Summary

Alberta Digestive Disease Summit (ADDS) is the premier gathering of Alberta’s gastroenterologists hosted at the stunning Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The accredited program features 3 half-days of programming, allowing time for collaboration, networking, and for families to enjoy time together in the mountains.

The summit focuses on the transfer of cutting-edge knowledge meant to inform and enhance clinical practice, stimulate clinical innovation, and foster excellence in Alberta medicine and beyond. Clinicians, scientists, researchers, and industry leaders gather to review the latest ground-breaking research and treatments, discuss local and international developments, and network with colleagues and peers.

Our Role

BUKSA provided full-service management for ADDS from venue selection to onsite execution. Our team lead the program and steering committee and provided full conference logistical oversight.

We managed sponsorship, exhibits, venue management, vendor management, transportation, speaker management, accreditation, registration, marketing and communications, financial administration, and on-site execution for this client.

Value Add

Elevation of Social Events
ADDS has always incorporated social and family events into the program. After several years of the “same ol” social events and seeing attendance dwindle, we revamped the 2019 socials, which resulted in higher attendance and guests staying longer than ever before!

The Friday Night Social is a family friendly event focused on networking and families getting together. For 2019 we created a local showcase, we worked one on one with the Chef from Fairmont to craft a unique menu that showcased local farmers and vendors. We also collaborated with local distilleries and breweries to showcase their products in a fun tasting showcase.

The ASG Awards Gala is the adult’s night away from their kids and an opportunity to dress up and celebrate. There was a kid’s program offered (dinner, a movie, and games!) to allow the parents to enjoy a night with other attendees. We successfully revamped the plenary room in a few hours from a meeting room to a gala space with a stunning stage set, lighting, and decor that created a different ambience in the room. We further elevated the gala dinner and the awards experience with a “WOW” keynote speaker, Tim Caulfield, and awarding winners with a gift from a local artisan.

A carefully crafted technical event script created a smooth and quick flow to the awards presentation allowing guests additional time to network and socialize.

Full-Service Management
A large part of the value we added for this client is our full-service management. Through full-service management, we handle all aspects of the pre-summit management, on-site coordination, and post-summit management to allow them to focus on their jobs as physicians.

As our committee members time is both precious and limited, we ensure to host effective and succinct planning meetings that follow a tight agenda. Updates are provided throughout the planning phase via email, quick phone calls, or over text if preferred.

Marketing & Communications
A key focus for 2019 was to extend invitations to potential attendees who have never attended ADDS in the past. Through a new promotions strategy that focused on improved messaging and new communications channels, we were successful in reaching new delegates.

Most notably, the messaging was elevated to attract attendees; email campaigns were reinvigorated with new information and appealing features of the summit. The website provided more information than ever before, utilizing graphics, imagery, and descriptive content.

Furthermore, we worked alongside a graphic designer to create signage, collateral for room drops, and magazine style ads promoting the social events onsite, with clear messaging on the updated and upgraded social events to encourage attendees to attend, and it worked!