Conference Innovation While Traveling at Warp Speed July 23, 2020 by Lisa Block Navigating change during a crisis is not for the faint of heart. During my career leading association event teams, I regularly recalibrated and redefined team member roles in order to drive innovation and improve our meeting experiences. Not every effort was a rousing success but attempting to inject new conference elements made us more nimble, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Event Planning, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , benchmarks, confererence planners, event planners, hybrid conferences, meeting planner roles, pandemic, virtual conference, virtual conferences
If You Build It, Will They Come? How Two Large Fall Shows Are Forging Ahead June 16, 2020 by Betsy Bair As many associations wrestle with decisions for their fall conferences and shows, the question on everyone’s mind is, if you build it, will they come? Join this interactive webinar to learn how organizers of two very large events—one a trade association and the other professional—are tackling, planning and preparing for this fall. They have two … [Read more…] Filed Under: Hybrid & Virtual, Ramblings Tagged With: , cancellation, COVID-19, hybrid, pivot, transform, virtual meetings
The Future of Face-to-Face is Cloudy May 27, 2020 by Lisa Block I am getting a little overwhelmed by the many predictions that so-called experts are sharing about the future of face-to-face meetings. The range of opinions–from wild optimism to frightening pessimism–is exhausting to wade through. The news cycle of 24/7 pandemic coverage, conversation and debate has obscured the fact that travel and meeting attendance are not … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Hybrid & Virtual
Monetizing Your Virtual Conference When Competing with Free April 30, 2020 by Dave Lutz If you’re inbox is anything like mine, you could spend a good portion of our day consuming webinars, virtual events and networking in Zoom or Facebook Messenger Happy Hours. We’re on content overload and it’s only going to get noisier as the pandemic lingers. The dynamics that we’re seeing impact conferences and their business models … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Conference Education, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , emerging models, freemium, monetization, online conference, online event, virtual event
Virtual Events: Strategy Before Execution April 28, 2020 by Lisa Block My mother used to tell us that “things are going to be different” as we drove home from our annual summer beach vacation. It was her way of getting the family focused on the upcoming routine and discipline of school and work. I remember feeling that her words were both a warning and a promise of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , how to executive virtual events, online strategy, virtual events, webinar fatigue
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
Renegotiating Live Event Agreements When All Parties Are Innocent Victims April 13, 2020 by Dave Lutz This is the third 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, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , buyer's market, commissions, contracts, COVID-19, negotiation, renegotiation, seller's market
Conference Go/No-Go Decisions in a Pandemic April 9, 2020 by Dave Lutz This is the second in a series of blog 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: Business Model, Event Planning, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , coronavirus, COVID-19, FAQs, lead time, pandemic, refunds, scenario planning, transparency
Go Forward, Cancel, Postpone, Wash Your Hands, Rinse … and Repeat March 12, 2020 by Lisa Block The disruption to the live events industry due to the Pandemic COVID-19 is unprecedented and impossible to escape. With the mixed messages coming at us from so many different perspectives, it is difficult to gain clarity. What we may believe personally is sometimes in conflict with the practices organization and business leaders decide to follow. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , canceling, cancellation, checklist, coronovirus, COVID-19, pandemic
