Great Events

Today we are joined by Fay Sharpe founder of the not for profit organization Fast Forward 15 in the UK. After founding a meetings and events company and completing her life's goal, Fay found herself wanting to give back to the women in the events industry by setting up a mentoring program under Fast Forward 15. Taken from her many years of experience, Fay shares her advice on what you should focus on if you've been furloughed and how to stand out when updating your resume. You won't want to miss it! As a special bonus, listen in to hear more about Cvent Connect Virtual! From August 25 - 26, we will provide 28 live breakout sessions, virtual meetups, appointments, and more. Check out Cvent.com/podcast and click on the Cvent Connect banner to learn more and register for free!

In this episode we are joined by McNeel Keenan, Vice President of Product Management at Cvent who gives us a sneak peek into the five ways to drive leads at virtual trade shows. Join us in this episode as McNeel Keenan touches on how we can use trade shows to connect with customers and prospects even during a shift from in-person to virtual events. Learn new, creative ways to connect with your sales leads virtually. Don’t forget to tune into the webinar that launches tomorrow, June 4th, to hear McNeel dive deep into this topic.

It's been shown that employees and customers really appreciate having a charitable component to events. Organizations like GlobalGiving help connect nonprofits, donors, and companies. Kayla O'Neill and Scott Williams with GlobalGiving share several ways their clients have utilized charitable giving at their events such as attendees earning points, using branded gift cards, and more. Listen in to hear the fantastic opportunities they can offer to you at your events. Want to learn more? Contact Kayla and Scott at partnerships@globalgiving.org. [Guide for including charitable giving in events](globalgiving.org/greatevents) As you know, Cvent Connect has now gone virtual! From August 25 - 26, Cvent will provide 28 live breakout sessions, virtual meetups, appointments, and more. Check out Cvent.com/podcast and click on the Cvent Connect banner to learn more and register for free!

In this episode, Brooke and Cody sit down with Jeffrey Emenecker, Senior Director of Analytics at Cvent, to talk about the exciting data he uncovered on his monthly global webinar. Hoteliers won’t want to miss this! Jeffrey also touched on how hoteliers should think about their reopening strategy, his prediction with the future of hybrid events at hotel venues, and so much more! Make sure to tune in!

In this special edition podcast episode, we are joined by Cvent's own Kim Segal, Senior Principle Account Manager, to chat about her top tips on how to spend your free time right now. Hear how you can go to the zoo, an aquarium, museums, and even have books read to you virtually. Listen in to take advantage of the plethora of free virtual content available right now that has never been available before! Another great option to take advantage of right now is to become certified in Cvent! Cvent is offering Certification Exams for FREE during the month of May. Anyone can certify in any Cvent Solution in just a few steps, even students! Tune in to hear how you can certify for free.

As part of our Career Planning series, we are discussing tips to dig in to unique skill sets that are relevant to event professionals during these times. Joining us today to discuss this topic is Paulina Curto & Amanda Greenspan-DSouza who are on the Global Meetings Management Team here at Cvent. Paulina and Amanda share 4 skills that planners can learn now to enhance their resumes and help with their day to day. One special event Paulina and Amanda are working on is Cvent Connect Virtual! From August 25 - 26, there will be 28 live breakout sessions, virtual meet-ups, appointments, and more. Check out CventConnect.com/Virtual to learn more and register for free!

Brooke and Cody are joined today by Sherrif Karamat, President and CEO at PCMA, to talk about the benefits of embracing digital and how he's seeing an increased collaboration in the hospitality industry. We discuss everything from the relationship between the planner and supplier, to PCMA's approach to helping through COVID situations. Sheriff also shares the emerging trends he believes we will see in the next 6 - 12 months. Check out how you can get involved with PCMA and their supportive community at www.pcma.org. As a special bonus, listen in to hear more about Cvent Connect Virtual! From August 25 - 26, we will provide 28 live breakout sessions, virtual meetups and appointments. Check out CventConnect.com/virtual to register for free today! Additional Resources Survey results: https://www.pcma.org/category/convene/covid-19/recovery-surveys/ PCMA COVID-19 page: pcma.org/coronavirus DES Offering: https://www.pcma.org/products/des/ DEI Offering: https://www.pcma.org/dei/

Even before the events world pivoted to a virtual platform, the Women in Leadership (WIL) initiative at Cvent has been successfully conducting virtual meetings since last year. Today we are joined by WIL Coordinator, Amanda Greenspan-Dsouza & Taylor Wertheimer, WIL guest speaker, as they share their advice for anyone doing a virtual presentation. They even share how they've been successfully managing a virtual book club along with their top tips on how you can launch a program similar to this and create it in your own environment. Starting May 19th, Cvent is hosting a week of "Real Talk" Conversations about the current state of the events industry. There will be a live panel with Cvent executives plus a week-long series of interactive breakouts. Get all of your questions answered and sign up at Cvent.com/RealTalk. We'll see you there!

Finding a new job can be a full time job. But in today's podcast, we help narrow down what specifically you can do to be more appealing to an employer. Today we are joined by Tracy Judge, Founder and Chief Connector at Soundings Connect, and Matt Syme, Lead Corporate Recruiter at Cvent to discuss how to enhance your skills and beef up your resume. Matt and Tracy share what employers are looking for in a candidate and share tips such as how best to position your LinkedIn account as well as how to "brand" yourself. Now is the best time to brush up on skills and build new ones such as being certified in Cvent. Cvent is offering certification exams at no charge until May 31st. Anyone can certify in any solution in just a few steps. Check out Cvent.com/certification to learn more and see how you can receive free training as well!

It's no secret that music can bring back memories of exactly where you were at any point in time. But how can music help compliment your events? In this special edition podcast we are joined by Sam McNeil & John Lambardo with SongDivision to teach us about the science behind music to engage your attendees/employees and unify corporate culture. As a special treat, Sam and John create and perform a song for us during the podcast! Don't forget! Cvent is hosting a week of "Real Talk" Conversations about the current state of the events industry. There will be a live panel with Cvent executives plus a week-long series of interactive breakouts. Get all of your questions answered and sign up at cvent.com/realtalk. We'll see you there! Additional Resources

If you have been looking for a new way to boost your events and realize true engagement, then today's podcast is for you! Brooke and Cody sit down with Cindy Lo, CEO of Red Velvet Events, to get her take on utilizing gamification for events and how you can then track your ROI. Cindy also shares her advice for getting exhibitors and sponsors to interact with attendees on a virtual level. From exhibit hall bingo to branding, Cindy shares all the tips and tricks! Additional Resources

Developing and maintaining quality employee engagement is the theme of today's podcast. We are joined by Shannon Harrison who worked for a Fintech Company and like many other event planners was tasked with finding ways to keep internal employees engaged while working from home. Shannon shares what skills she leveraged from the event planner world to get colleagues engaging with one another. Free and cheap ideas became an instant hit such as Happy Hour Fridays, Talent Shows, and even Bingo! Listen in to hear tried and true ways to boost your engagement. If you have any tips or tricks to keeping your employees, customers, and attendees engaged and you'd like to be on the podcast, please let us know by emailing us at podcast@cvent.com. We would love to have you on the show! Additional Resources

In the past several weeks, we've had to quickly adapt to virtual events. Because of their strong focus on virtual events, planners have innovated the events industry by pioneering new event technologies and strategies. Jill Dasher with HPN Global and Phil Sings with Federal Conference join us today to share how they have innovated their events. In the conversation, Jill and Phil express the importance of keeping your attendees engaged and included in the conversation. This can be achieved by utilizing tools such as a virtual reality headset, the CrowdCompass app, and more. Listen in to hear how they believe event planners have become more valuable than ever! Additional Resources

CrowdCompass has been an integral part of many in-person events. But how is it possible to utilize an event mobile app during this time without in-person events? Linda Meunier and Jennifer Sosiewicz from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits share some incredible tips on using the CrowdCompass app for more than just events! Using the app, they are able to keep their employees engaged and connected while everyone is separated. From dog grooming videos to cooking classes, listen in to hear how they used technology to create an innovative and exciting environment for their entire company, including their president! Additional Resources

On this episode we chat with the Dynamic Duo, Jamie Lakin, with O2 Events, and Mike Baugh, with Pink Monkey Studio. Jamie and Mike provide their perspective of being an event producer during this time. The reality of going from a jam packed schedule to nothing, hit hard. Yet during this time, Jamie provides her top tips to building revenue in today's market. Hear how Jamie found inspiration to take leaps toward reinventing processes and leveraging the hybrid and virtual experience. Embracing what you can control is one of many tips Mike provides to show how you can build resilience. Quick answers or solutions aren't the answer right now. Rather we need to seek out quality questions and work on improving processes. Mike challenges all event producers to change the thinking from "what can I make with my hands?", to "what can I make with my mind?" Additional Resources