7 Design Considerations for Your Conference Hub February 16, 2022 by Dave Lutz High-tech user conferences like Dreamforce and Microsoft Ignite have been designing innovative hub spaces to engage and nurture their top customers for years. While some of the elements in these areas can be costly to implement, they don’t have to break the budget. Creating a town-square-like experience can help grow your community through valuable connections. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference hub, experience design, hub experience
I Think We Cracked the Code on Digital Networking! June 1, 2021 by Sarah Michel If you missed our recent webinar on Cracking the Code on Digital Networking, you can watch it on-demand. It is well worth your time to learn from two masters: Amanda Kaiser (pictured, top right) and Arianna Rehak (pictured, bottom), co-founders of the 2021 Virtual Networking Incubator. We had a lot of ground to cover and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Hybrid & Virtual, Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , conference networking, connections, digital networking, hybrid conferences, hybrid networking, innovations in networking, virtual networking
My Turbulent Love Affair With Digital-Event Networking May 3, 2021 by Sarah Michel I have been a loyal and passionate disciple of networking for all of my adult life. I have spent decades learning, speaking and writing about it. Yet when our world was turned upside down last March, and all meaningful connection with everyone was forced into a digital world, I suddenly felt like I lost my … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , digital conferences, hybrid conferences, networking, networking online, virtual conferences, virtual networking
PCMA’s First Omnichannel Convening Leaders: The Great, the Good and the Not So… January 21, 2021 by Lisa Block I was excited to attend PCMA’s Omnichannel Convening Leaders event last week. Having attended more than 20 of PCMA’s Annual Meetings over the years (both in person and virtually), I expected high energy, experimental delivery and great content. I wasn’t expecting to connect with my friends or to feel the same high I get from … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , association insights, Convening Leaders, hybrid, omnichannel, PCMA, PCMA's Convening Leaders, virtual
Key Takeaways from PCMA’s Convening Leaders 2020 January 21, 2020 by Lisa Block The Professional Convention Management Association’s Convening Leaders in San Francisco In early January served as an engaging and energizing way to kick off a new year and a new decade. I’ve been a regular attendee and active volunteer in PCMA for over 25 years and continue to be impressed at their willingness to take risks … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , central hub, central zone, Convening Leaders, finding your tribe, networking, PCMA, Professional Convention Management Association
Do You Really Have Them at Hello? Rethinking Your First-Timer Strategy November 6, 2019 by Sarah Michel One of my biggest pet peeves is the way some conferences approach first-time attendees. Being intentional and having a plan for how you welcome someone who is experiencing your conference for the first time is not only the right thing to do, it’s also a smart attendee acquisition strategy. It’s a pivotal time to onboard … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , connections, connexity networking, first-timer, first-timer event, onboarding, solo attendee
Transform Your Expo into a Networking and Learning Destination August 28, 2019 by Sarah Michel Expos are the most disrupted element of association conferences today. If you’re still using “tradeshow,” “market place” or “exhibit hall” as names for the area where you feature solution providers—who are there to help your attendees deal with the problems and challenges they’re facing—it’s time for a rebrand. Attendees make buying decisions so differently now, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , exhibit hall, expo, market place, solutions center, solutions circles
Three Core Conference Planning Tenets To Master And Skillfully Apply May 18, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Does your conference committee practice organized abandonment and avoid no-bottom-line-mindsets? What is their capacity to see opportunities in the mist of change? How are they at focusing on the purpose, goals and target market of the conference when making decisions? These three principles are vital to maintaining a healthy, strong conference. Often conference planning members … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Event Planning Tagged With: , conference emerging practices, conference tenets, no-bottom-line-mentality, no-bottom-line-mindset, organize for opportunity, organized abandonment, strategic alignment
Conferences Need More Sharing April 26, 2018 by Dave Lutz One of the strongest intangible attributes of a healthy conference is how much sharing takes place. Too often, competition and self-interest get in the way of sharing what’s most helpful. Professions that deliver conference sessions with a high level of sharing – not diluted or generalized from the stage – are often in fields linked … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Conference Networking Tagged With: , interactivity, networking, participatory learning, small-group conversations, speaker coaching
The Crisis of Connection February 2, 2018 by Sarah Michel We’re lonely. And not just a little lonely. We’re experiencing a global epidemic level of loneliness. Last week, the U.K. appointed Tracey Crouch as the Minister of Loneliness after the British parliament released a five-year study on loneliness that found more than 9 million people in the country reported they often or always feel lonely. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking, Experience Design Tagged With: , association insights, attendance marketing, conference planning, connexity, cultivating connection, epidemic of loneliness, face-to-face connection, networking, radical hospitality.
