Juice Up Your Conference App August 27, 2012 by Dave Lutz It’s time to juice up your attendees’ conference experience with a mobile app. The best built-for-purpose conference apps provide a seamless and user-friendly experience that can be customized by the attendee. Conference Mobile Apps Here To Stay Built-for-purpose conference apps have hit the fast-follower stage. In fact, most major conferences are in their second or … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Technology, Experience Design Tagged With: , conferences, event mobile apps, event technology, mobile, social technology for events, tradeshow technology, Web 2.0
Getting Your Sponsors To Trigger Their Sponsorships June 21, 2012 by Dave Lutz A trend we’re seeing is that exhibitors are requiring less square footage and shifting dollars to other sponsorship opportunities. Conference organizers need to think about how to convert exhibitor’s marketing dollars into sponsorship opportunities that benefit attendees. The Shift From Exhibiting To Sponsorships This shift requires a more strategic and consultative sales approach. Many conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, content marketing, exhibitors, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals, sponsor activation, sponsor leverage, sponsorship
Creating Planned Serendipity For Your Conference Success May 15, 2012 by Dave Lutz Networking: there’s more to it than business professionals speed handshaking while exchanging business cards. It’s an opportunity to connect and link with others as you share information, services and ideas with each other. Attendee Networking Expectations Increase There is no doubt about it. Conference attendee networking expectations are on the rise! Your conference is often … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , accelerating serendipity, conference best practices, conferences, meeting planning best practices, networking, planned serendipity
Jeff Hurt Promoted To Executive VP April 13, 2012 by Dave Lutz I’m excited to announce that Jeff Hurt has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Education & Engagement at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting! Jeff has been an indispensable contributor to the VCC team over the past 27 months. His fresh ideas on the future of conferences and learning have been instrumental in helping our consulting clients on … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings
Are You A Risky RFP Abuser? April 12, 2012 by Dave Lutz Our profession is at risk. More small meetings, shorter lead times and RFP abuse are on a collision course for commoditizing our industry. It shouldn’t be commoditized! Hotels react by throwing technology and lower-level sales professionals against the problem. The model is not sustainable. Group Meetings Are Big Business Even a small meeting of 25 … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, hotel group sales, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals, RFP, securing meeting venues
Deal Or No Deal: Overcoming Barriers With Hotel Contracts March 23, 2012 by Dave Lutz You’ve found the perfect hotel for your meeting. It’s a great location. You were able to negotiate a good room rate. The concession package and your meeting space flows well too. The Contract’s T&Cs Cause You To Pause The hotel sends you a contract to secure the deal. As you review the 14-page document, you … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , contract negotiations, contracts, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional
Leveraging Professional Speakers For Conference Impact March 15, 2012 by Dave Lutz Most conference expense budgets are tight and limiting. Technology innovations, including Skype, Snagit, DIY screen capture and affordable video editing tools, can help you bring more thought leaders to your conference experience. Increasing Conference Value With Professional Speakers Professional speakers are often the most remembered, valued and polished elements of a conference. Typically they are … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, presentation best practices, professional speakers, speaker, Speaker Emerging Practices
Six Conference Committee Improvements February 22, 2012 by Dave Lutz When it comes to the traditional volunteer conference planning committee model, there seems to be plenty of room for improvement. Here are a half-dozen ways to create a more rewarding experience for your volunteers and better results for your organization: 1. Stay out of the weeds. If your committee charter includes selecting what kind of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , association best practices, conference best practices, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
Four Ways To Get Your Conference Education Out Of A Rut February 6, 2012 by Dave Lutz Ruts. We all have them. A rut is a settled or established habit or course of action, especially a boring one. It is usually a boring, predictable, stale routine. So, is your conference education stuck in a rut? Have you created predictable tracks and paths? If you’re like most meeting professionals, you start planning for … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, conference best practices, conference education, meeting planning best practices, presentation best practices, speaker tips
Do Not Let Your Legacy AMS Kill Your Conference January 25, 2012 by Dave Lutz Here’s a newsflash for your IT department: Technology that is built for purpose (registration, expo sales, speaker management, etc.) does not need to integrate with your legacy association management system (AMS) in order to be implemented. Read that again! It’s true and something you need to understand before your AMS kills your conference. Your Customer … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Technology Tagged With: , association best practices, conference best practices, conferences, event technology, mobile, tradeshow technology
