Conference Attendance Growth Realized Through Group Plans March 20, 2015 by Dave Lutz Most of the time, we don’t have a good handle on who is truly attending our conference. Seriously, we don’t. But there is a way to glean insight just by using emails provided at registration. Mining Registration Data for Insights One way to mine attendance data is to scrub and normalize company names based on … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Business Model Tagged With: , attendance analysis, conference best practices, meeting best practices
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
Defrosting New Conference Connections December 23, 2013 by Sarah Michel “It was awkward and painful,” my friend said. That’s how she described attending a professional meeting where she didn’t know anyone. She was at a loss for how to melt the ice and warm up to others. Especially professionals she perceived to have more experience and knowledge than her. Sound familiar? Here was someone who … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Networking Tagged With: , conference, conference best practices, meeting best practices, networking
Establishing A New Model To Select Conference Content And Programming December 4, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Is it time to end the speaker call for proposals? Does the traditional open call for topics and speakers actually meet the conference audience’s needs? The traditional call for volunteer and professional speakers is a roll of the dice that the submissions meet the needs of the conference attendees. Too often staff and committees rely … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , association best practices, conference best practices, conference curator, content-strategist-curator, curate, meeting best practices, meeting experience, meeting industry trends
Your Conference Speakers And Racism July 16, 2013 by Jeff Hurt The Zimmerman trial and CBS’ Big Brother racial scandal have put the discussions about race and discrimination front and center. Racism and discrimination are sensitive and delicate topics for sure. So how do you ensure that your conference speakers avoid racial and discriminatory language? How do you protect your organization from inappropriate behavior of a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Speaker Coaching Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices, speaker tips
Is Your Conference Churning Out Junk Information? April 30, 2013 by Jeff Hurt We live in world where overconsumption is the norm. We over consume things to keep up with the Jones and Smiths. We over consume food at all you can eat smorgasbord buffets and 24 hour drive thrus. We over consume information from a variety of sources. Today, we have factory farms that churn out junk … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, content, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices
Networking For Learning And What’s Next April 11, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Every first quarter I receive a string of emails from my undergraduate school inviting me to annual Homecoming and reunion. A couple months later, I start receiving emails from my high school inviting me back for my annual reunion. I decided a long time ago that I really didn’t want to relive my high school … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Conference Networking Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, networking
Reinventing, Reimagining And Rethinking Traditional Conferences April 10, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Activism, advocacy, associations, boardrooms, battlefields, churches, education, faith groups, governments, media, nonprofits, philanthropy, retail, technology and work are all being reinvented. We are rethinking and reimagining all of our traditional institutions. This includes the meetings industry’s traditional conference. Our conferences are being reinvented by people who don’t follow the accepted practices and unspoken rules. They … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , association, conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices
Is Your Conference Wounding Its Attendees? February 27, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Are you perpetually wounding your conference attendees with a one-way controlled experience that demands obedience over engagement? Do you view your attendees as a threat that can disrupt the controlled conference experience that you have designed? Enforcing Obedience Over Engagement I was reading the March/April 2012 Harvard Education Letter on school culture by Meira Levinson. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, engagement, meeting best practices, meeting planning best practices
Six Conference Space Properties To Transform Attendee Behavior June 15, 2012 by Jeff Hurt As a meeting professional, you have the power to identify and manipulate the properties of a space to foster specific behaviors and attitudes. These spatial characteristics can be fine tuned to create a unique attendee experience. And it all rests within the power of your planning. Six Properties That You Can Adjust Properties are the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference design, conferences, design for participation, meeting best practices, meeting space
