We have used the same post-conference survey and five-point rating scale for the past 11 years, for all five conferences we at Zephyr Conferences run. So when we see your ratings and read your comments, we take them seriously. In the spirit of openness, here is how we did at the 2018 International Food Blogger Conference in New Orleans.

Where We Excelled

• Organization: Our 11 years of experience running conferences pays off. 87% of our attendees rated our organization as Very Good or Outstanding. Thanks goes in large part to Sara in our office who is responsible for actually running the event!
• Communications: We make it a point to communicate with you, our community, before, during, and after the event. This was one of the highest-rated aspects in our post-conference survey.
• Keynote Speaker: Michael Twitty from Afroculinaria was our highest-rated session of the entire conference. He provided an inspiring and emotional talk.
• Content in General: 77% of attendees said our content was better than or the same as competitor food blogger conferences.
• Overall Event: 76% of attendees rated the overall conference as better or the same as other food blogger conferences and 79% rated the IFBC as more or the same amount of fun. It helps to move the conference to locations like New Orleans and Juneau each year!

Where We Can Improve and How We Will

• Food: The IFBC is known for having the best food of any food blogger conference, in part because we move the conference each year and gain the support of local partners who want to put on a great show. Unfortunately, in 2018 we did not have the strong local support we usually get and this affected our ratings. For 2019, we are already working with our Juneau partners who have committed to provide an opening reception, a Taste of Juneau event, and a gift suite of food products. This will all be supplemented with our other sponsors and partners.
• National Brands: While people loved the large number of New Orleans food companies at IFBC18, we had fewer national brands at our conference this year and our attendees noticed. We will work to rectify that. Calling all brands – our attendees want you at IFBC19!
• Advanced Content: We were told (not for the first time) that presentations were not at an advanced enough level. This despite having us specifically ask our speakers to present more advanced content. For 2019, we will not rely on our speakers but will be adding seven full hours of content specifically geared towards advanced writing, social media, and technology. To make sure we deliver, we are labeling these with an graphic on our Agenda.

Overall, we are pleased our 2018 attendees enjoyed the conference and look forward to an even better event in 2019!