Velvet Chainsaw

MAY 3, 2017

Most conferences are stuck in a rut! So how do you create a conference experience that is not like all the others? Start by considering one or more of these conference big ideas. They are the conference planning road less traveled that harvests success! Big Conference Ideas On The Road Less Traveled Part 1.

Travel 304

Travel Conference Food and Beverage Conference Planning 304

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 4, 2018

As conference organizers, why can’t we also have a fun, fulfilling, and collaborative experience planning and designing the conference? And our planning team members should too. Here are six ways to focus on designing your team’s experience during your next conference planning process. (I confess: I have!).

Conference 271

Conference Conference Planning Conference Design Meetings 271

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 21, 2016

When Conference Plans Land On Chutes. So many conference leaders, organizers and planning teams are obsessed with details, logistics and planning. Their plans actually obscure their conference’s vision. Their attention to detail and efficiency eclipses the conference purpose.

Conference Planning 150

Conference Planning Conference Tech Speakers 150

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 27, 2018

Who wants to attend a common, ordinary, ho-hum, everyday , I’m-just-like-all-the-others traditional conference? And who wants to plan or sell one? Your conference growth and revenue depends upon repeat paying attendees year after year. And your customer loyalty is built upon making your common conference uncommon.

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Conference Speakers Technology Venues 330

Velvet Chainsaw

MAY 4, 2017

This list of conference big ideas just doesn’t belong to the traditional, average conference planning process. Nor are they for the meeting professional looking for the next trendy trend to implement. Big Conference Ideas On The Road Less Traveled Part 2. Forming Teams Of Conference Culture Mavens.

Conference 218

Conference Meetings Conference Planning Education 218

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 14, 2016

Why do so many people rate the conference experience as stale, predictable and average at best? Why do conference leaders miss the mark at preparing their own unique DNA conference experience? Why do so many conference organizers miss the opportunity to create a matchless thumbprint on their event’s identity?

Conference Planning 150

Conference Planning Conference Marketing Meetings 150

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 8, 2016

Big business, conferences, education, government, medicine, membership associations, nonprofits, professional societies, religious organizations, trade organizations, etc. Yes, your conference and your membership organization are customary, standard institutions. The same is happening in the association and meetings industry.

Conference 394

Conference Government Education Meetings 394

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 25, 2018

Too often conference and meeting professionals assume that their role is best suited to planning and executing the conference. I get that from the education section or the conference technical teams.”. They own designing the conference customers experience journey. From Touchpoints To Customer Journeys.

Conference 240

Conference Education Fashion 2016 240

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 14, 2017

The mass-personalization wave that is dramatically changing what and how we buy as consumers has application to conferences. I’ve been doing a lot of research and have learned that personalization can be achieved in a number of ways: Individualized — The customer gets exactly what meets their preferences or needs.

Conference 308

Conference 2017 Hospitality Tech 308

Eventmobi

MAY 23, 2024

A well-planned and executed conference will do wonders for your organization. A conference can help you achieve these things—if you host it correctly. To ensure your conference is a smashing success, invest in conference management. Keep reading this comprehensive guide to learn: What is a Conference?

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Conference Management Speakers Event Apps 289

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 29, 2018

Conference organizers and their planning teams should understand, identify and quash organizational debt. Refactor is a technology concept that meeting professionals can use as a metaphor. Refactoring As A Metaphor For Conference Improvement. Thus we refactor to improve the conference experience for our customers.

Conference 231

Conference Conference Planning Management Technology 231

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 21, 2018

The North Star is the perfect metaphor for your annual conference purpose. When your conference purpose serves as a North Star, it guides all decisions, tasks, behaviors and strategy. Uncovering Your North Star Conviction To Find Conference True Target Market. What’s your conference conviction?

Conference 261

Conference Conference Planning Sponsorships Marketing 261

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 31, 2017

As a conference organizer, how purpose-driven are you? Successful conference organizers are purpose-driven! They design conference experiences that become meaning-making opportunities for their participants. And they make their planning teams’ work important. Purpose-Driven Conference Organizers’ Mindset.

Conference 199

Conference Conference Planning Education Meetings 199

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 10, 2019

It’s hard for conference organizers to stick to planning the essential elements of their events. As a conference professional, it is your mission each day to keep your focus on the essential elements of your event for your customers’ sake. Some of essentialism’s guiding ideas apply well to business and conferences.

Conference 310

Conference Social Media Entertainment Technology 310

Velvet Chainsaw

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

Is your annual meeting more like a time capsule or a time machine? Conferences that are like time capsules promote and preserve nostalgia and the past. Conferences that are like time machines teleport people to the future so they can discover what’s next. Meeting Planning Evolves. Today, our jobs are evolving.

Meetings 299

Meetings Meeting Planning Conference Government 299

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 10, 2017

In order to design relevant education and networking experiences at our conferences, we need to be focused to the point of obsession with our target audience. Over the past 18 months, we’ve carefully scrubbed and analyzed the attendance of 20 major conferences. Who has the professional development budget to attend every year?

Conference 288

Conference Education 2017 Speakers 288

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 13, 2018

Now imagine someone asking your conference participants that question. Then they would launch into a passionate description of your event’s annual Party with a Purpose, its pre-conference feel-good community service projects and its ongoing student scholarship fundraisers. Your Conference Purpose. How would they respond?

Conference 230

Conference Conference Planning Sustainability Meetings 230

Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

As a conference organizer, you can seed your annual meeting with experiences that nurture authentic conversations, deep connections and community. You can design, structure and facilitate conference experiences that foster and reclaim meaningful dialogue in an age of digital disruptions. Groups matter!

Conference 292

Conference Education Technology Meetings 292

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 23, 2016

Savvy 21st Century conference organizers can effectively demonstrate strategic learning alignment of their conference networking and education programming. Smart conference professionals are skilled at articulating the value of their event’s networking and learning opportunities. We all know our conferences need more innovation!

Conference 256

Conference Conference Networking Education Speakers 256

Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

Most annual meetings have used the same template agenda for decades. If you want to breathe new life into your conference, and increase relevance for next-generation attendees, start with this kill/change list. Annual Business Meeting. Annual Meeting Brand. They just replace the filling each year.

Meetings 307

Meetings Trade Shows 2017 Financial 307

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 6, 2017

What’s the role of the 21st Century meeting and conference professional? Perform very straight forward, transactional, functional tasks related to the logistics of conferences, meetings and events. Conference Customers Demand More. First, conference customers are demanding more from an event’s experience.

Meetings 273

Meetings Conference Management Conference Planning 273

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 11, 2019

So is this the right strategy for your association and conference? It’s not uncommon to see student pricing that is $200–$300 below the per-person direct meeting costs. When looking at the annual meeting repeat attendance of students into the early years of their career, we usually see conversion rates below 20 percent.

Conference 252

Conference Education 2018 Travel 252

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 20, 2016

And the conference and events you plan can be unique too. As a one-of-a-kind meeting professional, you are called to create one-of-a-kind conferences. But too many meeting professionals are copycats! Still they just copy what everyone else is doing with their conference. Caged Conference Visions.

Conference 236

Conference Events Meetings Marketing 236

InitLive

MARCH 4, 2021

Conferences are an important part of professional development and business networking for all industries. A successful conference can come in all shapes and sizes, from 200 people over a weekend to 15,000 for a week. InitLive has had the privilege of working with many conferences, some of which are the largest in their industry.

Conference Planning 107

Conference Planning Conference Sponsorships Speakers 107

Eventmobi

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

With so many moving parts to juggle, planning a conference can seem like a daunting task. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through how to plan a conference from A to Z. What Does It Take to Plan a Conference? But how long does it take to plan a conference?

Conference 195

Conference Sponsorships Speakers Advertising 195

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 3, 2016

Just like regular preventive maintenance for your car, your conference needs regular preventive maintenance. The first place to start with a conference check-up is collecting the right data. Are you guilty of touting feel-good conference vanity metrics? We repeatedly confuse our conference activity for healthy vital signs.

Conference 231

Conference Financial Sustainability Meetings 231

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 24, 2018

Who owns the overall experience that customers have at your conference? Who oversees and manages the conference customers’ journey? Or perhaps no one is considering the holistic experience of your conference customer? Do you know what your conference target market customer wants? Owning The Conference Customer Experience.

Conference 225

Conference Speakers Marketing Management 225

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 26, 2018

Conference and meeting professionals like action when planning their events. Herein likes one of their challenges when starting a conference improvement process. Herein likes one of their challenges when starting a conference improvement process. The Traditional Present-Forward Planning Mindset.

Meetings 42

Meetings Fashion Conference Conference Planning 42

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 27, 2017

Most conferences offer some type of learning opportunities for their participants. Traditionally, the goal of conference education is to deliver as much information as possible as fast as possible to as many people as possible. We failed at creating authentic deep learning opportunities at conferences. Challenging Mental Models.

Conference 256

Conference Education Speakers Meetings 256

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 26, 2018

Within the conference arena, innovation is the process through which new value is created and delivered to customers. Our conferences need innovation in processes, systems and design more than it needs new inventions in technology. Innovation within the conference and meetings space is going to be about the way we do conferences.

Conference 199

Conference Conference Planning Consulting Technology 199

Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Are you making some changes to your annual conference? If you are, you need a conference intrapreneur! More than just one intrapreneur, you need a conference planning culture of intrapreneurship. Ultimately, you’ll want to develop a conference team of intrapreneurs. And a culture of conference intrapreneurship too.

Conference 150

Conference Conference Planning Marketing Meetings 150

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 13, 2018

If there’s something strange in your conference-hood. Our cognitive frameworks—our mental models and paradigms—shape our thinking, behavior, operations and success of our conferences. We falsely believe that future conferences are just an extension of the past. Paradigm: We allocate resources to improve our conference logistics.

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Conference Marketing Management Meetings 210

Socio Events

AUGUST 4, 2022

Anybody who has ever planned a conference knows the value of flexibility and engagement. The more inclusive, agile, and captivating your event is, the greater chance you have of meeting your goals and reaching a wider audience. That said, many event planners are still new to virtual event planning—and that’s ok.

Conference Planning 97

Conference Planning Conference Event Apps Speakers 97

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 18, 2018

Established, successful conferences have leadership that are usually adept at incrementally improving their event each year. One improvement tactic–curating conference programming that meets your customers’ needs–is foundational yet proving to be insufficient for innovation and new growth.

Conference 199

Conference Trade Shows Speakers Marketing 199

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 22, 2017

You can make your conference the purple cow of all conference experiences. By creating conference experiences that help your participants think smarter! This means designing conference experiences that go full frontal ! The Traditional Low Level Cognitive Conference. Most conference experiences are passive.

Conference 207

Conference Speakers Education Meetings 207

Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 21, 2017

We outlined the first 10 things you need to kill — from making your annual business meeting part of your general session to promoting invitation-only events — in order to bring your meeting up to speed. For most conference committees (and next-gen participants), they’re a snore. Here are the next 10 elements to knock off.

Meetings 218

Meetings Fashion Speakers Advertising 218

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 20, 2017

It’s time to take your conference full frontal! It’s time to challenge and encourage your conference stakeholders to focus on engaging their brains at a higher level. It’s time to develop conference experiences that help your stakeholders think smarter. So how do we put full frontal into practice in our conferences?

Conference 199

Conference Negotiating Marketing Management 199