Endless Events: Recent Episodes

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You’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating: Gen Z is unlike any generation we’ve ever seen. These young professionals and young adults are digital natives who are full of...

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Navigating event attendee data requires the right balance between collecting valuable information and respecting event attendee privacy. But with rapid advancements in technology and law that struggles to keep up,...

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The events industry is a melting pot of talent and diverse backgrounds, with event professionals bringing rich experiences and unique perspectives to the field. It’s not uncommon to find professionals...

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A recently published Freeman report highlights a significant shift in the demographics of B2B event attendees. With this new generation of younger, more diverse, and more educated attendees emerging, the event industry must adapt to meet their evolving needs and expectations.

In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Xander, Will Curran, Arianna, and Nick dive into this shift; from understanding the motivations behind younger attendees, and rethinking exhibit halls, to embracing new technology, the Brew Crew explores how event professionals can harness this shift in demographics to create events that cater to the next generation of event-goers. Tune in and find out what they have to say!

Why Older Generations Might Pass on Events More Than Younger GenerationsArianna starts today’s discussion by giving us some context. “Freeman uses the term ‘Next Gen Event Goer’ (NGEG). Freeman defines this group as quite a bit younger, about seven years younger on average. They’re also saying this group is more likely to be female, has more demographic diversity, and has higher levels of education than event goers over 45, which I found interesting.”

“We’re talking about B2B events here. These are people attending events on behalf of their businesses,” says Xander. “At some point, retirement age happens, and people might not be as prone to attend something they’re no longer obligated to. I think that’s a pretty clear indicator that the workforce is having this shift. The younger generations within these workforces are probably more prone to attend these events and are more willing to travel as well.”

“I’m interested in the fact that the friction of attending events is probably a big part of it,” shares Nick. “If you’re a senior, you used to go to events because you had authority. Maybe they’re (younger generations) acquiescing their authority, or events don’t require as many authoritative people. The best case scenario is an even mix.”

“The senior decision makers are also younger,” adds Will.

“That’d be what I’d want to know,” says Nick. “Are they sending people to these events on their behalf, or are they empowering the people they’re sending? Age is one biographic input, but I want to know more about the decision-makers. Is there a diminishing level of C-suite people attending events? Or is it simply that people of these ages have higher positions? That’s more important than their age. But one of the most interesting things is, it seems like people under the age of 40 are still interested in live events.”

Arianna has an idea about why that might be the case. “I would guess that folks want to build networks at events rather than make purchasing decisions. This is an opportunity not to be missed because you’re not getting those interactions on the street.”

And the Freeman report would agree. It states, “Although more employees are back in a physical workplace at least a few days a month, people are still interested in more connection with their peers and looking to build professional networks in person.”

What Do We Do Now? After learning about this shift in the average age of B2B event attendees, the natural next question is, what next?

“From a positive side, it gives us a more specific idea of who our attendees are,” says Will. “Often, we plan events for a wide age range. One positive is that this gives us a little bit of an easier planning process. And that was one of my questions. We now know that there’s been a six-year jump down in age. What do we need to do now?”

“You made me reflect on, have I considered age as a factor before?” says Arianna. “I can’t say that I’ve considered age as much as experience level and how to optimize networking for experience level. It’s got me thinking about, do I need to look at some of these attendee demographics in a new way moving forward?”

Xander finds himself in a similar situation. “It hasn’t been a major consideration for most of my programming. There may be an interesting scenario where you see the opportunity to make optimized changes for this NGEG attendee. Still, many organizers are probably more on the generalist side of things. There are lived experiences that probably need to be addressed and catered towards, but I don’t anticipate the planners’ perspective changing too much with this in mind because we try to curate things towards as wide but as focused of a population as possible within our attendee basis.”

Do I Even Care About Age?“Nick, I have to tag onto something you said earlier,” says Arianna. “I want you to talk more about it. Does their age matter? Do they have decision-making power, and have the titles changed? Because I’m like, do I even care about age?”

“First off, if you can get more data on personas, the clearer picture you have,” says Nick. “One of the things said in this report is that the biggest opportunity you have in understanding age-based demographics is that generation’s needs and expectations.” As Nick puts it, older generations see some experiences as nice to have, whereas younger generations have different baseline expectations—for example, personalization.

“Younger demographics generally prefer increased personalization,” continues Nick. “That’s a generalized statement. However, these generalizations can be useful if you’re in a decision-making process between one thing and another. Understanding your audience is a big deal.”

“It’s a good point,” says Will. Curious about a point Nick made about buyers, Will researched more. “I found an article on Trust Radius, which states ​​60% of all B2B tech buyers are millennials. We’re hitting this point where millennials are the predominant demographic for both buyers and attendees of events.”

Interested in this statistic, too, Arianna turns the Brew Crew to how age-based demographics might influence purchasing decisions. “That speaks to how we might coach our expo folks,” she says. “Of all the resources millennial buyers use, vendor reps and materials are the least trustworthy and influential. Maybe buyers are buying differently, and we need to shift event design around more thought leadership for these vendors and less of this, ‘Meet a rep in the expo hall.’”

Personalization and Engagement are not Going Away.One key finding in the Freeman study is that the NGEG will not respond to a one-size fits all strategy. The key “is to offer personalized content that capitalizes on its chosen medium and emphasizes the attendee experience.” The Brew Crew talks about this next.

“One thing I don’t see at many events is the chance to have conversations with the speakers,” says Will. “There’s much more of a need for, instead of an exhibit hall, a table set up where the speakers are, or maybe there’s a speaker networking time. As an attendee, I would get more value from it. As a speaker, I would get more value from it.”

“I have also heard this call for more engagement with speakers,” says Arianna. “One of the things we’re doing this year is pairing our stage segments with a follow-up round table hosted by the speaker. We’ve all gotten used to being a part of the show. The digital space leveled that front-row experience and the VIP experience; we all got a front-row seat. We need to find ways to translate that into onsite events as well.”

“I think personalization is just not going away,” adds Nick. “That’s probably one of the biggest elements of this, inclusivity and personalization. This new group of attendees isn’t asking for things people don’t already want. They’re just willing to fight for it. These are positive net gains for everyone.”

“I think the markets which focus on networking solutions, personalization, and an increased sense of belonging and equity for their increasingly diverse audiences are the ones that are going to be the best put forward,” concludes Nick.

B2B Event Attendees are Younger: What Next?As the Brew Crew begins to wrap up, Arianna turns the group to the final question for the day. “I’m curious what everyone’s first thought is. My attendees are younger. What next? My first thought was, ‘Oh great! Now I can use QR codes.’”

Nick thinks everyone should blast their excuses away. “Blow those excuses out of the water. ‘Our members don’t do this. Our attendees don’t do this.’ I think we can start pointing to these numbers saying that’s categorically untrue, and you might be behind the times using past information to inform current decision making.”

Will thinks the culture of events will change entirely. While the growing trend of cannabis at events is a great example, he also references other changes. “Maybe an example is the willingness to hear cursing on stage. It changes what kind of music you’re playing, what kind of jokes you’re making in your marketing, and what’s socially acceptable on stage.”

What are your thoughts? How will the shift in the average age of B2B event attendees affect how you plan and design your events? Email us your questions or your thoughts. Maybe your feedback should be the topic of the next Event Bew episode. We’ll catch you here next time.

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The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is more than a passing fad. Thanks to the increasing popularity of tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, more organizations are saving time and money through the wonder that is AI. It’s no wonder why 87.8% of leading businesses are ramping up their investments in AI and data analytics this year. If you’re new to AI for events, we’ve got you covered.

The good news is that robots aren’t out for your job. Human effort is still very much a part of the event planning process. AI makes your job faster and easier — so what’s not to love? In fact, AI is one of the fastest-growing technologies event planners trust to plan, promote, and analyze their events. Check out these five tips to use the combined power of AI and data to make your next event a smash hit.

Using AI and Data To Make Your Next Event a HitBuild Communities With Intelligent MatchmakingWhether hosting an in-person event or going 100% online, your event needs to plan for social interactions. Not only will this give attendees more networking opportunities, but it’s also a great way to build a community around your event and brand.

Every event planner wants community, but you need to match the right types of people together to form that community — and that’s no small feat.

The key to networking is matching the right attendees, and AI can assist you with matchmaking. If you use the right event platform, an AI engine can recommend new connections to each attendee based on shared attributes. The algorithm can match folks based on industry, job title, attendance data, and other characteristics.

This doesn’t mean that every AI-generated match will be a hit, but connecting people who share interests and goals can increase the odds of attendees forming real, meaningful connections.

Automate Attendee Help and CommunicationChatbots are all the rage for automated communication, especially for online events. Eighty-eight percent of people interacted with a chatbot in the last year, so chatbot tech is only growing in popularity.

The challenge, though, is that chatbots aren’t always helpful. Most chatbots pull answers from an FAQ bank to answer basic questions, but if your attendees have more complex queries, a traditional chatbot will likely leave them high and dry.

Fortunately, AI makes chatbots much more intelligent and helpful. AI-powered chatbots can help attendees get the answers they need when they need them. Best of all, attendees won’t hound your event planning team with answers that an intelligent chatbot could answer.

AI chatbots also provide more personalized experiences for attendees. They can recommend upcoming sessions, offer proactive help or advice, and usher attendees through the event experience more seamlessly.

Plus, AI chatbots are available around the clock, so if you’re hosting an international event across time zones, this tool can help you be there for attendees 24/7. It’s a win for everyone.

Simplify Event PlanningEvents have a lot of moving parts. Even the most seasoned event planners get overwhelmed, especially with global events. Luckily, the one-two punch of AI and data analytics can simplify your event planning. You can use AI to streamline:

• Event logistics: ChatGPT can’t plan everything for you, but it can certainly speed up research. Use this free AI tool to generate event theme ideas, research venues, plan engaging icebreakers, and create an event budget.
• Event marketing: You can use AI to generate lead-nurturing campaigns to entice more attendees to sign up. An AI-powered email marketing tool can pull attendee data from your customer relationship management (CRM) platform to create hyper-personalized emails at scale. This makes your emails much more personalized, increasing the odds that people will open and read them.
• Attendee questions: Your email inbox is probably flooded with messages. Don’t let the influx of emails distract you from your event planning duties. AI can answer these attendee queries while you focus on the important stuff. It can even recommend local hotels and provide directions for attendees without missing a beat. Easy, right?

Create More Content, FasterEvery event needs content, but content requires time and energy. On top of planning a memorable event, you might also need to create:

• Presentation slides
• Speeches
• Scripts
• Panel questions
• Brochures
• Networking surveys
• Event maps
• Marketing emails
• Promotional blogs
• Promotional graphics

That’s a lot of work. The good news is that AI tools simplify content creation for events. For example, you can use ChatGPT for written content and Midjourney for generating custom AI graphics.

You can use ChatGPT to brainstorm content ideas and flesh out the content itself. Ask the AI to brainstorm blog ideas, write a script for your CEO to introduce the event, or develop insightful questions for a panel session.

You can give it prompts like “What type of workshop should I host at my leadership conference event?” or “What goodies should I include in my sustainability event’s goodie bag?” You can also tell ChatGPT, “Write me a 3-minute speech thanking all my guests for attending my event.” While ChatGPT should never replace an event planner, it can certainly help you save time.

If you’re trying to save time and money creating graphics for your next event, give Midjourney a go. This AI image generation platform requires a paid subscription, but if you create a lot of graphics, it could be worth the investment. You just prompt the AI, and it generates a unique image you can use for your event.

For example, you can give Midjourney a prompt like, “CEO posing in front of the Empire State Building,” which will generate a unique image fitting that brief. You can use this tool for everything from graphic design to social media content.

You’ll need to refine how you prompt the AI, though, so getting a production-ready image could take several rounds of prompting.

Pull Better Post-Event AnalyticsWas your event successful? Instead of making assumptions, look at the data to determine what you did well and can improve.

If you want to improve your events, checking your post-event analytics is a good idea. Usually, this would require a lot of manual effort and weeks of waiting. But AI helps you quickly pull all of your event metrics into one place so you can make data-driven decisions about future events.

As soon as your event ends, you can use AI to extract and analyze data from multiple sources, like:

• Your website
• Attendee surveys
• Customer feedback forms
• Social media posts
• Event platform engagement data

An integrated platform that tracks all event-related activities and interactions can help your team stay organized and better use AI and data analytics for event success.

For example, at an event, your chatbot might get a lot of questions about parking for that particular venue. This could mean parking could have been more apparent at this location, an area for future improvement. Or one specific session had low attendance. AI can help you find insights like this more quickly, which can help you host better events going forward.

Harness the Power of AI To Make Your Next Event UnforgettableYour events are already good, but AI can make them even better. Instead of fearing AI, learn how to leverage this technology to plan better, more affordable events that generate a return on investment (ROI) for your business. Of course, it helps to have the right technology in your corner, and that’s where we come in. Endless Events is an event management company that equips event planners with the right technology to plan memorable events. See how Endless Events’ seamless technology and predictive analytics can enhance your next event.

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Imagine an event where the audience takes the reins, curating the perfect musical experience by making real-time requests and communicating with the band. Today, we’re thrilled to introduce you to uRequest Live, a groundbreaking platform that does exactly that.

In this episode of the Event Tech podcast, we’ll explore the journey of uRequest Live, from its inception to its evolution during the pandemic, and how it has transformed the event entertainment landscape. We’ll also discuss the importance of knowing your audience, adapting to changing expectations around event duration, and the future innovations that uRequest Live has in store. So, sit back and let us take you on a captivating ride through the world of audience-curated concert experiences!

What uRequest Live is All AboutTo start today’s episode, Will prompts Arthur to share what uRequest is all about. “The basic concept of it is an audience-curated concert experience,” says Arthur. This “allows the audience to collectively control the show’s outcome by making requests and communicating with the band in real-time.”

The Evolution of uRequest Live Through the PandemicNext, Arthur shares where it all began, starting with where the idea for the company came from.

“I came up with the idea pre-pandemic because I was in the entertainment business representing bands for weddings and corporate events,” begins Arthur. “I was working with this one band who were some of the best musicians I’d ever worked with.” He watched as people would endlessly request various songs and covers. “They’d always be like, ‘Oh yeah!’ And go right into it. So I thought, what if we allow the audience to make requests? That’s how the idea was born.”

Arthur isn’t a developer, so he didn’t create the app himself. But he began his search for a developer by looking at other applications that had functions similar to what he’d need. “I found an app with some features that could have worked.” He contacted that developer, who loved his idea. “So he built out an app, developed it, and it did really well. We toured all over Canada, the U.S.A., and now the world.”

But, much like the rest of the world, the pandemic pushed him to pivot. One problem he saw that needed to be solved was, “How are we going to entertain people at scale? I realized we could do what we’ve always done. So we started to push virtual events. But as the pandemic went on, I thought, ‘There’s another way we can use the band that’s even more engaging.’ So we decided to do more of a choose your own show style.”

The app would ask, “What decade is your jam? 80s, 90s, 2000s, 70s, 60s, or whatever. And they vote. Then we launch another poll showing the results in real-time.” Based on the results of the first poll, they would then offer another poll on songs from that era. “Every couple of minutes, they’re making a choice. That boosted engagement.”

“The next step was taking the virtual world to another level using platforms that would allow us to put the band into a three-dimensional environment.”

Knowing Your AudienceWhen executing successful events, knowing your audience is critical from start to finish. uRequest helps you do precisely that. “One of the things you said early on is one of the things we emphasize all the time. It’s this idea of really knowing your audience. Having that opportunity to truly ask your audience, ‘What’s your jam?’ rather than just guessing is a next level importance,” says Brandt.

Arthur agrees. “That’s an excellent point. We’ve collected data on the requested songs. There is a sort of unspoken repertoire amongst event bands, which includes certain songs. For example, Billy Jean, Celebration, Treasure, Superstition, all these staple songs that nobody ever requests. We have over 40,000 requests to date. We’ve got very few requests for Billy Jean. The number one requested song: Dancing Queen by ABBA.”

“What’s interesting to me is, because you’re dealing with data, if you start to see something rise, you can react to it,” says Brandt. “I have to imagine as corporate bands are sitting around going, ‘What do we want to add?’ If you’re not coming from a data standpoint, you’re just guessing at that point.”

“When I first heard about you, Arthur, someone used this analogy,” adds Will. “When designing entertainment for your event, you had these choices: the flexibility of a DJ or the classical and engaging performance of a band. You had to choose either one. This has been a hybridization of both. This creates such a highly engaging, customized experience that forces you to stay and watch.”

Navigating New Expectations Around TimeBecause of the pandemic, attendee expectations have changed. One of those changes, Will says, is around how long attendees expect events to be. “As virtual events have started to shift from three-hour-long mega events to the shorter format of webinars, how are you thinking about doing entertainment in a time where people don’t want to stay in front of their devices as long as they did during the pandemic?”

“That’s a good question,” responds Arthur. “When we do the show virtually, it’s a 45-minute to 1-hour show, which gives us enough time to cycle through enough requests and give enough engagement. We have done a 15-minute high-energy break, but that’s an expensive 15-minute break.”

“For now, we’re telling people if you want to give people a virtual experience unlike anything they’ve ever experienced, 45 minutes to an hour. Our engagement is really, really high. People don’t usually log off until the end of the show.”

The Future of uRequest LiveAs Will, Brandt, and Arthur wrap up, Brandt shares a fun way to utilize uRequest. “You could choose the walk-up music,” shares Brandt. “For example, you could choose for the executives. You get to choose the CEO’s walk-up music. If it’s “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, that’s what it will be.”

Arthur loves that idea. “We’ve done award shows where we’re just doing walk-ons and walk-offs. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the best walk-ons and walk-offs. The other feature we’ve built is the ability to gate the requests with a donation. So for a charity or a fundraiser, you have to donate if you want to make a request.”

“The margin feels like it would be high, versus sometimes you have to get these items from people and donate them or sometimes you even buy them,” says Will. But with uRequest, “you will be doing the party at the end anyways. Brilliant!”

“Arthur, thank you so much for coming on the show. It’s been such a pleasure getting to nerd out talking about entertainment. And thank you so much for listening as well,” concludes Will. If this episode on uRequest Live got your brain turning and you have thoughts you’d like to share, email us! We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Tech podcast.

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As event professionals, we’re constantly striving to create meaningful experiences for attendees and stakeholders while working within limited resources and a budget. In-kind sponsorships are relationships where a business sponsors an event by providing free goods or services rather than a financial contribution. So can in-kind sponsorships for events help you meet your event goals?

In this episode of the Event Brew, Nick, Will, Deanna, and Xander share their reactions to the term “in-kind sponsorship,” tips on navigating them, and what they think is the ideal scenario for this kind of sponsorship. Let’s dive in!

The Brew Crew’s Initial Reactions to In-Kind Sponsorships for Events“In-kind sponsorship” can stir up mixed reactions from event professionals. To get a feel for where the Brew Crew stands, Nick starts today’s conversation by asking if anyone has a visceral response to the term.

“Mine is: that’s what I always try to do rather than give money as a sponsor,” says Will.

Xander has contrasting experiences. “As someone on the receiving end, everybody tries to do it. And it’s never exactly what I am looking for,” he says.

Settled right between Will and Xander’s responses, Deanna doesn’t have a strong gut reaction to the term. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a position on the giving or receiving side. The one organization I worked for that did a ton of event sponsorships had a sales department that did the selling. By the time they came to me, the contract was signed, and I was just fulfilling it.” On the flip side, Deanna has worked for organizations that always paid to be a sponsor. “I’ve been on both sides: the person buying the sponsorships or selling. But, I don’t think I’ve ever been in an in-kind situation.”

“I honestly just stopped sponsoring things for in-kind altogether,” adds Will. “I realized that when I was doing in-kind stuff, with event services specifically, chances for failure shot up dramatically. When you’re donating something, you want to give it less energy than when you do something that’s bringing you money. So I just started saying no and saying I’ll do it at a discounted rate. Every time we did it 100% free, it hurt us so badly.”

Will also found more value in offering his speaking services, even though it’s different from the event management services Endless specializes in. “After years of doing this, I realized people don’t care about the end product.” If things went great, no one seemed to notice. “But when things went wrong, everyone knew. So I in-kind donated a lot of speaking engagements.”

As an experienced event professional in food and beverage, Nick is familiar with in-kind sponsorships. “The world in which in-kind sponsorships were discussed every five minutes was F&B. So, the last F&B job I had I created a form for anyone who wanted to give their services in exchange for food. It was a gauntlet of things that proved to us they were at the center of our target for philanthropic goals. If they weren’t in that, they saw why they were not a good candidate for us.”

The second most frequent niche to receive in-kind sponsorship requests? Production. “A production company could give away its services most of the week from requests,” continues Nick. “I think he best ones are where you’re partners in some revenue-generating opportunity. That way, you’re not just taking a line item out but earning income. But that’s pretty rare.”

Commit to Excellence or Don’t Commit at AllStuck on Will’s earlier comment, Nick brings the conversation back to effort. “When people give away their services, they rarely bring their A-game. To me, that’s a big mistake. Even though you’re making less money, you’re more exposed. This is an opportunity to shine. This is a marketing endeavor. Whatever you’re doing, you should do better than you normally do it. This is how you’re exposing people to the promise of what your brand is.”

As Will sees it, the opportunity cost of a failed in-kind sponsorship is much lower than if you were to fail within a paid sponsorship. “If you don’t do your job well when you’re getting paid, you lose out on getting paid,” he says. But with in-kind, “if it all goes to crap, you just don’t care.”

“I guess,” responds Nick. “But I’m a marketer. I would say, ‘Okay. I’m spending part of my marketing budget for this in-kind sponsorship.’ Knowing I’m spending budget money on this presence and not putting my best foot forward is foolish. I see what you’re saying. But imagine buying a full-page ad and giving it to a five-year-old with a crayon and saying, ‘Draw whatever.’ That’s what bringing your C-game to an in-kind sponsorship is like. Do it at A-level or don’t do it.”

Is the Sponsor Worth the Hassle? And is the Relationship Equitable? Curious about Deanna’s thoughts, Nick asks her what she would do. “Someone comes to you and asks, ‘You need to feed your attendees. I’m a catering company, and your attendees are attractive for me to be in front of. What can we do here?’”

“As an event professional, an in-kind sponsorship only has value to me if you’re reducing costs by providing a service I would’ve already provided for my attendees,” says Deanna. “If it’s not in that realm, then is this in-kind sponsor really worth the hassle?”

She continues: “At the end of the day, you’ll have to manage it. As an event professional, am I making money on this event? Is this an event I’m profitable with, or is this an event where we break even? That’s what I wrestle with. As Xander mentioned, your cash only goes so far if you’re in the nonprofit space or a small organization. I also recognize that there are large organizations that have the budget and are exploitative, asking for free speaking services in the name of exposure. Exposure doesn’t pay the bills, and it’s hard to measure.”

“I also wonder if you, as the planner, are not paying for the services, are you giving them the due diligence you would to a vendor you’re paying? Are you making sure they have all the information they need? Especially any scenario where there’s not an equitable relationship or dynamic, I feel a certain way about that. I think you dabble into ethics and those types of conversations.”

Sponsorship TipsAre Your Mission, Vision, and Values Aligned?Thinking back to his college event days, Will remembers working for the ASU Undie Run event. “I was thinking about how in-kind sponsorships might potentially be bad. It depends on if it’s something the audience wants. The ASU Undie Run was going until 5 a.m. An energy drink sponsor might have been a great idea. But sometimes we say yes because we’re like, ‘A free energy drink for my audience? What’s the worst that could happen?’”

One possibility is that the outcome of poorly planned in-kind deals is a misalignment in mission, vision, and values for everyone involved. Will looks at Patagonia as an example. “I’m sure Patagonia doesn’t do giveaway sponsorships because a shirt that gets thrown away is worse than anything in the world sustainability-wise.”

Nick develops this alignment concern even more. “Are you on the same page with the person offering the in-kind sponsorship? In-kind relationships are partnerships at the end of the day. Everything else is more of a transaction. We’re both trying to provide value to the same group in different capacities. That’s where correlating mission, vision, and values might be something that you do. The negatives we discussed, like bringing your B-game, go to the wayside if you actually have a foundation of going in the same direction.”

Don’t be Afraid to NegotiateWill has one more tip for navigating in-kind sponsorships for events: don’t be afraid to negotiate. If you receive a request for an in-kind sponsorship from a company, don’t assume they can only offer that kind of relationship. “I think a lot of times, we assume money is completely off the table, but sometimes you can open up those conversations,” he says.

Xander agrees. “Especially when it’s inbound. That truly puts all of the cards in your hand. It’s all about negotiation. The easiest next step when you receive that cold inbound request for sponsorship is, just as Will says, to send them your packages.” You may arrive at a firm “no” for everyone involved, “but more likely than not, it’s when you start looking at the finer details and opportunities available that you can highlight elements they’re trying to capture and lean into the costs of that opportunity.”

What’s the Ideal Sponsorship Scenario?For Deanna, what comes to mind are the things you want to implement in your events but don’t have the budget for. “In those scenarios, when it’s something that’s on trend or cutting edge, and you don’t have the buy-in, that’s an easy way to get it. As the person pitching the in-kind sponsorship, how will you know that? That’s where it comes to knowing your audience well. If you’re old in the industry and everyone has been there done that, you don’t have that angle.”

Nick’s silver bullet is when sponsors bring experiential and monetary value to the host. “I don’t think that’s something many categories can do. But if you’re creative enough, there are endless ways to create win-win situations.”

He continues: “I think it comes down to, is there a way for alignment more so than there is a way for everybody to make money. That’s what I would focus on. Saying, ‘We are aligned. This event is better for you with me involved. And I am better by servicing this community.’ That has to be at the center of how you make that offering. Otherwise, it will sound like someone doesn’t want to pay.”

Xander sees two scenarios where an in-kind event sponsorship can make a meaningful difference in your business or event, leading to a win-win situation for everyone.

1. “The clear opportunity is when the in-kind sponsorship has a chance to increase the dollar-for-dollar value for the attendees,” says Xander. “That is such an easy and understandable pass-along to your attendees, and it serves as marketing fodder for you to secure additional attendees potentially.”
2. “On the other side, there’s the opportunity for you to explore mitigating business expenses for your company. If you are using a particular tool to execute something within your business, whether it’s Dropbox or Zoom, and you have this alignment where getting Zoom in front of your attendees is valuable, it can offset the cost.”

Nick agrees, “It really just comes down to value,” he concludes. What do you think? What would be the ideal in-kind sponsorship for your business or event? And how would you seek out alignment in your partnerships? Send us an email! We read every one, and we love hearing your thoughts. We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Brew podcast!

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The #EventProfs community is a strong network of event professionals who’ve come together worldwide to share their ideas and insights and seek support in the ever-evolving event industry. Our thriving community includes event planners, marketers, sponsors, technology providers, and more, and we’re all committed to improving our craft and the industry. As part of our ongoing commitment to progress and improvement, we’re changing platforms.

In this episode of the Event Tech podcast, Will shares why he’s decided to make the shift, what he’s excited to implement in the new #EventProfs community, which platform the community will use, and what you can expect in the coming weeks and months. Let’s get started!

Where I Was and Where I’m GoingWill begins today’s conversation by starting with his why. “A good place to start with this is: where I was and where I’m going,” he says. “When I started this journey to create the #EventProfs community, we had a Slack group and community meetups, but it wasn’t a community event. I wanted to build an app people would use off social media.”

“Part of my philosophy around this was that whatever platform you use for events can be used as your community platform too. One app that can do it all.” And for a while, event tech platforms seemed to share that vision. “As I talked to event technology platforms, they said this is the future because they saw recurring revenue. But when the rubber met the road, I noticed platforms have moved away from the idea of advertising community as one of their selling features.”

Because event platforms were more focused on the event side, the platforms Will worked with weren’t a perfect match for the community platform he was trying to build. “We are switching from an event app to a platform designed for communities and only for communities,” explains Will. “I used to think community platforms suck at doing events. But you know what, I’m realizing event apps suck at doing community.” His new philosophy: pick applications that focus on doing one thing well rather than one app that tries to do it all.

The #EventProfs Community Needs More from its PlatformOver the years, the #EventProfs community has grown larger than Will could have imagined. As a result of such tremendous growth, he’s started seeking more community-focused features in a new platform. Here’s what he didn’t like about the previous platform and what he’s looking for moving forward.

1. Recurring Payments “Let’s talk about things I didn’t consider when I started building this community. The first thing that came to mind was managing people coming in. Many event platforms are designed like an event,” says Will. However, communities last much longer than a typical 7-day event. “You start putting 365 days on the calendar, and the UI doesn’t become that easy to work with.”

“So I wanted a way to do things like recurring, monthly, quarterly, and annual billing,” he continues. With events, you buy the ticket once, and you’re done. “I would have had to build an entire third-party Stripe integration with Zapier to manage the members. So if you’re using an event app as your community app, keep in mind that if you plan on making that community paid, it won’t be easy. That was my first learning.”

2. Post and Comment LimitsAnother thing to note, event apps don’t always allow for an in-depth conversation on the platform. “As people start posting stuff on the main feed, you have to make sure that experience is world-class,” explains Will. “There was a character limit on our platform, both in posts and comments. I thought to myself, ‘Not a big deal. This will get fixed.’ But I realized it prevented members from having real in-depth conversations. I think it frustrated some people not to want to come back.”

3. Recurring Calendar EventsFor most event apps, when you put events on a calendar, they break your schedule down day by day. “When you do 365 days, you literally have 365 days on the calendar, and you have to click through them all,” says Will.

“Another critical feature that proved challenging was adding new events. “That’s the core part of an event app. Sometimes it’s so elaborate to add an event that it was almost a pain in the ass to reschedule them.” And by rescheduling, Will means scheduling recurring events (like the live recording of this Event Tech podcast episode). “You can’t do that. It wants a description, a header image, who the speakers are, and who the sponsor is. It asks so many questions. I think there’s a big need for the ability to generate events and get them up and running quickly.”

4. Notification StrategyLast but not least, the #EventProfs community needed a notification strategy. Without it, engagement suffers, and event platforms aren’t built to engage attendees 365 days a year.

“We had a whole episode where we talked about why I thought push notifications were the best,” says Will. Our former platform could handle “one-off push notifications and things like that. But simple notifications like letting you know there’s a new post, a new partner, or someone commented or viewed your profile, and people didn’t get notifications. So we had to push notifications for everything manually. We needed another email management tool to do those things.”

“The feature I’m excited about with the new platform is a weekly digest that says here’s what you missed since you last logged in. The community platform has it, but event apps don’t. And it is because you don’t need a weekly recap when your events are only a week long. Not having notifications to bring you back into the platform killed our engagement. It’s so easy to miss stuff without a notification strategy.”

Circle: #EventProfs new Community PlatformNow, it’s time to share which platform our community will use. “We’re switching to a platform called Circle,” shares Will. “I had a strong belief that event apps could become community apps. As I started looking into Circle, so many features made it much easier. So I’ll go into features and kick it over to Brandt for initial impressions.”

“The first feature is Weekly Digest. It shares all the posts you’ve missed, new members, and can include stats.” Second, “everything inside the platform is triggerable. I can create new posts in the platform based on Zapier triggers. I can DM members with integrations and can do things like tag people and organize them.”

“One big reason we want to switch over is paywall features. We are switching to a paid model with the community. We have to make this sustainable. They integrate with Stripe. I can set up trials and do daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly.” Will can also offer discount codes. “I can offer your first month free. It’s incredible what you can do.”

Will continues: “The thing that makes Circle most incredible is the feed features. The way content gets organized is so much better.” Initially, Will didn’t think the community would be so big that it would need multiple feeds. “But honestly, I think it got to the point where people were not engaging because there was only one feed to post on. So what’s great about Circle is having dedicated spaces where people can have conversations.” For example, #EventProfs can have a dedicated space for vendors, contractors, and CEOs. Event professionals and event tech experts can each have their own spaces, creating a more intimate experience for everyone.

Brandt’s Initial ImpressionsWill’s decision to move the community to Circle is recent, so Brandt is new to its features. Here are his unfiltered first impressions.

“I’m going to start with a little negative,” begins Brandt. “I’m typing in my bio, and as soon as you move on to the next thing, you get the bio is too long. There’s no countdown like on Twitter. The last thing you want is to spend 20 minutes crafting the perfect bio, and then it says it’s too long. This is stuff we see on social media platforms all the time. So I chopped it in half, and now it’s 301 characters, so I have to get it down even further. These little hiccups start to add up.”

Switching to something he likes about the platform, Brandt shares his thoughts on Circle’s “actions.” When users join the platform, it prompts them to share certain things about themselves. “You’ve already got my mind going, as opposed to starting from a blank page. You’ve primed the pump. That’s part of the software.”

“All the basics you expect to find in these kinds of things. It feels kind of like Slack or Discord,” adds Brandt. “We have announcements, events, upcoming events, a whole link section. There’s an iOS app and an Android app. You can also refer friends for money and purchase #EventProfs merch. First impressions, it’s easy to navigate.”

Another cool feature on the platform is the wiki. “It allows you to start building a wiki inside your community,” says Will. “This was a challenge in the event apps. You can start to build a resource and knowledge center inside your community. That’s where I think the real long-term value starts. When people start giving tutorials and ideas, you want them to live more than in just the feed. This allows it to become an asset that people pay for and get excited about.”

“One last thing, you can have different levels of membership,” adds Will. “For example, let’s say I wanted to make it so there’s a VIP level you can pay extra for and access five additional categories no one else sees. You can start gating different parts of the experience. You can even do gated event calendars too. There’s a lot of possibilities.”

Final Thoughts Excited to have brought Event Tech podcast listeners behind the scenes, Will begins to wrap up the episode. “I’ve always envisioned us being a mega online community that encompasses every single part of the industry. Imagine PCMA had its own section; NPI has its own section. Just all ideas I wanted to share. I’m glad you like it.” If you want to check out the #EventProfs community, join us! We offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback. What would you like to see in the community? And what features are you most excited about? Email us. We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Tech podcast.

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Today’s #EventIcons guests recently launched a conference in 90 days, growing their attendance from 0 to 5,000 people. That event was a fantastic PLX conference focused on event partner marketing.

Event partner marketing is a strategic relationship between two entities that aim to accomplish common goals, like increasing event attendance, building brand awareness, or marketing your products. And while you may be familiar with influencer marketing in B2C, a popular approach to event partner marketing, event partner marketing in B2B spaces is also growing in popularity.

In this #EventIcons episode, Will brings together three people who played critical roles in the PLX conference: Nicole, Jared, and Isaac. Keep reading to learn more about the partner-led event, how they emphasized co-creation in their content and more iconic insights.

Meet the People of the HourBefore discussing the event and the dynamics of event partner marketing, let’s get to know today’s icons. Will starts with Endless’ very own Nicole Seymour. “Nicole, you probably have a quicker answer to this since you started at Endless. Then we’ll get into the Partner Hacker story.”

Nicole Seymour“It’s been a journey that’s evolved over about 12 years now,” begins Nicole. “I started with bartending and then worked my way to wedding planning, a whole different ball game. After that, I worked my way to food-based festivals and tradeshows. Then I landed here as Senior Events Manager, and I love the caliber of events we do here at Endless.”

Jared FullerNext to share is Jared. “I don’t know if I want to start with why Partner Hacker was created as much as why I hate go-to-market as a function of B2B companies, this debate between sales, marketing, and customer success. Sales blames marketing for not having enough leads or bad leads, marketing blames sales for not closing enough leads, and then they both throw that mess over to the customer success team.”

“I’ve always thought great relationships happen when you’re driving value and working with people who have been places your customers want to go. Everything in business (like marketing, sales, and generating leads) has nothing to do with helping that person get to where they want to go. It’s about some internal thing. I’ve always loved partnerships. I’ve always been doing it. So why start partnerships? I got sick of people worrying about their internal stuff more than helping people get to where they want to go.”

“Isaac and I have known each other for 10+ years,” continues Jared. “He’s the content God, and I’m the partner hacker. Our podcast started to take off during the economic downturn. And all of a sudden what was once the third wheel became the first chair. We spun up a newsletter, and the rest is history. So we’ve gone from that to a multi-million dollar media business in less than a year.”

Isaac MorehouseLastly, Isaac shares how he joined the events industry and eventually teamed up with Jared to help launch the successful PLX event.

“I have a 15-year history of entrepreneurship, but not in the B2B space,” says Isaac. “I didn’t know anything about partnerships at B2B SaaS companies. So I built a bootstrapped company and a venture-backed company, which I built with zero paid marketing. It was 100% from content, community, and events.”

His venture-backed company couldn’t quite gain traction and scale on the product side, but the media side was successful. “Our newsletter, a daily newsletter for jobseekers, saw 200,000 subscribers in less than a year.” After starting that company, Isaac reconnected with Jared, who was building his Partner Up podcast. Jared convinced Isaac to join him in building his media company. “He convinced me. I’m like, we’ll go in this together, I’ll cohost the podcast with you, and then we’ll spin up an email newsletter. I modeled it after things I’d seen work before.”

“We spun that up in February,” continues Isaac. “In March, we were like, ‘Huh. There might be something here.’ In April, we launched the website, went full-time, and saw something was happening in this space. Now here we are. Events are the core, and all our content is geared toward those.”

The Co-Creation Variable in Event Partner MarketingNext, Will wants to talk about how PLX managed to co-create content with its partners. “I think a lot of people want that. They want their attendees or their speakers to help create unique content. If someone’s looking to do this, what are your tips for them when it comes to getting those speakers wrangled so well?”

“Well, it’s not an easy task,” responds Nicole. “Get involved early and often, which is easier said than done. Once we could connect partners and get people together in documents or meeting virtually, you could see the wheels turning, and people were creating this content.”

Jared agrees that co-creation in partner marketing is a challenging task. “This thing was an utter shit show behind the scenes. Nicole can attest. We had an AirTable where we’d manage the schedule on. I would have dreams of the AirTable. It was a mess, but we did some things right and many wrong.”

The first thing he says they did right was to have an underlying plan driving the event’s schedule. “It was very important to have an idea of what we wanted each day to accomplish and to have a narrative arch from that day’s sessions. The sponsors and partners we worked with appreciated that.”

Here’s where it didn’t go well. “We’d say, ‘You have a session about how marketplaces can work for a product team. Let us know what you want to do with that session.’ When we did that, we’d hear nothing back,” explains Jared. “But when we said, ‘Here are our ideas. We just sent you a draft of what we think your session should be, with a list of 15 speakers we think would be good. Let us know if you want us to tweak or adjust that. That was the way to start co-creation.”

“It is hard to ask someone to ask someone to market this thing for me,” adds Nicole. “We need to offer them something that would lead them to think about their content. I think more often than not, people are looking for some guidance on what you want.”

PLX as a Remote Experience (not Hybrid)Next, Jared and Isaac share their thoughts on hybrid and remote experiences and the single component that helped them ignite a wildfire of social media sharing amongst their attendees.

“At some point, Isaac said, ‘You know what would be cool? If every person got a workbook,’” shares Jared. “I was like, how the heck are we going to keep a spreadsheet on the status of everything?”

Jared continues: “I had to hack this AirTable; it had sessions, titles, descriptions, speakers, images for every speaker, and QR codes and their links. And I got this AirTable and this janky little app to export the AirTable to a PDF file so we could push the event schedule right up to the shipping deadline and not worry about updating this Microsoft Word document, project management system, and this AirTable. There’s no way we could’ve pulled this off if we were trying to do all those things.”

“Next year, we want to level it up,” he adds. “That was a cool learning that was really painful. But hey, that’s what creation and entrepreneurship is. By the way, that’s why we call PLX a remote experience, not a hybrid conference. Hybrid is a lie. You’re either there, or you’re not. You can’t be virtual and in-person, but a remote experience is both. There is an experience here anchoring you so you can take notes and learn, but then you are online.”

As Isaac shares, stoking social pressure, sharing, and the fear of missing out (FOMO) is a challenge with virtual events. With a physical event, “what makes everyone say, ‘I’m going to be at the event. Who else will be there?’ leading up to the event. They get to the event, and what do they do? They post pictures. It’s all this free promotion and marketing in the heart of this audience you want to reach.”

Isaac continues: “With a virtual event, no one’s like, ‘Hey guys! I’m so excited! Let me share this link to this landing page I just registered on.’ By mailing everyone a physical workbook, people posted pictures holding up their workbook. It created the FOMO of a physical experience. Something about that physical component that came before the event, leading up to it made that marketing buzz that you usually get with an in-person event.”

Iconic Tips and ResourcesThis episode of #EventIcons was jam-packed with information! But unfortunately, it has to come to an end. And as Will wraps up this episode, he asks Nicole, Jared, and Isaac to share their number one tip and favorite resources.

What’s Your #1 Tip?“There’s been so much information, I don’t know how we’re going to wrap up in time,” says Will. “So let’s start with my second to last favorite question. What’s your number one question you have for someone who’s planning an event this year?”

“I’ll jump in,” responds Isaac. “When you think of your idea for an event, if you’re not super hyped about it, then forget about it. What’s the point? If it sounds boring to you, why would it be exciting to anyone else? When Jared came to me and said, ‘Check this out: PLX. Partner Led Everything. Every day is a different department where the X is the variable that changes. Every day is a different color. It’s synth wave themed.’ He pitched this vision that I was like, ‘Yes! I can’t wait!’ So that’s my #1 tip: don’t run events you’re not hyped to attend.”

“Isaac hit the nail on the head,” says Jared. “I think most events lack a voice. And when you lack a voice, you lack a brand. I truly wanted this to be the moment that partner ecosystems went mainstream. If it’s not an event, then it’s just content. I think you should have a voice and a strong opinion; if you don’t, just go do content. An event needs to mean something. It’s a moment in time. Events are special, they’re experiences; treat them that way.”

“I love what you said, Jared,” says Nicole. “That’s great. The longtime event planner in me will have to say, start early if you can. And get as much out of your mind and front load the work. More work will come up. Trust your team and ask for help, whether it’s from partners or someone else who’s done it. There are a lot of people who are willing to share what they’ve done.”

What are Your Favorite Resources?“Last question I have for you guys. What are your favorite resources? What are your favorite things in the entire world?” asks Will.

“My number one is Slack,” says Nicole. “The second is AirTable. Jared said we used it in a way that had never been used before. AirTable can be an incredible table for staying organized.”

Isaac’s favorite resource is AirMeet. “And then the other is just people. The first thing we did when we decided to run this event was Jared said, ‘We’re going to talk to some of the people at Drift who created the Drift RevGrowth conference.’ We just found people who had done this and asked for help.”

“I love that. I’m going to extend that answer to working with people who are great at what they do,” says Jared. “The quality of speakers we had at this conference was far above the people who had previously been discussing partnerships. My favorite thing is to work with influencers. Work with people who are in the market and past where you’re at. Make those people famous, and by virtue of that, you’ll make your brand better. It has nothing to do with tech.”

“I like it. Far too often, I lean toward the tech side, so I like that,” says Will. “Wow, guys!” It’s been a packed episode with so many good points!”

Do you want to learn more about event partner marketing and how Jared and Isaac implemented it in their event? Listen to the full episode at the top of this page. And if you just can’t get enough of partnerships, check out some of our other resources on partnerships:

• Establishing Partnerships
• Partnering with Small Businesses
• Supplier-Partner Relationships in Events

We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the #EventIcons podcast!

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Amid industry-wide event budget cuts, global inflation, and nationwide layoffs, teams across the events industry are forced to decide which things to keep, remove, or reduce in the budget. So in this episode of the Event Brew podcast, the crew shares their thoughts on what they’d keep, cut, and remove.

But before we dive into budgets, let’s introduce our special co-host, Xander Castro. Our history with Xander started years ago when he worked for Endless as a freelance ghostwriter. Since then, he’s worked as an event planner and is now the Events Director at Tiny Seed. He was also featured on an earlier episode of #EventIcons. There, you’ll be able to hear more about his background.

Thanks to Xander’s input in today’s episode, the Brew Crew is taking a gamified approach to the heavy topic of event budget cuts. Given the ability to choose the episode topic, he says this: “I dropped in a random idea that just popped into my mind, the PG version of kiss, marry, kill.” The idea is, “If you look at budgets being cut and your clients are looking at stripping away some of the numbers you have for specific budget items, what are the things you need to keep? What are the things that you have an opportunity to cut? And, what are some of the things that you can completely do away with?” So without further ado, let’s see what the Brew Crew would do.

Cut, Keep, Improve (the Kiss, Marry, Kill Revamp)If you’re unfamiliar with the old-school game of kiss, marry, kill, here’s how it works: a player reviews a list of three real or fictional people. Of those three people, the player must choose who they would kiss, marry, or kill. However, in keeping things events related, the Brew Crew decided to revamp the game and call it “cut, keep, improve.”

Today, the three categories the crew will have to cut, keep, or improve are:

• Production
• Food
• Marketing

But before the crew starts making event budget cuts, Nick shares a disclaimer. “We’re aware that ‘it depends.’ We’re aware that the objectives really move these decision-making pieces. So take all this with a grain of salt.”

Here is where Nick, Deanna, Xander, and Will landed in their decisions.

| Cut | Keep | Improve | | Nick | Food | Production | Marketing | | Deanna | Production | Food | Marketing | | Xander | Food | Production | Marketing | | Will | Food | Production | Marketing |

Team Cut-Food Nick’s decided to cut food. Why? Alcohol. “I’d get rid of it,” he says. “I know that’s super controversial, but it’s pretty easy and probably the highest cost in the F&B (food and beverage) bubble. Most objectives don’t require it. I understand it has a social lubricant element, but you can overcome that with inexpensive alternatives. There are also other opportunities to pull themes into F&B. Even though there’s less food, it’s more thematically aligned with the theme. It’s harder to cut things with a purpose, like production.”

“Before you go to production, I’ll layer in with the food and beverage,” says Will. He also thinks cutting food is a great way to work with a reduced budget. “I think that you can pass that cost onto your attendees now and that they will crave a higher quality experience and then will pay for it how they want to. What I do is, give longer lunch breaks and send people to the local restaurants nearby. Let them enjoy their lunchtime and dive deep into conversations with people.”

For Nick, food was the only right choice. He sees so much more opportunity in production and marketing to make your buck stretch further. “When you start taking money out of production, you start diminishing the point of most events. You don’t want to do anything that gives you less opportunity to repurpose that content in the future.”

“If someone has a diminished budget, my goal is to figure out how I can make more money in the future, so I’m not in this position again,” continues Nick. By saving production, “I can use that to make more money down the line. Specifically in recutting that content to have additional sponsored revenue opportunities in evergreen content. Production and marketing have better opportunities for me to make more revenue.”

“I like to think of it as empowering attendees to make their own decisions,” adds Xander. “The opportunity to potentially reduce ticket prices by carving food out of your budget isn’t just a marketing tool; it also gets them out of the space and lets you have a more natural opportunity to connect.”

However, this cutting strategy won’t work for events with a long history of food-based experiences or events that have made promises around food. “If you’ve promised something to your attendees, that’s where you start running into some challenges. Still, F&B is an area where we have the most power to make adjustments without impacting the quality of the overall event experience,” concludes Xander.

Team Cut-ProductionAs Nick, Will, and Xander were all team cut-food, Deanna was left alone in her decision to cut production. “It’s interesting because I think some of the things Nick had in the marketing or production bucket, I would put in the marketing bucket,” she says.”

“So why I would cut production: I would cut visuals. I feel like plenty of speakers, presenters, and facilitators rely too heavily on them. Depending on the event, size, and scope, you can do some great stuff without any visuals. Audio is harder to cut, especially if it’s a large group, but I think you can get by without visuals if you have a dynamic speaker.”

Deanna has an example to back up her position. “I went to Connect Corporate in 2016. All the AV went out in the middle of one of the keynote speaker’s lunch keynote. She was amazing because she rolled with the punches and still got a great message. I still remember it, and this was seven years ago.”

This statement reminds Nick of TED talks, another excellent example of low-production events that make an impact. “There’s no real production elements beyond the TED letters that go everywhere. That’s a stripped-down affair that gets the point across. It’s more focused on how the speakers present and execute. It’s a very cohesive and impactful experience.”

Team Cut-MarketingAs no one was on team cut marketing, Nick and Will share their thoughts on streamlining marketing.

“No one said, ‘let’s reduce marketing.’ Maybe that’s because it’s the impetus of the move to spend less money this year,” says Nick. If you have to cut marketing costs, he suggests looking at partnerships. “Share the load, and make it easy for them to market your event, along with you, growing their impressions without spending as much money on media buys or PPC. If you empower your partners in your event, you’re potentially spending less money in a more coordinated effort. Then you could spend less money on marketing.”

“One thing I’ll add is, don’t be afraid to reinvent your marketing,” adds Will. “We were hardcore in the inbound marketing game early on in the events industry. Our only competitors in the content space were media companies. But during the pandemic, because so many tech companies had such a marketing budget, inbound marketing within the SaaS market got overcrowded fast.”

He continues: “When you start feeling like something’s not working anymore, cut your emotion from it and rethink it. Shoutout to my team at Endless, they were telling me this more than I was listening. We should’ve tried something completely different, but I kept thinking, ‘No. this works.’ But then I realized I should have cut it, and we started new marketing tactics.”

The Creator Economy: An Untapped Low-Cost ResourceInspired by suggestions on how to cut marketing, Deanna has some valuable and actionable advice for event marketers too. “I know this isn’t a trends episode. But it’s making me think about where our industry is going, where we have room to improve, and where we may be lagging. We don’t harness influencer or user-generated content. The creator economy is not just here, it’s booming. The event industry is definitely behind in that aspect.”

“I remember seeing this with HubSpot a couple of years ago,” continues Deanna. “They galvanized their community and made power-users that helped promote the conference while at Inbound. That’s a great low-cost opportunity that may be no-cost, depending on what your community looks like. They’re going to sell your product better than you ever can. They’re essentially the subject matter experts in this field. That’s one place I’d love to see our industry get into more.”

Nick agrees. “And in some cases, there are no hard costs associated with prepping them and making them feel special,” he says. “I’m not saying spend less on Google this year or stop email marketing. That’s not the best way to save money in marketing and reach your goals. It’s about using the inexpensive and no-cost methodologies out there.”

“Events really don’t leverage influencer marketing mostly because I think the understanding of what influencer marketing is in the B2B context isn’t obvious,” continues Nick. “In the B2B space, it’s much more approachable. They’re not looking for $250,000 per Instagram post. They’re looking for front-seat tickets or a shoutout.”

In 2022, VideoFruit founder Bryhan Hariss guest posted on a niche B2B website. Following the article’s publication, his marketing agency saw a massive increase in page views and visit time, along with a decrease in bounce rate. The B2B influencer economy exists. You just have to utilize it.

What’s Your Event Budget Cut, Keep, Improve?Now that you’re familiar with cut, keep, and improve, we want to hear from you! “Of the three buckets we’ve discussed, what event budgets would you cut, keep, and improve? Send us an email and email us questions for future topics,” concludes Deanna.

We’re looking forward to bringing this format back in the future. We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Brew podcast.

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Regular events are one of the best ways to boost your pharmaceutical brand. Whether you’re hosting a training, conference, product launch, board meeting, peer dinner, or investigator meeting, high-quality pharmaceutical events can put your business on the map. Regardless of your pharma brand’s size, events can be a brilliant addition to your marketing mix, boosting awareness, engagement, and sales.

Pharma event management is no joke, though. From balancing a budget to finding the perfect venue and speakers, you’ve got to juggle a lot to put on an all-star event. Follow these ten tips to master pharma event management and boost your brand.

Set an Event GoalWhy are you planning this event? What is the purpose? This event should benefit your pharma brand. You need to see a return on the time, money, and resources you spent planning the event.

Goals like “Promote the launch of our new product” or “Connect with industry leaders” are a good place to start. But if you want to take things a step further, create goals with the SMART goal-setting framework. SMART goals ensure your goals are actionable and deliver value to the business.

For example, a generic goal like “Promote our product” could become a more measurable SMART goal with this framework: “This event will lead to one hundred press mentions by the end of Q1.” That will help you plan a cohesive event that matches your target goal.

Invest in Proper Project ManagementOrganization is the key to successful pharma event management. Once you know your goal, you must determine critical tasks and milestones for executing your event.

Decide on a date for the event and work backward from there. Set up a project management solution or spreadsheet to assign deadlines and tasks to your team. This way, you can delegate the work with the added accountability of due dates to stay on track.

Remember Ethical GuidelinesThe pharmaceutical industry has to follow specific ethical guidelines. Healthcare providers can’t always accept gifts like meals or accommodations. Consider who you invite to this event and check which professional codes they follow. Ensure your event doesn’t conflict with any of these guidelines. The last thing you want to do is cause an awkward ethical quandary for your attendees.

Set and Follow a BudgetYour budget will affect everything from your venue to your programming and marketing. You want to plan a high-quality pharma event, but you can’t bust your budget, either. You need to generate a return on your investment, which means keeping a close eye on expenses.

Create a spreadsheet to track every expense for the event. Create categories in the spreadsheet for food, entertainment, the venue, A/V, and anything else you’ll need to buy for the event. Set a budget for each category and stick to it. If something you need exceeds your budget, see if you can bundle the cost with another service or reallocate money from a different category.

You’ll pay for some expenses upfront, like your venue, while you might pay for other expenses after the fact, like catering or alcohol. Don’t forget to factor in taxes and fees. When in doubt, add at least 10% to your total event budget to account for incidentals.

To maximize your budget, shop for at least three quotes for every line item. You can always try to negotiate with suppliers for discounts or freebies. The worst thing they can do is say no, so it can’t hurt to ask.

If an in-person event is still too expensive for your pharma event, opt for a virtual event instead. All you need is the right event technology platform. You don’t have to pay for a huge venue, food, or other high-ticket line items. Having a virtual component also helps attendees cut down on pricey airfare and helps busy pharma executives make the most of their full schedule, so it’s a win for everyone.

Create a Solid Agenda and Speaker ListWhat’s going to happen at your event? Even if it’s a small get-together, it’s best to have a schedule of events.

Give your attendees a clear agenda on your event booking page. Share information on times, locations, speakers, and topics.

Pharma events aim to position your brand as an industry leader. You want people to remember your event for years, meaning you must create a truly awe-inspiring experience.

For starters, try to feature industry leaders or experts at your event. They might cost more, but they can promote your event and draw a larger crowd. Try to get speakers as early as possible because subject matter experts’ calendars fill up quickly. If there’s someone you have in mind, reach out to them as soon as you have an event date.

With that said, make sure the speaker is a fit for this type of event, your audience, and your brand. For example, if a high-profile speaker specializes in microbiology but that has nothing to do with your product launch, choose a different speaker.

Include Networking OpportunitiesNetworking allows your attendees to connect with each other. Try to facilitate these connections by carving out time in your schedule for networking.

Create dedicated areas at your event for networking. You only need tables, couches, and a reasonably quiet space. If you want to keep the conversation going, cocktails and conversation cards are the way to go.

For virtual events, create unique networking rooms where people can sit at virtual tables for video or text-based chats with other attendees.

Promote Your EventWhere is your audience? Market your event where more pharma folks will see it. Use targeted pay-per-click ads, email marketing, social media, and influencer partnerships to get people talking.

If you have sponsors for this event, ask them to promote the event to their audience as part of the sponsorship deal.

Conduct an Event Post-mortemEven if your event went off without a hitch, there’s a good chance you learned something while planning this pharma event. Meet with your marketing and event team to review the pharma event management process.

What went well? What can you change for next time? Are there any opportunities you can capitalize on?

You can also send post-event surveys to your attendees. Keep it short and sweet to increase response rates. You can always create a giveaway or a raffle to incentivize more responses.

Make It FunPharma is a serious industry, but that doesn’t mean your event has to be all work and no play. You can integrate games, challenges, giveaways, and other fun activities to make your event both engaging and memorable.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money, either. Check out these fun, affordable, and creative breakout session ideas to keep your attendees entertained and engaged.

Add a Wow FactorPharma is an innovative industry, so every event needs a little sparkle. Even a small meeting can become an ample opportunity to promote your brand and create great experiences.

The correct wow factor depends on the nature of the event and who’s attending. Try these ideas to give your guests something to talk about:

• Balloon drop
• Champagne toast
• Limo rides
• Luxury accommodations
• Gourmet meals
• DJs
• Cultural experiences and entertainment

Master Pharma Event Management With EndlessIt’s crucial to plan pharma events to a tee. That’s the best way to get the most return on investment on your event marketing budget. Whether you want to boost approval for your newest drugs or train your team, these tips for proper pharma event management will help you reach your goals. Endless Events offers end-to-end event management for pharmaceutical companies. We worked with Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTEN) on their annual learning and development conference. See how Endless helped LTEN create an inspirational event without the huge price tag.

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Unlike the Metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly. Will and Brandt published the ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Other AI Tools You Need to Know at the end of February 2023. After only a few weeks and many headlines later, they’re ready to revisit the ever-evolving topic. In today’s episode of the Event Tech podcast, Will and Brandt share some of the latest AI technology news, their thoughts on how you should embrace the fast-growing technology, and what they’d like to see from it moving forward. Let’s get right into it!

Google vs. Microsoft Battle for the Future of AIBoth Google and Microsoft have recently publicly discussed their efforts to rival ChatGPT with their own AI technology. “Google’s is called Bard, and Microsoft integrates it into Bing and Edge,” says Brandt. “It will be fascinating to see how they’re implemented, as both are limited right now. Google clearly sees this as a three-alarm fire. The way Microsoft is doing it is, they’re going to have citations. It helps it be more accurate but doesn’t mean it can’t be inaccurate. My money is that Google will not do that because they want search revenue.”

Thinking back to who AI tools will impact most, Brandt thinks a specific set of companies should be concerned. “Companies like Conference Direct and other venue finders should be scared. Imagine going into Bing and saying, ‘Find me a venue that can fit 350 people and has an outside cocktail space.’ Then the AI grabs that for you and says, ‘I found five venues within 30 miles of Dallas that meet your criteria.’ That’s one thing I didn’t realize before that has the potential for serious disruption.”

Will thinks content creators, bloggers, and those who find and share research should be the most concerned. “As a content creator, I should be scared if I’m writing blog posts and things like that,” he says. “The traffic will no longer come to your website, so there will be less chance for you to convert a lead. That makes me feel like the content age will die soon. You’ll still make content because AI needs content to feed it, but you won’t be able to monetize it how you used to.”

“There’s so much potential for information,” continues Will. But on the downside, “if you’re a withholder of information, your job vanishes. If your sole competitive advantage is that you have information and the ability to gather or deliver that information, that will go away. Everyone will have well-organized and summarized information at their fingertips.”

Brandt agrees, but he also disagrees. He feels differently about how creatives will continue to play a role in the future of content. “I stand by what I’ve said in the past: I don’t think this will make creatives disappear. There’s a lot of crap content on the web, whether clickbait or link farms. Humans generate all of those things now, which can be equally terrible when generated by AI technology. So I think a lot of that automation will be done by AI. But from the creative side, I’m not terribly worried about it. I think there will still be a need for human discernment,” he concludes.

You Have to Embrace Change to Remain CompetitiveAvoiding engagement with or learning about AI technology can lead to some pretty significant missed opportunities for growth, advancement, and innovation, which is Will’s biggest fear. “At least play with this stuff, to be aware.” He compares it to the naysayers of social media ten years ago. “The tools aren’t 100% there, but can you use them to leverage further? Yes. Now, you can’t get hired if you don’t know how to use Google Docs. I think about it in the same way. In the future, someone will say, ‘I need you to find venues, and I want you to use these tools. If you don’t, I’ll find someone else who will.’”

Brandt applies this same thinking to other internal processes. “In our industry, consider turning around a request for proposal (RFP). Imagine saying to an AI, ‘Here are four RFPs. Line it all up and show me the differences.’ Leveraging these technologies to speed up our processes, so I don’t have to spend half an hour thinking about what to write, shortening the time to come up with stage design, or shortening response times to give you a leg up, it’s going to be amazing. Organizations will need people that can do this stuff. Your social media analogy is apt; there will be something similar with these AI tools where people who figure out how to use these prompts to generate useful works of art will be in high demand. And that’s across all industries, including ours.”

AI for Events: What We Need Moving Forward“Hopefully, what folks take away from this is the clear difference in how we’re talking about this again versus how we’ve been talking about the Metaverse,” says Brandt. “I’m not sure what the benefits are to a lot of the Metaverse stuff. For example, why is it better for me to be half a torso with no legs floating around a work environment when we talk on the phone? But I definitely see the possibilities of how AI will impact our industry.”

Additionally, the Metaverse requires expensive and specific hardware. “With AI, you don’t need anything new. You just type a URL into your browser and start using this stuff immediately,” adds Will.

“What’s interesting to me is that they’re going to make developer versions available to Azure service users, for example,” continues Will. User interface plays a huge role in how adoptable tools are, which is another reason he thinks AI tools like ChatGPT make waves while the Metaverse only creates ripples. “ChatGPT existed for two or three years, but it wasn’t until they put the chat system on it that it’s gone viral. It’s about the user interface.”

“I watched one video where they showed the Microsoft AI tool in Edge. If it’s in your browser, it will let you layer it on top of the entire web or whatever you’re looking at. It’s the equivalent of taking AR goggles and putting them in front of your computer screen.” Example use cases include asking the tool to summarize the web page, explain a white paper graphic, or compare a product to another product on the web. “That’s where the future is. That’s what I feel is missing from ChatGPT. I want to interface with the information I have and know.”

What do you think? Who should be concerned about the rise of AI technology for events, and why? “Brandt and I are just two people who talk back and forth about all the ideas and scenarios we could use this for. I know so many of you are thinking of ways to implement this,” says Will. We want to hear from you, so email us your thoughts. Who knows? Maybe your ideas will be the topic of conversation in our next Event Tech podcast episode.

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The pandemic put a strain on everyone in the events industry, and it’s pushed some of our longest-serving professionals into other careers or even retirement, leaving a vacuum for other professionals to fill. It’s this need for experienced and knowledgeable event professionals, along with the revitalization of events, that led today’s guest, Bradley Cocks, to transition from doing to event professional education.

Bradley is an experienced event professional with an impressive 20 years of history in the industry. He’s also founded and sold his own events agency and has launched a successful online Masterclass specifically for event professionals. In this #EventIcons episode, Will has many questions for Bradley. Tune in to hear what skills Bradly thinks event professionals need for the future, what prompted his transition from events to event professional education, and more.

How Bradley Cocks Came to EventsToday, you’ll find Bradley taking on speaking engagements and confidently speaking front and center in his Events Masterclass. But he hasn’t always been so confident. In fact, at the start of his career, his passion was backstage, away from the attention of large crowds. Here’s Bradley sharing his career history in the events industry.

“Effectively, I started in musical theatre in high school,” he says.”It progressed from there, and I wanted to get into international tour management. So, I went to University and earned a Music Industry Bachelor’s in Business here in Australia. In that course, I took on work experience with a corporate event company. That progressed rapidly from casual part-time work to full-time work. That’s where it all kicked off.”

Bradley continues: “I spent 5 years learning all I could at that first agency, and then I moved on to the Australian Open. I reinvigorated their live experience program over the years. From there, I ended up starting my own agency. I sold that after a few years and ended up at another agency based out of Australia, where I became the director of events.”

“In 2020, we created the events masterclass,” says Bradley. He felt the events industry would benefit from this course during the pandemic. “That’s where I’m at today in a snapshot. I’m full-time with the Masterclass and take on a few side projects here and there.”

The Future of Event Professional Skills Curious about Bradley’s unique perspective on event professional skills, Will takes the conversation to the future. “What do you think is a skill that event professionals don’t need right now but will in the future?”

“In some ways, we’re becoming HR managers because our project teams are becoming bigger,” explains Bradley. “Being able to identify as a business manager and an HR manager, in some ways, and being able to lead those teams, is critical to the true event professional. A little less doing and more overseeing, I think, will be critical for the next few years.”

Will agrees. “I love that you said the HR piece,” he says. “We just did an Event Brew episode called ‘Do Event Professionals Need to Learn HR Core Competencies?’ I think our understanding was that they’re going to become important. You bring up this good point that it used to be that you’d hire subcontractors, give them a paycheck, they’d do their job, and the event would go. But now all those HR skills become more important, not just as an event leader, but also as a manager.”

What Led Bradley to Shift From Events to Event Professional Education? Event professionals often have a very diverse career history. We also discussed this in an Event Brew episode titled “How did You get Started in the Events Industry?” Still, moving from founding your own event agency to launching an online course for event professional education is quite the shift. Curious about this change, Will asks Bradley about his desire to make the change.

Bradley explains that he both saw a need for the knowledge he has to share and enjoys the kind of professionals he works with now. “I’ve always enjoyed working with teams and those looking to embrace new knowledge and develop their skill set,” says Bradley. “ Working with that group was something I was passionate about and wanted to continue, but there was also the skill set shortage we identified through COVID. One of the things that jumped out at me was that people couldn’t define what an event professional in its truest form is.”

Bradley continues: “For me, it’s a passion. It’s about trying to build up event professionals to be the best they can be. After 20 years of producing events, I realized I couldn’t do that forever, so it was also a way of giving back to those starting to build their careers. That’s where Events Masterclass comes from. It was taking 20 years of knowledge out of my head and trying to deliver skill sets, resources, and relevant knowledge to people.”

What About the Masterclass Gets Bradley Most Excited?With 15 modules and hours and hours of content, there’s a lot to love about the Events Masterclass. But Will wants to know what excites Bradley the most. “You’re covering all different aspects of events. What’s one portion of the Masterclass that you’re extremely proud of and that gets you excited?” he asks.

“The whole event ideation has been somewhat overlooked,” starts Bradley. “People say, ‘I’ll create an event.’ But what does that mean? That was probably the most enjoyable piece of that. But also going through an event lifecycle and working out what happens before an event was really cool.”

“There are 15 modules in the course, but more are on the way. We also have some new ideas around sustainability and accessibility in particular. But we’re just trying to open up as much knowledge and resources as possible for people who need it.”

“The full Masterclass is geared toward any event professionals,” continues Bradley. “Not all of it is for everyone, but by having that broad understanding of how events are conceived and put together, you can get a lot out of the course and work out where you want to be. Do you want to be in corporate events or sporting events? Do you want to work for the government or an association? In the first couple of modules, we talk about exactly that. How do you build a career, and what does that look like?”

What’s the Hottest tip You Have for the Events Industry?In true #EventIcons tradition, Will asks Bradley about his hot tips for the industry as he wraps up this episode. “You have so much knowledge and so much to share! What would you consider the hottest tip for the events industry?”

“I always go back to the customer,” says Bradley. “Always go back to the guest as the core of any event you do. If you get stuck, ask, ‘What is my guest’s journey?’ Ultimately, they’re the ones who are experiencing it. It’s not about you; it’s about them.”

And when asked about his top resources, Bradley shares a range of valuable tools. “I think project management tools are becoming more popular. Let’s embrace them more. Try to build yourself a library of resources relevant to what you do. I’m also big on time-tracking apps. Efficiency is the key, so work out what will work for you. All our brains are different. What works for you will be different than what works for me. So if you have a team environment, you need to keep it simple so that everyone can utilize it in their own way,” concludes Bradley.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Event Icons! If you’d like to learn more about Bradley’s online course, check out the Events Masterclass website. Tune in next time for another iconic guest!

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Corporate events like conferences, workshops, and seminars communicate important information, but who says they have to be stuffy and boring? A bit of fun never hurt anyone. In fact, fun experiences can be immensely valuable for corporate events. Corporate breakout sessions break up the monotony of a lengthy meeting schedule. These bursts of fun encourage attendees to recharge, unwind, and connect in a more casual setting. They can even increase creativity and decrease feelings of burnout.

What’s not to love? Breakout sessions are a great go-to option if you’re looking to spice up your next corporate event. Here are 14 actually fun corporate breakout session ideas to energize attendees and make your event a success.

1. Team Cooking ChallengeThis is a chance to live out your dreams of being on Chopped. Divide attendees into small groups and challenge them to create a meal using mystery ingredients. Make this breakout session even spicier by limiting their ingredients or requiring a particular type of dish, like breakfast for dinner.

2. Cake Decorating CompetitionIf your team doesn’t have cooking chops but likes the idea of a food competition, opt for a decorating contest instead. You don’t need to set up a proper kitchen for this or need to worry about potential food poisoning.

This breakout session is all about creativity and fun. You’ll need the following:

• Pre-cooked cake bases
• Aprons and gloves
• Colored frosting
• Sprinkles, edible eyes, and other fun decorations
• Decorating bags and tips
• Toothpicks or other scribing tools

You can offer prizes for the best and worst cake creations. Trust us; this one will get a lot of laughs.

3. Scavenger HuntScavenger hunts are a classic team-building activity that never gets old. You can customize the clues and challenges to fit the theme of your event, too. If you’d like to encourage a little friendly competition, offer juicy prizes, like free tickets to your next event.

4. Escape Room ChallengeEscape rooms generate a lot of buzz. In this breakout session, attendees can participate in a themed breakout room where they collaborate to solve a series of puzzles and escape before the time expires.

Traditionally, escape rooms are off-site functions away from your event. With a tight schedule, that can be tough to pull off, so consider bringing escape rooms to your event. All you need to set up a fun escape room challenge is a creative team that can drum up a good mystery to solve. Aim to create escape room challenges that are 30 minutes or shorter.

5. Speed NetworkingSpeed networking is a corporate spin on speed dating. It enables attendees to network with people that they usually don’t have the opportunity to interact with. Give your attendees name tags, match them with up, and set a timer for two or three minutes. Once the timer ends, attendees will change seats to chat with other folks.\

You don’t want the conversation to die, so provide conversation cards at each table. If you’re using an event management platform, you can ask attendees to swap contact information with just a few taps of a button.

6. Improv GamesImprov games require minimal setup, but they pack a lot of fun. Pick improv games that fit your attendees’ experience level and your event’s theme.

Start with easy games like “Questions Only,” “Alphabet,” and “Sell it to Me.” Then, as your attendees get more comfortable, try working your way up to more complex games. The goal isn’t to do well at these games but to create a supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and having fun.

7. “Minute to Win It” GamesBased on the popular TV show, this corporate breakout session involves completing a series of challenges in under a minute. These fast-paced, high-energy challenges will surely get your team pumped up. Participants race to complete challenges first or to see how many times they can complete a task in sixty seconds.

8. Paint and SipWhether you opt for mocktails or cocktails, paint-and-sip sessions are all the rage. Set up canvases, paintbrushes, paint, smocks, and easels before your breakout session. You can ask attendees to paint the same thing or give them the creative freedom to paint whatever they want.

9. Karaoke BashWhat’s more fun than singing your heart out? Karaoke bashes are entertaining and offer a way for attendees to release stress after a long day of meetings.

Renting a karaoke machine is the easiest way to do this. But if you’re on a budget, you can also opt for a projector, speakers, microphone, and good ol’ YouTube. Attendees can choose songs on their own or perform as a group.

10. Silent DiscoDancing is a great way to relieve pent-up stress at the end of a conference. But instead of creating a huge dance floor with a DJ, opt for a silent disco. Silent discos are a great way to start a dance party where everyone can be their own DJ.

You will need to buy special wireless headphones for each attendee. Try creating a few different playlists for attendees to choose from. You’ll also need a reasonably-sized dance floor — complete with decorations and lighting — to complete the experience.

11. Photo BoothPhoto booths give attendees a fun memento to take home from your event. Plus, many photo booths allow you to upload your photos straight to social media, so this is a smart way to get more social media mentions at your event.

Hire a professional photographer or buy an automated photo booth to amp up the excitement. Don’t forget the costumes and props. You can offer a few wacky options but don’t forget to sneak in a bit of event branding. Always add your event hashtag on photo booth signage or stick props.

12. Yoga SessionMost corporate breakout sessions are high-energy and fun. But what if your attendees need a minute to slow down?

Yoga breakout sessions allow attendees to relax and unwind. It doesn’t hurt that they also allow attendees to move and stretch after a long day of sitting.

Hire a professional yoga instructor to lead this session. Try to host this breakout session in a quiet area free from distractions. If the weather’s nice, consider hosting the event outside. Since most attendees won’t have room to lug their yoga mats to the conference, be sure to provide yoga mats.

13. Meditation SeriesLike yoga, a meditation breakout session is a more relaxing form of fun. Meditation helps attendees slow down and quiet their minds, which can help them focus better on later sessions.

If you work with a smaller group, hire a meditation coach and provide yoga mats or pillows. If you’re working with a larger group, hold the breakout session in a large room with dim lighting. Your meditation coach can read positive affirmations, recite mantras, or lead attendees through a breathing exercise. Try to keep this session no longer than twenty minutes, so attendees don’t fall asleep!

14. Creative Writing WorkshopCreative writing workshops are a great way to encourage self-expression and creativity. You can hire a creative writing teacher or ask a team member with writing experience to facilitate the workshop.

Dispense pens and paper to your participants. Give attendees a series of fun writing prompts. Set a timer for 15 minutes and play relaxing music. At the end of that time, attendees can share their creations.

Make Corporate Events Feel like a Party Who says corporate breakout sessions have to be a drag? With some planning, you can plan engaging, creative breakout sessions that make your event feel less like a conference and more like a party.

But we know it takes a lot of work to pull off corporate breakout sessions that your attendees will love. We’re here to help. Endless Events is an end-to-end event management company that makes corporate events fun, effective, and easy. Get in touch now to plan your next big event.

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In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated events across the globe. Almost three years later, the United States is finally making a widespread comeback, events included. Still, it’s not enough for President Biden to declare the pandemic over. As the Brew Crew shares today, many event professionals are still battling low attendance, learning about and designing for increased accessibility and figuring out how to implement the lessons they’ve learned throughout the pandemic.

In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Arianna, Will, Nick, and Dustin discuss where the events industry started, what the industry needs today, and how to move forward. Let’s get right to it!

Where We’ve Been and Where We are now Nick starts today’s discussion by setting the scene. “It’s been this ambiguous period of doing what you have to do for a couple of years now. For example, every linen company was sewing things to make masks. Entertainers were doing DJ sets for virtual all-hands meetings. I saw every event professional do what they had to do.”

Nick, and many others, used to champion the idea of “staying in your lane,” or in other words, sticking to your job. The pandemic forced many people to throw that line of thinking out the window. But he wonders what “back to normal” means for the events industry. “Are we going to mix it up? Who are we, and should we go back to the way things were? There’s a lot of unpacking there.”

“In the beginning, we had these high hopes for this industry that we’d learn lessons and come back stronger,” says Dustin. “We can track back to episodes where we talk about having a better work-life balance or that we want to involve diversity, inclusion, and accessibility more in our events.”

A few of those episodes include:

• Remote Work: Is it Helping or Hurting the Events Industry? (2020)
• Diversity in Events with William S. Mathews (2021)
• Diversity and Inclusion in Events: Paving the way for a Better Tomorrow (2020)

Dustin believes normalcy returned so quickly people didn’t have enough time to slowly implement their lofty dreams of a better tomorrow. The pandemic “lasted so long that a lot of the industry was desperate to return to work. Muscle memory took us back to where we knew how to be successful. I think we lost some of that goodness we were building and all those lessons learned. Now, in 2023, I hope we can look back and say, I remember that lofty goal I had.”

Evolving Events: It’s Time to Learn from the PastWith refreshed memories, the Brew Crew turns to events in 2023. Arianna starts by sharing her thoughts on recent news about the industry. “I know that, in North America, our total meeting booking numbers have rebounded, but I’m wondering which events those are,” she says. “For myself and many of the people I work with, we haven’t gone back. As someone who could digitize and convert quickly, I noticed, in 2020, that it was mostly the events industry that wanted to go back, especially folks in roles that didn’t translate or have the resources to re-skill quickly.”

“I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with events,” continues Arianna. “But going through this has made me see that conferences were never good enough. Particularly, academic and high-level business conferences are elite as hell. Like, it’s a $700 ticket, requires me to not care for elders or kids, and requires that my employers sponsor the experience for me. I think events are naturally going to evolve, and I think quite a few of us aren’t willing to go back because events weren’t good enough in terms of diversity and accessibility.”

“I’ve reached new levels of speaker and moderator diversity because we’re no longer asking people to find their own travel. They’re able to participate from anywhere.” For Arianna, learning how to transition back to in-person without losing what events have gained is non-negotiable.

“That’s super interesting,” says Dustin. “This disruption broke the tradition of events. If you went back in time, events needed to evolve. We hoped that it was going to push events to start that evolution. When you said conferences are for the elite, you’re so right, and it’s gotten worse. Travel prices have gone through the roof.”

“Part of me thinks that this report that numbers are up is the rubber band coming back,” adds Will. But he believes, in reality, it’s the increasing costs of attendance that will bring current optimism into check. “I could be wrong, but I feel like what we’re feeling is the energy of ‘I have to get back to in-person.’ But people are going to go back in person and feel, ‘Did I need to?’”

Many events have failed to meet attendee expectations, stakeholder expectations, or both in recent years. Nick believes the industry and event attendees are past the point of accepting pandemic-related excuses in the face of lackluster experiences. “Whatever your show is this year, is your show. CES is a good example of that.” Of its 170,000+ attendees in January 2020 (pre-COVID for the U.S.), only 45,000 returned in 2022. In 2023, CES saw an improved attendance of 115,000 attendees.

According to Nick, these changes in attendance aren’t purely COVID-related. “It was, ‘My habits are broke. I’m reevaluating what I’m doing, or I’ve acquired new ways to think about content and attendance. And I’m choosing not to go.’ Maybe everyone has to go back and run their show exactly how they did in 2019 to make changes. With as many new technologies as we have and new skills learned, I have not seen them applied [in recent events]. I also wish that some of the bigger lessons we learned that don’t take more work would still be applied. As Ariana said, it really is the DEI stuff.”

Evolution and Design Require Resources and IntentionIf the events industry has learned valuable lessons throughout the pandemic but fails to create events using new technology and knowledge, how can you change that?

“Design is the missing piece,” says Arianna. “You can have all the fancy tools in the world, but if you don’t design your event with intention, you’re not thinking through the attendee experience from start to finish, not developing your personas, or understanding how to approach your event, then you’re not doing your attendees justice.”

There was a time when online events were rushed and hosted to simply have an event, but those days are over. “We haven’t even seen the best of what a true online networking experience can be,” continues Arianna. “This is very hard for people because they revert to a YouTube comments mentality. No, these are real humans in the container with you. We need to teach the attendee how to engage in that digital space, and that’s a ton of work.”

“Do you think some of this slowed because the vast majority of professionals and those with a voice are in the in-person space?” asks Dustin.

“A lot of leadership making decisions around this are the event rock stars,” Arianna responds. “If I’m the VIP and this is a paid experience for me as an executive, then, of course, I’m not thinking about the attendee doing elder care and watching a kid because everyone is still working remotely.”

Arianna argues that there is no good argument against networking online. “I have to call bullshit. If we can collaborate and remotely onboard with Teams, we can certainly meet new humans in an event container when it’s done with intention, and there’s a focus on pre-educating the attendee on how to engage. Yeah, it takes a lot of resources. It takes a lot of thinking about.”

Final Thoughts: Virtual did and Still can Make a DifferenceAs Arianna begins to wrap up today’s Event Brew episode, she turns the crew toward accessibility.

“One of the things we have to learn moving forward is what the future looks like for folks like me. We got used to the accessibility of asking speakers, thought leaders, and experts questions. I never want to be talked at again. We created spaces for speaking, conversing and engaging with the content. For all of my folks planning on-site events already, where are you creating these spaces for attendees to weigh in? At the end of the day, it’s about allowing attendees to shape the experience that is reflected back to them on stage.”

And as an event professional passionate about accessibility, Arianna has heard from attendees positively impacted by her events. For example, after speaking at your event, “‘I got this offer. My company was sold, and we went public.’ And then, in the next breath, ‘I would not have been able to come in person.’ Seeing that we’re now reaching a global audience is so fulfilling. We’re able to bring in global speakers and increase diversity. These conversations are so critical.”

Arianna continues: “How do we use events for good? What is it that you learned in the last few years? What did you learn that you’re just not willing to compromise? And what are you carrying forward?” She provides an example from her own experience, “Until I’m able to honor an increase in our scholarship program from 50 to 500 passes, I’m not going back on-site.”

What do you think? We want to hear about what you’ve learned in the last three years and how you continue evolving your events. Send us an email! We read every one and love reading your thoughts and discussing your questions.

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In 2022, the United States saw 1,774 data breaches. And while 1,774 might not sound jaw-dropping, those breaches impacted an estimated 422,143,312 people. Cybersecurity for event planners is a recurring theme on the podcast because cyber threats are never-ending and are only getting more complex.

In today’s episode of the Event Tech podcast, Will and Brandt tackle cybersecurity, driven by the recent and controversial data breach at LastPass and a listener question. Ellysa C. asked, what steps would you give to a new event planner to help protect against cybersecurity threats for virtual events? Tune in to learn six tips to protect your business and events against cybersecurity threats in 2023.

Protect Yourself with a Password ManagerBrandt starts today’s discussion by sharing the first tip of the day: “The number one thing you can do to protect yourself is to have a password manager.”

Will completely agrees. “Easily. So many people who don’t use one think it’s hard. They don’t realize you install it, it starts saving passwords and becomes easy. I don’t know what I’d do without the feature that says ‘generate a secure password,’ and then automatically save it.”

“The number one way people get hacked is through reusing passwords,” says Brandt. The New York Attorney General’s office found that users reuse passwords to cope with so many online accounts. But hackers know that a password on one site is likely to work on others, which makes reusing passwords a high-risk behavior. “So when people say, ‘My Instagram got hacked,’ it’s because you’ve reused that password on another site. What Will’s talking about is being able to auto-generate randomized passwords. And you can make them long because you don’t have to remember them.”

Brandt continues: “So as soon [a platform] gets hacked, they take that table, and they run it against all of the banks, all of the credit cards, Google, Microsoft, Apple, all of those things. Whoever got those LastPass accounts runs them against master dictionaries to see which accounts will open. Zoom, Cvent, and all of those big players got added to that list of sites they try once they get a list of passwords.”

Will Curran adds secure password sharing as another security feature password managers offer. “I’ll add a tip. Many new virtual event managers working with online tools might have only bought one seat that allows access. You might not have individual accounts for each person working on the event. A big issue with this is that you might even set a secure password but copy and paste it to share it. That’s just as dangerous because you don’t know what that person is doing with the password. One of my favorite features of password managers is the ability to share passwords without the other person having access to it.”

Brandt shares an example of how insecure and common password sharing is at events. “I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been at a registration table, looked down, and seen the username and password on a sticky note next to the laptop. You can use password managers to dole out access to the account, and as soon as the event’s done, you revoke access. The other thing is they usually offer one-click changes for passwords. You click ‘Change Password,’ and it’ll immediately initiate and autogenerate a new password.”

Set up Two-Factor AuthenticationThe next tip Will and Brandt share is to set up two-factor authentication on everything. As Brandt puts it, this is using “something you know” and “something you have” to add a layer of protection to your accounts.

At a minimum, Will recommend’s setting up text message two-factor authentication. “But that’s not the most secure way to do it,” he says. “Always enable two-factor authentication. Just go into the settings of Zoom, Cvent, or whatever you’re using and turn on two-factor authentication. There are things like Authy, a cloud-based storage of your two-factor authentication codes, and Dashlane. You’re always trading convenience for security, so keep that in mind. The more convenient something is, the less secure it tends to be.”

Brandt does not recommend saving your passwords on a browser. “All major browsers will offer to save your passwords for you. I don’t recommend that because they have everything if your Google account gets hacked. Why not just put it in a different app? Google makes an authenticator app. Microsoft makes an authenticator app.”

“The other thing I want to make sure we emphasize is text notification isn’t enough,” continues Brandt. “If you have the option of a one-time password app, use it. SMS isn’t the most secure thing. One of the advantages of having to redo all my passwords in a password manager is I’ve discovered how many sites have added two-factor authentication. It’s worth checking back in on your bank accounts, financial accounts major registration platforms, and Zoom accounts.”

“One amazing setting you can do, as a planner, is forcing your users to have two-factor authentication,” adds Will. “This is less common, but I’m noticing it in many big players. For example, HubSpot.”

Think About Your IntegrationsNext, Will suggests people consider integrations as a weak spot in cybersecurity for event planners. “For example, if you have a registration system and an integration with Google Sheets to auto-export, make sure you know about them and consider turning them off when you don’t need them. Set a task for yourself when you’re closing out an event to delete the data and turn off the integrations.”

Brandt has a real-world example of this as well. “As Twitter has slowly imploded, they’ve clearly been firing a lot of their engineers. Things have been breaking left and right. One of the things that can easily break is integrations. As those things are not being maintained, they become less secure. I had probably 15 different apps connected to Twitter. I hit delete, delete, delete.”

Think of Security as a FeatureNext in today’s tips on cybersecurity for event planners: treat security like any other feature in online tools. Don’t hesitate to ask about it, seek more information when things aren’t clear, and look beyond the marketing hype.

“When it comes to vetting your initial tools, talk about security as a feature,” says Will. “Many times, if you’re working with low-budget tools, those are the ones that might be trying to save a buck or two and have some security issues. Just have this simple conversation with them. You’ll realize when they’re buttoned up about it. And if you’re really concerned about it, they’ll bring more people in to help make you at ease. So consider the tools you’re using.”

“And watch out for the marketing buzz, ‘military-grade encryption,’” adds Brandt. “For me, that’s a red flag. You have nothing better to say than ‘military-grade encryption?’”

Consider the Human ElementThe 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon found that 82% of studied breaches were tied to the human element, meaning people were a primary driver in security breaches. Will and Brandt focus on this human element next.

“A lot of times we think to ourselves, ‘I got a password manager, I have military-grade encryption,’ but many of these hacks happen because of user error,” says Will.

“The number one way people get hacked is by reusing passwords, right? “Social engineering is the number two way people get hacked,” says Brandt. According to Carnegie Mellon University, social engineering is a tactic that aims to manipulate or deceive people to gain access to a computer system or steal personal information. “So it’s not like brute force through the front door type of things anymore; it’s side-door attacks. They’re getting much more sophisticated.”

If you ask yourself how to address the human element, Will has some answers. “The only way you can fix this sort of stuff is through awareness training: the ability to know that these things are happening, how to identify them, and how to feel sketchy about anything that’s coming in.”

“There are a lot of organizations that offer security awareness training,” continues Will. “Google ‘best security awareness training.’ It isn’t that expensive. The one I really like is a service called Riot. It connects to your Google and Slack accounts, automatically knows when new employees are coming in, and you set it up so they’re onboarded with awareness training modules.”

Riot also lets you simulate phishing attacks, helping you to evaluate your team for weak spots. “You say what tools you’re using, and it sends out fake phishing attempts. Then Riot is notified whenever someone’s clicked it or even opens the email, and you can trigger training based on that. Riot’s free for 10 users. So sign up, put your 10 most vulnerable users in it, do a test, and then put them on the awareness training. Riot has been amazing for our organization, and we were already pretty secure.”

“Education. That’s what it’s all about. And that’s why we keep returning to this topic every year. It’s all about education,” concludes Brandt.

Stay Vigilant: It Takes a Village to Protect the VillageAs Will wraps up this episode, he has one final tip for everyone, events industry or otherwise. “Stay on top of this stuff and be aware that, just like technology, it’s constantly changing. Stay on top of trends when it comes to security. Consider signing up for a tech blog. A lot of times, these blogs will cover things, like when LastPass got hacked.”

“The thing that frustrates me when I’m trying to educate my friends is that they’ll say things like, ‘Who cares who hacks me? I have nothing to hide.’ They don’t realize hackers could use that information to target your family. Wouldn’t it be devastating to find out someone completely drained your mom’s bank account? What happens if you take insecure actions that cause your company to get in trouble? The best thing you can do is, stay vigilant. Just like you stay tuned in to what’s going on around your neighborhood, stay tuned in to what’s going on in the neighborhood that is the internet.”

Let us know what you think. What tips on cybersecurity for event planners do you have? Send us your questions. We love to hear from you! And maybe your question will be featured on the next episode of the Event Tech podcast.

If you’re interested in learning more about cybersecurity in the events industry, check out some of our other posts and episodes from recent years:

• 6 Data Protection Security Tips Following Marriott’s Data Breach
• Cybersecurity Risks Every Event Professional Should Know
• The Latest and Greatest of Cybersecurity in Events

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As event professionals, we often reflect on our past experiences and wonder what we could have done differently. Hindsight is 20/20, and it’s natural to have moments of regret or wish we’d known then what we know now. The Brew Crew isn’t immune to this phenomenon. As experienced event profs, they would have lots of knowledge to share with their younger selves, but because they cannot, Arianna, Deanna, and Will share their advice for event professionals with you. With the caveat that they speak to their former selves in the third person and the benefit of hindsight, the Brew Crew brings valuable advice for event professionals. Tune in to today’s Event Brew episode to find out what they have to share.

Don’t Let Networking Scare YouDeanna starts today’s conversation with some advice for event professionals about networking.

“When you go to an event, I know it seems overwhelming to talk to middle-aged people who want to sell you something or be condescending because you’re young,” explains Deanna. “You have to put on your big girl panties and get over it. If you want to broaden your career options, I suggest you start networking. You’re very good at making friends, so go to these events and talk to people about their kids, their dogs, or where they went to college. It’s just a conversation with people and checking in with them every once and a while.”

Will adds to Deanna’s advice. “You’re going to go to your first ever ILEA meeting, and you’re going to be so afraid because everyone’s in their cliques,” he says. “Do what Deanna said. Networking is not just about selling your services and being professional; it’s about building lasting friendships that turn into business relationships.”

Arianna agrees. “I recommend that you create space for something to be intimidated by in the first place. You’re at risk of being so busy just surviving the job that you don’t take the time to look at the long-term implications of this career. So I advise that you pull back and make space for thinking intentionally about your career. Make relationships that show you where you can go.”

Prompted by Arianna’s advice, Deanna raises a point about curiosity. “You need to be more curious. You have to take some risks and challenge yourself. You’ve boxed yourself into what being an event professional looks like. You want to grow on a linear path, but sometimes growth will be lateral. It won’t be a promotion or taking on more responsibility. It might be moving to a different organization with different resources. It’s great that you’ve got a great position, and it’s cozy, but you need to stretch yourself a little bit.”

Push the Envelope (Be Edgy)Will’s next piece of advice is to “be edgy.” He encourages his former self to push the boundaries of being a “professional.”

“Don’t think there’s this definition of what ‘professional’ is,” he says. For example, “cussing on a podcast or in a presentation, or talking about cannabis in an Event Brew episode. I’ve learned that the more I’m willing to put myself out there and be edgy, the more people care about you.”

Deanna raises an interesting point about the power and value of young event professionals. “I think we often don’t realize our voice holds just as much power as other people,” she says. “Don’t let the fact that you’re inexperienced hold you back. New people fail to realize that you bring a fresh perspective to a situation. When you have an opinion, speak it. Many times, a new person can come to a situation with so much clarity. So don’t be afraid to use your voice or question the norm.”

“Fast forward to 2020, you realize you can have a voice in the industry,” she continues. “You can be on a podcast, have a LinkedIn presence, and have a website. People will listen to it and look for your content. The fact that you haven’t worked at some Fortune 500 company with a fancy title means nothing.”

Know Your WorthThis next piece of advice is for all the entrepreneurs listening, and it comes from Will. “Pay yourself a salary,” he says. “You’re going to think, ‘I’ll just pull money out of the company account as I go along. When times are slow, I’ll take less; when times are good, I’ll take more.’ Pay yourself a consistent salary. It sets the expectation that you need to make that salary to keep yourself happy. I wish I had started paying myself a salary a long time ago.”

Deanna adds to this tip for W-2 employees. She says to her younger self, “You need to negotiate. You might think, ‘This is great. This is going to meet my needs.’ That’s not what it’s about. It’s about market value. Your value on the market is higher than what you’re being paid, and you need to negotiate when you accept jobs. Be a little more proactive with your annual raises and performance reviews. I don’t know if Chris Voss has written ‘Never Split the Difference’ yet, but if he has, read it. People pleasing will not get you as far as you think.”

“Along the negotiation line, understand that doing the work around career development is part of the job,” adds Arianna. “You’re not taking time away from the project if you pause to research it. I always felt like I had to grow and develop on my own time. I didn’t understand that sometimes it would be legitimate to be paid to learn. Take every learning opportunity.”

Learn How to Communicate Your ValueYoung event professionals can easily get caught up in perceived social capital. But certifications, event names, big companies, and fancy titles are not the only things that make event professionals valuable.

“The CMP is not all you think it is,” says Deanna. “Before everyone comes with their pitch pitchforks and tiki torches, I just renewed my CMP. There’s some value in it. But where I’m going with this is it’s not the be-all and end-all. What’s more important is the experience on your resume and how you demonstrate that value.”

“You need to do a much better job of tracking what you’re doing, what projects you’re working on, and when you’re getting additional responsibilities that aren’t necessarily apparent because your job title stays the same,” she explains. For example, “I’ve gone from 30-person seminars to hundred-person conferences. I launched a new conference that didn’t have any event history. You need to track your accomplishments and tell people just how awesome you are.”

“Document, document, document,” says Arianna in agreeance. “Document impact, scope, and connection to the overall business objectives. If you are in the trenches and you’re producing, producing, producing, you haven’t pulled back to see just how much you have done and just what that net impact is.”

Arianna continues: “Deanna, what you said about understanding that just because you’re not working at a Fortune 500 doesn’t mean you haven’t done some really big things ties into something for me. I know that I’ve had some impact that I’ve only learned how to speak to in the last decade. So understand how to speak to your impact or to speak to increasing ticket prices from $99 to $349 with no drop off in overall attendance. Understanding how to speak to the number will do you what the large company and event names might have otherwise done.”

Final ThanksDeanna steers the crew toward a moment of gratitude as the Brew Crew wraps up this reflective episode. “I feel like we’ve said our advice, but I will say thank you to young Deanna for going into the event industry. That was a kickass decision, and you won’t regret it one bit.”

“I want to thank 2020 me,” adds Arianna. “You carved a space for yourself and exponentially increased your thought leadership and access to really interesting people and ideas. This has been such an interesting time in the absence of experts. You become one because you paid attention, and I hope you don’t go back to swimming in imposter syndrome. Your ideas are valuable because you pay attention to human behavior, and events at the end of the day are containers for human behavior.”

“I’m happy I got into this industry,” says Will. “I always thought to myself, ‘What would I do if I wasn’t doing this?’ And I realized this industry is what I want to do. It can be something you can do career long. There are so many opportunities to touch the industry. I’m just glad I never left.”

And with that last piece of gratitude from Will, Arianna concludes this episode with one final word of advice. “I hope we carry advice forward to our future selves too. It’s not just about looking back, but it’s about taking what you learned and being your own best teacher,” she concludes.

What advice would you give your younger self? We’d love for you to share your thoughts, so make sure to send us an email. We read every email! We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Brew podcast.

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With COVID-19 guidelines loosening up this year, it’s time to tighten up your 2023 marketing plan. If events fell to the wayside over the past few years, now’s the time for you to get back on the horse.

Whether online or in-person, events are a great way to drive brand awareness, generate leads, and connect with customers. 60% of business leaders and 80% of marketers believe that events are critical for success.

People are aching for events. So let’s give your audience what they want.

Want to plan a superstar event that fulfills all of your marketing goals? Follow these six tips to blend event promotions with your 2023 marketing plan seamlessly.

Create a Launch Plan Leading Up to Your Big EventTreat your event like it’s the biggest product launch of the decade for your company.

Take time to outline the necessary steps to plan a successful event. What’s the event goal? How will you promote this event?

What’s your budget? Don’t be afraid to crunch the numbers early on so you know your launch plan’s feasibility. Make sure you consider these high-ticket items at a minimum:

• Venue
• Speakers
• Food and beverage
• Furniture and equipment
• Staffing (event coordinators, clean up, security, etc.)
• Decorations and event design
• Marketing and promotional materials
• Guest experience

Start early, reach out to vendors, and store all your launch plans in one place. Feed your event planning into your existing marketing calendar. Having all the details in a single location will make it easier to cross-reference information and share details with your team.

Create an Event CommunityOnline communities are virtual spaces that bring like-minded people together. This is your tribe: these are the people who want to chat about your business, attend your events, and buy products. An active event community generates buzz and excitement about events, which can ultimately increase attendance rates and sales.

By the way, communities can also become readymade sales and marketing reps for your business, so if you haven’t leveraged a community to market your events, you’re missing out.

If you’re just starting out, you can create event communities on platforms like Facebook and Slack. These platforms enable businesses to grow tight-knit communities and allow users to share content. This includes value-based content like blogs and guides and engaging content like stories and memes. Admins can adjust member posting privileges and set whether the community is private or public.

Event platforms like Eventbrite are also popular. These platforms offer a single digital access point for people to attend webinars, read exclusive content, and network with others.

Of course, the issue is that you don’t own the community on any of these platforms. And you can’t host your event and community in the same place, either. That’s why it’s usually better to opt for an event marketing technology platform to do your promotions, community, and events in one place.

Promote YourselfIf you want to add more events to your marketing calendar, you must make a big impression in 2023. There are several ways to market your event, but you need a solid message for starters. You’ll use this message as the backbone for your marketing content across multiple platforms.

Ask yourself:

• Who are you?
• What makes your event unique?
• What made your audience fall in love with your brand?
• Why does your audience want to attend this event?
• What value will attendees get from your event?
• Will people think the event is worth it?

After considering these questions, it’s time to start crafting your marketing materials. You don’t have to get fancy here: use the marketing channels you’re already using to promote your business. This helps save time and ensures you engage with your brand’s existing followers.

Make sure you promote your event via the following:

• Organic and paid social media
• Email marketing
• Webinars
• Custom landing pages
• Influencer partnerships

The tricky part is finding a balance between your company’s typical marketing content and your event promotions. Be sure to blend your event to-dos with your company-wide marketing calendar.

Whether you use a Kanban board, Google Calendar, or an old-fashioned calendar on the wall, make sure your event promotions don’t take away from other important posts. For example, don’t announce event details on important days, like Women’s History Month, which will take away from more time-sensitive messaging. Double-check your promotions calendar before you hit the “publish” button.

Source Event SponsorsOne of the biggest hurdles for event planners is cost. Instead of trimming event perks to meet your budget, you can source sponsors to make events more affordable. If you get the right types of sponsorship deals, you might even be able to squeeze a few more events into your 2023 marketing plan — and we’d call that a win.

Sponsors provide financial assistance or in-kind support for your event in exchange for advertising, publicity, or other benefits. Since sponsors want more people to see their messaging during your event, they’ll help you co-promote the event to reach even more potential attendees.

To find event sponsors, you must start your search ASAP. Start by visiting SponsorMyEvent. This platform plays matchmaker between brands and events, helping you source potential sponsors for less effort.

Promote Your Big Event With Small Virtual EventsSmall virtual events, like webinars and virtual experiences, are a great way to promote your bigger, high-ticket events. Since your audience isn’t limited to a single location, small online events can increase your overall reach. It’s also a great way to interact more directly with a live audience that can react and ask questions — which is perfect if you need practice for a hybrid event.

But you don’t have to create a stuffy, old-fashioned webinar. Try gamifying your small virtual events to build traction. Gamified interactive content is more memorable and increases engagement. These attendees will remember interacting with your out-of-the-box virtual event.

The only sticking point is that you’ll need an event platform to pull off the perfect gamified experience. Endless Events’ technology solutions make it a cinch to sprinkle more frequent events into your 2023 marketing plan.

Track Your Performance With Event Marketing MetricsYou need to justify every dime you spend on event marketing. To fit events into your 2023 marketing plan, you must prove your events generate ROI.

Track essential KPIs to measure the impact events have on your brand. Every event is different, but this often includes metrics like:

• Website traffic by promo code
• Discount code redemptions
• Social media mentions
• Post-event surveys
• Lead generation
• Product sales

You can’t use Google Analytics alone to wrangle these KPIs, either. You’ll need an event technology platform to track all your KPIs in one place. It might sound like an additional step, but metrics can help marketers prove event ROI, so this is a must-have for embracing events in 2023.

Give Events a Seat at the Table in 20232023 will be challenging, but that doesn’t mean brands should give up on events. On the contrary: Events can offer a lot of firepower in challenging times as long as you blend them with your existing marketing plans.

You don’t have to drop everything to do events, either. As long as you thoughtfully introduce events to your existing 2023 marketing plan, you can turn a lot of heads with minimal fuss.

Of course, you can’t do it alone. Whether you opt for in-person or online events, you need the right technology and strategy to back them up. See how Endless Events can help your marketing team effortlessly embrace events in 2023.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have dominated the headlines lately. And tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and DALL-E have artists and writers sounding alarms about job security. So, what does this have to do with the events industry? In this episode of the Event Tech podcast, Will and Brandt share their thoughts on visual and text-based AI tools and how you might use them for events in the future. Let’s dive in!

Visual AIWill kick this conversation off with a disclaimer. “If you’re listening to this episode, Brandt and I are not hype-train people. We don’t jump on the coolest newest trends just because,” he explains. “But it may be worth discussing the AI tool that broke huge news in 2022, the DALL-E art-generating tool. Did you get a chance to play with it at all?”

“I have played with Midjourney and DALL-E,” says Brandt. “What’s fascinating to me is how accurate you can be. It’s advancing quickly. And what’s making the headlines right now is that these services allow you to upload photos and generate avatar images. Now there’s another road we can go down, where you can upload other people’s pictures. Or say, I want a picture of X politician doing some horrible thing. They’ve put some guardrails up to try and prevent those things, but it’s pretty easy to get around them because humans are very inventive creatures.”

Brandt continues: “These AI tools are holding up a mirror to us, as humanity, and all of our biases. This stuff is trained on publicly accessible images. It has no morality or judgments. So in one of these avatar-developing apps, what people are finding is that women who upload their photos are getting much more sexualized results compared to men.”

“That’s interesting,” responds Will. “One of the great things about these tools is if you’re not happy with the results, you just hit generate again. But they definitely need to fix these biases. Ironically, you would think a machine would be the most unbiased. People need to know that the way this gets all the information is: it’s as if you do a Google image search; it’s taking all the results and compiling them.”

While AI tools are fed data from the internet, Brandt also points out that the user can significantly impact the results AI spits out. “Most of these things depend on the prompt you’re giving it,” he says. “As the creator, you still have to give it a prompt. That’s where we can take back some of that control. So, to bring it around to events, we’re already starting to see this implemented because people are using it to generate images. Rather than going to stock footage archives, you could type that prompt into an AI generator. Some are photorealistic and good, but others look terrible.”

Brandt thinks AI tools are a great way to start things, even if you don’t use them to generate final images. “Say, I want an image that looks like this, and you describe it to the AI. Then you give the result to an actual graphic designer and say, ‘This is where my head’s at, make it look better.’ That’s where we’re going to see a recurring theme, the idea of AI getting you 80% of the way there, and then you refine it.”

Text-Based AIIn addition to art-generating AI tools, text-based tools are also making headlines. Examples of these include Copy.ai, Jasper, and ChatGPT. And over the years, they’ve been growing faster and easier to use.

For those unfamiliar with these tools, Will shares an example of how you can use them. “You give them a topic, say, ‘How to Save Money on AV.’ And it generates an outline for you based on all the articles across the entire web,” he says. “Many people said it would put blog writers out of business. Instead, writers said you can accomplish way more and faster. Instead of taking the time to write the outline, they can focus on the thing they’re best at, editing, adding story, and tweaking. Now you can go from doing one blog post to 20 blog posts a day, or something like that.”

“It’s the same concept. It’ll get you 80% of the way there,” says Brandt. “In preparation for this episode, I’ve been playing around with ChatGPT. I asked it to tell me ways to save money on AV. It says, ‘Think about renting audio-visual equipment instead of buying it.’ That makes sense. I can get behind that. ‘Compare quotes from different vendors to get the best price.’ And ‘Negotiate prices.’ And then I hit number four, ‘Use in-house audio-visual equipment instead of hiring outside vendors.’ I think it’s trying to say, ‘If you own it, you can save money.’ But I thought that was interesting.”

Even though AI-generated text can sound expertly written, Will raises a good point about its truthfulness. “Just be careful. Sometimes, even if it’s well written, it seems factual, but it isn’t. It’s only over time that these tools get smarter and smarter,” he says. “And what we recommend is to play around with it.”

AI Tools for Events: How can They be Used?Already having provided an example of how event professionals can use art-generating AI, Will demonstrates how you can use them to write text for events. He gives an AI tool the task of writing a session description for “2023 event trends.” Here’s what he got.

“2023 event trends: what to expect in the coming year as we look ahead in the new year. It’s important to stay on top of the latest trends in the events industry. In the session, we’ll explore some of the key trends to expect to shape the event landscape in 2023, from virtual to hybrid events to sustainability to experiential marketing. We’ll delve into trends that will be driving the industry forward. This session will be perfect for event planners, marketers, or anyone staying ahead of the curve in a fast-paced world of events.”

Will is thrilled with those results. “I’m never writing a session description again,” he says. “That was way better than I could ever write. Session descriptions, bye! Session titles, bye! It’s a place to get kick-started in your writing or designing. I might have added some tweaks to that session description, but it’s still a huge time saver.”

“These tools aren’t meant to replace you,” continues Will. “They’re meant to help you. They’re meant to be tools, not robots taking over your job. So play around with them and see how they work. All of this is a playground meant for you to test things. This is definitely a tool you don’t want to put your head in the sand and say bah humbug about.”

AI Tools: Our Final DemonstrationFor the tech duo’s final AI demonstration, Brandt asks ChatGPT to help him conclude the podcast. “I’ll prompt you with what it recommends, and you respond to it,” says Brandt.

1. Recap of the Main Points Discussed in the Episode

“First, DALL-E is a great tool for image generation. Check that out,” says Will. “ChatGPT-3 is a great one for chatting. It’s going to get you 80% of the way there. Be prepared to edit something potentially offensive or not factually correct. And have fun with it.”

1. Offer Additional Resources or Recommendations

“First, Google these things. And I’ll add another tool that lets me stay on top of this stuff: Product Hunt. It’s a great newsletter that shows you newer interesting products.”

1. Encourage Listener Feedback.

“You can always email us. We’d love to know how you see it. Feel free to write an AI-generated response. We’re happy to respond!”

1. Promote upcoming episodes or events.

“We do this every single week. Also, you and I are starting to kick up the speaking circuit again, So stay tuned to industry and marketing conferences where Brandt and I are speaking all the time.”

And if this topic interests you, we encourage you to check out an earlier Event Tech episode where we talk about how many AI tools use predictive analytics rather than true AI.

It’s an exciting time to be in the events industry, especially as more and more AI tools and technologies emerge. With advancements like chat GPT, Dall-E, and others, there are many opportunities to create better-written content, graphic designs, visuals, and text for event planning.

Understanding the ethical implications is essential. We must know how these powerful tools are changing how we plan events and the greater impacts of their usage, existence, and code. With the right attitude, knowledge, and principles guiding our decisions, utilizing AI tools for events can be an excellent addition for savvy event planners. So explore Chat GPT, Dall-E, and other AI solutions.

We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Tech podcast. (And if you’re still with us, surprise! Jasper AI wrote most of the final two paragraphs in this conclusion.)

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In recent years, “cannabis” and “marijuana” have been hot topics of interest for event professionals. And with the increasing legalization of the psychoactive drug, conversations around cannabis for events are at an all-time high. As the industry comes to terms with this new reality, many event professionals aren’t sure what to do next. ‘Bud’ if one thing is clear, cannabis is here to stay.

From CBD wellness retreats to cannabis at HR conferences, events are experiences that can benefit from intentional design with cannabis in mind. And today, the Brew Crew wonders how long it will be until you can find cannabis at an event near you. In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Nick, Will, and Deanna make a joint effort to discuss the similarities and differences between cannabis and alcohol, what event professionals should prepare for, and how to make an excellent cannabis introduction at your event.

How Does Cannabis for Events Compare to Alcohol?Nick believes the national legalization of marijuana is inevitable. Still, because it’s not legal nationwide at the time of recording, he starts today’s conversation with a conditional: if nationwide legalization happens, cannabis will compete with alcohol.

“If [legalization] is the case, then we’re looking at a recreational thing that would compete with alcohol,” says Nick. “Live events have leaned, maybe too heavily, on alcohol for their entire existence. It’s gone from being a potentially huge risk factor to something that, if you don’t have it at your event, it doesn’t feel like an event. Do you feel cannabis is as risky as alcohol in a live event?” he asks.

Will doesn’t think so. “When someone’s getting high, the biggest thing you have to worry about is putting out enough snacks for everybody,” he says. In contrast, he thinks alcohol poses risks of passing out or blacking out. “When you’re high, you lean more toward a positive attitude than, sometimes, when you’re drunk. So for me, the risk drops significantly when it comes to cannabis versus alcohol.”

“Do you feel as though the event’s mission is more, less, or equally as likely to succeed with the introduction of marijuana?” asks Nick.

“It depends,” responds Deanna. “Are we utilizing cannabis for networking, where alcohol is traditionally used? I feel like there’s an opportunity for cannabis that you don’t have with alcohol, and that’s for workshopping environments, creative brainstorms, and things where removing inhibition adds to the experience.” But from a networking standpoint? It depends. “It affects everyone differently. Removing inhibition where it may be a more professional environment is not always a good thing.”

Delivery is also something to consider. “It especially depends on if it’s delivered via edibles, oils, or lighting up,” continues Deanna. “That can affect the balance in everyone’s bloodstream. At the end of the day, it’s a substance.”

“It’s interesting that we don’t have these questions about alcohol, though,” says Nick. But, “Like you said, there isn’t really a symptom of how marijuana makes people feel. There’s a big range. How do you design for something that could either hurt or help your agenda? But then, I think of alcohol, and that’s true of alcohol as well.”

What Would be the Ideal Experience for Cannabis?Designing events for unknown or unpredictable factors is a challenge the Brew Crew knows well. “I don’t know if you can say, design your experiences to create a system of parameters that will have a likely effect on something with such a big potential impact,” says Nick. He raises a great point about alcohol and cannabis sales, “We’re not forcing any of this stuff down people’s throats. The person is in control. But coming from a design perspective, does it facilitate the design? When would it be ideal?”

“I think the best place to start would be at a party scenario,” says Will. “A lot of people are letting loose. You’re usually designing around that; you have couches and things that help facilitate a better experience when you’re high. So I think, start with a party, and gather data too.”

Next, Nick wants to know if there are any events where cannabis might help planners achieve a specific objective. “Deanna, do you think there are events or communities where this could help achieve a goal?”

“We haven’t seen enough applications of it, even in their industry, let alone outside of it, to have tons of use cases,” says Deanna. “In 2023, it’s come a long way. There is less stigma attached to it. However, the sub-social norms around alcohol have been applied in multiple contexts. It’s been applied at networking events and when you’re going out with your friends. I don’t think we’ve had enough experience with cannabis to say. We have to see more trial and error, and then we can say, ‘That’s a clear application. How could I tweak that for my use case?’”

Should Event Professionals Prepare?Implementing marijuana at an event would be risky even today. So Nick wants to know what the Brew Crew thinks event professionals should prepare for. “There are 50 million things that could go wrong with alcohol, and it seems most events are comfortable with that. Is there something special about marijuana that you feel we would need to be even more diligent about?”

“I think it’s the people who don’t see cannabis as politically correct. The people in favor of protesting it, whether they’re protesting by not attending or lobbying your community, sponsors, executives, or your stakeholders,” explains Deanna.

“I think for the first-time planner incorporating cannabis, it doesn’t matter how liberal or accepting your audience is,” she continues. “There has to be a lock-tight PR strategy, a good persuasion analysis, and a use case. Anytime we try something new, you must educate your attendee on why you’re doing it. You have to ensure they’re on board so that you don’t have Debbie Downers crashing the party. And then you also have to educate them on how to be safe.”

Will agrees. “I think that will be really important moving forward,” he says. “You’re not going to put a bunch of edibles on a table and say, go at it. As much as we hate the term ‘budtender,’ it’s good to have because those people are serving as educational people moving forward. Similar to the high-end mixologist you would hire to create a custom cocktail for your event.”

What Would a Great Intro to Cannabis Look Like?Now that everyone has discussed the challenges, political and logistical, of cannabis for events, Deanna turns the crew toward a lighter topic. “Let’s say you had a client that was like, ‘Our audience, stakeholders, and executives are on board. Everyone’s on board. We’ll bring cannabis in and give you free rein to plan the experience.’ What would a great intro to cannabis at an event look like to you?”

In Nick’s experience, the people working in dispensaries make his experience unforgettable. “I’m blown away. That person is a certified genius in getting high. It’s amazing. So I would want that kind of experience, someone who is the consultant running the show. Someone who creates a white-glove experience around personalization.”

“My brain immediately goes to the environment you can create once someone is high,” says Will. “Unless I’m dancing, I don’t usually want to stand when I’m high. So having places for people to sit, things like couches and beanbags, can be fantastic. I would also suggest snacks that are healthy but rich in flavor. And then the other piece of that food system is to make it so that the person doesn’t have to keep returning to get more snacks.”

“When you’re high, your inhibitions are lower too,” continues Will. “You become honest and open to deeper conversations. So I would grab a bunch of reflection card games. They’ll have questions like, ‘Tell me about a childhood memory you love.’ Those things can blow people’s minds and build insanely deep connections they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“And then make the experience fun. If you create an environment where people feel safe, that can be impactful. Music festivals can be a great example of this in many ways. For example, they’ll have rangers walking around checking on everyone, and they’re always super friendly. They talk at a nice volume and pleasant pitch. It makes you feel like you’re in a good place.”

Final ThoughtsEven though cannabis may not be the taboo subject it once was, it’s clear that the events industry still has work to do before you can safely incorporate it into your event. But as legalization continues to make its way through the states, opportunities will continue to emerge for event professionals to explore how cannabis can compete and coexist with alcohol. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Would you introduce cannabis to your event communities? And if so, how? We’ll catch you here next time for another episode of the Event Brew podcast.

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2022 is in the books, folks. 2023 is a squeaky, shiny new year that promises brands plenty of opportunities (and a few challenges). So, what can we expect in the new year? Event planners need to know what’s on the radar for 2023, but don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Endless Events’ 2023 Event Industry Trends Guide includes insights based on our years of experience in events and our team’s proprietary research into event trends.

Whether you’re an event planning veteran or this is your first rodeo, our ‘23 event planning guide is chock-full of surprising and helpful insights for the new year. Download the report now to see what you can expect for events in 2023.

First, you’ll get a breakdown of why the marketing landscape is different in 2023 — and no, it’s not just because of COVID. Next, we introduce eight trends that savvy event planners are embracing in 2023 and three that aren’t worth your time or attention this year.

The guide is free to download, but if you want a sneak peek, check out this overview guide to get a taste of what’s inside the guide.

2023 Event Trends Sneak Peek: What’s Inside? Want a few spoilers? We predict these eight trends will be a big deal in 2023.

Eco-friendly EventsBeing eco-friendly isn’t new. We get it. The issue is that event attendees expect eco-friendly events — and event planners still struggle to do them right. After nearly three years of disappointment and frustration, shouldn’t you keep your promises to attendees? If they want green events, you need to give ‘em green events.

You don’t have to consult Greenpeace for this, either. You can make events more eco-friendly by:

• Choosing reusable napkins over paper napkins.
• Hosting events in eco-friendly venues (look for LEED-certified buildings).
• Paying for carbon offsets.
• Setting up recycling bins throughout the venue.
• Providing refillable water bottle stations instead of plastic water bottles.
• Make meat-free and dairy-free catering options the rule, not the exception. You can still offer meat and dairy to attendees if they request it.

Diversity, Equity, and InclusionInclusion is the name of the game in 2023. People of color, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups need to feel welcome at your events. As an event planner, you have the power to make events more diverse, equal, and inclusive.

That means you need to set up a welcoming space where people can access the same information and feel like they’re a celebrated part of the community. This isn’t about doing lip service to DEI, either. Download the full 2023 Event Industry Trends Guide for actionable steps to make DEI a reality at all of your events.

Hybrid EventsThe world can’t agree on whether in-person or virtual events are better. Virtual events were a COVID-era necessity, but plenty of people are ready for in-person connections again. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose: hybrid events offer a happy medium.

With hybrid events, attendees can choose between attending in-person or online. You can host the event in a smaller (and cheaper) space, which is a bonus. You just need to hook up sound and audio to your event technology platform and share your content virtually. As long as virtual and in-person attendees get the same experience, hybrid events can be very effective.

Event WorkspacesIt’s unlikely that event attendees will completely unplug from work to attend an in-person event. Work emails, Slack chats, and phone calls still happen while attendees are at an event, so why do event planners pretend that people don’t need to work?

Embrace the fact that busy professionals are at your event. Make it as comfortable as possible for attendees to work at your venue with event workspaces. They allow attendees to tackle work in a comfortable space with fewer distractions — no need to sit cross-legged on an expo hall floor with their laptops.

Local EventsLogically, it makes sense to host just one big event every year. You only have to book one venue and deal with one set of dates. Simple, right?

Maybe, but that isn’t on par with what we see for 2023. This year, companies are taking a different approach. Instead of hosting one big event, they’re hosting smaller events around the country. They’re taking their event on tour, bringing the event to attendees instead of asking attendees to come to a single major event.

The switch to local events is better for sustainability because attendees don’t have to travel as much. That makes it more affordable for attendees to go to your event, too: there’s no need to buy a cross-country plane ticket or a hotel if they can drive to a local event instead.

Yes, localized events have more moving parts, but they put your brand in front of more people. There are fewer barriers to attendees registering for your event, which can boost attendance and engagement in one fell swoop.

CommunitiesSmall, local events allow you to connect with customers one-on-one. You only get to see your audience once a year and need to make an impression to move the needle. In 2023, more brands are investing in communities.

A community is an online space where your biggest fans can come together to network, access exclusive content, and score discounts. As a brand, it also gives you a place to gather information on your target audience. You can ask them for event feedback, product ideas, and more.

Just don’t use platforms like Facebook Groups. Facebook owns your audience, so it’s better to use an event technology platform like Endless for this. This way, you own the relationship if Facebook ever goes belly-up.

Event AttributionWe love the promise and hope that comes with the new year, but we must be realistic: 2023 will be tough, at least financially. According to Bloomberg, there’s a 100% chance of a recession in the next 12 months.

If you want to protect your budget this year, you need to prove that your events get results for the business. Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping that an event performed well, you need to use event technology to prove your worth in numbers.

URLs, codes, and website analytics can help prove that your events bring ROI. Your bosses are eager to cut costs, so data-driven attribution might save your event budget in 2023.

Cannabis (Yes, Cannabis)We know, we know. This might sound like it’s coming out of left field, but cannabis is an up-and-coming trend for events across the U.S. — where cannabis is legal, of course. Gen Z and Millennial event attendees are increasingly ditching alcohol in favor of cannabis. So like it or not, your happy hours might look a little different this year.

Legally, you probably can’t provide cannabis at an event, but you can make your events more 420-friendly. Download our full guide to learn how your brand can navigate the intricacies of including cannabis in your events.

Make Plans for 2023 Right NowThis isn’t 2022. After taking a few weeks to decompress over the holidays, it’s time to put your game face on and dive headfirst into 2023. Trends come and go, but as you can see, 2023 is a different animal.

Event planning has always been challenging. The good news is that you’ve survived at least three apocalypses by now, so change isn’t new for you. Even so, you can embrace the trends in this 2023 guide to enjoy smoother sailing this year. Download your free copy of the 2023 Event Industry Trends Guide now to start the new year with a bang.

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As we continue to transition out of the pandemic and into 2023, the effects of economic downturn, layoffs, and budget cuts are felt across the tech industry. And with record-breaking inflation, it’s no surprise many event professionals are forced to navigate tighter budgets with rising costs. So, what should you do if you think you’re going to deal with a reduced event budget?

In this episode of the Event Tech Podcast, Will and Brandt consolidate years of advice into eight tips event professionals can take into 2023. They’ll share where they would start if forced to reduce your event budget, what and how to cut, and how the right mindset can change your perspective.

Start with Your Goals, Objectives, and StakeholdersBefore diving into the tips, Brandt takes the conversation to objectives and goals. “That’s the fastest way to figure out what I can cut,” he says. “You need to take one step back and say, why are we doing this event? What’s the purpose? So many of your questions will flow from that; the rest is knowing your stakeholders. What do attendees want to get out of it? What do your salespeople want out of it? If you start slashing your budget willy-nilly, you could accidentally cut something important, which might not be obvious to you.”

Will agrees. Knowing your stakeholders will help you make the right decisions regardless of the advice shared today. “I’ve been infamously going around talking about budgets. One of the things I’ve been saying is to get rid of catered lunches and instead give attendees a three-hour lunch. I give that advice mainly to challenge people to think differently. But if you know your stakeholders, it might not make sense for them to walk away for three hours. That’s one of those cases where my advice might not work.”

Tip #1 and #2: Don’t Just cut. Build upWill’s first tip is to stop duplicating your budget spreadsheets. He cautions against “trying to tweak little things. At that point, it can seem hard to make big differences. We need to not just think outside the box, but crush the box. And pair that with the hard question, does this help my goal?”

Brandt loves this tip. “That’s a phenomenal first tip: don’t just start looking for places to cut. Start from zero and build it from the ground up. How would you design this show if you started from scratch without all the baggage? You might be surprised at what the potential cost savings might be.”

And as Will shares, finding a new vendor isn’t a quick fix either. “You might think all the baggage will go away, right? No,” he says. “What often happens is you’ll end up handing over something from the last year, and they copy and paste it, word for word, with zero context of what’s happening. For example, AV might have been thrown an Encore system. You’re sitting here like, why do we have this? It’s great to have this awesome piece of technology, but in reality, it’s not needed because it’s just over-scoping of what’s necessary.”

“So tip #1 is, remember why you’re doing the show in the first place,” explains Brandt. “Tip #2 is to scrape off a lot of that built-up waste.”

Tip #3: Look for Redundancies“I have another one: next year, look for redundancies,” shares Will. “For example, there were no live captions for streaming in a platform, so we paid for automated captions. Well, then, the platform came out with automated captions for free. But because you aren’t clearing out that budget, you end up with redundancies and might be paying for the same thing twice.”

“Along the same lines, keep an eye on redundancy in consumables,” adds Brandt. “We’re talking about batteries, tape, and stuff like that. I shared my world-famous request for a proposal (RFP) back in the day. Every single breakout room had three rolls of tape, multiple nine-volt batteries, and two terabyte drives listed. We didn’t need eight brand-new rolls of tape and 36 batteries a day for one wireless microphone. So keep an eye on those consumables, where they’re listed, and how many times they’re listed.”

Will also suggests looking for redundancy in labor. “Your platform technology might have built in a lot of labor hours to help build out your conference. But if you’re using the same vendor again, there might be a chance they don’t need as much time because they understand the technology even better. This is all case by case, but you can have these conversations.”

Tip #4: Different Locations Have Different CostsNext, Will shares a quick tip: your event’s location can dramatically affect your event’s cost. “For example, let’s say you decide next year will be in Chicago. Get ready for unions and higher costs. Even if you’re not talking about changing cities, sometimes trying to find that independent third-party venue might save you a ton.”

“Yeah, the venue’s location is another great point,” says Brandt. “So often, I would see people do a show in San Antonio, and then they’d move to Vegas the next year with the same budget. It isn’t going to work. You’re not going to get the same value you’d get from a smaller market venue.”

“I can probably name off the top of my head: San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Miami. That’s where you’re going to get hit hard. The costs are going to be high,” says Will. And don’t forget to factor in unions. “Those union towns are where you’ll spend a lot.”

Tip #5: Don’t be Afraid to Talk About MoneyAs Will reports, clients often try to save money by removing different things without clearly communicating their intentions. Instead of slashing before collaborating, he suggests communicating first.

“If you know your budget’s going to come down next year, start the conversations now,” says Will. “Some clients are too afraid to say, ‘I need my cost down to X.’ I think this transparency is important because your vendors are experts too. If you say to them, ‘Where do you think I can save money?’ They’ll note those hidden items. They might help you negotiate with the union because you’re in a union city this year. But you have to start the conversation, and you can start that early on.”

Brandt agrees with this tip. And he has examples to back it up. “I’m thinking of some of the companies I’ve worked with in Las Vegas where they said, ‘We have union people on staff. So rather than you getting them elsewhere, we’ll request this lightboard operator to come through.’ Then you’re going to get a lower rate because you’re not getting the markup.”

“Definitely,” says Will. “And these things apply to your platforms too. If you go to your platform and say, ‘I need to save $2,000, what should we do? They might give you a discount to help you get through this year, but they need the commitment that you’ll come back to X budget number next year.”

He also suggests taking on multi-year contracts to save money. “If you’re ready to commit, I’ll say this firsthand, we give multi-year contracts to people, and we give discounts and favorable pricing to those who lock-in. And what’s great about that, too, is it means you don’t have to worry about who to work with next year.”

Tip #6: Consider Competitive BiddingNext, consider bidding services and software against each other, especially if you’ve been committed to one service or platform for several years.

“When it comes to looking at your budgets, if you haven’t reevaluated and bid stuff out in the last three years, I would bid it out,” says Will. “If you have the same pricing you had in 2020, chances are you’re paying three times more. In 2020, we had massive overpricing because demand was so high, but it’s dropped significantly.

Brandt agrees. “That’s why, in 2020, I was screaming not to get locked into a multi-year contract. I know many people did because they thought they were saving money. Go back and listen to our episode on what we would change if we had to go back and relive the last three years. If you’re stuck in multi-year contracts, it’s worth returning to your salesperson and saying, ‘This is ridiculous. You’re charging a 10th of what we locked in at. You have to give us a break on that.’ And if they want to keep you as a customer, they’ll consider it.”

Will shares an example of this tip in action at Endless. “We use Gong to do all of our call recordings. It was the greatest thing I’d ever seen when I found it. I told my friend I use Gong, and he told me about three new, cheaper competitors that had come up last year. So, you know what I did? I bid them against each other. Gong came down in cost.”

Tip #7: Try new Technology (with Caution)If you’re tech-savvy, trying beta versions of new tech can be a great way to get the same service for less. “I’m a huge fan of trying to find the new tool that comes out,” says Will. “Often, it’s less expensive because they’re running on early VC money and trying to get their first couple of customers.”

“There’s another reason for that as well; many younger companies want to put big names on their website,” adds Brandt. “So if you’re working for a brand name organization, you might have an advantage. You can say, ‘Hey, we’ll give you permission to say you did our event if it goes well and you give us a 20% discount.’ There are lots of ways you can negotiate that.”

As you check out new software and technology, look closely at how much custom work you’ll need compared to out-of-the-box tools. “For example, you need a non-native integration for your CRM,” says Will. “They might put a developer on it to ensure it’s working. The more they need to help set it up, the more expensive it will be. But the more a tool is out of the box, the cheaper it will be.”

Highly customized software also isn’t sustainable, as Brandt points out. “At some point, you just don’t have enough developers to handle all the requests,” he says. “I’ve run into that where it was clear that everything was being done manually on the backend. We ran into problems where we couldn’t get a hold of that one person, it was busy, or it was the weekend. When you’re in the world of, ‘we’re full custom,’ it’s great, but it’s a double-edged sword.” So, proceed with caution.

Tip #8: It’s not all About GrowthFor today’s final tip, Will encourages event professionals to evaluate their mindset. “A lot of times, as event planners, we’re looking to grow every year. It’s okay to say, let’s wait one more year. Let’s sustain for one year and give the same level of quality. Not necessarily because we’re going out of business, but we need to put a pause as we brace for this next year.”

“Sustaining is good,” says Brandt. “A lot of the problem with the Silicone Valley mindset is growth, growth, growth. But sustaining your membership and income through a downturn is an achievement in itself. Sometimes we need to not be so worried about grow, grow, grow, grow, grow.”

Final ThoughtsPlanning events with a reduced budget is difficult, but we hope these eight tips help you through this challenging task. As always, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what specific budget scenario you have to work through; we’d love to workshop it live on air. Send us your challenges, thoughts, or what you’d do differently. And if you’d like more tips, advice, or support, check out these episodes:

• What We Would Have Changed in Recent Years
• Layoffs and Consolidation in the Events Industry
• Data Protection in the Events Industry

We’ll see you here next time on the Event Tech podcast!

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Event goals are what you aim to achieve before, during, and after your event, and they impact almost everything event professionals do. So what happens when you crush your goals? Well, Ana A. reached out and asked precisely this. She says, “Say an event was successful, reached all goals and objectives, and made the host more money. What would you say the next step for the event is? Would it be making the event bigger year after year?”

That’s a great question, and in this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Deanna, Arianna, and Will share their thoughts on how to proceed. Tune in to find out what the Brew Crew thinks of event goals, how they handle ongoing progress, and what they think your next steps could be. Let’s dive in!

Do You Really Need to Grow?Arianna starts today’s discussion with her initial reaction. “My first thought was, do you need to make it bigger and better? And why? Then, my other reaction is, I’m not sure how to wrap my brain around this question because I finish every event with this feeling that there are three things we didn’t miss by any measure, but I know there’s more to do here. So, I guess, who are you making it better for? Are you making it better for your sponsors, attendees, the core organization, or the production crew? That would help me look at the categories of where I want to seek improvement.”

Will challenges event professionals to escape this need to grow constantly. “We discussed this on the event tech podcast, but regarding budgets. We talked about the idea that so often when it comes to events, we’re always trying to grow. You don’t have to grow or die,” he says. “If you had a super successful year, do it again. I think you will naturally grow. We don’t have to be in this mindset of growth, growth, growth.”

Deanna agrees and further emphasizes Will’s point. “When I think about goals and objectives, and you achieved them, do those need to change?” she asks. “Do they need to change for your audience, your stakeholders, you, or the organizing team? The status quo is absolutely fine if the goals and objectives don’t need changing. It’s almost like a therapy question. Why is there a need for growth? If it’s not coming from your stakeholders or audience, why do you feel the need to do that?”

In Deanna’s eyes, this may even be a question of personal growth concerning career advancement. “For the first 75% of my career, up until today, I worked in many flat organizations. There wasn’t room for lateral growth or vertical growth. So when I outgrew those roles, I had to leave. Maybe you need to take that next step.”

Deanna continues: “I also think about how this event can impact the broader community, whether donating unused food or thinking about the event’s sustainability. Are there nonprofit partners we can give a portion of the proceeds to? Things like that don’t necessarily impact the experience for attendees, but it’s a way for you to challenge yourself and feel better about the impact it leaves.”

Look Beyond Your ROI and Find all of Your CommunityArianna also wants to push back ROI as the most crucial event metric. “I just want to argue with ROI as the be-all end-all of event,” she says. “Events are experiences, and those are hard as hell to measure. They’re also long-tail experiences, so understanding the true measure of impact can take years to realize.”

Deanna agrees. A new metric developed by Liz Lathan, as part of Haute Companies, gives event planners a new way to measure an event’s impact. “They created the metric of return on emotion, looking at how events impact people. For example, how they walk away differently and how they felt inspired, engaged, or connected. I thought this was genius because those memories are all they’ll walk away with at the end of the day. Those are the things that cause repeat attendance.”

User interviews are essential in understanding an event’s impact, and Arianna couldn’t agree more. “I’ve spent a few days deep in the edit cave right now editing community testimonials. In people’s own words, I’m hearing the impact of an event over time. And rather than trying to make up your own set of envelope-pushing goals, go to each stakeholder asking, how can we do better?”

“The post-event survey process is one thing I’ve been kicking and screaming about my whole career,” adds Deanna. “We don’t do enough actual benchmarking year after year. Half the time, we’re asking questions and don’t actually look at the responses. Don’t ask a question you’re not going to listen or respond to.” She also wants more diversity in user interviews and event surveys. “I’d love to see a bit more creativity in our industry, more diversity, and partnering with more marketing research firms. I haven’t seen enough diverse feedback in our industry.”

How can we fix this? According to Arianna, reach out to historically underrepresented groups. “Create outreach groups with those groups we don’t hear from. For whatever historical reasons, they might not be offering their voices through standard channels. Create safe spaces for multiple modes of feedback so we can figure out who is responding to these and whether we are holistically meeting the needs of our communities.”

And as you reach out, don’t forget about people outside your event or direct community. “People who’ve opted out are always a good cohort to get information from. Understanding why your event is not accessible is huge. Is it cost? Location? Physical diversity and neurodiversity are finally gaining traction in our industry,” concludes Deanna.

Maybe it is Time to Scale “If we’re meeting all our objectives, is there a need to zoom out and think more about where the industry is going in the next five years?” asks Deanna. “Where is the organization going in the next five years? Is it time to look at the big picture of how this event will fundamentally change? How will our audience and stakeholders change? Start pre-planning for those macro trends.” As busy professionals, it’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day and never think about tomorrow.

Arianna thinks about zooming out too. But rather than zooming out in years, she zooms out and considers the overall experience. “I think beyond an individual event is also zooming out and looking at the pre and post; how we’re extending that experience,” she says. “Community is such a hot word right now. Events 365 is such a hot word right now. It’s hot for a reason. The pandemic pushed us to realize that nothing is one-off. Look at connectivity and expand beyond a singular in-person event. What are those digital access points? What is the continued connectivity?”

To build on Arianna and Deanna’s ideas, Will thinks that it may be time to scale if you’re hitting all of your objectives. “If you’re hitting all your goals, maybe it’s time to go from one event to two events,” he says. “If all your multiple events are hitting all their goals, then you’re crushing it. Kudos to you! How can you scale it up and reach even more people? I think as long as you can keep it as low risk as possible and you don’t take down the big successful event by doing another event, you can be successful at duplicating your efforts.”

What’s an Area You’re Pushing to Improve? As Deanna wraps up today’s episode, she gives Will and Arianna one final question. “What’s one area you are pushing on across your event portfolios?”

For Will, it’s all about efficiency. “A small example of this is ensuring we have the best technology to accomplish our goals.” He also uses this approach when thinking about team size at an event. For example, “If the lighting person was sitting twirling their thumbs most of the time, do we need that lighting person next time? I’m constantly thinking of ways to be efficient because I look at my client’s budget like a business too.”

“For us, it’s about diversification of our attendee group,” says Arianna. She strives for better representation “across industries and experience levels. Because we’re a community-facilitating event, people need to see others with lived experiences similar to theirs. Are we as inclusive as we can be? And where do we need to do better?”

“I’ll piggyback on that,” says Deanna. “I’m thinking about event content and delivery methods and how we reach people of all abilities, backgrounds, ethnicities, and gender expressions. How are we creating content experiences designed with everyone in mind? Really honing in on inclusivity, accessibility, and equity, but from a niche space of content and delivery methods. That’s something I’m leaning on,” she concludes.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of the Event Brew podcast. We want to thank Anna for submitting their question. And tell us, what do you do when you hit your event goals? Send us an email with your thoughts. Have questions you’d like us to address in future shows? Make sure to send us those too. We’ll catch you here next time!

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Ashley Lawson is a big name in the travel meetings and incentives industry. Recently featured on the SITE Global and IMEX Instagram accounts, she’s also been featured closer to home. In a recent Event Brew episode on event inspiration, Deanna named Ashley as someone she goes to for inspiration and to bounce ideas off. Eager to learn more about Ashley, we’ve decided to bring her on for today’s #EventIcon episode!

Ashley currently serves as the Vice President of Business Partnerships at Achieve Incentives & Meetings and is the third generation to work for the 70-year-old family business. Since her shift from nonprofit work in Washington, DC, she has become her industry’s “safe travel ambassador” and is on a mission to celebrate culture and usher back safe travel. Tune in to learn more about her life in events as a digital nomad and what she thinks the industry needs more of.

How Ashley Came to EventsTo start today’s conversation, Will asks Ashley to share about her start in the events industry.

“It wasn’t my choice, but I am so glad I’m here. I was actually born into the industry,” explains Ashley. “My family started our incentive house 70 years ago, so I was born into a family that loves travel and helping people see other cultures and explore the world. I learned my ABCs by alphabetizing flights under my mom’s desk.”

After college, she spent a decade working to end veteran homelessness in Washington, DC. While working for nonprofits in the nation’s capital, she led fundraising events. “I’ve always had a love for events,” says Ashley. “It wasn’t until about six years ago that I officially joined the industry in my role today as a co-owner and Vice President at Achieve Incentives and Meetings.”

The Start of Ashley’s Nomadic LifestyleAshley has left her home state of Ohio to live as a digital nomad. For those unfamiliar with the term, a digital nomad works remotely and travels full-time, often staying in one location for only a short period. The lifestyle can be challenging, which leads Will to ask how she manages it. “You’ve been surrounded by travel for so long, and you’re nomadic now too. Have you ever gotten burnt out by traveling too much?” asks Will.

“I’ve been a nomad for two years, and I don’t think I could ever get tired of learning, adapting to new cultures, and experiencing new ways to celebrate those cultures,” says Ashley. “It’s planning my life on top of running a company that’s exhausting. But, we in this industry are the best people to be nomadic. We’re planning ninjas.”

Like the rest of the world, the pandemic changed how Ashley did business. Only instead, it led her to travel more. “The catalyst for my [nomadic living] was covid. One of our top clients wanted us to help move a program’s contract. So in June 2020, I went to Mexico. I was the only person in the airport and on the flight. It was scary and there was no information about what safe travel looked like.”

Once she successfully signed the contract, she ended up staying in Mexico. “I was fascinated and wanted to understand how hotels and destinations were preparing for the return of travel. So, I spent three weeks there and went on about 30 site visits,” after which she sold everything she owned and committed to the nomadic lifestyle. “It became my mission to bring back confidence in travel by sharing the facts of what was happening on the ground.”

What it Looks Like to Manage a Business as a Nomad“I almost went digital-nomad and even considered moving outside of the U.S.,” says Will. “As someone planning events in the U.S., my biggest concern is how to travel to the events. But you aren’t physically attending the events, so what does it look like to manage your business as a nomad?”

“I co-lead the business with my family,” says Ashely. “We have a full-service team of about 20 employees and contractors who make the magic happen. I stay on the same schedule they do, so wherever I go, I work on Eastern time.”

Initially, this limitation meant she only traveled long-term to locations in the western hemisphere. “I started in Mexico, Belize, Argentina, and Columbia. But then I thought, let’s test the waters, and what I found in traveling to Europe is that it’s actually really neat! You get to spend your morning exploring. The day is yours first, and then you get to work.”

One Thing the Industry can do Better: Educate AttendeesOne of the significant benefits of the nomadic lifestyle is constant exposure to other cultures. With that exposure comes new avenues for inspiration, creativity, and often a refreshed mindset on managing a business. Recognizing this, Will asks what Ashely thinks the travel incentive industry needs to change.

Her response: attendee education. “We’re not educating our attendees about the destination enough. We forget about the hype up; our registration experience is really boring. Let’s throw in some destination trivia and see what the answers are. Let’s ask exciting questions about what they’re looking forward to and what their favorite memory from a previous event is.”

“There are so many things we could make more interesting, like registration,” continues Ashley. “But we can also hype up the destination, give more info about it, what’s unique to it, what the unique customs for the destination are. That adds to the ROI for the event because they’re having more experiences before they even get there.”

She also thinks we need to be better to each other within the industry. “When I first got into events, everything was so closed. For example, don’t talk about our clients, or let’s keep our best practices to ourselves.” What Ashley experienced during the pandemic was different. In her words, it was a sense of “we are one big family, and when one of us gets raised up, we all get raised up. I hope that doesn’t go away. The better we partner with each other, the better we all work.”

How to Hype up Event DestinationsSelf-described as the go-to person for infusing local culture and community into destination events, Will wants to know more about how Ashley thinks we can excite attendees for their destination arrival. “I want to come back to the idea of hyping up the location,” he says. “Assume your attendees are busy; how can we better educate and prepare our attendees when they might be ‘head-down’ until they get to the location?”

Ashley suggests easy-to-digest, fun, and engaging methods. “I think there are so many fun touchpoints you can do. We always get the attendee’s home address. Send a save-the-date magnet that talks about the location’s history.”

While preparing to live in Greece, she discovered the National Geographic kids podcast Greeking Out. “The history of a destination can be heavy, but a kids’ podcast makes it fun and easy to absorb! On NatGeo, they talk a lot about the greek gods and goddesses, so I shared it with my family. I said pick the god or goddess you want to embody, and you will be that person for one night. We celebrated a part of the culture that is meaningful to the Greek people. We made it approachable, fun, and engaging.”

“I suggest to other groups going to Greece, steal this idea! At Achieve, we have a big program coming up in Mexico. Our team is doing a cooking class with tamales, guacamole, and Mexican hot chocolate to prepare for it. We incorporate that into our team as a way to suggest, to our clients, fun ways to get people hyped up and knowledgable before they even get on a plane.”

Ashley’s Superpower and Final AdviceAs he wraps up this episode of #Eventicons, Will asks about Ashley’s number one tip for the events community.

“Your biggest superpower is a thank you card,” she says. “Even though I carry very little with me, I have thank you cards in my passport wallet. I surprise everyone that goes that extra mile. For example, I was going to Morocco and the flight attendant gave me extra bottles of the olive oil I was obsessed with while on the plane. Just sprinkle some kindness in the world.”

And as a bonus, she shares one more piece of advice: lead with what you love. “Even though I was born into this industry, I didn’t know my place. I was a nonprofit professional, I cared about building communities and I had the legacy of my family’s purpose-driven business to lean on, but there was a disconnect. Once I started building out what I cared about, which is local culture and creating events that have more intercultural exchanges, that’s what I started writing, sharing, and speaking about. I’ve fallen in love with the industry in a whole new way because I’ve focused on what I care about.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s chat with Ashely Lawson as much as we did. Tune in next time for another iconic guest!

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ticketDo you need to boost attendance and revenue at your events this year? Sometimes event planners need extra firepower to boost their events, and the proper pricing strategies can help you increase revenue. It might sound like a sneaky trick, but tiering your ticket pricing is a smart strategy for marketing your events.

After all, you want to sell as many tickets as possible, but you must be mindful of margins and attendance numbers. There’s a sweet spot between butts-in-seats and event revenue, and you can hit that number more easily with tiered tickets.

Ticketing tiers should be part of every event’s pricing strategy. It’s the best way to encourage attendees to sign up ASAP — while helping you see positive ROI from all the hard work you put into planning your big bash.

Let’s look at why tiered ticketing is a good idea, plus the six types of tiered tickets you should consider for your events.

Why Should Events Include Tiered Ticketing?With tiered tickets, admission gets more expensive based on the bells and whistles attendees want or on how close you are to the date of the event.

Yes, ticketing tiers add complexity to your event strategy, but tiered tickets are a good idea because:

• They make your event more accessible: Maybe you want to charge $1,000 a ticket for your annual conference. But $1,000 is a lot of money for cost-conscious attendees. Pricey tickets make your event inaccessible to hundreds of potential attendees, substantially limiting your audience (and earning opportunities). Fortunately, tiered tickets make your event more accessible to people with modest budgets. You can offer cheaper tickets in exchange for a lower level of access that’s on par with the ticket price. Most people are okay with giving up perks for cheaper tickets, anyway.
• They create FOMO: As you sell out of tickets at certain tiers, you’ll trigger a feeling of scarcity in your potential attendees. This fear of missing out (FOMO) pressures them to act sooner rather than later, which can help you fill your attendee roster more quickly.
• They fill up more seats: The last thing you want to do is host an event with a ton of empty seats. Since most conference attendees book their tickets a minimum of one week before the event, you’ll have a better chance of filling seats and boosting revenue ahead of time with tiered tickets.
• You’ll learn more about event pricing: Switching to tiered ticketing is tricky because you learn about pricing as you go. Even if you’ve never done tiered tickets before, your audience has learned to expect them, so treat this as a bold experiment on event pricing. We’re willing to bet that you’ll still rake in more revenue — even with lower-cost ticket options — thanks to a boost in attendance numbers.

6 Types of Ticket Tiers You Should IncludeTicketing tiers are a smart way to create urgency and encourage attendees to act quickly. Try offering these six types of tickets to encourage more signups for your next event.

Standard AdmissionStandard admission (also called “general admission”) is the type of ticket you offer to most attendees. These tickets are the no-frills, baseline experience for which most people sign up.

However, you can consistently offer certain upgrades, like reserved seats, to standard admission ticketholders. Upgrades are great for folks who want select perks without upgrading to a VIP experience.

VIP Some attendees are willing to pay for a cushier experience, so why not offer it to them? VIP tickets are a step above standard admission. They usually give VIPs special access, or a bundle of high-value goodies rolled into their ticket.

Create a VIP package for your event that includes goodies like:

• Premium seating
• Free parking or valet
• Access to exclusive parties
• Backstage passes
• Meet and greets
• Free transportation
• Meals included
• Extra drink tickets
• Bonus content or workshops
• On-demand session recordings

Remember, these folks are paying extra, so make their experience worth the additional cost.

Early BirdMany people will sign up for early bird access to score a cheaper price, which helps your attendees and helps you gauge interest and build an attendee list long before your event.

You can offer different tiers of early bird pricing. Offer standard admission at a lower price and VIP upgrades to early birds who want more of a premium experience.

Opening early bird tickets to existing customers, community members, or loyal followers is a good idea. You can create a “Super Early Bird” option for these folks. After that, feel free to open up early bird pricing to the general public. You can add a countdown clock to your early bird landing page to add urgency and language like “Just 10 tickets remaining!” to encourage signups.

Whatever you do, ensure early bird pricing stays exclusive to early birds. If you offer the same pricing later and attendees find out you fibbed about their exclusive deal, you’ll lose their trust. Remember, early birds are doing you a solid, so reward their loyalty with truly exclusive pricing.

Last-minuteLook, no matter how many promotions you run, you’re guaranteed to have people show up at the door. This ticketing tier is perfect for last-minute attendees and can help you fill any empty seats left at the venue. Selling last-minute tickets does mean you’ll need staff on hand to sell tickets at the door, but that’s a breeze with the right event technology platform.

Don’t take pity on these last-minute attendees. This is the moment when you sell tickets at their full price. Since the attendee is already there and ready to participate, you can justify asking for the full price right before the event starts.

VirtualVirtual tickets are an increasingly popular ticket tier in the post-COVID event planning world. Many businesses offer super cheap virtual tickets with online-only access as a way to boost their reach and revenue opportunities — for pretty much zero added effort. Virtual tickets allow you to promote your brand to attendees across the globe, which can significantly boost your ticket sales.

Just make sure you have the proper hybrid event setup. At a minimum, you’ll need an event platform, cameras, microphones, and recording equipment to give virtual attendees a solid experience.

Multi-day Passes or Day PassesPasses are ideal for multi-day conferences where you focus on different subjects every day. For example, if Day 1 is about Sales and Day 2 is about eCommerce, attendees can buy different passes to view the content they’re most interested in. Let attendees know the agenda ahead so they can decide for themselves.

Day passes also help you give cost-conscious attendees a cheaper in-person alternative to virtual tickets. You can always give attendees multi-day passes at a 10% per-day discount to make the multi-day option more enticing.

Generate More Revenue With a Ticketing StrategyEvent pricing isn’t straightforward, but ticketing tiers are one of the best tricks to increasing attendance and revenue. Try the six ticket types in this guide to give attendees a wider variety of attendance options. You’ll likely see more significant attendance figures and revenue for your trouble!

But we know that pricing and ticketing can get complicated, especially for big events. If you need a helping hand, Endless Events pulls off jaw-dropping events across the United States for ROI-conscious brands. If you need to wow attendees while generating positive ROI, we’re the team for the job.

See the Endless Events difference for yourself: Request a proposal for your next big event.

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As event professionals, we’re always looking to explore new methods, techniques, and technologies to make each event better than the last. Virtual reality (VR) is a topic we often discuss on the Event Tech podcast and has been a technology growing in popularity in recent years. But with the adoption of VR technology comes an important question: will people change their lifestyle to attend VR events?

Endless Events has articles on VR dating back to 2017. Still, VR technology has been slow to make a splash in the average household. Bulky, uncomfortable, and impractical hardware has largely been to blame. But will people be more willing to change their lives to integrate this new tech? Join Will and Brandt as they search for an answer and share their thoughts on what will catapult VR tech forward.

Will People Change Their Lifestyle for VR Events?Will begins this episode by shouting out to the listener who submitted today’s topic. “Today, we have an audience question. Jorge Pakk asked, ‘Do you believe people will change their lifestyles to attend (educational) VR events?’ I think this is a good annual check-in: are things going to change? Will VR change the events industry?”

“I love the phrasing, changing their lifestyle,” says Brandt. “That opens up so many possibilities; it got us chatting about what lifestyle change means. The first thing that pops into my mind is that some people have a dedicated VR area in their house. Some people have already started to change their lifestyle.”

“I designed my living room to make room for VR,” adds Will. He thinks advancements in VR will continue to make it easier for people to engage with the technology. Still, he wonders if the current challenges in adopting VR at home are what hold it back from widespread adoption.

“To a certain extent, absolutely,” says Brandt. He points to how uncomfortable and clunky VR tech can be as something preventing its adoption. “For the most part, your eyes get tired, and your head gets sweaty. I do feel like things are going to change relatively soon. Oculus was the first to put much higher resolution screens in and make battery-powered sets rather than tethered ones. But it was still pretty bulky and heavy.”

Brandt raises a good point that improved technology may act as a compromise and encourage people to meet the tech halfway. “As Apple continues to work on this mythical VR headset, they’re supposedly coming out with, it’s going to be thinner, lighter, battery-powered, and all of the things we know Apple loves to do. So, now maybe I do want to rearrange my living room. Maybe I do want to dedicate an entire room of my house to VR because I can be in it longer.”

The Importance of Hardware, Software, and CommunityBeyond lifestyle changes like rearranging furniture, Brandt and Will also briefly consider how our social lives inform our tech choices.

“With the adoption of hardware becoming easier to use, I think more people will use it. But imagine that, in many ways, we’re divided around technology right now. For example, the Android vs. iPhone, green bubbles vs. blue bubbles,” explains Will. “I sold my VR headset a couple of months ago. No one else is using this. I don’t find a lot of value in being able to meet random people on VR. I’d rather play games with the friends I already have. So I chose to invest in things like the PlayStation five.

“I think until they start getting lighter and have longer battery life, it’s hard to sell people on putting this bulky, heavy, sweaty headset on for longer than 30 minutes. And that’s where we come back to Jorge’s question,” says Brandt. “VR is an amazing tool for doctors who want to practice in a virtual world, or anytime you’re trying to learn something in the first person view. There are so many educational opportunities. So maybe that’s the lifestyle change; if you’re going to use VR as part of education, acknowledging that you can’t do 90-minute lectures. You have to do it in 20-minute chunks.”

Will agrees. But in a world where people despise even minor changes to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it could be challenging to adopt a new platform and new technology just for VR. But, according to Will, all technology changes our lives to some extent. “My lifestyle changed when I switched to the iPhone,” says Will. “I’m wondering if people will potentially have to switch platforms. For example, Apple already has a huge ecosystem. It’d be very easy to start building upon their reality OS. But let’s say Apple doesn’t do groundbreaking VR, and it’s instead some new platform. I think it’s going to require people to switch platforms completely.”

“It feels like the next big thing in VR will not be software. It will be hardware. At this point, the way we’re going to start seeing higher user adoption rates won’t be with a killer app,” says Brandt. “The thing that drives people to buy them could be weight and good battery life. That’s what’s going to drive the next wave.”

Will VR Reduce Travel and Empathy Along with it? Next, Will and Brandt think about the VR implications for travel. Will people travel as much in a world where they can have immersive experiences in their homes? And how would that affect empathy?

“Will VR make you more close-minded?” asks Will. “They always say travel is the best way to educate someone about different cultures and expose them to different ideas. Does VR allow you to do that more? Or, because you physically can’t do it, do you do it less?”

“It could be a door opener, an appetizer if you will,” says Brandt. “I feel it’ll be good for culture, but it won’t cure it. People who want to be in their own little bubble will be in their own little bubble. Their headset is going to be what they want to see and do. But I think every little bit helps.”

Will agrees. “Right now, the internet exposes you to so much stuff. But there are still so many people who are in their closed worlds. It’s not like VR is going to undo that instantly.”

“But that’s where education can help,” adds Brandt. “For example, ‘We’re going to learn about ancient Rome. Here we go to the Coliseum.’ And it goes from ruins to what it looked like back in the day. Now there’s a gladiator event, and it’s terrible and gory. You realize, maybe it’s not the coolest thing on the planet. There is an empathy potential with these things. Some news and human rights organizations have put together powerful 360-videos that put you in uncomfortable situations to help you understand their reality.”

“I think the best hope we can have is that it will give an even more in-depth experience that will connect people on a whole new level, ‘says Will. “I think that’s the hope with VR events; that the difference between watching a 2D video and being in it, seeing it all around you, makes it click even further. One of the most exciting things about this education piece is that people can learn something new.” (For an example of a VR series, check out “Women human rights activists.”)

Final Thoughts“I think there’s a lot of hope and possibility,” says Brandt. He emphasizes that we should be excited about VR for the right reasons and not just use it because it’s new and has potential. “Let’s be excited because VR is the right tool for the job because it will give people access to tools and models and environments they might not normally have access to. Our lifestyles will probably change as technology continues to evolve.”

“So true,” says Will. “With all technologies, we’ve learned that they change us in so many different ways. For example, the adoption of remote work and online or virtual events. I think that’s just something to always keep in mind.”

What do you think? Are people going to change their lifestyles for VR? Or will it take some significant shift in software, hardware, or community to push people to adopt this new technology? We want to hear your thoughts. Email us! And finally, a big shout out to Jorge for sending us today’s question. We love reading your responses and addressing them in podcast episodes. We’ll catch you here next time for another Event Tech episode.

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As an event professional, you likely rely on some degree of creativity and inspiration to design events, drive innovation, and make your mark on the attendee experience. But when the creativity wheels aren’t turning, and the inspiration isn’t flowing, it can feel hard to come up with fun or even new ideas and make meaningful progress at work. That’s why in this episode of the Event Brew, the Brew Crew is talking about event inspiration, creativity, and innovation.

Together, they’ll share where they draw event inspiration from. Spoiler alert, for some, it’s a shoe, and for others, it’s an old idea made new. How exactly do they build up their creativity muscles? Tune in to find out.

Where the Brew Crew Finds Event InspirationDeanna starts by sharing the question that prompted today’s discussion, “We got a question from Christopher H. Thanks for sending in your question, Christopher! He says, ‘You said, be creative to find new ways to execute events. Where can you find inspiration for being creative and innovative?”

“I love this question because finding inspiration looks different for everyone,” says Thuy. She finds inspiration in everything. “For me, it’s the color palette of a shoe, the texture of a wall, or the style of a building. I don’t look for it in the event industry; I’m trying to be innovative and ahead of the game. There are many ways to do it. You need to figure out who you are and what you like and then make space for the opportunity to be creative.”

Arianna also finds inspiration everywhere. “For me, it’s everywhere, and it’s event by event, program by program,” she says. “For example, as we were moving into this virtual space, one of the goals of events was to make sure everyone had a sense of orientation. So when I go somewhere I’ve never been, I pay attention to how I figure out where to go. How am I assisted in navigating this space? How are my expectations set? Was it in a pre-appointment email, or did I get a text message from the company? I think it’s critical to help people understand how to show up and help them not feel lost.”

Will agrees with Thuy and Arianna. “All of the people I’ve interviewed on #EventIcons say they get their creativity outside the events industry. Where creativity has been successful for me is when I start talking about it with other people.” Will finds value in sharing and refining ideas with others, but he also finds inspiration in personal experience. “Every time I’ve made a good business decision or had a good idea, I’m usually like, I would want this.”

Nick wants to emphasize Will’s point about bouncing your ideas off others. “There’s a lot to be said about the idea that creativity has to start somewhere.” For Nick, creative ideas often start at the individual level and grow in the presence of a community or small group. “You have to curate that group too.”

“Iron sharpens iron, right?” adds Deanna. “It’s that concept of not having an echo chamber, but having people that will take your idea and refine it. Everyone needs that in their corner.”

Steal Like an Artist and Build Your Creativity MusclesIn case hearing how the Brew Crew finds inspiration didn’t spark any inspiration of your own, Nick turns the Brew Crew toward reappropriation as a method for innovation. “There’s a book about creatively called Steal Like an Artist,” he says. “It explains how to be inspired and get creative thinking. You don’t take what someone else is doing one-for-one. Instead, you apply it to the world you’re in and your problems, using how you express things. It’s flexible and repurposed. That’s what we often do for event inspiration. We’re sponging up what other people do, and it’s filtered through who we are.”

“Nick, you’re speaking my language so much. My first degree was in visual art painting with a focus on pop art,” says Arianna. “Two words I learned were reappropriate and juxtapose. They’ve carried me so far. I love how you identified that it’s not one-to-one theft. It’s figuring out how to contextualize and juxtapose it in the moment and for the goals of your event and attendees.”

Deanna raises an important point about why and when event professionals often create or fail to create. “I just had a coffee lunch with a creator today, and we talked about creating for the sake of creating. I think, as event professionals, we don’t see purpose in creating without an end goal because what we create is so logistical and black and white. But creating for the sake of building that creative muscle will help you, like Thuy said earlier, to see inspiration everywhere. Once that muscle gets stronger, and you’re in the flow of constantly creating, the ideas come up organically and sporadically.”

Even though Thuy’s earlier comments about inspiration were about designing events rather than executing, she sees creativity in executing too. “I love that you say that,” she responds. “I always tell operations managers they’re creative too. Their brain just works differently. When Will was talking about bringing people to him, that’s where DEI comes in. It needs to be a diverse group of people. Bring in the salesperson, the ops person, or the executive levels because they think differently in their day-to-day lives. Hopefully, they’ll have some innovative ideas or potential solutions.”

Nick agrees. “I echo what Thuy said, the secret sauce to creativity is a diverse set of minds. Next-level creativity comes from a diverse set of people who can put one more little spin on it that no one else would’ve.”

The Brew Crew’s Creative Outlets That Drive Event InspirationFor today’s final discussion question, Deann wants the crew to share their creative outlets. “Before we close, what is something creative you’re doing in your life now?” she asks.

Eager to share her current outlet, Thuy shares first. “I just found out you can learn Valyrian on Duolingo. I’m a huge nerd in the category, so that is my creative outlet right now.”

“I have a weird answer,” says Nick. “I’ve been super interested in watching how my kids behave and thinking about it in the context of business. I watch how my kids ‘network.’ I watch how my kids tell stories and how they refine their storytelling. We gain so many limitations as we age because we learn about what is and isn’t possible. We also gain fears. I see the fears and creative limitations removed in kids, and I’m very interested in watching that.”

Next to share is Ariana. She finds it’s important to block out time and opportunities for her to play with ideas and get creative, even when her schedule makes it feel impossible. “I’m at the point where I’m about to ramp up into full insanity mode. So I’m committing myself to more group activities that force creativity on me because that’s the first thing to go when my schedule gets crazy.

She continues: “Being a part of Event Brew will be something for my brain to spin on and play with. I also just joined a digital advisory board with a group of Broadway folks. It just becomes so important for me to keep tossing ideas around. I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t allow myself to play. Then I reach the end of the busy period, and I’m just burnt.

“My most creative process is being able to get back to in-person speaking engagements,” says Will. “It’s forced me to come up with creative ideas. My creative process for speaking is I whiteboard everything on my iPad, I usually write five of six bullet points before I speak, and I make almost everything else up on the spot. Sometimes I rehash ideas, but sometimes I come up with an idea while speaking live. I share that idea, and seeing people react is a reaffirming creative process for me. So, believe it or not, live speaking is probably the most creative thing I’ve been doing lately.”

“Me too,” adds Arianna. “I’m terrible if I have anything beyond three bullet points. If you just let me riff ideas at you, that’s where my ideas start to formulate. It takes a while. I also like to tell people, ‘I know I’ve said this on this other thing, but based on new evidence, I’ve changed my mind. I was completely wrong in the way I was framing that.”

“That’s the mark of creativity you generate before you filter. Sometimes we filter first, and it keeps us from creating,” Deanna says. “In terms of a fun, creative project, I’ve been playing on TikTok for a few months, and it’s been fun. It’s not related to events at all, but it’s fun because I’m thinking of new creative ideas.”

Final ThoughtsThere you have it! You can find inspiration everywhere around you and in anything. You must build and exercise creativity over time, much like a muscle. As the Brew Crew shared, this takes dedication and intentional effort, even when it feels impossible.

Thanks to Christopher H. for sending us today’s topic. We’d love to hear from you too. Where do you find inspiration? And how do you build up your creativity? We read every email, and who knows? Maybe your question will be featured on the next episode of the Event Brew.

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It’s no secret that inflation is out of control. As of November 30, 2022, inflation in the U.S. clocked in at 7.11% — and consumers are feeling the pinch at the grocery store, gas pump, and even eCommerce stores. Customers are trimming their budgets, and that’s bad for business. If you sell a non-essential product or service, you could find more customers churning out thanks to inflation and recession rumors. In an era where consumer loyalty is at stake, brands must step back and focus on what matters now: the customer experience. If you want to inflation-proof your business as much as possible, you must reinvest in the customer experience. Let’s look at why customer experience is the answer to inflation, plus three tangible ways to boost the customer experience ASAP.

Inflation’s Powerful Effect on the Customer ExperienceConsumers have less discretionary income during periods of inflation. They spend more money on essentials, so businesses have to work overtime to prove they’re worthy of their customers’ money.

You need people to engage with your brand, and that means creating unforgettable and crave-worthy customer experiences. If you’re afraid of customers eliminating you as a line item in their budget, you need to give them a really good reason to spend their hard-earned money.

While it’s tempting to focus on other areas to combat inflation, you just can’t ignore the customer experience because:

• Customers are spending less: If everyday essentials like groceries and gas cost more, people will trim their budget to cover the essentials first. That goes for everyday consumers and businesses, so both B2B and B2C shoppers will cut their budgets. If they don’t see value in your services, they’ll have no problem dropping you — and that’s why you need to give your audience the old razzle-dazzle so they stick around. Feel free to invest in marketing or other areas of your business, but customer experience is a must to keep your sales figures in a healthy range.
• Churn will hurt you: Losing customers sucks. Churn is bad for sales, but it can also hurt you in other ways. For example, investors want to see that you know how to retain shoppers. Customer experience matters because you need to show you’re growing, not shrinking. If you can’t retain shoppers (even if it’s because of inflation), you won’t be able to find investors to take your biz to the next level.
• Customers are emotional: If you try to turn a blind eye to inflation, you’ll pay for it. If you push high-dollar packages to struggling customers, they’ll probably take their business elsewhere. Inflation significantly affects your customers, and your marketing and sales messages should account for that. Right now, you need to focus on the customer experience to best support — and hopefully retain — shoppers who are having a hard time.

How to Inflation-proof Your Biz by Investing in the Customer ExperienceInflation can increase churn and decrease your profitability. The good news is that you can fight against churn and low sales by giving customers an all-star experience. Follow these three tips to refresh your customer experience and fight the effects of inflation.

Be TransparentWe get it. Your business has higher costs because of inflation. But if you jack up prices without telling customers why you’ll experience churn. How you handle price increases will set the tone for the customer relationship.

That’s why it’s essential to be as transparent as possible with your customers. If you do need to increase prices, send an email to customers explaining why. Be as specific as possible. Instead of saying, “We’re increasing prices by $20 a month,” you should say, “Our data storage costs increased by 25% over the past year, which is why we need to change our monthly subscription fee to $65.”

That still may leave some customers less than pleased, so try to give your customers an increase in value or new features. You can also create tiered pricing with a lower-cost option to retain cost-conscious customers.

Gather and Act-On Customer FeedbackCustomers are more likely to stay loyal to a brand that takes feedback seriously. If you want people to stick around despite inflation, you need to use customer feedback to improve the overall customer experience.

You can do that by:

• Making it easy to share feedback: Why guess what your customers want when you can ask them directly? Send automated emails asking your audience for their opinion. Not all feedback will be helpful, but you’ll glean a few nuggets of wisdom that you can use to improve the customer experience.
• Tracking the digital journey: Now’s the time to dig into your website, social media, email, and eCommerce data. See which pages people bounce from the most or which areas of your site people are rage-clicking on. It’s the best way to identify friction in the online customer experience so you can fix it ASAP.
• Auditing the customer experience: Nobody’s perfect, and there’s likely something you need to change to tune up the customer experience. Pretend to be a customer and go through the onboarding process for yourself to identify areas that need fixing.
• Hosting focus groups: Data and internal auditing are helpful, but nothing is better than talking to customers face-to-face. You can either interview customers one-on-one or host a focus group. You’ll learn what engages them, what enrages them, and what they really need to see from your brand.

Build Strong Customer RelationshipsOne of the best ways to create a positive customer experience is to invest in relationships with customers at scale. Nobody wants to hear stuffy corporate jargon: regardless of your industry, your audience wants to connect with the real people behind your business.

You’re human, so act like it! Invest in solid customer relationships by creating unexpected joy. Relationships are a two-way street; sometimes, you have to give something back. Plan surprises like birthday freebies, custom video emails, and loyalty discounts.

You can also forge deeper customer relationships with regular events. Events are hands down the best way to create lasting relationships with your customers. Host online, in-person, or hybrid events to connect with your customers on a deeper level. Host a DJ dance party, free cooking lessons, or a full-blown conference to create memorable experiences with your customers.

Create Experiences That Transcend Inflation AnxietyA solid customer experience playbook will help you support and celebrate your customers during hard times. After all, positive customer experiences persuade shoppers to support your brand — and when you invest in your audience, they’ll support you. Position your brand as a must-have by following our three tips to overhaul your customer experience.

Whether you’re connecting online or IRL, events can help you overcome the digital noise. See how Endless Events helps brands across the U.S. pull off jaw-dropping customer experiences that will leave your audience breathless.

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Event management software can potentially make an event planner’s job more efficient. But when the right software doesn’t exist, planners are left to fend for themselves, often lacking solutions. In July, we discussed this exact issue in the episode, Why is there no good event software? Will and Brandt discussed what features the industry desperately needs and how companies can offer solutions. Two of the most important missing features included tools for budgeting and understanding profit margins.

In this episode of the Event Tech Podcast, Will and Brandt welcome a special guest who brings a new and inexpensive solution to event management software, Rob Vaas. Rob is a co-founder and director of a new software company called Joi, a planning and scheduling software with unique features, including budgeting solutions that might be just what the industry needs.

What Does Joi Bring to Event ManagementPrompted by Will, Rob starts today’s conversation by sharing his background and what led him to co-found Joi. “I started in discos and lighting in London,” he says. “I ended up in corporate events running an agency from Australia that was creating events all over Asia. While running that agency, I was frustrated by how much time I spent planning, basically stuffing data into spreadsheets. And that led to the genesis of Joi.”

Pivoting to what Joi can offer event planners, Will asks where the event management software is today. “What features does Joi have right now?”

“When looking at event planning software, you’re looking at something that will help you deliver a better event,” explains Rob. “So the features we built into the software are really to help people not miss anything in the process. The other thing that frustrated me was that existing software didn’t integrate your program or agenda into the actual run schedule. Every time there was a change in the program, you had to update documents manually. Having those programs and agendas sent with the schedule takes a lot of the painful stuff away.”

Brandt emphasizes the rarity and importance of scheduling features like this. Planners often need software they can use in the beginning stages of event planning, not just when a schedule is finalized and polished. “This is one of those surprisingly rare features. I’ve seen some online platforms that want you to fill things out thoroughly. Whereas, sometimes, I just want to say, ‘I know we’re going to have a keynote here and a panel there.’ With Joi, can you rough things out in the early days of your schedule and then go back?”

Rob says you can do precisely that. “It’s brilliant for that because it’s all drag and drop. Typically, you have an event with multiple sessions. People start planning by listing all the sessions, and as you work out your event, you organically say, ‘I’m going to have that happen in that room…actually, no. I want it happening over there.’ And it takes two seconds to change. When you’re happy with it, you send the speaker a link, and they can fill in their session details, their bio, all that stuff, which feeds into the published program and your schedule.”

The Future of Integrations for JoiIn July, Will suggested that existing tools can use open API to give users more functionality customized to their specific needs. While Joi doesn’t currently offer an open API, it does boast a certain flexibility with integrations, according to Rob. “We don’t have an open API, but we work with people if they contact us and want an integration,” says Rob. “By nature, tools are easy to integrate.”

For Will, custom integrations can make a huge difference in event management software. “It’s all great to have software you build a million plans in, but it only helps you save time if it bridges that to the execution portion,” explains Will. “You can build a beautiful agenda that drags and drops, but if Joi can’t take that and throw it into the right integration, you end up doing copy and paste work anyways. You end up having that dual location data issue, and that’s why custom integration with software could be huge.”

Rob agrees. “Absolutely, and we definitely want to get there. We’re really sensitive to making things as easy as possible for people. Similar to integrations, you can embed Joi’s program or agenda into your event website. Then when you update Joi, hit a button, and you update your website too. Those things, where you don’t need any technical ability whatsoever, just make it as easy as possible.”

“You can also download your agenda in CSV,” continues Rob. That covers some people’s needs. “But some event management platforms don’t even take a CSV file, so you have to work around those.”

Joi’s Budgeting ToolNext, Will moves to the budgeting tool Joi has lined up for release in the near future. “Workflow Max does something that a lot of tools don’t,” says Will. “I can input costs in terms of time, vendor expenses, and flights. Based on the revenue coming in, it can spit out the ultimate profit margin for that event. This is important because I need to make sure I have healthy margins. What’s your philosophy on this? And what pain points have you seen around budgeting for events?”

To answer this, Rob covers four important features of Joi.

1. Cost and revenue pages
2. Multipliers in budgeting calculations
3. Built-in communication with suppliers and the ability to adjust quotes
4. Cash flow representation

“The basic principles we took were, one, you need a cost and revenue page in your budget,” explains Rob. “On the cost page, you have every cost you can think of. The revenue page might be similar or entirely different depending on your relationship with the client and how you quote them. When you put anything in, you can put it as an estimate or an actual. Not only will you get the profit margin on the summary page, but you’ll see what percentage of that is actual versus estimate.”

The second major component is multipliers. “Many people who’ve looked at budgeting tools can’t use it because they don’t have the second multiplier,” continues Rob. “For example, you have a technical producer on site for three days. You know it’s $3,000 per day, for three days, with a quantity of one. You need that multiplier. That was a fundamental thing to get into the software.”

Similar to sending speakers a link to put in their info, vendors can also receive a link. “They fill in a summary of their quote in the link, and you can link that to your cost page. If it changes, they can update that link, you’ll get a notification the info has changed, and you can accept the updates, automatically updating your cost page. You can then link that to your revenue page.”

And finally, cash flow. This is especially important for large events managing large budgets or a lot of vendors. “When your vendor gives you a quote, they also put in their payment dates, feeding through to your cash flow for the event,” says Rob. “When you look at the summary, not only do you see the dollars you’re making on your event, you see when you pay out and when you’re getting money from your client.”

Why Aren’t More Companies Creating in This Space?As Will wraps up the episode, he asks Rob one final question. “You mentioned earlier that one of the reasons event management software has been picked on is because people fall into their habits of doing things. Is there a reason why you think companies aren’t building this too?”

For Rob, the answer is easy. “One, people spend money on the customer-facing side of things, and we’re not so customer-facing,” Rob responds. “Two, making an event planning tool that can work on any event and is intuitive is hard.”

And that wraps up this episode. Both Will and Brandt think Joi is shaping up to be an incredible tool. If you’d like to try it, check out the free 30-day trial! Even if 30 days isn’t long enough for you, the $20 monthly plan allows for up to 5 active events, giving you a low-cost way to continue testing the software.

“And audience, remember, we really do read our emails. We take audience feedback seriously. Next time Will goes on a rant, contact us and let us know your thoughts! Tell us what Will is wrong about,” concludes Brandt. We’ll see you here next time for another episode of the Event Tech podcast.

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Throughout 2022, we discussed how event professionals could talk business and engage with the C-suite. We also talked about trends we witnessed and expected to see in 2023. That’s why we’ve brought Jim Kelley on today’s episode of the #EventIcons.

Jim is an experienced leader in the events industry. Currently the Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations at Fern Expo, he has a long history of working in events, tradeshows, and conferences. Jim describes himself as a continuous learner, trusted advisor, innovator, educator, and ukulelist in training. Today, he’ll share his background, how event professionals can take on the business world, how to avoid burnout, and why we’ll see more white space in 2023.

How Jim Came to EventsBefore moving into the heavy topics on today’s agenda, Will asks Jim to share how he ended up in the events industry.

“I think it started in college,” says Jim. “I was active in student government and got on the campus activities board. I thought I wanted to do student life and went to work on my master’s. I graduated off-cycle, meaning I graduated in December. There were no jobs in December. So I moved home to Baltimore, and a good friend of mine was working at the Hyatt Regency. They needed help, and I ended up working there in convention services. I spent some years there. A company named Andrews Bartlett recruited me to open their Baltimore office. 30 Years later, here I sit.”

Event Professionals: Detail Orientation vs. Business OrientationOver on the Event Brew podcast, we’ve talked about communication with the C-suite as a means to protect against layoffs and establish your ability. Jim brings us back to these points with his unique experience and wisdom: event professionals should be pushing their way into conversations they’re not currently included in.

“You and I nerd out a lot on strategy,” says Will. “I think we share the same belief of event professionals getting stuck being the event planner and being 3 levels down in terms of the totem pole within a company. Can we dive into how event professionals should interact with a C-level executive?”

“I recall the context of our conversation, and my comment was less about acquiescing to the C-suite and more about driving your way into the C-suite. What we do as event professionals has a significant impact on the strategy of organizations,” explains Jim. “For most associations, events are the single largest gathering for stakeholders. They’re a big deal. I think we sometimes get caught up in the event professional part, and we need to lean more on the business professional part.”

Interested in this last point, Will asks for more details. “Why do you think we’re so afraid to move into the business side of things as event professionals?”

“When you think about an event professional, there’s probably a high level of detail orientation and less of a goal orientation. The event professionals I know cross their t’s and dot their i’s, but sometimes you can get so granular that you’re not looking 2 or 3 years out from a business perspective.”

But, as Jim points out, there is a shared responsibility to consider the long-term goals of an organization. Often, organizations only share plans regarding the next event they want to plan, not their long-term goals.

For example, “I was just having a conversation with a client, and I said, ‘I’m interested in what you’re doing next year, but I want to know where you want to be as an organization 3 or 4 years from now.’ As event professionals, we need to understand where the business is going in the next 3 to 5 years because I may be able to implement things that can help that.”

Dealing with BurnoutNext, Will takes us to something everyone can relate to, post-pandemic burnout. “We’re getting out of the pandemic, and all this change is happening,” says Will. “I sense that, within the events industry, everyone feels at least a little bit burnt out. Let’s say you’ve reached this point in your career where you know what you need to know, and you know you need to grow, but you’re burnt out. What would you say to someone like that?”

Jim emphasizes how vital communication with your employer is. “The first thing I would do is talk to the organization you’re with and say you’re feeling burnt out. Two people I know in the DC market have done that. Both of their organizations gave them sabbaticals. Those organizations essentially said, ‘We value you and want you to evaluate your decisions with a clearer head.’”

“I also think sometimes it just might require a change of scenery,” continues Jim. “If you feel there’s nowhere to go, no growth opportunities or relief, you must do what’s best for yourself. Otherwise, you will not be good to your employer, stakeholders, family, or loved ones. You also run the risk of damaging your reputation and doing physical harm to yourself.”

A 2023 Trend: Creating White SpacesTurning to current trends, Will wants to know what trends Jim thinks we can expect in 2023. “You saw my 2023 trends presentation. If you had to pick one trend you think will hit the events industry, give me the one you think no one is thinking about.”

“I don’t know if it’s a trend, but I think there is going to be a lot more focus around how we can create events where there’s white space to allow people to connect,” says Jim. “I don’t think you’re going to see an event that has people scheduled from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm with a reception that starts at 6 o’clock. My thinking is you’re going to see white space by design. What happens when you build that white space in by design? People become more engaged.”

Will agrees, as an attendee, only having short breaks in a long day prevents him from making meaningful connections like he otherwise would on a 2-hour lunch break. “I think that’s so smart. I think we get obsessed; if we have a 3-day event, we need to stuff all 3 days and jam as much into it as possible. But I’m a big advocate of simplifying events. Let’s have less content and more whitespace. Sometimes it feels like we’re trying to over plan events.”

Jim points out that a packed 12-hour day isn’t what your average day looks like. “You don’t get up at the crack of dawn to get to a 7:30 breakfast and be fully engaged every day. To attend things all day, be fully intellectually engaged, go to a reception, and be ‘on’ for 10 to 14 hours, you don’t do that in your normal day. It just doesn’t add up.”

Jim’s Final Advice: Finally, as a custom on #EventIcons, Will asks Jim about his favorite resources. “To wrap up, I want to go into my last questions. What are your favorite resources?”

“I’m a keynote junky,” says Jim. “I love a good keynote; I don’t know why. PCMA is coming up in January, and I’ll probably leave there and order books from the three or four keynotes they have. That’s kind of where I get my library from.”

He also listens to podcasts. “I just listened to a podcast from Simon Sinek, and I ordered the book following the podcast. The other thing I listen to is Bourbon Pursuit. One of the things I take away is their focus on community. Often I’ll listen to that and draw parallels to what we’re doing as an industry and community. We’re lifting people up and trying to help new people. I see posts all the time saying, ‘I’m new to bourbon. What three should I try?’ And no one says, ‘Ugh. You’re a rookie.’ It’s all about building people up.”

And Jim’s final tip for the day is: “Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. If you do that, there’s no stopping you.” We hope you enjoyed today’s episode with Jim Kelley. Tune in next time for another iconic guest!

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Event gamification kind of sucks right now, but it doesn’t have to. Event organizers turn to gamification to try and drive engagement and rally excitement around an event. But more often than not, it’s just a thinly disguised tool to get attendees to do what organizers and sponsors want them to do. That’s why our guest co-host Arianna Black is struggling to find value in event gamification.

In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Will and Arianna discuss why event gamification in events misses the mark. Spoiler alert–it’s because of misaligned priorities between attendees and organizers. Together, they’ll brainstorm how to implement in-person and virtual event gamification to benefit attendees and organizers authentically. This episode is full of insightful insights and actionable advice.

Arianna’s Gripe with Event GamificationArianna is a senior digital event producer, and we’ve recently interviewed her on an episode of #EventIcons about designing the perfect attendee arrival. She starts today’s episode by sharing her gripe with gamification, the reason for today’s topic. “I’m trying to remain open-minded, but in my personal experience, I have found that gamification mostly sucks. It’s flat or lightly disguised as a ploy to get you to do what the organizers and sponsors want you to do. I’m struggling with the idea that there is real attendee value there.”

“I wanted to be open-minded, so I slept on it,” continues Arianna. “I woke up and was thinking about three instances where I’ve seen gamification drive positive behavior and be in the interest of both organizers and participants. Those would be Orange Theory, Peloton, and Fitbit. These metrics align with why you signed up for the services. So I’m thinking about what gamification could look like if it’s in line with the attendees’ reasons for showing up.”

Will agrees. He gives an example of how gamification can be meaningless. “Shout out to Alex Platon. Hubspot’s inbound conference had a tweet leaderboard. Alex live-tweeted every presentation he saw and won Bose headphones. I’m sure the leaderboard drew in many tweets, but how much value was there?”

For Arianna, organizers should build gamification based on the attendees’ primary goals. Speaking from an attendee’s perspective, she says, “You got me into this event community, and I joined because I’m craving to be around the expertise of other event folks. The reason we’re in that container is to spark those new connections. You’re not driving us to do something that furthers your agenda or to a sponsor booth.”

“So, I’m really asking, where does meaningful connection happen in physical and digital spaces? What if there was a way that I’m somehow awarded for making a one-on-one meeting with someone on my calendar? How do we drive the behavior attendees really want? And how do we measure it?” concludes Arianna.

Event Gamification Idea #1: Locked AccessWill shares today’s first solution to gamification that sucks. Will’s inspiration? Role-player games (RPGs). World of Warcraft is an example of an RPG; in them, you often earn access to more abilities as you level up. “I think many modern games are finding out that World of Warcraft was so popular because you get more abilities or new items as you level up your character,” says Will. “Let’s imagine a similar future with gamification. What if a platform figured out that, instead of getting people on a leaderboard, you unlock things?”

“That matters,” Arianna responds. “The second you said ‘unlocked,’ my brain returned to physical space. I’m seeing a venue and special access to a VIP suite for live Q&A with keynote speakers that I only got into because I gathered a certain number of points doing behaviors that furthered everybody’s goals. It’s really about access. So in a physical space, meeting people feels like a limited-time opportunity. Maybe it’s access to the front row seats.”

Building on this idea, Will pushes us to think about event tech and its role in event gamification. “I think to parlay toward an event tech topic, platforms probably need to make it, so there’s more customization around gamification,” explains Will. “For example, I can unlock front-row seats by asking questions that get the most upvotes in a keynote. It might also be that I get access to a VIP thing because I made the most connections during happy hour.”

Arianna agrees. But having thought about physical, in-person events, she pivots to consider virtual event gamification ideas. “The other thing I’m thinking about is, what’s gold in a digital space? A lot of times, it’s the ability to customize your profile or your avatar,” says Arianna. “Maybe I can upload a video introduction rather than just a photo. These are all things that would enhance my goals as an attendee because now you can meet me in a more meaningful way faster.”

Event Gamification Idea #2: Time and Opportunity as CurrencyA significant component of the attendee experience is time. Gamification offers tangible or virtual objects like tokens, badges, and avatar costumes as a reward. What if, instead, organizers offer time as the gamification currency?

“So I got a random idea to build on for you,” says Will. “One interesting thing about video games is that as you unlock things, you unlock currency or points. Do you think if, as an attendee, you unlocked currency you could use to buy a cookie at the snack bar (ultimately giving them a prize they want), that it would be successful?”

“As soon as you said currency, I started thinking about my community,” Arianna responds. “I think the most valuable currency is time. These are women who make a lot of money. Money is not necessarily an object, but it does represent access to time with women they think can further their careers. Two things drive my community. One is access to other thought leaders. An hour of time is worth thousands of dollars.”

Arianna continues: “The other thing is, we’re all building brands, right? So maybe, the prize of gamification is an attendee profile on the website that speaks about this attendee and why they’re involved in this event and community. It isn’t with a thousand other attendees, but ‘here are the top three attendees that networked in a meaningful way. Here’s who they are, what they’re doing, and what they’re working on.’”

“One of the things I think a lot of attendees would play for is a one-hour opportunity to have a private call with a keynote speaker.” For Arianna, the most valuable rewards are access to opportunities, which always go back to real humans. “Real humans are at the center of every event,” she concludes.

Event Gamification Idea #3: Customized Rewards Part of what can make gamification suck is the lack of customization. For example, an event might offer Bose headphones as a reward for the most LinkedIn connections made. But if you already have those headphones, the incentive is lost. Will explores customized rewards as a possible solution.

“One of the hardest parts about this is it all depends on the person,” he says. “What if instead of telling attendees what they’re going to get, you give them a blank box to write what they want? Chances are, you’re probably capable of delivering whatever they ask for. I bet most people would say something like, ‘I would love a call with Gary, the keynote speaker. Can you arrange that?’ They would tell you what they want, allowing you to deliver true personalization. I wonder if that could work.”

“We always think things need to be big and shiny, and you just shared that sometimes value is so subjective that what they ask for might be easier to facilitate than what we were thinking we needed to facilitate,” says Arianna. She gives an example of a custom reward she’d probably go for. “One of the things I’d ask for is, put me in touch with your head of product. Let me have a conversation. That costs them nothing but would be super valuable to me. It actually helps them in the end. So you’re right. Put the attendee back at the center and don’t make assumptions about what’s valuable to other people.”

Final Thoughts“I love it. Well, I will end it with one last fact,” says Will. “Gamification isn’t the silver bullet when it comes to engagement. It’s hard work. You have to design your content correctly, build gamification systems, and have great event technology. It’s all of this stuff in concert.”

“And it’s people facilitating it; it’s the power of all the humans holding the space,” adds Arianna. “Because gamification is not solved with pre-planning or technology, it’s with live humans at that moment.”

We’re sure we got your heads spinning with in-person and virtual event gamification ideas. And we’d love to hear them! Please send us an email and let us know what you think. As Arianna says, “If listeners have things they’ve seen in the past that either motivated their behavior or incentivized other people, please share. The events world needs to learn.”

Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of the Event Brew podcast. We’ll see you here next time!

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The holiday parties are upon us, but colder weather means that COVID-19 is on the rise. Many companies may opt to exercise caution and consider pivoting to virtual and hybrid events. Some might prefer virtual get-togethers over face-to-face events. To successfully recreate the in-person experience online, planners need to consider the following challenges. How to create serendipity and exciting spontaneity of in-person event experiences online? How to make people feel less alienated in a format that physically separates us?

Luckily, there are ways to make events feel just as natural in a digital realm as in-person. But they require a few tweaks to ensure your audience feels like they’re part of the event – even if they’re sitting at home on their couch. Here’s a recap of all the best practices we’ve learned in the last two years as an event management company.

Promote the Event on Several ChannelsThe first step to planning a successful virtual event is to create a solid marketing plan. Your audience should understand that it’s a real event you’re planning, not just another webinar resembling a conference call.

Your audience should understand the benefits of attending. It is critical to communicate to your audience why they should come. Will they get access to exclusive content? Will they get a chance to build strong relationships via networking? Is it an opportunity to advance your career? State the benefits of attending.

Promote your event on social media and email, sending consistent reminders and offering early-bird perks, such as bonus content or a discount.

Make Your Online Audience Feel SeenWhen you’re hosting a virtual event, one of your biggest challenges will be making your audience feel like they’re physically there. Firstly, the best way to recreate the in-person event experience online is to get a keynote speaker who understands the virtual format.

Here’s how to make a virtual audience feel like they’re at an in-person event:

• Call your audience members out by name throughout the presentation.
• Maintain eye contact with the camera.
• Show interest in your audience and put them at ease by asking them an ice-breaker question.
• Encourage them to participate in live polling and Q&As with tools like Slido.
• Prepare an immersive and interactive experience that’ll keep your virtual audience at the edge of their seats, following Sparkup’s example.
• End the session on a high note so the audience feels energized.

Finally, make your virtual audience feel seen and understood by keeping your sessions short and packed with valuable information. If your sessions are longer than 30 minutes, consider adding a reminder to stretch or drink water. They’ll appreciate it.Source: Sparkup

Host Smaller Virtual Breakout SessionsProminent keynote speakers might be one of the strongest selling points of your annual in-person conference, but they can quickly turn into a snoozefest in a virtual setting.

Smaller breakout sessions are a great way to keep attendees engaged and on their toes. They’re usually more interactive and allow attendees to network with other participants in smaller groups, which is great for networking purposes too.

Additionally, breakout sessions typically cover topics that might be too niche for the main stage. For example, if you have an event focused on sales training and want to discuss how AI can help with customer service efficiency across several departments within a company, host a smaller breakout session. That way, only those interested in AI can attend, while others take a break or attend another session more to their liking.

Make Online Networking as Easy as PossibleOne of the most significant advantages of in-person events is that they provide endless opportunities to meet people in organic ways. Recreating the serendipity of in-person events online is challenging but not impossible.

According to the Event Brew podcast hosts, virtual networking works best when planners provide the audience with multiple ways to meet. Let your guests engage with each other on their terms – and encourage them to do so!

You can foster virtual networking through the following avenues:

• Organized networking sessions. Allow attendees to attend networking sessions according to the program.
• Attendee profiles. If you use an event platform to host your event, attendees can create profiles and add each other just like on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn. Have attendees fill out their profiles before the event so they can befriend other attendees as soon as possible.
• Data-informed networking. Platforms like Braindate connect attendees based on their interests and expertise.
• Small breakout sessions. As discussed above, small breakout sessions encourage communication among attendees with similar interests.

But remember, online networking is an excellent way to expand your audience and promote your brand, but it’s only for some. Let your audience dictate your decisions. If your attendees are primarily interested in content or they know each other already, don’t force networking down their throats.

Choose an Event Platform with an Interactive Map FeatureAt in-person events, attendees spend a fair share of their time walking around, bumping into each other, and exploring the venue. In comparison, virtual events often consist of clicking on a link to join a call, which makes for a dull and isolating event experience.

However, virtual events can also have a spatial element. Some event platforms, such as Allseated’s exVo, offer the interactive map feature, making guests feel like they’re at a physical venue rather than on a call. They can walk around, run into each other, attend a session at the main stage, or visit sponsor booths.

To see a list of the best event platforms that offer this feature (and more), download our list of Top 100 Event Platforms. You can browse and compare platforms based on features and pricing.Source: Allseated

Produce Your Event in a StudioVirtual events often don’t look different than a regular Zoom call, which is miles away from an energetic in-person event experience. To recreate that in-person feel, consider hosting your event in a studio. That’s much more exciting than a webcam view with a blurry background.

The perks of hosting an event in a studio go beyond recreating the in-person event experience online:

• Studio production is a great way to create a more intimate experience for your audience.
• Because of their high production capabilities, studios make your content and presenters look more professional, engaging, and entertaining.
• You can use audience engagement tools and bring attendees on stage by broadcasting their webcam.
• You can re-broadcast the event and make it available to your viewers on demand on your community platform.
• You can repurpose studio-produced content for marketing purposes.

Create a Community Around Your Event or BrandLast but not least, if you’re looking to recreate the in-person event experience online, look into community marketing. Currently, it’s one of the biggest trends in the events industry and marketing in general.

The key benefit of an online community is to give attendees space to talk and interact with each other, your brand, and your sponsors 24/7. You can even host your online or hybrid event within your community platform. Let the best online community examples be your guide. And if you’re an event prof, join your colleagues in the #EventProfs Community.

Recreate the In-Person Event Experience with EndlessDespite its limitations, the online event experience doesn’t have to be bland or impersonal. On the contrary – you can make it feel as personal and interactive as an in-person event. However, you’ll need to do more than send an invite with a link.

You can recreate the in-person experience online by following these six steps:

• Make your audience feel seen (a competent virtual event speaker is crucial)
• Host smaller breakout sessions (with a focus on niche topics)
• Offer several networking options (giving attendees autonomy over their experience)
• Choose an event platform with an interactive map (let attendees ‘walk’ around your virtual venue)
• Produce your event in a studio (impress your audience and repurpose recorded content)
• Create a community around your brand (a digital space where your audience can meet 24/7)

Just like in-person events, premium online event experiences require careful planning and management. It’s where production, event technology, and an overarching event strategy meet in unique ways. See how Endless can help you recreate the in-person experience online.

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Event translation and transcription are a segment that’s been on the rise in recent years. Will and Brandt discussed the increase of booths for these services at IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America. As a result, in this Event Tech podcast episode, the tech duo outlines how to work with translation, transcription, and captioning services in your events.

Implementing these services into your event can be full of benefits, making your events accessible to international audiences and those with auditory impairments. But, when done poorly, translation, transcription, and captioning services can lead to a poor attendee experience and even offend listeners. To help you ensure that doesn’t happen, Will and Brandt share tips for working with the services and explain how you can ensure you’re getting the total value from these services. Let’s dive in!

How Event Translation has Always Been DoneBrandt starts the episode by sharing how the industry has typically handled translation in the past. “The traditional way of doing translation would be to set up a booth, either backstage or back of the house,” he explains. “You would have however many languages and a physical person there, listening to the audio and translating it into a microphone that would then get broadcast to someone’s headset. That’s the way it was done for years.”

How Event Translation can be Done Virtually Following rapid changes in the events industry in recent years, translation services operate differently today. For example, you no longer need a translator to be present at the event venue. “For our international events, the translator was wherever,” says Will. “It’s much easier to find a Portuguese translator in Brazil than in the United States. So they started utilizing translation services via live stream audio.”

“Pre-pandemic, we were already seeing apps that did exactly that,” adds Brandt. “It eliminates a lot of hassle. You don’t need that booth or those extra headphones, and it’s a lot cheaper too. The translator could sit in their house and do it from their house.”

But, while it may be easier to find translators because of virtual connectivity, it can also pose some challenges. “In many cases, I found that sometimes translators were unprofessional,” says Will. “It’d sound like someone was cooking behind them or talking to them. And because events are usually very long, they’ll have multiple translators; you could hear a stark difference between the professional and unprofessional person. Be careful when it comes to this sort of thing; just make sure to do a lot of tests an hour or two ahead. If you can replace the translator, you can avoid those scenarios.”

Two-Way TranslationWhen thinking about translation, it’s easy to consider it a one-way flow. Listeners tune in to a translation channel and listen to the audio. After the show, they take off their headsets and move on to the next thing on their agenda. But in many cases, both speakers and attendees rely on two-way translation, making translation a bit more complex.

“I was speaking at an event in Mexico, and they had a translator going from English to Spanish and Spanish to English,” says Will. “When I went up to speak, I needed to speak in English, but if I got a question from someone, it had to be translated. That made it difficult because I was constantly taking the headset on and off. Think about what your system’s going to be like. If you have the budget, consider having two translators.” That will ensure listeners tune in to that channel and only hear the relevant translation.

“I’ve heard other people complain about that, so I think that’s a valuable point,” says Brandt. He also finds that both sides in 2-way translation often end up on the same channel. “As I’m talking, I need to take the headphones off to hear my own thoughts. Then somebody asks a question, and it needs to be translated back. Having separate channels for that is huge.”

Customization and Tiers in Translation ServicesMoving on, Brandt begins to explain how he categorizes translation services and how they work. He thinks of the services in low, medium, and higher cost tiers.

Low-Cost ServicesThis first category includes machine/autogenerated captions, transcriptions, and translations. “As a general rule, auto-generated captions are not great,” claims Brandt. “They’re good enough to get the gist, and they’re better than nothing. But they’re certainly not good enough.”

One example of a low-cost service is auto-captioning. This is where “people are talking, the software is auto transcribing using auto-captioning. Then it gets run through a translator and pushed out [in the other language],” concludes Brandt.

But as Will points out, these low-cost services can lead to miscommunication or make it difficult for the listener to follow along. Many languages feature sentence structures different from English. “Because these captions appear live, it’s translating word-for-word,” which means sentence structure and meaning can get lost.

Middle Tier Services Sitting between low and high-cost services is autogenerated software that corrects for things like sentence structure and grammar. “I’ve seen services autocorrect as it goes along,” says Brandt. “So it’s spooling it out as it hears it and then going back to asking, did that make sense? It’s still machine-generated, but it will wait until it’s clear that you’ve ended your sentence to go back and determine if the translation makes sense.”

“Something that helped a lot is technological development,” adds Will. “Auto punctuation has been helpful; it can detect when you’re ending a sentence or using an exclamation point. Paste things didn’t exist until the last 5 years or so.”

“The next level, then, is individual machine language translations, where it takes the English and translates it directly into another language. So, there are different versions of the machine running. I would posit that it’s probably going to be more accurate because it’s not transcribing and then translating; it’s specifically designed to translate directly from English to German,” Brandt concludes.

(You Have to Prepare for Top Tier Services)Jargon is an added layer of complexity that can make it hard for translation services to translate accurately, but the best services can accommodate unique language. You just have to help them.

As Brandt explains, custom dictionaries are a standard solution. “We are still going to have problems with names, medical devices, scientific words, Latin words, or whatever your group’s vocabulary is. Some services offer a custom dictionary, where you can give it a text file of all the weird things you say in your group.”

Will emphasizes how vital preparation is when it comes to executing translation well. “Brandt brought up this custom dictionary, which requires pre-production work and for you to think ahead about what you’re going to do.” He recommends prepping the translators. “For example, Give them a presentation you’ve done in the past, create a custom dictionary, and let them know the context of your content.”

“This stuff is important,” continues Will. “And, we’re not talking hundreds of hours. Have a three-hour meeting with your translation company and go over what everyone’s talking about, the topics, give them information, slide decks, and things like that. They will be like, ‘You got us 90% further than most of our other clients.'”

Higher Cost ServicesAs is often the case with autogenerated services, the human-driven versions are the most expensive and may be the most accurate. “The most expensive translation version is actually using real people on the back end,” says Brandt. “It looks like it might be AI-generated, but it’s real human beings translating or transcribing on the fly. The person can be sitting in their own home just listening in. They just need a clean audio feed of the event.”

“We’ve come full circle but what I wanted to get at is your point about working with services,” he continues. “Pre-pandemic, dealing with translation services, the people who needed to sit in the back booth always wanted slide decks in advance. The more information you can give them in advance, the more accurate your translation and transcription will be.”

“I had the pleasure of working in Turkmenistan once, and they were amazing,” says Brandt. “For weeks, they hounded me to get a copy of my slide deck. It turned out I was one of the only presenters who did it, and as a result, I had really accurate translations. The translators came up and thanked me for sending the stuff in. They said, ‘Yours is going to be the most accurate of any of the translations we’re going to do.’”

Final TakeawaysThe pandemic rattled the events industry and lurched event software forward by years. It’s clear that event translators and their services are a part of that leap in growth and will play a significant role in international and virtual events for the foreseeable future. So, Brandt wants to leave you with one last takeaway from this episode. “There’s more to transcription and translation than just flipping a switch. There are multiple ways to do it, each of which will affect your budget and the quality of services differently.”

“I think we’ll always share this tip, get involved with your production company,” adds Will. “They’ll help you figure out how the audio feeds are going to go, where the channels are going, and they’ll give you tips.”

If you have tips for incorporating translation, transcription, or captioning services at your events, send them to us! We’d love to hear about how you approach these services and how event planners can support the accessibility these services bring to events. Thanks for joining us for another Event Tech podcast episode. We’ll see you here next time!

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Event professionals can start their career paths in almost any job or industry. This is something the Brew Crew knows well, as today’s hosts share a combined 82 years of industry experience with a wide range of event jobs that led them to where they are today.

In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Deanna Nwosu, Will Curran, Nick Borelli, and Arianna Black share their career journeys, the event jobs they’ve held, and advice they wish they’d known when first starting their careers. A big shout out to our listener, Kelsi D. Today’s episode directly responds to her question, “How did you get started in the events industry?”

How Arianna Got Started in EventsArianna is a recent addition to the Brew Crew, also guest-hosting an episode with Will about gamification for events. She begins the story of her career path in California. “I would say my illustrious career in hospitality began when I was a bus girl at the Lakewood Italian restaurant where I would invite you to rip, dip, and enjoy your bread,” she says.

She continues: “It’s like I fell into events. I taught spin classes at University. They were super boring, but everybody kept coming back. So, I started to bake muffins for them. I would bring in disco balls, trying to make it a fun experience. I’ve just always thrown the party, and at some point, I started getting paid for it. I think a lot of us started in catering; feeding people is huge for events.”

After some time in catering, Arianna moved into event logistics. “I transitioned into the trade show world for technology events,” she says. “Most recently, I’ve been working for a nonprofit, diving into event strategy. I think it’s a really interesting time in events because there’s a whole industry based on being in-person. Many people were making money but haven’t fully transitioned to digital and need some reskilling. It’s a wild time to be having conversations about how we gather, how to make it not suck, and how not to revert to in-person events with elitism that happened in most onsite conferences.”

How Nick Got Started in EventsSimilar to Arianna, Nick also started in hospitality. “The first job I ever had was in catering at a theme park in Erie, Pennsylvania called Waldemar,” says Nick. “My dad got me a job washing dishes there, and I eventually started working in food prep. Come 1993, and I was getting into web design. I was building websites and was able to find a way to make money doing that for a guy who had a marketing company and was also the dean at our local college of communications.”

In addition to his early exposure to college, he also took an unpaid “position” at the local college. “In seventh grade, I started answering the phones at the college radio station because some college kid tricked me into doing it. He told me, ‘You could actually answer the phones here.’ He wasn’t being paid. Then I had my own show by eighth grade up to what would have been my first year in college, had I gone to college.”

Nick opted against attending college because he’d already learned so much and had access to the college campus at the time. “That guy was such an influence in not going to college. He said, ‘You could go to college, and we would teach you how to do what you’ve been doing for four years.’ I just got an apartment adjacent to the college and worked for his business,” explains Nick. “I also worked in catering the entire time. In high school, I had no fewer than two jobs and as many as four. I worked in an arcade, Blockbuster, and a coffee shop.”

“Eventually, I went into event logistics.” And because of a clash between the then-current salesperson and owner, Nick also moved into sales. “I started selling very expensive weddings. That’s when I found out about the International Caters Association. The guy I worked for was on the board and the culinary council board. I met all the ICA people and got really into message boards. I talked to Mike Roman once a week and just absorbed so much information from him.”

That relationship with Mike leads to Nick’s involvement with Catersource, beginning in the early 2000s. “I spoke there for the first time in 2005 or 2006 and had a good 12-year run on the show. But I wanted to get out at a certain point because I thought I figured the whole industry out. And then, I met people who were 10 times better than me because they came from other markets. That exposure showed me the potential. I realized there were so many ways this could go, and I decided this was what I wanted. And since then, I’ve been trying to marry digital stuff with in-person stuff and finding where they complement each other.”

How Will Got Started in EventsWill’s career path began in high school, where he discovered web design before becoming a DJ. Will, “Many people know me as a very social, high-energy person, but most people don’t realize I used to be extremely introverted, quiet, and nerdy. I was very nerdy growing up. I didn’t have many real jobs in my early career because I basically started this company in high school. Before that, the only experience I had was the internet radio station and building a lot of websites.”

“Before WordPress was everywhere, I worked for a company called Mod Blog from 2002 through 2005,” explains Will. “I found them through a website called Desk Mod. They said, “Hey, we’re going to launch a new website called Mod Blog.” I decided to start a blog on this site. In the beginning, it was very personal. But then I realized I’m passionate about sharing tech news. So early on, I had a passion for competing against the early days of Gizmodo and Engadget.”

This passion eventually became a source of income for the then-seventh-grade Will. “I did so much and changed my web designs so much that Mod Blog asked to buy some of my designs and make them into templates for new users. They offered me $400 per design. It was an incredible experience for me. And they said, ‘Hey, we want you to be a moderator for the community forums.’ I had to learn to be professional, so I learned a lot in those four years in IRC chat rooms, Mod Blog, and Desk Mod. Shortly after, I became a DJ, and that’s all I’ve known. My life has been events since that point.”

How Deanna Got Started in EventsLike her co-hosts Arianna and Nick, Deanna got her start in food and beverage. “My first job in high school was at Taco Bell. I would work there during my college breaks. When I went to college, I was one of those undecided students. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I decided to pursue a business degree. I went to Bowling Green State University, and they had a few different business program specializations.” Recognizing her hospitality experience and customer service strengths, Deanna chose to pursue a specialization in hospitality.

“In my Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years, I started doing events with the organizations I was part of,” she continues. “I was the social chair for my sorority, and we did a male pageant. That was when my eyes opened, and I knew I liked this. I started tapping into what events are and asking, can I make a career out of this?”

“When I graduated, I couldn’t find a job right away, so I went to grad school. I went to Michigan State, which has an excellent Hospitality program and worked in banquets at a hotel. That gave me even more inspiration to pursue events.”

While in graduate school, Deanna got her first event job as a meeting coordinator. “It was the best first job because the events I worked on were little seminars. I managed the contracts, food and beverage, marketing, and speaker acquisition from start to finish. I’m thankful for that first experience because I got a lot of experience in a place where I could grow without being afraid to make mistakes. Fast forward, and I’ve worked in several sectors of the industry. On the corporate side, I’ve worked in association as a third-party planner, and I did independent contracting for about a year.”

Final Thoughts and Advice for Our Younger SelvesThis episode has been full of background, tips, and fun facts, and we just couldn’t squeeze it all into one post. So if you’ve enjoyed hearing about how the Brew Crew got their event jobs, make sure to give this episode a listen too. But before Deanna wraps things up, she has one last question for the Crew. “We’ve been chatty Cathy’s today, but we have time for one last quick question. If you could give your baby event-professional self one note of advice, what would it be?” asks Deanna.

Don’t Wait for the Perfect Time“If I were to tell myself anything, it would be, try things before you ‘have it figured out,’ says Nick. “Don’t be shy, thinking you’re not ready for something. You’ll put the work in. And you’re actually more likely to put the work in with a deadline than if you were to methodically build yourself up to a position where you feel ready to do it.”

Put Yourself Out There in Content“The best thing I ever did was put myself out there in content,” says Will. “For example, Melanie from Event Planning Blueprint said to me, ‘I saw some of your blog posts about AV, and I want you to come talk about AV on my Event Planning Blueprint video.’ I was so nervous. I had no talking points, she just asked me questions, and I had answers. It allowed me to put myself out there and start building that self-brand.” For Will, the notoriety you gain through content will go with you anywhere, whereas networking in a specific market or niche will only travel with you so far.

Network Early“Be more intentional about networking sooner. I’m so new to it, and the leaps and bounds it has made for my career in the past two to three years; if I had started at 23 or 25, the connections and mentors I would have would just be mind blowing,” says Deanna.

Events are About Humans“Events are about people at the end of the day. They’re about humans, and human behavior is not predictable. It’s not rational,” explains Arianna. “So if you think you’re interested in an event job, that this is something you might want to try, know that the high of bringing humans together makes all of the painful parts totally worth it. All you really have to do is care about people and the human experience. You’ll figure the rest out.”

Thanks to Kelsi D. for sending her question leading to today’s discussion. If you have a question for the Brew Crew, email us! You might hear your question on a future episode of the Event Brew podcast.

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Whether you opt for an in-person or hybrid event, you need the right venue to create a truly captivating experience. Newbie event planners will often pick a venue, negotiate a deal with them, and sign the venue’s provided contract.

Not only do you sign your life away when this happens, but you agree to all of the venue’s terms. Why should you let your venue dictate what happens at your event? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

There’s no such thing as the perfect venue, but you have power regarding your venue agreements. Instead of morphing your event goals around the venue’s rules, approach your venue with a list of non-negotiables. This way, you can find the right venue for the job without sacrificing the most important elements of your event.

Your venue should fit with your existing event management, strategy, creative, technology, and production needs. Here’s how your event goals can (and should) change your venue contract in those areas.

ManagementEvent management involves everything from design to execution. You need to ensure your event management practices fit with what the venue can provide; otherwise, you’ll have to change your processes for every venue, which can get out of hand.

That might mean asking your venue for terms like:

• Attendee accommodations: Select a venue that’s accessible and accommodating to your attendees. If wheelchair users are attending, for example, you shouldn’t book a historic venue without ADA-accessible ramps. Aside from the basics, what do attendees expect from this event? If they expect a big networking space and the venue doesn’t have an appropriate space for that, it could be a deal-breaker.
• Data tracking for ROI: Event technology is a must to track attendee engagement. Some venues will supply scanning technology, while others will ask you to bring your own. If you already have a tracking solution, try to ask your venue how it can support your hardware and software.
• COVID compliance: The pandemic is far from over. Depending on your location, you may need to comply with specific COVID protocols. But legalities aside, you need to ensure attendees feel safe, too. Ask the venue to include contract terms for COVID compliance, like requiring all venue staff to wear masks.
• Labor scheduling: If you’re a small business, you will need labor for your event. It’s expensive to supply labor yourself, so ask your venue if they can provide staff. Even if they can’t, they can refer you to someone who can.
• Furniture: It might sound weird, but there are a lot of venues that don’t include furniture. They require companies to rent and set up furniture within the venue, which can add a pricey line item to your budget. If you’re trying to make the most of your budget, look for a venue that includes furniture (as well as setup and take-down) in its contract terms.

StrategyHow will this event further your business goals? After all, you aren’t throwing a big party out of the kindness of your heart. You’re doing this because you need to see ROI and bottom-line results from every event you host. That’s why it’s so important to create an event strategy first, and then find a venue that can help you execute that strategy.

Maybe you’re throwing a big educational summit. If you need three workshops at once and the venue only includes two breakout rooms, that’s a significant mismatch with your event strategy.

If you’re going all-in on sustainability as a brand strategy, you need a venue to help you go green. Sustainability is a big buzzword, so plenty of venues can accommodate sustainable options. You don’t need to hold the event in a LEED-certified building; small, simple changes can also work. If your venue doesn’t usually do sustainable events, ask them to make simple swaps. That might mean opting for cloth napkins and reusable mugs, for starters.

CreativeYou want attendees to feel a certain way at your event. The right creative will help you do just that, but your venue needs to match your expectations. After all, you need intentional event design to pull off the creative extravaganza that will wow your attendees.

Does the venue allow both digital and print signage? For digital signage, you’ll need to ask the venue if they supply power or if you need to bring your own power sources. Some venues offer print signage as part of the deal, while others ask you to print your own. Regardless of who supplies the print, ensure the venue provides plenty of space to display signage, especially in critical areas like breakout rooms.

Your creative team worked hard to create a stage design for your event, so ensure that the design works with the venue. Pulling in your event planners and graphic designers to tour the venue with you is a good idea. This way, you can ensure that the design works with the venue setup.

For example, if you realize that the stage you designed is taller than the venue’s ceiling, that won’t work out. In that case, you might need to redesign the set, but do what you must to preserve your artistic vision in that space.

Tech Technology is a must-have for any event. You need technology to streamline registration, share session details, and offer a solid hybrid experience for virtual attendees. That means your venue should, at a minimum, play nicely with your event technology platform.

You’ll need a minimum of lights, cameras, and microphones to pull off a successful hybrid event. Some venues integrate cameras and microphones into their setups to accommodate hybrid events, while others might ask you to do the setup separately. If you need to stream a lot of video at once for virtual attendees, you also need to ensure the venue has high-speed wifi to handle that level of traffic.

Regardless of the tech you need, you should always ask the venue if they supply equipment and labor for that technology. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, but it can increase costs if you need to provide all technology and labor yourself.

ProductionEvent production includes setting up the event space, A/V, signage, and more. For example, you might need to ask the venue if its sound system has the oomph you need to get your audience excited. If music is a significant component of your event, ask the venue how audio works there — and always ask about sound restrictions if you plan to host the event at night.

Some venues offer special effects that can take your event to the next level. If the venue provides smoke machines, lasers, or confetti drops, these can be the cherry on top of a perfect event that will impress your audience. Always ask your venue representative about what’s on the table; you never know what they’ll offer to sweeten the deal.

Sign Contracts That Further Your Event GoalsYou don’t have to be a pain to work with, but you should be a little picky about your venue contracts. You’ll likely need to budge on a few items, so rank your needs from least to most negotiable. Let the venue know up front if the arrangement won’t work out so you can find a location that best fits your event goals. You’re hosting this event to get results, so get the ROI you need by holding firm to your event goals. Your contract should reflect your priorities, so lead with your needs.

That might sound well and good, but if you’re struggling to set event goals, Endless is here to help. We help brands across the country plan jaw-dropping experiences that attendees love. See the Endless Events difference now.

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When it comes to virtual and hybrid events, some people think, “Eh, let’s just host the event on Zoom and call it a day.” After all, platforms like Zoom are affordable and easy to use, and just about everyone has a Zoom account. The platform had 1.3 billion monthly active users in May of 2022, so it has a massive presence.

But if we’re being sincere, Zoom-based events aren’t the best. Zoom isn’t designed for large-scale events, so opting for Zoom instead of a proper event platform won’t do you any favors. Let’s look at why video conferencing platforms like Zoom aren’t a fit for virtual and hybrid events and why quality virtual events require a paid platform.

Why Can’t I Host a Virtual Event on Zoom?We have nothing against Zoom or other video conferencing platforms. They were a godsend during the pandemic, after all. But Zoom isn’t and has never been an actual event platform. The Zoom Basic plan isn’t a fit for events for these three reasons.

Issue 1: Attendance and Time LimitsMost brands opt for Zoom because the Basic plan is free, but there are a lot of limits to this free plan. For one, Zoom limits how many people can attend. Zoom Basic accounts cap attendance at 100 people, so even a tiny event will break the limits of what Zoom allows.

Zoom Basic also limits your meeting to just 40 minutes, so unless you’re hosting a very short session, this won’t work. Even if you upgrade to the paid Zoom tier, it’s $150 a year per user. For large meetings with up to 1,000 participants, you’ll pay $600 a year. You’ll also need to buy add-ons to get features not usually included in the platform, which makes it more expensive. At that point, you’re better off buying actual event software, which doesn’t have these restrictions.

Issue 2: Fewer Audience Engagement FeaturesZoom does have a Chat feature, but it’s pretty clunky, especially if you have a lot of attendees. You can try to offer networking by putting attendees into Zoom breakout groups, but these don’t allow for organic networking — attendees are stuck with whoever you put them with.

Zoom also doesn’t allow you to poll attendees or track their engagement. It’s a lost opportunity for engaging with attendees, so they feel like they’re actually at an event.

Issue 3: Security IssuesZoom made strides in its security measures, but worries over Zoom bombing still linger. Just as you would worry about event crashers at an in-person event, plenty of nefarious folks crash Zoom calls to wreak havoc. Zoom bombing will cause problems — and even prevent attendees from attending your event — so Zoom isn’t the best way to host a secure virtual event.

Why Virtual Event Platforms Cost Money — And Why It’s Worth ItBrands usually go with Zoom because it’s free. But we won’t sugarcoat it: quality virtual events cost money. You can find an event solution that fits your needs. When you buy an event management platform, you get all of these benefits, which you wouldn’t get with Zoom.

Hybrid-Friendly OptionsIf you’re hosting a hybrid event, you need more firepower than Zoom alone can offer. Hybrid event platforms connect to cameras, microphones, and your A/V setup more efficiently. Plus, this option allows you to invite local and international attendees to the same event. So many event platforms specialize in hybrid events, giving attendees an equitable experience whether in-person or online.

Advanced AnalyticsCan Zoom tell you how engaged all of your attendees were? Or how effective your sessions were? Virtual event platforms give you more robust attendee analytics than what you’ll get from a videoconferencing solution.

Analytics make it possible to track every stage of the attendee experience. You can get real-time insights into attendance figures, engagement, and demographics. Instead of making assumptions about your event, you can use your analytics to know the cold, hard truth.

CommunitiesYou put a lot of work into creating the perfect event. But why interact with your audience just once a year? You can create a thriving community around your event to keep the excitement going year-round.

With a digital event platform, you can create a community where attendees engage with each other regularly. A digital event platform gives you another avenue to nurture leads and give your fans more value in exclusive community content.

You can often use the same software for both your events and your community. You’re already paying for virtual event software, so why not get more traction with an online community?

Better BrandingZoom Basic comes with Zoom branding, and you’ll have to pay out the wazoo to remove Zoom’s branding from the software. A lack of branding isn’t the end of the world, but using Zoom for a virtual event will make attendees think that Zoom is an event sponsor.

With a virtual event platform, you can white-label the platform and keep attendees focused on your brand. Drop in your logo, colors, taglines, and other branded messaging to keep attendees’ attention where it should be.

Lead GenerationYou generate a lot of attendee information during an event. But if you’re hosting events on Zoom, you aren’t receiving nearly enough information to nurture your leads. A virtual event platform allows you to gather information on your leads and get in touch with them automatically after an event, thanks to intelligent integrations. If you want more data than an attendee’s name and email, go with a virtual event platform instead of Zoom.

Smoother Third-Party IntegrationsYes, Zoom integrates with other solutions, but it doesn’t integrate as cleanly as an event platform does. Event platforms work with your existing customer relationship management (CRM) platform, email service provider (ESP), social media, and much more.

Increased audience engagementZoom allows audience interaction, but it’s not nearly as robust as a virtual event platform. A platform is your best bet if you want to make attendees feel like they’re really at an event. Platforms allow you to:

• Gamify the experience with games, quizzes, and prizes
• Poll attendees
• Send automatic post-session surveys
• Create digital stages and conference rooms
• Incorporate VR and AR

Invest in Better Virtual EventsWe love Zoom for small meetings, but it isn’t a fit for events. Nobody likes increasing their event budget, but there are some things you just can’t compromise on. You wouldn’t buy gas station food instead of a caterer, and you wouldn’t hold a conference in a public park. You need to create a quality experience by investing in your virtual events.

As long as you stick with a solid event management platform, you’ll be able to:

• Host hybrid events
• Access advanced analytics
• Build a community
• Brand your event
• Generate better leads
• Integrate with other solutions
• Increase audience engagement

When it’s time to digitize your next event, go with Endless. We offer end-to-end event management for brands across the United States. See how our tech-first approach helps you turn more heads: check out Endless’ work now.

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We’re doing things a bit differently on this episode of the Event Tech podcast. Rather than covering a “new topic,” we’re checking in with you, our listeners, and readers and evaluating whether we should change anything about the podcast. So whether you’re a new or long-time listener, stay tuned and reach out. This is an engaging episode, and we have many questions for you.

The Origin of the Event Tech PodcastBrandt begins this episode with a blast from the past. He tells the origin story of the event tech podcast. “A few episodes ago, we talked about the future of event technology. I’ve been thinking lately about what the future of the Event Tech podcast is. For those that haven’t heard the story, the Event Tech podcast existed [before Will and Brandt worked on it]. John Federico started the podcast and wound up getting a job outside of the industry.”

“After Will and I decided to host a podcast, we had a night in Arizona going from bar to bar with a notebook trying to develop a better podcast idea. We kept returning to the Event Tech podcast. So we eventually reached out to John and were able to pick up the podcast with all the original episodes, and as a result, we now have over 200 episodes.”

“It seemed like a good time for reflection,” continues Brandt. “I just wanted to spend a moment thinking about where the podcast goes from here. We always try to ask a question at the end of each episode. So consider this whole episode an ask. What do you want out of the Event Tech podcast?”

“I love it,” says Will. “Email us, reach out individually, and let us know what you want before we start sharing ideas. That way, it’s not just us giving you what we want.”

So go ahead! Pause the episode (stop reading) and reach out. Who knows, maybe you and Will want the same thing?

Finding that Sweet Spot: Episode Topics and LengthFirst on Brandt’s mind is the size of Event Tech episodes. “I’m a big podcast fan. That’s why I do this; I enjoy the format,” begins Brandt. “I found out that Gilbert Godfried had a podcast. They’re rerunning the best of the episodes, and one of the things they do is shortcuts. They do the main episode and then a short episode.”

“So one of the ideas I have for the show is to do the main episode and then a short episode on something like our favorite toys or our tech tools,” continues Brandt. “It could be anything, something we’re using, something we want. We’ve done entire episodes dedicated to folding phones and stuff like that in the past, so that’s an idea we could do. We did a whole episode on ‘what’s in my bag?’”

Will likes that idea. “Even if we did a ‘what’s in my bag?’, my bag has totally changed in the last two years,” he says. “We’ve played around with length a little over the last three years. We started religiously at an hour. Then we started playing around with 30-minute episodes.”

If you’re a long-time listener to the podcast, Will wants to know, did you listen to the ‘What’s in my bag’ episode? And as a follow-up, do you like that kind of content?

“We can talk about tech for hours, but at some point, does it really matter to you?” asks Will. “I’m curious to know, do you guys care about us personally? Or do you specifically want to focus on the event tech twist that the podcast implies?”

Where are the Event Tech Companies? The lack of event tech companies on the show is on your mind just as much as it is on ours. Only we know why they aren’t coming onto the podcast.

“Sometimes you bring an event technology company on, and all they want to do is sell,” says Will. “As a host, it’s an easy episode because they’re polished and know how to talk about their service. But as a listener, it just doesn’t add value. So we decided to say, ‘Hey, you can come on our podcast all you want. You can talk about your product all you want. We just want one of your clients too.'”

Will continues: “We don’t press them to find an extremely honest client. They can even help sell the product along the way. We’re just trying to create this experience that’s not just a sales rep talking about features.”

“I like this model. I really do because it lets us have an open-door policy,” adds Brandt. “To any event tech company out there, if you want to be on the show, you just have to produce one person who likes you, which shouldn’t be that hard. We get pitched all the time, and then you never hear from them again because they just want to come on and do a sales pitch. That’s boring. I am really surprised at how often people just disappear.”

“So if you did what we asked earlier in the show, stopped the playback, and sent us a message about having more event tech companies, that’s why we don’t. I agree completely; I would love to have more event tech companies,” concludes Brandt.

If you have a better idea, we want to hear from you! Have you seen this done better on a different show? We’re curious and want to produce valuable content, so we’re open to suggestions.

Should We Add a Host?Similar to having guest speakers on the show, Brandt is also thinking about how to add more thoughts, opinions, and voices to the show. “Along similar lines, I’d be open to more hosts,” he says. “Many podcasts that I listen to on the tech side have two standard hosts and a third rotating host, not a guest but an actual host. That would be another idea I have for the podcast’s future. There are so many great event tech people out there that I think would just be great event tech minds.”

Final ThoughtsAs a final thought on where to take the podcast next, Will wants to know which episodes you like. What have you guys liked? We’ve shared horror stories of things gone wrong and learned from them. We’ve done time travel and teleportation too.

And, of course, it’s possible you think we’re perfect. “If you think we’re perfect and just love what we do, that’s an option too. We’d love to hear from you about that,” says Will. “I think it’s great that Brandt said, ‘Hey, I want to talk about this in front of our audience.’ I love that because far too often, we hit a place of complacency and end up falling into a routine.”

Brandt agrees. “That’s part of what I’ve been feeling. I want to ensure we’re not just coasting on autopilot but giving you what you want. I’m constantly asking, what do you need? What can we do better? How can we make this in a way that’s valuable to people? When we talk about community fatigue, coasting is what contributes to it. If it’s the same every time you go in there, you just start to check out. We don’t want to get to that spot. We always want to be doing better.”

Let’s hear from you now! We’ve shared our ideas. Now it’s time to share yours. Reach us at #eventtechpodcast or email us. What do you want to see?

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Our conversation today comes from a question sent in by one of our listeners named Genesis. She asked, “Why do event marketers receive more credit and respect than event planners?”

Event marketers and event planners do, in fact, often receive credit, financial support, and recognition differently, which makes this an excellent question. As the Brew Crew will discuss, the reasons for this difference in treatment are complicated and can vary from person to person and company to company.

In this episode of the Event Brew, Deanna, Will, and Nick will share how they define these roles, the tasks they associate with each, the risks involved, and how you can work to ensure you’re given the credit and respect you deserve. Let’s dive right in!

Defining the Roles: Event Marketer vs. Event PlannerThere can be a lot of overlap between roles in the events industry, especially among event planners and marketers. That influences Deanna’s description of the roles. “A common gripe is the generalization of our field,” she says. “I did a talk at MPIs WEC last year about building your career as an event professional. If you look at the Certified Meeting Professional fields of study, you have marketing, HR, and finance. People spend their entire careers in these fields, and event professionals are expected to dabble in all of them well. In my opinion, there really isn’t a huge difference between an event planner and an event marketer.”

Will disagrees. “If I describe myself as an event marketer, I’m solely doing events for marketing purposes. Whereas an event planner could be doing events, and who cares if I’m marketing the brand well? I think an event planner is more logistics and design oriented while event marketers are concerned about the company’s marketing goals.”

With such blurred lines, Nick explains how he draws a more precise definition of how and when event planners and marketers participate in an event’s different phases. “I got indoctrinated in the merits school of thinking, so in that, there are phases of an event. There’s announcing, attraction, anticipation, arrival, enter, engage, exit, and extend,” he explains. “The event marketer is responsible for announcing, attracting, and anticipation. The planner has arrival, enter, engage, exit, and extend. They work hand in hand. But this is in a world where these are defined, and different people wear different hats. My gut says there’s a lot of blur in many organizations.”

Deanna likes that distinction and raises another interesting point about how a company can impact the roles’ description. “One thing percolating in the back of my head is job descriptions,” she says. “I just started a new job five months ago, and I was looking at a lot of job descriptions. I applied for a lot of event marketing jobs because there’s a lot of overlap underneath the title.”

“For example, I worked with a client last year, and their titles were event marketers,” continues Deanna. “75% of the events they did were internal. There was no audience acquisition, and there was no external brand. They were just in the marketing department, and they were the event people, but their role was largely logistics. It’s definitely a ‘yes and…’ situation.”

Why are Event Marketers More Respected than Event Planners?Deanna brings us to the next question in today’s discussion. Why the difference in respect? “If we’re looking at event marketing and planning, and they’re somewhat analogous, why is one perceived with more respect and even more pay?”

Not only can job descriptions vary from person to person and company to company, but they can also change based on the type of event people are planning. “When I think of event marketer versus event planner, for me, it’s the type of event they’re planning too,” says Will. “Event marketers are producing events inside of other events in a lot of ways. For example, the top event marketing agencies are all producing mini-events inside San Diego ComicCon. I think the reason they get so much attention and love is not anything related to skills but that they’re playing on this public playing field.”

Deanna agrees. She thinks visibility is a critical contributor to perception. “People don’t understand what planners do. They immediately want to correlate us with wedding planning.”

Creativity can also be critical in how roles are respected and credited for their work. “If you can create new opportunities, and that comes from the ability to be creative, then you become invaluable to an organization,” explains Nick. “ If you can leverage your creativity because black-and-white numbers are attached to it, then you get respect.”

He continues: “I think for the planner, it’s harder because there are so many aspects of the job that are less creative. Whereas I can think of event marketers in charge of creative designs, they get the lion’s share of the positives. The negatives really just come in the execution. They’re like, ‘Oh, this is a great idea,’ and then they pass it off to the planner, who can meet those expectations or not. That’s the part that I think is unfair. A marketer basically gets to come up with the solution to a problem, and the concept is rarely audited while the execution frequently is.”

One way to combat the typical flow of events is to get ahead. Speak up and put yourself into conversations that will help you establish your ability. “There was this great episode of Bizbash’s interview series where the interviewee mentioned that she wanted her team to go from the executors of ideas to being plugged into strategy,” says Deanna. “She talked about prompting them to not wait for directions from the C-suite but rather, to get out and put their ideas in front of people before they can even think to task down these events.”

Deanna continues: “It made so much sense because a lot of times we are on the back half. We’re not at the beginning in talks of strategy. Often, we are at the end, executing other people’s ideas.”

Nick agrees. He leaves us with some excellent final advice. “If you’re not part of the inception of an idea, you’re never going to be at the table,’ he says. “If any position within an organization isn’t taking your experience, viewpoints, and creative mindset into consideration before whatever is made, then you don’t have an equal seat at the table. Jockeying for that position and getting there will earn you the respect you need.”

Final ThoughtsThere could be any number of reasons why you might receive less respect than your colleagues or less credit than you deserve. If you’re observing this within the same organization, try speaking up and sharing your creative thoughts and experience in the creative stages of event planning. It may be that people don’t see your potential. If you know that event marketers earn more respect and credit in other organizations, their company structure may have something to do with it. They might even have a completely different job description.

Have different thoughts? We want to hear from you. What’s your experience been? Email us. We always read your responses. And again, a big thanks to Genesis for sending us her question. We appreciate each of you for keeping the conversation going. We’ll catch you here next time on the Event Brew!

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Your brand went through the time and expense to set up a unique event platform; Whether it’s a web-based platform or an app, you have tons of fun features, tools, and resources in the platform for your attendees. But when it’s time to host your event, attendees aren’t using the platform. What’s going on?

While you can’t force every attendee to use your event platform or app, maximizing adoption is essential to get more value out of your event. Through a platform, you can gather data, share resources, and even increase the visibility of your event sponsors.

Seventy-five percent of event app developers report adoption rates of 60% or more. Event platform adoption is pretty solid overall, but even so, you want that figure to be as close to 100% as possible.

So, how can you increase your event platform adoption rates? Try these 11 tips to persuade more attendees to try your event app.

Improve Your Event App’s PerformanceIf attendees aren’t downloading your app, it might be a sign of an issue with the app. Poll your social media followers or previous event attendees to ask why they don’t download event apps. You might discover that it’s because:

• They didn’t know about the app, or they forgot about it.
• The app is glitchy or clunky to use.
• The app isn’t helpful, so there’s no reason to download it.

If you can’t speak directly to your users, your analytics will also tell you a lot about your app’s UX. Since 94% of event planners report having problems with their event platform setup, you certainly wouldn’t be the only one with UX issues.

There’s no other way to say it: some event apps just stink. If your app is slow, cumbersome, or not intuitive, it’s time to address those issues with your designer and developer.

Promote the App Before Your EventAttendees won’t download your app if they don’t know about it. Don’t promote your app just on registration day — share your event app deets with attendees ASAP so more people get the memo ahead of time.

Promote your app as soon as you share the event details. Announce the app along with your event’s date and location, so attendees immediately know what they need to do. Don’t forget to promote the app via social media, email, and your website, so you reach as many attendees as possible.

Create a Dedicated Event App Landing PageIf you don’t want to direct attendees to the app store, you can create a landing page just for your event platform or app. A landing page gives your event app a home base. Whenever you promote it, you can direct attendees to one landing page that answers common questions, explains the app’s benefits, and more. But be sure to make the link accessible from your website’s top-level navigation so attendees can find it.

Make App Downloads a ContestA little bribery goes a long way to increasing event platform adoption rates. Not everyone will love the idea of downloading yet another app on their phone, but turning the app into a contest could persuade non-believers.

Enter all app users into a giveaway that offers significant discounts or juicy prize packages. If you want to boost in-app engagement even more, provide additional contest entries to attendees who:

• Reply to forum threads.
• Send feedback surveys after a session.
• Swap contact information with exhibitors through the app.

Market Your Event App SeparatelyIt’s tempting to market your event app at the very bottom of an email announcement about the event itself, but how many people will see that?

You need dedicated promotions for your app before, during, and after the event. By focusing on a single call to action (CTA), you avoid muddying the waters and increase app downloads.

Highlight the Event Platform’s Cool FeaturesIf people aren’t downloading your app, it’s probably because they don’t know about its cool features. If you want to increase event platform adoption rates, lean into the value your app provides.

At a minimum, your event app should include these features:

• Schedule management (98% of event planners use agenda features in their apps)
• Networking tools, like contact information swapping
• Speaker bios
• QR scanning
• Session recordings
• Notes
• Live polls
• Chat
• Ticketing

Create an Explainer VideoWhy explain what you could show? Sometimes attendees need an engaging visual that explains all of the benefits of using your app. Not only is this a fun marketing tool, but a video also shows attendees how to navigate the app and troubleshoot common issues.

In fact, you can take this a step further and create a playlist of app FAQ videos. That will make it much easier for attendees to troubleshoot their issues without contacting your team for assistance.

Boost Adoption With SignageWe’re all for digital tools, but sometimes attendees need visual reminders about your app in the physical world. It might sound old school, but a well-placed banner can remind people to download the app.

Add printed signs near registration, session rooms, and break areas. You can simplify the signup process by dropping a QR code on all signs so attendees can point, snap, and download in a few taps.

Minimize PrintYou need some print resources, like banners, to add clarity to your event, but don’t go overboard with print. If you provide a print version of the venue map or session schedule to all attendees, they don’t have a reason to use the app, do they? If attendees don’t have print resources, there’s a much better chance they’ll turn to your app for help.

Make paper scarce at your event. You can always offer printed resources upon request, but use your app as the default for all important event-related information.

Add App Onboarding to the Event ScheduleSome attendees need an extra nudge to download your event app, so make it part of your programming. Book an exciting speaker for your opening ceremony, and before you start, ask attendees to take out their phones and register.

Choose a Venue With Good WifiYou need the proper infrastructure in place to boost event app adoption rates. With high-speed wifi, you can give attendees a better experience. Nobody wants to use their precious mobile data on your app, so make sure you choose a venue with solid wifi. It needs to be robust enough that thousands of people can use the wifi and app simultaneously, so ensure the venue and your app have the firepower to handle that.

Gamify Your Event PlatformHumans love games because they add a dash of excitement and competition to mundane tasks. Plus, nothing is funnier than a giddy group of 45-year-old executives going on a treasure hunt in a conference hall.

If you want to increase event platform adoption rates, gamify the in-app experience. Add addictive, engaging elements to the app, such as virtual games, scavenger hunts, or trivia quizzes to encourage downloads.

Plan Ahead To Increase Event Platform Adoption RatesYou put blood, sweat, and tears into your event platform. The right approach can help you increase event platform adoption rates and create an unforgettable experience at your next event.

While these 11 tips take you far, you need a solid foundation for your next event. Our tech-first approach for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events helps brands get more mileage. See how Endless can boost your event platform adoption rates.

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Technology is advancing at a rapid speed. We all use all kinds of gadgets, software, and hardware products to manage our personal lives. Today, the Event Brew tackles the relationship...

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Conference breakout sessions are a staple at every conference because they boost audience engagement and have the potential to make events truly unforgettable. They can make or break your event;...

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Events are one of the most powerful marketing tools because they center around an intentionally designed experience. And experience is in high demand. According to Eventbrite’s research, 77% of millennials...

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Today’s episode of the Event Tech Podcast was inspired by a recent Event Leadership Institute summit where Brandt and Will did a fast rundown on ten event technology trends. For...

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The final step in the event management process is a follow-up meeting after the event to discuss the event’s overall ROI, attendee and sponsor feedback, and make the necessary readjustments...

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In-person events might be back, but some things in the events industry are not going back to how things used to be before the pandemic. Take online supplier relationships, for...

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Events and experiential marketing have established themselves as some of the most powerful marketing strategies. After all, lived experiences have a much more profound impact on an individual than emails,...

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Planning a safe event has always been part of the event industry, and it continues to get new meanings as years go by. Event safety, in a traditional sense, meant...

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In today’s Whiteboard Wednesday, we tackle the question: What is an event chatbot? Chatbots and digital assistants have become our trusted companions at home and at work. They help us manage...

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Between the brain drain in the events industry and labor shortages, the event technology labor has transformed dramatically. And not for the better: event planners are finding it increasingly hard...

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While the metaverse is not a fully-fledged event trend just yet, there is no denying that metaverse events will become increasingly more popular in the years to come. They might...

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After two years of uncertainty and restrictions, corporate event planning is back in its upgraded, more engaging version. Corporate events are crucial for companies’ success as they communicate the newest...

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Let’s talk about one of the most dreaded subjects in the events industry: the hybrid event budget. As an amalgamation of in-person and virtual events, hybrid events are complex, versatile,...

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In this week’s Event Tech Podcast episode, Will and Brandt discuss Peloton because, as it turns out, their workouts make for a great hybrid event case study. They claim that...

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The events industry is exciting, ever-changing, and sociable. It is teeming with various career opportunities. Being an event planner, event manager, or event marketer is a difficult job that demands...

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As things currently stand in the events industry, we’re planning events in 2022 as if the COVID-19 pandemic never existed. The mask mandates are gone and COVID compliance talk has...

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One of the best ways to build trust and strong relationships with your audience is to have a great social media presence. Engagement is crucial: the more you engage your...

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Event technology has finally become an integral part of our event strategies. It’s taken us many years, even though many event profs have been preaching about numerous benefits of event...

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There are many ways to send out event notifications: via email, SMS, private messaging apps, and event platforms. And as we embrace event technology as the base of our events,...

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The whole world is talking about it, including the Brew Crew: inflation and recession are on the horizon – yet again. In certain industries, it has fully arrived. But since...

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Events – be they virtual, hybrid, or in-person – are an integral step in building your online community. And what better way to get some ideas going than by looking...

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There’s been a lot of talk in the events industry about the community model. It comes with a slew of benefits, including continuous audience engagement and endless branding opportunities. Since...

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The Event Tech Podcast is often so excited about all the innovation, new event platforms, and other event tech solutions on the market that we forget to talk about the...

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People are growing increasingly more aware of the ways their lifestyles affect the environment, and they expect organizations to step up their sustainability game, too. Sustainability has become an important...

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The Academy Awards have been the talk of the town recently. While the strictly in-person Oscars 2021 felt too exclusive, the Oscars 2022 served us some truly out-of-place drama. And...

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Attendee retention rate is one of the most important event KPIs. When event planners measure how many attendees have attended their events before, they are getting insights into attendee loyalty....

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Chances are you’ve heard of asynchronous communication or learning before; the type of communication where participants don’t interact in real-time (at the same time). In the case of learning, that...

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The Event Tech Podcast hosts believe that event technology is an amazing foundation for events. Numerous data insights, continuous audience engagement, and endless sponsorship opportunities – what’s not to love?...

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Event sponsors are often crucial contributors to event budgets and therefore highly affect the overall attendee experience and the overall success of the event. However, event planners still struggle to...

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It seems that the happenings on the global stage just won’t give us a break. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is somewhat under control, there is a full-blown war on...

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Thanks to an absolute boom of event technology solutions, event planners can now craft data-based event strategies and measure their event success better than ever before. First, planners define their...

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Now and then, the Event Tech Podcast reviews a certain product or service. This week, Brandt and Endless Events’ Kyle Kocinski do a case study on Remo, one of the...

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Event platforms can be an event planner’s best friend. They have become the building block of a modern event strategy because they offer continuous audience engagement and help event planners...

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As our worlds continuously grow more uncertain and hectic, the Event Brew podcast doesn’t run out of hot topics to address. They’ve recently covered planning disruption-proof events in times of...

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The #EventIcons podcast is back with a very special guest: Hubilo‘s CEO Vaibhav Jain. Hubilo is the leading global virtual and hybrid event technology company. Under Vaibhav’s leadership, Hubilo has raised over 150 million in less than a year from a leading hedge fund and venture capital firms globally. And it still continues to grow exponentially internationally.

Vaibhav’s vision is to create a solution that works for every possible industry where content and community come together beyond the business world. He and Karmen will talk about how Hubilo got started, what challenges they faced along the way, and what are the dos and don’ts of the events industry, as learned in 2021. Let’s jump right in!

How Vaibhav Jain & Hubilo Got Started Before they tackle the topic of the dos and don’ts of 2021, Karmen asks her guest to give the audience some insight into how he got into the events industry and how Hubilo started.

“Hubilo started during the pandemic,” Vaibhav Jain says. “Before, we were an offline event management software solution for enterprises. We were catering to offline events and were mostly known for retreat-based events for employees. When the pandemic hit, all the events started getting canceled or postponed. Most of the contracts applied force majeure clause and ended the contract.”

Then, they started thinking of different ways to generate some revenue. “We quickly repackaged our existing solutions and launched a virtual platform within 26 days. As soon as we did that, a lot of clients started flocking to us. That was the start of our journey.”

The Value Of Virtual Events Karmen is curious about their journey since then. “Can you recap 2021 and move forward to 2022?”

“2020 was when people had to forcefully move towards virtual events,” he says. “They’d already taken money from their sponsors and their attendees. They had to give them something and virtual events or webinar-based platforms were the perfect places to hold their content. People realized that virtual events were working for them – they were getting a lot of branding and leads with less effort, money, and team members required. Virtual events became a new channel for marketing folks. They were able to use these platforms to create revenue for them.”

“That completely got digitalized during 2022. Now during 2021 and 2022 as well, what people have started doing is earlier virtual events. There was always a physical event, which was a predecessor to a virtual event. Now, what we are seeing is the number of events increasing. Let’s say a company used to do about ten events in a year. They would now do about 15 events in a year with a mixed strategy of physical, hybrid, and virtual events,” he adds.

Source: Hubilo

Event Dos & Dont’s Of 2021 Karmen wants to recap 2021. What are some of the don’ts of 2021 in Vaibhav’s opinion?

His first piece of advice relates to his company. “In 2021, I had to learn was talking more to the team about how we were on a growth path and that things are going to be different. If you would have spent more time doing that, people would have been more aware of where the company was moving.”

“Second, you cannot do a physical event and a virtual event at the same time and with the same kind of content. You have a different type of audience. It’s common for an in-person event to start late, but if a virtual event is starting late, then the audience might not stay on the event platform for a long time.”

The third don’t is choosing an event platform without a clear roadmap. “The platform might not be able to offer you all the platform features at this point in time, but they can promise to offer them because they’re on the roadmap. However, if something is not on that roadmap, then it’s not really there.”

And The Dos Of 2022? “The first is the amount of research that every event prof has done to understand that there are so many different platforms. I’ve seen people creating matrixes where they compare one platform to the other.”

“Secondly, people have been spending more time understanding what content needs to be delivered. It cannot just be a presentation. How can you engage audiences beyond just the content?”

The third positive thing Vaibhav mentions is going over and beyond for attendees. “Event profs have used various experiential services on top of virtual events, such as sending food to all your employees at the same time globally. That sounds like magic.”

“People have been quite innovative, resilient, and have shown a lot of grit when it comes to the entire change that the events industry went through. I believe that event managers are the only folks in this space who adopt technology fast,” he adds.

What About Vaibhav’s Challenges? Karmen asks Vaibhav Jain to share some challenges Hubilo has faced as a company with the audience.

Vaibhav lists several challenges. “The first challenge was being from India and selling globally. You needed to have a workforce that worked 24/7, at odd hours in India. You had to convince a lot of people in India to do that by paying them extra or giving them more incentives.”

Then, he mentions working with a globally distributed team. “We did not have experience in hiring people that were outside India and then convincing them to join a startup that is based out of some city in India. It’s not just that you need to have the money to pay them, they also need to believe in your mission.”

“Third, we were bootstrapped in the initial days. We were not able to invest heavily in the technology that prevailed that our competitors had. So we had to do a lot of manual work to ensure that our entire system works 24/7. What we did was we had put in a lot of checks and balances to allow us to do that.”

Be As Close To Your Customers As Possible Karmen tells the audience that Vaibhav is only 30 years old. That being said, she wants to know how he has come so far at such a young age. “Where do you come up with these ideas? Reveal it to us,” she jokes.

“I’m quite a competitive person, so if I get pushed, I like to push back,” he explains. “I have spent a lot of time up-leveling myself and learning as much as I could. I have learned to talk in logic. If you’re bringing logic to a conversation, it helps a lot. And I like to believe my gut as well.”

“Next, I have a CEO’s office that is like my intelligence arms. It keeps me updated about how the industry is evolving. And finally, I’ve added almost 8,000 event managers on my LinkedIn profile. What they post keeps me much more aware than any of the industry blogs. I’m able to sense what they are using and what kind of problems they have. So just keep on investing more time and be as close as you can to your customers. That way, when you are having those conversations with your employees, then you’re able to bring much more to the table. Rather than just talking to them about sales or marketing, you’re able to bring a 360-degree view, which is internal as well as external.”

What Makes A Good Leader? “There are different leadership styles, but what is helping you the most to make impactful decisions in a timely manner?”

“The leader should be as self-aware as possible,” Vaibhav explains. “You need to know what your strengths are and hire people with different personalities from yours. Whenever I talk to someone, I try to be extremely calm. Also, when it comes to conversations, content matters more than the way that content is delivered. And once you are able to keep your ego aside and reply to that content with logic, they follow you.”

He also mentions creating shared goals between different teams. “We have a common goal across the entire company. Then, we have shared goals between different departments who work with each other that actually push you not only to achieve the set of OKRs that you have for yourselves but also to work for those shared goals. Then, you need to recognize and reward people the right way in front of the entire company.”

Vaibhav Jain’s Final Advice As with all #EventIcons guests, Karmen asks her guest for one final piece of advice for event planners.

Vaibhar says research. “Research your audiences better. Where they are, what they like to do, and crafting your event strategy according to that. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and by that, I mean either going virtual or physical. It needs to be a mixed bag of strategies. 2022 is will be the year that is going to define how the events industry will move forward. When you think about a particular event, strategize through research. Event planners spend less time on research and more on execution.

“You’re an event technology company and we’re an event management company. But we both firmly believe in dedicating time to plan events out. Expand event timelines to make sure that execution is flawless,” Karmen concludes.

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode with Vaibhav Jain, a true thought leader in the realm of event technology. Stay tuned for more episodes with more awesome, iconic guests!

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Event profs have heard it time and time again: hybrid events are the way of the future in the events industry. They’ve risen from relative anonymity to stardom in 2020. Two years later, they are one of the most important event trends of 2022. However, many event planners still ask: what are the benefits of hybrid events?

Hybrid events vary based on the number of virtual and in-person attendees, the number of venues, synchronous versus asynchronous content delivery, and many more variables. Therefore, each hybrid event model comes with its own set of unique perks and considerations. However, there are some core characteristics that all hybrid events have in common.

Hybrid events offer the best of both worlds: the immersive magic of traditional in-person gatherings and the data insights of modern digital events. When built upon innovative event technology solutions, they can drive more value for stakeholders, sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees alike. Let’s explore!

Hybrid Events Are More Sustainable The in-person event industry creates a massive amount of CO2 emissions. Traveling, catering, lodging, waste – we have to admit physical events don’t contribute much to keeping our planet healthy.

Additionally, many people believe that companies and businesses are just as responsible for positive change as national governments. Sustainability is more than a trend; it’s an important value that has turned into almost a moral imperative to pay attention to.

The single biggest thing event planners can do to make their events more sustainable is go virtual. Virtual events require no travel, and traveling is the biggest contributor to an event’s overall carbon footprint. Since hybrid events also have a virtual component, they also have a lower environmental impact overall. Additionally, planners can host hybrid events in several smaller venues in areas where their audience lives. That way, in-person attendees don’t need to travel across the country to attend but stay within their own region or state.

Delight Your Sponsors & Exhibitors Sponsors and exhibitors can also greatly benefit from hybrid events. The pandemic revealed just how much sponsors and exhibitors suffer when in-person attendance is low. Virtual booths, on the other hand, do not offer the immersive experiences that exhibitions at in-person events do.

However, the virtual realm offers many other opportunities for sponsors and exhibitors. And if planners choose to keep the event platform after the event, they can continue driving value even after the hybrid event itself:

• infinite branding and marketing opportunities on the event platform,
• opportunity for year-round sponsorship,
• higher quality lead generation,
• granular data insights into attendee behavior,
• sponsored gamified challenges that drive engagement,
• and more!

As hybrid events cover both the in-person and the virtual ground, the value for sponsors and exhibitors, too, can double. Data is event planner’s best friend. Thanks to event platforms, sponsors can measure brand awareness through booth traffic reports, measure engagement on sponsored content, and get information about attendees who did not stop by their booths, but might be interested in their product based on what sessions they attended.

More Flexibility For Attendees & Planners One of the most important things event planners learned in the times of event planning during COVID-19, it’s that uncertain times call for higher flexibility. If planners choose to plan hybrid events, it’s much easier to pivot to virtual-only if a crisis strikes than it would be if they planned an in-person gathering. Flexibility is, therefore, one of the biggest benefits of hybrid events, and it touches many areas:

• planners can choose an original and more unique venue than a hotel ballroom,
• attendees have more autonomy in choosing how they want to interact with the event and how much they spend (increased inclusivity and diversity),
• minimized risk and accountability for spreading COVID-19,
• the ability for both planners and attendees to pivot last-minute to virtual attendance in case of a (health) emergency,
• increased flexibility translates to higher budget flexibility and lowers financial risks.

On that note, the bigger the in-person event, the more budget it will require and less flexible it can be. However, the virtual component also means some additional costs, such as live streaming and an event platform. However, the latter two can do wonders for your event ROI.

To elaborate further, hybrid events can be far more accessible, wallet-friendly, and inclusive than their in-person counterparts. Some individuals might prefer to tune in virtually; be it because they struggle with social anxiety, they prefer to stay unnoticed, or they hate flashing lights and fog machines. Additionally, hybrid events can better support people with disabilities.

Because they’re so flexible, hybrid events can vary greatly from one another. While some can be produced in studios and have very few in-person attendees, others take place in several regional hubs at once.

Increased Audience Reach Increased audience reach is yet another benefit of hybrid events that is inextricably linked to its higher flexibility and accessibility. Virtual attendees need only an electronic device and internet to join your event, which means planners can easily attract attendees from all over the world in almost unlimited numbers. And the more attendees join, the lower the cost per attendee.

Additionally, planners can use captioning and translation services to break any potential language barriers, especially if a significant portion of attendees speaks a particular foreign language. In turn, this can foster a higher sense of trust and loyalty to your brand.

The Benefits Of Hybrid Events Increase Your Event ROI All the above-mentioned benefits of hybrid events culminate in an opportunity to increase your event ROI. To a large extent, the higher ROI stems from the implementation of an event platform. Event platforms allow you to:

• build anticipation prior to the event and check-in with the attendees after the event,
• plan smaller follow-up virtual events,
• repurpose your content and offer it on-demand,
• higher engagement levels through live polling, Q&As, gamified challenges, etc.
• data insights that allow you to closely monitor whether you’ve reached your event goals,
• give more value to your sponsors and increase your sponsorship revenue,
• unlimited advertising opportunities and brand visibility.

Enjoy The Benefits Of Hybrid Events! Hybrid events are a fairly new reality in the events industry and many planners are yet to fully grasp all the benefits of hybrid events. As explained, these are the most important reasons why you should plan hybrid events:

• they are more environmentally friendly,
• hybrid events offer more flexibility for attendees and event planners,
• planners can offer more valuable opportunities to event sponsors and exhibitors,
• hybrid events can have a global reach,
• enjoy a higher ROI.

Hybrid events can be particularly successful if they’re an integral part of your overall event strategy that centers around your community. Many event marketers are waking up to the vast potential of the community model. Those who will implement it successfully will no doubt emerge thought leaders. Are you in?

And finally, hybrid events require teamwork. Lean on your trusted event partners to bring your vision to life and meet your event goals. As an event management company, Endless Events has produced and managed many hybrid events, all of them a huge success. So, if you’re looking for a hybrid event partner, reach out! As always, our team is here to help.

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When we talk about the most popular event platform features, we typically think of registration and ticketing, integrations, gamification, and analytics reporting, for example. But what good are any of those if event planners are not taught how to use them or if they stop working mid-event? Will and Brandt think that the #1 event tech feature should therefore be customer support. Event planners should have somebody available to them 24/7. The success of their event depends on it!

In today’s Event Tech Podcast episode, Will and Brandt will talk about the importance of customer service and what planners can do to choose the right platform when doing research. It’s all about the onboarding process and transparent implementation. And finally, software companies should see event planners as long-term partners rather than one-time customers.

Customer Support Should Be The Standard Brandt introduces today’s topic. “When you look at event apps and event platforms, 80% of them have the same basic features. You can see your schedule, maps, maybe there’s some audience engagement and networking. And then, there’s that 20% of some unique features that make each one a little different. One of those 80% features should be good customer support. This should be the standard.”

“Event tech companies are usually heavy on the software and light on the support,” he adds. “When I first started consulting, I had this grand idea that I was going to be doing a ton of consulting for event tech companies. So not just on the planner and design side, but for actual companies. The mentality of the first few clients blew me away. They told me they have this brand new software, they’ll promote it, sit back, and watch the money roll in. But how are they going to support it, how are they going to hold people’s hands? Who will enter the data?”

Because they have so much on their plates, event planners are usually more than willing to pay extra to have someone do that for them. “Planners have to worry about their sponsors, stakeholders, executives, and attendees. There are so many things on their plate,” Brandt explains.

Customer Support Spotlight: Hubspot Will wants to give a positive example of customer support done right. To be unbiased, he mentions a non-event software he uses every day – Hubspot. “When I first signed up, we were a small customer. If you look at how much I’m spending on HubSpot, it’s the equivalent of a lot of these event platforms. In fact, most event platforms and event apps cost more than what I pay for HubSpot for a whole year.”

What makes him stay is the outstanding customer support. Not only do they reply whenever he needs them, but they also have an incredible Academy. “I can direct my employees to their Academy because they have videos, courses, quizzes, and certificates. That limits the amount of customer support that they need.”

Ask About The Onboarding Process So, what are some questions that event planners should be asking event platforms when in the RFP phase? How can they know whether an event technology solution will be well-supported?

Brandt recommends being mindful of the onboarding process. “Here’s what they should say. As soon as you sign the contract, we arrange a private Zoom for you and your staff. We’ll do a walkthrough, We’ll be there for you 24/7 if you ever need anything beyond the demo. If somebody else joins the team, we can do another demo again.”

A huge problem he’s seeing is the inability to get a hold of someone in sales. “No matter how big the company or how successful – if you’re struggling to get a hold of them during the sales process, the point where they’re trying to get your business, I would be very skeptical of how they’re going to be in the post-sale process,” says Brandt.

“On the flip side, you also need to be careful about the smaller companies,” says Will. “They’re so in need of sales that they have to get their revenue in. They might do amazing customer services, but then, they won’t have 24/7 access support teams, ticketing software. You won’t get a dedicated account rep.”

Customer Support During Implementation Next up, the event tech duet talks about customer support in relation to implementation and setting up the event platform.

“Ask yourself: how much will I have to do? How much are they going to help me? Some companies will leave you on your own after that initial onboarding. Other companies implement tiers. It costs a little more to get full access and 24/7 phone support. Pay attention to the day-to-day support after the onboarding and at the event itself.”

Will emphasizes that it’s important to understand what your event timeline will look like. “If you want to give your exhibitors or staff early access, you need to let them know in advance. If you’re not confident, don’t hesitate to ask to bring your own ops person on board. Also, it’s helpful to get as much stuff as possible in writing. Have a well-defined scope.”

Having a clear communication system can also do wonders for the implementation process. “Hopefully, you’re not communicating back and forth via email. Make sure you have clear deadlines and have a task system to use. Build a Basecamp for your event, put them on deadlines. It’s a place where they can ask you quick questions and don’t have to go through the formalities of email. You can also do weekly Zoom calls or join a group Slack with your employees.”

Post-Event Customer Support Post-event follow-up is another important aspect of great customer support in event technology. “Especially with online events, we’re generating a tremendous amount of data on event platforms. But then afterward, you’re just left with a dashboard and some report generators. But event planners don’t know what to do with all this data,” says Brandt.

“Event technology companies should step you through creating custom reports and educate you about event data. They can be your partner and hold your hand through the process. That is going to be enormously helpful rather than just giving you the data.”

“Also, I want them to tell me what to do better,” adds Will. “They’re the experts in this event platform. They understand how to use it. How didn’t we utilize it, what feature didn’t get used? I expect them to do it. If they don’t and they just tell you that your event was great, is that going to help you create the next best event? Are you pushing to evolve as an event planner in the future? Are you actually learning? Do they ultimately care about the long-term success of your event or are they just happy it’s over?”

Conclusive Thoughts “The deeper into this universe that we get, the more event technology is intertwined with other aspects of event planning,” concludes Brandt. “On the surface, it might seem a little weird for your production team to be talking about catering. But so frequently, there are times where not only have we seen this cool thing that worked at another event, but also here’s the technology tie-ins, and here’s what we can do with your event app to make something better. Wouldn’t it be great if you took advantage of these features that allow the attendees to put in their meal references right into the app that spits it out into a spreadsheet that then lets you give it to catering? That way, it’s all organized and not done on post-it notes or flip cards. There are opportunities afterward to have conversations about how else can technology be used to help your event.

Will lets us know that using an event platform gets easier with time. “Event platforms are here to stay. The more that you use your chosen event platform, the more seamless things will become. Nobody wants to go through the sales process again with a new platform. Good customer support helps build relationships between planners and platforms for the long term, so it’s important platforms address customer’s needs early on.”

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A while ago, the Event Brew talked about social networks, wondering whether it was time to log off. If that truly is the case, another question quickly arises: how to promote events without social media? How effective is social media marketing anyway? As the 365 community model continues growing in popularity, more event profs will come to realize that social media is, in the Brew Crew’s opinion, boring and predictable.

Community is one way to go about promoting events without social media, but it’s not just any community that will do. Additionally, you need to produce truly exceptional events that will foster attendee retention and potentially turn your audience into advocates. Tune in and find out the recipe for marketing success outside social media platforms!

How To Promote Events Without Social Media? Will reads Chris’ message that sparks today’s conversation. “Most promotion of events occurs online through social media ads, websites, and pages of certain websites used to market events. With people’s continued distrust with social media brands and people starting to stray away from different social media apps, is there going to be a way to pull off a successful event without the use of social media marketing as a dominant force for promotion of the event? Could this be only successful for small events or would this be possible for large-scale events in communities where social media is not the main force of promotion?”

So, how to promote events without social media? “You spend a lot more money,” Dustin says. “You can still get in front of people. There’s no replacement for online advertising. We’re not going back to the yellow pages and direct mail. It will be clever marketers figuring out how to continue to get in front of you online, wherever it is that you go.”

“The cost of advertising on social platforms has skyrocketed,” he adds. “Remember when you could put $10 on a post on Facebook and it would reach 20,000 people? Now you’re paying that for impressions.”

Lean On Your Sponsors “The free days are over,” agrees Nick. “You will have to figure out how to increase your sponsorships and potentially get your sponsors on board with the advertising itself and maybe co-brand some of your advertising. Think about your sponsors as credible authorities and have part of their sponsorship be content creation that they create and you host. You’re paying them to do work for you, which is great. Then you can also promote that in various channels.”

Email Campaigns Still Work Aside from people logging off from social media, Dustin also mentions that it’s becoming increasingly harder to maintain email campaigns. “It’s getting more and more restrictive as to how you can contact people through email. If you are a promoter or you have an event where you need to constantly stay in touch with people, you better have a really good year-round content plan that keeps them engaged and doesn’t get them to unsubscribe from you. But I do think that email marketing still has some skin in the game.”

Invest In Your Website & Content Nick shares another piece of advice. “Heavily investing in social media is generally a bad idea, putting all your eggs in one basket. A lot can happen to disrupt that and you don’t own it. So it’s always good to invest in things that you actually own, like your website and content that you house there.”

While it’s harder to organically get people immediately that way, it will pay dividends over time. “While you’re investing in social media platforms, just make sure that you’re also investing in something that can grow with you and that you have control over,” he adds.

Attendee Retention Is Everything! In a quest to promote events without social media, Dustin emphasizes the importance of attendee retention, especially since the cost per acquisition of new customers is so high. “Once you have a customer, you have to fight to keep them. It’s never been more important that your event experience is amazing. And your attendees should know where you’ll be next. The opportunity to sign up should be right there.”

He elaborates. “If you’re producing an annual conference, make sure that your ticket sales are open the minute they can be. When you have your audience in person and they’re excited – that is your time to pounce. There are some marketing conferences in Canada that open up registration for next year’s event on the last day of the current event. There are great incentives to sign up right there and then. They create some urgency around it. For example, you buy at a regular price, but you get VIP.”

Micro-Events Leading Up To The Big Event Nick also mentions another tactic for promoting events without social media. “Have micro-events promote events. These events should focus on fostering excitement and energy around the upcoming event. You can do influencer marketing there too, for example.”

Cross-Promoting With Other Events “There is a lot of opportunity for partnership with events that are similar to yours or events that are parallel. There’s a lot of capacity for people to go to events. So, share that and cross-promote each other.”

Niche Events “The main pain of marketing events on social media is actually just the glut of people doing it,” says Nick. “Everyone has an event and everyone’s using the same channels, doing it the same way. It’s boring. That should be our main number on social media. People have less attention, but they still can be shocked out of it very easily. You just have to do things differently.”

You need to stand out. “Niche is the ticket when it comes to event design. Marketing should follow suit with that. If you’re talking about the 365 community model, you need to engage smaller segments within the larger segment that you’ll attract throughout the year. Then, those people should all come together at the larger event. The problem with social media is that it tries to get all those people with the same message and you can’t do that.”

Stories Of Success Next up, the Brew Crew mentions several solutions that successfully promote events without social media. “I bought the last three event tickets through StubHub in my inbox. They have figured out how to put the right thing in front of me. I don’t always buy tickets from them. I try and buy them from the promoter whenever they’re still available.”

Will and Nick mention Bandsintown and Songkick. “The equivalent of these solutions for B2B would be interesting. Somebody should make that,” Nick says.

Promoting Events Without Social Media: Final Thoughts So, how to promote events without social media? The Brew Crew does one final rapid-fire circle of suggestions. Here are the main takeaways:

• create consistent, great content to keep your audience engaged,
• social media is not going anywhere, but it is becoming increasingly harder to find your place in it,
• partner up with anyone who has any stake in your event,
• make the event itself as exceptional as possible as that will empower your attendees to market on your behalf,
• know your audience and build amazing attendee personas.

If you want to hear the Event Brew crowd talk about a topic you’re particularly interested in, do not hesitate to reach out to them. Today’s topic was inspired by a listener’s message and we can all agree that it was a spectacular one!

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The community model has established itself as one of the biggest event trends of 2022. So much so that many event platforms are now in fact calling themselves community platforms too! The year-round community model offers a new way to view events. Perhaps one of the biggest perks this paradigm shift brings along is continuous audience engagement – one of the most talked-about pain points for event planners.

People are increasingly relying on the virtual world to connect, make plans, and learn. And the events industry has now finally caught up with it. The pandemic normalized virtual events, improved their production quality, and sped up the adoption of event platforms. With it comes the community model: an opportunity to stay connected with your audience, exhibitors, and sponsors throughout the entire year rather than just for several days.

Audience Engagement Stretches Beyond Singular Events Engagement is not something that only concerns the event itself. Event planners have known this for ages: building anticipation before the event, for example, has long been an essential part of any event timeline. After the event, however, it was nearly impossible to keep all the attendees connected in one place. Instead, connections and event-related experiences were at best scattered across several social media platforms.

Enter event platforms: everything is stored in one place. The audience engagement doesn’t need to stop, and neither does lead generation and other traditionally event-related monetization opportunities.

IMEX also recognizes community as one of the biggest event trends. In their estimation, the community model consists of 80% year-round online interactions and 20% at an annual in-person event. And that doesn’t mean that the in-person events are losing value. On the contrary: they’ll be all the more unforgettable and valuable for it.

Best Community Model Practices An effective community model is much like an online event, EventMobi’s guide The Secret to Successful Attendee Retention: Year-Round Engagement explains. The exception is that audiences can learn and engage at their leisure, anytime, from anywhere – all on the same platform. One login, endless value.

Organizations can give people various types of value through membership. Depending on their goals, the community model enables them to:

• promote and host upcoming virtual, hybrid, and in-person events,
• promote and host smaller meetings and events, such as post-event follow-up meetings,
• acquire feedback through polls, Q&As, and surveys at any given time,
• facilitate 1-on-1 connections and networking opportunities with workshops, mastermind groups, etc.,
• give members space to connect in unstructured and spontaneous ways (via chat, for example),
• offer on-demand content, such as webinars, recorded breakout sessions, keynote presentations from previous events, podcasts, whitepapers, newsletters, etc.,
• host sponsor giveaways and gamified challenges.

Based on the community’s direct feedback and data insights, community managers can provide the exact content and events that members ask for. And so, transparent communication builds brand loyalty and further audience engagement. If designed well, the members eventually keep the community model going mostly by themselves. They’re actively participating in creating the community and not just passively following the content.

Community Model Offers A Higher ROI A yearly subscription to an event platform can be a hefty investment, but the ROI of the community model far surpasses one-off events if done right. As mentioned in the introduction, monetization opportunities and marketing efforts are no longer limited by time but can continue throughout the year.

And remember: engagement pays off. The happier and more immersed your attendees or community members, the more likely they’ll continue to engage with your content and others in the future. Event and community platforms offer data insights into attendee behavior and preferences, so you can make all the adjustments necessary to keep your audiences happy. These data insights can further inform your event strategy and be used to expand your ROI.

Greater Accessibility & Global Reach On a similar note, the community model is more accessible, democratic, and inclusive than the traditional event planning practices. As the community lives online at all times, people from all over the world can join. Some people might not be able to travel to the big annual in-person conference, but they’re still just as valued as community members as those who can attend. The equation is simple: global members mean even more brand recognition, revenue, and value for other members.

Community Model Is The Way Of The Future The community model holds immense promise for the events industry, but it does require us to view events through a slightly different lens. The focus should no longer be on that annual in-person event, but rather on the community that lives on an event platform. Your members can stay connected to your brand and to each other throughout the year, consume content at their leisure, and enjoy higher levels of autonomy. With the help of a great community manager, audience engagement never needs to stop!

The Endless Events team has helped many partners create thriving communities around their brands. If you want to learn more about our innovative event technology and event strategy solutions, reach out to us. We’re here to make your dream event experience come true!

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Events are not simply about delivering valuable content and giving people some time to speak to each other. No – the magic of events lies in the overall experience your audience has. Today’s Event Tech Podcast guest knows this even though he’s not an event prof. But he’s been to many conferences both as an attendee as well as a keynote speaker that he knows all about engagement and networking at events.

Our guest is Mark Herschberg, an MIT instructor, the author of The Career Toolkit, speaker, and CTO. While he is not in the events industry bubble, he nonetheless knows a lot about events and conferences. And what he’s noticed is a serious lack of audience engagement. In his blog post, Creating Engaging Conferences Your Attendees Will Love, he explains that content alone is not enough to make an event a success. Instead, event planners should focus on creating the right experience for the attendees.

But how? Tune in to today’s Event Tech Podcast episode and find out! Will, Brandt, and Mark will be talking about networking at events and audience engagement tactics that truly go a long way when creating engaging event experiences.

What’s The Value Of Events? Mark started out as a software engineer and later became a CTO. After a quick summary of his career path, he explains his experience in the events industry. “I’ve been at events primarily in two ways: as a CTO, I’ve often gone to conferences. I’ve spoken and keynoted at many of them on very technical issues. But have done keynotes, workshops, and other types of events at companies and on stage.”

He says that he’s never been that excited by conferences. “If I go to a three-day event and I walk away with one innovative idea, that’s a win. But if you think about three days of my time plus the hotel and registration, that’s a high cost to gain an idea that I might get from a great podcast or from an article. Is it really worth the three days?”

“As we’re coming out of COVID, I’ve been ramping up the speaking relaying to the book. But when I ask these organizations to tell me more about the event, the attendees, and what they want to achieve, they say: ‘They listen to talks, they pay us money’. And I’m thinking – this is terrible.”

As the rest of the world is changing, events are staying the same. “Our offices are waking up. It’s no longer nine to five, five days a week. But I’m hearing the same old thing from event planners. But you have to change what you’re doing! So, here are the specific things you can do to make your event one that people will want to do in the next few decades.”

So, how do we make our talks more interesting? “It starts with understanding the value that I deliver as a speaker. You shouldn’t be looking to fill an hour. You are looking to create an experience. There should be a feel to the conference, not just some content to fill it,” Mark says.

Fostering Networking At Events So, what can we do to create better event experiences? “One huge advantage that physical events have is better networking,” Mark says. “Virtual networking just does not work as well. When I ask people how important is networking to their event, they say it’s very important. Well, what are they doing to promote it? They have a coffee break and a cocktail reception the first night. They’re operating at a two, but how do we take it from a two to at least a seven, if not a 10?”

“Well, as someone who speaks about networking, there are things we can do. We can create certain types of events or I can promote and foster networking as a part of my talk. This can be done with little nudges. You don’t have to restructure your event. That doesn’t mean you can’t do the coffee breaks. But if we just tweak how you get into them, we can make that so much more effective for your customers, for the people who are attending. Now, they value your experience more and you create more value for them,” he explains.

The Role Of Technology In Networking Will wants to know what Mark thinks of the role technology plays in networking at events. “I think technology has unfortunately gotten in the way of networking. We add someone on LinkedIn and think that we’re networked. But that’s like saying you’re married after swiping right on a girl on Tinder. We think that adding someone on LinkedIn and sending an email means we have a relationship. At this point, we actually have to build that relationship, which means going on dates, to use the dating analogy.”

“What technology lets us do is create some new channels for that engagement,” he adds. “In fact, one of the best things that we could have done during COVID was to go for a virtual coffee. Before COVID, that wasn’t a thing. Whereas meeting for coffee in person, I was limited to a 50-mile radius from where I lived. I couldn’t meet someone on the other side of the country. Now, it’s normal. And so I can continue to develop the relationship with you using technologies like Zoom. That wasn’t available years ago. So we can use technologies not to replace that connection, but to, in some cases, help encourage it or make it easy.”

Speed Dating At Events As far as networking at events goes, Mark is a fan of speed dating, one of the most popular networking games. “Speed dating is actually a great activity for your conference. For example, I was at a conference where we had telecom providers and then companies like mine who were looking to partner with telecoms. We set up a bunch of meetings. You could choose who you’re interested in meeting ahead of time because people had their profiles up. They saw my company’s profile ahead of time. Then, there was a series of 10-minute conversations. You can do a very quick pitch and everyone gives you their focus for 10 minutes. And then from there, you follow up with other types of conversations.”

“For all of these different types of networking, there are different expectations,” adds Brandt. “Having people on the same page is important. That translates through LinkedIn, too. What I use LinkedIn for is different from what other people use LinkedIn for. I’m looking for a connection, not just a transaction.”

Creating Engaging Experiences The conversation then moves beyond networking at events. Will asks: “What other ways can you create more engaging events?”

“Let’s talk about things you can do at the conference. And then, let’s address what you can do after the conference,” Mark replies. Let’s get to it!

At The Conference: Give People What They Need First, Mark mentions swag. “Most of us don’t need more water bottles with logos. But we all need something. One of the best things I ever got was a free headshot. And I’ve seen this at several conferences: they hire a local photographer. It will cost you maybe $1,000 to hire someone for two days. Every time your attendees look at that photo, which they might use for LinkedIn or on their corporate website, they remember your event with a positive memory,” he says.

“It could also be little things like a 10-minute security review of your website or a quick review of your lead gen funnel. I’m guessing there are a number of come companies who not only would be willing to do it for free. They might even pay to be at your conference because if you get 200 companies doing a free security review, you just got 200 companies added to your target list for sales.”

After The Conference: Do Follow-Up Virtual Events Mark then speaks more about all the ways to create engagement after the event. And unknowingly, he describes the community model! “Event planners think about events 365 days a year. But as an attendee, I think about it for five days: the day I register and then three days at the event, plus a day of travel. That’s it. Planners would love to engage with your customers more than just during that brief period each year now. They’ve sent out the follow-up email but we all ignore it because we get too much email.”

“Now that we’ve experienced virtual events, you can take your in-person or hybrid event and do virtual follow-ups. During the keynote, especially if it is a hybrid event, I have people in chat discussing things that I can’t always get to. Well, let’s take those comments and topics. A month later, I can do a live Q&A where I address those topics plus others. The keynote person can also do a series of small workshops or small mastermind groups with certain people from the conference. It’s not a lot of extra effort for the speaker, but it creates so much more value for your members. And it creates a much deeper experience, not just during that one week, but helps keep you top of mind at other times.”

“Even consider pre-events,” Mark adds. “You want early registrations. Encourage attendees to sign up early by offering them a special webinar or an interactive session with your keynote speaker. That’s going to help encourage registration, help get you top of mind earlier. And not just when they’re at the conference.”

“What we’re seeing is a redistribution,” agrees Brandt. “There may be fewer in-person events, but there’ll be a few more online events. These follow-up events, these drips that happen in between your big in-person events will help drive traffic and interest.”

Networking At Events: Meet People Beyond Your Industry In conclusion, Mark believes that people should speak to professionals in different industries and roles. “That way, we get a diversity of thought. We get all these ideas. I’m not in the events industry, but how did I recognize these things? Because I understand the mechanics of how people engage. I’ve seen this work in other places. I’m not seeing it happen here. And so by looking at different areas, looking outside our bubbles, we can become so much more effective.”

Brandt and Will were thrilled to have Mark on the podcast, and hopefully, you were too. Stay tuned for more content about event technology!

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After a month-long break, the #EventIcons podcast is back in all its glory! This week’s iconic guest is the knowledgeable Gianna Gaudini, an event marketing strategist who understands events inside and out. She worked as Marketing Events Lead at Google for nine years and Head of Events at AWS for nearly two years.

Even more importantly, she has founded her own company in 2018. Check out Gianna’s website: she’s established herself as an industry leader as well as an author and course creator. Since she’s got such a wide range of knowledge, Karmen thought it would be a great idea to pick her brain about the best event planning tips for 2022.

Karmen and Gianna do not dwell on any one particular topic for too long. After all, Gianna knows a lot about data analytics, content delivery, community, leadership, and so much more. They go over the recent changes in the events industry, ROI metrics, diversity and inclusivity, sustainability, and her favorite resources for event planners. Tune in – you’ll learn a lot!

Event Planning: An Exciting & Challenging Career First, Karmen asks Gianna about her background and how she got into the events industry. Gianna went to UC San Diego where she graduated in psychology and biology. “After I graduated, I had to figure out what it was that I was passionate enough about to build a career in. And I’m so grateful that my dad gave me the book How to Get Any Job with Any Major. Great book, I still recommend it to everybody.”

The event planning industry is big and people come to event planning as a career from different walks of life – and that’s precisely what Gianna loves so much about it. “It’s such a great way to blend analytical, creative, and people skills, making an impact on people in such a tangible way. It’s also a career where you can continually evolve. I don’t go a month without learning something new. It keeps it exciting and challenging. For me, it also keeps it super fun.”

Changes In The Events Industry Speaking of challenging, Karmen asks Gianna to talk about the changes that the pandemic brought. What are the biggest changes she’s witnessed?

Gianna outlines changes in three major areas:

1. Content.

“At a macro level, events are becoming very content-driven. Content used to take the backseat, scrambling at the last minute to pull together the appropriate content. Now, content is front and center. It has to be good and it has to hold people’s attention. There’s a lot of competition for people’s attention.” 2. From event planning to event marketing.

“Event planners are realizing that they need to evolve to be event marketers. It’s one thing to plan an event and do that well. But in this day and age to be successful, you also have to be able to market it. You can have the most amazing event in the world, but if you’re not reaching the people you’re trying to reach, then you’re not going to have the ROI that you want. You’ll be wasting all your resources.” 3. Extended experiences.

“Another big shift is the shift from the synchronous moment-in-time event experience to a much bigger focus on the extended experience, whether that’s hybrid, virtual experience, or community model. People want to stay connected not just during an event, but between events. Smart event marketers are figuring out how to meet people where they are and delivering the right content to them at the right time.”

Event Planning Tips 2022: Let’s Talk ROI Since Gianna has mentioned ROI, Karmen wants to know more. “How do you ensure ROI on events that may have pivoted or changed format? What are some of the best ways to indicate and present different aspects of ROI?”

“Just because an event has pivoted doesn’t mean that you have to throw out all your event goals,” she says. “There are some goals that can remain consistent, but some need to be adjusted. For virtual events, there are things that we can measure that we can’t always measure as easily with in-person events, which is great. One of the biggest things that you should adjust is registration and conversion rates. When you’re thinking in-person versus virtual, there are a lot of differences there. There’s usually a 35% drop-off for registrations in virtual events.”

Another great core goal to measure event success is attendee satisfaction. “You can use NPS or CSAT. That’s consistent and works for both virtual and hybrid events. Things like deals closed or opportunities created in sales events and attribution-related ROI metrics can work both for in-person or virtual events as well.”

Attendee retention, on the other hand, is more challenging. “When you think about attendee retention, you don’t always see that as a KPI metric for in-person events. It’s harder to measure it, but it’s a lot easier to measure when you have a video on demand. And the retention dropoff rate is really important to understand whether your content is resonating.”

And last but not least, virtual audience engagement. “You can use event apps for in-person events to some extent, although adoption is usually no higher than 30%. But it’s so much easier for virtual events. Every action is trackable. You can capture so much information about which of your activities are resonating and which you can remove for future events.”

Who’s In Your Event Dream Team? Next up, Karmen asks Gianna to brainstorm. “If there were no boundaries with the budget, how does one identify their needs and create their event dream team?”

“There are two overarching types of people on your event team when you’re hiring: generalists and specialists. Depending on your needs for an event, you may need a good mix of both,” she says.

Then, Gianna makes another important distinction. “Any successful event team is built up with three types of event planners: creatives, strategists, and producers. The creatives help you think outside the box. Strategists are the ones that are thinking about KPIs and goals. How do our events meet those? How is this event hitting the mark for the business? Producers are the ones that make things happen. They bring the event to life.”

But expertise is not enough. The event dream team also needs to have the right personality for the job. “In my job descriptions, I write as a prerequisite: low ego required. Events are a team sport and everybody needs to pull together for that shared goal. There’s a lot of work to be done. People need to set their ego and drama aside, and it’s just so much easier to work with people who all care about the same goal. And if there’s any skill that you need to perfect, it’s communication and writing. This will help you for life. And humor – I love working with people that have a sense of humor.”

Event Planning Tips 2022: Tell A Story! “What is the most creative way you have seen a speaker or a facilitator integrating audience engagement? How can you plan an event to encourage participation?”

“I see event planners as storytellers and any successful event should take the audience on a journey,” Gianna replies. “Similarly, speakers need to be storytellers. Speakers that open with a story capture attention so much more than speakers that open with a PowerPoint slide and data. Every single TED Talk speaker opens with a story and it makes your brain tune in because you’re trying to figure out what that story’s getting at, how that ties into the theme.”

“Be thoughtful about how you’re presenting information,” she adds. “Sometimes speakers are trying to jam everything in. We have to understand that at virtual events, attention spans are shorter. A formula that works really effectively is 20% pre-prepared content and 80% open-ended audience engagement. That can be chat with the audience, AMA, Q&A, polling, gamification. Make it a two-way conversation. The audience buys into the content more because their voice is heard.”

DEI & Sustainability Karmen makes a point to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion at events. “How do you create an event centered around DEI and sustainability and how important are those aspects to planning a successful event?”

Gianna thinks that it’s essential for DEI and sustainability to not be an afterthought. “Start thinking about these things from the second that you start planning your event. Otherwise, people are going to see that as tokenism, they’ll see right through it. Be authentic, do these things for the right reason.

She highlights that virtual events are far more sustainable than in-person. “In-person events are resource-intensive. And they’re often disruptive to the communities that they take place in. My goal as an event planner is always to leave the community that I’m planning an event in better than when I got there. There are lots of ways to do that. At a macro level, when you’re starting sustainable event planning, you want to think about how you’re producing your event. Are you sourcing locally? Are you using local suppliers and supporting the local ecosystem?”

Event Planning Tips 2022: Delight & Surprise! Karmen asks Gianna to talk about any other event planning tips for 2022 that they haven’t covered yet. “Is there any advice you’d give to planners that will make their lives easier?”

“One easy way to make sure that you’re memorable in the right way is to eliminate pain points,” Gianna explains. “If you can think through what could be a possible pain point for your attendee and make it better, this will take you far when it comes to building brand love and making the experience better for people.”

Here’s an example. “If people have to wait in long lines to get a COVID test, think about what you can do to make that delightful. Can you bring coffee to them in a fun little cart with a band playing? These can be inexpensive things that make people realize that you understand that they’re going through something that’s not super fun and you’re making it better for them.”

Also, don’t forget to evoke emotion. “We are emotional human beings. Figure out how to set that tone via storytelling, music, or speakers. Then, make it personal. People all want to have the most relevant experience for them. This can be virtual, too. It can be as easy as having a dynamic virtual event platform where you can build your own schedule or it makes relevant recommendations for you and saves you a lot of time.”

Final Event Planning Tips & Resources Since Gianna is so knowledgeable, Karmen wants to know where she gets all that valuable information and inspiration from. “What are the websites, blogs, and books that you would recommend to our listeners?”

“I learned so much from my peers and I get so much out of the event community,” she says. “I try to stay engaged in as many event groups, Slack channels, and podcasts as I possibly can. We learn so much from each other. It’s a unique industry. So I encourage people to join as many event groups as they can. Event people love to help.

Aside from #EventIcons, Gianna recommends several other event planning podcasts. “I also love the Event Brew podcast, GatherGeeks, and Bizzabo’s podcast. I also tune into the course creator community because I am a course creator.”

And last but not least, Gianna mentions her book, The Art of Event Planning. Karmen also mentions Gianna’s course Million Dollar Event Planning Career. Check it out and do not hesitate to reach out to Gianna – she loves meeting fellow event profs. And according to Karmen, she is quick to respond to messages!

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Event professionals are so other-focused that they often forget about themselves. They try to make sure that everybody, from attendees to sponsors, is taken care of. But what about them? How do they take care of themselves and their teams? Those who do not take time to tune in with their event teams are at a far greater risk for event planner burnout. And nobody wants that!

That’s why today, the Event Brew hosts are tackling the topic of team building in the events industry. We all know why team building is important, but how often do we take the time to nurture the relationships within our own organizations?

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the Brew Crew talks about all the ways they show their teams some love and appreciation, from team exercises to planned company events. They understand that nurturing company culture in an event company is crucial to success. After all, we all work better when we know one another and genuinely like to spend time together. Tune in and find out just how loving the Brew Crew truly is!

Building Amazing Event Teams The execution of internal team building in the events industry depends on the event team itself. “First, you have a team where everybody comes together for the event. Nobody ever interacts beyond the 5-minute banter at the beginning of the event planning call. But then, you have teams that work together on multiple events. This one requires more than just some banter at the beginning of a call.”

“What have you seen work when it comes to rapport building, culture building, and team building in the events industry? Everybody knows that you can be amazing at planning events, but if you aren’t the most effective team possible, the event is likely to be a disaster.”

Dustin Went All Out For Valentine’s Day Dustin showed his entire team some appreciation for Valentine’s Day in a truly thoughtful way. “I built a Google form that listed the names of everybody that we work with. I encouraged everybody to write a few nice words about everybody. Tell me something funny about them or something you appreciate in them.”

Then, he turned those answers into huge Valentine’s Day cards for everybody. “Each card had all the nice things everybody said about them on it. They were so sweet to each other.”

Since there’s no team building in the events industry without togetherness, he also invited a coach to talk to his team about it. “We talked a little bit about trauma, getting to know and appreciate each other.”

But it doesn’t end there! Dustin also reached out to several key clients that his event team worked with during COVID-19. “I had them send me a video of appreciation for my team. My team doesn’t always get to hear what the clients have to say about us. These videos showed appreciation for doing what we do: creating magical experiences.”

And last but not least, Dustin organized OneWest Olympics. “The games included putting nylons on your head with a ball in it, knocking down bottles of water, and building puzzles.” That sounds like fun!

Team Building In The Events Industry: Less Is More What Will has been wanting to do at Endless Events is an all-company retreat. “We’re spread across the entire world. So that becomes very complex for many different reasons. There hasn’t been an opportunity for everybody within the company to be able to come together, but I’m just excited about the idea of bringing my team together.”

Since event profs are busy people who manage and plan for a living, Will thinks that team building in the events industry should be as simple as possible. “Just put people in the same room. Often, that’s enough, especially if you’re remote. You can do some team building activities, but I realized that many people are simply happy to be in-person.”

“Between being remote and in-person, there’s hybrid,” reminds Thuy. “In January, we had our company all-hands meeting, which ended up a hybrid event. A lot of people decided to be a virtual attendee.”

Virtual Team Building To The Rescue Dustin wonders how Will copes with having an all-remote team. “I’ve grown to accept the idea that I might not get to meet everyone in person,” Will explains. He makes a point to visit his team members whenever he finds himself in their area.

Otherwise, to foster company culture at Endless Events, he plans a monthly company social. “For a while, one of our former teammates planned activities, such as trivia or origami. But this upcoming Friday, we’re playing Among Us. Another thing to look for are virtual board games. There’s a humongous Google doc online that we found during the pandemic. It’s a list of 200 board games you can play virtually and have a great virtual party.

Encouraging 1-On-1s Among Employees “There’s a lot of pressure on business leaders to do one-on-ones with their team,” says Dustin. “But we need to encourage our teams to do more one-on-ones with each other. I want to make sure that they know that they can do that. And they should be doing more one-on-ones and reach out to somebody that you haven’t worked with for a while. Do it on the clock – take some time to hang out. Go for lunch together or do a Zoom call.”

Will suggests a tool for bringing team members together: Donut. “If you want to see it in action, join the event profs Slack group that we created as part of the Endless community. It randomly pairs two people together once a week or once every two weeks. You can also set it up to meet every person that joins this channel or a person in a particular department. Donut creates a system for people to meet with each other. Otherwise, it’s very easy to get in silos. You can also use the statistics to track who’s meeting.”

Team Building In The Events Industry With Peer Groups “I believe it’s important to give people someone to talk to. I love Jim Rohn’s saying ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’. It’s important for you to surround yourself with people that you look up to. And here’s the team building aspect of this: help create such peer groups. It’s so hard because we spend so much time in meetings where we have an exact agenda. But you need to create space where there’s open time for people to meet and talk and be that peer support group with each other.”

And this includes competitors. “Because of COVID, a lot of business owners and leaders talked to each other a lot about what was coming in my community. We talked about loans, grants, and how to apply for things. And we shared information amongst each other to make sure that everyone was going to be okay. We didn’t feel like competitors anymore. We were all fighting for the same thing. And it was such a unique experience to go through. There are bonds that were built through this that will last. And the challenge now is to keep that same level of communication up as we get back to being busy, all fighting for the same business. Let’s do that with a little bit more respect for each other.”

Conclusive Thoughts Will has one final thing to say about team building in the events industry. “Make it fun. One thing that I took away from this conversation is the idea of changing the way we do our company town halls. We do it to celebrate wins. But I’m wondering if they’re getting to the point where they could have been an email or be pre-recorded. Instead, we could use that time to answer questions and do some sort of fun social activity. I’ll definitely explore this idea.”

Hopefully, this beautiful conversation inspired you to show some appreciation to yourself and your hardworking event team, too. It doesn’t take much time or effort to let others know you value them and it can do wonders for the morale across the entire company – and beyond.

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As every good event planner and marketer knows, events are all about people. And while there’s a ton of serendipity and spontaneous human connections to be found at in-person experiences, virtual events still lag behind when it comes to audience engagement. In fact, virtual audience engagement is one of the single biggest challenges that planners face. It’s one thing to have someone at an in-person event tuning out. But once an attendee loses their interest at a virtual event, there’s little we can do to bring them back once they log off.

The key to virtual audience engagement is, therefore, to keep your virtual audience happy from the moment they join the platform until the event wraps up. Putting together a fool-proof virtual audience engagement strategy sounds hard, but it’s not impossible. We explore what steps you can take pre-event, during, and post-event to wow your attendees and reach your event goals.

Before The Event Virtual audience engagement is not a lucky by-product of your event, but something that needs to be considered when designing a virtual event. Think about the definition of engagement for your particular virtual experience. Will you measure engagement as a number of sessions watched? Participation in polling and Q&As? The usage of your event hashtag? Set KPIs that you can analyze after the event. Most event platforms offer amazing data insights that will help you understand to what extent you met your virtual event goals. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves!

Nurture Your Audience We’re all well aware that bombarding people with dozens of emails isn’t a good idea. But staying completely quiet up until the day of your event won’t do much for virtual audience engagement either. The best thing to do here is to find the sweet spot to nurture your audience.

Use the registration and ticketing process as an opportunity to get to know your attendees better. For example, you can ask them which sessions are they most looking forward to and where they heard about your event. Then, keep the hype alive by sending out relevant information about the event. Who are the speakers? Which virtual event platform features will make your event stand out? Are there any changes the attendee should be aware of? Craft an email and social media strategy that focuses on answering all of these questions.

Also, consider sending out physical badges and swag bags. Just because your event is going to be remote, it doesn’t mean you have to completely give up the human touch.

Let There Be #Hype! It’s a plus to get your attendees to engage with each other before the event takes place. And in the age of social media, promoting this kind of connection will be one of your biggest strengths. Why not create a hashtag relevant to your virtual event that the audience can follow on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and so on? Get creative with it!

Additionally, you can encourage your virtual attendees to download your chosen event platform in advance and spark up interesting conversations there. That way, attendees can get to know one another before the virtual event even starts, which makes interactions feel almost as natural as they would be in an in-person setting.

Hire The Right Speakers – And Coach Them! Speakers are often the shining star of events. But with virtual events, in particular, you’ll have to be pickier than ever when choosing them. It doesn’t matter how much of an expert someone is on a given topic – if they need a physical audience to thrive, then chances are, they won’t do great at speaking in a remote situation.

The ability to engage and command undivided attention are two non-negotiable qualities for virtual emcees. Ask them for previous examples of when they spoke at a virtual event. The moment your speaker takes the virtual stage needs to exude human connection and charisma, so take all the time you need to make this decision.

Additionally, make sure you connect your speakers to the event management or production company you’re working with. Whether or not this is their first time being part of a remote event, the technical producers will provide invaluable tips on things like sound, lighting, and the intricacies of the platform you’re using. Make sure they’re familiar with the audience response systems that the attendees will be using during the event.

Content Design Matters More Than Ever A great speaker can do wonders for virtual audience engagement, but if they’re using boring PowerPoint presentations, chances are that the audience will start yawning. As human attention span shrunk down to eight seconds, we need to help our attendees stay focused.

Instead of having sessions that last over an hour, consider feeding your audience bite-sized pieces of content that allow lots of interaction between the speaker and the audience.

Prepare For Everything Rehearsals are not reserved for in-person events only! And the best way to get virtual attendees to leave the event minutes after joining is by having an unkempt house. What we mean by this is that you want the quality of the audio and video to be perfect. You want your attendees to have all the relevant logistical information they need before the event. And of course, you want to have someone who is at their beck and call, ready to answer any questions they might have about technical support.

Don’t wait for the day of your event to ensure all of this is taken care of. Work with the best event management team and your platform of choice to get everything perfect by the big day.

During The Event After weeks or months of hyping up your attendees, it’s finally showtime. The technical aspects are all taken care of, your speakers are the best at what they do, and the content you’re about to offer is one of a kind.

There are many steps you can take to secure high virtual audience engagement during the event. Understand that your attendees are not passive recipients of virtual content, but rather active participants who co-create the virtual experience!

Get Everyone To Check In Give your attendees enough time to check in and join the virtual event platform which serves as your event’s venue. Your technical support should always be on standby in case some of the attendees struggle to join the platform or don’t understand how to work around its features. Don’t wait for your attendees to get the chat going – it’s the moderator‘s job to warm up the chat room. They are the ones who have to stir up the pot every so often with questions that will create discussions.

During sessions, have your speakers and emcees acknowledge your attendees’ presence with special shout-outs and a warm thank you. Remember that you’re looking to re-create that in-person, human connection every step of the way.

Virtual Audience Engagement Tools While Zoom in its most basic form only offers chat, event platforms come with a wide range of extra benefits. During sessions, attendees can participate in discussions by polling and Q&As. Speakers can showcase polling results, audience questions, and attendees themselves on the big screen. That way, the attendees will feel truly like an integral part of the event.

Push notifications are a great way to prevent low virtual audience engagement levels. You can keep your attendees informed about any potential changes to the schedule. Create custom push notifications so each attendee is only reminded of the sessions they signed up for. It’s the little things that count!

Give Them Time To Breathe Accept that your virtual audience won’t behave the same way as your in-person audience and plan for this. You can’t expect remote attendees to take part in a three-day-long conference with six-hour sessions each day, due to the many factors we’ve already discussed.

So make sure the schedule you prepared is followed as thoroughly as possible. Keep sessions to a maximum of 60 minutes, and give everyone time to take a breather. You can also take active steps to keep your attendees energized. For example, you can encourage movement during your event and have somebody lead a quick stretching routine.

Also consider that your attendees might just want a break from the sessions, but not from the event as a whole. In this case, it’s a good idea to have a virtual lobby where attendees can interact with each other freely.

Gamify It! A great step to add to your virtual audience engagement strategy is event gamification. Games and contests will make your virtual attendees competitive and more likely to participate in pro-social activities. You can gamify nearly any aspect of the event. Have your guests collect points for each person they meet or each session they watch or rate. The leaderboard will show which attendees have won the challenge – make sure to give them a special shoutout!

But gamification is more than just an amazing virtual audience engagement tool. It’s also a great way to encourage desired behavior in attendees. If your event goal is to give more value to exhibitors at virtual events, reward attendees for going to as many exhibitor booths as possible.

Don’t Forget To Monitor Social Media If you crafted a complex social media strategy, keep your channels alive throughout the event. Plus, it’s a whole new way to engage with the audience during breaks and announce to everyone what’s been going on so far – maybe they’ll be curious enough to want to join mid-way through.

Keep using the hashtag and encourage your virtual attendees to share their favorite part of the event so far. Chances are, some of your audience will want to engage through Facebook and Instagram too, so keep checking for updates and validate the actions you see. Screenshots, highlights, the most interesting discussions taking place in the chat rooms … all of these represent an amazing source of content to keep your social media channels alive and your audience engaged, hyped, and wanting for more!

After The Event You did it! You put together a successful virtual event that your audience loved. People participated, the chat rooms were on fire, and the attendance rate was great. But does this mean that your journey to seek virtual audience engagement is over? No! There are a couple of other things you’ll want to do that will increase your brand loyalty and credibility, and keep the hype for your virtual events alive.

Ask For Feedback & Analyze Data Whether this is your first or hundredth virtual event, collecting feedback from the attendees is always a must. You’ll want to know what went right and wrong from their perspective. Did they find the content engaging? How did they like the speaker? Is there anything else you could’ve done to make the overall experience better?

Everything they have to say is valuable information that you can use to consistently improve the quality of your virtual events – and, of course, the attendance. Because not everyone is super keen on answering post-event surveys, consider offering some sort of reward for doing so. It will be worth it.

Remember that your virtual platform, too, offers many insights into engagement levels at your event. You can see which were the most attended sessions, how your attendees engaged with your content, and all the polling results. Use those insights to tweak your virtual event strategy if necessary.

Repurpose It! This is where you can kill two birds with one stone by keeping the spirit of your event alive and enticing more people to enjoy the experience – even if it’s not live. It’s not uncommon for many virtual conferences and webinars to be recorded and then made available on virtual event platforms. And more often than not, this evergreen content ends up drawing more viewers than the actual live experience.

Speaking of offering on-demand content on your chosen platform, an exciting event trend in 2022 is the community model. Your virtual event might be behind you, but the fun doesn’t have to end! An event platform is a great place for your community to network, learn more about what you do, and watch on-demand content throughout the entire year. This is the best virtual audience engagement strategy under the sun as engagement almost takes care of itself.

Conclusions Hopefully, now you have a more holistic sense of how to put together an incredible virtual audience engagement strategy. There are steps you can take at each step of the virtual event planning process: before the event, during, and after. Be willing to keep on learning about this hot topic as digital events are not going anywhere. On the contrary; as event platforms start offering annual subscriptions, most planners will start planning several virtual experiences every year.

Keeping your remote attendees happy can seem hard, but it’s doable – especially if you know how to fully harness the power of exciting event technology solutions. Lean on your event management partners to help make sense of designing engaging virtual experiences – don’t just hope it will happen on its own. If you have any questions about event technology and event strategy in general, reach out to us. The Endless Events team is here to help.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2020 by Mariana Fernandes and completely updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Event gamification has revolutionized the way we plan events and measure their success. It boosts audience engagement and helps event planners reach their event goals in quantifiable and seamless ways. No wonder it has become one of the most popular benefits of event platforms!

Most event platforms on the market offer both in-person as well as virtual event gamification solutions. From missions and challenges to competitions, there are many ways to make your attendees feel truly immersed in the experience. No matter what is going on in the world, games can always bring back a sense of optimism, unity, and healthy competitiveness to our events.

Event gamification is not a means to an end, though. Your gamified challenges should have a purpose and clearly defined goals. And remember: always keep it friendly, challenging, and social.

Today, we’ll explore the definition of gamification, why you should add it to your event strategy, and how to best implement it based on various event goals. Let’s dive right in!

What Is Event Gamification? To gamify means to take the mechanics of a game and give them non-gaming applications in workplaces, marketing strategies, or events. Therefore, event gamification incentivizes your attendees to become active participants by adding game-like features to your event. For example, your audience can complete challenges, receive points for each completed challenge, and see where they are on a leaderboard. Different challenges can be worth different amounts and those who win or participate in the game can also receive prizes.

This exciting event trend has been around for ages, but thanks to the speedy development of event technology solutions, it has now reached brand new heights. Gamified challenges typically live on event platforms and can be translated well into virtual, hybrid, and in-person environments. Thanks to data analytics, event professionals can now measure the success of event gamification and attendee engagement with unprecedented precision. No wonder it is one of the most important virtual event platform features for many event planners!

Why Event Gamification? Event gamification is not just about having fun and creating great memories. Gamification statistics show that these processes do wonders for productivity, profitability, and engagement at the workplace and learning institutions. And the same holds for events.

Planners shouldn’t simply implement event gamification for the game’s sake – it should be a strategic decision. Gamification should help planners achieve their event goals. For example, planners can aim to improve networking opportunities, sponsor and exhibitor engagement, session attendance, or brand recognition. You can also use gamified challenges to highlight your sponsors or show your audience what matters to you. PCMA EduCon 2021, for example, hosted a walking challenge to promote fitness and health.

Event gamification helps you encourage your attendees to focus their attention on what matters. For example, if you want your attendees to visit as many exhibitors’ booths as possible to foster better lead generation, incentivize that. Similarly, if you want people to network, set up missions around meeting new people.

How To Gamify Events? Let your audience know about your planned games ahead of time to build a buzz and possibly even attract a wider audience. Include gamification in your event marketing strategy – event gamification works best when people know all about the challenge before the event kicks off.

As mentioned, choosing one method of gamification for events over another depends on your specific event goals. Find an event platform that best supports your needs and clearly define the rules of the game. Most of the best current event platforms offer gamification solutions, but they do not all provide the same services.

Challenges and missions shouldn’t be siloed from the rest of the event. Remember, people are motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Some compete for awards, some enjoy competing, while others appreciate social recognition and socializing. Consider the following tips:

• showcase the leaderboard on the event platform as well as on a big-screen and social media,
• give a public shout-out to winners at the event and on social media,
• give the winner a chance to lead a team in a breakout session.

Gamification Ideas Event platforms offer various solutions for gamification at events. Among the most popular game formats are contests with points systems and leaderboards, scavenger hunts, and social media activity. Since many platforms offer customization and white label interfaces, event planners can also choose to build their missions from scratch and name them whatever they’d like. For reference, check out InEvent’s gamification presentation.

Here are some of the most popular ways of implementing gamification at conferences, trade shows, and corporate events.

Gamified Polling & Feedback Getting valuable feedback about speakers and the quality of content is crucial for many event planners. As soon as the session ends, push surveys to your attendees and gather insights in real-time. Their memories will still be fresh and they’ll get something in return, be it points, awards, or a clue for the next step in the scavenger hunt.

Promote Attendee Communication With Icebreakers While networking can often take care of itself at in-person events, it’s not as easy to spontaneously make connections at virtual events. When paired with gamified challenges, virtual networking doesn’t feel as rigid and awkward.

Planners can also encourage the audience to get conversations started on the platform by asking icebreaker questions. And there’s no need to wait until the big event either; when attendees log onto the platform weeks before the event, they can meet many interesting attendees before the event even starts.

Reward Early Check-In It’s not just the attendees and stakeholders who can benefit from gamification – planners can use it to their advantage too. And we’re not just talking about all that valuable data that helps them measure the ROI. Planners can reward attendee behavior that makes event management easier, such as checking in early. This can be especially valuable at virtual events where the pressure on tech support can escalate fast when everyone is joining the event at the same time. By letting people gather on the event platform early, they’ll explore your virtual venue and get familiar with the platform’s features in time.

Boost Lead Generation For Exhibitors Delight your exhibitors by giving them what they came for: lead generation. For each booth they visit, give your attendees points, credits, or badges. Exhibitors and sponsors can present themselves in unique ways and reward those who come to the event with their own gamified raffles and competitions. Gamification especially comes in handy for exhibitors in virtual events and hybrid events.

Event Gamification: Let The Fun Begin! We’ve explored the definition of event gamification, why it matters, and how to best implement it. Gamified methods can help influence attendee behavior to increase event engagement and ultimately, achieve specific goals in your event strategy. Gamification turns your attendees into active participants who are fully immersed in the experience you designed for them. And the more unforgettable your event, the more likely they’ll come back and recommend it to their colleagues. How’s that for that return on investment?

If you want to learn which event platforms offer gamification and high audience engagement levels, check out our list of top 100 event platforms. And in case you have any additional questions about gamification or other aspects of the event management process, reach out to us. The Endless Events team is here to help.

Editor’s Note: This was originally published on August 12 2016 by Kaitlin Colston and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Great event professionals know that it’s vital to always have a plan B ready when planning events. For example, they know how to deal with bad weather at events and how to build a crisis communication plan. However, according to Event Brew, many are yet to master planning disruption-proof events amidst the pandemic – or at least master the way they communicate the unavoidable uncertainty.

This Event Brew episode might be short, but it’s nonetheless a treat: after many weeks apart, we’re finally going to hear from all four members of the iconic Brew Crew! They give us concrete advice on building out backup plans and communicating with attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors. Let’s get brewing!

Where Are All The Disruption-Proof Events? Nick explains what the Brew Crew wants to tackle today. “Event planners are considered to be good at having multiple plans for one event. For example, event planners have always been good at knowing what to do if the weather changes. Also, they learned how to space things six feet apart.”

However, Nick thinks that most events are not truly disruption-proof when it comes to impressions and lead generation opportunities. He tackled this topic in the last Event Brew episode about unhappy exhibitors at in-person events. “They don’t know how to make everybody in the event whole. When you have a virtual event and the internet crashes, how do you give your exhibitors value? How do you provide value when only 25% of registered attendees show up at your in-person event? The good news is that there are a lot more places to deliver on that than there used to be,” Nick says.

But that just seems to be the reality of event planning during COVID. Two years later, it’s still hard to plan disruption-proof events. “I was shocked to see how many people got rocked by Omicron,” says Will. “Didn’t we figure this out by now? We’re two years in and everyone’s canceling their events and postponing.”

And Where’s The Transparency? Another piece of the puzzle is a lack of transparency. “If you’re planning an event for Q3 in 2022, you should plan ahead and say that this event might not happen. That’s the world we live in,” says Nick. “Tell your attendees what your plan B is. Here’s what we are going to do. We will break this event up into smaller events or we’re going to postpone it to next spring.”

Dustin agrees. “It would be really helpful. You can tell them you will pivot to virtual or refund them.” However, he’s more compassionate towards event planners. “I can give everybody a break because we’re still in this space of unknown. But I’m feeling very optimistic that we are finally heading towards the end of this.”

Thuy is currently signing up for all the industry events for the year. A great example of a disruption-proof event is MPI. “They said that if you were to get COVID or you can’t make it, they’re going to credit you for the next event. And it’s reassuring because it shows that these are professionals who’re thinking ahead.”

Disruption-Proof Events For Sponsors & Exhibitors “Right now, the trepidation around attendance in person is about risk aversion from the attendee side and from the exhibitor side. They see in-person events as too risky to invest time and money in. Their likelihood of disruption is still high. But being transparent corrects the risk aversion. You can invest in us and you’ll be taken care of because we care about you. The level of trust when you’re transparent is much broader than just your core base. The core people come no matter what.”

In his opinion, sponsors would more readily invest in disruption-proof events. “As a sponsor, I’ve never been told what is the plan in case things go south. They should explain how they’re proactively going to recover so that I can invest in them wisely.”

“As we continue to go into a more complex blended world of in-person and digital, we need to have more than just a backup brain plan, adds Dustin. “We need a technology plan. We need to be able to react so that we can give our clients the confidence that they need to put business back on the books with confidence and be able to start booking out more long lead business.”

Public Relations For Disruption-Proof Events Will brings out yet another important challenge: the ever-changing public opinions. “You need a contingency plan for health: what if people get sick? But a lot of people haven’t thought about the fact that they need a contingency plan for a public opinion too. I’m sure so many events have been postponed or canceled because it’s the public perception that it’s going to be problematic. I’ve seen so many events canceled due to the pandemic that could have happened if they followed COVID-19 compliance guidelines for events.”

“The reality of the political weather is something that we need to focus on,” agrees Nick. “It’s more unpredictable than the actual weather. I would tell everybody that it takes an event planning team of diverse people with diverse backgrounds to be able to anticipate what might happen.”

“We’re all going to need a PR plan for every event we do that involves guest speakers,” says Dustin. “Look what’s happening with Joe Rogan and Spotify right now. Folks are demanding that he be de-platformed. Imagine you plan a major event and put a controversial speaker on the stage. And all of a sudden, that reflects very poorly on you.”

Staying In Control With Content & Community Before they sign off, the Brew Crew agrees that it’s much easier to curb disruption with content than it is with audience engagement. “Disruption-proof events are much easier to plan if the goal has to do with content. For example, you can have your presenters pre-record their presentation as a backup version in case their internet goes down,” says Nick.

But the ultimate disruption remedy is the community model. “The larger 2022 event trend that we’re seeing across the industry is the community model, says Will. “And if you need another reason to consider creating a community, it being disruption-proof is a great one. When you do one event, it’s often the only interaction attendees will have. They gave you your money and they want it to go perfectly. If everything goes wrong, they’re going to hate you. But if you have a community model, you get their buy-in. You get people who love you. They have a little bit more skin in the game. They want to be a part of your success. When things do go wrong, you don’t have to feel as panicked.”

Hopefully, these tips and tricks will help you work on your transparency and emergency planning. Stay hopeful, event planners, some say that the pandemic is almost over. Stay tuned for more awesome content from the Event Brew podcas.

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This week’s Event Tech Podcast episode is a little bit different. Rather than having a regular conversation about event technology, Will and Brandt are sharing the contents of a session they led at the FICP Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona back in November 2021. The session was titled ‘Technology Tools and Trends Driving Engagement, Collaboration and Innovation’. And since they talked about event technology trends for 2022 and beyond, the talk is just as relevant today as it was four months ago!

It’s a great episode to catch up with everything Will and Brandt have been talking about in the past year and to see just how engaging this dynamic duo sounds in front of a live audience. They go over several favorite event tech tools, future predictions, and general event planning tips. Enjoy!

Introducing Event Technology Trends 2022 Brandt and Will give the audience a one-hour rundown of event technology trends of 2022. First, they explain that event technology is not the solution to all of their problems. But, at the same time, technology is now more important than ever before. “Because of the pandemic, technology has become the baseline of your event strategy. Before, it was just an add-on,” says Will.

Brandt explains the evolution of event technology. “Remember the days when planners thought that they didn’t need event apps? Well, less than two years ago, almost every conference had an event app of some kind. Over a course of 10 years, event apps exploded and went from 4 on the market to 200 of them. Afterward, they started getting bought and conglomerating in mergers and acquisitions. And now, we’re seeing this again with event platforms, only it’s over the span of 18 months.” In fact, Will and Brandt cover the M&As of event tech platforms in the most recent Event Tech Podcast episode.

So let’s talk about all these platforms that exist! “People don’t need to know them all,” emphasizes Brandt. “Think of the platform as your digital venue. You don’t pick the venue first and then decide what kind of event you’re going to put into it. You have an event that you want to put on that has goals and objectives. Ask yourself why you’re doing this event.”

Once you know that, it’s time to make event technology decisions. “You need to know your stakeholders and then decide what event platform you’re going to use. So how do you find new venues? How do we choose among the millions of platforms? Go to them, see as many online events as you can, and talk to your colleagues.”

Event Platforms 101 Will and Brandt dive deeper into event platforms. First, they talk about event platforms for meetings with 10 people or less. “Zoom is still king for small meetings, as is Google Meet. These two tools are reliable. If you’re doing sales meetings, Zoom’s going to crush it for you. You don’t need a gigantic platform for that,” says Will.

Virtual Networking Tools But what about virtual networking? “You can do breakout sessions in Zoom,” says Brandt. “But there are a few things to be careful about. Make sure that groups are small enough to have an effective conversation. If you’re breaking out into groups of 25 people and only have 10 minutes of conversation, that’s not a lot of time.”

“A lot of the platforms have integrations with LinkedIn so you can sign in using your LinkedIn account,” adds Will. “It will ask you if you want to share your contact information.”

Brandt recommends Mixtroz. “It’s web-based and a conversation starter. You can answer basic five easy questions as you’re coming in. You can do it at registration as well. Then, the planner can decide what kind of groups they want to create based on how people answer those questions. You can either put people who feel differently about topics together, or you want people with similar opinions in the same room. They were already working on adding the video capabilities before March 2020.”

Will, on the other hand, recommends Braindate. “It started as a non-technology tool, but they got huge during the pandemic. They created a gigantic message board and they asked every attendee to submit top things they want to talk about. At CT Montreal, for example, I said I want to talk about event trends. The person who also wanted to talk about event trends clicked on that. Then, according to both our calendars, it books the perfect time for us to meet. It’s that simple. This type of networking is centered around a topic.”

Source: Braindate

Exhibitors At Virtual Events Next up, Brandt and Will talk about another important group of stakeholders: the exhibitors. “There are different types of exhibitors based on what goal they have,” says Brandt. Some just want to scan badges and get as many contacts as possible, while others want to nurture hot leads. “You have to go to those exhibitors who are looking for the hot leads and give them data, the magic of events.”

“Data is the value that you can offer to exhibitors and sponsors at virtual and hybrid events. Not only ‘here are the 500 people that stopped by your virtual booth’. But ‘here are the hundred people that didn’t that went to five breakout sessions about what you do’.”

Event Technology Trends 2022: Content Is King The main two content-related event technology trends 2022 are watching content at home and live streaming. “There’s such a great opportunity for us to share content with people at home,” says Will. “But the question is: how do we make it better?”

The tech masters reference one of the recent top hybrid event examples. “Has anybody been watching Apple keynotes evolve over the course of the last year? You think back to the days of Steve Jobs when he stood in front of the giant LED wall. Now, their keynotes are well-produced movies and they’re not dialing back on that. They’ll do in-person events, but it’s going to be Tim Cook coming on the stage and introducing several 5-minute pre-recorded videos. Another great example of content done right is Frame.io’s keynote,” explains Brandt.

“If your content will be live, give it a good reason to be so,” Will adds. “It has to be amazing and engaging. The speaker needs to engage the audience. If it’s somebody just talking up there, make it a pre-recorded session instead of live. People go to in-person events to network, but they want to enjoy the content at home. If you can design your event so the content lives at home and networking stays at the in-person event, that’s how you’ll get people’s attention and stop wasting their time.”

Hybrid Events: The Future Of The Events Industry And last but not least, Will and Brandt focus on the future of the event industry. Their motto is quality over quantity – especially when it comes to hybrid events.

“If you’re live streaming your event and you just put a camera in the back of the room and you have the virtual attendees talking to each other and in-person people talking to each other without interactions, that’s not a hybrid event,” says Will.

“Hybrid events are about two or more audiences connecting with each other,” explains Brandt. “If I watch the world cup on television and there’s a hashtag I can tweet, there’s limited interactivity. I would never say I went to the world cup. Creating a truly hybrid event is hard, but the payoffs are incredible.”

Brandt adds that hybrid events are a part of the future, as are virtual events. “There’s going to be a redistribution. We will have in-person events, broadcast events, live stream events, hybrid events, digital events. All of those things are going to exist. We learned that not every event needs to be in person.”

A Final Note On Remote Work To conclude their talk, Will and Brandt emphasize that remote work has changed the way events operate. “When you’re designing your events from a technology perspective, keep in mind that attendees are no longer just attending your event,” says Will. “They’re also working from your event. That means bandwidth for Zoom calls is going to go up. There will be a need for remote working spaces.”

“You can’t get the cheapest Wi-Fi anymore,” agrees Brandt. “Remote work has even changed AV and production. You can get the best audio engineer or video engineer in the world working on your show remotely.”

Join us again in two weeks when Brandt and Will will be back in the studio, talking about some more exciting event technology.

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When the first lockdowns started in March 2020, Zoom emerged as the go-to solution to stay connected. People used Zoom to host virtual events as well as catch up with their loved ones. Even though there are now more than 100 event platforms on the market, many event planners still choose Zoom in its limited form for their virtual experiences.

At Endless Events, we believe that event platforms and technology should be the basis of a modern event strategy. When we tell clients about the benefits of event platforms, they still ask: But why not Zoom instead? Granted, it’s much more budget-friendly, but as you’ll learn, the ROI of platforms is much higher.

Choosing one event platform over another (or Zoom, for that matter) will depend on what you’re trying to achieve and measure with your event. There are some instances in which Zoom might make complete sense to host your virtual event, but once you learn about all the benefits of event platforms, it will be hard to settle for a regular video call. Let’s explore!

What Zoom Can Do For You (And What It Can’t) Zoom, in its limited form, is still a choice for many virtual event planners because it’s budget-friendly and easy to use. Attendees can watch the panel and interact in the live chat, but there’s very little two-way communication available. It’s hard for the speaker to monitor the chat and answer Q&As while presenting. That being said, Zoom is often a good enough tool for broadcasts, announcements, and regular meetings with little interactions.

Event planners opt for Zoom because of their budgets, especially if they’re only planning a one-off event rather than a series of virtual experiences. But money saved also means ROI lost: the champion of March 2020 does not deliver on audience engagement and valuable data insights – and these are essential for an event’s success.

With the rise of virtual events also came the normalization of on-demand content: a ‘Netflixization’ of events. Zoom also poses a challenge for event video storage. Sessions can live on the very same event platform attendees used during the event, but when recorded on Zoom, planners need to find someplace to store it and deliver it to their audiences. And there are many more features you can find on virtual event platforms that Zoom doesn’t offer.

10 Benefits Of Event Platforms Here, we outline ten benefits of event platforms, and as you’ll see, they’re all interconnected. The bottom line is this: attendees in a Zoom call lack agency. Rather than being active participants, they just sit and listen to your virtual speaker. However, there are so many opportunities for them to have fun at your event, even though it’s in a digital space.

1. Registration & ticketing The attendee’s direct interaction with the event typically starts with registering and buying tickets. And the vast majority of event platforms offer this feature. Setting up the event on a platform is easy and highly customizable. By adding traffic analytics to your payment processor, you can see how your attendees got to the registration form.

2. Enhanced virtual audience engagement No matter how hard we try to replicate the in-person experience at virtual events, the way we engage online is simply not the same. Virtual audience engagement remains one of the biggest pain points of event planners. While Zoom does little to tackle this challenge, event platforms offer a variety of ways for people to interact with the event. Enhanced audience engagement is the #1 benefit of event platforms; it is the direct result of gamification, networking opportunities, and other features we outline below.

3. Event gamification trivia, scavenger hunts, missions like meet someone new, Event app gamification is the process of adding game mechanics to an event by allowing attendees to complete challenges in the app, receive points for each completed challenge, and see where they are on a leaderboard. Different challenges can be worth different amounts and those who win or participate in the game can receive prizes.

But event gamification is not just about engaging and entertaining the audience. As Kara Gladish from Socio pointed out in an #EventIcons episode about virtual event production, gamification can also be used to streamline communication. “Give extra points if people get there early. That helps the usual influx of ‘how do I sign in’ and ‘what’s my password’. It really helps you with event management,” she explained.

4. A virtual venue Zoom is just a video call, while the event platform is a virtual venue. Much like as at an in-person venue, attendees can explore the virtual space on their own and ‘walk’ through the event. Planners can ‘decorate’ it with graphics, signage, and interactive maps. A virtual venue gives attendees the feel of being in control of their experience, rather than being passive recipients like on Zoom.

5. Branding opportunities There are several ways to promote your brand at virtual events on Zoom: you can create branded virtual backgrounds or have the speaker mention it. But event platforms (and accompanying event apps) can offer so much more. You can flaunt a brand as part of the decor, which can especially delight your sponsors and exhibitors.

6. Attendee communication Another benefit of event platforms is easier attendee communication. You can create personalized messages, send out reminders, and inform the audience about potential schedule changes. It’s easy for you as well as your attendees: they can find all the information about your event on the platform and contact tech support if needed.

7. Virtual networking People don’t just attend events for content; the biggest value are fellow attendees themselves. From chat rooms to breakout sessions, there are many ways you can design virtual networking experiences.

8. Data collection Data collection is the behind-the-scenes benefit of event platforms. And one of the biggest ones! This is where the ROI of event platforms truly comes in. Planners can gather analytics from survey responses, track their attendees, and get granular about their experiences. Never before have we had so much data on our audiences! The collected data serves as a guiding light for planners; for example, they can see what content spoke to the attendees the most and how they moved through the platform. All this information provides invaluable insights that can then further inform the overall event strategy.

9. Community model As we mentioned, Zoom can be a good choice for a one-off event or announcement. But the long-term value of platforms cannot compete with Zoom calls. Most providers of event platforms offer annual subscriptions, encouraging planners to move towards the so-called community model. That way, the platform would be available to the attendees throughout the year. You can host virtual events, webinars, organize networking opportunities and gamified challenges, and do your marketing all in one place.

The more your community interacts with the platform, the more they’ll know how to use it, which will in turn fuel engagement. Data insights, engagement, gamification, community – it’s all connected.

Benefits Of Event Platforms: Conclusion Zoom is a good enough option if you’re planning a simple, one-off meeting that you don’t intend to distribute as on-demand content later on. But even though it’s much more budget-friendly, the benefits of event platforms far outweigh Zoom. Their features, such as registration, gamification, and interactive maps foster higher audience engagement and provide invaluable data insights about your attendees’ behavior. Data can then be used to further inform your event strategy and give your attendees and sponsors exactly what they want.

If you have any questions about event strategy, technology, and design, feel free to reach out to us. The experienced Endless Events team is here to help.

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Hybrid events are continuing their march to become the new standard in the events industry. Let’s face it: in-person events are not going anywhere – we all love to meet and conduct business face-to-face! At the same time, virtual events hold so much potential to reach global audiences on a frequent basis. Hybrid events deliver on both sides, so let’s take advantage of that.

Understandably, many event planners continue to feel hesitant about this particular event trend. There are now two sets of audiences to consider, each with its own engagement requirements. And then, there are sponsors and exhibitors: how can hybrid provide value to them? And aside from choosing a unique venue, planners now also have to choose the right event platform for their particular event. It’s quite a lot, but the good news is that it’s doable!

What can help event planners inspire their process is to see what some of the best hybrid events look like. So today, we bring you 5 versatile hybrid event examples. We hope that each and every one of these conferences will help inspire planners better understand what they can do to cook up a successful hybrid experience. So get your pen and paper and start taking notes!

Before Hybrid Was Cool: TwitchCon 2019 It should come as no surprise that one of the most famous live streaming services in the world, Twitch, put on a jaw-dropping hybrid event back when most event planners didn’t even consider it a possibility. TwitchCon is a self-proclaimed “IRL party”, attracting gamers and live streamers to an in-person event in San Diego or live streamed virtual experience. In 2019, the crowd of 28,000 in-person attendees and many online guests enjoyed performances by Blink 182, Y2K, and other artists as well as countless panels and other sessions.

But it’s not just the outstanding production and content that makes TwitchCon such a successful hybrid event example, there’s also the fact that Twitch users know their way around live streaming better than most. Organizers encouraged online attendees to co-stream the event. “Co-streaming basically means you can capture and stream anything found on our event portal to your own audience,” they explain on their website. What a great way to boost virtual audience engagement!

While the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021, it’s coming back to San Diego in 2022. We’re looking forward to seeing how they’ll take the hybrid experience to yet another level.

IHRSA 2021 Looking for a great hybrid event example among trade shows and conventions? Then you might want to take some notes from IHRSA! IHRSA, The Global Health & Fitness Association, planned an event last year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The 40th IHRSA 2021 took place in Dallas from 13th to 15th October 2021. It attracted almost 4,000 in-person attendees and 220 exhibitors.

Liz Clark, IHRSA’s CEO, proudly announced their decision to offer virtual sessions due to travel restrictions and safety. “We are excited to reinforce IHRSA 2021 by offering a hybrid option this October. For anybody not able to travel, IHRSA will offer both an in-person and virtual program so that our global community of members can connect for three days of knowledge-sharing, education, and intensive networking,” she said in a press release in September 2021.

IHRSA took full advantage of the perks associated with hybrid events, such as offering translation and captioning. Some sessions were translated into five languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.

And last but not least, IHRSA 2021 was a textbook example of a COVID-compliant event. Like many other big events in 2021, they required proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Additionally, it offered on-site testing and promoted wearing masks.

Source: IHRSA

Apple Special Events Apple has been at the forefront of innovation and tech trends for years. So it’s no wonder that some of their most anticipated events would somehow push the boundaries of what a conference is supposed to look like. Apple Special Events are an extraordinary time of the year that tech enthusiasts, Apple fans, and competitors alike look forward to. This is when the CEO of the company takes the stage in order to showcase the latest products from the brand. And when you’re a trillion-dollar company, you bet there’s a lot of folks interested in experiencing your new releases first-hand.

It should then come as no surprise that Apple Special Events have been live-streamed to audiences all across the world pretty much since their inception. The goal here is to reach as many people as possible – which it achieves with flying colors! If you’re interested in replicating this particular hybrid event example, go for a hybrid event studio as it offers high production value and focuses predominantly on your global, virtual audience.

Asynchronous Hybrid Event Example: IBTM World 2021 The world of hybrid events is incredibly versatile. Not only are there several hybrid event models to choose from, but there’s also the question of planning a synchronous (simultaneous) or asynchronous hybrid event. Essentially, the latter means that the in-person and virtual components take place at two separate times. So, if you’re looking for an asynchronous hybrid event example, see how Barcelona-based IBTM World did it in December 2021.

More than 72,000 people attended the in-person event in the Catalonian capital and went to 30,000 pre-scheduled business meetings. The virtual event happened two weeks later. David Thompson, IBTM World Event Director, told XLIVE that the virtual program offered pre-event matchmaking, one-to-one video meetings between buyers and suppliers, and over 65 sessions from leading industry experts.

And what’s IBTM World’s secret to success? “Stakeholder communication from the outset and throughout implementation is key — IBTM World took a very structured approach to managing communication with stakeholders to ensure they were kept informed of plans throughout the process,” Thompson said.

Source: IBTM World

PCMA EduCon 2021 And finally, the last hybrid event example is an event all event planners know: PCMA (the Professional Convention Management Association).

PCMA EduCon 2021 took place in Phoenix last July and wowed both in-person as well as virtual attendees. No wonder: PCMA has been at the forefront of producing awesome virtual content since the pandemic started. Their webinars are living proof that they’re well-versed in the digital realm. And even more importantly, they never forget that their mission is to serve their audience. If you’re curious to learn more about this event, check out Event Brew’s episode on PCMA EduCon 2021.

Since we’re talking about PCMA, we also need to give a special shoutout to PCMA’s Convening Leaders 2022 as they managed to pull off a great hybrid event in the midst of the Omicron crisis. 2,500 attendees came to Las Vegas, while 600 tuned in virtually. It goes without saying that they rigorously followed COVID-19 safety measures.

Conclusions So, how did you like these hybrid event examples? Keep in mind that these are just a handful of ideas you can use and that the industry’s knowledge keeps expanding. The goal of your hybrid experience is to make it engaging, interesting, and captivating to everyone involved.

If there’s anything else you’d like to read about or have any examples of your own you want us to expand upon, let us know – the Endless Events team is here to help. Stay tuned for more awesome content about hybrid and virtual events!

Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published in August 2020 by Mariana Fernandes. It has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness by Anja Grcar.

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Event trends 2022 are here and let us tell you, it’s an exciting year for event planners who dare to dream big. Those who’ve read our guide to event trends in 2022 already know how which hybrid event models hold the most promise and the role of event technology moving forward. Most trends in our guide are beginner-friendly. Others, however, might seem a little bit too daunting for a novice planner, but they’re just what innovative and tech-savvy planners are looking for.

Today, we’ll focus on five such 2022 event trends. The entire events industry has recently been forced to start thinking outside the box. However, innovative event planners can take this a step further. Thinking outside of the box still acknowledges the existence of the box, luring us back to our comfort zones. In 2022, it’s time to crush that box altogether and approach event strategy with a fresh set of eyes!

Data-Informed Event Strategy While big data has been around for much longer than the pandemic, most event planners have been sleeping on this game-changing trend. In the last two years, event technology exploded. Event platforms with all their data insights offer a whole new world of possibilities for measuring event success. Therefore, in 2022, your event strategy should lean onto event technology.

You can set quantifiable KPIs and measure session analytics, attendee and sponsorship satisfaction, event registration trends, and other event data that offers insights into your attendees’ behavior and preferences at the event. You can then make changes to your event in real-time based on data. For example, you can communicate efficiently, change the schedule, and even crowdshape your event. And even more importantly, these data points can then inform your future strategy.

Unique Venues For In-Person Events It looks like the long reign of impersonal hotel ballrooms is over. Instead, planners should consider hosting their event in unique and exciting venues that bring out the local flavor. This trend has been a long time coming, but all things in-person were unfortunately put on hold two years ago.

The same goes for dining: go local. Give your attendees a list of local restaurants and let them choose where they want to dine. Buffets, however, are not exactly what constitutes a COVID-compliant event.

Hybrid Events: The Satellite Model Hybrid events often pose a challenge for even the most experienced event planners out there, but the only way to master them is to try them out. Innovative planners can test their talents with the Satellite model, in many ways the most ambitious of them all.

The Satellite model consists of small to medium independent venues (pods) with a small stage for regional speakers receiving the live stream feed. You can have a pod in any region, country, or continent where your speakers and sponsors are. Localized pods enable region-focused networking and prioritize comfort for the attendee above all. Have these smaller in-person meet-ups tune in virtually with one another. And here’s where the true hybrid emerges: every attendee is in essence both an in-person attendee as well as a virtual one.

Because event planners cannot be at several locations at the same time (even though they often try to be), this hybrid event has to be co-created to some extent. Innovative planners have to lean on their network, tap their ambassadors, and give people a chance to plan their pod independently.

And on a more personal side, the Satellite model is an opportunity for event planners to let go of their perfectionist and controlling tendencies and trust others to do some of the work they’re used to doing all by themselves.

Community Model The events industry is moving from focusing on big, spectacular in-person events to the so-called community model. When virtual events took over in 2020, event platforms became the new venues. But this is no fad; the best event platforms will persist way beyond 2022 and the pandemic. And they’ll be the place where your community convenes – anytime, anywhere.

Why community? The value of the events doesn’t just lie in entertainment, sponsorships, and content. The biggest asset are attendees themselves. A great community means year-round attendee engagement and a great opportunity to market your events. Allow your audience to enjoy asynchronous content delivery. Plan virtual networking events, build anticipation for your upcoming in-person and hybrid events, and receive their feedback continuously. In fact, by giving attendees an active voice on your platform, you organically boost engagement and foster higher levels of trust and belonging.

And last but not least, a community model offers great opportunities for your exhibitors and sponsors who have been let down by in-person events in the past two years due to low attendance.

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Audience Engagement As one of the biggest pain points, audience engagement remains one of the most talked-about subjects in the events industry. While planners have always given some thought to audience engagement, they’re now outright preoccupied with it. It’s as if before 2020, everybody was engaged 24/7!

However, the anxiety around engagement is understandable. As Ellis Davis pointed out in a recent #EventIcons episode, “if you cannot keep your remote attendees engaged for more than three minutes, they’re going to check out and won’t come back”.

In-person events more readily offer attendees freedom and autonomy to do as they please – virtual and hybrid events need to follow suit. That demands more intentional design. Attendees should choose how they want to engage with the event and regain that autonomy they enjoy at in-person events. Don’t shove engagement down their throats or make them interact with avatars if they don’t want to. The solutions to this complex challenge differ depending on your event goals, though.

Innovative Event Trends 2022 Hopefully, these five event trends gave you some inspiration to crush the box of expectations and be the trend-setter of the events industry. If you’re interested in learning more about 2022 event trends, download our free guide!

In conclusion, do not let fear and doubt steer your events. Sure, the Satellite model demands more diligent planning and there’s a learning curve to all the event tech, but remember: you don’t have to plan and manage events on all your own. The Endless Events team has an impressive resume of producing and managing all kinds of events, hybrid included. We’re technology agnostic and can advise you on event technology that best suits your particular event strategy. And while we’re at it, we help planners strategize too. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to us – we’re here to help!

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We might be over the biggest obstacles that COVID-19 has thrown at us (at least we can hope so), but in-person attendance is still nowhere as high as it was pre-2020. While we’ve talked a lot about how the pandemic affected planners and attendees, we haven’t focused on exhibitors’ experience all that much. We’ve talked about exhibitors at virtual events and virtual event sponsorship ideas. But it turns out that the biggest challenge exhibitors face doesn’t live in digital space but in a world of face-to-face interactions.

In his many years in the events industry, Nick has seen and done it all. Today, he laments about the experience exhibitors have at in-person events these days. But low attendance isn’t the worst part; it’s event planners’ behavior post-event that really grinds his gears. Tune in and learn about the exhibitor’s point of view and what you can do to right the wrongs, caused by low attendance.

Events: An Opportunity To Do Business Nick prefaces today’s topic by emphasizing that he knows the events industry inside and out. “I’ve worked in the events industry since I was a teenager. I believe in events – bringing people together definitely works. However, I have a lot of hats to put on. I’m an event professional, a marketer, a person who has planned events. I’ve been on planning teams as well as a sponsor and an exhibitor.”

Now, let’s get to the problem Will and Nick will tackle today: exhibitors at in-person events face unprecedented challenges. “In the last two years, attendance has been down. As an exhibitor, you’re sold an opportunity to do business. However, the amount of money that someone pays you is based on the idea of deliverables. It’s not a sure thing,” says Nick.

Same thing in marketing: “If I invest my money as a marketer into Google, I’m paying for impressions. That’s what I’m getting out of it. I don’t necessarily know how many will be truly valid MQLs,” he adds.

When Exhibitors At In-Person Events Are Not Made Whole So, what’s his beef with exhibitors at in-person events these days? “You tell me that there’s going to be 10,000 people and I get 25% of that. I’m not whole. It was a bait-and-switch. Many event planners then say: How are we supposed to know who’s going to come to our event during these times? It’s not my fault. I agree, it’s not. But here’s my problem: you didn’t deliver on what you sold. If you believe in customer service, you need to be proactive. Explain that this happened because of COVID-19 and that these things are outside of your control. But be willing to talk about it because you want to be a partner for a long time,” he explains.

“In 2022, there are so many opportunities to give sponsors value,” he adds. “If you put all of your eggs in one basket and that basket does not deliver, and you didn’t do anything about it, that’s on you. That’s not caring. For me, that’s pretty unforgivable.”

“Here’s the salt in the wound that got me upset: the congratulatory emails event planners send out to attendees after the event,” he continues. “Exhibitors don’t get a special email. But I look at that email and I wonder: what are you celebrating? That you took our money, that you were able to accomplish your event, that you feel good about it? But what about me? What about the person that actually paid for your event? From the exhibition standpoint, I did not get the thing I was promised.”

After all, event planners have to understand that an exhibitor, too, answers to somebody. “I have to report to a team of investors. I need to be able to say: I used your money towards our mutual goals in the way that I believed was the best possible. Some of them are a win, some aren’t, but ultimately we’ve learned from the ones that weren’t. Well, I’m telling you. In-person events were not the wins.”

Solutions For Unhappy Exhibitors At In-Person Events Now that Nick has let off some steam, Will suggests they move on to solutions. How can event planners do right by exhibitors who were let down by low attendance at an in-person event? Luckily, there are many ways they can do that, and none of them sound all that difficult.

Face The Music & Talk To Your Exhibitors First, Will suggests communicating what happened. “How many planners and event management companies actually sit down with their sponsors afterward and have an hour-long debrief? It’s very much on the exhibitor to give that feedback. You should always have that conversation: if it’s a win, you can celebrate it with your client and grow stronger bonds with them.”

And if it’s bad, even if they yell at you, it’s nonetheless important to face the music. “If you don’t talk to them, they will say bad things about you behind your back,” says Nick. “However, no one says: I had a big problem and then they called me up and tried to work it out. The bad-mouthing stops there. At the very least you have someone who’s not an enemy.”

Offer Branding Opportunities Beyond Your In-Person Event “I have many other solutions to this problem, but none of them involve getting my money back,” says Nick. “My solutions come from the fact that there are so many opportunities for lead generation. An exhibitor ultimately wants branding opportunities.”

Link An Exhibitor Up With An Ideal Client Your business relationships can also offer a solution for exhibitors who were let down by in-person events. “You can ask to introduce them to somebody, to set them up with an ideal client. You can create a nice opportunity for an exhibitor and a client to get together. These are inexpensive, low-lift things. Even the gesture would put you way above your competition as far as how people handle this stuff,” suggests Nick.

“However, don’t be the spammy person who allows the exhibitor to send emails to every attendee,” adds Will. Not only is it illegitimate to give out data without attendees opting in, but it’s also starting a potential relationship on a bad foot.

Forget Exhibitors At In-Person Events – Focus On The Perks Of The Community Model “The big 2022 event trend is the 365 community model. You can move your events towards a community model and your sponsorships and exhibitors towards a year-long sponsorship. One of the greatest things is when you get your sponsors on for an annual contract.”

Inside that community, there are countless branding opportunities that you can offer your exhibitors.

Send Out Post-Event Surveys Next, Will and Nick suggest sending out post-event surveys to disenchanted exhibitors at in-person events. “I’ve worked for a lot of events where I’ve instituted post-event surveys that are automatically sent right after the event,” says Nick. “It’s all automated. If they rank 1/5, it would go straight to the leadership of that division. And then, they would have the opportunity to instantly email that person back and do this right. They’re aware, they’re organized. This is a priority. It has made a huge difference in customer relations.”

… And Pre-Event Surveys! “You also need to do this leading up to the event,” Will adds. “We all knew going into it that this in-person event might have low attendance. You should survey your exhibitors and ask them how they’re feeling going into the show.”

Nick agrees. “Get this: it’s two weeks before the show. You’re at 10% sign up. Then, you can email your exhibitors and say: I hate to say this, but based on COVID, we’re dealing with low attendance. However, we’re going to go in this full steam and make this an exciting event. You’re going to get the most out of the people that you have. You might want to roll in with one less person per team, though. Maybe you’ll save some money that way, but afterward, we’ll talk and figure out a way to make you whole.”

Knowing about the reality of the upcoming event, exhibitors can at least save a little bit of money on food, travel, and lodging for that one extra unnecessary team member. They’d be grateful to know that in advance.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! In conclusion, dear event planners, you just have to communicate. “Don’t hesitate to have an honest conversation,” says Will. “I get how hard it is to lead up to it. You don’t want to spook a sponsor. But you have to acknowledge what happened. You can go so much further that way.”

“The bar is really low to be excellent,” concludes Nick. “One of my biggest reasons why I preach being excellent in teams I’m in is that most of the world isn’t. It shocks people when they experience excellent customer service.”

Hopefully, today’s episode inspired you to change the relationship you have with your exhibitors and sponsors. Nobody will blame the event planner for low attendance in the midst of the pandemic. So, step up and have those difficult conversations: your business relationships will be all the better for it.

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Last week, the Event Tech Podcast hosted Kyle Kocinski as a guest of honor and went over event technology trends and predictions for 2022. Today, the dynamic tech duo picks up where they left off last week, focusing on one 2022 event trend in particular: mergers and acquisitions in the event technology world.

It all started in 2020 and continued with full steam head in 2021: we saw huge investments in event platforms and multi-billion dollar valuations of some of the largest players in the field. At the same time, there were so many mergers and acquisitions that we could barely keep count. What about this year? Is this trend going to continue or will it slowly die out?

At first, they were skeptical, but Brandt and Will believe that the era of mergers and acquisitions isn’t just over yet. They discuss where this trend is leading us and what the event tech market might look like further down the line. It’s a must-listen for everyone interested in the financial aspects of event technology as well as those who like to have a pulse on the state of the events industry in general.

Mergers & Acquisitions Are Here To Stay Let’s see how the story of mergers and acquisitions began. “There were about five incumbent online event platforms two years ago. Then, all of a sudden, there were 200 of them because everybody pivoted. Afterward, we went into the mergers and acquisition phase: people started buying each other out,” explains Brandt.

He predicted that the trend will subdue in 2022. However, he changed his mind sometime around the MeetingPlay and Aventry merger. “I think that mergers and acquisitions are going to tick back up. We’re going to start seeing more mergers and acquisitions in the event tech space.”

Will shares his opinion. “All these companies that got so many investments are now getting breathed on by all their. Private capital companies want them to make more returns. These event tech companies either have to start making them massive amounts of profit, or they need to get ready to look so good that investors can sell them. I think private equity companies are starting to notice this really hot trend slowing down. Therefore, they need to make their money while it’s still at least lukewarm.”

Brandt reminds us that event tech as an investment opportunity is a relatively new thing. “Back in the day, we were blown away when DoubleDutch saw $50 million in investments. It was so much money compared to what was being put into such products. But in these last two years, we’ve seen several investments that were also much higher. Investment companies have definitely woken up. They see event tech as an investible technology. They’re putting money in it just like every other startup that’s out there.”

“To your point, Will, there was massive growth in all of those platforms,” Brandt continues. “Zoom went up 900% in the first two weeks of the pandemic. That growth is unsustainable. The fastest way to get those numbers up is to change your business model. Start pushing it out in a different way, trying to get people to sign up, or acquire someone else. With mergers and acquisitions, you’ve doubled your user base in one fell swoop.”

Mergers & Acquisitions: The One-Stop Shop Solution And what better way to double your user base than to expand your services? “We’ve had conversations in the past about the juggernaut versus the individual parts and pieces. In the event space, that juggernaut is Cvent. They’ve got all the modules and their own training certifications. It’s the one-stop shop for event planners – and they like that. I can just cut one check at the end of the day. However, there are pros and cons to both,” says Brandt.

“People are recognizing the power of the all-in-one, especially after two years of this stress being put on the plate of the planner. Event tech companies ask themselves how to grow their user base. They’re trying to take on the likes of Cvent. That MeetingPlay Aventry merger is a perfect example of that. They want to have all the parts and pieces – to be that one-stop shop.”

What we’ll have then, in his opinion, is a clash of the event tech titans. “We’ll see four emerge, all vying for that space of where they’ll have everything available: your registration platform, event management platform, online engagement platform, ticketing platform, room diagramming platform, etc.”

The Role Of Industry-Wide Exhaustion “When it comes to these mergers and acquisitions, I think we’re also seeing a lot of exhaustion,” adds Will. “Founders of companies grow a company 200% and then, they have to grow it even more. Maybe they’d rather take a vacation for two years or travel again. Not just founders, but also VPs and employees that work there. Now, in Q1, Omicron is hitting everybody and it feels like 2020 all over again.”

“It’s all part of the great resignation,” says Brandt. “It’s across all sectors, markets, demographics, and levels of income. People are re-evaluating what they want to do with their lives. Two years of a pandemic will do that to a person.”

“You talk about the exhaustion side of it. Not only does that go for the C-level and people who want to sell out, but it also ties into what we were talking about before. At the end of the day, event planners just want the one check, the one company, and the one support staff. They’re tired of it too,” he concludes.

What About The AV World? Brandt is curious to know what Will thinks about AV and production companies – do mergers and acquisitions even apply to them? “Are we going to see what’s left of the independent AV companies becoming part of Encore? How is it going to affect the AV world?”

“There were several things AV and production companies did in 2020,” says Will. “Some did the hard pivot, kind of how Endless Events did. Those were successful and replaced their revenue at least. Then, others hunkered down and rechanged their company. The third ones tried to wait this out. I didn’t hear about a lot of big companies merging, but I bet that companies sold equipment to each other or sold off assets.”

“2021 was supposed to be this year of release: moving back to hybrid events,” he adds. “But I don’t think anyone truly felt truly amazingly successful at the end of 2021. Then, the Q1 of this year hits. We see waves of cancellations again.”

Mergers & Acquisitions Are A Double-Edged Sword To conclude, Brandt thinks that mergers and acquisitions are always a double-edged sword. “It’ll be interesting to see how this trend flushes out for customers. Will people be happy because it’s a relief to use only one company? Or, will it be the other way: I used that platform for that one thing and now they got bought. They’re a part of this other company. Are they going to have the same support system that I had before?”

“Hopefully, they’re smart mergers and acquisitions,” says Will. “The biggest success we can see is a higher quality of the tools, data, and support. We would happily celebrate mergers and acquisitions if that were the case. But, the quality can also decrease. A tool gets acquired and the cost goes up, but there’s no change in quality.”

“Or worse: when they shut the product down, which happens all the time in Silicon Valley,” adds Brandt. “And we’ve been very fortunate in the event universe that hasn’t happened yet. But again, with downward pressure from investors, these things can start to happen in our world as well.”

Stay tuned for more episodes and keep up to date with everything that transpires in the ever-evolving event tech world – mergers and acquisitions included!

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Just two years ago, a hybrid event was nearly synonymous with a live-streamed in-person event. Most planners didn’t even hear of them prior to 2020! But today, this perfect blend of face-to-face and digital experiences is considered one of the biggest event trends in 2022.

A ‘hybrid event’ is quite an umbrella term. Depending on the venue and the size of in-person and virtual audiences, these experiences can take many forms. In our e-book, The Road To Hybrid: A Guide To Models, Method & Mindset, we’ve divided them into four groups, also known as hybrid event models, and considered their characteristics. Choosing one over the other will depend on your event’s goals and your overall event strategy.

Today, we’ll dive deep into the reasons why you should produce your hybrid event in a studio. We call such an event ‘the Star’. This venue can host a smaller amount of attendees (typically 10-50) who enjoy a VIP, behind-the-scenes experience. The rest of the audience tunes in virtually. Hybrid event studios are perfect for product launches, educational and entertaining sessions, marketing purposes, times of uncertainty, and much more!

Hybrid Event Studios Offer High Production Value No other hybrid event model comes close to the Star as far as the production quality is concerned. And production matters! For the last two years, virtual audience expectations have been consistently rising. Once a virtual attendee feels bored and stops watching the live stream, there’s very little you can do to bring them back. The best you can do is produce an event that attendees will want to watch until the end. For inspiration, think of Apple Special Events.

High production value will enhance the viewing experience for your virtual attendees. We’ve talked about all the AV equipment you’ll need in our blog post about hybrid event production. Here’s the gist of it: you can play with various camera angles, crane shots, enhanced lighting, and exciting backdrops.

Virtual sets and LED walls are often the focal points of a hybrid event studio. You can have your speakers present against any kind of backdrop you can think of. Match the background with your branding colors, show off amazing graphics, or have your presenters speak to your audience from space – even the sky is not the limit!

Offer Studio-Produced Content On-Demand As we’ve established so far, studio-produced events are some real eye candy. They’re much more interesting and entertaining to watch than Zoom webinars or live streams from hotel ballrooms. Therefore, they are great for repurposing! Repurposing event content is nothing new in the events industry, but it’s only become more common since the boom of virtual events. Additionally, streaming services have changed the ways we consume content. Everything needs to be on-demand, and that includes your event content.

Not only can you use live session recordings and make them available to your community through your chosen event platform, but you can also pre-record content in a hybrid event studio. Both pre-recorded and live come with their own set of pros and cons; choosing one over the other depends on your goals and objectives. If you want to produce some evergreen content, it’s best you book a hybrid event studio.

COVID-19 Compliance: Lower Budget & Liability As far as venues are concerned, a hybrid event studio is currently the safest and cheapest way to implement COVID-19 compliance. Mostly because of the limited number of in-person attendees, but also because there’s not as much onsite staff necessary to produce it.

Event planners who want to reduce the risk of liability related to COVID-19 should consider moving their hybrid event into a studio. And by doing so, they also save money on their COVID-19 compliance package.

Hybrid Event Studio Gives You Pivot-Friendly Flexibility The COVID-19 pandemic has made long-term event planning much more difficult, especially in-person events. If there’s anything we’ve recently learned from strategizing in times of Omicron, it’s that we can never know when mass cancellations might hit – again.

Producing your hybrid event in a studio is a safe bet in these uncertain times. As discussed above, the in-person audience is small and there’s less onsite staff necessary to execute it. If event planners are forced to pivot to virtual at the very last minute, it’s easiest to do so with this particular hybrid event model.

Virtual Audience Engagement Galore Virtual audience engagement remains one of the biggest pain points for hybrid and virtual event planners. While it’s definitely not an easy task to alleviate them, a hybrid event studio offers fantastic solutions for higher engagement. Virtual attendees often feel like the forgotten, second-class audience. However, that doesn’t need to be the case. In a hybrid event studio, you can bring them up to that LED screen, show polling results, results of gamified challenges, and much more.

To see the possibilities for virtual audience engagement in a hybrid event studio, check out what Sparkup and other audience response systems can do for your attendees.

Conclusive Thoughts Each hybrid event model comes with its own set of considerations, perks, and limitations. The Star, which is typically produced in a studio, can host a limited number of in-person attendees and makes for a spectacular show for the virtual audience. Event planners who are looking for high-production quality should seriously consider booking a studio, as should those whose event is content-focused. Since there’s very little or no in-person audience, planners don’t need to worry so much about COVID-19 compliance and can easily pivot to a virtual model.

Of course, event planners don’t need to do all of this on their own. Having a reliable partner who’ll help with strategy, production, and event management is key to long-term success. The Endless Events team has produced all kinds of hybrid events, and we know hybrid event studios inside and out. So if you’re looking for a partner, reach out! We are here to help.

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A new year is upon us! Now that the celebratory dust has settled, it’s a great time to check out 2022 event trends. New year, new challenges; how will the pandemic effect the events industry in 2022? Can we solve the audience engagement challenge once and for all? What’s the best way to plan hybrid events? What technology solutions should we pay attention to? These topics present some of the biggest pain points for event planners.

We’ll touch upon all of these questions as well as exciting innovations. Our 22 event trends guide is based on our own extensive research and the knowledge of event professionals hosted on our podcasts. Both a novice planner as well as a seasoned veteran will undoubtedly find some value in this e-book. Download your free copy and see what we have to say about the year ahead of us!

2022 Event Trends Guide: What You’ll Find The 2022 event trends guide covers nearly all aspects of the events industry: event technology, production, strategy, and more. We start with a general note on the pandemic and COVID-19 compliance and work trends. We continue with trends for in-person events and dedicate a large portion of the e-book to hybrid events in 2022. Additionally, we offer our insights on the event strategy of the future and suggest the 365 community model as a sure way to succeed in 2022 and beyond.

The New Normal & COVID-19 Compliance No 2022 event trends guide is complete without a note on the pandemic. If there’s anything we’ve learned in the last two years, it’s that the only certain thing about the new normal is the uncertainty itself. This year, we’re refraining from making guesses about the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, we focus on what we have control over: COVID-19 compliance at events.

COVID-19 compliance was a huge topic in 2021, and it will continue to be the backbone of event safety moving forward. New protocols, such as health screenings, are supported by new event technology solutions, such as CrowdPass.

Working In The Events Industry In 2022 Before we tackle 2022 event trends themselves, we also dedicate a chapter to all of us who work in the events industry – 2022 work trends, if you will. After all, our events are only as good as the event profs who work in the events industry. The pandemic set in motion a workplace revolution. The three trends that most shaped our industry in 2021 and will continue to do so in 2022 are the Great Resignation, investments in event tech giants and acquisitions, and remote work.

• The Great Resignation. The events industry is among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many got laid off and sought work elsewhere. Additionally, workers started resigning, causing a labor shortage (or as we call it, a compensation crisis). Many event profs went where the money is: in the event tech industry.
• Event Tech Investments & Acquisitions. In 2021, we saw huge investments in event platforms as well as many notable acquisitions. Undoubtedly, there are more to come in 2022.
• Remote Work. Remote work is here to stay. Companies will increasingly focus on cyber hygiene, cyber security, and employee wellbeing. Work software and virtual meetings will keep on thriving.

In-Person Events: Smaller & Local For The Win 2022 event trends as they relate to in-person events. Aside from large-scale, industry events, we predict that in-person events in 2022 will be more localized and smaller. Ballrooms and hotel catering will give way to independent, more unique venues and local restaurants. That way, your attendees will have more autonomy in choosing the ways they want to spend their time.

The Biggest 2022 Event Trend: Hybrid Events We’ve been saying this for a while now: hybrid events are the way of the future. Undoubtedly, they’re the 2022 event trend that holds the most promise and potential. The guide explains just how creative event planners can get with this event model and how to blur the boundaries between the in-person and the virtual audiences.

• Why Hybrid. We outline four reasons why we believe hybrid events are THE 2022 event trend to look out for: sustainability, global reach, diversity and inclusivity, and flexibility.
• Hybrid Models For 2022. Hybrid events come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. We put a spotlight on two hybrid event models: the Satellite model and the Star model (best executed in a hybrid event studio).

Event Strategy & Event Technology The new year is the perfect time to rehash your pre-existing event strategy and the way we approach budgeting. Namely, event planners are advised to make event technology the centerpiece of their event strategy moving forward. From identifying your event goals to measuring success with KPIs, we explain what role event platforms play in the event strategy of 2022.

With that in mind, we bring the reader’s attention to two 2022 event trends that forward-thinking and experienced event planners have surely already heard of. We believe the community model and choose-your-own-adventure style of engagement are a sure way to success.

• The 365 Community Model. Nurture your community on your chosen event platform with on-demand content, networking opportunities, and much more. Community marketing is by no means anything new, but it’s only now starting to revolutionize the events industry.
• Audience Engagement: Choose Your Own Adventure. Audience engagement remains one of the biggest concerns for event planners. Giving your attendees enough autonomy so they can decide how they want to participate in your event is key!

Conclusive Thoughts Those who’ve been consistently following event trends year after year will see that this year’s event trends are much like last year’s. It’s not the trends that have changed – it’s mostly our attitude towards them. While we can never be fully certain what the future holds these days, we have also learned a thing or two about managing the unknown in the past two years.

We might be faced with some limitations or restrictions within which we have to operate, but with the right event technology and creativity on our side, we can nonetheless create impactful experiences – be it virtually, in-person, or a little bit of both.

We hope our 2022 event trends guide will help many event planners, both beginners and veterans, plan events and build communities. After all, aren’t events all about people and human connection? So, download your free copy today – and happy planning!

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It’s been nearly two years since event planners first witnessed mass event cancelations and scrambled to plan virtual events. Since then, we have seen the landscape of the events industry change dramatically. But just as we thought that we were getting through the worst of the pandemic-related uncertainty, the Omicron variant came and took over the world. While it’s great at offering safety guidelines, the CDC FAQ for event planners doesn’t really give any advice about our overarching event strategies!

Event planners essentially have three options: to cancel, to postpone, or to pivot. But how to choose? Since event planning during COVID is one of event planners’ top concerns right now, we’ve decided to dive into proactive event strategies to best handle the current situation. We’ve brought on an expert on all things event strategy: Keaton Watson, the Principal Relationship Architect at Endless Events!

Keaton is going on his ninth year in the events industry. He’s worked in hotels in Dallas, Cleveland, Florida, and joined the Endless Events team a year ago. He firmly believes that event technology should be at the core of any event strategy in this day and age. Make sure to tune in to find out how to strategize in times of uncertainty and how implementing event platforms can make last-minute pivots a bit easier to navigate.

Event Planning During COVID: Initial Considerations Now that we know Keaton better, it’s time to pick his brains. Let’s talk about event planning during COVID! Karmen asks: “What should event planners consider before simply canceling their events and waiting it out? Since you talk a lot to clients, what are some common reactions to the current situation?”

Keaton starts with the good news. “We’re much more prepared to deal with the pandemic now than we were two years ago. We can take what we’ve learned during this time to alter our approach. What we’re seeing now is an inclination to postpone an event rather than cancel it.”

However, some things are different this time around – our attitude towards virtual events. “The idea of potentially pivoting to a fully virtual solution is not the most attractive thing for a lot of customers and meeting planners, mainly because we see a lot more virtual burnout now. People are itching to get back to in-person events.”

Combating Virtual Fatigue “How could we potentially beat Zoom fatigue? How do we make attendees a little bit more engaged? Certain age groups are more prone to enjoy virtual event platforms and not having to go to events, while others prefer in-person events,” says Karmen.

“Different organizations have different demographics in their attendee base,” agrees Keaton. “They need to come up with a solution that fits that group rather than use a blanket solution. The number one resource that you need to have on hand is the statistics regarding the demographics of your attendee base. For instance, if you’re an association that has an older attendee base, virtual attendee engagement is tough for a lot of reasons. There are barriers around technology and user interface. It’s a bit easier to engage younger folks.”

Pivoting To Virtual: Don’t Copy & Paste! Speaking of pivoting to virtual events, planners can’t simply copy the in-person event’s schedule and paste it into a virtual model. “Your three-day program would generally last all day and into the evening hours with social activities. Well, that’s not a very feasible model for virtual events,” says Keaton. “So those three-day programs would probably move to a five or even multi-week format with half days. We think the cap for maintaining engagement through virtual meetings is around three to five hours.”

“We also know that the gamification that has developed over the last two years may not necessarily be up to par with what’s demanded now,” he adds. “I’ve recently had a conversation about gamification with a customer. The solutions were not strategic enough; people figured out how to game those systems to just get their points and get out. That’s obviously not in the spirit of what we want to accomplish.”

Event Planning During COVID: To Postpone Or To Pivot? When strategizing Omicron, it’s hard to decide between postponing events and pivoting to virtual or hybrid models. Karmen wants to know what are the consequences for organizations that will postpone their events.

“The most obvious consequence of postponing your event is that you’re not going to be able to achieve the goals that you have for that event right away,” replies Keaton. “So if your goals are oriented around a timeline, then not having that event is probably hugely detrimental to your ability to meet those goals. If you can do the meeting safely in person and still achieve your goals, obviously that’s the most preferred solution. However, you have other options too. You can pivot to a completely virtual and limit your liability to zero.”

As we all know by now, it’s not either in-person or virtual; hybrid is a spectrum. “Hybrid is the way of the future,” says Keaton. “There’s a lot of advantages to a hybrid meeting, or at least transitioning to a hybrid model rather than a fully virtual model. Firstly, you keep the reach of a virtual event. Accessibility and inclusivity is the strongest thing virtual has going for it. Secondly, you also limit your liability and still have the right people attending your event in person. The hybrid model also opens up the possibility of doing interesting, nontraditional venues. If you’re only putting 25 people in a room, you don’t necessarily need to be in a hotel. You can reimagine your event and make it fun, new, and fresh.”

A Strategy Session In Times Of The Pandemic Karmen is wondering if Keaton has any advice for event planners in such a time of uncertainty. In his opinion, now’s the perfect time for experimentation and collaborating with an event partner. “Go back to the drawing board on your event strategy. Lean on the experience of your long-term event partner to help facilitate your vision for the future.”

Karmen wants to get more specific. “Could you just give us a rundown of what a quality strategy session could look like in this space?”

“A great strategy session is going to focus on a few things. Primarily speaking, you need to have a deep understanding of what are the goals of your event, which is not talked about enough in the process. Traditionally, the ideation takes place around an event that has happened in the past. When you come to an event partner later down the line, you already have a set vision in mind. You’re looking to replicate what’s worked in the past. So you’re not necessarily thinking about whether this event will still achieve your goals or the goals of your organization,” he explains.

“A great strategy partner will ask you those questions and won’t let you get away with saying ‘we’re not too worried about the goals’. Once you’ve established them, then you can move forward with what’s the best way to facilitate that. What kind of analytics do we need to see to make sure that we’re measuring the ROI and achieving your goals? And from there, you can organically figure out which event model works best for you and what platform partner can best help you facilitate those things.”

Event Strategy Of The Future: 365 Community Model! Speaking of great strategizing practices, Keaton wants to talk about one of the hottest event trends of 2022: the 365 community model. Event Planning during COVID would be a lot easier with a loyal community to fall back on. However, planners are not familiar with it yet.

“The community model is challenging for event planners to fit into a budget because we’re very used to allocating budgets to one single event at a time,” explains Keaton. “If I have four or five events over the course of the year, each of those events has a separate budget. But if you’re able to break out of that model and borrow from each budget, you can make a community investment into a platform. That way, you’re setting yourself up for success in the long term, because you are eliminating some of the challenges that you encounter when you start moving to a hybrid or a virtual model.”

What are the perks? “The 365 community model allows you to engage your attendees outside the bounds of the event date. You can use this powerful tool for marketing, sending out mailers to your attendees, making a change in the schedule without worrying about the lag time.

An event becomes a culmination of experiences that have been set up six months before. You can inform your attendees about your event and generate excitement inside that platform community. But it’s just tough to get there because many event planners can’t break out of the traditional budgetary mindset around events to be able to facilitate a year-long solution,” he concludes.

Strategizing Omicron: What’s The Timeline? Last but not least, Karmen wants Keaton to give the listeners a rundown on event timelines. What’s an ideal timeline that leaves room for pivoting if necessary?

“The sooner the better. If you’re going from in-person to virtual, you need at least six weeks – that’s the bare minimum,” says Keaton. The math checks out: 65% of marketers need more than 6 weeks to promote the event and drive the desired amount of registrations for large virtual conferences, according to Markletic. Let alone pivot! “If you’re pivoting from a hybrid to a virtual meeting, then that is a lot easier. We would still want six weeks, though. It’s a bit more flexible because you’re already doing some of the pre-work to set up a platform.

But if you’ve implemented a 365 community model, the pivot is even easier. “You’re still delivering on-demand content and recordings through your platform. And if you have the community set up already, the pivot from fully in-person to virtual is actually easier because you already have that working relationship with the platform. You can host that meeting virtually on a dime. All your branding and graphics are already on the platform. All those assets already exist within the platform, and you can reuse them to facilitate a virtual event pretty easily.”

Conclusive Thoughts That’s a wrap on the very first episode of #EventIcons in 2022! Hopefully, this conversation with Keaton encouraged you to face new challenges with more confidence. Also, consider looking into that 365 community model – the early bird gets the worm! If you liked this episode, subscribe and stay tuned for more awesome guests and their insights.

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In one of our recent blog posts, we explained why event technology should be the building block of your event strategy. Not just because innovative data science helps us understand our attendees better, but because we can, thanks to technology and event platforms, stay connected with our attendees, sponsors, and vendors throughout the entire year. We’re talking about the community model: one of the most exciting event trends of 2022!

Perhaps the events industry and event marketing used to be mostly concerned with big, one-off in-person events, but that’s no longer how the world functions. The pandemic ushered in changes that many event planners are still getting adjusted to, such as the normalization of virtual events, futuristic event technology, and new ways of delivering content.

The community model sits at the intersection of these changes. No wonder it is one of the biggest event trends to keep an eye on in 2022! Community marketing, in general, has been around for ages, though, and those who have harnessed its power have enjoyed high rewards.

What Is Community Marketing? As the name suggests, community marketing means creating a community around your brand. It’s a well-known fact that people express their identities through products they purchase and, even more importantly, communities they belong to. Because community marketing doesn’t rely on tactics of persuasion, but rather on a sense of belonging, it is one of the most effective marketing strategies.

Community marketing connects like-minded people and gives them a space where they can discuss ideas, learn, network, and give you feedback about your products – all year around. This in turn fosters loyalty and transparency. By giving your customers an active voice, you know what they expect from your brand and communicate directly with them. Not only are your customers happier; community marketing also gives you deeper insight into your ideal customer profile, which in turn can help you scale your business.

Naturally, the community needs a (typically virtual) space within which it operates. Depending on your customers’ demographics, that can be Facebook groups, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms, forums, Slack channels, and virtual event platforms. Since members of your community can access that platform all year round, this phenomenon recently became quite the buzzword in the events industry as a community model or community engagement.

Community Model: The Perfect Synergy Of Content & People It’s no wonder we talk about 365 community engagement (rather than community marketing) in the events industry; ever since the pandemic started nearly two years ago, event planners started worrying about virtual audiences and the levels of their engagement with a burning passion. Despite all the lessons learned, it still remains one of the most talked-about topics in the industry and one of the top concerns when it comes to virtual and hybrid events.

With in-person events and the magic of serendipitous conversations out of the equation, the focus fell nearly solely on content to save the events industry. The events industry started learning what YouTube creators have known for years now. Virtual content had to be delivered in a certain way; bite-sized pieces of information go further than death by PowerPoint, and so does high-quality production!

But while event profs perfected the art of virtual production, they never forgot the most important thing: events are not (just) about the content – it’s all about the attendees and human connections. And so, the community model is the perfect union of the two: the people and the content.

Communities Live On Event Platforms And where does this happily married duo live? On event platforms, of course! Event platforms are the go-to place for people to register, get to know one another, and engage with virtual content, such as webinars, pre-recorded sessions, podcasts, and virtual or hybrid events. Events are no longer the sole purpose why people use the event platform. They still have an important function, though: they bring your community together and draw new members in.

Kyle Kocinski, Endless’ head of implementation, summed up the perks of the community model in a recent Event Tech Podcast episode. “Bringing your events into a community allows for your attendees, sponsors, or vendors to play a bigger storyline in your overall event strategy. They can see why they’re a part of your event. You’re not just having them come to a one-off event. You’re having them come back, ask questions, and contribute to ideas for content. Your attendees are now playing a role in the story rather than just watching it.”

It’s crucial members find value in a 365 community model, otherwise, the community will soon start losing followers and eventually fall apart. You need to know your community well: understand what kind of content they want to see and why they joined your community market in the first place.

Community Model: Conclusive Thoughts The 365 community model allows you to keep your attendees engaged at all times. While they wait for your next event, they can enjoy webinars, check out upcoming and past events, and meet other members in organic ways. This trend is surely going to explode in the upcoming months and years. Event platforms are already offering annual subscriptions and event planners are looking for effective ways to keep their attendees connected in times of uncertainty.

If you’re curious to see how Endless Events does it, check out our community! And if you’ve got any questions about the community model or event technology, production, and strategy in general, do not hesitate to reach out. As always, the Einsteins of Events are here to help.

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New year, new Event Brew episodes! We’re kicking off the year in Thuy and Will’s company – Dustin and Nick had to take a raincheck. Excited for the year ahead, they talk about business strategy for events and planning in these uncertain times.

They talk about what event strategy means to them, who is involved in the decision-making process, and share how they go about creating a business strategy at their own respective workplaces. So, brew something up, sit back, and join Thuy and Will in a brand new season of Event Brew!

Let’s Talk Business Strategy! Will and Thuy get right down to business – literally. “When it comes to business strategy, what’s the first tip that you have for people who want to be more strategic with events? Those who don’t want to just plan and design them.”

“What I think is extremely important is asking the right questions,” says Thuy. “Instead of going from quarter to quarter, we’re taking a step back. Say you’re planning four virtual events, always the same audience. Let’s ask what is the purpose of the events we are planning? How do you want your audience to feel? Let’s get that bigger picture down. We’re working smarter in that sense. Also, you need to be able to communicate with everyone that’s involved in that strategy.”

“Building a strategy for internal events is the easiest,” adds Will. “You probably have a parent organization that has objectives and you have to just look at those. So for example, in the quarterly meeting, you might think that the point is to just align everybody and bring the vision together, but let’s start thinking deeper. If you buy a company or you’re trying to double revenue, how can you use your event to do that?”

“There are so many times when we’re having conversations with vendors and they’re not strategic enough. No one cares to do basic Google research and have a great conversation about it. I get it. Sometimes, it’s really hard for a sales rep to research every single person, but let’s really elevate that conversation so we can get to that next level as well,” he concludes.

Business Strategy In Times Of Uncertainty Moving on, Will has a question for Thuy about strategizing.”Here’s a controversial question for you, Thuy. We’re in 2022, things are a bit crazy. A lot of people are probably wondering how to build an event strategy when we can’t be certain what the year will bring. What do you have to say to those people?”

“Do your own research. I’m sure you have tons of resources, tools, and fellow colleagues,” says Thuy. “And this is why it’s really important to be involved in our industry – you can reach out to your network. And secondly, a lot of us think that the timing has to be perfect. Even if you’re unsure, just take action on it. Get that feedback, either from your internal team, your colleagues from the industry, even your supplier partners. I tell my supplier partners all the time: you’re the expert in your field. I trust you.”

Then, Thuy wants to know what Will has to say about times of uncertainty. “What about you, Will? What do you have to say to those who don’t know how to get started?”

“Uncertainty doesn’t mean that you can’t make a decision and move forward with something. But the worst thing you can do is stick your head in the sand and wait without making any decisions,” says Will. “Strategy is about being unique and coming up with creative ideas, trying to figure out what’s the big, bold thing we’re going to do to take this to the next level. However, strategy is also deciding what you’re going to do and focusing on it.”

May Teambuilding Inspire You Thuy says that teambuilding activities work similarly. “The ones that actually win escape rooms are not the ones that just jet off. It’s the groups that look at all the options and plan. We have to all agree on something and then go forth with it. If there are setbacks, you adjust. And then, the glorious thing about it all is keeping it consistent. That’s just how habits work, even when you’re planning your personal 2022 objectives, new year’s resolutions.”

Sharing Is Caring “Don’t hesitate to share the strategy,” says Will. “I struggle with this with my leadership team sometimes. Sometimes, I want to share the strategy with the larger company. As much as we try to come together with a full plan, you sometimes need to get exposure to other people because they’re gonna pick at it and give you different ideas. And sometimes, you’re not aware of what those are until you just talk through them.”

“Communicate the strategy as a goal of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Thuy agrees. “Put it everywhere you can. The more you can create a theme, the more that you communicate, and the more that you say it over and over, the better.”

Business Strategy For Events: What’s Your Plan? Hopefully, Thuy and Will managed to inspire you to get organized and start planning for the year ahead. But before they sign off, they pose a few questions to the audience.

“What are you doing to enhance your strategies for the next year? How do you plan at the beginning of the year? Do you have a holistic approach across the entire year?”

Reach out to us and let us know!

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Can you believe it? It’s 2022! And what better way to kick off a new year than with an event tech predictions episode? As our most loyal listeners know, Will and Brandt love to make educated guesses about the events industry. From evaluating what Starlink might mean for the events industry to brainstorming about facial recognition technology, they never shy away from having a heated discussion about the future.

Will and Brandt are joined by a regular guest on the Event Tech Podcast: Endless’ very own Kyle Kocinski. As the mastermind behind the top 22 event platforms to use in 2022, he has a great grasp of where things are going in the ever-evolving world of event technology. Get excited: this episode is a bit longer than usual!

Event Tech Predictions For 2022: A Note On The Pandemic Before they dive deep into event tech predictions for 2022, they need to get the issue of the pandemic out of the way. “Both the pandemic and the environment need you to continue with a virtual format,” says Kyle. “Maybe scale your in-person event and make it smaller. It’s all about bringing the event to more of your attendees, to those who are unable or unwilling to travel. It’s all about bringing more people together without as much risk.”

“I agree,” says Will. “The virtual-first mantra is going to continue. The uncertainty is real. If I wrote my event trends guide in like November, I would not have guessed that CES would not have happened this year, for example.”

Brandt lays down the facts. “If you choose to go forward with a fully in-person event, you need to understand that you might have to cancel your event. Your options are fully in-person (but be prepared to cancel it or push it out), a hybrid event, or a fully digital event.”

“People who already have three shots are still getting infected. And that’s the scary part,” adds Kyle. “After two years of the pandemic, there’s still no real definition of a super spreader event. Is that a certain percentage of who get infected at your event? Is that spreading from beyond those who attend your event to their actual communities where they live?”

Tracking Apps & Chat Bots Now that they’ve addressed the pandemic, the event tech trio can talk about what they came to discuss: event tech predictions for 2022. Brandt goes first. “We’re going to continue to see a growth market in tracking apps. How do we collect vaccination and testing information?”

Indirectly connected to tracking apps is the resurgence of event bots. “We’ll see them both at in-person and online events,” says Brandt. “Just because we’re not going to be there in person, that doesn’t mean that little chat box isn’t going to be just as helpful.”

Data Privacy & Community Will’s first event tech prediction for 2022 is enhanced data privacy. “We’ve been talking about data privacy for several years now. But now, with what’s going on with Facebook, people for the first time don’t want a company to ruin their data. They don’t want someone tracking everything about them. This idea of private data management is coming to the public discourse, and we’ve always wanted that as tech nerds and private-centric people.”

“Everyone’s boycotting Facebook now,” he continues. “And one of the biggest components of Facebook is Facebook groups. People want to come together around niche topics and have these conversations. Well, there’s a great opportunity for communities to come in.”

Before he lets Kyle take the wheel and talk more about the community model, Will explains how event tech platforms are changing their business model. “So many event tech companies and event tech platforms have grown so much that they’ve gained the attention of venture capital firms. And those companies want recurring, guaranteed revenue. If your entire client base is based on people who have an event in six months, but might disappear and never come back, you’re not exactly the Netflix or the Disney+ that’s constantly bringing money in. So what these event platforms are starting to do is offer annual subscriptions. What they’ll do instead is change their platforms to be community platforms.”

The Biggest Event Tech Prediction For 2022 Is Community This brings us to the next event tech prediction for 2022: 365 community model. “Bringing your events into a community allows for all of your attendees, sponsors, or vendors to play a bigger storyline in your overall event strategy. They can see why they’re a part of your event. You’re not just having them come to a one-off event. You’re having them come back, ask questions, and contribute to ideas for content. Your attendees are now playing a role in the story rather than just watching it.”

“Alex Lindsay’s Office Hours is a perfect example of this trend,” agrees Brandt. And it’s not all that complicated. “All they’re using are Zoom and Discord. These are not incredibly expensive things, but the community that they’re putting together there is the cream of the crop of media production and live streaming. Everybody’s learning from everybody.”

“This idea of community fits so many different things that we’ve been talking about for the last two years. Audience engagement, too, is all about community,” Brandt adds. “It’s about making people feel like a part of an event rather than having to sit there and listen to a PowerPoint presentation.”

Shorter Sessions For The Win! “We’re so used to being talked to. One of the predictions for 2022 I see is making the sessions shorter – whether you’re choosing a community format, virtual-only, or in-person only,” adds Kyle. “Even if you don’t have the money to make your creative look like Apple’s keynotes presentations, you can still make high-quality content. Bring in key speakers and showcase the attendees’ questions that they have in a format that we’ve been so used to with virtual.”

“Don’t just do it for the sake of doing it, though,” warns Brandt. “You have to give your community real value.”

Kyle suggests a clever way to get your community going. “An entryway to get your attendees to join your community is bundling this 365 community with whatever event ticket is being purchased the most. Add some value to that one ticket price. They’re now getting a value where they can now continue the conversation year-round. And they’re getting all this value, but just paying it upfront.”

Event Tech Predictions For 2022: More Acquisitions! What started in the events industry of 2021 is going to continue this year. “In 2022, we’re going to see an acceleration of mergers and acquisitions,” says Brandt. “There’s so much money now in the event space. More and more companies are going to try and rival Cvent as the one-stop shop. I think there will be four or five players that are the one-stop shop and that is going to happen in 2022.”

He shares a personal favorite merger. “The one acquisition that I’m like actually really excited about is Zoom purchasing Liminal. Liminal is a small company that created a couple of programs that just dive deep into the API. Zoom has brought them into the engineering team on the events side. That tells me they’re paying attention to production.”

Let’s Not Forget About NFTs & Health! After talking some more about the Metaverse (it’s not going to explode in 2022 just yet) and VR (event planners have to at least try it out this year), the Event Tech Podcast crew starts running out of time.

Kyle mentions one final prediction. This trend is happening in sports already and it’s bound to move to corporate meeting space, too. “The Jacksonville Jaguars just announced that with each purchased game ticket, the attendee will receive a commemorative ticket as an NFT to the game. I think that’s fascinating. Planners are rarely sending out swag or actual tangible items at virtual events. Incorporating collectibles, such as an NFT, enables you to collect and show how many years have you been attending this conference.”

And last but not least, Brandt mentions wellness in events, “both mental and physical”. “As we continue to come out of this thing, I think a lot more folks are paying attention to health. I’m going to call that a continued trend, if not a renewed interest.”

As the year goes by, Will and Brandt will undoubtedly return to these 2022 predictions and see just how right or wrong they were at the time of the recording of the episode. If you think they’ve forgotten about any groundbreaking event tech trends, reach out to them via email or social – they’ll be glad to hear what you think!

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The Event Brew is back after a well-deserved holiday break! Inspired by their time off, the Brew Crew will talk about taking a break as an event professional. Will, Dustin, and Thuy know all about staying productive all year round and have all experienced event-industry-related burnout in the past. But as they matured, they learned their ways to work around it. In this episode, they share their tips to stay energized when the going gets tough.

They also share how they spent their time off in December and what they like to do while vacationing. Brew something up, press play, and get to know the Brew Crew on a more personal level!

Taking A Break As An Event Professional, Thuy Style Dustin asks Thuy to tell the Event Brew listeners what does she do to get herself energized. What is she doing to get ready for yet another year of whatever the events industry has in store for us in 2022?

Experienced and therefore more confident, Thuy knows how to maintain that precious work-life balance. “Coming back from IMEX 2021, I truly feel like a veteran, doing things so I don’t burn out again. It’s inevitable that we are all working, so I force myself to do all kinds of things. For example, I live 500 feet from Venice Beach and sometimes I force myself to go and see the sunset. It might sound like I’m not grateful, but well, sometimes I’m not. Sometimes, I’m just really busy or want to be productive.”

“When I want a break from doing work, I don’t want to plan anything,” adds Will. “I don’t want to be in charge of anything. I want other people to do everything.”

Learning Can Count As A Break Too! Meanwhile, Dustin has been traversing Canada with his car. “I’ve been on the road a ton, driving from these small communities in Northern Alberta. So I’ve spent so much time in my car, crushing a ton of audibles. I’ve been flying through them. I’m always curious and I always want to learn. I even find that when I’m learning, it still feels like a break to me. I should probably learn to turn things off completely and learn to live in a little bit of silence, though. There’s just something always in my ears and I think that that has really made it harder for me to focus. So I’m going to try meditation.”

“I found that my entire audible library was just business books, books on creativity and on finance,” he adds. “However, I stopped downloading those and I buy those in real life. What I’ve been listening to instead are a lot of books about residential schools, indigenous culture, and race issues – conversations that are going on in Canada right now and are truly important.”

The Most Wonderful & Stressful Time Of The Year Next up, the Brew Crew talks about the holiday season. Not only is it the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s also the most stressful for many. Traveling, gift shopping, family visits … It doesn’t exactly sound like taking a break! Will and Dustin don’t have many obligations with their families, so they truly get to unwind in December.

“I don’t have a big tour of families to go see and all the pressure that comes with that. Once the last holiday party of the year is done, I can completely check out. I often think of those in our industry who have kids and traditions – it’s the end of the year, but it just never seems to stop,” explains Dustin.

Will and his family simply move Christmas celebrations to when it best suits them. “Four or five years ago, we did an event on Christmas itself,” says Will. “So I couldn’t be home for Christmas with my family. And then that forced our family to do it afterward. The next year I traveled, so I was gone for it again and we had to do it at a random time. And honestly, that was one of the best decisions we made to make the holidays less stressful.”

Tips For Taking A Break As An Event Professional Thuy did a little research to see what other event profs do when taking a break. “I made an Instagram post about taking a break as an event professional, asking event profs what are they doing to unwind. Someone said that they set healthy boundaries. I talked about that in the last podcast: when we’re constantly exhaling, we forget to inhale. And that’s not selfish. If anything, it is selfless. And then of course staying hydrated and doing your workouts. Burnouts happen when you start thinking of your tasks as a burden. Especially with the creative ones – you can’t force creativity. Put that energy towards something else.”

As for vacationing, Thuy admits that she doesn’t do much while taking some time off. “I went to Hawaii with seven friends who are not in the event industry. They were asking ‘what are we going to do?’ and I said I’m not doing anything. I’m sitting on the beach with two drinks in my hands at all times. But at the same time, I love designing experiences for my friends so life for me doesn’t become only work. I love getting into that state of exploring because that also helps refuel you.”

As is often the case, Will chimes in with a book recommendation. “There’s a really good book called ‘Bored and Brilliant’. and they back this up with science. Right now, we’re surrounded by so many devices. Our brains are constantly occupied by something else that doesn’t allow for the boredom that creates the brilliance.”

Event Profs, Taking A Break Matters! As event professionals, we work best when we’re well-rested and inspired. “It’s one thing to just check things off a list, but it’s another thing if you want to dream big, be innovative and push our industry forward,” says Thuy. “That’s not going to happen when you are on the verge of mental breakdowns. As a client, I would love for my supplier partners to be in a great state of mind, to not be overworked. When we’re in need of a break, we’re not getting each other at our best.”

Hopefully, 2022 will be full of creativity, inspiration, and play for all event profs out there. And remember: when you feel that burnout creeping in, take a few deep breaths, go see the sunset, listen to your favorite podcast, or simply do nothing for a little while. If it works for the Brew Crew, it just might work for you too!

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It’s almost 2022! By now, most of us have attended more virtual events than we can count and gotten used to the concept of remote work. While successfully joining a Zoom call used to be considered a success in itself, we are slowly, but surely, raising our standards around presenting ourselves on cameras. Brandt and Will have covered this topic in the past: they’ve talked extensively about setting up great backdrops and getting your audio in order. Today, they go into the nitty-gritty and focus solely on the art of maintaining eye contact with the camera.

They don’t lose much energy explaining why eye contact matters. It’s pretty straightforward: eye contact makes us feel connected and engaged. They go over simple solutions for improving the way we interact with the camera. Some will cost you absolutely nothing, while others can be bought for a reasonable amount of money. For the very last time in 2021, here is the Event Tech Podcast!

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Introducing The Power Of Eye Contact Will thinks that there’s no need to explain why making eye contact with the camera is so crucial. “We all know that it’s important to make eye contact with the camera when we’re in meetings or making a video recording. Ellis, our Chief of Equation Equilibrium, always emphasizes human connection and eye contact. It’s one of the simplest ways to increase your virtual audience engagement,” says Will.

Brandt cannot wait to let off some steam. “And those who look the worst are people on iPads,” he says. “The camera is all the way over on the left, so it makes people look like they’re staring off into space the whole time that they’re on the call. And then, there’s the famous up-the-nose camera shot.”

“If you’re really engaging and you’re not making eye contact with the camera, you get a little bit of a pass,” adds Will. “However, if you’re reading notes, it’s game over.”

Luckily for all of us, there are many tools and tips out there that can help us make better eye contact with the camera. Let’s start with the free of charge and easiest to implement!

Make Better Eye Contact With The Camera – For Free! The first thing Will suggests is simple – turning the camera off. Sometimes, no eye contact with the camera at all is better than some eye contact. “First, this bothered me, but then I realized that it can be respectful. When someone wanted to focus on their presentation or notes, they hit share on the presentation and turned it into an audio call. Usually, they’ll preface it and explain that the slides are more important than them. It’s better than watching the person staring off into space.”

Some of you might remember the next thing Will suggests. The tech duo has covered this part in an episode about the best virtual speaker kits: lifting your laptop or camera to eye level. “Stack it under a bunch of books or a crate. When we’re thinking out loud, we tend to look up. And that does not look good when your camera is too low. Lifting it allows you to feel like you’re getting more eye contact.”

Brandt suggests minimizing the window with the video call on your laptop. “You don’t need your Zoom window to be full screen. Make it as small as you’re comfortable with and move it close to the camera. Then, your eyes will barely have to dip down in order to look at the screen.

Stare Down That Little Black Dot! “Also, you don’t have to look at people when you’re talking all of the time,” Will adds. “If I’m talking, I look at the camera. It can feel awkward because you’re literally looking at a little black dot. However, it doesn’t matter what it looks like to you or how awkward it is to you. What matters is how good you look on that camera.”

And here’s one for all of those who love to admire their own beauty (or question it) while on a Zoom call. “We tend to be distracted by our own video. You tend to look at yourself when you’re talking. Instead, let’s hide our videos. That way, we can focus on the other person, notice their mood, and make better eye contact with the camera.”

Step 2: Separate The Camera From The Screen The next step in the art of making eye contact with the camera is adding external cameras into the mix. “You can separate the camera from the screen,” Brandt and Will explain.

“Once you go into the realm of the tripod, lots of things become possible,” says Brandt. “In one of my previous setups, I had both my monitor and my camera on a swing arm. So when I wanted to have that look-right-into-the-camera look, I would swing my monitor back and then swing my camera in front of the monitor so that I would be able to have it almost in the center of my monitor.”

Brandt explains just how that external camera can come in handy. “It can be awkward to type on your laptop during an event if you’ve raised it for the camera height. By having a separate camera, you can keep your laptop down on the desk table and still be able to make great eye contact with the camera,” he says.

Before they move on, Will shares another gadget. “Dell recently announced this really cool technology. They’re thinking about the fact that people don’t make eye contact with cameras. It’s a magnetic webcam. Your entire monitor, the screen itself, is also magnetic. So, if I was talking to Brandt on my screen, I can attach the camera right in the middle of his face to establish better eye contact.

Step 3: Teleprompters & Eye Contact With The Camera The next setup is putting a teleprompter in front of your external camera. “It sounds expensive, but it’s not that expensive because they make teleprompters that are meant to hold iPads,” says Brandt. “I’m using Duet Display, a third-party app that’s so far been rock solid. It runs out of my Mac into the iPad, using just a standard lightning cable. It acts as an external monitor.”

Speaking of leveling up your presentation, Will has another idea. “Put the teleprompter with the iPad wirelessly onto a tripod. Now you can go stand on the other side of the room. You put some wireless headphones in and get a good wireless mic. Now you can present without a laptop in front of you, talking to a camera and a teleprompter. You can go talk from your living room or your kitchen.”

Eye Contact With The Camera Matters! “There’s a big trend happening in the smartphone world. It relates to cameras being in the center of screens, under the screen. This isn’t massively popular now, but I bet that in five years, monitors with a webcam in the middle of the screen will have come out. The only problem would be that you cannot move it around. However, I think under-display technology will allow us to continue to make great eye contact with the camera, too.”

And to conclude, Brandt urges the listener to realize just how important making eye contact is. “This is basic presentation stuff. Those presenters at in-person events who aren’t making eye contact with the audience are usually boring. Those presentations are hard to sit through.”

So remember – every once in a while, give that little dot on the top of your screen some extra love and affection. And if you’re really into event technology, up your game by adding an external camera and a teleprompter. See you again for more event tech talk in 2022!

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This week, the #EventIcons podcast comes with a three-day delay, but we’re so excited about this amazing episode that we couldn’t wait any longer to share it with the world! First, let’s get the most exciting part out of the way. Will is joined by a brand new host: the fabulous and inquisitive Karmen Jericevic, AKA the Event Opportunity Creator at Endless Events. Some of you might remember her from the episode we did with the Endless team about managing virtual fatigue. As she constantly talks directly to event planners, she knows exactly how they think, what they want to know, and what their main pain points are. And alongside her bubbly personality, that makes her an exceptional interviewer!

And then, there’s our iconic guest: Ellis Davis, the Chief of Equation Equilibrium at Endless Events. But even though that’s one impressive title, it barely encompasses all that Ellis is and does. He’s this industry’s knowledgeable visionary, a charismatic yoga teacher, and a delightful conversationalist. Make sure to tune in: you’ll leave inspired, informed, and more exuberant than before!

A Journey From Theater To Events In case anyone doesn’t know Ellis yet, Will first asks the icon to introduce himself. How did he end up in the events industry? “What led me to the events industry is theater and a little bit of Hollywood,” he says. “I was a nightclub DJ for a million years. In 1997, I reconsidered what I was doing. Hotel audiovisual seemed like a logical choice given my experience in the theater with lighting and sound. And I began with a very well-known hotel chain in 1997. I haven’t looked back since.”

And what brings him among the Eisteins of Events? “What brought me to Endless Events is just my utter good fortune. My values and vision for our industry aligned so closely with Endless’ core values. So, it became my top priority to join the team.”

Human Connection In Events & Technology Will hands the host’s crown over to Karmen. “As event professionals, we are always trying to keep that human connection in events alive. That’s what events are for: people want to connect,” she says. “Over the course of the years in your career, what are some of the things that you noticed when it comes to human connection in events? How has human connection changed since then?”

Karmen adds that those who are fresh out of college will never experience the events industry as it stood pre-pandemic. “Obviously, in-person events are coming back, but things are a little different now with COVID-19 compliance at events.”

“There’s a really good reason why I chose being on stage,” replies Ellis. “It’s the same reason I teach yoga. I genuinely want to give back to people and give them an opportunity to escape the daily stresses of their lives. As social animals, that human connection is what we all need. I discovered that within the event industry, the exact same need is satisfied. The need is to deliver the benefits of human connection and that’s never going to change.”

However, some things are changing nonetheless. “The change since I began is absolutely dramatic. We began with 35-millimeter projectors and overhead projectors with cute little panels. Then, LCD projectors came along and they had 600 ANSI lumens. Today, 60,000 ANSI lumens are available in the industry. As of the latest, we’re looking at the metaverse: a bigger opportunity for us to meet as close to in-person without actually being in person than we’d ever experienced before.”

Technology: Good In Most Ways, Bad In Others Karmen wants to know whether technology has made the events industry a better place. “It’s gone both ways,” replies Ellis. “It’s definitely gotten more convenient and hyper-real. We’ve got display resolutions now that your human eye can’t even see. You can’t see 8K, but it’s available to you. We’ve gone way above and beyond in terms of technology. The technicians at in-person events are now carrying a dozen adapters in their pockets. Once upon a time, you needed one. It’s also gotten better in terms of pricing.”

However, the events industry has also gotten busier. “One of the key things we try to do is leverage our strength and our experience so we can take away all that busy stuff and just make it easy for event planners,” he adds.

Attendees Are Hungry & Afraid Of Change Karmen talks directly with event planners, so she knows them better than most. “Event planners have such a difficult role. When they come to us, they’re nervous. Things are now completely different than they’ve been for decades before. How do we accomplish that human connection in events with all types of audiences and demographics in mind? You have younger generations who are hungry for changes and virtual experiences. However, we also have generations who are not as open to change. They’re scared of virtual and hybrid,” she says.

An important puzzle piece is the attention span. “One of the things that we’ve identified over the last year and a half with all the technology advances is that remote attendees have a very short attention span – as do most adults,” says Ellis. “As a matter of fact, a goldfish has an attention span of eight seconds and the average adult human has an intention span of seven seconds. So this is what we’re facing nowadays.”

Another challenge is virtual audience engagement. “If you cannot keep your remote attendees engaged for more than three minutes, they’re going to check out and won’t come back. So if you look at surveys within the industry, that is one of the biggest pain points. We like to stay aware of it and advise our clients on ways around it.”

Ellis’ advice is pretty straightforward. “When you’re looking for a production or an event management company, vet them. Have a conversation with them. Most event planners are savvy enough to know when they’re being misled or when they’re dealing with the true professional in the industry.”

Human Connection In Events: Make It Immersive Let’s take a trip down memory lane. “Once upon a time, we funneled people into a meeting room. They would stare tunnel at a screen and hear less than perfect audio. They would sit there captive and listen to every boring moment of it until it was time to go fill out the survey and let everybody know how much they loved or didn’t love the event. Today, we’ve got to engage every single sense. Not just eyes and ears, but everything,” explains Ellis.

What about virtual? Karmen wants to know how can event planners facilitate better connections if they have remote attendees.

“My first tip is two-way communication,” he replies. “There are a couple of really cool algorithms and pieces of software that have been developed over the last year that place the attendees on stage with the keynote speaker in real-time. Additionally, there are all kinds of really cool things being done with robotics nowadays. You can have a robot with a pad as a face circulating through the pre-function space, talking to people. The remote attendee is able to tour the meeting space and actually talk to people. There are all kinds of tools for virtually placing remote attendees and in-person attendees together. And using them is actually quite exciting.”

Not Just Content, Attendees Have Value Too! “One of the concerns that event planners have is that they have less time,” continues Karmen. “Before, when we were fully in-person, they had all day to execute the program. Now they need to know how to split up this program to make the connection powerful, while still keeping attendees engaged. What should event planners think about when they’re thinking about human connection in events while trying to come up with an agenda?”

Ellis proposes a shift in the mindset. “You don’t have a general session, you have a business theater,” he says. “I worked at Disneyland when I was younger and there’s no one better at sensationalizing and turning the mundane into something amazing. Nowadays, because of our short attention span, we need to engage and involve our audiences in every conceivable way. Have everybody stand up and wave their hands around at regular intervals, perhaps every 15-20 minutes. Whatever it is, make it interactive.”

“We tend to focus on content and the execution of the content because that’s what the attendees are paying for,” adds Karmen. “And we have to make their money’s worth. But at the same time, we want to value the attendees, too. It’s not just about making them feel important – they are important. So we owe them in a sense, and that’s how I’m looking at events.”

Human Connection In Events: Challenges Moving Forward Next up, Will asks Ellis a complex question. “When it comes to human connection in events, what is the biggest problem that event professionals need to solve?”

“If we are talking about hybrid events and human connection in a face-to-face environment, then it comes back to the attention span thing,” Ellis replies. “We need to give a lot more attention to attention. We need to focus on opportunities for people to actually engage one another.”

Using the model from 15 years ago in today’s event landscape won’t work. “A pharma event for 3,500 people back then might have had 120 breakouts, a monster general session, and a closing gala,” explains Ellis. “In today’s world, it’s going to be an abbreviated general session, followed by 10 to 15 pods that are all themed out where people that haven’t seen each other in a few years can go gather, have fun, and exchange information. And then another team-building.”

Enough With The ‘Go Back To Normal’ Already! Ellis has another important point to make. “The ‘go back to normal’ mindset drives me out of my mind. There’s no such thing. We’d still live in caves if we wanted to go back to normal! Even if the pandemic was over tomorrow, we’re creating normal in real-time. Now, we have an opportunity to reach a global audience that was never there before. The virtual attendees and the in-person attendees should be getting as close to the same experience as possible. We’re not there yet, but it’s our objective.”

Also, let’s talk about smartphones. “Including people’s smartphones in the event is also a great way to engage either side, the virtual or the in-person. This is part of our future and it’s only going to get better. Technology is set to explode exponentially. If you thought it was crazy over the last 10 years, wait until you see what’s going to happen in the future.”

Final Advice: Don’t Be Afraid To Share Your Budget! Before Karmen and Will let Ellis go, Karmen wants to know one final thing. “Event profs now have to juggle three different models: hybrid, virtual, and in-person. What would be the best advice that you can give them when they’re planning the event? Which way should they execute it? And please keep in mind that there are budget constraints with these people and they cannot ruthlessly spend money.”

“If you have a budget, you’re already ahead of the game,” Ellis explains. “But the most important thing is understanding what your objectives are before you begin the process. Also, find someone within your network that you can consult with and can give you some quality advice.”

“And don’t be afraid to share your budget. It genuinely helps,” he adds. “For the most part, people in our industry want to help. I want to facilitate a human connection in events and people having memorable experiences.”

Karmen wholeheartedly agrees. “Planners are hesitant to share their budget because they think we’re going to use their entire budget either way. And that’s so not true. If you give us your ideas and your mission, we will try to create that experience for you. If you give some other company the same thing, they will also do their own spiel on it. And still, the budget will end up being approximately the same.”

If you liked this episode and our new host, make sure to check in again in 2022. Big names, big ideas, big questions: we’ll make it our best year so far.

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As they start wrapping up the year, the Brew Crew talks about the final quarter. It turns out that it’s the most productive season for most of them! But while some reached peak productivity in October, others are putting lots of hours in in December.

In the final 2021 episode of the Event Brew podcast, Nick, Thuy, and Will talk about their workload in December and Q4 in general. They talk about the (not so good) old days when they were more prone to exhaustion and burnout. But as they got more familiar with the events industry, they started to get a hang of the work-life balance. Make sure to tune in and find out what their secrets are. Personal and genuine, this episode is an absolute classic!

Today’s Topic: Productive Season! Will introduces today’s topic. “Back in the day, we made an episode about event planners using the word ‘busy’. Well, we made it one of the seven deadly sins of Event Brew to ask that question,” says Will. “Thuy, you’re pretty slammed right now. Instead of using the word busy, let’s use the word productive. So, what’s going on for you in this productive season?”

“Q4 is the most productive season for me and many other event professionals, and it’s also the most demanding,” she replies. “It can lead to burnout and over-stressing. And that’s due to tight deadlines, working early mornings and late nights. On top of that, there are budget considerations, executing events right now, and getting ready for the new year.”

December Is Not Everyone’s Productive Season However, not everyone is overwhelmed these days. “I’m no longer working at events as much,” says Will. “But Endless had a really busy October. That tends to be our productive season. After Thanksgiving, though, it quiets down. But we like it. It’s a good time for us to plan for next year and do a little winter cleaning.”

“I’m primarily in the corporate world,” he adds. “It’s a lot of meetings and conventions. But no one wants to do anything around this time because they’re doing annual last-minute planning and things like that.”

What about Nick? He talks about the two lines of business he knows. “There is no productive or slow season in the software world. You pay monthly. We do different campaigns and at certain times, it’s more likely to convert someone into a subscriber, but that’s relatively static.”

“But when it comes to the virtual event platform where the events themselves take place, there are certain times where corporate does business. So right now, there’s less of that,” he continues. “However, we’ve been doing a lot more holiday parties for internal events. So that fills that vacuum pretty nicely. When it comes to lead generation, this is one of the slowest times of the year.”

There’s More To Life Than Work Thuy says that her mindset around the productive season has changed since the beginning of the pandemic. “There’s definitely a lot on my plate, but I feel like this is the first time that I’m in a good state of mind, even though I’m working late and getting a lot done.”

What’s changed? “It’s the company culture that I’m a part of,” she explains. “But it’s also me being able to set healthy boundaries, saying ‘no’, and realizing that I’m more than just my title. I have a life outside of work. Before the pandemic, I was so proud about my title and all that I do in our industry. But now, there are a lot of other things that I can give my mind and energy to.”

Here’s How The Brew Crew Manages In Hectic Times Next up, the Brew Crew talks tips and advice for busy times and the productive season. “I used to do high school and college events. They primarily took place on Fridays and Saturdays. I only truly got Sundays off, but often, I was just so wiped out that I didn’t want to move.”

But he found a solution. “I’d schedule breaks along the way. It’s more about having the right pace rather than waiting for the two-week vacation. This generally works for everybody in the events industry. You have to design a way to take breaks throughout the week. For example: on Tuesday nights, I go get dinner with my friends. On Wednesday nights, I play board games. On Thursdays, I watch movies. Finding these small breaks along the way allowed me to have much better stamina.”

As Will often does, he recommends a book that explains his tactic in greater detail: The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. Even though he no longer works weekends and nights, he still keeps these habits in place. “That way, I can have that healthy lifestyle throughout the weekend. I don’t feel burnt out by the end of the week or crave for a Friday.”

Remind Yourself Why You’re In This Line Of Work What helps Nick stay consistently energized is community and inspiration. “There are various ways to recharge and balance. I keep an eye on the best parts of what I do. I remind myself to be with a community of people who do what I do as well. Also, I go to larger events where you get to be exposed to the smartest and most passionate people.”

Be Compassionate Towards Your Clients & Partners And Thuy? “On top of setting your boundaries, give grace and compassion to your clients, your supplier partners, your fellow colleagues, and teammates, and then also yourself, because we’re all trying to do the best that we can. We have struggles at work or outside of work. So, let’s be empathetic towards one another. We can’t do our jobs without others. I can’t get my task completed without supplier partners. We should understand that especially during the holidays, there’s a lot of pressure. If my partners can’t meet a deadline, I’m okay with that. As long as they’re communicating, of course”.

Will agrees and offers the perspective of vendors, too. “Be prepared for people to come in. When people are coming in last minute, give them empathy back. I bet a lot of such clients have been sitting in meetings for months, being told ‘no’ for another event or meeting. And then finally, someone realizes they have some budget left over and they let them have a meeting at the very last minute.”

Vendors Vs. Partners Nick adds to Will’s point. “We should aim towards building long-term relationships. Being a partner and not just a vendor requires you to be very much on the same page.”

What’s the difference between a partner and a vendor? “A vendor is someone who is used until their usefulness is done. Then, they go on to the next one. I’ve seen certain employers do that with their employees and corners of the industry treating other parts of the industry like that. I’ve certainly been a part of relationships between vendors and vendor partners like that. They’re all missing the secret to long-term sustainable success.”

“Have a team who knows how it is on the other side. That offers a better understanding of our partners. Your ability to connect with them is just so much better,” Nick concludes.

Remember, There’s Always More Work To Be Done Thuy reminisces about the way she handled productive seasons in the past. “I was so used to pushing myself past my breaking point and taking no breaks. But now, I feel like a veteran in this industry. We will always have work. If I know I’m on a tight deadline and I’m just not creatively there, I actually will give myself a break. I’ll even turn in for the night and then wake up early the next morning, feeling refreshed. That’s why we keep saying productive versus busy. When we’re busy, that doesn’t mean that we’re actually getting things accomplished. In the productive season, we’re in that flow state where the magic happens,” she says.

“The longer that you are in the industry, the easier it is to recognize these things,” agrees Will. “Eventually, you see that everything is going to be okay and you learn to be calm under the surface.”

He has a word for all the new planners tuning in. “If you’ve been doing this less than four years, know that it’s going to get better and you will figure it out as time goes by. This last year’s been absolutely chaotic and we’re right now trying to do anything we can to grow our businesses and exit this pandemic successfully.”

Productive Season Or Not, Put Yourself First! “I used to freak out during busy or productive seasons,” he admits. “There was so much going on. But as you gain experience, you get things more in control. You understand the patterns of what’s happening. You start to create mental models of what’s going to happen. You’ll also recognize that there’s always work around the corner.”

Before they wrap the episode up, Nick gives one final piece of advice to take to the productive season and beyond. “The best way you can take care of other people is to take care of yourself. Similar to the oxygen that you have to pull down in the airplane. First, you put the mask on yourself.”

Heed the Brew Crew’s advice, dear event planner, and take time to recharge your batteries. 2022 is right around the corner, and hopefully, it’s going to be a successful, productive year!

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‘Tis the season to plan a company holiday party! A festive company event is a great way to wrap up yet another (hopefully successful) year and get to know your team members on a more casual basis. Before the pandemic, company holiday party ideas mostly had to do with catering to all diets, being inclusive, and choosing the right location. However, company parties have shifted to an all-virtual holiday model last year. All of a sudden, party planners focused on activities, virtual audience engagement, content, and the inner workings of planning virtual happy hours!

This year, we’re entering some truly unchartered waters. On the one hand, we can return to planning in-person parties if we want to, so long as we plan a COVID-compliant event. But then again, company holiday parties have a great potential to become a superspreader event like no other. Take a recent company Christmas party in Norway, for example – it contributed to the biggest spread of the omicron variant outside of South Africa where it was first detected.

So what is a good team leader to do? Is the holiday spirit about keeping people safe or is it about forgetting about the world’s troubles for a few hours? Last year, the answer was loud and clear: go virtual – or take a year off from celebrating. This year, the answer is not so straightforward. Virtual, in-person, or hybrid, one truth remains, though; whatever company holiday party ideas you have running through your head, keep the event small.

Company Holiday Party Ideas: Virtual Is Safest Virtual events don’t contribute to the spread of the virus, but they can be infectious in other, better ways. We’re talking about laughter, connection, and fun, of course! As long as you take good care of your attendees, keep them engaged, and host the party on one of the best event platforms that fit your needs, your attendees won’t feel like they’re missing out at all.

Take us, for example! Endless Events is an all-remote company and it has been for years before the pandemic. But that doesn’t stop us from coming up with amazing company holiday party ideas! Every year, we leave our company events feeling more connected and energized than before.

Last year, we published a list of virtual holiday party ideas. And they still stand today! At a virtual holiday party, the focus should predominantly be on sharing some kind of an experience. Why not send your team members a party-in-the-box, as AJ Williams suggested on the #EventIcons episode about experiential virtual events? Anything goes: hosting a trivia quiz, escape room, charades, dancing, listening to live music.

And since we’re on a roll here, here are some extra suggestions: have your guests dress up in a costume, introduce their pets, show off their homes, or vote on fun polls.

Keep In-Person Parties Intimate! Despite the uncertainty, in-person holiday parties are coming back. Companies that have up to 50 employees are more likely to be seriously considering meeting like in the good old days. Especially those who have employees who are less likely to have severe complications in case they do end up contracting COVID-19. However, meeting face-to-face is still far from a given.

COVID-19 Considerations: Test, Test, Test! This year, our in-person company holiday party ideas turned into friendly COVID-compliance suggestions. If you live in a warm enough climate, host the event outdoors. Alternatively, provide adequate ventilation and ensure that the event’s layout maximizes safety and security. Additionally, you can suggest to your team to get tested for COVID-19 before the company holiday party even if they’re vaccinated – just in case.

Skip the karaoke machine and loud music this year. Needless to say, sharing a microphone is definitely in the recipe for the perfect superspreader event!

Break Up The Parties Into Smaller Groups Keeping in-person events small and intimate is the epitome of all company holiday party ideas this year. Instead of having one big gathering, consider breaking up the party into smaller events. A little party for each department, for example. This allows for attendees to really get to bond with their teammates and get to know them better. After all, we all know that it can be hard to get to know your coworkers at huge events. The sheer volume of people can be daunting, especially in times of increased health risks.

Company Holiday Party Ideas: How About A Hybrid Event? Hybrid events are a great way to bring your team together; especially if you’ve got a team joining from all over the world or your company’s headcount is just too high to throw an in-person company holiday party. Making decisions for your guests is so 2019. Instead, let them choose their own adventure! And if The Office‘s Ryan Howard could throw a hybrid event launch party with a choppy live stream back in 2007 (season 4, episode 5/6 – you’re welcome), so can you!

As we’ve discussed in the overview of our hybrid models, hybrid events come in all shapes and sizes. You can either host a hybrid event in a studio and stream it to individuals in the safety of their homes (the Star model), or you can organize several watch parties at several cities all across the country – or the world (the Satellite)!

Alternatively, you can also host a massive in-person event and give your guests an option to tune in from home (the Planet or the Moon). The choice is yours to make and it should be guided by your guests’ preferences.

Company Holiday Party Ideas: The Basics! Corporate company parties aren’t just a yearly obligation. It’s a time to come together. Use your time together to send a message to your team. You can touch on excitement for the next year and recap some of the highlights of the last. Whatever you do, be authentic and make sure your party embodies your core values and culture.

Don’t Draw It Out! The holiday season is busy enough and people’s attention spans are shorter than ever. Keep your party fun and to the point. Two to three hours is the perfect amount of time for your company holiday party. Better yet, make sure the party is something attendees can come and go to as they wish (see, virtual events have perks after all!). Keep your speeches short and make sure there are activities available from start to finish so no matter what time your guests arrive there is something to do.

It’s Okay To Have No Company Holiday Party Ideas Whether you’re planning a virtual, hybrid, or in-person event, there are countless company holiday party ideas to choose from. But even if you have none, that’s completely understandable this year. Many companies are opting out of partying this year or are instead choosing to send gifts to their beloved employees.

Perhaps you and your team can celebrate in a more low-key fashion this year. Instead of having fun in December, you can set your gaze on the future and what 2022 holds. There will be many more opportunities to party, and perhaps you can use any of these company holiday party ideas then!

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As listeners of the Event Tech Podcast already know, choosing the right event platform is one of the most important decisions event planners can make for their long-term event strategy. Last week, the Endless Events team published the list of the 22 best event platforms to use in 2022. Enthusiastic and curious as ever, Will and Brandt wanted to know what went on behind the scenes. How did they rank them? What features did they prioritize? Today, they’re on a quest to find out! And who better to talk to about top event platforms than Endless’ Kyle Kocinski! He’s been on the Event Tech Podcast before, talking about the future of virtual and hybrid event platforms.

Today, he joins the podcast again to explain how the Endless team created this report. What makes this list credible is the fact that none of these top event platforms paid Endless to be featured on the list. Kyle says that he and his team considered over 500 event technology providers and ranked them based on several parameters. Press play and find out more about the logic behind putting together this informative list and more!

Top Event Platforms 2022: It’s All About The Features! First, Kyle explains why the Endless implementation team decided to put out the list of top event platforms to use in 2022. They want to help planners go beyond Zoom calls. Also, to make their decision-making process easier. After all, it’s hard to be an event planner these days – there’s an overwhelming amount of event platforms out there to choose from.

How did they go about creating this report? “First, we looked at some core objectives that event planners were asking for. We did a poll on LinkedIn. Out of all event platform features, registration and email manager were at the top. Following were native streaming players, video meetings or video rooms, gamification, onsite lead retrieval, and credit tracking.” What stood out was the need for greater accessibility in event tech. “That was one of the key features that we’re not seeing enough in event technology today,” Kyle says.

The list of top event platforms to use in 2022 reflects what event planners are looking for. “We want to take the time for you to meet with these different technologies and learn about them. That way, you don’t have to search for the top event platforms and go with the first Google ad or the one with the most reviews on G2.”

Kyle explains that reviews don’t necessarily reflect the quality of the platform itself. “Sometimes, companies reach out to you and offer a $50 with a gift card in return for a positive review. So take those with a grain of salt.”

Security And Customization For The Win! So, why did some event platforms make it to the list while others didn’t? “It was tough because you have to consider all the different event planners and events,” explains Kyle. “You might be planning a corporate event or an internal meeting. We had to make sure to have the perspective of all these planners. But some criteria matters across the board, such as security and ease of use. We’re seeing that not enough event technologies are being transparent about how they’re tracking and storing their data. And as you’re planning events year after year, you want to make sure that they’re just data processing and not data owning.”

They also prioritized brandability and customization opportunities. “Everybody has a different perspective of how custom they want their event platform to look. And a lot of times, you’re molding your event to fit this event platform. But sometimes, brandability might be the number one component for your event and you need to make sure that it has your font and exactly what you want to be shown on the homepage – nothing more, nothing less.”

Find Out What Platforms Is Best For YOU! Will wants to clarify one thing. “Are you saying that someone shouldn’t just pick the number one event platform on this list? That the platform that might be perfect for you is someone ranked 5th or 88th?”

“Yes, 100%. It’s really about putting on the shoes of your attendee or sponsor,” says Kyle. “As you’re demoing this event technology, ask yourself: is it simple? There are so many features – you don’t want everyone to get lost in all that’s out there. You want to make sure that it’s a clear journey. That your event goals are obtainable and easy to navigate. You can have the most brandable platform and the most updated UI, but if your attendees are not actually using your features, then I wouldn’t say that’s a success.”

It’s not just about celebrating the top event technologies out there, Kyle also thinks that the list of top event platforms will make the market more competitive. “We’re now exposing the best features or the best framework. We want the event technology market to keep becoming stronger and stronger.”

Top Event Platforms 2022: Accessibility Matters Will is curious to know: “Is there anything that surprised you about this list?”

“Yes, and it’s not a good surprise,” replies Kyle. Considering virtual platforms have become the new event venues, he thinks they should also become more accessible. “There are very few event platforms that are offering any sort of integrations to increase the font size, for example. There are platforms on this list that have some incredible accessibility overlays, but that’s all they are: overlays. Platforms really need to be thinking ahead to make sure that they’re opening doors for any audience as event planners want to make their content more accessible globally.”

“I didn’t really think of accessibility being the number one,” says Will. “We have multi-million investments put into these platforms. Adding a button that allows someone to increase the font size seems totally doable. Is that requiring the user then to utilize a Chrome extension? Does that end up having to be the requirement? Is that onus put on the attendee?”

“They’ll probably have the best understanding of which browser and device to use for their generic internet surfing,” says Kyle. “Platforms like Pheedloop and Socio are using an accessibility overlay, powered by accessiBe. But that’s all it is. It’s an automated overlay. That’s just taking information from the platform. If you’ve used Google Translate to translate a German website into English, it might capture 80% of the platform, but you’re going to see some things on the website that didn’t get translated. And that’s the exact same thing with accessibility overlays. It’ll work for some, but it’s not going to work for all.”

What About Pricing? “How did you evaluate pricing? Features are, but most planners just want to know what’s the difference in cost,” says Will.

“Price is definitely a consideration. If your platform is amazing and no one can buy it, then it’s not going to work for anybody,” says Kyle. “On our list of top event platforms of 2022, you’re going to see a platform that fits your budget, whatever it is, large or small. But pricing didn’t necessarily come into the score because we still want you to be able to evaluate the technology yourself. And even if you can’t afford it today, that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to consider it as an investment next year.”

“Platform prices are changing every day,” he adds. “Industry reports might tell you what the price is, but by the time that the report comes out, the price might’ve changed already. That’s what Endless Events is here for: we help you conduct those demos and make the process simpler. So you’re not having to conduct 20 different comparisons. We’ll work with your budget and help you expand your budget over time.”

Here Are The Top 5 Event Platforms In 2022! And now to the most exciting part of the episode: going over the top 5 event platforms on the list! What makes a platform a truly top event platform? It’s not just the features themselves, but how much they’re actually delivering on it.

“That’s where we really found a really big value with CrowdComms,” says Kyle. “They haven’t been doing a ton of marketing, but their clients stick with them. Because they offer that flexibility: you’re molding your event platform to this format. With CrowdComms, you can pick a couple of different templates and highlight what’s most important to you.”

“Number four was Hubilo. They are leading the industry. As far as interface design, they’re the most modern. They have two different toolbars: one at the top and one at the side. The top one will take you to the core features. And then the one on the side is following you along through the entire event. It allows for a lot of discovery. Also, it’s one of the best platforms that offer sponsorship opportunities, ad placements. You can highlight something on any page, which is something we liked a lot. And definitely one of the leaders, as far as event security goes. They offer single sign-on, for example.”

The Winners: Swapcard, Socio, & Pheedloop! The bronze medal goes to Swapcard, “one of the fastest-growing companies in the pandemic”, as Will puts it. “The SXSW hosted a hybrid event last year inside of Swapcard,” says Kyle. “Many clients use it because it offers that customization and the menu that a lot of clients are looking for. Where they’re really revolutionizing their technology is the exhibitor experience. You’re able to schedule meetings easily with exhibitors or sponsors, you can showcase their products and highlight their services. They’re also focusing a lot on building out the community model moving forward as well.”

On to the silver. “You could not find a more easy-to-use platform than Socio. The buttons are clear and the navigation is easy. And we believe that the Cisco acquisition of Socio is really going to add that power it needs to be a true leader in the event industry. They’ve most recently launched their onsite features, being able to offer onsite check-in and badge printing. You can design the badges even inside the platform. So just another one of the all-in-one solutions. Also, it is offering accessibility enhancements for those that do need additional features.”

And finally, the top event platform to use in 2022 is Pheedloop! “Pheedloop delivers on all aspects, it’s an all-in-one solution. If you’re looking for something to reconstruct your event format, you need registration, on-site attendance tracking, and a simple mobile app experience that’s where Pheedloop comes into play. They offer a native built-in floor plan builder so you can actually lay out your floor plan for the trade show right in there. They’re key leaders in accessibility and why they reached number one this year. They also offer native streaming with Meet & Stream,” says Kyle.

365 Community Is The Future! Kyle gives one final piece of advice on the future of event technology. “Start thinking about what it would be like to have a 365 community. It’s going to take some convincing to your marketing team for you to be able to move a 365 community forward. And we believe that the 365 community is going to make the cost of acquisition for each of those individual attendees much lower. If you’re just keeping your attendees in the same place, you can more easily market your future events. You can tie in your webinars to your virtual events, to your hybrid events, and really extend the storyline for all of your stakeholders. So they’re not only saying ‘see you next year’ and that’s the end of their participation for the year. I think that’s going to make any of your attendees more involved with your organization if you can keep them involved too, but it takes a team to keep a community going.”

And last but not least, he encourages listeners to reach out. “If you’re looking to get into any of this new event technology, reach out to Endless Events. We’ll let you know where things are headed. We want to help you understand event platforms.”

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November might generally be an uneventful month, but not for the events industry. For us, it’s time to do business and reunite in person at one of the biggest and most exciting trade shows in our industry: IMEX! This week, Nick, Thuy, and Will review their experience at IMEX America 2021, held for the very first time at Mandalay Bay.

Everyone was looking forward to going to IMEX America 2021, especially since the iconic trade show was canceled last year due to COVID. The Brew Crew talks about their highlights, lowlights, COVID compliance, the stepping challenge, and much more. It’s a quintessential Event Brew episode, so don’t miss it out!

IMEX America 2021 & COVID Compliance First, they addressed the COVID-compliance at IMEX America 2021. “It felt like an unofficial kickoff to the way to do business and large scale events internationally in the United States. It was based on the CLEAR Pass app. The app was used as your passport to get into the show – to show off that you are a vaccinated individual,” says Nick.

This was the second time Will used the CLEAR Pass and just like the first time, it all went smoothly. However, he wonders what was the purpose of the wristbands at IMEX 2021. “You had to get your CLEAR Pass checked by someone, and then they give you a green wristband. But what’s the point in us all having these wristbands if you have to be vaccinated to get in?”

Thuy explains. “I attended the pre-show staff meeting and they had a plan for several scenarios. The green wristbands had something to do with that. Because even though everyone attending had to be vaccinated, the onsite staff wanted to make sure that, you couldn’t cross certain checkpoints without those things. I thought they did a great job. It was very brave to mandate vaccinations because they are a global conference and trade show.”

“This is potentially going to influence thousands of events that will do the same thing. That is probably a really good thing because their system was easy to use,” Nick adds.

Highlights & Lowlights At IMEX America 2021 And what did the Brew Crew like best about IMEX America 2021? Will says that “the theme of this year was getting to hug each other, not do business”. Similar to what Nick said about MPI WEC 2021! “It didn’t feel like anyone was there to have serious meetings. It was more about running into each other, trying to catch up with everybody. I had seen people I haven’t seen physically for two years.”

That was Will’s highlight. What about a lowlight? “We told all of our team members to come to IMEX America 2021, but not many made it.”

Speaking of team members, Nick chimes in. “I would say a highlight for me is the fact that a lot of our team did go,” he says. “We had around 18 people there, which was great. I’ve worked with them remotely, and then you get to spend some time with them face-to-face and it’s really great. I had people from abroad who were able to make it over to the States. A few team members were in Las Vegas for the first time, which was fun to be around.”

What Year Is It Again? Nick’s lowlight doesn’t have anything to do with IMEX America 2021 itself, but rather some of the conversations he overheard. “A lot of people were talking about how they’re excited to go back to the way things were. To me, that is the most like wincing, eye-rolling kind of thing to say.”

Thuy asks Nick to elaborate. “There was a fair amount of people who had told me that their clients specifically were looking for events that were the same as they used to be,” Nick explains. “Because they feel like they had the perfect formula. And now they’re finally able to do go back to the way that they used to design events, which is such a waste.”

“Because it’s easier to do so. Humans want to shy away from any negative emotion,” says Thuy.

“Even IMEX 2021 felt like 2019,” adds Will. “If someone popped me down there and didn’t tell me what year it was, I would probably have told you that I was at IMEX 2019.”

BuzzHub & Virtual Attendance At IMEX America 2021 “One of the things that would make you think that you’re in 2021 would be the virtual portion of the event. However, there wasn’t an option for that at IMEX 2021,” continues Nick and opens a new topic of conversation. According to their estimates, 90% attended in-person, while 10% joined the trade show virtually.

“There was the BuzzHub, but we weren’t encouraged to download the app, run the chat, or build our schedule. Most attendees just showed up like in previous years,” says Will.

“Does that count as a hybrid event?” wonders Thuy. “Because they were definitely focused on in-person. Additionally, they gave their digital audience the choice of BuzzHub.”

“I feel like there were two separate events, happening at the same time. That’s why I feel like it’s not really hybrid,” replies Will.

“For me, it’s about inclusivity. What do you do to get as close to 50/50 as possible to be as inclusive of the experiences that people want to have? How can you treat types of attendees as if they’re valuable, not as if they’re an afterthought?”

Nick Beat Thuy At IMEX’s Stepping Challenge! “I just have to mention that Nick beat me at the stepping challenge,” says Thuy. “You took seventh and I took eighth. I was laughing so hard when that happened. Do you know the length of the IMEX trade show floor is five football fields?”

“That sounds right,” replies Nick. “I interviewed Rachael Riggs from Maritz who was in charge of the wellbeing aspects of IMEX America 2021. You could post once per day on each one of the social media platforms to give you a thousand steps. And I asked Rachael how that equates to steps. It seems antithetical. She said that they have created five pillars of well-being. One of them is social wellbeing. That clarity helped a lot.”

Trade Shows & Event Design Nick thinks that the way trade shows are designed hasn’t changed all that much in the last 100 years. “I don’t think that people who run trade shows design their events. Which is a terrible thing to say, but hear me out. What percentage of time do you spend at a trade show in trade show booths?”

“What I’m getting at is the fact that the booths themselves are a large percentage of time when it comes to the experience itself,” continues Nick. “But I don’t see a lot of trade shows that get into it with the trade show booths and talk about their design in a way to make it cohesive and to create an intentional experience. It’s a very disjointed experience. It’s no different from an intentional design experience than how flea markets operate.”

Here’s what Nick thinks would make for a truly next-level experience from a design standpoint. “Every time an exhibitor would come in and say they’re interested in buying a booth from you, you would have a discussion about design to make it a cohesive experience so it fit the organizing principle of your entire event. You would have some kind of guidance. But imagine if this wasn’t a trade show but rather a big event space. And in that big event space, 90% of the square footage was filled up with other people, DJs, florists, et cetera. But no designer was saying what to do with flowers, what music should they play. You would say that this is not a designed experience.”

In-Person Events Are Tiring! “We need to address that everyone gets mentally exhausted during any year of IMEX America. But this year, even more so because people forgot what it felt like to be social,” says Thuy. “I felt the atmosphere changed Wednesday and Thursday. You could see it in their eyes that they were just tired.”

While she was excited to be back to IMEX America in 2021, she also remembered some not-so-pleasant things about going to in-person conferences. “I didn’t miss those non-genuine connections, sales pitches, talking about the same old things. Now, I want to reserve my energy. I have less tolerance than I used to.”

“Yes, me too,” agrees Nick. “I’ll walk straight out of presentations, more than I ever used to. And I don’t think the quality of content has gone down. I just think that my thirst for content has gone down because of how easy it is to find it.”

IMEX: Biggest, Best & Most Influential “IMEX is one of those events that can make a huge difference,” says Nick. “They’re the best and biggest show. It’s where the most commerce happens. There’s probably the most amount of change-makers and high-level people that are at that event where there’s a lot of booths and salespeople.

“They could accelerate certain change by years in one move,” he adds. “The type of change that would probably happen anyway, but it will happen over grueling periods of time like hybrid events. We’ve been saying that hybrid is the future for years, and then last year, everyone’s knocking at the door asking to talk about it again.”

People are willing to hear you after the fact, but Nick wants to get ahead of the game. “And IMEX would be one of the best events to inspire people to do that.”

In conclusion, the Brew Crew absolutely loved seeing each other at IMEX America 2021 and are already excited for what the next year will bring. A hybrid solution, perhaps? We’ll have to wait and see!

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We’re back today with a very special episode of the #EventIcons podcast. Will’s guest is Isaac Holt, the Master of Technimagic at Endless Events. This week, he put on the shoes of the podcast’s host and did quite an amazing job.

Will and the live audience had a lot of questions for our new host. To make him feel welcomed and at ease, they mostly talked about technical production, but also touched on the future of virtual events and hybrid events – the works. So, press play, and please welcome Isaac Holt!

Everyone, Meet Isaac! First, Isaac explains how he ended up working in the events industry. “I’ve been with Endless Events for almost two years. But I have been in this industry since I was pushing road cases for free lunch. I’ve really been in the audiovisual industry since I was about 12 years old.”

It all started when he noticed all the big speakers and projectors his neighbor had. “He owned an event management company and had all the fun tools. That piqued my curiosity. I started thinking about how I can get involved. Since then, I’ve been laser-focused on the events industry. I played a role in everything, from sales, implementation, and design,” he says.

Technical Production Post-COVID Now that we’ve gotten to know Isaac, it’s time to pick his brain. Will asks: “How much has the technical production world changed since COVID broke out? What’s the biggest change that you’ve seen?”

Isaac has seen a great push for creativity. “We found ourselves lacking the ability to want to do more, to want to push the envelope, to try new things. To break boundaries that we hadn’t been able to break before with virtual presenters and being able to bring them in real-time. We found ourselves having to scratch our heads a little bit. What do we need to do in this space to get the same wow factor that we were getting when we could have 1500 people in a ballroom?”

Lighting: LEKOs Or LEDs? Next up, one of the former Einsteins of Events, John Pistotti, asks Isaac a technical question. “LED or conventional LEKOs – what’s your answer?”

“I’m actually in the spot where I try to stay away from conventional LEKOs. I love the idea of having your movers instead. There are so many great movers out there now that can fill twice the amount of space with half the amount of equipment and footprint. I think all of us that have been in the event industry long enough really hate it when the client decides to move the podium from the left side to the right side of the stage. And then, you find yourself up in a boom lift for four hours, trying to get the lighting readjusted the way that you really wanted it. I’ve moved away from conventional fixtures, even the LED LEKOs for that reason – it’s just the flexibility it gives.”

Creating Event Experiences With Technical Production “In the world of technical production, there tends to be a lot of limitations. How do you work with a client to balance technical feasibility, but also make them happy at the same time?”

“A lot of the conversations I’m having aren’t about what’s happening in the room,” says Isaac. “It’s about how that affects the 5,000 people that are watching online when it comes to their hybrid event. We talk about what little changes can we make that it’s going to look best for our online audience. A recent example of that was something as simple as a backdrop that was super textured but had nothing lighting it up, which oftentimes can mess with the camera. These things aren’t going to change your budget, but they’re going to change your experience.”

“That’s the number one concern we hear about hybrid events. People think that they’re going to be twice as expensive and that hybrid staff is double in size,” says Will.

The Importance of Post-Event Debriefing As all event planners know, the event timeline doesn’t end when the event wraps up. There’s also post-event debriefing – and it really matters. “We like to always have a debrief with our clients after their event to really see what went well, what you love, what can we do better next time. And one of the things that came out of these debriefs is the realization of the reach vendors could possibly have. We’ve always kept vendors out of the virtual space because we couldn’t figure out how that would monetize for them.”

“One of the cool things that came out of a conversation with a client was respecting the fact that there are people in person, but realizing their wider audience was online,” adds Isaac. “Yes, there are 1,500 people in the room, but how do you make this make sense for the 5,000 people online? There’s a lot of fear surrounding that. Also, you need to value the product you’re delivering virtually. And there are always going to be people that are going to watch it from their home. I’m still going to watch some things on Netflix that I’m not going to go see in theaters because it’s more convenient for me to do that.”

“It’s coming from an abundance mindset rather than like a scarcity mindset,” replies Will. “If you always look at it as a cost rather than an investment, you’re always going to be on the bad side of things.”

“This is not smoke and mirrors,” adds Isaac. “We have seen ROI for clients from doing virtual events that they never got before.”

Future Trends In Hybrid & Virtual Events As the master of technical production and events in general, Isaac can make some educated guesses about the future of the events industry. “I want to talk about the virtual audience and what is being catered to there. And then I also want to talk about the in-person audience. I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten used to being able to sit at home in the comfort of my big recliner and watch an event, watch a live stream of some sort. And I think that that experience is going to be one of the things that keep people out of in-person events going forward.”

“And then, on the other hand, you’re going to find people wanting to be more comfortable at your event. Maybe that means that you’re having a smaller experience because you’re going to need the square footage for comfortable furniture at your hybrid venue. You’re going to start to see people wanting a little bit more of that comfortable environment that they were used to when they were at home.”

Isaac also mentions Facebook’s Metaverse announcement and what that implies for the events industry. “We’re seeing a lot of requests now for 3D cameras to be added to environments. Even if it’s just to be able to allow people to be in the room if they want to be in the room.”

Why Virtual Events Are Here To Stay Isaac elaborates on why he thinks virtual events aren’t going anywhere, even when we can go back to in-person events and conferences. “It is really difficult to want to move away from being able to capture your entire audience because there are still things that have always stopped people from going to conferences. Not every corporation is paying all expenses for their folks to go to these conferences. But what we’ve done is we’ve created this environment where we hit 7,000 people last year with this information. So, why would I ever go back to 1,500 people when I just reached 7,000 last year? And I think those are the elements of virtual events that are going to continue forever. I think that a lot of mobile platforms and virtual platforms are going to stay.

“There are folks that will never be able to go in a room because they physically can’t. It terrifies folks to be in that environment because there are so many people, especially with the new remote work culture normalized. And let’s talk about the hard one; some of them are not vaccinated in places that require vaccinations at events. So yes, these things will keep pushing virtual to be a thing.

Content & Technical Production Go Hand In Hand “How do we continue to have a high-production live stream for our events? We need to prevent people from tuning out and feeling like they’re watching a Zoom call,” says Will.

Isaac thinks that content is king. “This is where it comes down to creative aspects of the event. What a lot of conferences have done for years is several speakers, their PowerPoints, a bathroom break, and dinner. And then, we’re all there for the drinks afterward. That is fine if you’re at an in-person event again. However, it’s not my preference when we’re trying to create a great environment. What we should see are the Apple events of the world. Their video content is so clean. So, what we’re going to see in the future is a lot of heavy content, creative graphics, and things that help tell a story. It’s all about taking the attendees on a journey.”

Mark These Words: Don’t Be Afraid! And last but not least, Will asks Isaac the standard final question. What’s the one tip that you would want event planners to know?

“Don’t be afraid,” says Isaac. “Don’t be afraid to push your clients for more. Push them for better ideas, bigger thoughts, newer locations. Help them guide that journey. Otherwise, we can get in the habit of doing the same thing over and over again, because we know what our profits are going to be. We know what the experience is going to be like and what to expect, but I would hope as I do every day that everybody’s looking to grow and to continue to be great.”

Join us again soon for more Isaac-filled episodes!