Velvet Chainsaw

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5 Practices for Improving Concurrent Sessions

Velvet Chainsaw

Conference organizers know that the “main course” of their education offering and value proposition is in the concurrent education sessions. These learning experiences are primarily guided and selected by committee members who have little to no training or experience in adult learning principles. This model can be very risky. What happens in those rooms will make or break their overall satisfaction and future decisions to attend.

Education 244
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Time to Audit Your Sponsor Offerings

Velvet Chainsaw

A number of associations we work with have seen their annual convention exhibit space sales lag attendance, which has recovered since the pandemic. Conversely, sponsorship revenue is back to pre-pandemic levels and has upside potential. If your sponsorship menu and prospectus look similar to 2019, a refresh can help you seize this growth opportunity.

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Meeting the Needs of Lifelong Learners

Velvet Chainsaw

Our friends at Leading Learning/Tagoras are conducting a survey to help guide your association’s future learning strategy. We’re sharing this because Leading Learning has a great track record of doing high-quality research and sharing the insights with those participating in the survey. To contribute and learn about the trends that will have the most impact on association education in 2024, complete the survey here.

2024 222
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Two Tensions Keeping Senior Event Professionals Up at Night

Velvet Chainsaw

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), the business-to-business exhibition industry is still in recovery mode. The bad news is that full year performance for 2023 participation and revenues is expected to be 9.5% below 2019. The good news is that 2024 is expected to eclipse 2019 results by 3.6%. (One can only hope!) Whether your results are better or worse than the CEIR index, I think it is a helpful top-line metric for benchmarking and sharing with your organization’s

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Creating Memorable Events with the Customer Journey Canvas: A Facilitator’s Guide

Velvet Chainsaw

This is a guest post by Diana Kander. Diane is a keynote speaker on curiosity and innovation and a New York Times Bestselling author. Her latest book, Go Big or Go Home , outlines five ways to create a memorable customer experience. The event planning industry is one of immense creativity, innovation, and personal touches. In the modern era, where experiences reign supreme, it’s essential to craft events that resonate deeply with attendees, leaving them with memories they’ll cherish forever.

Speakers 418
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Better Because We Will Be There

Velvet Chainsaw

Many of our clients have had to navigate unchartered waters as venue contracts (that were secured years ago) are now being questioned and challenged by members in states that have adopted discriminatory and women’s health laws that go against the mission and values of the association. In response, we posted this article back in April to provide decision-making resources and examples of communication strategies for boards facing these very difficult decisions.

Contracts 222
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APA Gathers in Washington

Velvet Chainsaw

You belong here….was the theme of the American Psychological Association’s “more than just an annual convention” recently at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Our team had the opportunity to participate and observe both the in-person and virtual event as the post-Covid rebound continues. That theme manifested most successfully in: Intentional content and messaging delivered in the main stage rooms.