Is Your Conference EPIC? July 31, 2012 by Jeff Hurt The challenge of many conferences today is that they are like local, indigenous populations using their native tongue trying to talk to foreign immigrants. The traditional conference experience is out of touch, disconnected and using an outdated model. It fails to connect with today’s generations. Well, it’s time your conference went EPIC! Four Stages Of … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference education, conferences, participatory culture, participatory learning
You Need These Conference Learning Game Changers July 26, 2012 by Jeff Hurt We need more game changing, transformative learning at our conferences! We need more learning. Deeper learning. More effective education that leads to transformative, productive, professional change. We need more peer sharing and peer learning. We need more education experiences based on scientific evidence of how the adult brain learns. We need conferences to be the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning strategies, brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, participatory learning
Will Conferences Of The Future Get Unstuck? July 23, 2012 by Jeff Hurt The question isn’t whether most annual meetings and conferences are stuck. Just look at the data from some annual meetings. These conferences have declines in registration, participation in general sessions and education breakouts, sponsorship and exhibitors. Their growth in new attendees wanes. Their customer loyalty is steadily decreasing. The question is what it will take … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals
The Three Vs Of Big Data As Applied To Conferences July 20, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Many conference organizers are familiar with the saying location, location, location! They know that their conference location has to be attractive to their prospective customers or they won’t attend. Some organizers know the 4Ps of marketing: product, promotion, place and price. So how many meeting professionals are familiar with the 3Vs of big data? Defining … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference data collection, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals
Your Conference Competitiveness Depends Upon Flexing Big Data Muscles July 19, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Everyone seems to be talking about the tech trend Big Data! According to IBM’s 2011 CIO report of 3,000 global companies, more than 80% identified business analytics from big data as their top priority for business competitiveness. Technology guru Graham Oakes says that 90% of the data ever created has been created in the last … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference data collection, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals
Six Conference Organizer Operating Styles: Which Are You? July 18, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Many CEOs name driving sustained and steady top-line growth as their top priority for their annual meeting. Yet how many conference organizers and meeting professionals see driving sustained growth as their priority? Even further, how many conference organizers see driving the CEO’s agenda as an essential objective of their conference? Is it even a wonder … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals
Your Attendees Are More Than Transactions. They Are Unique Individuals! July 17, 2012 by Jeff Hurt The traditional approach to understanding your conference attendees has been to consolidate and analyze their transactions, attendance and activities at various events. Knowing the customer has been confined to segmentation, statistical averages and historical inferences. This is no longer enough! Organizations need to have a much more holistic view of their customer based on how … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attracting attendees, conference best practices, conferences, customer, meeting planning best practices
Our Ability To Learn Has Deep Roots In Our Ability To Talk To Others July 16, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Listening is often the only thing attendees do in formal learning environments. Speakers talk. Audiences listen. They listen to keynote speakers at conferences. They listen to presenters in workshops. They listen to industry speakers in education sessions. They listen to staff in HR trainings. The truth is that all that listening amounts to very little … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, lecture, presentation best practices, presenter, speaker, speaker tips
Conferences Should Mirror These CEO Employee Expectations July 13, 2012 by Jeff Hurt 1,700+ CEOs in 64 countries identified collaboration, agility, mining connections and relationships, and innovation through partnering as the top critical traits that their employees need today. According to CEOs, the top four personal characteristics most critical for employees success were: collaboration, communicative, creative and flexible. CEOs seek employees who will thrive in an open environment. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , collaboration, conference best practices, conference education, conferences, meeting planning best practices, networks, Social Media
Turning Attendees Into Repeat Loyal Customers July 6, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Most conference organizers focus on meeting their paid attendee goals for their upcoming annual event. They are so focused on that one event that they rarely take time to step back and think about the sustainability of the event for the next several years. They concentrate all of their energy, time and resources on meeting … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Event ROC, Event ROI, loyalty, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals, return on attendee, return on customer
