from Tuesday morning through Thursday morning. 
      • Taxi – the hotel is 3.5 miles from the Boston Logan Airport (BCO), and average taxi fare is $25.

  2. Who is going to be there?

    • Companies currently registered
    • IRI membership and companies that could likely be in attendance
    • Current map of exhibitors at the Innovation Showcase
    • Browse the list and Discuss - What relationships will you gain?  Is there a partnership you can explore? Are there clients or influencers who will be there?  Are their innovation service providers you would like to vet at the Innovation Showcase?  

  3. What differentiates this event?

    • This is discussed in full on our Annual Meeting ROI page for why it is important to personally attend versus viewing on-demand presentations – list a sampling of key points from this page.

  4. What answers can I find here for problems our organization is trying to solve? 

    • List key session titles and speakers, attendees, exhibitors that can help solve your pressing problems. Target those you will want to meet/hear from with important messages for your company.

  5. What testimonials exist from people who have attended in the past?

    • Add some of these or others you have gotten from your peers:
    • “Best Innovation conference I have attended!” William T. Morris, Corporate Innovation Effectiveness, Corning Incorporated
    • “Quality of speakers were some of the best and the breakout sessions were timely and pertinent to issues [we] are facing.” Craig Robertson, Vice President Research and Development, National Gypsum Company
    • "I've been to a number of IRI events over the past half-dozen year and I'm always amazed at the richness of experience of the people who are here."  Kent Young, Director of Technology, Sherwin-Williams
    • "I love this meeting! It has the highest concentration of intelligent people than any other meeting I have attended."  Dimitris Argyropoulos, Professor, NCSU
    • “I made some excellent contacts to help pursue some important initiatives. I learned about ways to think differently about our business that will help us innovate.”  Scott Johnson, Director, R&D, Georgia Pacific

  6. What is the value of my experience at this event?

    • Provide an estimate of the cost of the problems you are trying to solve or answer you are looking for, to show potential benefit of solving them.