Last December, Cognito commissioned a study of more than 60 conference and event companies to determine whether they anticipated the recession to impact turnout in 2009. For what looked to be challenging times ahead, many of these companies decided to ramp up initiatives with a view towards enticing attendees and exhibitors alike to attend their events.

With this in mind, TradeTech USA brought on Cognito to raise their profile in the media and strengthen press coverage pre- and post-event. The conference was being held in New York City, and therefore local to many traders and companies that would exhibit. However, in this market, communicating value is more important than ever when convincing exhibitors and attendees to devote time and money to an event, whether the conference is near or far.

In order the achieve this, Cognito leveraged the uncertainty of the market conditions and pitched press the opportunity to hear from industry experts on topics such as financial regulation and the impact of new trading techologies. With former SEC Chairman and current member of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board William Donaldson in attendance, Cognito was able to draw reporters from The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Barron’s for a private lunch. In addition, reporters from outlets such as Dow Jones, Traders Magazine, and Financial News were also on-site to cover the conference.

In total, 25 reporters attended, an eight fold increase from 2008. To set the stage for greater journalist attendance, Cognito maintained an agenda that involved a high-touch approach with key members of the press as well as provided compelling content ahead of the conference. Fundamental to this initiative, Cognito worked to produce and distribute the results of a survey conducted amongst 50 head buy-side traders on the industry’s most pressing issues. Cognito also capitalized on the interest of the results post-event by distributing a follow-up press release from a live, on-site survey of over 100 buy- and sell-side traders. All together, 13 pieces of coverage resulted from publications that ranged from Forbes and Financial News to key trades like Wall Street Letter and Traders Magazine. With a record number of attendees, members of the press, and coverage this year, exhibitors and attendees saw and felt the value of their investment at TradeTech USA.