PCMA Elevates Attendee Voices at Convening Leaders: From On‑Site Capture to Headline Content for CL 2026

Even as a flagship education and networking event with thousands of in‑person attendees, Convening Leaders faced a familiar challenge: the most compelling proof of its value lived in the hallways, session rooms, and informal conversations—not in traditional marketing outputs. PCMA needed a better way to:​

• Capture why first-time and repeat attendees decide to attend Convening Leaders.
• Show what continuing education at CL feels like in practice, not just in session descriptions.
• Convey the sense of community and belonging that keeps professionals coming back year after year.

Speaker-led messaging and polished promotional content could describe the value, but attendee voices were needed to make that value believable for new prospects imagining themselves at CL.

Using Gather Voices

Gather Voices partnered with PCMA on-site at Convening Leaders 2025 to collect authentic attendee stories that could fuel marketing well beyond the event dates.

On-site activation included:

• A visible, easy-to-use recording setup in a high-traffic area to encourage broad participation.
• Short, guided prompts that kept responses focused on key themes such as:
  
  • Why attendees chose to come to Convening Leaders.
  • What keeps them returning year after year.
  • How continuing education at CL supports their career growth, confidence, and impact.
• Quick, flexible testimonial formats designed for long-term use across web, email, and social.
• Simple organization and review, enabling PCMA to quickly identify the strongest, most representative stories.

From Capture to Center Stage

From the broader library of attendee videos, PCMA selected three standout stories and gave them premium real estate on the Convening Leaders 2026 homepage, directly under the featured main stage speakers. This was more than a design choice; it was a strategic statement that:​

• Attendees are part of the main story of CL, not an add‑on.
• Community experience and continuing education sit alongside keynote prestige as core reasons to attend.
• Prospective registrants can immediately see and hear peers describing how CL supports their professional growth.

Results and Room for Growth

The attendee content captured at Convening Leaders 2025 became more than recap material; it evolved into a core promotional driver for CL 2026. Early outcomes include:

• A curated library of attendee videos available for ongoing marketing and education efforts.
• Continuing education positioned as a lived, peer-described experience rather than a brochure promise.
• Attendee voices framed visually and strategically as equal to expert voices on the CL 2026 homepage.

Why This Approach Works

By capturing Convening Leaders through the lens of its attendees, PCMA gained something even the strongest main-stage content cannot provide: peer credibility.

• Authenticity builds trust. Prospective attendees are more likely to believe real participants describing real outcomes than any polished copy.
• Learning is easier to imagine when peers share how specific sessions and experiences helped them grow.
• Volume enables choice. Capturing many stories gave PCMA the flexibility to highlight the most compelling and diverse narratives.
• Strategic placement multiplies impact. Featuring attendee stories alongside keynote speakers signals that community, continuing education, and attendee experience are central to the identity of Convening Leaders.

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