academy post-event report
our vision Inspiring Excellence in Eye Care
ou r mission The American Academy of Optometry provides exceptional education, supports innovative research, and disseminates knowledge to advance optometric practice and improve patient care.
our valu es Lifelong Learning: Fostering intellectual curiosity, embracing innovation, and pursuing knowledge. Excellence: Achieving the highest standards of clinical practice, critical thinking, scholarship, and professionalism. Evidence-based Care: Promoting high-quality care informed by rigorous research. Integrity: Inspiring ethical behavior in scientific research, clinical practice, and the educational environment. Collaboration and Collegiality: Encouraging a respectful and collegial environment across the Academy and in our engagement with diverse external partners.
exec u ti ve su m m a r y Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the United States beginning in March, the American Academy of Optometry was prompted to review and assess opportunities to re-imagine the annual Academy meeting. Scheduled to take place in Nashville, TN, October 7-10, 2020, the Academy had less than seven months to research, plan, and implement an alternative meeting option, which ensured attendee, staff, and vendor safety; delivered the quality educational content synonymous with an Academy meeting; and evaluated the financial risk/opportunities associated with the change in meeting type (in-person, hybrid, virtual only). We issued two “Intent to Attend” surveys in late April and early June to all Academy members and past meeting attendees. 77% of the 2,355 April survey respondents indicated they wanted the Academy to deliver a virtual component to the Nashville meeting. Respondents were also interested in a hybrid (in-person/virtual) offering if accurate safety measures were put in place to comply with the CDC guidelines at the time. Based on these results, and after exhausting all measures and options to ensure safety onsite, a final decision was made in August to host the first, all-virtual Academy At Home meeting.
At this time, are you planning to attend Academy 2020 Nashville?
•
YES
• • NO
NOT SURE
IL 2020 APR
22% 23%
55%
2020 t i me li ne : COVID-19 impacts the United States. • march First intent to attend survey administered. • apri l Business case and board presentation developed. • may Second intent to attend survey administered. • ju n e • ju ly Board vote/approval and speaker coordination began. • au g ust Virtual meeting announced; registration opened. Final platform build-out and quality • september assurance testing completed. • octo ber 7–22 Academy 2020 At Home presented.
E2 JUN 020
23% 42% 35%
ACADEMY 2020 AT HOME | 1
education statistics Each year, the Academy meeting is held during a four-day period, allowing attendees to earn up to 32 +/- hours of Continuing Education (CE) credits. With the move to virtual, the four-day meeting was expanded to 14 days, with the majority of educational sessions running Monday through Thursday at varying times to accommodate attendees’ fluctuating schedules and time zones. This resulted in attendees having the opportunity to earn up to 80 +/- hours of CE credits.
• Number of sessions delivered: 235 • Number of hours of CE delivered: 300 • Number of speakers: 799 • Number of countries represented by speakers: 20 • Top five sessions and attendance: 1. Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Symposium: 2,757 2. The State of Therapeutics in Eye Care, Parts I & II: 1,778 3. Today’s Research, Tomorrow’s Practice: A New Look at Some Old Medical Guidelines: 1,101 4. Trauma Rounds: 866 5. An Organized Approach to the Cranial Neuropathies: 3rd, 4th, and 6th Nerve Palsies: 788
Academy 2020 At Home gave me more access to CE than I’ve ever had before. The intimate setting of home fostered a better environment for retaining the material, and the interactive pop-up quizzes helped me maintain focus. More days and a wider variety of subjects that I may have bypassed in a four-day meeting made this experience extraordinary. This at home option should be the norm for education in the future.
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AVERAGE CE HOURS by OD ATTENDEES YEAR-OVER-YEAR Chicago
San Antonio
Orlando
At Home
CE Hours Consumed
76,710
69,540
68,599
67,319
OD Attendees
4,035
3,905
3,956
3,008
Average Hours / Attendee
19.01
17.81
17.34
22.38
At Home % Increase
18%
26%
29%
23.00 22.00 21.00 20.00 19.00 18.00 17.00 16.00 15.00
Pa rtn ers i n ed u cation Each year, the Academy partners with several optometry organizations to present a variety of timely topics and presentations. Academy 2020 At Home was no different and we proudly partnered with the following sister optometry associations to expand the content delivered and advance our Strategic Plan:
• American Academy of Opthalmology • National Optometric Association • Armed Forces Optometric Society • Women in Optometry • Association of Schools & Colleges in Optometry ACADEMY 2020 AT HOME | 3
registration statistics Hosting the first virtual meeting in Academy history, registration estimates were conservative at 4,000 total registrants. Due to demand for optometrists to obtain continuing education credits before the end of the year, Academy 2020 At Home exceeded the estimated number and held strong with overall attendance of more than 6,400 attendees. Moving to a virtual format enabled the Academy to reach a larger international audience than in past years. With the exception of 2019, when the Academy meeting was held in conjunction with the World Congress of Optometry (WCO) and naturally drew international attendees, the virtual meeting expanded international reach from 15 countries to more than 50 countries.
5-YEAR ACADEMY ATTENDANCE 8000
• International Attendees • First-time Attendees • United States Attendees • Total Attendance
7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
BY PROFESSION
Chicago
San Antonio
Orlando
At Home
2017
2018
2019
2020
[42 countries]
[48 countries]
[ 75 countries / with WCO]
[55 countries]
PRACTICING OPTOMETRISTS PRACTICING OPTOMETRISTS
ACADEMIA ACADEMIA
837 / 17% 1,165 / 22% 1,853 / 38% 1,022 / 19%
STUDENT/RESIDENT^^ STUDENT/ RESIDENT^^
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2,237 / 45% 3,180 / 59%
•
2020
•
2019 w/ WCO
* Total attendance in Orlando was 8,129 and included exhibitors, guests, and staff. ** First Time Attendee designates anyone who has not attended a meeting in the past five years. ^^ 2020 student/resident fees were generously funded by Industry Partners.
INDUSTRY PARTNERS & EXHIBITOR STATistics In addition to moving the annual meeting to a fully virtual format, it also was necessary to create a Virtual Exhibit Hall. Again, the exhibit hall participation estimate was conservative with a target of 80 exhibitors and sponsors. This was exceeded by participation of 104 exhibiting companies and 26 sponsoring (Industry Partner) companies. The Virtual Exhibit Hall had added features, which allowed for two-way communication between attendees and exhibitors. This enabled exhibitors to reach out directly to attendees and for attendees to respond and schedule appointments to “meet” with the exhibitors at a pre-determined time. Following, exhibitors received information on all leads gained throughout the duration of the meeting. This was extremely beneficial for the smaller exhibiting companies and provided access to their targeted audience.
VIRTUAL EXHIBIT HALL STATISTICS Total Page Views
58,638
Total eBooth Views
8,391
Number of Unique Visitors
6,373
Total Exhibitor List and Search Views
4,108
The Academy gratefully acknowledges our Industry Partners and the support they provided to Academy 2020 At Home. With their ongoing commitment and partnership, the Academy continues to thrive, provide the highest level of optometric education, develop new programs to enhance membership engagement, and support the Foundation’s scholarship programs, awards, and grants.
“
SynergEyes enjoyed exhibiting at the virtual Academy 2020 At Home and having an online exhibit space to promote our comprehensive brand portfolio. With all the COVID-19-related changes to the tradeshow industry, the team at the Academy adapted and provided an alternative platform to host their event. Our team is very appreciative of the Academy for making this happen.
ACADEMY 2020 AT HOME | 5
Vi si onary i nd ustry pa rtners
patron i ndustr y pa rtne rs
ben efac to r ind ustr y partners
c ontribu to r i ndustr y partners
f ri end in dustr y partn ers • Primary Care Optometry News • Optometry Times • Sun Ophthalmics • Elsevier, Inc. • Blanchard Contact Lens, Inc. • iMatrix • Bruder Healthcare 6 | ACADEMY 2020 AT HOME
social media & website STATistics As the Academy approached Academy 2020 Nashville, the time was right to enhance and expand the organization’s existing social media strategy by adding current, relevant, and more frequent content. Goals were to brand Academy 2020 Nashville boldly and create a more visible image for the event, grow the Academy’s social media presence and audience, and generate attendance and revenue. Once the decision was made to shift to a virtual meeting, it was imperative social media quickly reflect the new approach and clearly explain how a large, on-site event could be presented effectively in a virtual format. Embracing the new Academy 2020 At Home creative elements, which captured the spirit of Nashville while conveying a technological approach, the social media team worked hand-in-hand with marketing leadership to achieve the event’s social media goals.
• AcademyMeeting.org new visitor traffic increase between August – October*^: 71.2% • Social media (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) metrics between August – October*^: • • • •
Impressions (number of times content displayed): 2,795,148 Engagements (number of times users engaged with the posts): 69,926 Link Clicks (number of times users clicked on actionable links): 11,059 Audience Growth: 2,359 new followers gained between August – October*^
+456
+1,026
*^August 6 (registration opened) - October 22 (last day of Academy).
+312
+565
ACADEMY 2020 AT HOME | 7
post-meeting survey results NET PROMOTER SCORE (NPS): 2020
2019
VAR
All
61
66
(5)
Diplomate
74
79
(5)
Fellow
62
75
(12)
Candidate
50
68
(18)
Student/Resident
66
58
8
Non-Member
55
52
5
The Academy is fortunate that the organization’s Net Promoter Score remained relatively the same between 2019 and 2020. With that, it is important to note, Diplomates and Fellows of the Academy enjoy being together and the slight decline is attributed to the lack of networking and collegiality the Academy is known for delivering during an in-person format. Alternatively, students and non-members enjoyed the virtual, more technology-based education solution and ability to access programming during a longer period of time. Moving forward, this is a great opportunity to increase annual engagement with students and non-members. Many members will continue to prefer an in-person experience, but, in order to meet their CE requirements, they will choose to attend a virtual program as an alternative if COVID-19 continues to be an issue. quality of the education: • Overall ■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 97.5% with extension of number of • Satisfaction days and time frames: ■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 77.7%
quality of the speakers: • Overall ■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 97.45% quality of the special events: • Overall ■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 93.87%
• Virtual Exhibit Hall satisfaction specifics: • Exhibit Hall Hours:
■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 85.66%
• Selection of Companies:
■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 87.55%
• Vision Theatre Sessions:
■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 89.76%
• Innovation Industry Lunch & Learns ■ Very Satisfied/Satisfied: 80.3%
Are you planning to attend Academy 2021 Boston? ■ Yes: 65.9% (2019 – 65.16%) ■ No: 2.99% (2019 – 8.06%) ■ Not sure: 31.11% (2019 – 26.78%)
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con c lus ion Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, it is important to take a closer look at innovative ways to meet members’ needs in the manner they require. Doing so propels the Academy as a thought leader, demonstrating willingness, flexibility, and ability to take risks, advance, and continuously provide value to the Academy Fellows and the profession. Three things are evident: 1. Future Academy meetings will continue to have an in-person component. 2. Future Academy meetings will also continue to include a virtual component. 3. With the successful completion of Academy 2020 At Home and uncertainty of the lasting impact of COVID-19 on the event industry, there is an opportunity for the Academy to shift to offering year-round virtual education and smaller regional educational opportunities.
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aca dem y at home testimonia ls
This was my first experience, and I was impressed. I do not usually have access to this great exposition and for this I am grateful. Thank you Academy 2020 At Home for making my optometry journey sensational! Loved the meetings hours! I am an active duty military OD who is stationed in Japan, and I found plenty of opportunities to view quality CE courses that helped me obtain points to maintain my fellowship. Thank you for holding this conference virtually! I wish this kind of programming had been available to me earlier in my career when I was trying to balance young family life and professional life. I hope this format will be continued in some way even when we get back to “normal”. The Academy has proven to serve as a fundamental ground for growth in optometry and its all-round diversity makes it one of the choice platforms for vision innovation in terms of education. Knowing how crowded the Academy conference has been during the last several years, I truly enjoyed sitting home or in my office and listening to the lectures, able to see the slides easily, and hear the speakers without people talking around me and knew I was COVID “safe”. The Academy did an excellent job running the conference virtually.
Testimonials may have been edited for length.
”
Academy 2020 enabled me to attend lectures in the comfort of my home not having to plan for flight and lodging going to the US. I am very happy with this opportunity to learn and be able to work in my country at the same time. Academy At Home catered to the changes we are experiencing this year. The goal of providing clear and effective education and material was met successfully. I was impressed with the organization of material – especially the event pilot. With the ease of accessibility, whether with my phone or on my computer, I was able to partake in so many activities. I found the event very flexible and enjoyable as a student attending for the very first time. I loved doing it online! The CE was incredible. Q&A was helpful – I asked more questions than I usually do. I love that I can go back and watch again the things I want to review. Thank you! Thank you so much for organizing this meeting! It was a great substitute in a crazy year, and while I vastly prefer in person meetings with the ability to sit down with friends and colleagues and explore these topics further, or go ask the speakers questions after the session, the quality of education did not suffer. I look forward to being in person in Boston next year. ACADEMY 2020 AT HOME | 9
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