Conference Services

Have you ever attended a 2 or 3 day educational conference, gotten home, and said to yourself, "Was that really worth the 2 to 4 days out of the office?" I have completed that assessment and to be honest, the last 3 educational conferences I attended my answer was a resounding -- maybe. 

Wouldn't it be great however, if you felt that a conference was developed just for you? With your interests and needs in mind? I know that is unrealistic, but it isn't unreasonable to expect that some of your needs are going to be met through some of the educational content. So...what is the difference between a great conference and a medicore one?

Here are 5 ideas that might astound you, don't cost an arm and a leg, and might bring your attendee back year after year. 

Tip #1: Make certain everyone on your conference services team has a positive, can do attitude.

When I arrive at an educational meeting and check-in, I expect to be received by smiling, helpful registration staff. If I have a question or a need, I expect them to address it. Or get back to me "within a reasonable period of time". 

If I experience negative or apathetic attitudes right from the get go, it affects my conference experience. The latest research on this astounding: Guests and attendees make a judgement about a venue, meeting, or city, based on the first 15 minutes they are there. Make your first 15 minutes count. 

Tip #2: Collaborate on meeting content with unlike minded people.

When developing the content for your association meeting or conference, get as many different people from dramatically different walks of life to make your meeting great. Roger von Oech's book, "A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You can be More Creative", has many examples of how dissonance among team members led to break through solutions. So, it goes for your events, too. 

Tip #3: Close your mouth. 

Event planners (myself included) think we know everything about meeting logistics and want to tell everyone how many meetings we have planned and how smart we are. Shut up and sit down. Let the timid attendee or volunteer lead the discussion. The more restraint we show, the better results we will see because it will no longer be our event but it will shift to the attendee's event. 

Tip #4: Show, don't tell. 

Using visuals will really help drive the message and enhance the attendee experience, especially with product launching events. Rent iPads and run video that demonstrates the product or concept. Have computer kiosks on the trade show floor to show photographs, video, or even run online chat sessions with customer service people back at the home office. 

Tip #5: Have a call to action. 

At the end of each conference, meeting, or event, the attendee should feel that they need to DO something. It could be as simple as buying the new product offering, signing up for more education, or writing their congressman. Action makes attendees interested. 

AV Event Solutions, provides meeting and event planners with iPads, kiosk rentals, and much, much more! Give them a call today at 888.249.4903 to learn more about their offerings!

Mashable, the largest independent news source dedicated to covering digital culture, social media, and technology, had its annual conference last week with about 300 attendees at Walt Disney World's Contempory Resort.

This year was different, however. No presentation was allowed to go over 30 minutes and some were as short as 10 minutes. They managed 32 speakers in their 20 general sessions. On the first day, they were able to pack 4 different presentations into the first 90 minutes! 

"Our speakers have strong points to get across, and often the shorter the presentation, the more powerful it is. We also wanted to steer presenters away from talking too much about themselves. And I think the less time we gave them encouraged them to get right to the point and talk about what matters most," said Jennifer Diamond, Marketing Director at Mashable. 

In order to keep the attendees interactive and engaged, the conference services committee did several things right, including the following:
 

1. One Fell Swoop. They loaded all the presentations for the day onto the Powerpoint presentation equipment in the room, so there was fluidity between speakers with minimum set up time. 
    
2. Mixed it Up. If they had a 30-minute presentation, it was followed by a 10-minute one, followed by a 20-minute segment. The format varied too. Sometimes it was a single speaker on stage and other times a small panel. 
    
3. Obtained a Variety of Speakers. They had individuals from Harvard, TED, American Express, MTV, and Klout -- just to name a few. This made the program more diverse and engaging because they were bringing together several prospectives and opinions about digital topics and trends. 
    
4. Lots of Time for Meals and Deals. The dinners were 2 hours, every break was at least 30 minutes, and they even had a speed networking event at the beginning of the conference that was 90 minutes long. 
   
   
5. Encouraged Social Media Sharing. Event organizers encouraged attendees to use Social Media to share updates, photos, and videos. They had banners like this one  to the right, posted at various locations at the conference, reminding attendees to share. 
    
6. Combined Fun with Learning. At the end of the conference they had a scavenger hunt at Epcot Park, allowing attendees to enjoy Walt Disney World, while continuing to network with each other. 

Are you event planning in California? Contact AV Event Solutions for all your conference or meeting needs. A provider of LCD and screen rentals, as well as, other state-of-the-art technloogy tools, make AV Event Solutions a sought after audio visual provider. Give them a call today!

National Travel and Tourism Week kicked off on Saturday, May 5th and will run until Sunday, May 13th. This annual salute to all organizations affiliated with the travel industry (including meetings, events, and suppliers, such as conference equipment rental companies) is meant to celebrate and champion the power of travel.

But unfortunately, it sits under a huge cloud called the General Services Administration (GSA) scandal which has hit the industry hard by the cancelation of at least 1 association meeting last week. It has also caused the House and the Senate to approve separate, but equally damaging bills, that could reduce travel spending of governmental employees by 20% through the year 2016. 

As of this post's publication date, President Obama has not signed this measure into law and given his recent Executive Order pinpointing a need to increase international travel to the U.S., it is my hope that he does not sign the bills. Much pressure is being brought forth by associations such as ASAE, PCMA, and MPI, including having their members sign an industry-wide petition. 

In these times of uncertainty, it is always wise to look at the facts to see what impact travel really has in our country. So, here are some key talking points about travel and the event meeting services industry we should be articulating to Members of Congress, state officials, and even local dignitaries. 

Below is what we should be celebrating. Here are the facts, as presented by the U.S. Travel Association:

Travel and Tourism generates:

• $1.9 trillion in economic output
  • $1.1 trillion in areas that affect the traveler (such as speaker fees, food and beverage, event staff, renting audio visual equipment) and
  • $900 billion spent directly by the traveler.
     
• $194 billion in payroll 
   
• $124 billion in tax revenue for federal, state, and local agencies
   
• 14.4 million jobs
  • 6.9 million in industries that support travel 
  • 5.2 million in the travel industry itself
  • 1.4 million in general business travel and
  • .9 million in the meetings and events industry
     
• 1 out of 9 U.S. jobs (hotels, convention centers, restaurants, event audio visual firms, caterers, airlines, ground transportation, trains, taxis, just to name a few)

ASAE, PCMA, MPI, and the U.S. Travel Association are asking all of us in the event meeting services industry to do the following:

1. Share the above facts with colleagues, association members, and other organizations
2. While Congress is not in session, contact your Members of Congress and share with them the facts and the ripple effect such legislation may have on the travel industry
3. Do the 3 things outlined in an earlier blog post, "Why Are Face-to-Face Meetings So Important Anyway?" 

AV Event Solutions, a California meeting equipment provider, is very interested in helping meeting and event planners carry this message forward. Talk to one of their skilled Account Executives as to how they can help you communicate the value of meetings!

For generations we have been an ownership society from our homes, cars, computers, and everything in between. Today, in part due to the financial meltdown of 2009, we are becoming more of a renter society from renting homes, cars and everything in between.

What is the reason for becoming more of  a rental society? The main reasons are because it is no longer considered a stigma to rent and the equity argument seems to be less and less relevant as home values continue to drop and are at their all-time low.

This position is spilling over into the corporate and association world as well. Instead of packing, shipping, unpacking and storing items, organizations are renting everything from office furniture, computers, and conference services equipment for meetings and events.  

So, why rent AV equipment? Here are some great resosns:

1. Maximum Flexibility. With interactive technology tool rentals changing so often -- generally every 18-36 months -- it is most likely in the best interest of your organization to rent so you have the greatest options when it comes to AV for your meeting or event. 
    
2. Great Efficiency. You no longer have to make YOUR equipment work for the event nor will you have to keep up with new technology. By partnering with an event audio visual rental rental company, you can get the latest audiovisual equipment you need for your event that fits within your budget.
    
3. Low Budget Load. When you own AV equipment you have to finance, maintain, repair, store, and insure it. Then, when you replace it, you need to resell it. When you rent, you don't have to maintain, repair or store the technology equipment. In addition, av rentals can save your association or corporate event money and more importantly, your time.  

Why buy AV equipment when you can spend less and rent it? AV Event Solutions can provide your organization with a variety of equipment, including iPads, laptops, projectors, screens, audience response, and much, much more! Give them a call to learn more as to why renting makes total sense for your organization. 

Ah..spring! The daffodils are out, the days are longer, and baseball season is in full swing. When I think of baseball, my mind often gravitates to great players such as Sandy Alamar, Johnny Bench, and Cal Ripkin, Jr.. But one player that probably is quoted the most often is Yogi Berra. Believe it or not, the funny sayings below can provide useful event meeting services insights. Here are 7 of his best quotes and how they relate to the industry.

1. "You can observe a lot by just watching." Before deciding on a meeting destination or venue, ask to watch a meeting about the size of the one you are planning in action. Checking out the parking lot, restrooms, kitchen, and how responsive the staff is to the client they are serving can speak volumes to how they will treat you during your event. Don't forget to observe the partners as well. How well did the event audio visual rental company perform? The caterer? The ground transportation company?
    
2. "It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much." Do a thorough vetting of your speakers. Do they have too many PowerPoint slides? Do they insist on questions and answers to be held until the end of the program? Make sure there is plenty of time for conversations in your sessions. Make certain the speaker is a great listener as well as a dynamic presenter. 
    
3. "If the fans don't come out to the ballpark, you can't stop them." Are attendees consistently coming back to your association meetings year in, year out? Is attendance trending up or down? You can't make people come to your meeting (unless it is a mandatory company event) so you need to entice them to come to it and make them feel welcome. 
    
4. "If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer." There are going to be questions at your meeting that you will not know the answer to. Make certain to obtain the name, cell number, and email address of the person asking and tell them when you will get back to them with an answer. Then do it! Being open and honest isn't a good policy, it should be your only policy. 
    
5. "Never answer anonymous letters." Meeting planners want to gather evaluations about the event via paper or email surveys. The problem with this is it is cumbersome and time consuming. By using wireless audience response systems, planners can poll attendees anonymously and instantly. It isn't so much about an individual response as it is about the overall feeling about the event. 
    
6. "It ain't the heat, it's the humility." Don't assume you know what attendee's want to hear about at your next conference. Ask, ask, and ask again. About destinations, hotels, speakers, and agenda items. It's not about your organization being right, it's about making the event attractive to the attendee. Be humble and assume they are the expert because when it comes to their own professional development, they are!
    
7. "Even Napoleon had his Watergate." Every meeting can potentially have a crisis; natural or man-made. It is important to have a crisis plan, communicate it to the team, and then follow through on it in the event of a catastrophe. 

Are you event planning in California? Call on AV Event Solutions to provide you with Audience Response rentals as well as other state-of-the-art audio visual equipment. Give them a call today at 888.249.4903 for more information. 

When an attendee walks into a meeting space, they have certain assumptions about what should be available to them based on their experience at home and work. In their home, they probably have lightning fast Wi-Fi, a large HDTV and Blu-Ray system with surround sound, and a smartphone with a multitude of apps loaded on it. A Facebook post or tweet is just a click away. Photos are taken with ease and uploaded instantaneously.

At work, the Wi-Fi network might be a little slower, but it is still pretty quick. Emails, social media, and internal meetings are fast-paced and intention driven. Everyone is busy, busy, busy. And this visual stimulation is just going to continue to increase with the broad application of 3D technology and innovative interactive technology tool rentals. 

Andrea Sullivan, President of BrainStrength Systems said, "Young people today have different brain wiring than older people who used different technologies that were dominate in earlier decades. For instance, older generations who are used to print media read from left to right and top to bottom, while younger people, who are used to reading screens, pick out boxes and colors, and bounce around the viewing area with their eyes to absorb information." 

1. The lifespan of a meeting has changed. For many years, planners mailed and emailed invitations to their events directly to potential attendees. They usually had a 2nd or 3rd mailing, followed by a telephone call. Once the event was over and the post-event analysis completed, most planners took a few days off and didn't give that meeting another thought until the planning began for the following year's conference. 
   
   This is not the way of the world any longer. Attendees no longer want direct mail and younger attendees don't even check their email accounts. They want to know who is coming to the event and have an online community to connect with others, before, during, and after the event. Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, and Twitter followers are the way attendees connect and stay connected.  
    
2. Sound and lighting rentals are extremely important. Sound and light set the mood for the meeting. Most attendees want to "feel" something when they go to a conference. They want to be moved in someway. No better way to do this than through a stimulating and welcoming environment with staging, lighting, sound, and displays, such as computer kiosks, that compel the attendee to take notice. 
    
3. AV and IT are converging. In order to have interactive technology tool rentals work well in the meeting environment, the right equipment needs to be synced with a fast, robust, and secure Wi-Fi network. Many venues offer Wi-Fi access, but it isn't going to meet the needs of 1,000 attendees due to limited access points and bandwidth. Renting a Wi-Fi network array can boost the bandwidth significantly and can be obtained through AV Event Solutions! 

Give your attendees that "living room" feeling with HD Plasma TV rentals, innovative sound and lighting options, and state-of-the-art AV technology. If you are event planning in California, contact AV Event Solutions for the total meeting equipment package! 

When event planners book a hotel or conference center, they are often told that they are required or encouraged to use their in-house AV company for the meeting. The pitch goes something like this:

"We would like you to use XYZ Company for your event because they have all their equipment onsite, their pricing is available to you right now, and they are very familiar with our venue." 

Sounds good, right? Maybe yes and maybe no. Here are 6 things to consider when engaging with any AV provider, from an equipment, budget, and resource prospective. 

Check the employee turnover rate of the providers you are considering. 

If the in-house supplier has a large turnover rate, especially their AV technicians, the playing field is level with any outside provider. That in-house supplier may actually have LESS experience at the meeting facility than the outside vendor. Ask this question of all your potential providers because long-term employment with minimum turnover shows stability within the organization. 

The in-house supplier is working for the hotel, not for you.

Sad, but true. The in-house AV company is most interested in keeping the people at the hotel happy; where an outside partner is contracted directly with you, the event planner. The outside company wants you to call on them again and again for business, so they will do everything in their power to keep you satisfied. "Just because an AV company has a good relationship with a hotel (or pays them a fat commission) doesn't mean I or my client gets the best service," said James Maynard, Director at Adventure Sports. 

Send out at least 3 RFPs, including one to the in-house company. 

Merle Klein, Director of Meeting Operations at MFM Lamey Group said, "Bids from in-house companies are almost always WAY over the top." Remember, a cut of what the in-house provider charges you is going directly to the venue. 

Feeling overwhelmed by your technology options when planning a meeting or event? You are not alone! With the ever-changing pace of technological choices and applications, it can leave the most experienced planner perplexed about their options.

Below are a few apps that Julius Solaris, Editor of Event Manager Blog, feels are good ones to help organize, promote, and allow for maximum interaction with your attendees. 

EVENT COLLABORATION

Gantto

Create an online Gantt Chart in just a few minutes with this highly intuitive system. This app allows for real-time collaboration of the event, especially if you have a lot of individuals on the committee who may be in different parts of the country. It is a web based application so it can run on either a PC or Mac platform. 

Plan.ner

Remove the need for long email threads when planning your event. Invite all the people connected to your event to join the group, ask questions, and then make decisions. Share your event plans via Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. During and after the event, post pictures in a private gallery. 

EVENT PROMOTION

Timekiwi

This service allows you to create an interactive timeline about your event. It has a customization interface that allows you to change your profile information and add a background image.Every timeline automatically gets its own RSS feed and can connect to social media sites. 

eContact.me

Allows you to post new events in minutes, manage ticket sales, and provides real-time attendee management. It also has a customizable URL for event registration, allows attendees to save eCards for new contacts, and organize the conference's event content. 

PRESENTATIONS

SlideDog

This app puts all presentations into a playlist that can seamlessly switch between PowerPoint, Word, Excel, web pages, video, images, and PDF files without the presenter having to fumble through it. It works on a Windows platform and should be a part of your Powerpoint presentation equipment configuration. SlideDog works well for meetings, sales presentations, conferences, and trainings where there may be many presenters and/or many apps within the presentation. 

ATTENDEE CHECK-IN

VenueWize

Rent iPads and check-in meeting participants easily with real-time guest information.This app also has a social media element, online ticketing, and a team collaboration component. 

PRODUCT LAUNCHING EVENT

Social Pix

Event planners set up a photo activation area where the brand or product logo drop is behind the attendees, while they are getting their picture taken. The photographer then sends the photo to one of the kiosk rentals. Attendees connect with Facebook to upload their photo their wall and ask their friends to "like" the Facebook Fan Page of the new product. Social Pix automatically triggers a story to the fan's wall. 

ATTENDEE APPLICATION

DoubleDutch Flock

Rent Tablet PCs for this social app that provides an interactive experience for event attendees, organizers, and sponsors. Flock provides the entire event program on the tablet, engages attendees, and provides a gaming element. It pushes all updates about the event to social networks from the app. Flock also provides real-time analytics to the event organizer. 

AV Event Solutions is your California meeting equipment provider! They have iPad rental, Tablet PC rentals, rent computer kiosks, and LCD projector and screens. Give them a call today!

What is the purpose of a meeting or event, anyway? Well that depends on your point of view, but most  people agree it is to disseminate information about a product, service, policy, or provide some level of professional education. In addition, it could be to reinforce your brand, set sales objectives, team-build, or get your group of members together for the annual meeting. 

Some meetings and events are terrific while others are..well...lackluster. Most event meeting services industry colleagues agree that if the message of the meeting doesn't resonate enough with the audience member to change their actions, then it wasn't suceesful . We want that message to carry through and change the attendee's buying patterns. How can we do that? Through 3 basic methods: goal-setting, clear communication, and follow-through. 

Here are the tips to make your next meeting more effective:

Tip #1: Set Goals.

• What is the purpose of the meeting? 
• Where are you going to hold it? Onsite or offsite? A local or remote location?
• When are you holding it? 
• Who needs to attend? Employees, Clients, Members? Have a definitive number in mind.
• How will you measure success? Goals need to be set regarding what attendees learn in training and educational conferences. Those goals can be measured through wireless Audience Response Systems. Event organizers can measure success by the number of people that come to the event, exhibitors by the number of leads generated from the trade show, and sponsors by the inquiries to their website or calls to their organization within 90 days after the show. 
• Why is this meeting important? 

Tip #2: Get Everyone on Board.

Each meeting will be different with unique stakeholders involved, but you will potentially have 3 different ones: Attendees or Employees (always), Sponsors (maybe), and Trade Show Exhibitors (maybe). Whatever the mix, you need to get each group involved in the goal setting exercise above and then help them define measurements for their success. 

Tip #3: Put in Place Project Management.

Once the goals are set and agreed upon, a project manager needs to "drill down" with the team specific objectives that will include resources needed, deadlines, and who is responsible for what. A project management tool should be sent out to the entire group and updated on a regular basis.  

Tip #4: Make the Meeting Interactive. 

Rent iPads so attendees can communicate with each other and the speaker to ask questions or make comments about the session. Wireless microphones throughout the room can encourage attendees to ask questions or make comments during the session. Use Audience Response rentals to test employees knowledgebase before and after the meeting. Make each talk follow the guidelines of TED, PechaKucha, or Ignite. Use gaming to encourage team building. The more involved the attendee, the better chance you have that they will retain the information. 

Tip #5: Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. 

1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after your event check and see if the goals were met by all your stakeholders. This is where most meeting planners often fall down; they rarely check-in with their sponsors and exhibitors to see if their objectives were met. 

AV Event Solutions can help you make your meeting more effective by engaging your attendees and providing you with a project manager as well. Give them a call today!

Even though the economy is on the upswing and most event planners are seeing a slight increase in meeting attendance and the number of meetings, the U.S. Travel Association has come out with a "Keep America Meeting" campaign to continue to shine a spotlight on the importance of meetings to the economic vibrancy of our country's economy. Below is a synopsis of their report. 

According the U.S. Travel Association, a meeting has 3 key components:

• It has a minimum length of 4 hours;
• It includes 10 participants or more;
• It is held within the United States.

Meetings are meant to educate, collaborate, or innovate. Here are two interesting statistics that put meetings in perspective:

• According to Convention Industry Council's 2009 Economic Significance of Meetings on the US Economy, meeting participants spend $145 billion a year at local businesses including hotels, restaurants, shops, and meeting vendors.


• 35% of all business travel is meeting related. Meetings provide the greatest financial return over any form of business marketing. For every $1 dollar spent on business travel, $10 to $15 is returned in business according to Oxford Economics USA. 

However, there are 3 things discouraging face-to-face meetings today making it harder to justify the time away from the office and the cost.

1. Due to tight budgets, "doing more with less", and fear of bad publicity, many organizations are discouraging meeting travel. President Obama issued an executive order reducing federal government travel spending by 20% in 2013. In April 2011, California implemented a ban on non-essential travel by state employees, including travel to conferences and professional development meetings.
    
2. Outdated transportation infrastructure, aging airports, and the struggling airline industry are having an impact on long-haul travel. Many cities lack mass transit connectivity to and from their airports. According to Frommers, the U.S. has 4 of the world's top 10 worst airport terminals. 
    
3. With high-tech options available on a person's laptop or tablet, meetings can now take place from the comfort of an office or living room. These include online communities, webinars, and live video streaming, such as Facetime and Skype. 

So, what can we, in the event meeting services industry do to combat these challenges?

1. Continue to communicate the value of face-to-face meetings to policymakers, business leaders, and individuals. Policymakers need to be armed with information about the economic impact, jobs, and tax revenue. Business leaders need to know about growth and individuals need to be proficent in the reasons why a face-to-face meeting makes sense when they are pitching it to their boss. For more information on the value of meetings to the U.S. economy, read our blog "The Value of Meetings, Part 1 and Part 2". 
    
2. Encourage our lawmakers to support a comprehensive transportation plan for air, rail, and surface travel including completing the NextGen Air Traffic Control System and modernizing our airports.  Airlines, airports, and the US government need to invest in alternative fuels, streamline the screening process, and work toward improving the US entry process for oversea visitors. 
    
3. Delineate when virtual meetings and face-to-face meetings make sense. Read our recent blog determining which format works best and why. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions can provide you with a comprehensive offering of interactive technology tool rentals for your next meeting or event. Face-to-face meetings are still important and they can help make yours shine! 

If you have never caught the TV show Mad Men, you owe it to yourself to check it out at least once. It is about a posh Manhattan advertising agency set in the 1960's. Don Draper, the leading man in the series, constantly reminds his team that the ads they present to their clients need to focus on benefits, not features of the product or service they are trying to sell. Here is the trailer for Mad Men, which in itself is selling the benefits of the show.

Contrast the video below of Bipasha, a beautiful model, pitching Pantene Shampoo. There is a real disconnect between the model and the product because the video is choppy due to poor editing and hissing on the microphone which takes away from the message. You can't envision how she uses the shampoo (even though she has beautiful hair) and most importantly, the product pitch is lost.

Lastly, take a look at the new iPad video. Wow! What a difference! It is showing you the benefits of the new iPad and they aren't telling you anything about the product. Take a look and see for yourself.

What are the key takeaways you can use for your next product launching event and how would the team at Mad Men pitch it to you? Don Draper himself would say the following:

Benefits trump features every time. Benefits describe the way the qualities of your product positively affect the attendee, ultimately by making their life better and easier. Often times focusing on one benefit is good enough, such as the new iPad ad did above. 

Compare the following statements about light equipment rentals:

(BENEFITS) Lighting for your next event sets the mood in the room, illuminates the product or people that attendees need to focus on, and can provide an endless array of composition options through color and design. 

(FEATURES) Lighting has many options including pinspot, stationary, LED, spotlights, color, and of course, natural. Work with your AV team to determine which lighting option is best for you. 

What problem is the product solving for your attendees? 

Here are some samples of problem solving statements:

• Rent iPads for your next meeting so attendees don't have to carry around binders, laptops, sponsorship information, and tradeshow brochures. A 10-ounce tablet can do the trick!
• Use wireless audience response systems to track and compile speaker and conference evaluations. No more paper to pass out, collect, and compile! Response rates will increase to at least 90% with ARS units.
• Wi-Fi network arrays can solve your bandwidth burden. Having a fast and robust router can keep your attendees online, all the time.

Use video, photos, and color at every opportunity. 

I could describe the lighting in this room, or I could show you a photograph and you would get it immediately. 

We are visual learners. The more video, photo, and/or color you can implement into your message the better opportunity you have for the audience members to grasp the concept. 

AV Event Solutions will be your Mad Men consultants for lighting, sound, iPad rental, audience response rentals, Wi-Fi array, and computer kiosk solutions. Give them call today at 888.249.4903!

The Premise:  Attendees are given or come into a conference with an array of mobile devices, including a smartphone, laptop, or tablet. They expect the venue's network to be as fast as their network at home or work. At home, they might have 15- or 20- megabit download speed (very fast) and it should be the same where ever they travel. 

The Problems: With 500 attendees simultaneously connecting all those devices to the venue's network, the bandwidth can come to screetching halt or be as slow as molasses. "Universally, I can look at my guest satisfaction scores, and I can say that people generally are going to comment about two things overall: The speed of the Internet is too slow or they had difficulty connecting," said John Czarnecki, IT Program Director at Hyatt Hotels.

"It's too slow, it goes off, or drops. The attendee will remember that longer than he'll remember if his coffee was cold," shared Derek Wood, a hospitality industry consultant.

Accommodating the use of mobile technology in the meeting, especially if you are going to rent iPads to replace your printed material, is a growing concern for conference services managers and planners alike. Relying on the venue to provide the bandwidth needed to keep your attendees satisfied while avoiding the cost of upgrading, installing, and maintaining the infrastructure has become a real conundrum for hoteliers and convention centers. 

Additionally, tablets have a much weaker signal than laptops, which require more access points in a meeting space than a venue probably originally anticipated. 

The Answer: Finding a vendor that can provide Wi-Fi connectivity solutions with other services, such as renting audio visual equipment and provide a project manager to oversee the implementation, is a good answer. They understand how the technology pulls on the bandwidth. If something goes wrong, the vendor is responsible for the support calls and most of the time, will be on-site to fix the problem. 

The vendor can also work hand-in-hand with the event planner to overcome their learning curve by recommending and testing the best solution for event attendees. "It's a pretty complex area once you start to look at all the hardware involved and the network protocols that have to be supported," said Bryan Steele, Managing Director of Jireh-Tek Limited. "Bandwidth is technically quite complicated now."

And what about cost? The event planner can charge the attendee a nominal fee that can be wrapped into the registration fee, generate sponsorship dollars to cover it, and/or dedicated a greater share of the budget to connectivity solutions. "The sweeping generalization is where the service is free, the service is crap," said Wood. 

AV Event Solutions, a California meeting equipment supplier, can provide you with the technology answers to your meeting needs! With Wi-Fi network arrays available to rent for more access points and bandwidth boost, iPads and laptops for rent, and project managers available to understand your needs, they are the total package! Give them a call today!

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) recently published their 21st Annual Meetings Market Survey in Convene Magazine. They surveyed 560 planners, of which 60% were PCMA members. Lets review  the results of this survey with emphasis on the the type of planner that responded, the trending in the industry, and where they see the biggest cost for a typical meeting. 

The respondents fell into the following categories:

• 67% are Meeting Professionals
• 16% are Association or Corporate Executives
• 9% fall into the Other Category and
• 8% are Consultants

The number of meetings they plan per year:

• 33% said 1 to 5
• 31% said more than 20
• 19% said 6 to 10 and
• 17% said 11 to 20

How many people attended your largest meeting?

• 26% had fewer than 500 attendees
• 22% had 1,000 to 2,499
• 18% had 500 to 999
• 12% had 2,500 to 4,999
• 11% had 5,000 to 9,999
• 9% had 10,000 to 24,999
• 2% had 25,000 or more

How was attendance in 2011 versus 2010?

• 41% said it was the same
• 38% saw an increase
• 21% saw a decrease

What are you projecting attendance to be in 2012 versus 2011?

• 53% expect attendance to be the same
• 35% expect it to increase
• 12% expect it to decrease

How many exhibitors did you have at your largest show?

• 33% said fewer than 50 exhibitors
• 26% had 100 to 249
• 17% had 250 to 499
• 16% had 50 to 99
• 8% had 500 or more

What did you outsource? 

How did your budget breakdown?

• 34% on Food and Beverage
• 15% on Event Audio Visual Rentals
• 8% on Labor
• 8% on Speakers and Entertainment
• 7% on Staff Travel and Accommodations
• 7% on Marketing and Promotion
• 7% on Space Rental
• 6% on Registration and Housing
• 4% on Signage and Office Equipment
• 2% on Destination Management
• 1% on Security and
• 1% on Insurance

At your largest event, your organization made revenue the following ways:

• 49% came from event registration
• 26% came from exhibit sales
• 20% came from sponsorships
• 4% came from advertising sales and
• 1% came from other revenue sources

So, what can we, in the event services industry, take away from all this data? 

First, small conferences with a small number of exhibitors are what meeting planners organized last year. Planning large conventions is great, but it looks like it will not be the mainstay of our industry in 2012.

Second, attendance will be flat for most of the conferences. You can view this as good news; with all the virtual options out there, attendees are still opting for face-to-face conferences.

Third, event supply rentals were the biggest item to be outsourced in 2011 and there is no reason that trend will change in the coming year. Event staff is not increasing so it makes sense to continue to outsource more and more.

Fourth, food and beverage, followed by event audio visual rentals, were the largest budget line items, comprising of 49% of the total budget.

Lastly, event organizers made almost half of their money from registration fees last year. 

AV Event Solutions is a premier supplier of all types of audio visual equipment from iPads to wireless audience response systems! Give them a call today to learn more about their state-of-the-art technology solutions that won't break your budget!

The right brain is responsible for intuition and emotion while the left brain insists on just the facts. We need both sides of our brain to function in life, but how does this apply to event meeting planning professionals handle messaging at conference and meetings? Typically, we hire speakers and facilitators that evolve their messaging around the left brain. Why? Because that is the way we learned and processed information since we were in 1st grade. Teachers gave us the facts, we injested them, and then we spit it all back out on tests and quizzes. 

Powerpoint presentation equipment needs to evolve along with the attendee's needs and requirements. An endless array of facts and figures on black and white slides isn't going to cut it, even though speakers think this sort of "data dump" gives them credibility. It no longer does. When the speaker is up on the riser giving the attendee their speel, the attendee is googling them on their smartphone to determine whether or not this individual knows what they are talking about. 

In addition, when speakers give attendees too much left brain information, the information overload causes the brain to stress and become anxious which moves the experience to the subconcisous, and attendees slowly begin to shut out the information. The brain can only absorb complex data for about 7 to 10 minutes before it begins to move on.

So, how can we change? Here are a few ideas to consider when planning your next conference or meeting:

Garr Reynolds, Professor of Management at Kansai Gaidai, has come up with an interesting concept called Presentation Zen, which encourages speakers to follow 3 simple rules:

1. Restraint: Don't put too much information on a slide. A photo with a few words should do the trick. 
2. Simplicity: Speak only about the things that are important to the attendee, not what is important to you, the presenter. 
3. Naturalness: Pretend the audience is in your living room. You wouldn't dominate the conversation or your friends would never come back to your home. Ask questions, listen carefully, and respond appropriately.

Jamie Nast, Author, Consultant, and Trainer at NastGroup, Inc., uses toys and games to break through the learning process. She has attendees dressing up Mr. Potato Head, playing with Play-Doh, and drawing self-portraits in order to engage the right side of the brain.

Lynn Stadler Randall, Managing Director at Randall Insights LLC, uses crowdsourcing to help design the meetings in order to engage attendees before the event. Having the attendees suggest speakers and topics and then allowing them to vote on them, empowers the attendee and allows for more engaging and creative sessions. She even allows sessions to be developed at the conference itself. Rent iPads for attendee real-time communication with speakers and event management to share ideas, questions, and comments about session content.  

Looking to communicate and disseminate information with more impact? Look no further than 70" (almost 6 feet wide) high definition display.

There are several benefits to renting display technology over standard screen rentals:

• At 1080 resolution and yellow being added to the standard RGB (Red, Green, Blue) format, attendees will experience exceptional details and picture clarity. One unit is optimal for a medium-sized room and multiple displays can be rented for a larger meeting space. 

• These displays have built-in Wi-Fi, allowing the speaker to access websites, video, and/or social media sites. In addition, event planners can have units posted in the hallways of the meeting venue to view Twitter feeds, speaker videos, play music, and allow attendees to browse the Web.

• A USB port allows the speaker to connect their laptop or tablet directly to the large screen. If the display is out in the lobby or foyer, a USB drive can be connected to the LED for continuous looping of photos or video of the conference. 

• With an ultra slim design (they are only 3.5" deep) and a stand that is included, this large LED can be set up and moved with ease by the AV technicians for optimal viewing.
   
• An ultra brilliant LED system with multiflourescents allows for high brightness (so the room doesn't need to be dimmed) and color purity and vibrancy. In addition, a x-gen LCD panel allows for a high level of contrasting color.
   
• This display also includes 4 high-speed, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections that can deliver digital surround sound for the ultimate presentation services audio visual experience.

LED panels are ideal for:

• Training Sessions where employees need to retain a lot of visual information
• Product Launching Events because the high definition video, sound, and photo display capabilities add to the message
• Boardroom Meetings
• Breakout sessions at Association Meetings
• In the hallway or foyer of the meeting and/or hotel so attendees can keep abreast of social media streaming and video feeds coming from the event
• Trade show booths

AV Event Solutions is your provider of this HD technology. Think big. Think AV Event Solutions for all your interactive technology needs!

When meeting planners start to focus on their next event, often times the conversation swirls around the benefit of flying people in versus holding the meeting virtually. The major concern management often has is regarding the cost of the meeting in comparison to the ROI. MPI Foundation and Maxvantage recently polled several meeting planners to determine what type of meeting works best --given the message the organization wants to convey. Below are the results:

Face-to-Face Meetings make sense for the following purposes:

• Networking - Most virtual platforms have limited or no networking capabilities. If part of your meeting includes a networking segment with an exchange of business cards, a face-to-face meeting makes the most sense.
   
• Sensitive Issues - Human Resource training, company mergers, layoffs, or a shake-up in the C-Suite team, should be handled in person so the message is not lost and questions can be answered. In addition, if there are any confidential issues, face-to-face will ensure the attendees are not sharing the information with other people in their home or office.
   
• Incentive Trips - When salespersons exceed their quotas, usually there are incentive trips to reward them for efforts. This usually involves their spouse and other entertainment opportunities. 
   
• Celebrations - Holiday parties, company outings, and the like are meant to allow employees to get to know each other "off the clock" in a fun environment.
   
• Client or Educational meetings -- New product launching events, educational conferences where many topics are covered in 2 or 3 days, and user conferences are ideal for in person contact. 
   
• Team Building -- Any type of exercise that builds communication and trust must be done in person. 

Virtual Meetings make sense in the following scenarios:

• Internal organizational meetings
   
• Daily meetings - such as the first or last 20 minutes of each business day.
   
• Project meetings -- this would be suited when the event meeting services company is updating the client on the progress of the event. It might start monthly, than weekly, and as the event closes in, daily. 
   
• Recruitment meetings -- When HR is considering candidates for a position, they may set up virtual interviews before they fly in the best ones for the face-to-face interview. 
   
• Product Updates -- A new release of software or minor updates to a product can be effectively handled virtually. 

Virtual meetings are utilized when the travel budget for the meeting has been significantly cut, management is looking to reduce out-of-office time, and the meeting is planned at the last-minute.

AV Event Solutions, a California meeting equipment supplier, can assist you in making your next face-to-face meeting a smashing success. In most cases, the answer is: face-to-face! Give them a call today to learn more about their interactive technology tool rentals.

Benchmark Hospitality International, a U.S.-based hospitality management company that owns and operates 35 hotels and resorts announced its Top 10 Trends for this year, as observed by their property management and staff. In the style of David Letterman, here they are starting with the last trend to first. 

Top Trend #10: Socially Responsible Meetings

Corporate America is wanting to give back by integrating into the local meeting community (if your meeting is being held in a city other than your own) through service projects with non-profits, as well as, the continuation of green property initiatives.

Top Trend #9: Meeting Technology will be a Big Player

Rent iPads to download apps, take notes during the meeting, and even interface with LCD projector and screen rentals. Meetings will have dedicated Facebook fan pages to assist with registration, easy access to event intineraries, and offer a method to gain feedback from attendees post-event. Social media applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, can easily be accessed via the tablet. 

Top Trend #8: The Meeting Destination is as Important as the Venue. 

The designation experience is taking on a new meaning. Having affordable destinations that offer great value and a relaxed atmosphere, all the while, having a business atmosphere to the meeting is very important to the attendee. 

Top Trend #7: Training Budgets are On the Rise.

As the economy strengthens, having well trained sales teams is going to continue to be the focus this year. Training budgets are going to be ramped up as organizations realize their most competitive weapon is a well-informed sales person. 

Top Trend #6: It's All About Teambuilding.

Groups are looking for half-day onsite and offsite options with creative teambuilding opportunities. Volleyball, golf, cooking classes and the like are winning group business for properties. These budgets are also being increased in 2012.

Top Trend #5: The Meeting Package is Coming Back.

Offering the meeting planner an inclusive price for meeting space that includes the room rental, food and beverage, gratuities and taxes, is now being asked for as meeting planners are wanting to simplify their budgeting process. Planners still want options, so customization of the meeting package is to be expected. 

Top Trend #4: Meeting Space is Going to be Different.

The space will be more creative, with use of outdoor space, living room style for small gatherings and breakouts, and different seating, including oversized chairs, may be requested. 

Top Trend #3: Pricing is Going Up.

Due to the improving economy and increased demand for meeting space, price increases are going happen for the first time since 2008. 

Top Trend #2: Meeting Size is Up and Space is at a Premium.

Hotels and resorts are being more selective about the bookings they are taking and are electing to go after larger meetings at a higher rate. Planners are having a hard time booking preferred space with short-term notice, especially if it is a 30-day window or less.

And the #1 Trend that is driving all the other trends.....(drum roll please)

Top Trend #1: Meeting Demand is Up for the First Time Since 2008.

This demand is across all industry segments, but bookings will still be on a short-term cycle (90 days out or less).  

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions can provide your meeting, event, retreat, or conference with iPads and other technology tools to engage your attendees. Check out their express quote page for a response within 4 business hours!

One of the more complex, yet very important elements to a meeting is creating effective lighting in the meeting room. Lighting can lend depth and ambience to the room and tie together all other aspects of the meeting, including use of the PowerPoint presentation equipment, seating, and sound.

Lets focus on the 4 elements of great lighting and what tools you can use to get it.

Lighting is needed for ILLUMINATION. All attendees at your conference want to see the speaker, facilitator,  or panel of experts. Without proper light equipment rentals, the back row or table of your function will be squinting to see who is speaking and may feel disconnected from them. 

Lighting creates FOCUS. Certain lighting, such as pin spots, can shine a stationary light directly onto an object (such as a new product in a product launching event) . Spotlights can follow presenters or entertainers around a room so attendees can easily see them. Gobo lighting can be projected on a wall or be a backdrop to the riser and project a company logo and/or sponsor logos. 

Lighting can set the MOOD. Lighting in layers, allows the event meeting services organization to work with the event planner on what lighting will best create the mood you are looking for. First, take a look at the natural light in the room. Then consider renting lamps to bring the lighting down to the attendee. "When you bring the lighting down to eye level, it's warmer light, and it doesn't feel like its coming at you from nowhere," said Jill Schumacher, Owner of Rariden, Schumacher, Mio & Co. Then, consider light fixtures that can integrate into the decor, such as being a part of the centerpiece. Some light equipment rental options don't require cords and can be run on rechargeable batteries.

Lighting creates COMPOSITION. You can use different color lighting to direct the attendee's emotions or to paint a picture.

Work with AV Event Solutions lighting designer to determine which type of lighting works best for your event and fits into your budget. They will work hard to provide you the light equipment rentals you need to create the mood and direct the attention to where you want it. Request Express Rental Quote or call today.

According to an October 2011 TripAdvisor survey of 1,250 US travelers and 620 hotel owners and managers, 54% of travelers canceled reservations at a hotel because they found better amenities at a different property.

TripAdvisor asked survey participants to rank the top 5 most important hotel amenities. Here is what they found:
 

They also asked the travelers and hoteliers to rank the 5 least important amenities, which are listed below:
 

Hotel CEOs Weigh-In about Wi-Fi

In a recent USA TODAY article, J.W. Marriott, Jr., CEO of Marriott International, Richard Solomon, CEO of  InterContinental Hotels Group, and Eric Danziger, CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group were interviewed about Wi-Fi access and other technical issues facing their properties.

USA TODAY said Internet access is a top priority for travelers and bandwidth use is growing at a faster pace. What are you doing to respond?

Marriott stated, "We are working to try and get down to a few Internet suppliers because in the past, we had a bunch of suppliers, like 80 or 90. We have 3,700 hotels and everyone's hired their own supplier, so we are trying to narrow down the number so we can increase bandwidth and improve service. It's a huge problem. Everyone wants to download everything they can. It's getting to be quite a challenge."

"Wi-Fi speed is one of the biggest dissatisfiers that you see in a lot of hotels," said Solomon.

"You'd better have some dependability and relability because it will become the single source of complaints," said Danziger. 

All 3 CEOs agreed the increased use of iPads, Tablet PCs, and smartphones has had an impact on the network. 

So what are Meeting Planners to do with this information?

First, since Wi-Fi access is so important to attendees, having fast, robust, and secure Wi-Fi is going to make a huge difference with participant satisfaction. Utilizing AV Event Solutions' Wi-Fi checklist can help you determine whether the property can meet your needs or if you need to rent a wifi network array.  Remember, attendees will be dissatisfied if the Internet is slow or unavailable. 

Second, if you rent iPads, consider applications you will be preinstalling on the unit and the use of social media access, especially Twitter. Also, try and determine the number of smartphones and/or laptops attendees will be bringing to the conference. 

Third, if you are planning a large meeting at a convention center, make certain the Wi-Fi access at the hotel properties have the same level speed and security as the meeting facilities or convention center. Nothing will dissatisfy attendees more than to have great Internet access during the day and poor access at night. 

AV Event Solutions, a California meeting equipment supplier, can provide your next meeting with 1st and 2nd generation iPads, Wi-Fi Boosters, and other state-of-the-art audiovisual or computer equipment rentals to meet your meeting needs. Contact them today for more information!

As you are planning your conferences for 2012 and beyond? Now is the time to rent iPads and pre-install the app Evernote to replace those heavy binders event attendees usually carry around. So, why would you want to use Evernote over the old way of doing business?

Here are 6 great reasons to consider using Evernote at your next meeting or event:

1. It's FREE. 
    
2. It runs on multiple mobile platforms and can be synced to them. Evernote can run on an iPad, laptop PC, and/or smartphone. By installing the app on all 3 platforms, this app allows the notebook (see below), along with any changes to that notebook, to be easily synced on all devices. This can work well with last minute changes and updates.
    
3. The "Notebook" becomes your program binder. The notebook, is like a file folder on MS Office. You set up appropriate notebooks for your conference. For example, one might have the agenda, another might have the attendee listing, and another things to do and see in the host city. Each notebook could look something like this: 
   
   
    
4. Evernote has great search capabilities. As long as you tag your data, Evernote will know which notebook the information is in. It has a search bar at the top of the application. You can also search the Internet via Google at the top of each page.
    
5. It has a share button. This will allow the event meeting services organization, attendees, and speakers to share the following with each other: 
   
   • Notes
   • PDFs
   • Webpages and Links of Trade Show Exhibitors
   • Pictures of Event Staff, Speakers, and VIPs
   • Word Documents
   • PowerPoint presentations from the Speakers
   • Emails
   • Videos from the Sponsors
      
6. Get Skitch, while you are at it. When you rent iPads with Evernote, you should include this application, too. Skitch allows the iPad user to: 

• Add arrows, shapes, and text to existing images
• Draw something new
• Share sketches and annotations over Twitter and email
• Save everything to Evernote

AV Event Solutions, has plenty of 1st and 2nd generation iPads and Wi-Fi Boosters available to rent if you are event planning in California. Give them a call today or check out their convenient express rental quote for a quick turnaround response!