Great Events

Today, Brooke and Cody sat down with Leila Heller, Meetings and Incentives Director, North America at VisitBritain/MeetEngland, and Caroline Phelan, Meetings and Incentive Senior Manager Europe, to talk to us about how the UK is preparing to safely welcome back visitors and events. They share their insights on the impact they think the current pandemic will have on the industry both in the short t...

For event professionals, IMEX is a familiar name. IMEX is an industry-leading exhibition for incentive travel, meetings, events and considered the heartbeat of the global business events community. Their two tradeshows have been running annually for almost two decades in Frankfurt and Las Vegas. In this episode, Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group, talks to us about how their virtual event, Planet IME...

With Virtual events being so prominent, many event planners have questions about integrating different platforms and their respective benefits. Lori Wildman, Senior Marketing Manager at DMA - DuCharme, McMillen & Associates, Inc. talks to us about her experience with moving her events to a virtual platform and how using different systems helps for one end goal. She also shares her views on how ben...

From traveling to eating meals at in-person events, the current pandemic has impacted everything. Lou Marrocco, President of Brandywine Events, talks to Brooke and Cody and offers us some guidance on reopening strategies as we begin to consider in-person events again. In this episode, he shares what steps event-planners and hoteliers can take to not let fear or anxiety impact reopening plans. He a...

With our current environment, several companies are taking preventative measures to limit exposure to employees, so what is the future of incentive meetings? Tahira Endean, Head of Events at SITE Global, talks to us about the state of incentive experiences for top performers. Hear her unique perspective on how companies can still keep incentive events alive during these times and how we can contin...

The world has changed the way it operates and that includes how event planners need to think while working on international conventions. In this episode, Shawn Cheng, Project Manager at MCI and president of PCMA’s Canada West Chapter, shares his thoughts on the few things that international conventions are facing. You will hear more about the main reasons people attend conferences and how they nee...

We know recovery is inevitable and live events will eventually resume and there are a lot of questions. Will you be able to build the same kind of relationship in the virtual environment? How can planners maximize attendance and engagement on the rebound? How social distancing will impact events? How should planners build value to justify the cost once we go back to live events? and so on. We all...

With Pride month in full swing, we invited Michael Newton, Team Lead of Europe Account Management with Cvent, back to the podcast to talk about diversity and inclusion and why it is so important for planners to be conscious of this while planning events. Michael not only has a wealth of knowledge but also as a subject matter expert, he shares his thoughts and ideas on how companies can get started...

We all know that recovery is on the horizon and corporate travel will eventually resume, but not without some changes. Best practices and safety measures will be part of our lives and it will help in evolving corporate travel. In this episode we talk about how as travelers we will be responsible to make travel not only safe, but a success in the new world. Timothy Jones, Director of Corporate Trav...

Ever wonder what industry leaders of other countries are doing in the current situation? In this episode we talk through what they are doing to show that London will be a safe destination to go back to and also hear about visiting London virtually and everything it has to offer. Tracy also shares a 3-phase approach to getting back to “normal” and how working with government leaders has better prep...

The transition from working in the office to working from home with all your family members happened so quickly in our lives. As we continue working from home some of us still find it difficult to maintain that much required work-life balance. We know it is hard to stay focused when we have all been home longer than we would like. In this episode we are joined by Stephen Carroll, Senior Director,...

These are unprecedented times and ON24 is trying to do their part to bring us into the new normal. Listen as Cheri Keith, Director of Strategy and Research at ON24, talks about some great insights from their annual benchmark report, such as the changes in ideal dates and times for webinars in recent weeks. She also talks about how webinars are still thriving with virtual events being the point of...

In a time when everyone is trying to do something for society, we had the privilege of talking to someone who took actions during these unprecedented times to start an initiative to help first responders called #CompoundingHandoff. Lizzie Harbin Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications, Education, and Human Resources at PCCA not only pivoted to a virtual event but made it a success from 25...

In this third part of our Cvent Virtual Week series, we debunk the myth that virtual events are boring. That couldn't be more wrong! Our guests, Lauren Allison and Noel McWilliams, share their tips on how to make virtual events engaging for attendees. Whether virtual or in-person, events can still be engaging and accomplish the same goals for attendees. Tune in to hear everything they had to say!

We are halfway through Cvent Virtual Week and we are continuing to debunk myths around hosting virtual events! In the second part of our three-part series, our guests Taylor Bohn and Lauren Turner demystify the myth that is on many people's minds -- not having the right technology to put on a virtual event. Our guests talk through the technology you need to run a virtual event and how it's not as...

It's Cvent Virtual Week and we are going to be debunking myths around hosting virtual events! In the first part of our three-part series, we tackle the myth around having to start from square one when switching to a virtually hosted event. Our guest Paulina Curto shares her tips for taking events originally planned for an in-person experience, to a virtual platform without having to start complete...

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...

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 sal...

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 h...

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 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 b...

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 t...

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 se...

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 manag...

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 fo...