Our Programme Committee has just finished the final selection of papers that were submitted in September for EPHMRA’s 2020 Conference. And have we got an outstanding programme lined up for you! What really stood out for us, though, was the quality and volume of submissions that we received.
We very much appreciate all of the time, thought and energy that you put into paper submissions to speak at the Conference. This year we received over 30, which as you might imagine, was quite a task for each member of our Programme Committee to review.
As outlined in our earlier blog ‘A Peek Behind the Scenes’, there is a rigorous selection process that we undertake to achieve a varied, interesting and high-quality Conference Programme. Unfortunately, though, this does mean that some papers weren’t accepted, and we wanted to take a moment to say thank you.
Feedback and Tips for Submitting a Paper
If you had a paper that was turned down, then you’ll already have heard from us with an offer for detailed email or verbal feedback. We feel it is important to explain why the paper wasn’t quite right this time and offer advice for future submissions.
Here are a few tips for creating a submission which is likely to resonate with our Programme Committee and delegates attending the conference:
- Always emphasise what the take-away learnings will be for people listening. It may sound obvious but the importance of this can’t be overestimated, as this demonstrates that you have thought about what value your paper will bring to people in the audience.
- If you are from an Agency, having a speaker from industry to speak with you will really make a difference to your submission, as we know that delegates gain great insights from hearing how research has added value to clients.
- Read through your submission and have a think about whether it might be interpreted as a promotional ‘sales pitch’ by those reading it and ultimately listening to your paper at the conference. We have had a lot of feedback over the years that delegates switch off if they think that a paper is promotional, so whether intended or not, it’s best to minimise emphasis on the benefits of your particular product/service!
- Consider having your submission reviewed by peers before sending it over, this is a great way to pick up on areas that might need clarification or further explanation.
What Happens Next
If your paper was rejected on this occasion, then you may choose to take on board our feedback and resubmit it for a future event. Alternatively, you may be offered the opportunity to write an article on that subject for our website or the EPHMRA newsletter.
We hope that everyone who submitted a paper found it to be a worthwhile process and thank you once again, your support and expertise is what makes the Annual Conference the success it is.
Coming Soon...
Keep an eye out for exciting speaker announcements in the next few weeks, both for our plenary presentations and parallel sessions.