Summer has officially begun, and it has been an intensely busy meeting season as meeting planners are getting back to in-person events while at the same time having to figure out this new event reality.

I just got back from a couple of days in San Diego at a major international tradeshow and conference, and while I don’t have the official numbers, I can tell you that there were literally thousands more attendees there than the planners projected at the beginning of the year.  They described the experience as being "like changing your tires while driving.”

I think that we’re all in that same position to some extent and the good news is that, although this COVID-driven transformation of our industry has been tough on everyone, it has also created some exciting new opportunities for us as event organizers and suppliers to the industry.

One very interesting topic we are hearing a lot about these days is how planners are thinking about leveraging some of the new digital tools to deliver online content and more value to their members and the industry. “Hybrid” has almost become a dirty word, but even with planners who don’t intend to live-stream any content at their events are using new technologies to offer networking and on-demand content outside of the actual days of their in-person event.

Extending event content to new audiences and other challenges will be addressed in the Chapter’s new “Technology Challenge Virtual Series” launching in August. These sessions will give you a focused look at two or three companies and how their solutions can be applied to overcome specific challenges you may be facing right now. These are fast-paced formats that deliver ideas and answers you can use immediately without going through hours of exploration and discovery to get the same information….

EVENTS CALENDAR:

These short and interactive sessions will feature a challenge or problem that event organizers are facing, and the selected technology providers will present how their solution helps solve it and results produced for clients followed by a Q&A session from the audience.  You will have an opportunity to cast your vote for the technology provider that best solves the challenge!

It's free to attend for event organizers. Grab your lunch and attend yourself or together with your team on the last Thursday of the month from 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm EDT. Click on the date below to find out more about this exciting learning opportunity. Attend one, two, or all three and find out how technology solutions can be applied to your event to improve engagement, extend your event year round, better leverage education content, reduce staff time, and more. Scheduled sessions include:

August 25, 2022

12:00 pm to 12:45 pm EDT

Challenge: How can you use data and artificial intelligence to increase interactions between attendees and exhibitors / sponsors, effectively connect attendees with the right solutions / products and education sessions, and better engage in-person and virtual audiences to improve their event experience and the value of your event brand?

September 29, 2022 

12:00 pm to 12:45 pm EDT

Challenge: How do you know the right mix of content to produce for your events (live streaming, recorded sessions), and best practices to fully leverage all the digital content produced to enhance your event brand, grow your audience, and ensure a positive ROI.

October 27, 2022

12:00 pm to 12:45 pm EDT

Challenge: How can you ensure attendees and exhibitors are fully engaged with the event and each other when attending in-person or virtually, and enhance meaningful connections, sourcing, and learning all year long under the event brand?

Calling All Technology Providers!

Do you have a solution that will solve one of these challenges or others? Present your solution in a unique and interactive format. Complete the submission form and your company could be selected to present to hundreds of event organizer members and DC area professionals: http://www.iaeedc-chapter.com/iaeeevents/tech-series

YP Summer Social Event

Summer is here, which means it’s time to spread some IAEE DC YP cheer! We are excited to announce our first young professional gathering of the year in a fun and inviting atmosphere. Come out and network with your fellow young professional peers at Swingers Golf Club for a free round of crazy indoor miniature golf AND 2 drink vouchers! 

Questions? Please contact IAEE DC Young Professional Director, Cortney Whitlow, at cwhitlow@fia.org.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE FALL PROGRAMS:

September Lunch & Learn – Advancing Education in New Ways — In an Era of Constant Change

Change continues to disrupt and accelerate the Meetings & Exhibitions industry. This session asks the question “what can we do to create new experiences, engage our audiences, and deliver improved in-person and remote experiences that go beyond the traditional conference session format?" Join us for a lively discussion to engage and share thoughts around programming and learning formats and how our industry can use its influence to affect significant change in the way events can improve the learning experience for professionals across industries.

Friday, September 9, 2022

Location: Westin Alexandria Old Town

Format: In-Person Event

October Lunch & Learn – Insights from the Outside: How Other Industries are Transforming the Customer Experience and Lessons Learned from those Successes

Friday, October 14, 2022

Location: Royal Sonesta Dupont Circle

Format: In-Person Event



November Lunch & Learn – State of the Industry

Friday, November 18, 2022

Location: Hilton Alexandria

Format: In-Person Event

CEM Credits: Attendees can earn one (1) CEU credit for attending in-person or virtual events.

Go to IAEE DC Chapter Events for more information and to register for these and other programs. 

brought to you by mdg, A Freeman Company

Four Strategies to Guide Your Return to Live

Our ascent from COVID and omicron has been swift — we are now largely mask-free, back in offices and planning furiously to deliver in-person events. At the same time, we are overwhelmed — by information, changing circumstances, executive scrutiny and the need to make timely decisions. The following are four critical priorities to guide your return to live.

Industry News You Can Use

Developing into a data-centric culture can help organizations make better decisions on technology solutions for your events

It takes a surprisingly large number of event tech products to effectively pull off a large conference, exhibition, or meeting. There are a handful of vendors that have been around for decades, and a number of new arrivals enter the industry every year. 

Developing an organization into a data-centric culture comes from basing your decisions upon data-centric considerations. It might be hard to hear, but I’ll say it: A tech solution that has a great interface and an enticing value proposition but fails to move your organization toward realizing a better, consolidated, high-quality data store that can be mined for strategic value is not a tech solution you should pursue. It’s hard, but don’t sacrifice the larger and more critical data strategy for the short-term flash of the latest sexy product.

Read the full TSNN blog post, “EVOLUTION, CONGLOMERATE AND SINGLE-FUNCTION EVENT TECH VENDORS” by Brian Scott, President and Founder, ClearTone Consulting (June 1, 2022)

Career Center

Have a job opening? Tell us and we will include it in our next newsletter. Email Karen Vogel, DC Chapter Director of Marketing, at karen@eagteam.com with information on your organization’s job openings.

Several IAEE DC Chapter members and their family members participated in the volunteer day for A Wider Circle, sorting through donations of clothes, accessories, furniture, and other items so they could be brought up to the store for participants to select items needed. 

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