Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 15, 2022

In my experience, most large conferences this year are realizing about 80 percent of their 2019 revenue performance. C) Investors help activate the sponsorship through their pre- and post-conference marketing. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association.

Sponsorships 370

Sponsorships Conference 2022 2019 370

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 26, 2018

One of the strongest intangible attributes of a healthy conference is how much sharing takes place. Professions that deliver conference sessions with a high level of sharing – not diluted or generalized from the stage – are often in fields linked to prevention, healthcare, education and philanthropy.

Conference 346

Conference Education Healthcare Speakers 346

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 2, 2019

Here’s what has changed: I’m convinced that “something for everyone” programming — including basic content for the novice or intermediate practitioner — is no longer the right strategy for positioning your conference as a can’t-miss experience. How Conference Sessions Can Deliver on Wisdom. Challenge Attendees to Be Problem Solvers.

Education 281

Education Conference 2019 2020 281

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 14, 2017

The mass-personalization wave that is dramatically changing what and how we buy as consumers has application to conferences. Application to Conferences. In my opinion, the first item — individualizing a conference experience for every attendee — isn’t scalable today.

Conference 308

Conference 2017 Hospitality Tech 308

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 12, 2018

At a recent conference consultation with a client, a millennial made me think that I wasn’t keeping up with the times. I voiced my strong opinion that conference organizers should embrace inbound marketing (pull) over traditional outbound marketing (push). I reiterated that their conference needed a home base to optimize.

Conference 321

Conference Social Media 2018 B2B 321

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 23, 2018

Likewise, many conference professionals have no idea what embracing the long-tail, pull benefits of content marketing even means. Most marketing and communications teams agree that content marketing serves as the foundation to their conference marketing strategy. A Poverty Of Conference Content Marketing Success. Get specific.

Conference 294

Conference 2018 Marketing Tech 294

Velvet Chainsaw

DECEMBER 3, 2020

In 2020, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors were more forgiving of our virtual conferences than they will be in 2021. They, like you, are all experiencing Zoom fatigue and will have much higher expectations for conferences this coming year — especially those they are investing their precious time and money. Don’t waste a good crisis.

2021 284

2021 Conference 2020 Sustainability 284

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 29, 2016

How your audience responds will have a direct impact on your conference’s brand image and credibility. From a conference design perspective, we believe the current best practice is to bookend your conference by opening with a strong-thought provoking speaker and closing with inspiration.

Speakers 278

Speakers Conference Food and Beverage Negotiating 278

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 17, 2018

Your association, annual conference, and governance are all institutions. One of the sacred cows for associations and their annual conference is attributing notoriety to the office of the president, board chair or annual conference committee chair. Smith’s year” or “Sally’s year” when referring to past annual conferences.

Conference 281

Conference Government Consulting 2018 281

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

MAY 23, 2017

When considering long-term conference or organizational strategy, it’s wise to future-cast the impact major workforce trends may have on your profession, particularly because conferences are about people first and content second. They are less likely to pay full freight to attend a premium conference experience. Job Hopping .

Conference 315

Conference Consulting 2017 Technology 315

Conferences that Work

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Here’s my article “ Five Reasons to Change Conferences “ , published in the December 2018, NSA Speaker magazine. But our conference programs still focus on lectures, where a few experts broadcast their knowledge to passive listeners. Related posts: Conferences That Work goes to Japan!

Conference 215

Conference 2014 2018 Speakers 215

Velvet Chainsaw

AUGUST 22, 2017

There’s a place for sponsored content in conference programs, if you’re thoughtful in your approach. As more sponsors embrace content marketing or thought leadership as arguably the most powerful strategy for improving attitudes and perceptions of their brand, conference-speaking slots are increasing in value. Transparency.

Conference 283

Conference Sponsorships Education 2017 283

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 10, 2018

This is the first of two posts that are intended to be a helpful resource for conference organizers as they develop their attendee succession-plan strategy. Key Indicators For Most Conferences. Some associations offer free or discounted conference registration to students or early-career professionals. A Seat At The Table.

Conference 246

Conference Sustainability 2018 Management 246

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 11, 2019

So is this the right strategy for your association and conference? A large percentage of student attendees won’t make all of your conference constituents happy. Smaller booth sizes and exhibitor churn tend to be attributes of conferences with high student attendance. Does Investing Early Result In Loyalty?

Conference 252

Conference Education 2018 Travel 252

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 22, 2018

Conference organizers still have a tremendous amount of work to do to involve adults in cognitive learning practices. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. How much of your conference program is delivery vs. discovery?

Education 50

Education Conference Speakers 2018 50

GEVME

JUNE 13, 2018

The unique story of any conference should begin with the goal and then a detailed plan on how to reach this goal. In his article for Smashing magazine , the founder of HybridConf, Zach Inglis, states that the aim of every conference organiser should be to create experiences that reenergize people and fill them with new zeal for their work.

Conference Planning 200

Conference Planning Conference Speakers Advertising 200

Conferences that Work

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

April 2018, Meetings and Conventions Magazine Do you incorporate participatory sessions into your events? 80% of meeting professionals prefer f acilitated workshop-style, participatory sessions [ survey by M&C Research, April 2018 Meeting and Conventions magazine ]! What’s an Ideal Meeting?

Education 267

Education Meetings 2011 2012 267

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

A number of our consulting clients have made social responsibility a cornerstone of their conference strategy — with the desire “to leave the host city better because we were there.” When you adopt a strategic objective like that for your conference, it leaves room for creativity in achieving that desired outcome. Choose Your Charity.

2012 364

2012 2014 Banking Conference 364

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 15, 2023

IStock Photo by cyano66 Before the pandemic, one could argue that jobs with life-and-death consequences were surely more stressful than planning an annual conference. Exhibitors are being more selective about the conferences they will support. Annual conference budgets are usually finalized 12-plus months prior to the event.

Event Planning 370

Event Planning Food and Beverage 2023 2019 370

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 13, 2020

While these numbers look dismal for hotels, similar forecasts would apply to AV companies, exhibit service contractors, DMOs, exhibitor and attendee participation, conference-organizer revenue, and nearly any other product or service you can link to the live events industry. Conference Go/No-Go Decisions in a Pandemic.

Contracts 397

Contracts 2009 Hotels 2020 397

Velvet Chainsaw

AUGUST 3, 2022

With live conferences’ comeback, event organizers need to make complex decisions about how to incorporate digital product extensions into their business model. Based on our research, we estimate that there’s an even split between conference owners who are including synchronous or asynchronous hybrid options and those who aren’t.

Conference 195

Conference 2022 2019 Marketing 195

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 14, 2021

One of our early — and still applicable — recommendations was for conference organizers to communicate and publish the date when they expect to make the decision for their in-person conference. Are You an Expo with a Conference, or a Conference with an Expo? It’s not going to happen overnight.

2020 370

2020 2021 Consulting Airlines 370

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 24, 2019

As the event-tech space continues to evolve with a number of mergers and acquisitions, I see four changes coming for larger annual conferences. #1. Conference organizers who jumped on the big-data bandwagon are drowning in so much information, they can’t make sense of what changes need to be made. Security is Expensive, but Critical.

Event Tech 362

Event Tech Tech B2B Event Technology 362

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

What are some other ways you have dealt with staff shortages at your conferences? Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. The post Making Up for Fewer Skilled Workers at Your Conference appeared first on Velvet Chainsaw.

Conference 195

Conference Food and Beverage 2022 Hotels 195

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 14, 2020

Imagine how you might do your job differently if your performance and compensation were evaluated based on overall session attendance and industry presenter ratings at your annual conference. While this notion may seem a bit extreme, conference education systems need increased accountability, which in turn leads to a competitive advantage.

Speakers 362

Speakers Education 2019 Conference 362

Velvet Chainsaw

DECEMBER 17, 2019

Recently I’ve received invitations to attend webinars and download industry research reports and articles all aimed to help conference and show organizers grow sponsorship revenue. Exhibitors and sponsors despise being hit up by multiple sources selling opportunities for your conference/show. How to Organize Your Sales Team.

Sponsorships 69

Sponsorships Food and Beverage Advertising Contracts 69

Conferences that Work

JANUARY 10, 2022

Our trade magazines mainly report on big events, the ones with big-name speakers and eye candy razzle-dazzle. “ Read the full article at Conferences That Work The post Make the meeting bigger! appeared first on Conferences That Work. What we shouldn’t do. The event industry unduly focuses on large meetings.

Meetings 330

Meetings Meeting Design 2020 Speakers 330

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2024

On Tuesday, March 26, 2024 , I sat down with Martin Duffy and Paul Nunesdea on LinkedIn Live for an hour’s deep dive conversation about peer conferences: the participant-driven, participation-rich events I’ve designed and facilitated for over thirty years. Peer Conferences Unveiled—The Transcript! Here it is—enjoy!

Conference 208

Conference Meetings Corporate Meetings Association Meetings 208

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 17, 2019

As conference organizers this leads us to bad decisions when selecting speakers and programming where we promote sharing success stories over asking questions, verifying validity and understanding context. See Michael Shermer, editor in chief of Skeptic magazine, The Belief Module, Skeptic 5 , no. Our Misguided Trust In Stories.

Government 334

Government Speakers Conference Management 334

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 12, 2017

About 62 percent close off submissions eight months or longer before the conference. Widely used by associations as a tool for crowdsourcing the meat-and-potatoes education content for annual conferences, the call for speakers and sessions doesn’t need to be an arduous process. Tighten the timeline. Curate content.

Speakers 279

Speakers 2013 Consulting Education 279

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 31, 2019

It’s difficult to determine what to include — and not include — when collecting attendee data at the time of conference registration. In the spirit of making it easy to say “yes,” session sign-up should be delayed until 30–45 days prior to the conference. One best practice for conference registration?

Airlines 294

Airlines Trade Shows Conference Consulting 294

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Some organizations spend as little as 2 percent and have a very healthy conference product, while others rack up spending in the 20- to 25-percent range and are on life support. Here are four insights we’ve learned from analyzing the marketing-spend category: Marketing spend for conferences with an expo is usually closer to 6 percent.

Marketing 80

Marketing Food and Beverage Attendance Marketing Conference 80

Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

If you want to breathe new life into your conference, and increase relevance for next-generation attendees, start with this kill/change list. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Most annual meetings have used the same template agenda for decades.

Meetings 307

Meetings Trade Shows 2017 Financial 307

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2019

This (slightly edited) interview by JT Long appeared in the March 2019 issue of Smart Meetings Magazine. What led to writing the book, Conferences that Work ? I invented the format by accident 26 years ago when there were no expert speakers to invite for a conference on administrative computing issues in small schools.

2014 244

2014 2019 Conference Meeting Design 244

Velvet Chainsaw

SEPTEMBER 22, 2017

As part of the competitive intelligence we gather for conferences, our team analyzes hundreds of sponsorship offerings. With few exceptions, when it comes to creativity and purpose baked into a conference’s sponsorship levels, we find a lot of sameness. A Different Approach to Naming Sponsorship Levels. Dare to be different!

Sponsorships 278

Sponsorships Advertising 2017 Conference 278

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 24, 2019

Most meeting organizers invest a significant amount of time creating the educational programming for their annual conference. Models vary, but most include a 15- to 20-person conference committee (slotters) and army of reviewers (graders). Conference program committee responsibilities are shifting. How to Better Keep Score.

Education 273

Education 2019 Conference Speakers 273