PNSQC Case Study

The Client

PNSQC webpage from 2018/2019 conferences The Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference (PNSQC) is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that manages an annual regional tech summit with workshops and professional development opportunities. We worked with PNSQC organizers for 6 years to build conference attendance and awareness around benefits to attendees.

The Challenge

The organizers of PNSQC’s annual 3-day conference wanted to grow regional awareness of the event and expand its community of software quality professionals. PNSQC panelists and speakers

Objective

PNSQC has a niche focus in a booming tech industry. A language-, platform-, and software-agnostic conference, its attendees LOVE the content and roughly half return each year.

Our approach was to build on the positive word-of-mouth way attendees heard about the conference, and focus on:

Create a stronger brand identity
Increase awareness of yearly conference and abstract submission process
Diversify speakers, attendees and volunteers by reaching out to partner communities

The Solution

It’s hard to tell a story without any visuals. The biggest change we wanted to make was to develop the tools PNSQC could use to tell its story.Combining compelling visual designs and rich content with targeted outreach strategies, To the Point created a dramatic increase in engagement and participation.

Strategy

Utilize impressive archive of industry knowledge and create rich new content
Kickstart proposal submissions through community outreach (via social media and in-person networking)
Create an Ambassador Kit to support nonprofit volunteers’ networking and connect PNSQC with natural partners
Improve user experience of website to make navigation easier and streamline content
Design visuals — logos, photos, videos, swag — to better distinguish the conference, while preserving its overall brand

“Working with To The Point year after year has been a rewarding and memorable experience. Their expertise with marketing and communications – understanding how to communicate and navigate within our organization – has created a partnership that makes it hard to imagine how we got things done before their arrival.”

-Brian Gaudreau, Marketing Chair, PNSQC

The Results

We increased the amount of submissions to present at the conference, by nearly 300% in just a few years, with better overall submissions, more women submitting talk proposals, plus more international QA professionals attending and submitting talks. The conference had greater on-site discussions and engagement from attendees and speakers alike, with an increase in active volunteers and board members to help guide the future of the organization.

This wasn’t just a yearly 3-day event. PNSQC is a whole community that gathers together online and in-person to share knowledge, learn from one another, and bond over shared interests.

By sticking to a smaller venue (instead of trying to expand to the nearby convention center), the conference was able to stay intimate, and organizers could pay to fly in keynote speakers who are at the cutting edge of their field.