Event Strategy & Design

From the physical set-up to the way you orchestrate sessions and interaction, we help you put the latest smart thinking into practice to create environments and experiences that have an impact.

What to Do About the Virtual Exhibit Hall

The American Society of Anesthesiologists decided to deemphasize the exhibit hall portion of its online annual meeting and create “engagement packages” for sponsors instead.

BY Jennifer N. Dienst November 6, 2020

3 Ways Speakers Can Connect Better With Virtual Audiences

Presenting to a virtual audience can be challenging for even the most experienced public speaker. But by recreating more of a back-and-forth experience, speakers can overcome their anxiety and make their presentations more engaging.

BY Curt Wagner November 5, 2020

PCMA Refresh Session: The Gift of Gratitude

Join global wellness expert Angela Gaffney for a quick refresh break in your day. The goal of these sessions is to inspire, ignite momentum and provide a quick refresh break to focus on your health, resilience and happiness.

BY Angela Gaffney November 4, 2020

Event Organizers’ Big Leap Forward

More than half of the meeting planners who responded to the most-recent COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard plan to launch entirely new digital events — not based on any previous face-to-face event — with goals ranging from reaching new audiences to marketing new products.

BY Barbara Palmer November 4, 2020

How This Virtual Series ‘Mimics That Live Experience That We All Love’

Project Management Institute has been hosting monthly, half-day events that bring the sense of being together in person to the screen. Organizers break down what that entails.

BY Casey Gale November 4, 2020

4 Opportunities Hybrid Events Offer

Hybrid events are here to stay, and although there is no one-size-fits-all solution to incorporating integrated models, some best practices can help event planners deliver more holistic, omni-channel engagement — and new revenue streams.

BY Jacquelyn Wells October 30, 2020

When Can You Invoke Force Majeure for 2021 Meetings?

Many organizations moved their events to 2021 when the pandemic hit. But can they invoke the force majeure clause in 2021? Members of the PCMA Catalyst community discussed the topic in a recent thread.

BY Convene Editors October 30, 2020

Webinar: The Return to Face-to-Face: What Will You Do?

In the history of event planning, 2020 will be the year that brought the most cataclysmic changes. Until 2021! Events are going to look vastly different next year when we are all able to return to face-to-face. From seating arrangements to group dining, personal greetings to bathroom breaks, from speaker mics to sharing materials — and let’s acknowledge that virtual components complementing in-person activities are here to stay – nothing will be the same. How does a busy, stressed out planner know which options to choose?

BY Heather Mason Ed Salvato October 29, 2020

Business Events Recovery Will Be ‘a Marathon, Not a Sprint’

For the latest COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard survey, we asked planners and suppliers: ‘What best describes how you’re feeling right now?’ Most said they were doing their best to get by and were anxious about the future. Even so, responses to other questions demonstrate the industry’s collective resiliency and creativity.

BY Michelle Russell October 28, 2020

Webinar: UBIT: How US Tax Rules Impact Virtual Exhibits and Sponsorships

When the industry was forced to go completely virtual this year the existing tax regulations around hybrid events stayed firmly in place. Attorney Paula Goedert will break down the current IRS regulation UBIT (unrelated business income tax) and how it applies to forced virtualization of exhibits and whether sponsorship rules offer a path forward to tax exempt revenue.

BY Paula Cozzi-Goedert October 27, 2020

DES Spotlight: Berenice Lai, Global Events Manager at SurveyMonkey 

A lifelong learner, Berenice Lai decided to pursue Digital Event Strategist (DES) certification since COVID-19 forced her and her organization pivot to virtual in March 2020. We checked in with her to see how she’s applying key learnings from the DES course in producing successful virtual events for her organization.

October 27, 2020

‘An Unbelievably Smart Way to Drive Revenue’

In the PlanetIMEX virtual event session, “Digital Sponsorship Opportunities,” sponsorship consultant Meg Fasy showed how to capitalize on the opportunities the digital event environment offers supplier partners.

BY Michelle Russell October 27, 2020

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