How Five Key Concepts Maximize the Value of Conference Intelligence Coverage

1. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
How Five Key Concepts
Maximize the Value of
Conference Intelligence
Coverage
A Complimentary Webinar from Aurora WDC
12:00 Noon Eastern /// Wednesday 17 December 2014
~ featuring ~
Tom Colman Derek Johnson

2. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Tom Colman
Tom Colman is President of Nauset Consulting LLC, a business intelligence
research and strategy consultancy focused on the healthcare and life
sciences space. Prior to founding Nauset in 2010, Tom played a key CI
leadership role at the business unit level at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as Senior
Manager of Competitor Insights. In this role, he and his team delivered
actionable CI to inform strategy for hundreds of clinical development
programs and dozens of marketed drugs. In addition to his responsibilities in
primary and secondary intelligence research, Tom also spent several years
leading primary market research efforts in several disease areas. Tom’s
pharma industry experience spans 16 years, beginning with his first role in
Wyeth’s international manufacturing organization. Tom holds a BSE degree in
Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and an MSE degree in
Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Email: tom.colman@nausetconsultingllc.com
The Intelligence Collaborative is the online learning and networking
community powered by Aurora WDC, our clients, partners and other friends
and dedicated to exploring how to apply intelligence methods to solve real-
world business problems.
Apply for a free 30-day trial membership at http://IntelCollab.com or learn
more about Aurora at http://AuroraWDC.com – see you next time!

3. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
α Use the Questions pane on your
GoToWebinar control panel and all questions
will be answered in the second half of the
hour.
α You are welcome to tweet any comments on
Twitter where we are monitoring the
hashtag #IntelCollab or eavesdrop via
http://tweetchat.com/room/IntelCollab
α Slides will be available after the webinar for
embedding and sharing via
http://slideshare.net/IntelCollab
α To view the recording and download the PPT
file, please register for a trial membership at
http://IntelCollab.com.
Questions, Commentary & Content

4. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Agenda
► Key Objectives of Conference Coverage (“why?”)
► Pre-Conference Preparation
► In-Conference Execution
► Intelligence Collection Tactics
► Post-Conference Follow-Up
► Summary, Q&A and Discussion

5. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Key Objectives of Conference Coverage (“why?”)
Press Releases
News Articles
Other Secondary Intel
Vast Array of Sources
Attendees seeking to learn
and share information

6. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Key Objectives of Conference Coverage (“why?”)
► Broad array of potential sources:
► Competitors (Sales & Marketing, New Products R&D,
Manufacturing, Distribution, etc.)
► Suppliers
► Customers
► Industry Observers (Media, Financial Analysts, etc.)
 In one way or another, every attendee is a potential source.
► Attendees are there to learn and share
information.

7. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Key Objectives of Conference Coverage (“why?”)
Remarkable return on CI investment…
Estimated “CI yield” (or ROI) …
1 day of Conference CI can yield
at least as much as
1 week desk-based primary CI (phone/email)

8. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Pre-Conference Preparation (I)
6-8 weeks before
the conference
4 weeks
before the
conference
1-2 weeks
before the
conference
► Finalize core
competitive set
► Develop / refine
KIQs
► Identify team
members attending
conference
► Request team
assistance /
introduce CI
collection concept
► Review conference
program
► Develop conference CI
planner
► Assign team coverage
responsibilities
► Identify potential
sources
► Arrange meetings with
sources, as
appropriate
► Monitor conference
program for “late-
breakers” and other
changes.
► Hold final pre-
conference CI team
meeting
► Train CI team on
ethical CI collection
► Review KIQs and on-
the-ground logistics

9. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Pre-Conference Preparation (II)
6-8 weeks before
the conference
4 weeks
before the
conference
1-2 weeks
before the
conference
► Finalize core
competitive set
► Develop / refine
KIQs
► Identify team
members attending
conference
► Request team
assistance /
introduce CI
collection concept
► Review conference
program
► Develop conference CI
planner
► Assign team coverage
responsibilities
► Identify potential
sources
► Arrange meetings with
sources, as
appropriate
► Monitor conference
program for “late-
breakers” and other
changes.
► Hold final pre-
conference CI team
meeting
► Train CI team on
ethical CI collection
► Review KIQs and on-
the-ground logistics

10. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Pre-Conference Preparation (III)
In addition to oral presentations, also consider including details of:
► Poster Presentations
► Exhibitors
► Product Demonstrations
► Key non-presenter sources anticipated to attend
► And more…
► Example Conference CI Planner:
MLB 2014 Winter Meetings (San Diego)

11. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Pre-Conference Preparation (IV)
6-8 weeks before
the conference
4 weeks
before the
conference
1-2 weeks
before the
conference
► Finalize core
competitive set
► Develop / refine
KIQs
► Identify team
members attending
conference
► Request team
assistance /
introduce CI
collection concept
► Review conference
program
► Develop conference CI
planner
► Assign team coverage
responsibilities
► Identify potential
sources
► Arrange meetings with
sources, as
appropriate
► Monitor conference
program for “late-
breakers” and other
changes.
► Hold final pre-
conference CI team
meeting
► Train CI team on
ethical CI collection
► Review KIQs and on-
the-ground logistics

12. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
In-Conference Execution (I)
► In-person pre-con meeting (if possible)
► On-the-ground, immediately before conference kick-off
► Face-to-face introductions
► Review core competitive set and KIQs
► Reconfirm CI coverage assignments
► Review highlights of ethical CI collection training
► Reiterate conference logistics

13. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
In-Conference Execution (II)
►Daily, in-person debriefs (if possible)
► Ideally, held in early morning or late afternoon
► Private area or room is essential
► Review new CI learnings
► Reprioritize KIQs, as appropriate, based on new CI
learnings
► Review anticipated highlights for the coming day
► If you want people to attend, FEED THEM! 

14. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
In-Conference Execution (III)
►Daily Bullet Point Summaries (if possible)
► Ideally, bullet points will mirror the key discussion
points from in-person debrief meeting.
► Aim for no more than five overall key themes of the
day; one to two sentences per bullet/theme.
► Valuable method for engaging team members and
management not in attendance at the conference.
► Provides an excellent starting point for your top-line
post-conference report.

15. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Intelligence Collection Tactics
► Be sure you know…what you know and what
you don’t know.
► Go beyond what’s available in print
(brochures, posters, presentation slides)
► Know your sources – develop relationships
► Follow the rules (photography, etc.)
► Behave ethically

16. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Post-Conference Follow-Up (I)
► Top-Line Debrief Discussion & Report
► Aim to reconvene the team (attendees and non-attendees)
within one week of conference conclusion
► CI lead should guide discussion with top-line CI bullet
points slides (i.e., the top-line report)
► This is a discussion, not a presentation!
► So, be sure to collect teammates’ additional CI findings (to
incorporate into final CI report)
► Use this opportunity to begin refining and reprioritizing your
core competitive set and KIQs

17. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Post-Conference Follow-Up (II)
►Final Post-Conference CI Report
► Incorporates additional CI from top-line debrief discussion as well
as additional findings from full CI notes.
► May include…
Core Competitive Set &
KIQs
Assessment of competitive
activity level at conference
Source list (not names, but
titles or source types)
Executive Summary
Key CI findings
Conclusions & Next Steps

18. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Post-Conference Follow-Up (III)
And finally…
Start planning your next conference
coverage CI effort!

19. The Intelligence Collaborative
http://IntelCollab.com #IntelCollab
Powered by
Thank you! Now how about a little Q&A?
Tom Colman
Email: tom.colman@nausetconsultingllc.com
The Intelligence Collaborative is the online learning and networking
community powered by Aurora WDC, our clients, partners and other friends
and dedicated to exploring how to apply intelligence methods to solve real-
world business problems.
Apply for a free 30-day trial membership at http://IntelCollab.com or learn
more about Aurora at http://AuroraWDC.com – see you next time!