“Never let a good crisis go to waste” has become a popular adage in the business world over the past year, for good reason. As it becomes more apparent that face-to-face events will return in some form this year, conference organizers have an opportunity to make changes that would have been more difficult to sell up the ladder in the past. It’s a good time for planners to challenge their organizations to make the meeting experience more valuable than ever. As we work with conference … [Read more...]
Special Recognition for Sarah Michel, CSP
Please join the Velvet Chainsaw team in congratulating our very own Sarah Michel! Last week she was presented with the National Speakers Association – Colorado Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award. Sarah is in an exclusive club: She is only the sixth person to receive this honor in the past 25 years. Sarah is a Past President of the NSA – CO chapter. Over the past five years, she has also been instrumental in organizing the Meetings Industry Council of Colorado annual conference. Three … [Read more...]
Risk, Revenue Recognition and Recovery
For well over a year, we’ve consulted with dozens of associations on their go/no-go event strategies. One of our early — and still applicable — recommendations was for conference organizers to communicate and publish the date when they expect to make the decision for their in-person conference. Over the summer and the fall of 2020, most organizations were able to make decisions six months out without incurring liability. That window has tightened to 90 days. By May or June, facilities are less … [Read more...]
Beyond Hybrid: Repackaging Your Conference Content
Over the past nine months, many industry experts have proclaimed that meetings and conferences are forever changed and hybrid is here to stay. While I agree in principle, I think the future is so much more than hybrid. Meetings of the future will be improved and monetized by embracing the tenets of strategic product management. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we should optimize the benefits of the best, most-advanced and relevant content from your annual conference by … [Read more...]
2021 Virtual-Conference Big Ideas
In 2020, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors were more forgiving of our virtual conferences than they will be in 2021. They, like you, are all experiencing Zoom fatigue and will have much higher expectations for conferences this coming year — especially those they are investing their precious time and money. Don’t waste a good crisis. Use this opportunity to beta test changes that can be carried over to the next in-person conference. While in the second half of 2020 many virtual conferences … [Read more...]
Normal is Over(rated) – For Now
This is a guest post by Joy S. Davis, CAE, based on an email she sent to me after reading Lisa Block’s recent post, “I Am Sorry, But We Are Not All Fine.” Joy is Managing Director, Member Products, for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Not too long ago, I gently asked my Executive Director to stop opening her weekly columns to members with a depressing reminder of COVID-19 and how weird things are right now. She’s a very upbeat, can-do kind of person, and her columns are … [Read more...]
Six Attributes of Successful Women’s Conferences
This article was originally written for the April issue of PCMA’s Convene magazine. The timing was right before the lockdown and a couple months before the 2020 social justice movement eclipsed. While things have changed, these tenets will hold true and the principles can be applied to other D&I conferences and events. After studying and consulting on several successful association women’s conferences, I can confidently say – they need to be very different than other conferences in your … [Read more...]
Expos Don’t Work Well in a Virtual Environment
Virtual Expo Truths Nearly every conference and trade show professional is searching for that perfect virtual platform or pricing model for replacing lost expo revenue. I’ve got bad news for you. Virtual expos will never be able to come close to replacing the revenue generated from your face-to-face expo. Here’s some of our learnings: 1. Corporate Booth In the good ole days, companies would hire a booth builder to design, build and maintain their displays. In the virtual world, we ask … [Read more...]
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