Learning a New Role
After five years with a small company you expect to know the ins and outs fairly well. You somewhat expect to know all aspects of your position with knowledge of other positions performed within the company. Well at least you think you do… Read more
What to Expect When You’re Expected Onsite
As one of the newest members of the MRA team, I have been encouraged to reflect on my recent onsite conference experiences. I have made several observations and learned valuable tools that can be used when planning future events. With only two under my belt so far this year, I would say I am just beginning to make memories to share with others, but I can give a brief overview of my last trip to the BbWorld Transact event that took place at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.
While recently speaking with a colleague about my last trip, she asked me a few questions that proved to be very insightful and useful as I begin to prepare for upcoming events. Read more
Event Mobile Apps Part II – Advice & Trends from Mobile Technology Experts
In my last post, I recommended seven points show organizers should consider before they launch a mobile app for their next event. In this post, I’ve interviewed several leaders in the mobile industry to get their insights on pitfalls to avoid and trends to watch.
I. Advice from the Experts
Look at the performance metrics of apps and providers…
According to Kathleen Gilroy, Entrepreneur and Owner of SWIFT Mobile, the options available right now to event planners can make it difficult to select an app that really matches the needs of the event. “There are so many options now that it is very hard to differentiate the app providers. Meeting planners need to look carefully under the hood to make sure that the apps can support the show data.” The larger the show, with more sessions, events and attendees, the more critical this is. Read more
“How’d You Get That Job?” My Story
When introducing myself and my occupation to new professionals, the response is often,
“Event planning! What a glamorous job! How did you get started?”
I’d like to answer that question here and share how I started my career in the event industry with you. Keep in mind that the meeting and event profession is multi-faceted, presenting a variety of opportunities for involvement. In fact, I’ve encountered such an interesting array of stories of how others have landed in the meetings and event industry that I want to share their stories with you, too. Welcome to Part 1 of my new series featuring the unique careers of meetings and event professionals and how they earned those positions. Considering a career as an event organizer? Read on! Read more
How to find the Right Job or the Right People
A widely popular topic these days is “best practices” for resumes, interviewing and ultimately, getting hired. We can thank our recent economy for the high rates of unemployment and plenty of strong candidates all vying for the same jobs. Gone are the days of not being able to find qualified employees and too small of a “pool” to draw from. Not only are hiring managers inundated with more resumes than any one person could possibly want, but it has gotten increasingly more challenging for us in the conference management industry to find the right people to join our teams! And as my new favorite author Jim Collins says in his well-known book, Good to Great, “The key to a successful company is finding the right people” (Collins, 2002). So how do you find these people? Here are a few of my favorite tips for both people looking for jobs and those looking for their newest Conference Professional! Read more 
Welcome Vanessa Heavens, Helping to Create the Ultimate Conference Experience!
I have the great pleasure of introducing to you our newest employee Vanessa Heavens. As a Conference Experience Specialist, Vanessa is responsible for assuring our conference participants receive exceptional service and communication in planning for each event. She brings professionalism, a caring attitude and willingness to work hard in addition Read more
Bridge the Gap-Making IT Work for Business
Withstanding the possibility that you are assisted by a business consultant who actually delivers everything they promise, you are most likely in a position similar to mine, where there are no magic elixirs or shortcuts for ensuring that IT and business leaders see eye-to-eye on the business strategy.
Generally speaking, those in IT rarely demonstrate an acumen for business or even share a common language. Similarly, those in business rarely demonstrate an interest in the fundamentals of IT operations nor could they tell the difference between a MAC address and a Big Mac™. In any case, this is the gap we are presented with, and it needs to be spanned if we’re to achieve optimal results. Read more
Mobile indoor way-finding is finding its way to an App near you.
Have you ever taken a walk through an affluent neighborhood and wondered about what lies at the end of a driveway? When I first got my iPhone and realized I could use the Google Maps App, not only to get an up close, detailed view of the neighborhood I was walking through (and a bird’s eye view of what I couldn’t see in the real world), but also to track my own position in that neighborhood as I moved through it, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, my excitement led to me to spending too many hours walking with my head bent forward, following my virtual progress on my phone instead of paying attention to the real world. After the novelty of the map app wore off (and after being honked at a few times), I decided to put the iPhone back in my pocket. I would only pull it out when I really needed it; to check on the direction my walk was taking me, to find out how far I had gone, or to satisfy my curiosity about what that 10 foot fence behind the large villa was hiding. You know, really important stuff.
It didn’t take long for me to take all this for granted. I can’t imagine a world where I couldn’t check on my location any time I wanted to. Well, as long as I’m outside … and as long as the margin of error can be within 20 meters. I can accept that limitation, right? At some point in the future, I may not have to. Imagine you are in a super mall and want your phone to show you your exact location (within a couple feet) in that mall. You want your phone to give you precise (literally step-by-step) directions to a specific store in that mall. On top of that, you want to be able to download a 2-for-1 coupon for that store while you are walking towards it. Read more
The End – 6 Post-Event Promotion Ideas for Keeping Your Event Top of Mind
If you’re producing a spring event, you’re likely in the midst of executing your promotional strategy to attract attendees to your event. Before you know it, the event has come and gone, and as they say here in the South, “a good time was had by all.” Now, you can bask in the post-event “down-time,” right? Not exactly! While a pre-conference promotional campaign is, no doubt, part of your event organizer toolkit, do you have an organized post-event marketing campaign?
If you’ve succeeded in delivering a conference that combined relevant learning experiences with quality networking sessions, your attendees have left feeling energized and enthusiastic about your next event. As a result, attendees are searching for information on the next event long before you’re ready to formally promote it. Strike while the appetite for information is high and feed that post-conference enthusiasm! Here are six post-event promotion ideas to engage attendees after your event and encourage them to return for the next. Read more
Event Mobile Apps – 7 Strategies to Apply Before You Launch
We’ve likely all heard the statistics about the acceleration of smart phone usage. By 2014, everyone over the age of 4 will have one, and most of the people over the age of 12 will have built an app for one.
OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but there is no question that smartphones are on the rise and changing the way people interact with the world. Pretty soon everyone, including conference attendees, will expect a mobile app that provides the information they need, when they need it. Mobile apps for events offer an alternative to printed programs, add new media channels for advertising and sponsorship, and offer new ways to facilitate communication and engagement between attendees.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to mobile apps. Consider the following strategies before you make the mobile app investment: Read more
