This is a guest post by Joy S. Davis, CAE, based on an email she sent to me after reading Lisa Block’s recent post, “I Am Sorry, But We Are Not All Fine.” Joy is Managing Director, Member Products, for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Not too long ago, I gently asked my Executive Director to stop opening her weekly columns to members with a depressing reminder of COVID-19 and how weird things are right now. She’s a very upbeat, can-do kind of person, and her columns are … [Read more...]
I Am Sorry, but We Are Not All “Fine”
I was inspired by a post by Lisa Cowley, CEO of Beacon, who penned a moving article entitled “It Is Okay Not to Be Okay.” I recommend you read her moving story and then come back. Some days, I can relate! Application for Associations It’s getting harder and harder to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. Prognosticators and industry cheerleaders keep telling us that things will get back to normal…but who can say what normal is? Or if we even want to go back to the way … [Read more...]
Expos Don’t Work Well in a Virtual Environment
Virtual Expo Truths Nearly every conference and trade show professional is searching for that perfect virtual platform or pricing model for replacing lost expo revenue. I’ve got bad news for you. Virtual expos will never be able to come close to replacing the revenue generated from your face-to-face expo. Here’s some of our learnings: 1. Corporate Booth In the good ole days, companies would hire a booth builder to design, build and maintain their displays. In the virtual world, we ask … [Read more...]
Does the Perfect Virtual Event Platform Exist?
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” and many are adding features and improvements on a regular basis. Since most solutions were created post-pandemic, conducting due diligence … [Read more...]
[WEBINAR] What a Difference Strategy Makes: Behind the Scenes of American Psychological Association’s 2020 Virtual
A virtual experience successful beyond their wildest dreams? You bettcha. Hear from two key executives from the APA on how they strategically turned a challenge into an opportunity to bring their community together like never before. They themed each day around relevant content, particularly via general sessions, and turned networking on its ear. Exhibitors? Not this time around. Learn about what worked, what they would have changed, and how they plan to approach their 2021 event. Join us on … [Read more...]
[Webinar] INFLUENCE 2020, National Speakers Association Virtual Experience
Meet the brains behind the design of the highly successful National Speakers Association’s INFLUENCE 2020 Virtual in August. Discover how they created memorable experiences, facilitated networking and delivered inspiring general sessions. Understand the strategy behind transforming a 3-day event into an 8-week virtual experience that launched their new digital vault. Hear testimonials from first-hand attendees--experts in the meeting and event space--who can’t stop singing the virtual … [Read more...]
Event Recovery Food Chain
The harsh reality of an elongated recovery for the live events industry has settled in, as we wrote about back in March when we crafted the Event Recovery Food Chain. At the time, we stated, “Hotels and the entire events supply chain need to understand that we won’t fully recover until we help conference and show organizers regain their top-line attendance and revenue.” In fact, full recovery for U.S. hotel demand and room revenue is unlikely to happen until 2023 and 2024, respectively, … [Read more...]
Conference Innovation While Traveling at Warp Speed
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, creative and smarter as a team. We are in the middle, I hope, of an extraordinary time in the meetings industry. Associations are struggling with … [Read more...]
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