Message from participants in magazine conferences: kiss and make up

[NOTE: This post has been updated.] We promised to report on the results of the online questionnaire, asking readers to give their views about the two magazine conferences that took place this past month -- Magazines University and MagNet: Canada's Magazine Conference.

According to the latest information available, the attendance at the two conferences was:

• Magazines University (according to the Mastheadonline website):
• 1,348 unique registrants
• 2,611 registrations for seminars and events
  

• MagNet (according to a bulletin from Magazines Canada, which said the details had been approved by its board of directors):
• 692 unique registrants
• 2,518 registrations for seminars and events

To reiterate: this questionnaire was put up by the Canadian Magazines blog without the support, or even approval, of Magazines Canada, Masthead magazine, the Canadian Business Press, Circulation Marketing Association of Canada or any of the other partners and associates of the two conferences.

This is more of a straw poll; a self-selecting sample and shouldn't be considered representative in any way of the wider industry or even those in attendance at the conferences.

Still, the responses and comments are interesting and may be useful in any post mortems by both organizing teams and in assessing what happens next.

Copies of the survey's summary results were sent to both Magazines Canada and to Masthead (through whom it was shared with the Canadian Business Press) and these representatives of both conferences declined to comment directly about the questionnaire.

[UPDATE] Mark Jamison, the President of Magazines Canada said: ""We appreciate any feedback and will review it in the context of all the member and sponsor consultations we are beginning now as we prepare for MagNet 2008 June 4-6". And on behalf of Masthead and the Canadian Business Press Masthead Publisher Doug Bennet said: "We are not ready to comment on the survey at this time. We have a post-mortem meeting scheduled for July 11 with all the Mags U partners (including the audit boards) at which we will confirm the final numbers and formally evaluate this year's show."[END UPDATE]

[Fair disclosure: I write a column for Masthead and have given seminars in the past for Magazines University. I also do consulting work for Magazines Canada, sit on their professional development committee and was a moderator at three panels presented this year at MagNet.]

Survey summary

• There were 59 surveys completed.
  
• Of the 52 respondents who gave their postal codes, 73% were from the greater Toronto area, 17% from southern Ontario, 4% from Montreal, 2% from Ottawa, 2% from Manitoba and 2% from Alberta.
  
• 41% worked in editorial, 36% in management, 20% in circulation, 9% in advertising, 2% in production
  
• 32% worked at a consumer magazine, 9% at a trade magazine, 5% were custom publishers
  
• 13% were suppliers, 11% were conference sponsors
  
• Of those, 19% attended Mags U, 43% MagNet, 30% attended both and 8% attended neither.
• 74% who attended Mags U and 65% who attended MagNet said overall experience of the conferences was Excellent or Very good

Asked for their opinion of various specific aspects, the answers were:

• Location (Excellent or Very good): Mags U, 87%; MagNet, 80%
• Price of events (Excellent or Very Good): Mags U, 88%; MagNet, 93%
• Quality of presentation (Excellent or Very Good): Mags U, 89%; MagNet, 80%
• Opportunity for networking (Excellent or Very Good): Mags U, 89%; MagNet, 69%

• Asked to select statements that most closely represented their views about the two conferences, the answers were as follows:
• I cannot afford the TIME to attend two different conferences: 72%
• This industry is too small to sustain two conferences: 53%
• I cannot afford the COST of attending two different conferences: 53%
• It seems to me to be confusing to have two conferences: 44%
• There should be only one conference and it should be MagNet: 26%
• There should be only one conference and it should be Mags U: 18%
• I appreciate having a choice of conferences: 14%
  
  Open-ended comments
• As I'm based in Toronto, it isn't a problem for me, but I can see how people from the rest of the country would appreciate having one conference as they are pretty much forced into picking only one.
• There are some things at Mags U that I would have liked to attend but couldn't possibly go to both conferences. It seems to me to be the height of absurdity to have two conferences. Surely there must be a way to solve whatever the conflict is and return to one conference.
• Perhaps if one was immediately after the other, there'd be more opportunity for folks from out of town to still attend both.
• The length of courses at MagNet is far too short (75 minutes) and only offers a glossing over [of] the course curriculum.
• It is too obvious that these conferences are competing with each other. More cooperation please.
• I would much rather one conference that ran longer, perhaps for a full week. I don't mind that there are two, but it makes sense to me that by combining efforts there would be opportunity to offer a broader variety of sessions as well as increased discounts for attendees.
• The downtown location of MagNet puts it on the top of my list.
• I have to come in from Montreal. Unless all the events -- including the NMAs-- are held in the same week, I cant really afford to attend. A Magazine Week that leads up to the NMAs is the most reasonable solution. Now, can we get folks to work together?
• Kiss and make up!
• It would be nice if they weren't so close together. I think a coordinated effort to support a Spring and a Fall conference would ensure a viable plan for all entities involved. We sent an employee to one session at MagsU because they couldn't attend MagNet and they enjoyed it.
• A larger, combined conference should have the financial resources to bring in top quality speakers who will benefit both the trade and consumer sides.
• MagNet brings together the consumer magazine press in Canada. Looking at who was at the Thursday lunch, virtually anyone who is anyone in the business was there. Hard to discount that.
• The pre-conference email newsletter became VERY annoying after awhile. Getting 2-3 emails from each conference each week was a bit excessive. It made me want to dump both events.
• Business and consumer magazines have different needs. Why not hold them in the same location, during one week, with half the time devoted to business mag concerns and half devoted to consumer.
• Only one.
• To be of true service, the parties behind MagNet and Mags U should kiss, make up and focus on putting together the best conference they can -- content, content, content.
• If there must be two, then don't schedule them to run so close together.