Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

With the ever increasing media distribution channels and now the many citizen journalists your show floor needs to adapt to meet the needs of today’s new media.  The new media I am speaking of is the attendees themselves. Many of them are now producing their own media, through blogs, podcasts, video and photos.  They are now the new media replacing perhaps the more traditional media that we as convention organizers have been keeping in our planning for our events.  We have sent news release after news release to the more traditional folks trying to get them to run a story on their news sites or to do a quick story about how their viewers, readers or listeners can find out how to attend.

Now we need to figure ways to make it easy for the attendees themselves to have a way to make media on the show floor. We are now seeing many step and repeat back drops for people to do impromptu interviews of experts or speakers and other attendees.  Are you making these types of interviews happen by providing a place for this new media to distribute their product?  If you are not making it simple for the attendee citizen journalist to have a place to make their new media you are missing a most important distribution channel for your event right on your show floor.

Photo via ShashiBellamkonda

I have been thinking for a while about convention and trade show leaders.  The people that lead us up the hill in this time of economic troubles.  The ones that make us feel good about where we are in the industry.  Those that are our though leaders and those that have companies that they are keeping on the path to success.

I have been thinking about what makes a good leader and what do the conferences, conventions or trade shows that are successful have in common?  I think the answer is simple and obvious, they have good leadership.  Last night on Twitter this conversation came about about companies that work well and what they have in common.  It also talked about the traits of the leaders of those companies that were successful.  Some of the traits of the leaders were:

• Passion
• Vision
• Fearlessness
• Determination

Those may sound like things we all have but in some leaders that exude these traits.  The funny thing is that if you ask each of us about what we think of when we think of a good leader and what traits we find important, each of us would have a different answer.  It does seem that we all wont to follow those that inspire us to be followers.  Some leaders have a confidence that we want to follow. It makes me think of what are the traits I want to see in a leader.  I have talked about events that fail and have been talking about events that are struggling but those that are winning the struggle and the battles are those with good leadership.  What are the things you look for in your event leadership?

Photo via Hamed Saber

I was having a discussion with a colleague the other day about using email marketing as a way to get the word out and help get information to a customer.  I am still a child of email myself and I check that usually before I get my coffee in the morning.  A recent study reported by Mashable indicates that the next generation may be checking Facebook before they have their coffee, but I for one stick with the basics and go through email.

I continue to receive email updates from conferences and trade shows I have attended but for the most part, they smaller shows only send out a few updates a year and those are usually centered around events such as a call for speakers, or a sale of early bird tickets or other bigger announcements.  I think that is a poor use of email and newsletters.  Email is a great way to get up to speed year round and keep things fresh in the minds of your attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.  It is a great tool for helping you garner more sponsors in fact if they think you will be promoting them all year.

There are many email services out there and none of them are head and shoulders about their competitors.  I like to see a company that provides good analytics and one that allows you to customize your emails easily.  I know that some of the companies out there even have the ability to integrate with your blog and other social networks which is a nice touch.  Are you using email as a way to market your event?  How many emails is too many versus how many are too little.  I like to think that once a month I should be seeing your event show up on my radar and as we get close to your event you should get out as many as one per week.  What has worked for you in the past?

Canceling an event that never seems to get off the ground can be a difficult decision.  There are many things that go into making that decision, be it sponsorships that are on the fence, and attendees coming on board or speakers that will make or break both of the foregoing.  I was watching around the Internet this weekend and noticed that a recent tech event in Italy was canceled by organizers here in the United States.  It was not a great story to read as I too have been part of a failed conference and it was a difficult time for all.  There are sponsors to answer to and their are attendees to work out issues with and finally making things right for speakers that are making commitments can be a hassle.  All-in-all, I don’t wish a failed event on anyone.

When is it time to call it quits or when is the time for that pass fail grade for your event?  For many it seems to revolve around money.  If an event does not get the number of attendees for their needs to pay hotels and facilities, the answer is simple.  You cancel the event by necessity since the money is no t in the bank to support the event.  Some sponsors want certain criteria to be met before they will provide the check for the vent and if that does not happen, that too is a trigger to call it quits.  In this particular instance it seems that a combination of money and logistics caused the event to fail.  They had to cancel the location of the event as the hotel required a deposit that was not paid and they themselves pulled the rug out for organizers. This is very unfortunate as there are tales now of attendees showing up for an event and not having the event take place.

I am also disturbed by organizers that are putting together events and have no intention of having the event take place.  I have heard of some fraud going on in our industry and that is very disturbing.  Making exhibitors pay for booths and sponsors to pay for sponsorship of events and when the time comes for the convention or conference to take place the organizers are no place to be found.  This is a practice that seems to give us all a black eye.  When is the best time to cancel an event?  My hope is never.

This is a question every conference, trade show, meeting and convention planner needs to ask themselves when getting ready to make that pitch to a prospective sponsor.  Why do they want to give you money to be a part of your show?  If the answer is not obvious, perhaps you need to be prepared to make it more obvious.

Many companies out there are hurting right now in this economy so they are beginning to tighten the belts of the budgets in the marketing and sales area and your convention may be the first place they want to cut.  Are they making a mistake? Probably, if they have the opportunity to make a sale or two by being a sponsor of your event.  You need to provide them with the information about quality leads, about why their brand needs to be aligned with your event and the return on their sponsorship investment.  If you can provide a good reason why they should be sponsoring your event then it should be an easy enough sale.

When going to the sales call, map out why each particular sponsor should be a part of your event.  Make it easy for them to understand and make sure you provide all the information they need to sell it on their end.  If you can make it easy for them to sell, your sale will be much easier.  I have found a number of sponsors for events just because I have made it easy for them to get approval to spend the money.  If you make it an easy job for all, then we all want the easy job to be on our plate.

If you would like to be a sponsor here on our blog or on the Conventions.net site I can provide many reasons for you to want to be a part of our sites.  Contact me.

[photo via fifa4fans.de]

Press releases, you are either a big fan of them or you hate them.  I have somewhat of a love hate relationship with the press release.  I am actually a fan now of the new social media release that makes it easy to distribute your news, but those have not yet hit the mainstream.  I get hundreds of press releases a week and some are related to my industry in social media, some are related to businesses I have helped in the past or some are just general interest to me.  I know that press releases are necessary and a great asset to companies.

I also know that press releases are a difficult thing to distribute to those that are interested specifically in your business or in our specific industry.  You send out a blanket release that may or may not be seen by the people that care.  How do we help you with this?  At Conventions.net we have a free press release distribution system that you can use to reach your specific audience.  We know this because we talk to these industry leaders and those in the convention, trade show and meetings industry every day!

If you want to go to our press release distribution system and give it a try you can see just how simple it is to reach those you want to reach with the news that matters to them.  Your message is limited to 1500 words, and that should be ample for most press releases.  Some of the other benefits are stated:

• Reach 125,000 unique visitors each month
• Increase traffic to your website
• Optimize your ranking in search engines like Google
• Release remains visible once posted

There are many press release companies out there you can use and many of them have great audiences of hundreds of thousands of people.  What they don’t have is a specific audience to your industry.  It’s like free advertising and public relations all put into a nice package.  Give it a try.

For those of us wondering how the environment impacts us in the convention and meeting industry or how catastrophes or other problems change how we do business, we only have to look at the recent oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.  We have written about the terrible situation with the flood in Nashville and how it impacted the folks at Gaylord Hotels.

Meetingsnet.com talks about how the spill is leading to cancellations in the Meeting Industry.

A May 18 survey of 50 hotels across the Gulf Coast that host meetings and events found that 42 percent are experiencing group booking cancellations, the report says.

I don’t think that we are going to see a big problem in the Gulf States as it relates to meetings, or conventions or other things that are impacted in that area by things like golf coast hurricanes or other weather issues.  I like how the report states that in some cases bookings for hotels and other facilities are on the rise because they are housing the peripheral industries like emergency people, media and others.  So far the spill is not making much of an impact, but if you have a meeting, a convention or trade show in the gulf coast states, it might be a good idea to reach out to your facility to see if there is any impact.  If you are marketing your event as a beach front or other outdoor ocean view or gulf coast outing, you should make sure you have your own disaster preparedness.

[photo via Yahoo News and AP]

There are two conference centers at Louisiana’s Wildwood Resort, so no matter what the size of your convention/trade show/retreat/conference, this venue can accommodate you easily and well.

There are superb facilities here – anything and everything your speakers, organizers, and attendees could possibly need, from food and furniture to wifi and electronics.

This venue is also a hotel, so your attendees can stay on-site.  I think this is always the best way.

At the resort’s W.J. Brown Conference Center, your large conference will be housed in surroundings that look like a grand old country lodge.  Don’t be fooled, however; the amenities are as modern as can be found anywhere in the world.

If you are planning a smaller conference, the Junior Conference Center can accommodate smaller groups of up to 50 attendees: perfect for corporate events or retreats, special occasions, or just simply a smaller convention.

After the day’s meetings and seminars are over, your attendees can take advantage of the fantastic fishing, swimming, golf, or just simply relaxing and taking in the beautiful scenery.

Oh, and if you want your conference to be catered, this venue can offer your attendees a little bit of everything, from a fish fry to an elegant prime rib dinner.

WILDWOOD RESORT
129 WILDWOOD DRIVE
ZWOLLE, LOUISIANA 71486
(800) 341-3668
(800) 450-5103
www.wildwood-resort.com

And, at the end of the day, your attendees will find that their beds are fantastic in every possible way.

The Greater Richmond Convention Center, located at 403 N. 3rd St, Richmond, VA 23219, is only minutes away from the airport, and right in the heart of downtown.

Event planners, click here for information.

And, from the convention center’s website, here is what it has to say about what you might find at the Greater Richmond Convention Center:

The Greater Richmond Convention Center is Virginia’s largest exposition and meeting facility. The Center brings hundreds of thousands of visitors into the metropolitan area each year.

Whether it’s large or small – simple or multi-faceted, our customer service and attention to detail will ensure that your event will surpass your every expectation.

Today (Friday) through Sunday, in fact, if you go to the Greater Richmond Convention Center, you will find a wine-tasting convention with wine tasting from 65 state wineries, food and cheese sampling, free crystal wine glass, chef demonstrations, and more!