As the year wraps up, I think it is important to examine strategic meeting management program success. When was the last time you took a close look at your yield? Specifically, what benefits does the SMM return to your organization? I have identified 10 outcomes to consider when examining an SMM program.  

People often think of website updates as needing to be big and elaborate (and by extension, complicated). But that couldn’t be further from the truth! Sure, website redesigns have their time and place (no one wants an outdated website!), but at the same time, sometimes just a few minor tweaks can drive the engagement (and “fresh look”) you’re seeking.  

It’s hard to believe 2018 is almost over. As the year winds down, it’s natural (and good!) to reflect on the past 12 months. In fact, doing so can help set you up for a more successful new year. Now, 12 months is a lot to reflect on. To help narrow the scope, here are 12 questions - some about you, some about your organization’s membership - to ask yourself for an even better (and more successful) 2019.

To redesign your website or to leave it as is? That is the question…

Maybe it’s something you’ve been pondering for a while. Maybe it’s something you’ve been intentionally putting off. How do you know if now is the right time? Well, take it from us, it might be time for a website redesign if…

Being the person that speaks up at a holiday event planning meeting and addresses tough, valid and scary concerns around the safety and well-being of your guests, could earn you the nickname Ebenezer Scrooge, but rest assured you will soar to the top of the “nice” list when you save Christmas! How can a holiday party planner be responsible for saving Christmas?  The answer is two words:  risk management.  Event organizers and hosts are responsible for the safety and well-being of their guests and the risks associated with events, in particular the serving of alcohol can be especially daunting.

If you use Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that when you post to your account and use a popular hashtag, you will often attract at least one new like, follower or comment. Sometimes, a quick check of these mysterious Instagram profiles will make you feel as if you’ve struck gold: They have tens of thousands of followers! They appear to be minor celebrities—potential influencers! More impressively, they are only following a few hundred accounts, and yours is one of them! Naturally, you show your appreciation by following them back.

RFP, security breaches, in-house AV. I know your head is already hurting. Yet, making the right choice for the hotel that will host your guests has many crucial implications. Events are not enough anymore. Attendees want experiences and your event venue will significantly impact the delivery of a memorable and transformational experience.

A new study by Freeman illustrates the dramatic role event data is playing in helping event professionals deliver bigger and better meetings. “Data Benchmark Study,” which was produced in partnership with Chief Marketer, showed that collecting and analyzing everything from attendance to leads and sales has the potential to positively influence decision-making and help event marketers and planners significantly improve the attendee experience.

On the heels of multiple studies showing that event professionals are increasingly being asked to do more with less, Smart Meetings asked a veteran planner for tips on how to create “wow” on a budget. Doug McPhee, Experient senior global account manager, recently spoke at CMP Conclave in Birmingham, Alabama, on this very topic and shared the 10 things that can trim the bottom line without sacrificing the end-product.

2019 brings the promise of even more virtual event technology, tighter marketing budgets, and droves of content competing for your audience’s attention. Never before have event marketers had more obstacles to overcome in order to drive attendance, secure exhibitors and sponsors, and meet event objectives.

Four out of five people will consider flaking on an event they’ve already bought tickets to. In fact, 47% of people flaked on an event in the last month, according to new research from Eventbrite and OnePoll. What’s going on here? Are people just jerks?

According to our Eventbrite Survey, Millennials will account for 75% of the UK workforce in a decade and spend over £419,556,233 each month on attending live events. But while this is good news for event creators, the demand for live experiences also means more competition.

Smart phones are smarter than ever, streaming has never been easier or more common, and the constantly connected technology of modern society is pushing events to jaw-dropping heights. That is, if your internet connection doesn’t crash.

Extended reality ('XR) is a term referring to all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. It includes representative forms such as augmented reality (AR), augmented virtuality (AV) and virtual reality (VR) and the areas interpolated among them. The levels of virtuality range from partially sensory inputs to immersive virtuality also called VR.

The choice of food and beverage can have a big impact on an event’s environmental footprint. Sustainable menu planning reflects the decisions that organizers make regarding the selection of food and beverage served at conferences and events.

To the uninitiated, booking speakers or headline entertainment for a meeting or incentive program might seem like the least of a planner’s worries. But the reality of bridging the corporate world and the entertainment world can be tricky, with the possibility of lengthy riders, big egos, and unexpected cancellations all adding complexity to the relationship.

Meetings are made for extroverts. They’ll talk to anyone about anything. They’re gregarious, and they get their energy from interacting with other people. But extroverts only make up about half your attendees, says Sharon Fisher, president of experiential communications company Play with a Purpose. The other half, she says, are the introverts whose personal style is almost the opposite, and those attendees need to be considered in your meeting design.

If there’s a special event professional in your life, you know they already had your holiday present picked out months ago. (Their penchant for preparedness extends far beyond events.) You, on the other hand, are a little more last-minute in your gift selection.

In this short video, Padraic Gilligan, managing director at SoolNua, and the chief marketing officer at the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, explains the top five takeaways from this year’s Incentive Travel Industry Index research.

According to a Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resorts survey of 2,000 employees, some people will go to great lengths to avoid attending unproductive meetings. The most common excuse used for opting out was a heavy workload, which nearly a third of respondents (30 percent) have admitted to blaming for their absence. Heavy traffic came in second (15 percent), and six percent of respondents even admitted to calling in sick.

For the longest time, the ”breakout session“ felt like the forgotten stepchild of event marketing. Throw in a stage and a projector, invite a category expert and hope for the best. Because all the killer keynotes were on the plenary stage, a decent breakout was considered a bonus.

December 31 seems to creep up faster and faster every year. While resolutions aren’t for everyone, I think we can all agree that a new year is the perfect time to start fresh with something, whether that’s a new initiative at the office or working on something a little more personal.

Smartphones have technically been in existence since 1992, but in the last decade they have become an indispensable part of the planner’s on-the-go life. That is why optimizing use of all the helpful apps popping up every week is essential for event professionals today. Speaker and productivity expert Audrey Thomas, CSP, recently shared tips with attendees at FICP for making the most out of those powerful pocket computers. Here are her top tips for getting phone smart.

Event planners are notorious for being hyper-organized. But there is one unspoken chaos in your life that few people know about — the overflowing state of your email inbox. You know the feeling — with every notification, you see the giant pile of unread messages getting bigger. Some persistent emails clog every event manager’s inbox, languishing unresponded (or, worse, unread) for days then weeks at a time.

One of the most daring and complex high-wire acts is organizing a citywide event. Spanning multiple hotels, thousands of rooms and millions of square feet of event space, a citywide requires a planner to manage a long list of responsibilities to make it successful. According to recent Smart Meetings webinar hosts Elaine Williams and Sallee Pavlovich, however, the answers are right at planners’ fingertips.