Blogs
Jun 13, 2018
Long ago, consultant Tom Gilb coined the term “mythodology” to describe erroneous but commonly held beliefs about how something should be done. Here are nine mythodologies about conferences.
Mythodology #1: We know what our attendees want to learn about.
Reality: No, you don’t. At least half the sessions programmed at traditional conferences are not what attendees want.
Mythodology #2: Event socials are a good way to meet people.
Reality: People tend to stay with people they already know at event socials. Participant-driven and participation-rich events provide far more opportunities to… more
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Jun 04, 2018
I was the head of corporate events and travel for a tech company in Silicon Valley in early 2000. I managed a global team of professionals who managed over $5 million a year in event spend. We did great work, were paid well and, for the most part, loved what we did. When the internet bubble burst and 9/11 happened, we were forced to let droves of people go. My entire team was dismantled. I was crushed. Between survivor’s guilt and the uncertainty of the company’s future, it was a difficult time.
An independent planner had been calling on me for months looking for work. I had a full staff and… more
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May 29, 2018
When you’re promoting a corporate event you can’t just take a bigger budget and throw it at the wall, hoping it’ll stick. Instead, you have to try to think beyond your comfort zone.
Having a strong strategy for promoting your event is critical to your success. You could have the best event in the world, but if your prospective audience doesn’t know about it, you - and they - will miss out.
When thinking of ways to promote your event, ask yourself “how can I take some of the most common and typical methods of promoting a corporate event and twist them into something new?” People are exposed… more
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May 22, 2018
“We bend over backwards to make our clients happy.”
How many times have you heard that saying? And what does it really mean?
Assigning actions to these words is vital to a company’s success. At the end of the day, after the work is done and the event is over, people don’t remember the technology or equipment you provided, they remember how they were treated. That’s why it’s so important to make customer service a priority.
In my experience with Teamwork, customer service is the root of everything we do. It’s one of the reasons that attracted me to the company in the first place. I value… more
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May 16, 2018
So recently at Confex, we had a great panel of techxperts, hosted by James Morgan of Event Tech Lab, presenting a quick-fire round of 10 Top Tech Trends in Exhibitions, Awards, Galas and Corporate Events. My focus was on Exhibitions and I had 60 seconds per slide. I’ll try to summarize, in as few words as possible, to share some different perspectives for you to explore.
10. Marketing as a Service
This isn’t listed as number ten in a sliding scale of numero uno being the top trend. “MaaS” is at number ten because it encompasses pretty much everything else I covered. Marketing is changing.… more
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May 08, 2018
Event technology is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of different technologies - think event management platforms, ticketing solutions, digital signage widgets and apps, beacons, virtual and augmented reality apps, AI-powered event chatbots, and more. Technology is literally shaping every aspect of the event experience.
There’s, however, one prevailing problem with new and innovative event technology and that is adoption. In order to reach meaningful adoption levels, event tech needs to satisfy the needs and expectations of both the organizers and participants.
Organizers are… more
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May 02, 2018
The best events transcend engaging the audience – they make the subject matter and entire experience come alive. An increasingly popular method is projection mapping, a technique that upends all our memories of flat-screen home movie projections and creates 3D experiences like those at the Courtyard by Marriott Super Bowl Sleepover in New York City.
From theme parks to Super Bowls to brand activations, event organizers are increasingly incorporating the tech. Also known as spatial augmented reality or video mapping, the technique maps projected images onto nearly any surface, such as a… more
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Apr 27, 2018
The Millennial audience is a subject of interest and wielder of influence for good reason. A Brookings Institution study predicts that Millennials will account for 1 in 3 American adults by 2020 and up to 75 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2025.
That ubiquity carries with it the ability to affect numerous industries, including live events. Our study with Ipsos and Crowd DNA found that in the past year, 89 percent of Millennials attended at least one event, up 7 percentage points from three years prior.
As the current crop of 20-to-36-year-olds extends its purchasing power, event creators… more
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Apr 23, 2018
For many corporate marketing or event departments, getting approval to add employee headcount is close to impossible. You may only have enough work to justify a part-time resource, or your events may be seasonal. Hiring a contract event manager can be a great way to make sure you get what you pay for, without excess overhead.
What — you have some doubts? Let us guess: “But will they do as good of a job?” “How hard will they work, if they’re not officially part of the company?”
Important questions, certainly. Of course you want to hire professionals who believe that “do good work” is a… more
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Apr 17, 2018
This is the final piece in a three-part series recapping a conversation I had with Sue Falcone, Founder and CEO of Remarkable! A Speakers Bureau on how planners can strategically build relationships with speaker’s bureaus. Part one introduces the value of the speakers’ bureau, and part two talks about event speaker trends.
Christy: What do you do about speakers who speak from scripts and are reluctant or unwilling to adapt the message to an audience?
Sue: It’s essential to make sure every client gets a unique and custom experience. Audiences will not accept “canned” presentations, although… more
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Partner Voices
Just when it seems like Las Vegas can’t get any bigger, brighter or more exciting for groups, MGM Resorts raises the bar again. The company continues to invest and innovate across its portfolio of Las Vegas resorts, with new attractions and upgraded experiences for attendees of all interests.
Remodeled Guest Rooms
MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with over 5,000 guest rooms and an 850,000-square-foot conference center. It is home to the newly remodeled MGM Grand Studio Tower—700 reimagined guest rooms with a fun mid-century vibe. Nearby, the iconic New York-New York Las more