Six Attributes of Successful Women’s Conferences October 20, 2020 by Dave Lutz 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 … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design
Does the Perfect Virtual Event Platform Exist? October 1, 2020 by Lisa Block The answer, based on my unscientific survey of a dozen association leaders, is a resounding no. Planners are wading through recommendations from colleagues, trusted vendors and online forums to find the best platform for their needs. And it’s a murky and often frustrating experience. While there are many excellent solutions out there, none are “perfect” … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Technology, Experience Design, Hybrid & Virtual
Steps You Should Be Taking Now for Your Fall Conference April 21, 2020 by Dave Lutz This is the fourth in a series of blogs posts, written collaboratively by our team, which uncover lessons learned in advising dozens of our clients on their events in the time of COVID-19. Although each situation has its own unique issues, we hope you find nuggets to help you with your disruption response and planning. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , COVID-19, leadership, negotiations, pandemic, social distancing, virtual events
[Video] 5 Tips to Guarantee Engagement at Your Virtual Event April 20, 2020 by Sarah Michel To design a virtual event with the participants in mind, you need to create an engaging, interactive experience that provides relevant content and promotes knowledge sharing and networking value—often the missing link in our new virtual reality. In this short video, we give you five tips to ensure that you’ll achieve amazing and impactful engagement … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , COVID-19, digital engagement, digital events, engagement, hybrid meetings, virtual events, webinars
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
Five-Step Framework for Effective Collaborative Design September 10, 2019 by Lisa Block Your conference strategy should include a plan to inject fresh content or experiences each year as part of an ongoing improvement process. There are a million ways to make these improvement plans. Some work and many don’t. Working with one of our clients, we devised a simple framework to help develop innovative plans for meaningful … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , annual meeting changes, change mangement, conference best practices, effective collaborative design, engagement, meeting planning best practices
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
Expo Decisions: Attendee Preferences over Exhibitors—Always August 6, 2019 by Dave Lutz For those of you who organize large annual conferences and trade shows, there undoubtedly is a chicken-vs.-egg debate. On the one hand, your organization might receive as much as 50 percent (or more) of your event’s revenue from supplier investments in exhibits, sponsorship and advertising categories, making it a priority. On the other hand, you … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , booth sales, exhibitor advisory, exhibitor advisory committee, exhibitor advisory council
Education Committee: More Advising and Curating, Less Slotting June 24, 2019 by Dave Lutz Most meeting organizers invest a significant amount of time creating the educational programming for their annual conference. Models vary, but most include a 15- to 20-person conference committee (slotters) and army of reviewers (graders). Progressive organizers are shifting to a blended model, where conference committees act more like content curators and advisors and less like … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , abstracts, curation, Education, education committee, grading, posters, rubric, slotting, submissions
