Meeting the Needs of Lifelong Learners November 9, 2023 by Dave Lutz Our friends at Leading Learning/Tagoras are conducting a survey to help guide your association’s future learning strategy. We’re sharing this because Leading Learning has a great track record of doing high-quality research and sharing the insights with those participating in the survey. To contribute and learn about the trends that will have the most impact … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education
Two Tensions Keeping Senior Event Professionals Up at Night October 26, 2023 by Dave Lutz According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), the business-to-business exhibition industry is still in recovery mode. The bad news is that full year performance for 2023 participation and revenues is expected to be 9.5% below 2019. The good news is that 2024 is expected to eclipse 2019 results by 3.6%. (One can only … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Configurable Conference Journeys August 9, 2023 by Dave Lutz For many annual meetings, the Great Resignation has resulted in erosion of loyal, regular attendees and an increase in first-timers, whose experience can be improved with guidance on the best course for them to follow during your program. In his book, The Paradox of Choice, author Barry Schwartz writes: “Learning to choose is hard. Learning … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design
Key Vendor Service-Level Expectations May 25, 2023 by Dave Lutz Key vendors who service the events industry lost a great deal of experienced talent during the pandemic and they haven’t fully restaffed. Here’s how event organizers can ensure they are still getting the service they require. Catering and convention services managers, AV/production project managers/producers, general service contractors, and housing and registration service providers — these … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Event Technology
Putting Plan B into Play for Your Main Stage April 12, 2023 by Dave Lutz Last fall, two of our consulting clients were scheduled to have their annual conferences in Orlando. In late September, Hurricane Ian pummeled central Florida, triggering a significant number of flight cancellations. Group No. 1 had no choice but to cancel its in-person event. Fortunately, this association had already planned a digital version of the conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design
Anti-Discrimination Resources for Associations April 4, 2023 by Dave Lutz IStock Photo by Bulat Silvia Last year’s Supreme Court ruling that repealed Roe v. Wade, leading to some states legislating restrictive access to reproductive rights, are considered discriminatory practices to a growing number of professional associations. Some associations and meeting organizers are reevaluating their site-selection requirements for future meetings as well as how to mitigate … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association best practices, Conference site selection
Betsy Bair to Retire from VCC March 29, 2023 by Dave Lutz Betsy Bair, Vice President, Strategic Narratives at Velvet Chainsaw, will retire as of March 31, 2023. For the past seven years, Betsy has been instrumental in project managing many of VCC’s most complex client engagements. Her passion for studying and learning the business of each of our clients is unparalleled. Betsy is a client … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , Betsy Bair, retirement, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
Event Planning Has Risen in the Ranks of Most Stressful Jobs March 15, 2023 by Dave Lutz Before the pandemic, one could argue that jobs with life-and-death consequences were surely more stressful than planning an annual conference. But things have changed. According to a study by the World Scholarship Vault, event planner stress levels are hitting a new high — the third-most stressful job in the world for 2023. Meanwhile, nearly every article … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , annual meeting, conference, convention, event planner stressful job, high costs, lower revenue, stressful job
David Beckett Joins the Velvet Chainsaw Team December 12, 2022 by Dave Lutz We are extremely excited to welcome David Beckett, Vice President, Business Model & Performance to the Velvet Chainsaw Consulting team! To me, this is kind of like getting the band back together! I had the privilege to hire and work closely with David at Experient as well as when I was on the board of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , business model expertise, David Beckett, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
Panel Sessions 3.0 for 2023 December 7, 2022 by Dave Lutz For years I’ve been a fan of bringing in more outside voices to make mainstage sessions more valuable and deliver more impact. While keynote speakers can still be a significant attendance driver, I think 2023 is the year to resurrect the industry panel. What you don’t want to do is go back to the same … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , new panel formats, panel formats, panels 3.0, panels for 2023, trending panel formats
