Learn more about merger

Do you remember what it was like to date someone new? The first date you put on your best clothes, cologne and washed and waxed your car. You looked your best and put your best foot forward. And if you both liked each other, this "courtship" continued to the next date and so on. However, if the feelings were not mutual or if you thought the other person was a phony, the dating ended and you moved on. 

So it is with event engagement. You cannot force an attendee to engage in the content -- even if you give them every opportunity to do so. Greg Fuson, Conference Organizer, Content Curator and Writer probably said it best at PCMA's Convening Leaders Conference in January:

"Engagement is a term that is very much in danger of becoming a cliche. It is so overused with the meetings community I think that it's this sort of nice, warm and fuzzy term that we like to use because people want to hear it."

In Part 1 of this blog posting, lets examine what you can do initiate interest before the event (think online dating). In Part 2, which will run Friday, lets focus on the things you can do when your attendees are at the event. 

Engagement Tip #1: Community Counts

Creating an engaging online community where individuals can get to know each other before the conference is where the networking and collaboration begins. There are several free ones available including: a LinkedIn Group, Facebook Fan Page, Google+ Community or Twitter Hashtag. Posting value-driven content and asking questions in these locations should spark conversations and help individuals feel as if they belong to your event. 

Engagement Tip #2: Crowdsource Content

Asking your online community what they want to hear about, who they want to hear it from and giving them the capability to vote on the content and presenters is powerful stuff. But taking it a step further, David Serino, Strategist & Educator at Think Social Media says you need to ask your attendees the following, "What would it take to get people here? How should we develop the conference? What do you think is important?" 

Engagement Tip #3: Surprise Them by Changing Up the Meeting Pattern

Most attendees sign up for a meeting and expect it to be held in a hotel or conference center with the same seating and food that they have experienced hundreds of times. The problem is those meeting platforms are boring and stale. Meet somewhere completely new...such as a national park, college campus or botanical garden. Somewhere that can cue up a completely different responses than a cold and boring conference space. 

However, if you must meet in a traditional setting, take a meal or an afternoon to a unique location. I remember when I was in training at IBM, the trainers hired a bus company and escorted all 35 of us to a local park for a BBQ and fun games -- such as three-legged races and pie eating contests. That was the best time of the entire 4-week training period and it occurred over 30 years ago. My point: if the trainers would have told us about it, it would not have been as much fun. But surprising us stayed in our memory! 

Engagement Tip #4: Give Attendees What They Like

Complete attendee evaluations with Audience Response System rentals and invite the top three speakers back the following year. This creates a win-win because it allows presenters to book business 12 months in advance and it allows attendees to see the speakers that they loved the following year. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions can put some creative options together for you to keep your attendees in the ultimate engagement mode! Give them a call at 888-249-4903 to get the ball rolling! 

Until about five years ago, sponsorship of your meeting, event or trade show was as simple as taking candy from a baby. You had to do a brief pitch to the hotel, CVB or partner, give them a membership list and 5-minute commercial at the start of your meeting. However, over the last few years, sponsorship dollars have become harder and take more time to secure. This doesn't mean it is impossible, it just means your approach needs to change. 

In a recent edition of BizBash Magazine, they identified the things sponsors want right now. Below are four of the ways to work with potential sponsors and get them committed to your event every time. 

COMPELLING CONTENT WORKS

Do not approach sponsors until you have your agenda fully developed -- complete with speakers and key takeaways. When sponsors can get excited about your content and are jazzed to participate in your event, you know you have sold them. 

CONTENT WITH LEGS

The ability to promote your sponsors in the digital space is very important. How will you use social backchannels to promote your content and sponsors at the same time? Rent iPads for your attendees and encourage them to use Twitter as a way to stay connected to their followers. In addition, hosting a "Tweetup" where Twitter followers can meet one another face-to-face can energize attendees and encourage them to follow more individuals. Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs can also weave in sponsor messaging. The more buzz about the conference in the digital arena, the more likely sponsors are going to want to sign up for your session. 

FAST & RELIABLE WI-FI

Attendees, exhibitors, speakers and sponsors want robust Internet access when and where they need it. The ability for sponsors to respond to inquiries, hold contests or survey attendees on a real-time basis is what they expect. If there is any delay or inability to gain access the Wi-Fi, your ability to retain that sponsor is very low. 

"You can design and activate all the compelling online social media activations you could possibly imagine, but if your guests or patrons cannot access the information in a timely fashion -- or the sponsor cannot deliver all of the information that is created --- the content can be devalued from a performance and impression standpoint," stated Mark Yumkas, President at Angel City Designs. 

Wi-Fi network array rentals can help boost the bandwidth at the venue and serve as a sponsorship opportunity on your sign-in splash page. 

INTERACTIVE PROGRAMS

Attendees don't just want to look at meeting materials, they want to interact with the products or services. Sponsors want attendees to experience their brand because they know a great experience will help with retention when participants are ready to buy. 

"Experiential marketing has been a consistent and significant part of our arsenal. It's an element that is a cornerstone of our activations," said Adam Paige, Department Manager Brand Public Relations, Mercedes-Benz USA. 

Attendees can experience a sponsor's brand through photos, videos, games and simulations that can run on large touch screen displays, touch panel kiosks or iPads. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions has iPads, computer kiosks, touch screen displays and Wi-Fi network arrays to make your sponsors shine! 

You have worked hard on the logistics and contract negotiations for your next meeting. Now, all you need is for attendees to show up. If you are like most event planners, you dread that awful "M" word....mar-mar-marketing. In years past, handling all the coordination and logistics was enough. Attendees just showed up when and where they were supposed to. Since this is no longer the case, here are six tips to make sure your marketing machine keeps chugging along without a lot of time and effort on your part. 

Digital Decision #1: Set Up Your Profiles

Here are the digital venues you need to establish before getting started with your marketing plan:

• A website or event page
• Blog site
• Email campaign template
• Social Channels, including but not limited to:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+
  • YouTube
  • Vine

Digital Decision #2: Create Compelling Content

But more importantly, be able to tell the world why it is compelling both in 140 characters and 500 words. Why should your audience attend? What are the benefits? The content doesn't have to get you excited, it has to make them excited.

Digital Decision #3: Great Headers Will Hook Them, Every Time.

If the email subject line or post header isn't interesting, funny or edgy -- hang up the rest of messaging because 87% of smartphone users delete or keep an email based solely on the heading. Spend time packaging your compelling content with headers that will keep them reading the rest of the messaging. 

Digital Decision #4: Send Out Your Posts at Weird Times. 

Don't always send out your information between the hours of 8 am and 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Many professionals catch up on their emails and social posts during evening hours and weekends and because they do not have other office interruptions, it is a perfect time for them to focus on your meeting or conference. 

Digital Decision #5: Repeat Messaging is Very Important. 

Not many attendees sign up for a conference based on the first or second time they see the information. It usually takes up to seven times before they even see your info due to the digital noise level most professionals are bombarded with. So keep trying, but continue to send your messaging over several social channels at a variety of times. 

Here are some examples of ways to change up the message about your conference: 

• Registration is now open for ______________ conference (insert URL for registration page)
• Early bird registration for _________________ conference ends on (date & URL)
• Just _____ days until _______________ conference! Register now (URL)
• _______________________ conference is being held in (city) on these dates (URL)
• Thank you to (sponsors) for ____________________ conference participation (URL)
• Hope to see you at ___________________ conference! Are you registered yet? (URL)
• Check out our Facebook Fan Page and post any comments or questions there (URL)
• Check out our Twitter Event hashtag and post any comments or questions on it (URL)

Digital Decision #6: Add as many administrators, likes, followers and connections as possible. 

The real power in digital messaging is the power of numbers. Think of it this way --- you have 10 people in your organization, each person has 150 friends or connections and you make all 10 employees administrators of your Facebook/LinkedIn/Google+ pages. Then you ask them to invite all their connections to like the pages. You create an event and suddenly you have 1,500 potential attendees instead of your 150. The power of numbers to spread the word about your event is awesome! 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions has interactive technology tool rentals, such as iPads and Wi-Fi network arrays, to make your event digital from the start until the very end and all points in between! 

Have you ever driven home and not remembered the trip? Been in a meeting and not remembered the presenter's name or topic? Or worse, come back from a three-day conference chalked full of education, only to remember a few tidbits? Why can't we remember the details when asked to recall them?  

According to Gregory Berns' blog post titled "Neuroscience Sheds New Light on Creativity", the brain is lazy and ultimately our past experiences have a dramatic affect on our current ones. Here is an example -- because we attended a couple of meetings in a large ballroom set in theater-style with low lighting that were boring -- we think that all meetings set in this type of environment are...well...boring.  

Dr. Kathie F. Nunley, an educational psychologist, cites that we need to attend to the physical needs of the attendee first, then create novelty at the meeting and third, allow for self-made choices. Here are some of her insights as well as a few of my own. 

PHYSICAL NEED

The attendee has to have their basic needs met at the meeting. Is the room set at the right temperature? Are the seats comfortable and is there plenty of personal space available for the attendee to put their personal belongings? Are you providing enough and the right type of food and beverage? Can the attendee see and hear the presentation? 

NOVELTY

Nunley stated in her blog post, "The mind seems to gravitate toward novelty. Not only does a novel experience seem to capture our attention, it appears to be an essential need of the mind." Capture the interest of the attendee and make your meeting unpredictable. 

Put the keynote speaker in the middle of the conference agenda. Rent iPads instead of producing conference binders. Start with the Q and A and finish with the presentation. Stage the meeting room in a large circle instead of theater or classroom setting. Decorate the room like a party instead of a training session. Change the city, venue or time of day you meet. Have a meeting where everyone stands. Do anything and everything to "shake it up" so attendees do not say, "been there, done that". 

SELF-MADE CHOICES

Nunley believes attendee-centered meetings in an open learning environment allow participants to set their own pace, learn as they wish, when they wish and move on when a concept is mastered.

So how will this functionality transfer to a large meeting with thousands of attendees? Creating a Twitter hashtag for each meeting and asking attendees to submit questions and comments will help the event organizer and speaker to make changes on a real-time basis. Encourage presenters to go where the audience is, not what they want to present. Livestream the presentation so it can be viewed on an attendee's mobile device and a video wall display rental unit if the participant is called out of the room. 

If you are event planning in California, check out AV Event Solutions as a state-of-the-art provider in Total Technology Solutions! With offices throughout California, they are only minutes away to service your event with additional inventory, technical support and staff. 

Over the last three weeks, Washington has been busy with the government sequester, GSA's Meetings Management Program, and Senate Amendment 67. All these initiatives will have some impact on travel and the meetings industry. Below is a summary of each initiative, what impact it will have, plus how corporate meeting planners can create a strategy and have a voice in the process.

GOVERNMENT SEQUESTRATION

Failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in cuts to federal spending has triggered automatic cuts known as sequestration. Those cuts went into effect March 1, 2013 after Congress and the President failed to reach agreement on a plan to stop them.

Agencies are now going to more carefully scrutinize the need for travel and sometimes denying travel in favor of a webinar or no training at all. Attendees can expect airline flight delays and longer lines at security checkpoints due to this measure. 

With all the sights, sounds and visual stimulation we are bombarded with everyday, have you ever wondered what the most effective method is for retention of your conference information?  You aren't the only one --- and a recent PCMA article by Barbara Palmer titled "Audio/Visual Neurological" identifies the best ways attendees learn and retain information. 

Andrea Sullivan, Organizational Performance Consultant for BrainStrength Systems aptly put it this way, "With meetings and events, there is a big question: How do we actually go to these things and retain anything? Knowing what we know now about how the brain processes information and how we experience events, AV really needs to be a part of a learning design and a strategy."

• 83% of learning occurs visually
• 17% of learning happens through sound, smell, taste and touch combined

Retention and Visual Imagery

• 65% of attendees retain the speaker's message when it is combined with their words and visual imagery
• 10% of attendees retain the speaker's message when it is words only

Learning and AV -- The ways to learn from best to worst:

• Hearing and graphics
• Graphics alone
• Reading and graphics
• Hearing, reading and graphics
• Hearing and reading
• Reading text
• Hearing the spoken word

Here are three additional takeaways from the research: 

• Even though sight is the most dominate sense, do not throw away your PowerPoint presentation equipment! According to Sullivan, PowerPoint is used improperly because it has too much text on each slide. Sullivan states, "Our brains process text by first translating it into spoken words, but images don't go through that step." Bottom line: Less text and more images. 
   
• Music in your meeting helps set the mood. According to Sullivan, one form of audio sensory input that starts nearly every region of our brain is music. If it ties into the message on the slides or is integrated into the video presentation, it can be very effective because it triggers an emotional response. Bottom line: Music matters.
   
• Color influences our mood, too. Sullivan states, "Warm colors, such as reds and oranges, produce animated states while blue creates a quiet, inward focus. If I am doing brainstorming or strategic planning, I will definitely bring in blue. I do project management trainings...I will use red." Bottom line: Color counts. 

AV Event Solutions, a California meeting equipment provider, can help you with all your AV rental needs to make your meeting more impactful with your attendees. From presentation services audio visual equipment to sound and lighting rentals, they have it all! Give them a call at 888.249.4903 to get the process started! 

There is a new social channel on the block and it is called Vine. Accessed through an iPhone or iTouch, users create short looping videos that are very easy to make. Videos you post to Vine will appear on your Vine profile and the timelines of your followers. You can also share your video posts to Twitter and/or Facebook.

Vine is all of one-month old but because of its simplicity and shortness, it is considered the hot new backchannel to promote your meeting or event. You can quickly find people you know on Vine through your device's address book and people you follow on Twitter. You can also search for people or invite them via a text message or email

How might planners use this tool for meetings and events? Here are seven possible uses, but more will probably surface as the product matures. 

PRE-EVENT PROMOTION

• Event organizers can give attendees a chance to see the conference center, hotel, city and attractions in short, fun snippets. They can then post those videos under the event's hashtag and Facebook Fan Page.
   
• Promote your agenda and speakers in short, creative ways that will not be tiring to the attendees.
   
• Create videos about your organization, event and sponsors that include logos to build brand awareness about each entity. 

TELL THE EVENT'S STORY 

• By encouraging attendees to download Vine on their iPhones or bring their iTouchs to the meeting, these vids can be viewed on a video wall rental unit where participants can gather to see the clips throughout the day. 
   
• Ask attendees to post their videos on Twitter and include the hashtag for the conference. 
   
• Create a contest for the best video clip. Let attendees vote at the end of each conference day via Audience Response rentals and post the results on a video wall or digital signage. 
   
• Ask attendees and partners to create videos from different points of views. For example, speakers can video from the stage, hoteliers from the front desk and AV technicians from the sound room. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions, now part of the SmartSource Rentals family, can provide you with video wall, digital signage and Wi-Fi network array rentals to make certain your conference experiences no video buffering because it will be fast, secure and robust!  Give them a call today at 888.249.4903 to get started with the process! 

Planning your next meeting or conference and need to send out a series of RFPs from the food and beverage to renting audio visual equipment? You are not alone! Meeting planners, no matter the size of the meeting, desire to obtain high quality responses so they can move forward to the next part of the logistical process.

What is the best way to make this happen? Here are four steps that should make it easier for your vendors to respond and give you better quality quotes in the process. 

1. Provide a complete RFP.
   
   Give yourself enough time to develop a complete spec sheet of what you are looking for. Have multiple people from your team review it to make certain you have left "no stone unturned." 
   
   If you are new to the RFP process, check out the CIC APEX form. You can download it for free from the website. To get started: http://www.conventionindustry.org/StandardsPractices/APEX/RFPWorkbook.aspx
    
2. Give your vendors enough time to provide you with a well thought, quality response. 
   
   To obtain a professional response, you need to give your suppliers enough time to complete the RFP. If the request is simple, 1-3 business days should be enough but if the request is complex, give potential partners more time to prepare a creative and complete quote. Many vendors put your RFP in the trash because they are not given enough time to give a thorough response. Several days to weeks may be the right amount of time to allow for this process. 
    
3. Be aware of the canned response. 
   
   If your give your suppliers enough time to respond and they still give you an "also ran" proposal, this may be an indicator of a company you do not want to do business with. They are reading your request at a surface level, pulling up their last response and just changing the information to include your name and telephone number. 
   
   In addition, be leery of an organization that asks no questions or very few. They are either in the business of cranking out RFPs or they just do not want to take the time to get to know more about your event business.  
    
4. Encourage conversation. 
   
   The best RFP process allows vendors to ask questions and provide creative responses. Remember that one question may lead to several others so it is best to leave time for adequate dialog back and forth. This will also help your vendor put their best foot forward and respond accordingly. So much information can be cleared up in a simple telephone call or meeting. 

AV Event Solutions wants to provide you with the best RFP response! Based in California and now part of SmartSource Rentals, a national Total Technology firm, they can offer your organization creative AV solutions. Get the process started with their express quote form today! 

Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, launched a worldwide rebranding effort to all their employees over a two-day period in February 2010. Because of DSM's strategic and successful use of meetings and events to promote the new brand identity -- Bright Science. Brighter Living™ --  they received the 2012 Recognizing Industry Success and Excellence (RISE) Award for Organizational Achievement from MPI.

In the latest edition of MPI's One+ magazine, Alise Long, CMM who is the Manager of Corporate Events & Meetings at DSM was interviewed about the steps they took to make this happen. Here are three steps every meeting planner can use in launching a new product, service or brand initiative. 

Step #1: Realize every employee is important. 

Royal DSM set forth an event that had two primary goals: 1) Allow employees to socialize and get to know one another better and 2) Present the information on a local level with a global message in mind. They realized that a rebranding initiative delivered from the top and disseminated through the management chain could get lost in translation and take too long. Delivering important branding information to everyone in a relatively short duration validated the importance of each employee to the organizational structure. 

A red carpet movie premiere event, where everyone was treated like a star, was planned. Over two days, DSM held 134 face-to-face events with about 170 persons at each meeting -- thus creating a more intimate setting versus having one event for 23,000 employees of which most of the message would have had to be handled virtually. 

Step #2: Develop a theme and team to deliver the message. 

DSM had the local, regional, corporate and global staff involved in delivering the theme "Bright Launch". This team worked for five months on the creative and logistical messaging for the meetings. They determined the number of meetings, locations and content necessary to disseminate the message.

Step #3: Measure message effectiveness. 

96% of the employees thought the meeting was effective and employees were able to explain the vision and direction of the company and its new brand. 

What are the key takeaways for meeting planners? 

• Whatever the purpose of the product launching event, treat all employees, customers and prospects as a vital component to the success of the launch. Rent iPads for attendees to take notes during the session, post on social backchannels and communicate with other attendees about the announcement.
   
• Create a diverse team to help with creative approaches to your messaging. 
   
• Measure meeting effectiveness by polling attendees with wireless Audience Response Systems (ARS), computer kiosks or through the attendees' mobile devices. Understanding if they got the message and can explain it, is important to calculating overall launch effectiveness. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions, now part of the SmartSource Rentals family, can provide you with many effective technology tools to aid you in a terrific launch! Do not get lost in translation, let them help you pull off a high quality product launch this year! 

In the age of business objectives and meeting metrics, is anyone really taking a hard look at what attendees' need and want from your conference? After all, without them would you even have a meeting?

As an event organizer myself, I know I have been prone to get caught up in the logistics and flow of the meeting; only attending to the participant's needs when they ask for help. But there has to be a better way! And low and behold, there is.

Here is a hierarchical way to maximize attendee satisfaction with your event. 

First, examine what your attendees' NEED. 

Perhaps they are human resource managers that must know the ins and outs of new procedures and policies, or physicians that are looking for education to keep their credentials current. Maybe it is a sales force preparing for a product launching event. Whatever the reason, the participant is there because they need something from your event.  

How can you determine if they got out of the session what they needed? Have them complete a pre- and post-test via Audience Response rentals. Rent iPads and ask them to send feedback to you via social media or email. Ask them at the end of the training seminar or session if their needs were met. 

Bottom Line: If you do not give attendees what they need, you can't move onto the next level. Spend some time here. 

Second, make them WANT to come to your seminar. 

Let's say a potential attendee needs certification credit in their field of study. They found your meeting and an online version that they can take via a webinar on demand. The price point is about the same. How can you entice them to come to your face-to-face meeting? 

Your content and speakers need to be more compelling than the online offering. The ability to meet peer professional attendees and great presenters is a great draw. You can engage the attendees before, during and after the conference by constantly asking them what they want and then delivering on those desires. An online webinar can't and will not do this. 

Bottom Line: Giving attendees what they need and want, are the first two steps to keeping them coming back to your meeting. 

Third, increase the attendee's DESIRE to be part of the meeting.

This is probably that hardest pinnacle to reach AND the hardest to sustain. This happens when the attendee is really looking foreword to and excited about your meeting. They wouldn't miss it! 

This is where your goals are completely aligned with the attendee's goals. Your vision and theirs are one and the same. In essence it is no longer your meeting, it is THEIRS. 

Bottom Line: If and only if, you meet the attendee's needs and wants can you work on their desires. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions has a wide range of interactive technology tool rentals that can help you in all three arenas: needs, wants and desires! Give them a call today at 888.249.4903 to get started! 

Have you ever wondered, "Why is my meeting not growing in attendance?" or "Why aren't attendees excited and engaged in the event?"

If you have thought one or both of these questions, you are not alone. Below six meeting problems and their fixes aimed to help you with meeting growth and attendee engagement. 

Reason #1: Your event is stale. 

If you are producing a meeting or tradeshow the same way you were 3-5 years ago, something is wrong. It says to your attendees that you have not adapted to change because you are either afraid of it or you feel "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".

Embrace change. Ask attendees what changes they want and why they want it. Much of your change will come in the form of interactive technology tool rentals. If you are uncomfortable with technology, by all means recruit someone from your team to help you with it.

Reason #2: Your event provides no value to the attendee.

Do not have a meeting just to have a meeting. If attendees fly or drive long distances, you don't want them saying to themselves and others, "That was a waste of my time!"

Your event needs to provide attendees with fresh and valuable content. By asking your audience what they want to hear and who they want to hear it from, you can be assured that you are addressing the age-old adage, "What's in it for me?" 

Reason #3: Black and white printing abounds with no imagery. 

Your handouts and surveys are black and white with many words and no visuals. 

In 2013, we are a very color-orientated, visual world. Videos, photographs and color can be delivered effectively through digital signage, video wall rentals and touch screen kiosks. Not only are you cutting down on the amount of paper, but with these technology tools you have eliminated shipping and storage of your paper, and your organization is presenting a greener, cleaner image to attendees.  

Reason #4: Too many sponsors and exhibitors. 

Meeting planners rarely turn away sponsors or exhibitors even when these organizations have little to do with the meeting theme or demographics of the attendee. 

Having too many sponsors or exhibitors can overwhelm your attendees and allow your message to be lost in the process. It is all about balance. 

Reason #4: No social sharing. 

Your conference does not allow attendees to post information to social backchannels. 

Rent iPads and have the social channels already preloaded onto the systems. Create a hashtag for the conference and promote it to attendees well in advance. Encourage participants to post before, during and after the conference. Respond in a timely manner when they post a question, comment or complaint to social. 

Reason #5: No comment. 

You are not surveying attendees to find out what they like and dislike about the conference.

Wireless Audience Response Systems provide an easy way to take the pulse of your attendees in a quick and confidential manner. 

Reason #6: Comments are ignored. 

The worst possible scenario for your meeting is to question your attendees and then, ignore their feedback. 

Once the data is gathered and analyzed, post on your social media channels what is going to be different at next year's conference. Or better yet, consolidate the comments and recommendations in a visually-based report that attendees can review and download from your website. 

Are you event planning in California? Contact AV Event Solutions for all your audio visual needs! 

Your event has been in the works for months and even though February and March can be iffy travel months due to weather, you have planned plenty of time for your attendees and presenters to arrive, right? Maybe so and maybe not.

According to FlightStats.com, an estimated 36,680 global flights were canceled and over 560,000 were delayed in just the last 30 days --- mostly due to weather. So what can you do if a significant number of your speakers and attendees get stuck either at home or at the airport? Just like the saying goes, "Make lemonade out of lemons". Turn your face-to-face meeting into a hybrid meeting. 

Here is a checklist of what to do if your speaker is stranded, your attendees are delayed or worst case scenario -- both your speaker and attendees are not going to make it. 

HYBRID SCENARIO #1: Your Presenter or Presenters Are Not Coming. 

First, always get your speaker's presentations days in advance and pre-load them onto your presentation services audio visual equipment. The audio visual technician can test and make certain everything is set up and ready to go. 

Second, select a platform for backup. Will you use Skype, Google Hangout or some other platform to allow the presenter to video conference into the meeting? Having Plasma TV rentals available for the audience to view will help them connect to the speaker while they are talking. 

Third, ask your speakers to come in a full-day early. Making this a requirement of your conference can potentially alleviate this issue and allow them to network naturally with attendees. 

Fourth, have an onsite facilitator that can be a conduit between the speaker and the audience. One thing is for sure, the presenter sitting in an airport lounge will not be able to read the body language and gage the interest level of attendees -- but a live facilitator will. That person can guide the virtual speaker and help them remain connected to the audience. 

HYBRID SCENARIO #2: Some of Your Attendees Are Not Going to Make it. 

First, know where your attendees are coming from and check the weather pattern one to three days in advance. It is not a matter of if bad weather is coming, it is just a matter of when it will hit. Knowing how many of your attendees are going to be effected by a snowstorm, hurricane or fog can help you determine what you need to do. 

Second, select a platform and check your bandwidth. If 200 attendees are going to be virtually connected to the meeting, you will need to have a more sophisticated bridge available to prevent buffering or lag time. Utilizing a wireless network array rental can boost your bandwidth and provide local and remote attendees with a fast, secure and robust connection. 

Third, ask virtual attendees to go to a quiet place. If they are at the airport, go into the lounge. At a hotel, stay in their room. And if they are at home, ask them to be somewhere away from the telephone, TV and dog. 

Need help with Wi-Fi network arrays and interactive technology tool rentals? Look no further than AV Event Solutions to be your California meeting equipment supplier! Check out their Facebook page for great tips on Wi-Fi connections and other meeting ideas! 

Imagine,  if you will, a conference where there are no paper programs, exhibitor manuals, session handouts, or surveys. There is no paper. Period. 

Sounds great, right? You and your staff don't have to spend tireless hours printing, collating, punching and assembling binders AND then shipping them to the conference. Somewhere, somehow you know with all the interactive technology tool rentals available there is a better way. But how can you justify the spend? Surely, it is going to be very expensive to rent iPads and the apps to go on it. Right?

EventPilot, an organization that markets a mobile app for scientific and medical meetings, recently came out with two calculations that can help justify the use of mobile devices both from a carbon footprint and revenue standpoint. By sharing this methodology, hopefully you can plug in your own numbers and sell a paperless meeting to your boss, board, and staff members. 

CO FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR

The major benefits of integrating mobile technology into your conference are:

1. The attendee can have all the documents in a central location, including PowerPoint presentations
2. Speaker information includes bio, photographs, video and any other information can be easily accessed
3. Evaluations happen on-the-spot
4. All exhibitor information and mapping of the trade show floor is readily available
5. Real-time conference updates can happen across all devices
6. The iPad is light and can usually last all day without being charged
7. Connection to social channels, email and the Internet are an icon away. 

Here is one example of a carbon footprint calculation: 

Number of attendees: 1,000
Total number of sheets of paper per attendee: 100
Average printing cost per attendee: $8
Average tote bag cost: $2

 Total CO2 savings: 6,100 lbs.

Minimum waste savings: 1,200 lbs. 

Total number of hours to stuff tote bags: 17 x $35/hour = $595

Total cost for Shipping and Handling: $1,200

Minimum cost savings: $11,336

REVENUE CALCULATOR

The question on every planner's mind is who is going to pay for the hardware and apps that reside on the mobile device? Unless your meeting is extremely small and you know for a fact the apps you are going to use are prevalent across multiple mobile devices, you will want to stick with one mobile platform (think rent iPads). It will save you a lot of time when you are trying to configure the right Wi-Fi network support for your program as well. 

Here are some possible revenue opportunities for your meeting: 

Of course, you will have to take into account the cost to rent iPads and the apps. Some apps are going to be free and some apps are going to web-based so the attendee can download the app themselves, thus saving staff and vendor time.  

AV Event Solutions, a SmartSource Computer and Audio Visual Rental Company, is available to serve your AV needs if you are event planning in California. They have iPads, Wi-Fi network arrays, and much, much more! Contact them today for more information! 

As a long standing event planner, association members usually fall into one of these annual conference categories : 1) Will Always Attend, 2) Have To Attend, 3) Probably Should Attend, or 4) Never Will Attend.  It also seems to me that event planners take for granted the "will" and "have" attendees and spend a lot of energy focused on the "probably" and "never" member. But is this really a productive use of your time? The answer is: maybe. 

Here is a closer look at each type of attendee and what you can do get them to your conference this year and hopefully keep them coming back. 

WILL ALWAYS ATTEND ATTENDEE

This type of attendee believes in your association and its mission. They sign up early for the conference each year and are as close to an automatic renewal as you you can hope for. They look forward to the annual meeting because they learn new information, renew old acquaintances and establish new connections. 

You need to make this member type happy. They help you sell the conference to others. Here are some ways to gain better insights into this category of attendee:

• While at the conference, use wireless audience response systems to track the reasons why they love to come to your annual meeting. Use those reasons when making sales calls. 
• Tailor your conference agenda based on their feedback. 
• Keep communication active with them throughout the year through email, telephone calls and social channels. 
• Ask if they will act as a mentor for first-time attendees. 

HAVE TO ATTEND ATTENDEE

This type of attendee feels like they have no choice because they need to exhibit their product or service to your attendees or they need educational credit for certification. They may or may not be happy to be there, but they know they must attend this year. This type of member is fleeting at best because you cannot count on their loyalty. If they find a better option, most likely they will be gone.  

Here are some ways to keep them coming back: 

• Thank them for their attendance and ask what you can do to make the conference more enjoyable. 
• Keep the communication active throughout the year and let them know how much their attendance means to your association. 
• Have your event staff spend some quality one-on-one time with this attendee. 

SHOULD ATTEND ATTENDEE

This type of member has been thinking about coming to your annual conference for quite sometime, but for whatever reason has not made it happen. They know they need more education, networking and it is "the right thing to do." But for some reason, the conference comes and goes and they don't make it. 

This member isn't sure what they will gain by coming to the association meeting. Here are some tips to sell them on it: 

• Sell them on the benefits of the conference...what they will learn, who they will meet and why they should attend. 
• Understand exactly what their reservations are and address them. 
• Find out their expectations and make sure your conference can meet or exceed those expectations. 

WILL NEVER ATTEND ATTENDEE

Don't waste any effort or time on this member. For whatever reason, whether it is budgetary, time away from the office or location, they are not going to come to the meeting. Just be glad they are members and if it makes you feel any better, research says that about 25% of an association's membership falls into this category. Thank them for their membership and spend your marketing efforts on the other 3 categories.

Are you event planning in California? Contact AV Event Solutions for premier interactive technology tool rentals! 

Can gaming really make a difference with attendees? Yes, it can according to David Nieborg a Digital Strategist who was recently interviewed in MPI's One+ Magazine. Below is a summation of the article as well as key takeaways about gaming tactics in a meeting environment. 

Here is an interesting projection:  

"70% of Global 2000 organizations will use Gamification simulations by 2015." -- Gartner Research

In addition, according to Nieborg

"It's easier to play. It's cheaper to play. There are more options, more genres. These are incredibly exciting times for game research." 

"Smartphones and other intuitive technologies are constantly lowering the barrier and the threshold for participation." 

We already know smartphones, tablets and apps are growing in use by leaps and bounds. According to Nielson, it is estimated at the end of 2012, 51% of all U.S. citizens owned smartphones and 18% owned tablets. With over 500,000 apps developed to date for mobile technology and the price point dropping for smartphones, more and more individuals will be using this technology in meetings. Gaming apps are going to be a big part of this overall app development. 

Event meeting services organizations, here are the 6 factors to consider if you are implementing gamification into your next meeting or event: 

1. How is the gaming app going to meet your conference goals and objectives? 
   Yes, gaming is fun but it needs to meet the goals for the conference. It has to have some measurable results.
    
2. It cannot be a last-minute add on. 
   The games need to be well thought out and tied to the overall conference objectives. Finding or writing the right app will take time. 
    
3. You need to solicit a recruitment team. 
   Letting attendees know about the gaming app before they arrive at the conference will be instrumental in the success of its acceptance. If you rent iPads and have the app on the tablet, this recruitment team can be at the registration area showing attendees how to use the tablet and get them excited about the gaming app. 
    
4. Make sure the rules are well written. 
   All games have rules and making them understandable for a group of 1,000 or more attendees can be quite daunting. Make sure the rules are simple and unambiguous. 
    
5. Reward attendees for their efforts. 
   Gamification can be implemented at every turn -- for check-ins, surveys participation, test learning, sponsorship integration, trade show scavenger hunt and the list goes on and on. Providing points for each of the games and then rewarding individuals when they reach different point pinnacles, will be how you can keep the attendee engaged in the process. 
    
6. Recognize attendees that participate even if it is just a little.  
   Even if attendees don't fully grasp or appreciate gamification, recognize their efforts -- even if they only tweet once or participate minimally in a networking event -- you have started them on a path to technology acceptance. 

Are you event planning in California? AV Event Solutions can provide your organization with iPads and Wi-Fi network array rentals to make certain your attendees can have the best gaming experience. Call them at 888.249.4903 to get the process started! 

As mentioned in Part I on Wednesday's post, the blog site Evenues recently posted the coming year predictions from 21 meeting leaders about everything from digital marketing to sustainability.  In Part 2 of the series, we will delve into meeting and event industry predictions.
 
In addition, we will share key takeaways for planners from these predictions.
 
MEETING INDUSTRY

"I think 2013 will see the industry staying as is or a very slow increase in the industry. The slower economy will continue to negatively impact growth in the meetings and events industry." -- Julie Ann Schmidt, Managing Partner at Lithium Logistics Group

"I believe 2013 will be a good year for the meetings industry. Now that the presidential election is over, businesses will get back to focusing on sales and growth. Meetings are necessary to accomplish this." -- Randall Whatley, President at Cypress Media Group

"Jobs will continue to be niche orientated. Medical companies wanting medical meeting planners, financial companies wanting financial planners, associations seeking association planners. Specialties within the niches also have become important." -- Dawn Penfold, President at Meetingjobs, LLC

"In 2013 our industry will need to focus increasingly on transparency and ethics."  -- Mariela McIlwraith, President of Meeting Change

What are the key takeaways for planners?

• It appears that meeting planners have mixed feelings about growth in the coming year. Until large conferences and conventions rebound, many planners have a "wait and see" attitude.
• Don't try to be all things to all people. Concentrate on the niche you do well at and continue to develop your skills within that niche.
• Always be honest and ethical with all your event suppliers and don't do anything to tarnish your own reputation. No piece of meeting business is worth sacrificing your personal integrity.

BOOKING WINDOWS

"I believe we'll start to see wider booking windows for corporate events." -- Lisa Kraus, Director of Business Development & Events for Plan Your Meetings

"I believe 2013 will continue the trend of short-term requests and bookings as our industry continues to be responsive and reactive to creating meaningful meetings and fantastic events." --  Tahira Endean, CMP, BHM, Director, Creative and Production at Cantrav

What are the key takeaways for planners?

• It looks as if corporate events will have longer lead times but the rest of the industry will still be working with tight timeframes. In 2012, many meetings were planned in a 90-day window or less.
• With shorter lead times, you will need to develop close relationships with your event meeting services partners, including conference services staff, caterers and event audio visual companies.

GREEN AND LOCAL

"Green solutions include taking practical steps to reduce food waste, control portion size and promote healthier alternatives on event menus." -- Shawna McKinley, Director of Sustainability at MeetGreen

"Meeting professionals will go local by featuring local materials, local foods, local artists, local icons and local talent." -- Jessie States, Expert at Meeting Professionals International

What are the key takeaways for planners?

• Planners are going to continue to look for ways to work with their partners to reduce, reuse and recycle materials. Paper will be replaced with iPads. RSVP processes will be tightened so the proper amount of food is ordered. Smaller plates and glasses will keep portion sizes in check.
• Local will be the theme. By buying local food from farmers markets, hiring local speakers and entertainment, and using local resources -- including when renting audio visual equipment -- you will be stimulating the city and state economy through job creation, revenue generation and taxes.
• Going local also reduces transportation expenses, shipping and your event's overall carbon footprint.

AV Event Solutions is a California meeting equipment supplier that services the entire state and can work with planners on short lead times. They are ready and willing to supply you with your AV needs in 2013 and beyond!

Okay, maybe I am stretching the truth a bit. There is no way to have a completely stress-free event and most of the time, a little stress is a good thing. However, since the job of Event Planner is considered one of the most stressful jobs you can have, I thought it might be a good thing to try and identify some of the ways you can create a calmer environment as you move into the new year. 

Here are 4 tips that help me keep my work and personal life in balance and I hope they can help you. 

Tip #1: Be Honest and Realistic with All Your Stakeholders. 

The first thing any meeting planner needs to do is find out when the client wants to hold the meeting and their budget range for the whole event. If they want to hold a national sales meeting and are only giving you 90 days to pull it off, you need to either convince them you need more time or walk away from the business. In addition, if they are not willing to allocate the proper amount of dollars for meeting space, renting audio visual equipment, and a marketing campaign, the event will come off as half-baked. 

After all, you are the expert. Be confident in your assessment and be willing to walk away from the business if it will affect your personal reputation. 

Tip #2: Make Certain Your Time is Valued and Compensated. 

It doesn't matter if you are a corporate, association or independent planner -- the old saying "time is money" is very true. Often times when I am planning an event, 5 or 10 additional items need to be executed that neither the client or I anticipated. However, if I complete those things, I need to be compensated for them. Put a true value on your hourly rate and go back to the powers to be and say the following: 

"I will be happy to complete the additional tasks. However, I will need to increase my fee by $____. Is that alright with you or would you prefer to...(have someone else do the work, skip these steps, etc.). 

OR: 

"I will be happy to complete the following tasks. However, it will take me ____ hours to complete which will push the timeline for (another meeting, project, or day-to-day stuff) out further. Is that alright with you?"

Tip #3: Don't Blur Boundaries. 

As much as event planners would like to, we cannot plan and execute events by ourselves. We need to count on several partners to pull them off including: hotel and conference services staff, event audio visual rental companies, the client, sponsors, and exhibitors. The beginning of the planning cycle is a great time to be clear about the responsibilities and expectations of each partner. Trust that they will carry out their respective responsibilities and don't try to tell them how to run their business. 

Tip #4: Keep Everything in Perspective. 

Even if you think everything is going wrong, just remember it probably isn't as bad as you think it is.

I was knocked into reality this week when I was talking to a colleague about one of the meetings I was planning and how I was having a difficult time with the client because attendee numbers were not what they expected. I asked my friend how she was doing -- when she burst into tears and told me she had lost her job the day before. In a flash, all of my problems seemed insignificant in comparison to what she was going through.  

It is important to remember that it is just a meeting or event and yes, you will do your best to make it work. But executing a little patience, sensitivity and trust with all your partners will help build long term relationships with them.

AV Event Solutions is your one-stop partner for all your audio visual needs in the State of California! 

There is no way around it -- technology in the meeting and event industry is here to stay. It isn't a fad or the wild, wild west any longer. It is part of our every day lives and as we move into 2013 and beyond, it is going to be a bigger piece of every meeting coordinator's budget and logistical planning process. 

Event Manager's Blog recently posted an infographic called "How Technology is Changing Events." They identified 11 technological changes. Today we will explore 3 of the changes and which interactive technology tool rentals can help you make this transition easier. 

#1: The number of computing devices is growing. 

In 2011, the average American owned 2.7 mobile devices and in 2012, it is 3.5 devices. This includes laptops, tablets, readers and smartphones. 

What does this mean for planners? You need to pay particular attention to what computing devices attendees, speakers, exhibitors, staff and the press are bringing to your meeting. The more devices connected to the Wi-Fi system, the more pressure it puts on the bandwidth. Explore the option of a Wi-Fi network array rental unit if you think bandwidth and/or security is going to be an issue. 

#2: Hybrid events are going to continue to grow. 

Even though the economy is on the upswing, live streaming and video on demand will still be used to engage remote attendees who cannot come to the meeting or are looking to save money. 

A recent study found two interesting facts about virtual events: 

• 82% of remote attendees found hybrid meetings useful in making a decision whether or not they wanted to attend the next face-to-face meeting and
• Companies save $1,000 in travel costs by having the attendee stay home.

What does this mean for planners? Again a fast, secure, and robust Wi-Fi connection is going to be the key. Remote attendees expect video streaming without buffering and live attendees want to see the speaker whether they are in the session or viewing him/her from a video wall rental unit at the hotel or conference center. All of these demands and devices on the venue's Wi-Fi network can be overwhelming. Renting a bandwidth booster is going to be a real need, especially if you have a large number of local and remote attendees. 

#3: Attendees are going to use social channels as a tool for engagement. 

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are still going to be the channels of choice for attendees and will allow them to feel part of the conference. 

What does this mean for planners? If you rent iPads for your conference, take the extra step and load the online backchannels that make sense for your attendees. Create a special hashtag for your meeting and encourage attendees to post their tweets to that hashtag. Have your team monitor and respond to the questions and comments. All of this interaction will help increase attendee participation, especially if your event services company is providing real-time responsive to attendees. 

AV Event Solutions is an interactive technology tool rental company based in California. They rent iPads, Wi-Fi network arrays, and much, much more! Check out their website for more details and give a call to their experience staff to learn more about how technology can help you with your next event! 

Everyone who owns or runs an event services company is busy, busy, busy. Most planners run from one event to the next without much of a break. However, since December typically represents event planners' "down time" of the year, it seems appropriate to take a hard look at the reasons you have meetings and events in the first place and how the planning process can be improved in 2013. 

Here are 5 things to pay attention to as you move forward with next year's events: 

#1: What is the purpose of your meeting and why does it need to be face-to-face?  

Is the reason for the meeting one of the following:

• A product launching event that can be best explained in a live audience setting
   
• An annual meeting where important proxy issues need to be voted on via wireless audience response systems
   
• An incentive trip to award and honor the top performers in the company
   
• A sales meeting to brainstorm about new ways to gain more business in 2013
   
• A social event such as a holiday party or employee appreciation picnic

Whatever the reason -- gathering individuals together for education, voting, brainstorming or celebrating --  your meeting makes sense in a face-to-face environment. 

#2: What are the goals and objectives for the meeting? 

Using the SMART methodology for setting objectives can help determine what you need to make the meeting successful. 

Specific:      What are the key takeaways from the meeting? 

Measurable: How will you measure the goals? By number of new orders? New customers? New sales?

Achievable:  Is it realistic to have 500 attendees at the product launch? What is reasonable?

Relevant:     Is your meeting or event relevant in 2013? Are you giving attendees what they want? 

Time-bound: Are the above items tied to an end-date and series of completion dates along the way? 

#3: What is the history of the meeting? 

How long has this meeting been in place? Is attendance growing or dwindling? What worked and what did not in past meetings? What has been the budget for past meetings? 

#4: Take a hard look at your attendees. 

Here are some great questions to ask the individuals who are coming to your meeting:

• Why are they coming?
• What are their expectations? 
• Where are they traveling from? 
• Will they be bringing their spouse or family with them? 
• Are there any special food or room requirements? 

#5: Find out why individuals stayed home last year. 

Finding out the reasons attendees didn't sign up for your conference will give you perspective on how to attract them to the meeting. Perhaps your pricing or location needs to change. Or the content and speakers need to be freshened up. Whatever the reasons, take their feedback seriously and be prepared to make some changes. 

AV Event Solutions is your California meeting equipment supplier. Give them a call at (888) 249-4903 to learn more about their innovative offerings! 

Your annual holiday gathering is just around the corner and this year, you want it to be extra special for the employees. After all they have worked very hard and it is a time to celebrate your company's success. Rather than holding a run-of-the-mill luncheon, you want to host a motivational and festive party to start the new year right. 

Below are do's and don'ts about holiday parties that can help make the moment special:  

Don't treat a holiday party as a mundane meeting. 
Yes, it is quite possible that employees see each other every day and it is easy to assume that everyone knows the ins and outs of each other's lives. But because we are all so busy, often times employees use social gatherings to get to know each other better and understand the upcoming plans for the organization. 

Do take this opportunity to market your business, share plans for the coming year and bring the meeting to life. 
You know this to be true: your employees are your best sales team. If they are motivated by the CEO's message, are aware of what is planned for the coming year and receive some recognition for their efforts -- they are more likely to be engaged in the business. Use sound and lighting rental systems to make certain everyone can hear and see what is happening on stage and throughout the room. 

Don't create a mood for the meeting. 
Due to budgetary concerns, you have had to cut back on the holiday party. However, a party is not a standard boardroom meeting with presentations services audio visual equipment and individuals in a darkened room at 8 am. It is much, much more. 

Do use all 5 senses to create the mood. 

• Sight: Can everyone see each other? Can you use light equipment rentals in an unusual way to create the mood? Perhaps colored holiday lighting or strings of lights around the room?
   
• Sound: If you are having music or entertainment, make certain all sound components are tested hours before your event. The last thing you want is the mic to cut in and out or the music to be so soft or loud it puts a damper on the party's mood. Have an AV technician on hand during the festivities to monitor the sound quality and make the proper adjustments when needed. 
   
• Smell: If the venue allows for it, burn scented candles on each table. Or put food stations around the room where employees can smell the food each chef is preparing. 
   
• Taste: Having well-prepared festive food and drink can make or break a holiday party. Eggnog, cookies, turkey, cranberries, and other holiday treats -- that are made from scratch -- will help set a positive mood and have employees asking for more. 
   
• Touch: Set up photo kiosks for fun employee shots. Rent iPads as portable kiosks for employees to put social posts about the party on their wall and display them on Plasma TVs around the room in order to make the event more interactive. 

The more senses involved in the process, the better it is for setting the right mood for the party.

Are you planning a holiday event in California? Look no further than AV Event Solutions for all your party needs! They have sound and lighting rentals, iPad rental, and much, much more! Give them a call at 888-249-4903 to get started!