Improving Conference Attendee Experiences March 19, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Experiences are better when conferences are built around people. The conference experience greatly improves for all stakeholders when they are built around people and their relationships. Traditional Conference Experience The traditional conference is built around logistics and content. The majority of the conference organizer’s time is spent selecting and scheduling speakers. Organizers choose speakers based … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, engagement, event experience, meeting planner, meeting professional, network, social networking
What Associations And Meeting Professionals Want In Tradeshow Partnerships March 5, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Imagine this scenario. A nonprofit trade association decides it wants to add a tradeshow to its annual conference. It’s never produced a tradeshow in the past and wants to secure a third-party planner to produce the show. Typically, an association tradeshow should have a potential of $150,000 or more in revenue to justify securing a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , association, association best practices, meeting planner, meeting professionals, tradeshow, tradeshow best practices
When Conferences Go Awry February 24, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Most nonprofit organizations host some type of annual meeting every year. Generally their bylaws require that they hold at least one annual membership meeting. Similarly, many corporations and associations organize, plan and implement one or more conferences every year that have other goals beyond the annual membership meeting. Some corporations hold customer events to showcase … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association, conference best practices, conference revenue models, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best 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
Savvy Meeting Professionals Need These 21st Century Skills February 10, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Society is undergoing some sweeping transformations today. Conferences and meetings face radical disruptions as attendees integrate mobile devices and personal expectations for authenticity, participation, ROI and documented proven value. Meeting and event professionals cannot afford to keep their heads in the sand and ignore major culture and societal shifts. These changes are creeping into the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional
The Conference Innovators DNA January 26, 2012 by Jeff Hurt The Conference Innovators DNA View more presentations from Jeff Hurt Innovation. It’s the heartbeat of today’s economy. It’s also where meeting professionals need to focus their attention, time and resources to compete in the meetings marketplace. Average meetings are planned by average meeting professionals. Yet, most conference attendees don’t want to pay for an average … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, disruptive innovation, Innovation, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
How Conferences Can Find Their Future January 23, 2012 by Jeff Hurt For most of us, the future is our past. So many people try to create a new future by modifying their past. We insist on doing more of the same that we’ve always done. We cross our fingers and hope it results in a new future. It won’t. Nostalgia Is Good For A Rose Tinted … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals
The Top Traits Of Rock Star Event Professionals December 16, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Rock stars! Just those two words create images in our minds of fun, money and pleasure. Rock stars get paid to bang on drums, strum guitars and scream into microphones. They get to do what they love daily. Traits Of The Rock Star Event Professional So what does it take to be a rock star … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , #eventprofs, event professionals, meeting best practices, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals
Conferences Need Dynamic Planning That Relies On Insight October 27, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Your conference planning process needs a dynamic strategy that relies on insight, not call for proposals and scheduling of speakers. Most meeting professionals who devote their time to the development of detailed conference schedules are destined to eventual disappointment. Why? Because the focus is entirely on the structural framework for the meeting. Until the focus … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planner, strategic planning
Your Conference: Fresh Oxygen Or Carbon Dioxide? October 24, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Take a deep breath. Now hold it. How long can you hold it before you have to exhale? You cannot be content with what you’re simply holding in your lungs. Your fresh breath suddenly becomes carbon dioxide and needs to be exhaled. It’s a natural part of breathing. Inhale oxygen. Then exhale carbon dioxide. If … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Innovation, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
