Identifying Conference Targets Of Opportunity For Growth October 3, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Often “it” occurs after several years of success. Your conference attendance, exhibitors and revenues reach a plateau. Or they start to decline. Why does “it” haunt and hunt your once-successful conference? You have never learned how to acquire new business. Or you’ve depended on repeat business. Or you’ve expected new registrants to arrive at your … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Business Model Tagged With: , attendee growth, attracting attendees, conference best practices, conference revenue models, conferences, market segmentation, meeting planning best practices
Using Emotional Marketing Value To Create Conference Education Titles That Attract Not Repel September 30, 2011 by Jeff Hurt You’re browsing a conference website. The dates look good. The city is appealing to you. The hotel seems to offer a reasonable rate. The schedule is jam-packed with offerings. So does the conference offer anything of education value? You click the link to the education sessions. There you see a long list of hyperlinked session … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference session descriptions, conference session titles, conferences, meeting planner, presentation best practices, professional development, writing good conference session descriptions
Disrupting Conferences: 6 Nonprofit Institution Disconnects September 28, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Are we witnessing a digital revolution? Or digital evolution? Can we simply adapt and apply old skills to new contexts? Or do we need to learn new ways of thinking, doing and being? One thing is certain. Our nonprofit institutions are dynamic, complex systems embedded within an even more dynamic, complex übersystem: human society. The … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association trends, conferences, disruptive innovation, disruptive technologies, meeting industry trends, nonprofit predictions, nonprofit trends
Your Conference Audience Is Dead September 27, 2011 by Jeff Hurt It used to be that face to face presentations were one of the most important places people would go to get new, cutting-edge, critical information. They would pay a conference registration fee, airfare, lodging and expenses to attend a conference just to get that new information. But that has changed with the click of the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , active participation, audience expectations, conference best practices, conferences, engagement, lecture, meeting planning best practices, participatory design
Connecting The Dots Critical To Brain-Friendly Conference Learning September 22, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Do you remember the children’s activity connect the dots? This paper and pencil puzzle contained a sequence of numbered or lettered dots. Your task was to draw a line connecting dots in the right series so that the outline of an object was revealed. As we got older, the dot to dot activities became more … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
Creating A Brain-Friendly Not Brain-Adverse Event September 21, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Imagine going to a party where you meet a bunch of new people. Which faces will you remember? Which names will you recall? You’ll probably remember the woman who made you laugh. The man who accidentally spilled his drink on you. The man who made your face turn red from embarrassment. And the women who … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
Using AGES To Design Brain Friendly Conferences September 20, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Is your conference experience one that hurts your participants’ brains or one that helps their brains learn? In other words, is your conference brain-adverse or brain-friendly? Does the experience align with how your attendees’ brains work? Or does it work against the brain’s natural systems, shutting it down from learning? Two Critical Conference Factors To … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , brain science education, brain-friendly conferences, brain-friendly meetings, conference best practices, conference education, conference tips, conferences, meeting industry trends, meeting planning best practices
We Need A New Conference Drug September 19, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I want a new drug One that won’t make me sick One that won’t make me crash my car Or make me feel three feet thick I want a new drug One that will stop the flow Of conference information indigestion So that I can grow (With apologies to Huey Lewis And The News) Needed: … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional, speaker tips
Co-Locating Your Conference Can Be Risky And Rewarding September 13, 2011 by Dave Lutz Co-locating your conference can be a high-risk, high-reward proposition. Before you decide to co-locate your conference with another conference, you need to view the decision through a strategic long-term lens. Defining Co-Location At the basic level, co-locating a conference is placing two or more conferences at the same location, at the same time. Some organizers … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , co-location, conference best practices, conferences, meeting planning, meeting planning best practices, tradeshow, tradeshow best practices
Is Your Conference Like A Five Course Meal Or A Smorgasbord Buffet? September 9, 2011 by Jeff Hurt If you had a choice and money was not a concern, which would you prefer? A fine dining five course dinner or an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord buffet? I prefer a fine dining five course meal anytime. Smorgasbord All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Smorgasbord buffets are usually prepared fast, easily and inexpensively. They are a popular method for feeding a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices, strategic planning
