The Next Frontier Of Conference Improvement: Conference Education February 25, 2015 by Dave Lutz Traditional conference education models have lost their relevance. The process of distributing a call for session and speaker submissions, selecting experts that transmit and dispense information, and packaging it as professional development for the masses is overdone. One-size-fits-all education doesn’t work anymore. We are in the midst of great workplace disruption, brought on by a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, conference best practices, conference education, peer-based learning
Borrowing Great Ideas Leads To The Risks Associated With Mimicry January 20, 2015 by Dave Lutz We seem to always be looking for the next quick tip, idea, or feature to implement for our next conference. But not so fast — there’s some work that needs to be done first. Just copying someone else’s success and ideas is an easy way out. Give Me Your Great Ideas…Fast! We like to see … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, conference best practices, conference education, copying great ideas, education best practices, exhibit, Learning Lounge, list education sessions, mimicry
Growing Conference Technology Competency To Increase Your Value November 21, 2014 by Dave Lutz As a conference organizer, how would you rank your competency regarding conference technologies like registration, speaker management databases, exhibits, conference apps, wayfinding signage, email marketing, CRM data bases and social media? Technology geek, technophobe or somewhere in between? The most effective and valuable meeting professionals are squarely in the middle. Why Two Tech Extremes Don’t … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Technology Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference experience, conference technology, conferences, meeting professional
Your Conference Is Offering Learning Scrap That Is Not Even Worth Recycling October 6, 2014 by Dave Lutz Your conference and association value proposition is under attack! Education and networking are two benefits of conference attendance and association membership. Yet, education is being disrupted in major ways. When employees spend too much time in education offerings that do not translate into increased performance and productivity, it is learning scrap. It’s wasted information, knowledge … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning strategies, association best practices, conference best practices, conference education, disruptive forces, disruptors, learning scrap, learning trends
Conference Improvement Starts With A Focus On The Attendee Experience September 29, 2014 by Dave Lutz Improving attendee experiences is a top priority for the majority of conference planners. Yet few of us plan the attendee experience correctly. We approach conference planning from the inside-out. Considering the attendee experience is an afterthought. Most conference improvement plans look something like this: Systems & Resources → Procedures → Touchpoints → Interactions → Experiences. Although we don’t usually … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, conference best practices, customer, customer empathy, meeting, meeting planning best practices, user experience design, UXD
Association Virtual Event Strategy Benchmarking August 20, 2014 by Dave Lutz Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. – Ferris Bueller Virtual event strategies are evolving fast too! First, many tried to monetize them (instead of viewing them as a campaign). Next, quite a few associations embraced hybrid as their future. Now we’re seeing … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , adult learning, Education & Adult Learning, technology, virtual attendee
Why You Need to Adopt a Sharing Economy to Keep your Conference Relevant August 18, 2014 by Dave Lutz It’s smart. It’s social. It’s green. It’s a movement towards a sharing economy. And the direction your next-gen attendee is headed. Collaborative consumption is about shared access to products and services. Sharing goods and services is considered smart, social, green, and aligns with the values of your next-generation conference participants. Time magazine has identified it … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , Collaborative Consumption, conference best practices, conference planning, meeting planning, Sharing
Ambush Marketing: 4 Ways to Diffuse Conference Scammers July 24, 2014 by Dave Lutz A few practices keep chipping away at the integrity of professional events. Chief among them are outboarding, when companies bypass exhibiting or sponsoring and set up shop on the fringe of your event, and suitcasing, which refers to non-exhibiting sellers who work the aisles or hallways. Lobby rats — non-registered folks who hang out in … [Read more…] Filed Under: Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , Ambush Marketing, conference best practices, outboarding, suitcasing, tradeshow
Donna Kastner Promoted to Vice President July 7, 2014 by Dave Lutz I’m excited to announce that Donna Kastner has been promoted to VP, Expo/Sponsor Sales & Activation at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting! Donna’s contributions to our client consulting projects and innovation have grown steadily since joining our team two and a half years ago. Most notably, she’s led the charge for progressing our consulting muscles in the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , exhibit, exhibit sales, promoted, sponsor, sponsor acquisition, sponsor activation
Going All-In for Conference Improvement June 17, 2014 by Dave Lutz You may have noticed that our blog post frequency slowed down a bit in May. Our team was busy upgrading and converting our blog and website. We’re happy to announce that work is complete and the resources available to the industry we love are more accessible and plentiful than ever! We appreciate and value, you, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , conference improvement, resources
