Great Events

How will we know when recovery is beginning? What will be the first signs that in-person meetings can make a come-back? We sat down with Don Welsh, CEO of Destinations International, to discuss just that. Hear how a 100 year old organization is continuing to engage with their members and the hotel community. Whether as a planner or tourist, get the expert opinion on what to do if you're considering coming to a destination. Additional Resources

This special episode of the podcast features Brenda Ainsburg, the App Ninja and Channel Program Manager at Siemens. During this downtime, Brenda puts an emphasis on the importance of leveraging your contracts and staying connected with your attendees. She shares the best resources and methods to keep in touch with attendees even if your event has gone virtual. It is especially important to make your attendees feel as safe as possible during this uncertain time. As a special treat, Brenda shares her top tips for staying sane right now, which may or may not have a strong emphasis on coffee! Additional Resources

Brooke and Cody are joined (virtually) by Techwell president, Alison Wade, who talks about the current events landscape, how to use technology, and how she managed to pivot an in-person event to virtual in just ten days! Apart from her tips and tricks on how to execute an engaging virtual event, Alison also talks about the advantages and cost benefits of hosting a virtual event. She also shares her advice on managing teams efficiently while working from home. Additional Resources

Adapt, Evolve, and Accelerate! This is the mantra of our guest Patrick Smith, Senior VP and CMO at Cvent. Join us as Patrick discusses what the future looks like for in-person events and how you can accelerate by threading virtual events in to your event program. Patrick also provides useful insight into how Cvent Social Tables can provide event planners a virtual site visit to help them get ahead. As a bonus, he shares how you can get trained on Cvent and certified for free! Additional Resources

See how a non-profit membership organization adpated their 5,000 person event to a virtual platform with a virtual exhibit hall, in just 1 week. Hear Danny Silva, Director of Technology Integration with CUE, share how he switched up his events, overcame the hiccups, and gained success along the way. Additional Resources

Allison Monro, CMO at Vena Solutions, discusses how pivoting her company’s team user conference from in-person to virtual in a few weeks started by thinking about their audience. From reimagining the experience for a new medium to finding the right tools to bring a virtual conference to life, she walks us through the excitement of aligning stakeholders to recreate a virtual event focused on engagement. Additional Resources

We sat down with Paul Van Deventer, MPI’s own President and CEO, to talk about how he is adapting to the new climate the events industry is now living in. He shares his experience and great positive outlook for the future. Tune in! Paul Van Deventer, President and CEO, Meeting Professionals International mpi.org/trustedresources Additional Resources

Kerry Lambert, Senior Director of Strategic Accounts, Cvent Kelli Kopec, Manager, Product Marketing, Cvent In times of crisis, managing communication with strategic partners and vendors becomes critical. Now more than ever is the time for event planners and hoteliers to align and work together. We’ll take a look at both perspectives and provide insights into how these two groups can coordinate and make sense of chaotic situations.

Will Curran, Chief Event Einstein, Endless Events Many in-person events must currently be transitioned to virtual events. But quickly executing this change poses a number of pitfalls even for seasoned event pros. Learn how you can be victorious with your virtual events with tips and tricks from Will Curran, Chief Event Einstein at Endless Events. More Resources [How to Turn Your Event Virtual: ]

Imagine putting on an event when a natural disaster occurs. It’s an event planner's worst nightmare. In our conversation this week, we’re talking to fellow Cventer Stephanie McNamara as she shares with us the power of duty of care in the face of things outside of our control. Often the topic of duty of care is dry and seemingly something you have to cover. This episode will hopefully give you an entirely new appreciation for the topic. Take a listen. And if you feel so compelled we’d love to hear how you’re the responsibility of duty of care has been called upon. Send us an email at podcast@cvent.com Resources and links discussed: Cvent Connect

When thinking about branded gear for your event, what do you hope to get out of it? More importantly, what do your attendees hope to get out of it? Are you bored already? Don’t be! Today’s episode of How Great Events Happen is all about branded gear and the exciting options and strategies that are available. Todd Frankford is Vice President of Business Development at GNP Branded gear, and he has some incredible insights into the metrics of branded gear, what your attendees want, and what you can expect in terms of ROI. Listen in to get the full breakdown. And if you get any brilliant ideas of your own, we’d love to hear about them–send us an email at podcast@cvent.com. Resources and links discussed: Connect with Todd Put Todd to Work! Connect with GNP Branded Gear High-Impact Branded Gear Ideas & Trends for 2020 7 Cornerstones to Maximize Branded Gear Impact Cvent Connect Branded Gear Early-Access Specials Cvent Connect

We wanted to do another episode in honor of International Women’s Day featuring a powerhouse woman encouraging other women to jump into the events industry. Amanda Armstrong, Assistant Vice President of Global Travel and Meetings at Enterprise Holdings, shares with us what inspired her early on. In the conversation with Amanda, we dig into some of the opportunities ahead for women in the industry along with some of the key lessons learned along her own journey. Resources and links discussed: Cvent Connect:http://www.cventconnect.com/ Connect with Amanda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandaarmstrongcmp/

In honor of International Women’s Day, we are featuring a powerhouse woman who could speak directly to levating women in the industry. Annette Gregg is the Senior Vice President of Experience at Meeting Professionals International. Her mantra in life is "Helping People Live More Authentic, Inspired and Successful Lives.” In our conversation with Annette, she shares with us how, we as a community can empower more women in our industry while educating others on the real challenges we are facing. Resources and links discussed: Cvent Connect http://www.cventconnect.com/ Connect with Annette Gregg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annettegregg/

Today’s show is all about the marketing that makes your event successful–or not. Katie Brunette is the Director of Strategic Marketing at Lessonly and a wizard when it comes to marketing for events. A well-planned event can have a huge impact on your brand, and Katie has a wealth of knowledge, experience, and creativity that can help you level up your game. Take a listen. And if you love these ideas as much as we do, we’d love to hear how they’ve inspired your own marketing efforts–send us an email at podcast@cvent.com. Resources and links discussed: Cvent Connect Yellowship

Today’s episode is focused on the technology driving the events industry forward. Corbin Ball joins Brooke and Cody in the Cvent studio to share how as event planners we can better use technology to save time and improve productivity. In the conversation, Corbin shares how virtual and augmented reality are impacting the industry. You’ll also hear his take on how AI, if at all, will make an impact. As always, we invite you to share your stories with us. How have you seen the use of AI or VR/AR at events? Shoot us an email podcast@cvent.com Resources and links discussed: Cvent Connect [CorbinBall.com](CorbinBall.com)