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…
Event Operations
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Funny Business: Event-planning tips from the world of comedy
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…
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The Times, They Are a-Changing — Again
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…
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Interactive Events: Strategies that make the content the marketing
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…
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Trade Shows 101: Planning for the perfect floor presence
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…
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Unconventional: The Metro Toronto Convention Centre does local, and they do it big
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…
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Inspiring Food: A recipe for success
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…
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Non-Profit, Pro-Revenue: Making money in the not-for-profit sector
It’s that time of year again: More financial considerations for not-for-profit meeting planners. I’m not sure what it is about this time of year, but at the end of the summer season my financial concerns are always top of mind. It might be due to the timing of client budget planning for 2019, or that I’ve overextended my own budget from summer weekends trying to make the most of this nice weather (as I tell myself), but in past years…
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Mindful Planning: Minimizing cognitive fatigue in event design
By Ben Moorsom Sleeplessness. Overeating. The pace of change. The stress of everyday life. Information overload. It all contributes to fatigue. Fatigue is the collateral damage of our time. Whether chronic or non-chronic, most of us have experienced it. So how do we design events that optimize energy and minimize physical and cognitive fatigue? The Cognitive Quotient First you need to understand what it is. When we say fatigue, we really mean brain-tired cognitive fatigue. Imagine your brain is a glass…
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Alcohol-focused team-building events: Is it time to rethink them?
When planning meetings and events, it is our job to step out of our own preferences and think about the perspectives of all attendees. This can be challenging as the majority of event planners fall into the same demographic and it can make seeing different perspectives even more difficult when most of your peers see the world through a similar lens. Meeting professionals have a real opportunity to bring diversity and inclusion to life, which is a strategic priority for…
