As I write this in mid-July, I am spending some time reaching out to our allied industry partners to secure sponsorships for activities during the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Annual Meeting and to support the AASV e-Letter. During this time of year, I am reminded how important these sponsorships are to enable AASV to provide the range of activities during the Annual Meeting our attendees expect and access to the professional resources our members use. I am grateful to the companies that consistently support AASV through their generous financial support and contributions.
Historically, AASV has drawn a distinction between continuing education and social activities with regards to sponsorship opportunities. It has long been the association’s policy to not allow third-party financial support of scientific and educational activities. This policy helps limit conflict of interest and commercial bias in those activities that are key to enhancing our members’ professional integrity. Without commercial support, however, we would not be able to provide the high-quality social activities (refreshment breaks, member luncheon, awards reception, student reception, etc) and student opportunities (travel stipends, student seminar and poster scholarships, the AASVF-Merck Veterinary Student Scholarships, and podcast award) without significantly increasing membership dues and meeting registration fees.
In addition to sponsoring specific activities or scholarships, our commercial sponsors also support AASV through their Tech Table exhibits at the Annual Meeting. Their presence in the exhibit area during the meeting provides a significant amount of revenue to help offset the ever-increasing cost of conducting a conference of our size. Again, without this support, we would either have to significantly increase registration fees or scale back the offerings during the meeting. Coffee at $120/gallon and $65 plated lunches adds up fast! In-person gatherings for 1200 people are not cheap.
We were fortunate in 2021 that 60% of our usual Tech Table exhibitors chose to stick with us and support AASV by registering for a virtual Tech Table. We appreciated their continued support and hope they found value in the virtual format. On the other hand, almost 40% of the companies decided that the virtual format did not afford them the quality or amount of customer contact they needed to justify the expense.
I am always concerned that our commercial partners find value in their support. These are for-profit businesses and they look for a return on all their investments. When we ask allied industry representatives what value they seek from support of AASV, the usual answer revolves around the opportunity to interact withour members and support your professional endeavors. I know from my experience in a previous life working for a pharmaceutical company, the financial managers within the company are always asking, “What was the return on that activity?”
It’s often hard to measure a direct return to a company’s bottom line from placing an advertisement or sponsoring a luncheon. Thus, it is important that the company representative can say that they were able to spend some time with their customer or that the customer can put a name to a face or a product to a company. It is important to develop a relationship with a customer so that when that customer has a need, they will be comfortable turning to a company’s technical service representative to ask advice on product selection. Those are tangible opportunities to market a company’s products and meet a customer’s needs.
I wonder then if we spend enough time recognizing our sponsors for the support they give AASV? Do you take the time during the Annual Meeting to walk through the exhibit hall and talk with the company representatives about their products or the challenges you are facing in the field? Or even just to say thank you for sponsoring the e-Letter, advertising in the journal, or for the nice lunch we were able to provide during the meeting? The simple act of letting them know their support is appreciated goes a long way to building long-lasting partnerships that benefit the company, AASV, and you.
I encourage you to take a minute and hug (or fist bump) a sponsor today. You can also ask those companies that do not support your association, “Why not?” Let them know you recognize and appreciate their support and notice when they are absent.
Harry Snelson, DVM
Executive Director