Velvet Chainsaw

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Over the past nine months, many industry experts have proclaimed that meetings and conferences are forever changed and hybrid is here to stay. Meetings of the future will be improved and monetized by embracing the tenants of strategic product management. While I agree in principle, I think the future is so much more than hybrid.

Conference 366

Conference Sponsorships Education 2022 366

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 15, 2023

Unless you plan events for a booming industry, your reality working for professional and trade associations is that revenue from your 2022 and 2023 meetings is 15 percent (or more) lower than 2019. Event planners are experiencing sticker shock from rising costs for audiovisual, food and beverage, and other direct meeting expenses.

Event Planning 370

Event Planning Food and Beverage 2023 2019 370

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 24, 2019

Software solutions built on older platforms and smaller companies with fewer resources are going to have a harder time meeting event organizers’ more stringent data-security requirements. #2. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. The level of difficulty is high.

Event Tech 362

Event Tech Tech B2B Event Technology 362

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

Meeting professionals can make an even greater impact by increasing their focus on the other two other Rs: Reuse — Ask your convention center or hotel if they have a green purchasing program and eco-friendly items like bamboo plates. Louis as meeting destinations. Reuse and Reduce.

2012 364

2012 2014 Banking Conference 364

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 2, 2019

We need to raise the bar higher and meet the needs of the experienced and advanced practitioners. According to CEOWORLD magazine and the “Future of Jobs” report by the World Economic Forum, the top two skills that will be most desired by employers/CEOs by 2020 are complex problem-solving and critical thinking.

Education 281

Education Conference 2019 2020 281

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 15, 2022

For some of the major annual meetings we’re tracking, sponsorship revenue has been a bright spot when compared to exhibit revenue performance. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Which of these strategies are you currently using for sponsorship pricing?

Sponsorships 370

Sponsorships Conference 2022 2019 370

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2024

Paul Nunesdea : And hello, hello, dear viewers, this is a soft start of our third episode in 2024 of Talk to Your Meeting Doctors. Lovely to meet you, Adrian. And it’s mostly about meeting design and facilitation, but I write about all kinds of things. That book came out in 2009, and suddenly I was in the meeting industry.

Conference 208

Conference Meetings Corporate Meetings Association Meetings 208

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.

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Conference 2014 2018 Speakers 215

Velvet Chainsaw

APRIL 14, 2021

Facilities and event suppliers will need to adopt and implement new safety protocols and consult their customers on how to meet safely and will have to carry the burden for most of these expenses. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association.

2020 370

2020 2021 Consulting Airlines 370

Conferences that Work

APRIL 1, 2019

This (slightly edited) interview by JT Long appeared in the March 2019 issue of Smart Meetings Magazine. I was an amateur in the meeting industry, and that led to some mistakes, but it also gave me a fresh perspective at a time when meeting design wasn’t really a “thing.”

2014 244

2014 2019 Conference Meeting Design 244

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 14, 2017

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. Configurable — The customer can make certain choices that best meet their preferences.

Conference 308

Conference 2017 Hospitality Tech 308

Velvet Chainsaw

MAY 23, 2017

to present and lead discussions at your board or leadership meetings. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Invite recognized experts and professionals from various fields — talent management, economics, learning, science, technology, etc. —

Conference 315

Conference Consulting 2017 Technology 315

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 24, 2019

Most meeting organizers invest a significant amount of time creating the educational programming for their annual conference. Committees are having fewer conference calls and preset meetings. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. How to Better Keep Score.

Education 273

Education 2019 Conference Speakers 273

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 17, 2024

Here’s a simple project-management tool that can help streamline internal communications — and clarify accountability — for annual meetings. Some components of planning an association annual meeting involve multiple departments and competing priorities. It will also help guide and expedite cross-functional team meetings.

Consulting 221

Consulting 2024 Management Marketing 221

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 10, 2017

The first heat map shows the percent of loyal attendees by region, who tend to go anywhere your meeting is being held. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Heat Mapping — There are lots of ways to heat-map your audience.

Conference 288

Conference Education 2017 Speakers 288

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 31, 2019

Data fields and pick lists should be normalized and updated across membership, meetings, subscriptions, and all of the organization’s other programs and services. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Mandatory fields should be kept to a minimum.

Airlines 294

Airlines Trade Shows Conference Consulting 294

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

According to Convene ’s most recent Meetings Market Survey , on average 6 percent of a meeting’s direct expenses fall in the marketing/promotion category. After studying 100 or so meetings’ profit and loss (P&L) statements in great detail, I can confirm that this expense line item varies greatly.

Marketing 80

Marketing Food and Beverage Attendance Marketing Conference 80

Velvet Chainsaw

DECEMBER 11, 2019

Home base/presence — demo kiosk, meeting space. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Attendee experiences — lounges, F&B events, entertainment, Wi-fi, mobile app, charging stations, interactive experiences, giveaways, transportation.

Sponsorships 273

Sponsorships Advertising Transportation Education 273

Velvet Chainsaw

AUGUST 22, 2017

Sponsors/education champions don’t have to buy stage time in order to meet their thought-leadership objectives. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Alternatives to Stage-Time Sponsorships. They can: 1. Underwrite a keynote speaker or sponsor sessions and tracks.

Conference 283

Conference Sponsorships Education 2017 283

SmartMeetings

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

The role corporate social responsibility plays in real-world impact The meetings industry is grounded in impact—and not just for attendees. As such, many meeting profs are finding CSR approaches to be more and more essential to their events.

Meetings 95

Meetings Tourism Sustainability Travel 95

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 4, 2019

We refer to these conferences as meetings of speakers speaking to speakers. If we apply these principles to the scientific meeting session design, these work-in- progress research projects should be more than just presented, they should be reviewed and improved in our conference — or to use Jubb’s term, “open” — environments.

Speakers 223

Speakers Healthcare Conference 2020 223

Velvet Chainsaw

JANUARY 11, 2019

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. Job Hopping. Very few associations have done this kind of ROI tracking.

Conference 252

Conference Education 2018 Travel 252

Velvet Chainsaw

MAY 21, 2018

It’s even tougher for those independent meeting companies that survive on commissions. Meanwhile, corporations and associations have increasingly outsourced non-core business functions, like hotel sourcing and meeting logistics. Marriott’s has already begun for most intermediaries.

Marketing 231

Marketing Hotels Negotiating 2017 231

MeetingsNet

OCTOBER 17, 2023

In addition, the November/December edition of MeetingsNet’s digital magazine will present a comprehensive article on how early-adopting planners are using Spark, ChatGPT, and other A.I. Look for that digital-magazine edition on MeetingsNet.com starting on November 1. platforms to build out their events.

Meetings 109

Meetings Conference Event Technology Technology 109

Velvet Chainsaw

JULY 23, 2018

Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. What additional obstacles stand you your path hindering your ability to use conference content marketing techniques? Adapted from Dave’s Forward Thinking column in PCMA’s Convene.

Conference 294

Conference 2018 Marketing Tech 294

Velvet Chainsaw

JUNE 5, 2024

Design the education and networking experience to primarily meet the needs of this select audience. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. When you get this right, you will also serve and attract many other follow attendee segments.

B2B 221

B2B 2023 Conference Education 221

Smart Meetings

JANUARY 29, 2024

Marin Bright often told the story of how she launched the meetings and events industry’s first lifestyle magazine in 2002, a few months after the devastating attacks on 9/11 and the downturn in the travel industry. The post A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Marin Bright appeared first on Smart Meetings.

2002 122

2002 2024 Hotels Hospitality 122

Velvet Chainsaw

AUGUST 6, 2019

In my experience, when exhibitors are in a meeting of their peers, they tend to make recommendations that don’t put the attendee first. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Adapted from Dave’s Forward Thinking column in PCMA’s Convene.

Sponsorships 236

Sponsorships Trade Shows Advertising Education 236

Velvet Chainsaw

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

Throughout 2022, nearly every meeting service provider continues to be short-staffed and plagued by last-minute no-shows or insufficiently skilled workers. To best prepare you, here are eight kinds of curveballs other meeting professionals have been thrown so far in 2022, with expectations extending into 2023— and how to deal with them.

Conference 195

Conference Food and Beverage 2022 Hotels 195

SmartMeetings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

When we have a line of sight to understand what each person is doing and why, it creates a harmonious relationship that meets our clients’ needs. Why are people coming to the meeting? If production insists on a room layout that stifles the show, even if it’s on budget and meets deadlines, that won’t work either.

Meetings 105

Meetings 2023 Corporate Events Event Planning 105

Velvet Chainsaw

MAY 25, 2023

At the same time, event planners have never had more organizational pressure to deliver meetings with increased attendance, revenue, and resulting net income. Strategies for Closing the Gap Last month, a group of experienced meeting professionals brainstormed solutions. Come to the meeting with several questions or requests.

Negotiating 195

Negotiating 2023 Financial Management 195

Velvet Chainsaw

MARCH 2, 2018

The slow death of expo revenue is not an indicator that meetings don’t mean business any more. Reprinted with permission of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Based on our deep analysis of dozens of shows, the former are the event business models being disrupted most.

B2B 244

B2B Food and Beverage Trade Shows Education 244

Smart Meetings

NOVEMBER 9, 2023

Where your group meets matters, but so does the framing for the discussions that will happen in and out of the ballroom. It is the greatest meeting of land and sea.” We are at a pivot point as an industry and a destination and Smart Meetings is a beacon,” he said. Understanding people’s humanity is the first step,” he said.

Meetings 104

Meetings 2012 Hotels 2016 104

SmartMeetings

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Take that framework and drop it into an intimate, small meeting. As meeting planners, how do you turn the room from a potential game of poker to an open, honest free flow of thought and feeling conversation? Read More : It’s a Small (Meetings) World After All Small Groups at Small Meetings A small meeting can mean huge discussions.

Meetings 98

Meetings Wireless Consulting Hotels 98

SmartMeetings

MARCH 22, 2024

In this installment of Meeting of the Minds, Smart Meetings was joined by Jaclyn Bernstein, president and owner of Empire Force Events, and Alexis Dick, an event planner at HARDI. Alexis Dick (left) and Jaclyn Bernstein (right) Smart Meetings: How important are business relationships and professional networks to your career?

Meetings 92

Meetings 2024 Hotels Conference 92

Velvet Chainsaw

OCTOBER 1, 2024

Schedule time for a meet and greet and/or conduct a live interview with each recipient. Reprinted with permission of Convene , the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association. Announce the winner in real-time to add another element of emotion to the experience.

2024 195

2024 Management Meetings Events 195

SmartMeetings

MAY 8, 2023

. — Heather Mason is CEO of Caspian Agency , a senior fellow and instructor at San Diego State University and Smart Woman in Meetings Hall of Fame winner. You can subscribe to the magazine here. The post Meetings MBA: Budgets, Models and Forecasts appeared first on Smart Meetings.

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Meetings Financial 2023 Negotiating 103