Conference Management

CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT

Your conference, managed from start to finish.

Great conferences don’t just happen. Behind every successful conference are months of planning, hundreds of decisions and countless details that need to come together at exactly the right time.

Bumper is an Australian Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) providing end-to-end conference management for associations, companies and organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

From the first planning meeting through to the final report, we work as an extension of your team — bringing the experience, structure and hands-on management needed to keep your conference moving.

END-TO-END CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT

We bring all the moving parts together.

A conference is more than a venue, a program and a registration system. Every decision affects another — which is why having one experienced team overseeing the complete picture makes a difference.

Depending on what your organisation needs, Bumper can manage your entire conference or work alongside your internal team or conference committee to provide support in specific areas.

Our conference management can include:

  • Conference strategy and planning
  • Budgeting and financial management
  • Project timelines and reporting
  • Venue sourcing and contract negotiation
  • Registration and delegate management
  • Sponsorship and exhibition management
  • Program development
  • Abstract and speaker management
  • Accommodation and catering
  • Conference websites and technology
  • Marketing and communications
  • Supplier and production management
  • Social functions and ancillary events
  • Onsite conference management
  • Post-conference reporting and evaluation

Whatever the scope, our role is to keep the big picture in view while making sure the details get done.

WORKING WITH BUMPER

Your team + our team.

Some of our clients outsource the complete management of their conference to Bumper. Others have an internal team, board or conference committee and need additional expertise and capacity.

We work both ways.

We take the time to understand your organisation, your audience, your objectives and what success looks like for your conference.

Then we build the right team and approach around it.

You’ll have experienced people managing your conference, clear communication throughout the process and a team that’s comfortable taking responsibility for getting things done.

Because the best conference partnerships don’t feel like client and supplier.

They feel like one team.

CONFERENCES

Conference management built around your organisation.

We manage conferences for associations, membership organisations, companies, professional and industry bodies and education organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

That includes established annual conferences, multi-day national conferences, exhibitions, specialist meetings and new conferences being developed for the first time.

Every organisation has different objectives, stakeholders and ways of working. Our job isn’t to fit your conference into a formula — it’s to understand what you need and build the management approach around it.

FROM PLANNING TO DELIVERY

With you every step of the way.

PLAN

We establish the strategy, budget, timeline and framework behind your conference — helping make the important decisions early and giving everyone a clear path forward.

BUILD

As the conference takes shape, we coordinate venues, registration, sponsorship, exhibitions, programs, speakers, marketing, technology, suppliers and delegate communications.

DELIVER

When it’s time to go onsite, our team is there managing the venue, suppliers, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, registration and all the details happening behind the scenes.

REVIEW

Once the conference is over, we close out budgets, reporting and feedback and work with you to identify insights and opportunities for the next conference.

WHY WORK WITH A PCO?

More than an extra pair of hands.

A Professional Conference Organiser brings specialist conference knowledge, established supplier relationships, systems and experience to your organisation.

Engaging a PCO can give your internal team additional capacity while providing experienced oversight across the financial, operational and logistical elements of your conference.

For organisations running recurring conferences, Bumper can also provide continuity from one year to the next — retaining knowledge, improving processes and helping the conference evolve over time.

Explore other ways we work with clients

Sponsorship & Trade Exhibition

Learn how our team can help maximise your revenue
Learn more

Destination Management

Learn more

Conference Registration

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Event Technology

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Conference and Project Management FAQ’s

If you are thinking about using a PCO then it is best to engage them before you book anything. PCO’s are fantastic at helping clients negotiate the best rates, suppliers and venues.
It is always difficult planning your first conference and knowing how many people to plan for so firstly be conservative with your guestimate. Before you start booking, it is a good idea to survey members, send an expression of interest email or poll followers on social channels. It is also valuable to look at what events other industry leaders in your sector are running, how many people attend and how many annual events they organise.
Absolutely! If you have a team of people that already manage your events but are just looking for additional support then a PCO is a fantastic way to go. A PCO will be able to assist in keeping you up to date with the latest advice and technology by supporting you in the lead up to the event.
A lot of the time, yes! We have fantastic relationships with hotels, accommodation and suppliers across the sector. At BCCM, we only pass on the best rates and won’t add margins to supplier costs which means we pass on the rates directly to you.
If you are organising a multi-day conference with domestic travel then we recommend you start planning 18 months ahead of schedule. For smaller events, or internal conferences then we recommend a minimum of 9 months planning.
OUR WORK

See our conference management in action.

We’ve planned and delivered more than 100 conferences across different sectors, formats and destinations.

Explore some of the conferences we’ve managed and see how we’ve brought the people, planning and details together for our clients.

EXPLORE OUR WORK
Planning a conference?

Whether you need complete conference management or experienced support alongside your existing team, we’d love to hear what you’re planning.

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