Your Conference Logo Needs Policing September 15, 2014 by Wendy Holliday Ok, you get it – Your Conference is a Brand. You’ve moved beyond the “annual meeting” into something more meaningful to your attendees. You’ve got your conference mission. You know how your conference will advance the profession and what’s in it for your participants. Now it is time to put your hard work into action. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference marketing, conference tips, event marketing, meeting planning best practices, visuals
You Must Recruit The Powerhouse Of Your Attendees’ Brains For Real Engagement September 11, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Have you ever had a slap-your-forehead-duh-moment? Without realizing it, you have literally tapped, one of the most important regions of your brain: the prefrontal cortex (PFC). It’s the area directly behind your forehead. The PFC is a powerhouse region of your brain. It controls whether your attendees are engaged at your event. You need to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, brain-friendly conferences, conference best practices
Conference & Trade Show Sponsors Want Relevance September 8, 2014 by Donna Kastner As we strive to deliver outstanding attendee experiences, our eyes turn to sponsorship. After all, somebody has to pay for this. Yet sponsorship tends to follow the same random path: Logos are slapped on every last bit of real estate. Banner ads and app alerts multiply. As the promotional noise increases, attendee attention plummets – thus making … [Read more…] Filed Under: Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , conference best practices, meeting planning best practices, sponsors, sponsorship best practices, sponsorship sales, tradeshow best practices
Attendee Experience The Next Frontier For Differentiation September 4, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conference experiences are very similar. They have similar schedules, receptions, general sessions, breakouts, exhibit halls, lecture-style education offerings, quality and price. They all look and feel alike. Too many conferences are on the verge of commoditization. One of the conference’s main offering—delivery of information disguised as education—is so widely available and mutually interchangeable with … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, conference best practices, conference experience, emotional experience, event experience, experience economy
365-Day Conferences Are Unrealistic September 3, 2014 by Sarah Michel We’ve been hearing it for years. Conference organizers have been on a quest to create a 365-day community around their big annual event. As a result, industry education sessions and event technology products have adopted the year-round concept and branding. But there’s a problem, attendees and exhibitors aren’t falling in line. They’ll give you their … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference ecommunity, conference tips, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices, social networking
Steal And Adapt These Double Gulp-Worthy Ideas For Your Next Conference August 28, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conference organizers and event professionals are always looking for the next great idea. I’ve recently come across several set-off-the-fireworks awesome event ideas. Consider borrowing them. And if you do steal them, make sure that you understand the principles underneath the issues they address. As well as how to adapt them to your context. Or … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , Big Ideas, conference best practices, meeting space, networking
Boost Your Strategic Thinking While Improving Your Memory Of Minutia August 26, 2014 by Jeff Hurt How strategic is your thinking? Do you crave information? Do you believe that more is actually better? Do you desire data, data and more data? If you hunger after more and better ideas at all cost, your info-craving habits actually zap your brain’s energy. The persistent pace of focusing on details makes it more difficult … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning strategies, conference best practices, education best practices, reflective thinking, strategic planning, strategic thinking, thinking
Lessons From Bruno Mars on Audience Engagement August 20, 2014 by Sarah Michel What can Bruno Mars teach us about audience engagement for our ballroom experiences? Plenty. Earlier this week, I witnessed 7,000 participants (from Linksters to Boomers) stand, clap, sing and dance for 75 minutes at his sold-out Denver Moonshine Jungle concert. If you saw his performance at the 2014 Super Bowl halftime, you already know the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , active participation, conference best practices, engagement, meeting planning best practices, virtual attendee
Why You Need to Adopt a Sharing Economy to Keep your Conference Relevant August 18, 2014 by Dave Lutz It’s smart. It’s social. It’s green. It’s a movement towards a sharing economy. And the direction your next-gen attendee is headed. Collaborative consumption is about shared access to products and services. Sharing goods and services is considered smart, social, green, and aligns with the values of your next-generation conference participants. Time magazine has identified it … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , Collaborative Consumption, conference best practices, conference planning, meeting planning, Sharing
All Brains Use These Four Things To Survive Conference Experiences August 15, 2014 by Jeff Hurt We are born with the capacity for fear and pleasure. Unfortunately, we are not born with the knowledge of what to fear. Or what gives pleasure. We learn those things. Our Brain’s Four Wants At A Conference Our brains survive most conference experiences. Regardless how good or how bad they are. It is rare to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult learning principles, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, education best practices, neuroscience
