Jul 30, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Small regional meetings are trending up in the event meeting services industry and will probably continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It seems counter-intuitive: How can several small meetings be as cost-efficient as a large one? After all, doesn't it take more time to plan 3 to 5 meetings versus one event? The answer is not really, given advances in technology and the planner's ability to negotiate multi-meeting contracts.  According to MPI, here is a synopsis of th...

Jul 27, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Last week, 6,000 individuals attended Tony Robbins "Unleash the Power Within" 4-day event in San Jose, California. Part of the program in overcoming their own fear is to walk on hot coals. However, this time things went very wrong and at least 21 individuals needed to be treated for 2nd or 3rd degree burns on the soles of their feet.  Below are the 4 flubs from the event that Reuters New Agency reported and the fixes that any event meeting services organization can utilize ...

Jul 25, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
It used to be that event organizers handled all the planning, execution, and logistics of a meeting and left the rest of the coordination to the executive and sales team. However, in today's competitive and digital environment, this is no longer the case. Sales reps want qualified leads and C-Suite management demand measurements to justify their participation in a trade show -- and all of this responsibility now falls squarely on the planner's shoulders.   However, in this de...

Jul 23, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Have you ever sat in the back of the room listening to the high-priced speaker you booked and at the same time, observe your audience glancing at their watches, checking their smartphones, and start coughing or yawning? Do you see the energy just sap out of the room? And then, do you get mad at yourself that you didn't vet your speaker well enough?  Here's a reality checkpoint: Perhaps the reason your speaker wasn't effective is partly your fault. "What?!?" you ...

Jul 20, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
You have decided it is time to get all or a subset of your employees together and brainstorm about an opportunity, challenge or threat your company is facing. Since there will be more than 50 people in attendance, it doesn't make sense to meet as one big group. You have heard about brainstorming, but are unsure how it works. Lets take you through, step-by-step ways to integrate problem-solving, team building and brainstorming into one meeting!  Here are the 9 steps (or nifty nuggets...

Jul 18, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Do you sometimes walk away from a vendor meeting feeling like you "left money on the table"? Does your gut tell you that you had some more negotiating to do? There is no easy answer to this process because suppliers are in the business of winning your meeting and bringing in a profit. In these financially perilous times, you need to do your best to keep costs contained...but how? Here is a good rule of thumb:  The bigger the conference spend, the more opportunity there i...

Jul 16, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Sometimes planning a meeting feels like building a new house. You have the plans and the monies set aside. Construction has begun and everything seems to be going as smooth as silk. And then Wham! You forgot your husband upgraded the countertops to granite, the carpeting you wanted is out of stock so you end up with a more expensive brand, and don't even get me started on the landscaping! Bottom line: Add about $25,000 or more to your original budget and you should be golden. But, cor...

Jul 13, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Between the economy, scandals, and online technology options, meeting planners are constantly positioning and defending themselves and the worth of their meetings. Now comes one more challenge: attendance. Attendees are asking this very question: "Am I getting the maximum value at a fair price?"   So how do you price your event? MPI recently published an article called "Framing the pricing picture: revenue, risk and registration" which took a look at how eve...

Jul 09, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
This year's annual event is over and after the post-con with your suppliers and seeing the last attendee off the premises, you fly home and sleep for hours on end. When you arrive back to the office the next business day totally refreshed, you start the process of planning next year's event -- all over again.  But are you giving any thought to whether or not your attendees will come back again next year? If you have never considered this, chew on this fact: It takes a whole l...

Jul 06, 2012 by DeDe Mulligan
Hybrid events are useful in sharing all or part of a face-to-face event with attendees who cannot make it to your conference. Knowing there is an untapped group of participants that want and crave your information but for different reasons cannot make it to your event, a hybrid meeting is an optimal way to deliver content to a remote audience. .  Hybrid events are hot right now for  the following reasons:  Attendees don't have to incur travel expenses in ord...