Recent Posts

May 08, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Every attendee, exhibitor, speaker and sponsor has a secret goal when they come to your meeting or conference: They want to meet the client of their dreams. The million dollar prospect that signs the multi-year contract. Barring that, someone who will lead them to more and more business.  However, most of the time, they are sorely disappointed. Why? Because they spends 70-80% of the time talking about themselves. Their products. Their service offerings. Their benefits.  ...  

May 06, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Two organizations, Cvent and the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) recently spoke to PCMA about their experiences with mobile apps and how they are improving the user experience over time. Below is a synopsis what mobile means to each organization and how you can use these findings to integrate mobile into your next meeting. CVENT "(Mobile is) about making it as easy as possible for attendees to engage with each other, or your speakers, or your staff or your sponsors. It's so m...  

May 02, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
  Your organization has decided to hold an off-site meeting and you are in charge. Whether it is a local meeting in a hotel or a large convention several hundred miles away, you still need to vet the location and make certain the venue will work, especially for your meeting participants. But where do you start? Here is a quick listing of the things to keep in mind when selecting a destination and meeting space. EVENT PLANNER CHECKLIST Take a hard look at the location. If you ar...  

Apr 30, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
If you are as old as I am, you may recall those early days of Personal Computers. I was in sales with IBM at the time, and PCs were all the rage...until that dreaded point when the system would "freeze" and nothing could unlock it...not a stroke of the keyboard or a click of the mouse.   So, the user was left with no choice but to hold down the CTRL+ALT+DELETE buttons at the same time. All unsaved work on the computer would be lost, the user would complain incessantly but at le...  

Apr 28, 2014 by DeDe Mulligan
Shel Israel, Co-Author of Age of Context: Mobile, Sensors, Data and the Future of Privacy recently spoke to Mitra Sorrells of BizBash Magazine about the five things to be to be aware of when it comes to technology and how they will impact events in the future.  Here is a synopsis of Sorrells' interview, along with my thoughts on this, especially when it comes to trade show technology.  THE FIVE TRENDS Israel said to be on the look out for and continue to integrate th...  

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...