Alright, let’s talk about my trip to the Society for Consumer Psychology thing back in 2022. It feels like ages ago now, but I remember the whole process quite well.
So, I first heard about it through some emails and chatter online. Sounded like a place where folks talk about why people buy stuff, you know, the psychology behind it. Thought it might be interesting, maybe pick up a few ideas I could actually use. Decided, yeah, let’s give it a shot.
Getting registered was the first step. Went to their website, filled out the forms. Took a bit of clicking around, standard stuff. Paid the fee, got the confirmation email. Felt official then.
Next up was booking everything. Flights and a hotel near the conference center. Always try to stay close, makes mornings easier. Spent some time comparing prices, finally booked something reasonable. Then I started looking at the actual conference schedule they put online. Lots of sessions, honestly a bit overwhelming. Tried to circle a few that looked relevant to what I do, topics like online behavior and maybe branding.
Getting There and Settling In
Travel day came. Packed my bags, usual stuff. Headed to the airport, went through security, the whole routine. Flight was okay, landed, got a cab to the hotel. Checked in, dropped my bags. The area seemed alright, typical conference district feel.
First day of the actual conference started with picking up my badge. Always that slightly awkward queue. Got my lanyard and the conference bag with the program booklet. Flipped through it again. Headed to the main hall for the opening remarks. Standard welcome messages.
Diving into the Sessions
Then the sessions began. I jumped into one I had marked. It was decent, presenter knew their stuff. Took some rough notes. The room was pretty full.
Over the next couple of days, I followed a similar pattern:
- Attended talks in different rooms. Some were packed, others less so.
- Saw some presentations that were really engaging, others… well, let’s just say they were very academic.
- Went to a poster session. Walked around, looked at the boards. Talked to a few students about their research. Always interesting to see the upcoming stuff, even if it’s early stages.
- Drank a lot of conference coffee during the breaks. Chatted with random people standing around. Met folks from universities, some from companies too. Just casual talk about the sessions or what they worked on.
One thing I noticed was a lot of talk about online shopping habits, how things changed recently. Also, sustainability seemed to be popping up more, how to get people to buy greener products. Made sense.
Some sessions were better than others, obviously. A few times I dipped out of a talk that wasn’t grabbing me and tried another one. You gotta be flexible at these things.
Networking and Wrapping Up
There were some evening receptions. Went to one, had some snacks, talked to a few more people. It’s easier to chat in a more relaxed setting sometimes. Didn’t stay out too late though, needed energy for the next day’s sessions.
By the last day, I was feeling pretty tired. Attended a couple more morning sessions. Caught the closing remarks. Then it was time to head out.
Checked out of the hotel, got back to the airport, flew home. The journey back is always a good time to sort of digest everything.
Looking Back
Back home, unpacked. Looked over my messy notes. Did I have any huge breakthroughs? Nah, not really. But I definitely picked up some useful tidbits, saw what topics are trending in that field. It was good to just be around people thinking about consumer behavior, sparked a few ideas for my own work later on.
Overall, attending SCP 2022 was a worthwhile experience. It’s good to get out of the usual routine, hear different perspectives, even if it’s just for a few days. Glad I went through the process of registering, traveling, and immersing myself in it.
