Recent Posts

Apr 24, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Earlier this month, several of my peers gathered in San Francisco for the Sustainable Meetings Conference hosted by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC). The focus of this conference was:  Shorter presentations with audience interaction Visitation of sustainable locations in San Fran - from a green hotel to a farmer's market and Providing a more flexible event format to meet attendee needs.  This conference got me thinking about sustainability. What is it? H...  

Apr 22, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
When event planning, it is important that you know as much about the room layout, presenters' needs, and AV required as it is about the lunch you are serving to attendees. Nothing can make a meeting really shine or make it really dull than faulty or half-baked audio visual equipment.  Here are 8 things you can do to keep your budget in line while minimizing the "surprise" element, as originally reported in the Spring 2014 edition of BizBash Magazine.  Make Sure Ev...  

Apr 16, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
The teacher/student methodology of learning for adults is gone. Dead. Passe.  With ever distracting technologies vying  for the meeting participant's attention and time, shouldn't you try and make it work for you? It isn't just about getting the attendee's attention, it is about keeping it throughout the duration of the meeting.  Shawna Suckow, Founder & President of the Senior Planners Industry Network, states, "Return On Attention (ROA) is a fairl...  

Apr 14, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
SmartSource Rentals (SSR) has taken a bold step to improve efficiencies among its 21 national branch locations through the implementation of  a program to streamline operations and improve workplace conditions. Below is an explanation of the 6S Program and why it should matter to you when considering an audiovisual rental company.  THE 6S PROGRAM This program consists of the following components:  Sort: SmartSource consistently goes through their equipment to determine...  

Apr 10, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Although hybrid events have been around for awhile, they are expected to garner more popularity as technology becomes faster, less expensive and more reliable.  This blog will tackle what a hybrid meeting is, how it is beneficial to you and why it is important to choose a partner that has both AV and IT experience when event planning.  HYBRID MEETING DEFINITION A hybrid event is a conference that combines a live event with a virtual component. WHY HYBRID EVENTS ARE GROWING IN POP...  

Apr 08, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Last July, there were two bills introduced into the US House of Representatives to limit federal spending and attendance of face-to-face meetings by governmental employees. The first bill, HR 313 is sitting in the Senate, while the second HR 2643, has not left the House floor.  Here's the latest update on the two bills and what we can all learn from them HR Bill 313: Passed the House on July 31, 2013 and has not been approved by the Senate.  The Government Spending Accountability Act of...  

Apr 04, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Contracts are the in the everyday fabric of all meeting planner's lives. They are the wheel that makes things happen.  Yet, according to Joan Eisenstodt, Chief Strategist of Eisenstodt Associates, LLC they are the most overlooked and misunderstood part of the event planning process. She stated in The Meeting Professional magazine, "We tend to ignore what we fear and don't understand....the only thing you should fear is the outcome of not paying attention."&nbs...  

Apr 02, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Event planning takes a lot of time and attention to detail. Obviously you need fantastic content and a great speaker, but beyond that your meeting logistics need to be laid out just right. Here are a few basic AV considerations when planning your next meeting that will help make it memorable for your attendees.   VIEWING AREA DETAILS Can every person in the room see the presentation clearly?  If not, you will need to invest in a larger screen. However, you don't want the fro...  

Mar 31, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Riddle me this: What do  TED SXSW Oracle OpenWorld and  C2MTL all have in common? They are extremely popular events and according to Skift, who recently published The Future of Meetings in Hospitality they use new and evolving technology platforms to engage their audience.  Gone is the lecture style. Gone are classroom and theater seating.  In are crowdsourced, hybrid events with interactive presentations.  But what they found that may shock you is...  

Mar 28, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Feedback is meant to help people improve and be successful. Yet, many planners use a mechanism to gather feedback -  through paper, Audience Response System rentals, or mobile device apps - but don't really do anything with the results.  Feedback is defined in one of two ways:  Reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task and used as a basis for improvement and/or  The modification of a process or system by its results or effects Most organizers f...