event planning

  • Questions to Ask When Evaluating An Outdoor Event Site

    Depending on where you live in the world, doing an event outdoors vs. indoors can seem like an easy call. Weather, cost, and time to build out an outdoor space can threaten the success of an event, however beautiful environments and the natural air can provide an incredible and unique experience for guests.

  • 3 Key Components of Experience Design

    There’s a clear distinction between designing an event experience, versus planning an event. Experience design applies experiential properties and principals to the event design, while event planning is the organization of event elements to fulfill a set of goals.

  • Diversity and Accessibility – the Coefficients of Inclusion

    As Event Leaders it is on us to ensure that any person attending an event will have the same experience and this means as event designers we must think deeply about the symbiotic relationship between diversity, accessibility and inclusivity in order for all attendees to feel valued, respected and most of all…

  • Golden Nuggets – The Hidden Value of Professional Development

    So much like mining for precious stones and mineral, conference experiences are defined by the golden nuggets we forage. It might be that one connection made unexpectedly during a coffee-break, a speaker that inspires one golden idea, or even an event set up we experience in a session that will make a difference in the work we do.

  • Camera Riser | Tech Thursdays Videos

    In this week’s Tech Thursday, Michael Granek, President & COO of ELI, and Kevin from Clark’s AV answer the question “What is a camera riser?”. Kevin shares what the difference is between a regular riser or stage deck vs. a camera riser, and why you need one when having a camera at your event.

  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): What It Is & Why It Matters

    One of the latest technologies that you’ll start to see more of over the next few years is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). You may have even heard of this type of tech before, but maybe you’re not quite sure what to do with it. To help you decide if RFID technology is right for your next event, we’re going to dive into what exactly Radio Frequency Identification is, what problems it solve, and additional benefits it can provide.

  • Featured Event Leader: Kimberly Doell, CMP

    Serving on the International Live Events Association (ILEA) Rhode Island Board for six years in a row, being a finalist in the BizBash Event Style Awards and now, serving as President of her ILEA chapter, it’s no doubt Kimberly Doell, CMP, has made her mark on the events industry.

  • How to Constantly Push Yourself to Take Your Event Career to the Next Level

    The special event world is demanding and stressful, but can also be very rewarding. The glowing smile of an event guest can’t be overstated. It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you’ve put your own personal imprint on that attendee’s experience. Crafting these special memories is a tall order, and constantly pushing the boundaries is difficult.

  • Your Story Blog Series: Courtney Lohmann, CMP

    When Courtney began her journey towards a career in events, the most relevant degree she could achieve was in Recreation & Leisure Services Administration with an emphasis in Special Events from The Florida State University. Since then, the events world has changed dramatically, many leading universities offer event programs and education, and the industry as a whole has drastically shifted, too. With nearly 20 years of experience in the world of events, Courtney has seen many of those changes first-hand.

  • Your Story Blog Series: Caroline Kay

    Caroline Kay is a conference and event planning mastermind with boundless creativity and more than 15 years of business and event management experience. She’s recognized for thoroughly understanding the business needs of her clients and producing events that meet those demands. Her globe-spanning events are meticulously managed and engineered with ingenuity, with a constant eye to ROI for her clients. 

  • 5 Benefits of Untraditional Event Venues

    Untraditional venues break the mold and can help you deliver an unparalleled attendee experience. Untraditional venues are spaces that were typically not created for events as their main purpose. Airplane hangars, warehouse spaces, breweries, wineries, bowling allies, art galleries, zoos, museums, aquariums, or even parking lots could all make great untraditional venues for conferences, workshops, fundraisers, galas, or other business-related events.

  • Diversifying Your Creative Materials with Printing Techniques

    To most outsiders (not us planners), the event start is usually the time the ballroom doors open. To us, it starts at the first drop of creative materials. That said, it’s important that we make a splash, a statement and an everlasting impression as soon as the save-the-date or invitation hit a prospective attendee’s mailbox. Creative materials are what sets up event themes and guest expectations and, most important, what sets us apart from our competitors.

  • Your Story Blog Series: Corinne Kessel, CSEP

    Corinne Kessel, CSEP has more than a decade of experience designing and managing event décor installations in Western Canada. Her hands-on approach, attention to detail, and dedicated team have earned Greenscape Design & Décor a reputation for producing high quality specialty event décor. Her undeniable passion and dedication to the events industry, and the people within it, has positioned her as an industry leader and valued collaborator. Corinne supports those around her, gives back to her community and donates her time to industry associations. Corinne is also a published author, an accomplished musician and most importantly, a tired mom of 2 energetic toddlers!

  • Your Story Blog Series: Kate Bullard

    Kate Bullard is an Events Manager at Baker McKenzie and has over 7 years events management experience in the legal sector. Kate manages a varied programme of events ranging from conferences, roundtables, drinks receptions and other corporate hospitality events. Kate is the co-founder of Eventprofslive, a networking group for corporate event managers based in London and the surrounding home counties. 

  • Part 2 of 2: Four Tech Tips for Increasing Your Event ROI

    Communication is key to establishing a life-long donor. For fundraising events, it is so much more than generating one-night revenue (although that is important). The data we can collect before and during an event can translate into a much larger campaign that drives greater value.

  • Event Jobs | April 2018

    One of the main reasons event professionals learn with us is to hone the skills needed to advance their event planning careers, and many of…

  • Your Story Blog Series: Helen Moon

    Helen Moon, is a CIM qualified events and marketing director with an eclectic mix of experience in the events industry that spans 21 years and includes event production, venue operations, proactive sales and digital marketing. Helen is known for her role as CEO and Founder of EWL Club, Editor of the Diary of an #Eventprof blog, and now Managing Director of EventWell Ltd and co-founder of #EventWell17 and UK Event Wellbeing Week.

  • Part 1 of 2: Four Tech Tips for Increasing Your Event ROI

    Today’s event marketers are tech savvy and data driven. They understand the importance of engaging attendees long before and after the event itself. Delivering personalized experiences isn’t a “nice to have” anymore. Customers expect seamless experiences, interactions and personalization.

  • Your Story Blog Series: Annette Naif

    Since 1986 Annette Naif, CEO & Creative Director of Naif Productions, has been designing and producing custom events. Helping clients create their unique signature style that translates into a memorable experience has been Annette’s passion from the beginning. The drive to provide a distinctive role for superior personalized service in the event planning industry inspired Annette to launch her own event design company in 2010.

  • Event Jobs | March 2018

    Are you looking for a new job? Do you want to launch a career in the events industry? Check out our March list of exciting career opportunities available right now!

  • How to Pitch Your Favorite Speakers for your Next Event

    So your client (or company) is in the middle of planning their signature event or company meeting, and they’re turning to you to come up with ideas on who the speaker should be that will inspire the crowd, while also not costing a fortune. If you’re anything like me, you know that speaker vetting can be, at best, a time-consuming process and, at worst, a frantic, soul-crushing search for someone who is going to both deliver AND make your client or boss happy. While I can’t help you meet your next best speaker, below is the tried and true process I use with all my clients, that often yield them better results than pricy search firms and mass press releases.

  • Leveraging Social Media for Event Marketing

    You’ve sent out invitations. You’ve secured sponsors. Months of planning. Endless phone calls, meetings and details. So what are you missing? It might just be capitalizing on social media to take your event to the next level. But event planners often find social media marketing near the bottom of their to-do list.

  • Event Jobs | February 2018

    Are you looking for a new job? Do you want to launch a career in the events industry? Check out our February list of over 190 exciting career opportunities!

  • Your Story Blog Series: Christina Taylor

    Armed with over 20 years of experience in the industry, Christina Taylor is the President and Owner of TaylorMade Experience (TME), a full-service consultancy that specializes in event management, business management, fundraising, and more.

  • Your Story Blog Series: Brandi Carson

    From a career in project management to interning at the White House, Brandi Carson has had her fair share of dynamic and challenging experiences. Today, Brandi is a successful business owner with a thriving wedding planning company.

  • Effective Time Management Tips

    As event planners, we handle it all—what time the tables are being delivered, what time the entertainment goes on stage, what meals are being served—don’t forget the lady at table 10 who requested a vegetarian meal. She’s already emailed three times about it! Our minds are constantly moving from one thing to the next—no wonder it’s easy to get distracted by shiny things.

  • Your Story Blog Series: Will Curran

    When Will Curran began to DJ in high school, he had no idea his fun gig would end up transforming into a wildly successful production business, Endless Events. Today, Endless boasts an impressive roster of clients, from Uber and Emerald City Comicon to Bud Light and Amazon.com.

  • Event Jobs | January 2018

    One of the main reasons event professionals learn with us is to hone the skills needed to advance their event planning careers, and many of them ask us about job openings. Likewise, many industry employers reach out to us looking for good candidates to fill a variety of job positions, knowing that we strive to help event pros raise the caliber of their work to the best possible industry standards. Here, then, is our effort to help bring these two parties together.

  • The Multi-Sensory Event Experience

    Gone are the days of the stuffy black-tie fundraising gala: an event built on a five-course meal and lengthy live program featuring speakers touting organizational accomplishments.
    Today’s eventgoers demand a more…

  • 10 Tips for Limiting Event Attrition

    One of the greatest challenges event planners face is how to minimize attrition while maximizing attendance and engagement. Making sure guests attend the event and have an amazing time is vital—but how do you ensure that everyone who RSVPs will actually show?

  • How Event Planners Can Overcome the Dreaded Creative Block

    As a result, a creative block can be a blow to an event planner’s productivity and ability to do their job. While creative blocks are at times unavoidable, they can be overcome. We’ve put together some sound strategies for overcoming your next creative block when it strikes.

  • An Event Producer’s Guide to Putting Out Fires (Literally)

    Event planners are notorious for their attention to detail, perfected timelines, relationships with vendors, venues and clients, and overall not-messing-around standards of excellence. They’re also known for their ability to adapt and flawlessly execute their Plan B, C or even D as naturally as if it were Plan A.

  • Top Mistakes Planners Make When Ordering AV

    In the process of preparing the lessons for my upcoming 5 week online course, Technical Meeting & Event Production, I thought about the most common mistakes I’ve seen meeting and event planners make when it comes to ordering AV…

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