Skift Meetings Podcast

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Event Manager Podcast, the podcast for curious event professionals who want to stay ahead of the game. My name is Miguel Neves and I am the editor-in-chief of EventMB. In this episode titled Nothing Matters More Than Connecting People, I have the pleasure of speaking with Fiona Bruder, President, Americas at George P Johnson Experience Marketing We cover a...

This episode features Irina Graf, founder of The MICE Blog and Event Planners Talk. The conversation focuses on Destination and Event Marketing. Some of the topics covered in this week’s episode include: How the pandemic has pivoted content from high-production video to more raw content The importance of making advertising disclosures clear in influencer marketing Why it takes at least five years...

This episode features Senthil Gopinath, CEO at ICCA in a conversation about the future of the event industry.  Here are a few of the topics we cover: Why passion is an important part of building a business strategy The importance of bringing outside knowledge into the event industry Understanding participant experience is the secret to making events stand out Why being attractive to younger genera...

Our guest for this episode is Mathijs Vleeming, Online Community Evangelist & Strategy Consultant at Open Social. Our conversation focuses on community building for associations. Among other topics we cover: How the biggest value of associations is the ability to connect people How organizations benefit from being community focused Why communities must always focus first on the needs of its member...

In this episode we talk with Alon Alroy, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Bizzabo. The main topic of our conversation is the recently launched book, Event Success - Maximizing the Business Impact of In-person, Virtual, and Hybrid Experiences written by Alon along with fellow Bizzabo co-founders Eran Ben-Shushan and Boaz Katz. We discuss a wide range of related topics including: How the be...

The latest episode of the Event Manager Podcast focuses on incentive travel and motivational events and features Padraic Gilligan, managing partner at SoolNua and chief marketing officer of SITE Global. Here are a few of the topics we cover: How incentive travel is unique in the way it starts in business environment but actualizes in tourism industry How rewarding and recognizing people crucial to...

Episode #41 of the Event Manager Podcast features Alicia Schiro, CEO and founder of Aced It Events. The conversation focuses on how independent planners can deal with the challenges and opportunities they are facing. Providing a better alternative is the secret to managing client expectations Why giving attendees choice is so important Why interaction is crucial in hybrid events What opportunities...

In this episode of the Event Manager Podcast, we talk with Cathy Breden, executive vice president, and chief operating officer at the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research Foundation (CEIR). We discuss the recent findings from CEIR’s research and cover some eye-opening topics including: Real-world statistics on the return...

Episode #39 of the Event Manager Podcast features Patrick Delaney, Managing Partner at SoolNua in a conversation about the transformative power of travel.  Here are a few of the topics we cover: Why destination marketing requires an alternative view How destinations have two masters, the visitors and the local community Why event professionals should get involved in industry associations and how t...

Episode #38 of the Event Manager Podcast features Stephanie Cheung, Director of Strategy & Insights at MarketID. The conversation focuses on the exciting world of destination marketing. Here are a few of the topics we cover: How cultural exchange can make events truly enriching experiences How destinations can help events drive change The importance of managing expectations for any destination Rec...

This episode features Georgia Suttie, Venue Find Operations Manager at Agiito, and Sophie Conlon, Events and Communications Manager at the University of Essex, both mentees of the Fast Forward 15 program. The conversation focuses on how mentoring can empower and inspire women in the event industry. We discuss:  Unusual career paths in the event industry How mentoring inspires and supports event pr...

This episode features Sabrina Meyers, founder of the Sabrina Meyers Consultancy in a conversation around online visibility.  We discuss:  Why documenting your experience should be the basis of your own content The challenges of taking on multiple overlapping roles in events Why there may still be challenges ahead for the return of in-person events  The rising expectation for in-person events to be...

This episode features Heidi Legein, founder of The MICE Guru, in a discussion around digital strategy for events. We discuss:  The importance of consciously creating a digital strategy for both events and businesses in the event industry Why event tech vendors should work collaboratively with digital event experts to help clients create outstanding digital events Overcoming the challenges of creat...

Tim Arnold is the President of Leaders for Leaders and the author of two books, the newly released, “Lead with And - The Secret to Resilience and Results in a Polarized World” and “The Power of Healthy Tension” In this episode, Tim Arnold covers the concept and the ins and outs of what he calls Both/And Thinking. We cover a lot of ground including: The key differences between a both/and approach a...

In this episode we talk with Marco Giberti, Founder and CEO of Vesuvio Ventures, about entrepreneurship and investing in event tech. Among other topics we cover:  The fantastic mission of the event industry: connecting people Why the event industry should work better and closer with tech Why having lots of event problems to solve is great news for event tech entrepreneurs Success stories of always...

In this episode, Samme Allen, founder of conferenceemcees.com, discusses why building a community is the key to growing a sustainable business and more including: Why difficult journeys make us more resilient and lead to better products and services Why sustainability needs to be a major consideration for all event professionals Why building a community and not an agency is the key to success The...

This episode of the Event Manager Podcast features association leader Kai Troll. Join us as we discuss how we can learn to have a positive mindset and much, much more. We cover topics such as: Job titles and accolades are not as important as what you are creating The importance of choosing our environments, which include the people, and the activities around us How a good leader must be authentic...

Joe Atkinson, Co-founder of Lineup Ninja   In this episode EventMB's editor-in-chief, Miguel Neves, and guest, Joe Atkinson, discuss stress, technology, conference planning and much more including: How bad event experiences can lead to important insights How Joe’s unique IT and events background led him to create an event tech tool Why the time-based nature of events makes the event industry diffe...

Carina Bauer, CEO at IMEX Group, talks with EventMB Editor-in-chief Miguel Neves about the need for flexibility and collaboration in the events industry. They cover topics such as: How flexibility and cooperation with all clients and partners is key to delivering events in times of uncertainty Why creative approaches to online events in 2020 have shifted to more practical content-driven approaches...

Shane Lewis, Business Development Manager at VenuIQ and Elliot Jakobsen, Global Marketing Manager at Canapii   In this episode, EventMB's editor-in-chief, Miguel Neves, and guests Shane Lewis and Elliot Jakobsen discuss not only their experiences with imposter syndrome but also cover lots of ground about the future of events and how event technology will continue to be part of all events going for...

Anh Nguyen, Head of Community Engagement at twine   In this episode, EventMB's editor-in-chief, Miguel Neves, and guest, Ahn Nguyen, discuss the humanizing of event tech and other topics including: Why the high we get from in-person events is hard to replicate in virtual events How listening to planners is crucial to developing great event technology The tangible value of raw and human social medi...

Dahlia El Gazzar, Tech Evangelist + Idea Igniteur at DAHLIA+Agency, and Gemma Edwards, Co-founder of Canapii   In this episode EventMB's editor-in-chief, Miguel Neves, deputy editor, Angela Tupper, and guests discuss hybrid engagement strategies, and topics including: Covid fatigue - best advice to planners What do you say to those who say it's time to drop virtual and go back to in-person-only ev...

The latest episode features Tracy Halliwell, Director of Tourism & Convention Bureau for London & Partners, in conversation with EventMB deputy editor, Angela Tupper.   In this episode titled, “Why London’s Event Industry Is Booming Again,” Tracy Halliwell discusses how London’s meeting and event sector is growing exponentially, and how this rebound relates to larger industry trends. Topics includ...

Kathryn Frankson is the Director of Event Marketing of Informa Connect   In this episode titled "How Data and Strategic Marketing Drive Better Event ROI", Kathryn Frankson shares her expertise on mining event data for insights and designing marketing strategies for today’s hybrid world. Topics include how to build on what’s working well, how to target specific audiences, and how to make your virtu...

Leanne Calderwood, Personal Branding and LinkedIn Trainer   In this episode EventMB's editor-in-chief, Miguel Neves, and guest Leanne Calderwood discuss:  How our personal brands become part of what our clients experience Why you should always tie your personal branding efforts to professionals goals Why investing in one main platform for personal branding is the way to go Why LinkedIn is the idea...