Tuesday, April 26, 2016



Sue Pelletier went to a tips-filled session at the American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting in Detroit last summer on the topic of planning meetings outside the U.S.

Here are some of her top takeaways:

• Really large meetings may be hard to place, since U.S.–style convention centers are not common in a lot of other countries.

• Be prepared to pay a la carte for everything from meeting space to AV, especially in Europe.

• Think about whether you want to collect registration fees in U.S. or local currency. One audience member said they use local currency “So we didn’t look so American.” Some planners like to set up a local bank account to use for funds for things like tips and paying drivers. “Always ask how they do it there, and be sensitive to local customs and the local culture,” advised one panelist.

• Find out what visa requirements the country might have well in advance, because it could take longer and cost more than you might think. Also learn what the passport requirements are—some countries require that passports be valid for more than six months after you depart the country.

• Also find out if any vaccinations are recommended.

• Check your personal health insurance to make sure you’ll be covered should anything happen. One person told a story about an attendee who had to get $25,000 wire-transferred before the hospital would agree to operate on his broken arm. In some countries, you may also want to look into ransom insurance (yikes!).

• Tell attendees to pack prescription drugs in their overnight bag, and to leave the good jewelry at home.

• Learn the local customs. In some countries, it’s rude to say no to a request, so they may just nod but then not do what you asked. Make sure the other parties understand what you’re asking for, and provide a deadline. In some countries, a tip is considered an insult. In others, everyone else on the team will want a tip too. Panelists recommended KissBowShakeHands.com as a good site for international protocol.

• Always have hard copies of everything, especially in areas where electricity may be iffy.

• Be aware that equipment may not be what you’re used to. If you rent a computer in Senegal, chances are the keyboard will be in French.

• Manage your expectations. “You’re not bringing a U.S. meeting to Ethiopia; you’re holding an Ethiopian meeting,” said one panelist. You may find yourself having to scrabble to find enough chairs for your 500-person meeting, as one planner described. Plan to hold twice as many site visits as you would for a U.S.—based meeting.

• Manage your attendees’ expectations. Let them know ahead of time that they may not be able to get a Kosher or vegan meal. “A vegetarian in Africa gets chicken—chicken is considered a vegetable there, as is proscuitto in Italy,” said one panelist.

• A local partner can be a godsend, but make sure they come highly recommended.

• Protect your content by having everything copyrighted and trademarked.

• The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against some countries (such as Cuba, Nigeria, and Sudan). Check with an OFAC lawyer early in the planning process to make sure you are allowed to do business in that country.

• Think about what you can let go of, and what you can live with. And check with state.gov/travel early and often.

Source: meetingsnet.com

16 Ways to Make Your International Events Less Risky and More Effective

Sue Pelletier went to a tips-filled session at the American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting in Detroit last summer on th...

Friday, April 22, 2016

Kehoe Designs transformed the Fairmont Hotel's ballroom into a tropical setting with lagoon-colored lighting, leafy centerpieces, and giant cutouts...

Kehoe Designs transformed the Fairmont Hotel's ballroom into a tropical setting with lagoon-colored lighting, leafy centerpieces, and giant cutouts of animal silhouettes for the Goodman Gala, which was held in Chicago in May 2013 and celebrated the theater's production of The Jungle Book.

Photo: Ryan Sjostrom

When Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong premiered in December 2005, Universal Pictures threw an enormous party for 3,000...

When Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong premiered in December 2005, Universal Pictures threw an enormous party for 3,000 guests in New York. The event included an elaborate—and complicated—waterfall that took a crew of workers from Garden State Koi and Aquatic Center three days to assemble. The installation was part of the jungle-theme section of the premiere party and included sound effects and a light fog.

Photo: Jeff Thomas/ImageCapture for BizBash

For the HBO Emmy after-party in August 2010, event designer Billy Butchkavitz concocted a “summer safari” theme that...

For the HBO Emmy after-party in August 2010, event designer Billy Butchkavitz concocted a “summer safari” theme that featured animal-print tablecloths in preppy pink and banana and palm trees as high as 30 feet.

Photo: Gabor Ekecs

A fire pit next to the arrivals area kept HBO's guests warm at the Pacific Design Center in Los...

A fire pit next to the arrivals area kept HBO's guests warm at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.

Photo: Gabor Ekecs

Palm leaves, lilies, and zebra print decorated the ballroom of the Four Seasons Chicago for the Service Club of...

Palm leaves, lilies, and zebra print decorated the ballroom of the Four Seasons Chicago for the Service Club of Chicago's gala in November 2011.

Photo: Ryan Sjostrom

Dense arrangements of tropical plants were suspended between white pillars, creating a jungle-like canopy effect at the Museum of...

Dense arrangements of tropical plants were suspended between white pillars, creating a jungle-like canopy effect at the Museum of Modern Art’s 2013 Party in the Garden in New York.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

The arrivals backdrop—featuring the Cartier, which underwrote the event, and MoMA logos rendered in neon and marquee lights—echoed the...

The arrivals backdrop—featuring the Cartier, which underwrote the event, and MoMA logos rendered in neon and marquee lights—echoed the dense arrangements of tropical greenery found inside the dinner space.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Source: Bizbash.com

7 Jungle Book Inspired Ideas for Events

Kehoe Designs transformed the Fairmont Hotel's ballroom into a tropical setting with lagoon-colored lighting, leafy centerpieces, and...

Wednesday, April 20, 2016


Your guests have arrived for your conference and are waiting in anticipation for a Speaker to inspire them. As the speaker's session is about to begin, the emcee walks slowly on stage and announces that an unfortunate incident has happened and your speaker is not able to attend the event. What do you do as an organizer?

Neen James, MBA, CSP, a high-energy Aussie with a lot of sass, is an attention expert, keynote speaker shares her story with Meetingsnet.com.

The lights came up as the person who was about to interview a living legend slowly walked onto the stage at an industry conference. Our anticipation turned to apprehension as we watched his body language and facial expressions. Something wasn’t right. He turned to face us, and, with great sadness, told us that the special guest we had all been looking forward to hearing from was too ill to make it to the conference.

It’s an understatement to say we were disappointed. Not only for ourselves when we heard that we would not be able to learn from this person’s experience and advice, but we also felt upset for the interviewer, who had obviously invested significant hours to prepare for this event.

Then something wonderful happened. After the interviewer shared his personal disappointment at the turn of events, he put his contingency plan into action. He showed a remarkable tribute video about the person who was unable to make the show—and that person got a standing ovation, perhaps the first he’d ever received in absentia. The interviewer then interviewed another high-profile industry person with such fun and flair that he turned what could have been a disaster into a delight. Talk about grace under pressure!

The key was that he had a contingency plan, born out of liaison with the conference chair, the meeting planner, the CEO, and many others on the team. The result was a session that was talked about for weeks to follow, both among attendees who were in the audience and on social media, where the interviewer was called a “class act,” a “role model,” the “epitome of class,” and a “true professional.”

As someone who was there, I’d add the word “exceptional.” Every attendee in that ballroom witnessed how to elegantly handle a tough situation with grace, compassion, and eloquence.

As busy meeting professionals working with professional and industry speakers, do you have contingency plans you can put into action if your talent is delayed by travel or unable to make the session due to illness?

What would you do if Your Conference Speaker Doesn't Turn Up?

Your guests have arrived for your conference and are waiting in anticipation for a Speaker to inspire them. As the speaker's sessi...

Thursday, April 14, 2016


Interaction has many faces: interview, panel, debate, brainstorm, workshop, Q&A. They all have different characteristics and give a different added value to meeting design. Here are 15 ways to make your event really interactive.

A real conversation consists of speaking and listening, the exchange of knowledge and information and reaching of a common objective. Many times though, dialogue is no more than a useless exchange of hollow words. The bottom-line is that every shape and form of interaction should follow a few golden rules to make it truly effective.

1. Focus

The objective of any meeting, and of any session within that meeting should be absolutely clear, otherwise any interaction is useless. This may sound obvious, but it needs repeating over and over again. The goal of the conversation should be defined, so that everyone knows, whether it’s about invention, co-creation, prioritising, decision making etc.

2. Concept

To be succesful, a meeting needs a great meeting design. This goes beyond setting a theme and even beyond a creative format for the day as a whole. Effective interaction calls for a seperate design for each part of the programme. A panel for instance, can be executed in a million ways, as can an interview or any other conversation format. Each and every one of the sessions should be designed for the right interaction format.

3. Surprise

Surprise your participants! It will make them learn better and be more cooperative. Dare to be innovative in the session formats, and change format constantly – it will keep your guests fresh.

4. Freedom of Speech

Create guidelines to ensure that any question that has to be asked, will be asked. An environment should be created where everyone feels free to speak his mind. Every opinion counts and is valued. Participants will treat each other with respect, and an open mind. The moderator will be non-judgemental and unbiased.

5. Wholeness

Any aspect of the topic, important to the objective, will be covered. Failing to involve every important aspect in the conversation, will make the result null.

6. Realistic

At the same time, wholeness does not imply that every detail has to be discussed. It is a matter of quintessence and making clear choices.

7. Equality

Participants interact on the basis of equality. If this is not the case (and that may happen, on occasion), this should be communicated and clear to all parties involved.

8. Transparency

It should be clear to all what the purpose of the outcome is and how results will be used.
Facts, opinions, emotions etc are all allowed, but at the same time they are to be labelled clearly.


9. Honesty

Of course the meeting owner is allowed some air-time but please be open about it and don’t try – as we so often see – to cover this up. Participants are not stupid and will know when so called ‘interaction’ is only an excuse for the meeting owner to tell his story.
You can schedule only 5 minutes of Q&A after a 45 minute speech, but please don’t call it interaction.

10. Draw a Line

It is very important to draw a clear line under what is open for discussion and what is not. If a decision has been made and only the execution can be influenced, tell your participants!

11. Be Brave

You can’t completely forecast, what interaction will bring. The meeting owner needs to have the guts to allow real interaction. Within the set boundaries, anything should be allowed to happen.
Interaction will only fly, if you go all the way. Having people listen to 5 speeches, before they actually get involved, doesn’t work. If you truly want to go interactive, your meeting should be interactive every minute of the day, every step of the way.

12. Be Flexible

Change the schedule or even the content, when a detour seems to have added value. If someone from the audience comes up with a great idea or story, cherish it and give it room to grow.
This can all be done, when you have a clear focus on the objective because you’ll know what has added value and what hasn’t.

13. Provide an Alternative

If a participant brings something up, that can’t (or won’t) be addressed within the interaction, give him credit for the contribution, and provide an alternative. After all, his remark may not be important to you, but it sure is to him. You could refer this person to someone else? Or you could promise to look at his problem after the meeting? But be sure to keep your promise!

14. Give the Stage to the Participants

Accept the fact that the meeting is no longer ‘yours’ once you really choose to go interactive. All participants – including you as one of them – define the success of the meeting. Trust in the wisdom of the crowd. And please, do not wait until they start to moan. Actively ask them what their ideas are every step of the way.

15. Involve your Speakers

Your speakers are the first and easiest hurdle towards interaction. Tempt them into changing their ways. Why speak for 40 minutes and have only 5 for Q&A? Why not start with a powerful 10 minute summary, and then open for questions? Or take it one step further even? Start by having the participants do an assignment and use the results to communicate the learning?
Speakers that really know what they’re talking about, have no reason to fear any kind of interaction.

In Conclusion

Going interactive is about having guts. If you hold back, it will be no more than a gimmick and your audience will hate you for it. Participants are not as stupid as many meeting owners think (or hope) and they can tell when you are only pretending to be interactive, instead of really opening up to them.
If you dare to go all the way on the other hand, they will love you and will help you get the maximum result. Involving all people in the room will help you dig into the crowd’s intelligence and you may be surprised with the power available there.
It is all about being interactive: your knowledge and opinions can only grow and prosper if you test them. And just like you, the meeting owner, each and every one of your attendees love to share and cooperate too. Cherish that!


Source: eventmanagerblog.com

The 15 Foundations of Interactive Conference

Interaction has many faces: interview, panel, debate, brainstorm, workshop, Q&A. They all have different characteristics and give ...

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Having a themed exhibit is one thing, but adding an in-booth activity that coincides perfectly with that theme is the kind of thing that makes attendees swarm. At the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association Annual Meeting in Denver, Blue Hive Inc. designed its 10-by-20-foot exhibit to mirror the company's bee-themed branding. The back wall was modeled to look like a honeycomb, and the firm's stuffed-animal bee mascot, Buzz, was conspicuously displayed. But the exhibit house didn't stop there; it enlisted a local apiary to bring a real hive to the pint-sized space. The apiary's beekeeper also gave attendees a brief tutorial on his craft, and then booth staffers took over to talk about attendees' exhibiting needs. What's more, staffers offered attendees a small container of honey as a parting gift, further sweetening the booth experience.

Speaker of the House
Hoping to draw attention to its vintage-looking frames, Vee Zee Inc. (aka VonZipper) crafted a retro display on the front corner of its 20-by-20-foot exhibit at Vision Expo West. Comprising everything from amplifiers and speakers to tube-style TVs and even a few vinyl records, the roughly 8-foot-tall aisle-side display captured attendees' attention, drew them in for a closer look, and gave staff the opportunity to lure them further into the space to inspect VonZipper frames.

Face Value
At the RSA Conference, Tripwire Inc. offered an activity normally seen on boardwalks and at amusement parks – caricatures. Instead of easels and chalk, though, artists seated at two stations used iPads and apps, and their progress was displayed on flatscreen monitors mounted onto the exhibit's exterior wall. The aisle-facing stations continually drew in attendees eager to have their likenesses digitized for all to see. Once each caricature was finished, the artist sent it to a nearby photo printer and then inserted the printout into a plastic sleeve with an attached clip, which could be used to affix the giveaway to a collar or purse handle. Meanwhile, staffers took advantage of the 10-minute wait time by engaging people in line and sharing key messages.

Yezz Sir
Given the myriad features and options available on cellphones, differentiating your brand from the masses is often the difference between sales that skyrocket and those that slump. So prior to exhibiting at Mobile World Congress, Yezz (a division of DDM Brands LLC) released a whimsical YouTube video starring its founder, Luis Sosa. In the video, Sosa urged viewers to look for key features when comparing phones, and challenged buyers to find a better-equipped phone with the latest version of Android at a more affordable price. By issuing its tongue-in-cheek challenges and providing some very real criteria (that Yezz devices meet), the video raised brand awareness, communicated the devices' key differentiators, and racked up more than 60,000 views in the weeks leading up to the show.

Piles in the Aisles 
Admittedly, there's nothing sexy about a pile of poo. But if you spotted one in a trade show aisle, you can bet you'd sidestep, stop, and stare. That's exactly why the marketing team at Dogipot positioned several faux poo piles around their exhibit at the 2015 National Recreation and Parks Association Annual Conference. Located next to or in front of Dogipot's dog-waste collection systems, the feigned fecal matter captured attendees' attention and then immediately directed it to the firm's products.

Graphics Gone Wild
At their most basic level, exhibit graphics are intended to attract attention and communicate key messages. But far too often, graphics become bland and cluttered with corporate jargon at best, or wordy, text-heavy diatribes at worst. West Star Aviation Inc. managed to avoid both pitfalls with its in-booth graphics for the National Business Aviation Association show in Las Vegas. A message high atop a roughly 10-foot-tall backlit graphics panel read, "Murphy's Law simply states: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." An illustration of a Gremlin-like Murphy wreaking havoc on an airplane sat atop the message "West Star Aviation keeps the Murphy out of aircraft maintenance." Sure, the graphic panel violated experts' standard guideline of using a maximum of six to 10 words, but the effective, unexpected image alongside playful, succinct messaging proved that sometimes rules are meant to be broken.

Lightning Luminary 
Hamstrung by tight budgets and limited square footage, exhibitors with small spaces rarely venture beyond a few arm lights, or they forego lighting altogether. But at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Trapco Ltd. devised an inexpensive fixture that helped to brand its space. Trapco created a bolt-shaped, 8-foot-tall LED-lit element that echoed the lightening bolt in its product logo. But rather than mounting it to the back wall, or positioning it as a freestanding element in its 10-by-20-foot booth, Trapco built the bolt into its central reception desk. The solution illuminated the exhibit, branded the space, and attracted attention. Plus, by positioning the bolt in the center of its booth, Trapco sidestepped the show's setback regulations.

A Perfect 10
Most 10-by-10-foot booths are either overly cluttered with products or about as exciting as reading the dictionary. But Elfiq Inc. sidestepped both of those small-booth pitfalls at the Interop New York show with a sleek and streamlined space. Featuring a geometric, tensioned-fabric back wall, a pair of tablet PCs mounted to branded stands, and two internally lit pedestals (one of which functioned as a product display and the other as a small but sufficient reception desk), the cohesive and uncluttered exhibit stood out among a sea of blasé booths.

Source: ExhibitorsOnline

Getting Your Exhibit Visitors Visiting

Having a themed exhibit is one thing, but adding an in-booth activity that coincides perfectly with that theme is the kind of thing that ma...

Monday, April 11, 2016

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<p> Design Within Reach partnered up with design studio Icrave to create a Palm Springs-inspired setup featuring a clever divider...

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<p> Echo Design's setup evoked a safari sit-down dinner with a thatched rug, canvas director’s chairs, caged pendant lighting, and...

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Bring nature in designed by Erin McDonald

Source: BizBash

7 Fresh Looks for Seated Dinners

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