THE CLIENT

The National Student Nurses’ Association’s (NSNA) mission is to mentor students preparing for initial licensure as registered nurses, and to convey the standards, ethics, and skills that students will need as responsible and accountable leaders and members of the profession. NSNA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the professional development of nursing students. The organization has 60,000 members in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

BACKGROUND

Over 3,000 nursing students participate in NSNA’s Annual Convention, which features leadership and career development activities, opportunities to listen to renowned nursing leaders, hear about job opportunities and the chance to network with hundreds of other students. The program includes a state board exam mini review. NSNA holds a second meeting which attracts over 1,500 students yearly: the MidYear Conference offers workshops and panels on career and association development as well as a state board exam mini-review.

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE

Starting in February 2020, the response to the COVID19 pandemic created new barriers for all conferences. As more and more organizations cancelled their in-person events, organizations were forced to not only transition their events online, but find a better way to deliver the value provided to members, vendors, and key stakeholders in a digital environment.

According to the ASAE Research Foundation’s latest Association Impact Snapshot survey, almost 44 percent of association executives who responded to their survey said the earliest date they expect their organization to resume in-person events is January 2021 or later. Even though cities and states are in different phases of reopening, it will likely be months before large conferences and trade-shows can resume.

THE STRATEGIC SOLUTION

To address the NSNA’s strategic business need, Acadiate worked in collaboration with Springer Publishing to drive a successful nursing conference using Acadiate’s virtual event platform.

Using the product’s intuitive digital experience, immersive environment, data- rich framework, the National Student Nurses’ Association found it easier to build, promote, and deliver value for their 2020 MidYear Conference. Springer Publishing collaborated with Acadiate to provide insights into what would help drive a successful nursing event in the virtual environment. By delivering a customized, dynamic and immersive virtual experience, the NSNA exceeded attendance, vendor, and revenue expectations that the association had in previous in-person conferences – while saving costs on hotels, flights, and conference fees.

RESULTS

The results had an immediate and direct impact on NSNA strategic objectives and business goals. Some results included:

  • Higher attendance when compared to their 2019 in-person conference
  • Exceeded vendor attendance year-over-year & maintained revenue goals
  • Increased student social engagement through dedicated zones: Networking Zone, Poster Sessions & Student Activity Tables.
  • Improved mentoring sessions and exam prep
  • Increased career path opportunities for students
  • Acadiate’s Showcasing ability increased engagement with students and stickiness to encourage students to register for the April 2021 conference
  • Greater user access with the mobile friendly interface that resized intelligently to the user’s screen
  • All event sessions were recorded for individuals to consume after the live portions were complete, generating additional attendees and post-event revenue.

EVENT PICTURES

To learn more about Acadiate’s Virtual Events, visit https://www.acadiate.com/e.php/virtualevents