What's Inside: April 2021 |
Planning to Succeed
- By Marie Hunter, Head of IEEE Global Meetings, Conferences and Events
Stay in the Know
- Get to Know IEEE NextGen on New Website
- Regional Conference Coordinators Keeping Communities Connected
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ACTION REQUIRED: Add IEEE Ethics Reporting Link in Website Footers
Organize Like a Pro
- Top 10 Tips for Growing Your Virtual Event Audience
Meet the MCE Team
- David Stankiewicz, Event Design & Production Manager
Available Resources
- IEEE Brand Experience Site Features Expanded Social Media Resources
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During the coming months, we will all be focused on new ways to add value to our exhibitors and industry sponsors through virtual and hybrid events. What are some secrets to success? I think transparency and trust are important.
Work with your partners to establish value-driven experiences for a virtual platform with options for hybrid and in-person as that becomes an option; but if not, you are still partners with your audience. Rather than the rote process of selling a physical table and a parade of potential buyers - it requires an exploration of what the exhibitor needs and creating opportunities to meet that need.
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Marie Hunter
Head of IEEE Global Meetings, Conferences and Events
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Some ideas I have seen include special social sessions where exhibitors can chat informally, product showcases, pre-show sessions, and post-show follow up. Is there a broader audience that you can offer an exhibitor such as your entire membership and not just show participants? Is that a new opportunity for you to connect them and for your conference to grow? Can you do match-making between buyers and sellers and help them connect?
Understanding your exhibitors takes extra effort, extra time, and clarity around financial arrangements and contingency planning. Don't sell physical space then try to pivot; plan an experience for exhibitors that can be relied upon.
If you have tried some techniques that work, please let us know so we can reflect that back to the community.
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Get to Know IEEE NextGen on New Website |
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IEEE has launched a new website to help you learn more about IEEE NextGen. Sign in with your IEEE credentials to find resources, updates, training, and more.
What is NextGen?
IEEE heard the request from our volunteers for an improved financial and contract system to simplify, streamline and save time that allows for more visibility for the end-user to improve business insights, workflow, and decisions. In collaboration with our volunteers, IEEE has invested in the tools and processes to create a better volunteer experience. This effort is called NextGen.
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Here are some of the resources you will find on the NextGen website.
- Find detailed information on NextGen and its tools
- Learn how to get started as a Conference Organizer
- See previews of the user experience
- Get a tour of key features
- Read FAQs
- Find training materials
- Submit questions you may have about NextGen
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Throughout the coming months, you will be receiving more information and updates on NextGen. |
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Regional Conference Coordinators Keeping Communities Connected |
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Each of IEEE’s ten Regions is perpetually abuzz with gatherings that bring together participants in their geographic areas. From Technical Meetings to Student Conferences to Young Professionals Summits, it is a lot of ground to cover.
Ensuring that a Region has the right mix of gatherings to inform and engage its stakeholders is the charge of the Regional Conference Coordinator (RCC).
Regional Conference Coordinators oversee all of the events hosted by their Region’s Sections, Areas, Councils, Chapters, and Student Branches. They help establish the overall conference strategy for their Region and facilitate the development and coordination of events. They may also be involved in establishing and supervising conference committees and developing conference policies.
RCCs make recommendations for enhancements to the Region’s overall portfolio of events. They monitor the effectiveness of current events and make recommendations for new gatherings. They also identify opportunities for Region entities to participate in other gatherings taking place across IEEE.
These individuals may also be involved in contributing to IEEE Sections Congress. This triennial flagship event hosted by MGA convenes volunteer leadership from around the world to learn and share ideas for the future.
Let’s meet a current Regional Conference Coordinator for an inside look into the role.
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Habib Kammoun
Region Conference Coordinator, Region 8
As the Region Conference Coordinator for Region 8, Habib manages the Conferences Coordination Committee. The Committee provides oversight for all “events sponsored or co-sponsored by the region,” and “liaises with and advises societies and technical councils planning conferences in the Region.”
As a volunteer, Habib enjoys contributing to the success of Region 8’s flagship and co-sponsored conferences. Additional accomplishments include raising the Region’s visibility through conferences and supporting the Sections' Conference Coordinators.
The secrets to creating a successful conference? Two of Habib’s top tips include developing an “international committee involving IEEE and non-IEEE experts,” and ensuring the “high technical quality of the selected papers.” He also suggests that organizers “enroll in the e-learning courses available in the Center for Leadership Excellence (CLE) and learn about the best practices for virtual and hybrid events available on the MCE website.”
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To connect with your Regional Conference Coordinator, please visit the IEEE Roster Tool. |
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ACTION REQUIRED: Add IEEE Ethics Reporting Link in Website Footers |
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IEEE event website managers and marketing managers, please be sure to add a new link to "IEEE Ethics Reporting" in all website and email footers as soon as possible. See suggested placement and footer requirements below.
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Top 10 Tips for Growing Your Virtual Event Audience |
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Virtual events eliminate barriers and create new opportunities to broaden audience reach and engagement. But what makes your event stand out from the crowd? When developing your strategy, consider what makes your virtual events worthwhile to attend.
Here are a few tips to help you attract and engage the audiences that will add the most value to your event.
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Top 10 Audience Development Tips for Virtual Events |
- Offer a compelling program.
- Align fees with your value proposition.
- Emphasize the convenience of virtual and any features your virtual platform offers.
- Invite related technical interest groups from around the world.
- Encourage and enable speaker and attendee word-of-mouth promotion.
- Engage your core audience of past attendees and members.
- Enable long-term growth through on-demand content and email mailing lists.
- Work with sponsors and exhibitors to create memorable experiences.
- Obtain participant feedback to retain and grow future attendance.
- Identify and communicate what makes your event stand out from the rest.
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Learn more about audience development on the MCE website and download your free Audience Development Toolkit. |
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David Stankiewicz, Event Design & Production Manager |
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David conceptualizes, initiates, and facilitates new digital event paradigms. As a certified Digital Event Strategist (DES), his role includes effectively researching the ever-evolving virtual event landscape for solutions and tools that MCE can bring to bear for the IEEE conference organizer community at large.
As a member of a team of event production specialists, David’s passion is in live event production and providing analysis, guidance, support, and subject matter expertise for both virtual and hybrid events. His knowledge in the virtual event arena predates the pandemic, and since 2014, he has produced over 140 online events, with nearly 20,000 total attendees.
David celebrates 11 years with IEEE MCE this May. But his work on virtual events took flight in March 2020 when COVID-19 changed everything for the conference business. Since then, he has expanded his knowledge in key areas such as:
- digital event models and formats (live vs. pre-recorded vs. on-demand);
- technical program modification for a virtual environment medium;
- creating resources and materials for presenters and authors;
- virtual event creation, session scheduling, and platform design and maintenance;
- role-based training, education, and responsibilities for session chairs, keynote speakers, and moderators;
- developing creative opportunities for sponsors, partners, contributors, and exhibitors;
- and communications guidelines, templates, and best practices, just to name a few.
As 2021 progresses, and hybrid takes hold, David and the MCE Digital Events team look to pivot yet again, to be at the forefront of event design and production, leading the IEEE conference organizing community into the future, and the next wave of meetings, conferences, and events.
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IEEE Brand Experience Site Features Expanded Social Media Resources |
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New social media resources have been added to the IEEE Brand Experience site and are now available for use. |
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IEEE Social Media Guidance |
The new additions include:
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Editable social media image templates: Offers six template versions to choose from and customize.
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Digital advertising best practices: Contains tips on how to successfully create, target, and measure a campaign.
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Sponsorship toolkit and templates: Includes best practices for implementing and supporting sponsorships, as well as editable social post templates.
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Social media contests: Provides an overview of what goes into a successful online contest, as well as required legal considerations.
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IEEE Meetings, Conferences & Events (MCE)
445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
Phone: +1 855 340 4333 (Toll-free US & Canada)
+1 732 562 3878 (Worldwide)
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