This is not a typical story. The American Association of Suicidology's annual meeting had been growing steadily in recent years. When their reimagined conference couldn't take place in Portland, Ore., in late April, staff and volunteers went into overdrive to transition the physical meeting to a virtual one in a matter of days.They knew how critical it was to deliver much-needed content to their global community. Jonathan and Colleen will share the unvarnished truth about what they learned, … [Read more...]
Teach Your Sponsors Well
If you, as a conference organizer or meeting owner, think selling sponsorships at your event is just about those four to five days when thousands gather face-to-face, think again. You are worth so much more than that. It’s time to stop devaluing your events, said Kim Skildum-Reid, owner of Power Sponsorship, a firm that specializes in advising corporations and sponsor seekers about effective sponsorship, at a recent workshop. Skildum-Reid calls sponsor seekers, “rightsholders,” and there’s a … [Read more...]
Leveraging Team Learning at Conferences
Traditionally teams from organizations attend a conference with a divide-and-conquer game plan, as they split up and attend as many different sessions as they can. The challenge with that strategy is that it’s very unlikely any real change will occur when the one team member who experienced the learning returns to work. Will they share what they’ve learned from a session? Or simply pass on a PowerPoint deck? What if you flipped that model and designed conferences that offered learning aimed … [Read more...]
Your Two Cents on Virtual Events
Improving digital learning and amplifying conference content to a larger audience is a high priority for most conference organizers. With the advent of DIY solutions, business models that include sponsorship and the ability to reach a global audience, we’re seeing an increased focus on expanding the impact of virtual events. Tagoras, an adviser to associations and businesses that offer adult lifelong learning, continuing education and professional development, freely shares quite a bit of … [Read more...]
How Is Your Association Using Learning Technologies?
Improving digital learning and amplifying conference content to a larger audience is a high priority for many clients we consult with. With the advent of DIY solutions, business models that include sponsorship and the strategic alignment of reaching a global audience, we’re seeing an increased focus on expanding the impact of digital learning. If you work for a membership organization, whether or not you use technology to deliver or enhance your learning products, we’re asking for your … [Read more...]
How to Ask for a Raise and Other Top Learnings from IAEE Women’s Leadership Forum
Having recently consulted with a major professional association on the sustainability and long-term growth strategy of its women’s leadership conference, I was motivated to attend a leadership forum for women in our own industry: IAEE’s Women’s Leadership Forum, which took place at the new MGM National Harbor in early May. Here are some of the key learnings I took away from the Forum, many of which can be applied to any aspiring professional or any conference. 1. Ask for a raise. If you’re … [Read more...]
Hybrid Meetings Doomed to Failure? Not So Fast
I’ll admit that in 2011, when the Virtual Edge Institute (now called the Digital Experience Institute) first co-located its conference with the Professional Convention Management Association’s Convening Leaders, the experience fell flat for me. At the time, a mere six years ago, the fledgling for-profit entity that wagered its future on the potential of virtual meetings staged sessions that were too heavily weighted toward the online audience in the verbal communication and moderation by the … [Read more...]
Evolve into a Caretaker of Content
Imagine designing your next conference or annual meeting from scratch around content instead of picking up the template you’ve been using for years and tweaking it. Not just your education programming, but your breaks, meals, even your exhibit hall (which we advocate for evolving into a solutions center, including changing the name). “Please stop designing content for events and start thinking about designing events for the content.” That’s a quote from Sourabh Kothari, director of advocacy, … [Read more...]
