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
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Cost of attending the event:
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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).
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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
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Registration = $0 (every IRI membership includes at least one complimentary registration to attend the meeting, and two additional at large registrations may be available.)
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Food and other expenses are very economical:
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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.
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Taxi – the hotel is 3.5 miles from the Boston Logan Airport (BCO), and average taxi fare is $25.
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Who is going to be there?
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Companies currently registered
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IRI membership and companies that could likely be in attendance
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Current map of exhibitors at the Innovation Showcase
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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?
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What differentiates this event?
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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.
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What answers can I find here for problems our organization is trying to solve?
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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.
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What testimonials exist from people who have attended in the past?
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Add some of these or others you have gotten from your peers:
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“Best Innovation conference I have attended!” William T. Morris, Corporate Innovation Effectiveness, Corning Incorporated
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“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
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"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
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"I love this meeting! It has the highest concentration of intelligent people than any other meeting I have attended." Dimitris Argyropoulos, Professor, NCSU
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“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
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What is the value of my experience at this event?
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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.
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