Jul 29, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Free Wi-Fi is so easy. You pull out your smartphone or laptop rental and up pops a number of Wi-Fi networks to connect with. No security keys to enter or charges to be incurred.  So what is wrong with this picture? The truth: Just about everything.  It turns out that hackers and scammers lurk in places where business travelers and attendees reside - hotel lobbies, trade show floors and airports. Most attendees have just gotten off a multi-hour plane ride, landed ground transportation...

Jul 25, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
  Without a doubt, social media is the fastest growing way to promote your meeting or event with attendees and potential attendees. The key is to keep the fire going once the invitations are sent out and use a little social savvy to make the search engines work in your favor. Jay Baer, Social Media Guru and Author, has identified several steps to promote your meeting via this channel. Below are some of his suggestions along with a few of my own insights about ways create buzz. 5 Ways to Br...

Jul 24, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Walt Disney World has just launched a new wearable device that combines Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) with a mobile app to improve the guest experience. It is called MyMagic+. This blog post will focus on what RFID is, how guests can use MyMagic+ and how you might use this methodology when event planning,  What is RFID? Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology uses radio waves to identify people. There is a wireless unit that reads the information contained in a wearable dev...

Jul 21, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Without a doubt, trade shows are becoming more innovative and engaging. And let's face it, they need to be in order to keep attendees coming back. PCMA Convene Magazine recently highlighted four shows they believe are on the cutting edge. Here is a high level overview of what trade show organizers are doing and how trade show technology can impact the attendee experience. Trade Show Trend #1: Sustainability At The Agenda Show they repurpose materials from one show to the next. Lauren Radie, ...

Jul 17, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Believe it or not, PowerPoint has been around for 24 years. When you think about it, that is pretty amazing considering how many technology innovations have occurred since then. Think about Palm, Blackberry and the sundry of other hardware and software apps that are now landfill driven. Yet PowerPoint presentations still hang on. Why? I believe PowerPoint still has presence because it is bundled with Office, it is easy to use and navigational friendly. However, out of the estimated 30 million p...

Jul 15, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Can you believe it? The Risk Management Society (RIMS), an organization of more than 11,000 risk management professionals, took some...(gulp)....risks at their annual conference last April. Christopher Durso from PCMA caught up with Stuart Ruff, RIMS Director of Meetings & Events to discuss the five choices they made and the impact it had on their attendees. Here are the highlights, along with a few of my own observations of how interactive technology can help. 5 Risk Factors Hire a Co...

Jul 11, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
While more and more attendees, exhibitors and speakers are moving to mobile apps, there still seems to be some hesitancy on the part of those responsible for event planning to do so. If you are not sold on moving to iPad rentals or the use of BYOD, here are 9 benefits of this technology and great testimonials about it.  Easy Peasy Mobile Benefits No more paper! All the information is in one or more app. This makes it really easy on the attendee to find the information, espec...

Jul 09, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
According to the May 2014 Virtual Edge Institute Digital Event Benchmark Report, hybrid and virtual events are trending upwards. This conclusion was reached by surveying 200+ event planning professionals. Below is a capsulation of that report, along with my own observations about the importance of keeping face-to-face meetings alive.  Survey Results 65% of meeting producers said their goal in producing online events was to provide education to those attendees who cannot physicall...

Jul 07, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Whether you are managing a nonprofit, association or corporate event planning staff, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is all the rage with attendees. They want to do good and give back. But the truth of the matter is they have very little time to serve on boards or do manual labor. Given that criteria, here are three apps that can run on iPad or laptop rentals. They can give attendees flexibility in their giving or you can set a goal as to how much you want to raise by the end of your conf...

Jul 02, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
At last March's, South by Southwest conference, interactive event technology was all the rage. From virtual reality to 3D printing, marketers were showing their offerings to the 150,000+ attendees. While BizBash highlighted many of the innovative offerings, I am going to focus on five of them and include trade show technology rentals that you can use today to help your products stand out from all the rest.  SPOTIFY THE HOUSE Spotify, an app that allows you to stream millions of songs, of...