Educational Sessions
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Virtual Conferencing, Social Media, and Rich Media Content Distribution
This session will discuss the technologies behind virtual conferencing, social media and the creation of digital archives of meetings for multiple formats; including web, iPhones, MP3 Players and other emerging media -- and how they may be applied to physical and virtual meetings. In addition, for those holding multiple meetings, these technologies offer the opportunity to create ‘channels'—transforming events into on-going experiences and additional subscription/sponsorship opportunities.
Session Take-aways:
- Learn the basics of virtual conferencing and social media
- Leverage your rich media content using streaming and downloadable formats, widgets and a Free Access Model
- Gain a better understanding of the changing models of content distribution
- Develop checklists to evaluate and understand vendor options
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Beginner - Mid-level
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Meeting Tools for Maximizing Participant Engagement
Create high performance meetings that broaden participation, stimulate creativity and break through meeting logjams. This session will explore web meeting tools designed to increase the level of participation and interaction among participants in both face-to-face and online meetings while demonstrating tools for brainstorming and idea generation, voting and prioritizing, surveys, action planning and documentation.
Whether in support of your planning team, getting participants engaged before a meeting or boosting the level of interaction during a large group event, web meeting software brings new meaning to high performance meetings.
Session Take-aways:
- Describe what web meeting software is and how it complements other meeting tools such as presentations, video-, tele- and web-conferencing technology.
- Understand different ways web meeting software can support your meeting process – before, during and after the main event.
- Identify new methods of engaging your meeting participants, whether all in the same conference room or scattered around the world.
- See how increasing the level of participant engagement and interaction can increase the success of your meetings.
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: All
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Meetings Technology Adoption Rates: Panel Discussion
The interdependency and conflict between user level needs/strategic level wants and technology company revenue streams.
This lively session will explore the often times diverse demands of three market stakeholders for meetings technology: the technology companies creating the products, the strategic buyers looking to support SMM initiatives, and the end-users who actually drive the usage of these products. Panelists will be invited to weigh in on how each stake holder’s role in this dynamic relationship affects adoption rates of meetings technologies. Further each panelist will be asked to share their own identified best practices for helping to drive double digit adoption rates.
Session Take-aways:
- Diversity of primary business drivers of each category: tech company, strategic buyer, end user
- Current trends and patterns for adoption rates of technology products
- Conflicts and congruence of diverse stake holder’s needs
- Best practice examples for driving adoption
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: ALL
Technology Level: Mid-Advanced
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Must-Have Technologies for Independent Planners and Start-ups
Maybe you’ve already taken the plunge, or maybe thinking about going out on your own, so how will you build an efficient technology platform that will maximize your work and instill confidence in prospective clients? Do you know which technologies will be demanded of you by your customers? If you are already established, are you confident in the technologies that you are using? Are they up-to-date, integrated and effective? This session will give you the tools to help identify your technology needs, integrate the tech tools you already have in place and help you realize the power of a successful meetings management tech platform to attract and maintain clients.
Session Take-aways:
- Identify your technology needs and those of your clients
- Learn which tech products can save your clients money while improving your efficiency.
- Learn to seamlessly integrate your existing tech products and how to roll out new tech tools.
- Discover new revenue-generating technologies for your clients
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Independent
Technology Level: All
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eRFPs/Site Selection Tools
Online site-selection/request for proposal systems can provide a more efficient way to match venues to your needs, shorten your site-search-to-contract timeline, provide powerful negotiation aids, and give you valuable tools to provide an audit trail and other compliance requirements. This session will introduce differing approaches by solution providers, their benefits and limitations, review typical requirements, and offer best practices and operational guidelines garnered from successful implementations of eRFP/site selection tools.
Session Take-aways:
- Gain awareness of the benefits and pitfalls of different solutions/approaches
- Identify core requirements and their implications
- Discover implementation and operational best practices
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Mid-level
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How to Identify, Evaluate, and Purchase the Right Software Solution
Recognizing the need to replace a manual procedure with technology may be the first basic step in the procurement of a software solution. The next several steps, however, are not as clear-cut. Identifying the infrastructure required to implement a solution, determining a measurable ROI, comparing products, choosing a vendor, reading the fine print scalability are all concerns that need to be addressed. This session will help you overcome the stress of deciphering through the offerings in the marketplace and ensure that you have a reliable checklist when you start your search.
Session Take-aways:
- Learn valuable techniques in order to identify the need for technology.
- Create a checklist of must-haves and items-to-avoid.
- Prepare the implementation process and learn how to integrate solutions.
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: All
Technology Level: All
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Strategic Meetings Management Programs - Building a Business Case for Technology
The components of a best in class SMMP include strategy, policy, meeting registration, approval system, sourcing, attendee registration/planning, payment/ expense reconciliation, and data analysis/reporting. Yet, at the center of all these component lies the most critical nucleus--the technology. Without it, manual tasks using home-grown systems consume time, lack functionality, and require constant development. This session will explore ways to build a business case for moving to a meeting technology.
Session Take-aways:
- Identify the functionality your organization requires
- Formulate a business case for meeting technology systems
- Learn the 50 most important questions to ask the suppliers
- Hear what the technology companies want you to know
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
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Event Marketing & Communication Technologies:
How to Engage Prospects and Attendees Before, During and After Your Event
Effective communication and marketing tools are essential components for successful meetings and events. In today's business environment, integrated campaigns yield the most traction and response rates. This session will explain the benefits of event marketing solutions and how to utilize their features to reach and exceed your marketing goals. Whether a planner is marketing a paid event or trying to organize internal events there are many meetings technology solutions available to help.
Session Take-aways:
- Automate the registration and payment process – to ensure an easy, user-friendly registration process
- Use integrated marketing strategies to maximize attendance and participation
- Learn how to acquire and then keep your greatest assets – your members and clients– informed and active in your organization using social networks and Web 2.0 technology
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Beginner-Mid-level
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Interactive Meeting Technology – Benefits, Applications and ROI-Generating Strategies
How many times have we heard that we should be using interactive tools in our meetings and events? But have we ever stopped to really think about why or which tool out of the vast list is right for our meeting? It is essential to those of us trying to implement interactive tools successfully into meetings and events that we know the answers to these questions.
This session will explore the world of interactive tools, giving you both concrete examples of how using them will increase the return on investment of participants and meeting owners alike, as well as what factors need to be considered when choosing which tool to use. We'll actually use an interactive tool so you can see first-hand the benefits it can provide.
Session Take-aways:
- Understanding of the different levels of ROI that interactive meeting tools can generate
- Knowledge of different types of interactive tools
- Ability to determine which tool is right for your meeting
- The right questions to ask a potential vendor/supplier
- How to communicate the ROI to decision-makers
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: All
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Driven by Data – The Foundation of Successful Strategic Meetings Management
As meetings and events are increasingly under a microscope, there is a critical need for high-quality data and reporting to drive and support the financial and operational goals of a meetings and events program. A successful SMM program should identify opportunities, implement and manage effective operations and report on the significant savings and improvements that result from a data-driven approach. This session provides key insights on using data to gain executive support to develop an SMM program or justify and improve an existing program.
Speaker: Clement Ng, VP Client Services, Arcaneo
After this session you will be able to:
- Gain insight on how to implement a strategic data management approach
- Identify key metrics for meeting and event programs that can drive decision making & executive support
This session is applicable to the following attendee types:
- Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: All
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New and Emerging Tradeshow Technologies
Learn what is new and upcoming in the field of tradeshow technology with a look at coming tech tools as meeting and exhibition planners move forward with implementation of future meetings- the next generation.
Session Take-aways:
- Recognize and implement required tradeshow technology tools for your next show.
- Learn what tech innovations are coming next in the tradeshow tech field.
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: All
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How Social Networking and other Web 2.0 Technologies can Positively Impact Your Organization Social media and social networks continue to grow exponentially. Of all the ways to market your events — via email, direct mail or word of mouth — social networking has begun to prove its effectiveness as a valuable, cost-effective way to “get the word out” about your events. Social networking allows you to identify your audience’s interests and issues more specifically, and target your message tightly to a specific group attending the conference, rather than broadcast a general message to anyone who attends.
For event planners this offers a great opportunity to expand your reach, promote, and grow your events at minimal cost. Getting started and learning how to best maximize this exciting, cost-effective new resource just takes a little time, research and effort. You’ll then have the ability to engage your audience before, during and after your event in a controlled forum.
Session Take-aways:
- Determine how to easily leverage social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
- Learn how to easily set up and manage your own online community to help engage with your community
- Explore intuitive ways to communicate with others – via messaging, blogging & media posting – in a private, controlled and secure forum.
- Learn how to acquire and then keep your greatest assets – your members and clients – informed and active in your organization through social networking
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: All
Technology Level: All
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RFID/Lead Retrieval/ Attendance Verification Tools
RFID, lead retrieval and attendance verification tools are measurement solutions which are playing a large role in many tradeshow and conferences. Lead retrieval is more than just swiping a badge and transferring static information these days! Come see the latest advances in lead management. Additionally, learn how attendance tracking tools have advanced to help you pinpoint more dynamic information about how your attendee's participate in meeting – related activities, sessions, meal functions and more. We will explore how measuring this information adds value to your events by allowing the event planner to quickly understand attendee behavior.
Session Take-aways:
- Evaluate important features when choosing an effective lead retrieval solution
- Know the benefits associated with attendee tracking and analytics
- Understand important metrics to capture and analyze, in order to truly understand your attendee's behavior at sessions, activities and on the exhibit floor
- Learn what the buzz is all about with RFID including evaluating RFID attendee reporting and real-time technologies.
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: All
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Event Lifecycle Management- Getting More Out of Your Events
Event planners are under more pressure than ever to optimize performance of every stage of the event lifecycle. Staffing and budgets are down but demands for attendance and customer satisfaction are up. This session will discuss how emerging technologies can fuel audience growth, cost savings and improved attendee and vendor satisfaction. Learn about the technologies that are allowing event organizers to optimize every event with a holistic approach that includes audience generation, social networking, web analytics, collaborative content management, streamlined registration, advanced housing management, cutting edge onsite technologies, better lead retrieval and exhibitor management and true event intelligence reporting.
Session Take-aways:
- Discover emerging technologies for each stage of the event lifecycle
- Create better transparency into event performance
- Identify key efficiencies in the event management process
- Develop list of technologies that could save you time and money
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, Association, Tradeshow, Independent
Technology Level: All
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Attendee Management–Registration: Intermediate
A robust event management system is the found in every meeting and event planner's tool kit. This session will address what every planner needs to have in their technology to plan and manage their events. The proper registration tool will yield cost-savings, efficiencies and include additional benefits and features to help manage your attendee profiles, preferences, correspondence, and create revenue-generating opportunities. There are differences, however, in the ever-expanding list of attendee management systems available in the market today. This session will provide an overview of the role of online event registration systems in the meetings industry, the benefits, list must-have items, pitfalls to avoid, pricing structure samples, and resources when deciding on the best attendee management system for your organization.
Session Take-aways:
- Determine the cost effectiveness of your current system
- Understand the formula for saving time and money by using meeting automation
- Learn how to avoid potential pitfalls in implemented technology
- Explore revenue generating features of event management tools
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Beginner - Mid-level
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__________________________________________ Attendee Management–Registration: Advanced
Today’s enterprise meeting planner must not only know what basic technology tools exist today, but also how event management technology fits strategically within the organization. As a meeting planner, you must align technology with the strategic role meetings and events serve in your organization. You need to choose technology that can grow with your organization’s overall requirements and policies, and avoid common pitfalls to growth as you evolve your meetings practice. With the fully integrated event management solutions on the market today, synergy can be achieved between meetings technology and the strategic goals of the organization. This session will address how today’s event management software solutions can save you time, reduce expenses and provide an increased value to your organization. Understand the key features you should look for, how to evaluate your existing technology, and how to define success in your strategic meetings practice.
Session Take-aways:
- Recognize must-have items when evaluating an event management system for Advanced users.
- Learn how event management solutions can give your meetings a strategic place in your organization.
- How to avoid potential pitfalls which may sabotage your long term objectives.
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Beginner - Mid-level
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Strategic Meetings Management Program Benefits - Using Technology to Mitigate Risks and Forecast Your Resource Requirements
In the current economic environment with public confidence at an all time low, successful risk management becomes imperative for anyone sourcing and planning meetings. In each of the four categories of risk, learn how technology can alleviate or provide visibility into these potential nightmares. Next, learn how to forecast your resources based on historic data and the current calendar of meetings. Have data that backs up your statement, "I'm so busy."
Session Take-aways:
- Learn how to spot the four risk categories and the components in each
- Create a Risk Impact Graph of unmanaged spend suitable for C-level leaders
- Build a time study model to track sourcing and planning hours
- Quantify your resource requirements by using data
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Mid - Advanced
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Audience Generation on Autopilot: Getting the Most Out of Your Marketing Efforts
This session will explore audience generation, looking at the newest marketing techniques and ways to better analyze and optimize marketing performance. See what event planners are doing to sell out events in a down economy and learn about the technologies that are making it possible. Topics of discussion include online communities, social media, email marketing, web analytics, return on investment (ROI) analysis and more.
Session Take-aways:
- Learn best practices in audience generation
- Discover new marketing techniques that are working in today’s market
- Explore marketing analytics to better understand your results
- Identify technology gaps in your current marketing platform
This session is applicable to:
Planner Type: Corporate, association, tradeshow
Technology Level: Beginner - Mid-level
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