Jan 28, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
You have decided that 2011 is the year to hold your first virtual event. You have read all the articles about these type of meetings and think your audience is ready to participate in the virtual world. Before you start down the yellow brick road, you need to come up with a sound strategy and implementation plan that will reap the ROI you and your organization wants and the educational value your attendees need. I have developed a listing of questions you need to consider before setting up the i...

Jan 26, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
Have you ever noticed how much more you learn when you are involved in the learning process? You have heard of Audience Response Systems (ARS), but you are probably wondering... Is it worth the investment or will it be a distraction?  In a recent poll of corporate event planners, over 40% of the audience at their meetings felt the event or conference was "a waste of time" when lectured to by a presenter. In the same poll, 90% of those planners said t...

Jan 24, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
Meeting Professinals International (MPI), IMEX, and the International Special Events Society (ISES) are all predicting that meeting volume, the number of attendees, and increasing value and ROI will be the priority throughout the global event meeting services industry in 2011 versus 2010.For FutureWatch 2011, MPI garnered insight from more than 450 industry professionals in 20 countries and from 67 MPI chapters. "After two challenging years for the business of our industry, we're ...

Jan 21, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
Six event meeting services professionals recently weighed in on LinkedIn as to when AV organizations should start marketing to meeting and event planners. Below, is a synopsis of their quotes, but as you will see, the AV company needs to be involved early and have an excellent reputation. Here's what they had to say:Katie Jackson, Director at Sg2, states "The AV is a core component of my budgets and can be an area prone to increases, depending on the client needs, so the sooner those n...

Jan 19, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
As an event meeting services professional, you know how important it is to attend professional development industry events and trade shows. However, you also are aware how hard it is to measure the results of your attendance at a 3-day show in Vegas vs. staying in the office making sales calls and attending to your existing client base. Here are some ways to start to measure ROI to help you build your case to management.According to Investopedia, Return on Investment (ROI) is a performance ...

Jan 17, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
What should your next training program look like? Whether you are developing a program internally for your organization or contracting with an outside training firm to build and deliver it, below are the 5 must haves you need to make it a great success.#1 How Much Time and Where Will it be?Is this training going to be 2 hours, 1/2 day, full day, or over multiple days? Is it going to be on-site or off-site? These questions need to be addressed before you decide on content or select...

Jan 14, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
Suppliers as partners? How can this be? The new mantra in 2011 is to build valuable and sustainable relationships in the association community. In order to do this, suppliers in the event meeting services industry need to develop a keen understanding of how associations work and the type of association events they host. An association is any group of people who have joined together for a particular purpose, ranging from social to business. It can be formal, with rules and/or by-laws, and me...

Jan 12, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
Should you rent touch screen technology for your next event? It can be a cost-effective solution for your next meeting, event, or conference. Lets explain the technologies available and potential applications for a more engaging meeting. Fundamentally, there are three types of touch screen units: Touch Panel Kiosks Touch Screen PCs, such as an iPad or Tablet PC or Touch Screen Smartphones What are the differences between the three and how would you use them at your next meeting or...

Jan 10, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
 According to PC Magazine, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is a flat panel screen that uses liquid crystal technology. This type of screen is usually connected to a computer and laptops use LCD screens almost exclusively.According to Wikipedia, a Plasma Display Panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel common to large TV displays and the pixels (which determine screen resolutions) rely on plasma cells to bring forth the image. So which technology is better? As in the case of beauty, it is oft...

Jan 03, 2011 by DeDe Mulligan
Event meeting services organizations dealt with reduced budgets and less staff while still trying to keep their meetings high caliber. So what worked and what didn't? Here are three meeting professionals prospective on what worked and what didn't in 2010.Didn't Work: Let's have a meeting because you always had one.Worked: Setting an agenda with a clear purpose. "Every meeting should have a clear purpose and desired outcome. This should drive the agenda, who is invited, how the mee...