“OK, so, here’s what I want to talk about.” I meet with 75 or so presenters every year to help them craft talks, presentations, fireside chats and panels, and this is often the first set of words a speaker shares. This is a problem, and it’s big enough to derail your entire presentation. Many speakers think about presentations as moments of tell, as in, “I have something to tell the audience.” But the truth is, presentations are moments of sell.…
Taking your event to a new high used to mean something else before October 17, 2018. While the legalization of marijuana is still new to the Canadian cultural landscape, the future of event planning may involve many more shades of green. The nascent and rapidly expanding cannabis market — the legal one, at least — brings a whole new set of opportunities for planners. Large-scale events like conferences are a great way for cannabis growers and retailers to gain market traction;…
I was recently invited to attend an event industry cocktail reception at a hotel. As I was filling out the online registration, I paused at what’s usually a simple, perfunctory box to check: my title. Should people address me as Mr., Mrs., Ms., or other? I’m a married woman, but it felt like an odd question to ask for a cocktail reception. What does it matter what I am? I’m just going for a drink. Formal titles are never put on…
By Gregory Furgala The Ontario government today tabled legislation that will hold the province’s minimum wage at $14 per hour, rolling back legislation that would have increased it to $15 per hour on January 1, 2019. Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, repeals several of the Wynne government’s labour reforms. In addition to freezing minimum wage until 2020, after which it will keep pace with inflation, Bill 47 eliminates two paid sick days and repeals same-pay rules for part-time, full-time…
By Mark Sutton All together now: There’s no business like the event planning business, there’s nooo business I know! Sorry. I get it. It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. But, when you really think about it, planning an event and putting on a show are really not that different. You have to think about content, timing, logistics, snacks, sound, the audience experience, snacks, lighting, pacing, and snacks (people really like snacks). That’s a lot of stuff. Most…
This is the first of three articles exploring changing landscape of technology and the corporate meetings and events industry. The iconic line from the 1960s Bob Dylan song “The times they are a changing” seems to be a common refrain every decade or so, and in the intervening half-century since that song was composed, the times have thoroughly changed. We have seen generations of technology race by. We went from records to cassettes to CDs to iPods to music streaming…
Just 20 years ago, flyers, posters and word-of-mouth were the go-to promotion tools. Nowadays, social media has made effective event promotion far more complex, demanding interactive content that generates and sustains engagement with attendees, regardless of the industry. But it doesn’t have to be expensive, just clever, which makes it accessible to even the most budget-hampered planner. Below, we highlight the elements of successful marketing strategies for the lead up to and day of an event that establish lasting engagement with the brand, and a…
The trade show game is a daunting one if you’re new to it. Your booth is your first impression with potentially thousands of people, so making it count is non-negotiable. You need show up with a goal, design your booth around it and tailor your brand’s message to each show and attendee list — you did check that out, right? Once you’ve got delegates in the door, you need to keep them there, too. There are a lot of variables to…
Last year, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre saw 1.5 million conference goers, event planners, salespeople, presenters, exhibitors, speakers, tech workers and myriad other people and professions stroll through its massive atrium in downtown Toronto. Week to week the MTCC shifts from the centre of one professional universe to another, enabling thousands of people at a time to gather, network and transact. It amounts to a lot of commerce for the out-of-towners and Toronto both. Last year, the MTCC reported that…
By Leanne Andrecyk and Remi Lefebvre For generations, people have been gathering in groups to confer for myriad reasons — to share knowledge, exchange views, strategize, review practices and develop new solutions. Regardless of the conference or event goal, bringing a group of people together successfully requires more than just satisfying the hunger for knowledge. You don’t have to be a foodie to realize food is an automatic connector between people and can be the conversation starter in any group…
