Presented by the Cheryl Payne

As we adapt to the changes that are currently taking place in our industry, this session will arm you with real-time tactical strategies that will help you to negotiate and defend your organization. We will review what is happening in today's environment, explore new ideas to elevate your contract to current times, as well as, learn about what other Meeting Planners are doing to minimize their risk with hotels for 2021 and beyond.

We will review key contract clauses, including force majeure and cancellation clauses, and explore negotiations tips and proven strategies on how to get to “YES” while reviewing variables that help influence a hotel's decision to accept your business.

Learning Outcomes include:

• Understand our current marketplace and how it affects a planners' strategy during negotiations.
• Review key contract clauses and how to defend them to benefit your organization’s bottomline
• Discuss variables that the hotels consider when reviewing your overall business value.

Presented by Terri Woodin

Meeting demand is up, way up and new hotel room supply is low, especially in the four and five star brands. In 2018, hotel occupancy, average daily rate and RevPar (revenue per available room) was an all-time high. In this high impact workshop, attendees will learn specific methods to utilize a strategic RFP process and assess their leverage based on multiple hotel revenue management criteria. The ultimate focus is on value based negotiations, cast savings, hotel contract risk reduction / cost containment and improving hotelier communications and partnerships.

Presented by Claire Gould

What is banqueting/catered food look like as the events industry is starting to come back? Good question. In this session our Connect Culinary Expert Claire Gould will give an update on what she sees as well as give tips on menu planning, negotiation, and execution as we start our new normal. Do bring your questions as she will be happy to answer!

Presented by Terri Woodin

The combination of the great recession and the Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) initiative has increased senior management's expectations for improved planner productivity, meeting value and ROI. Although SMM delivers an umbrella of measurable benefits, cost savings remains a high priority for corporate and association planning teams. We will review specific methods to generate real cost savings, including metrics to define and measure results.

Learner Outcomes

• Review current industry trends and how they affect your meeting budget
• Share planner's feedback on managing the pandemic landscape
• Learn how hotels value your meetings so you can leverage your meeting value to increase cost savings
• Identify and prepare for social distancing and risk management budget busters
• Learn F&B, AV, production and other cost saving tips and how to prepare a cost savings report
• Review hotel contract clauses that affect risk reduction and cost containment

Presented by Scott Frankel

This session presented by Scott Frankel, President of Animatic Media & Conference-On-Demand +LIVE will get you up to speed with AV technology, terminology and make you more comfortable working with both your AV vendor and clients/speakers. Also learn ideas and procedures to implement as "in-person" meetings return. Learn tips for AV hygiene as well as physical distancing in room drawings and new technologies to embrace to assure a safe event environment.

In this session, you will:

• Learn they keys to specifying the correct AV equipment and labor without spending too much. Find out what you should be asking for and what not to fall for in terms of equipment and labor.
• Hear best practices for AV Hygiene including checklists and procedures for equipment sanitization, physical distancing and keep your staff, show management and attendees safe while participating and your next in-person event.

Presented by the Michael Solomon

The Pandemic will change our world for years after the virus disappears. We’ll have to rethink and modify our purchase decisions, large and small. Some disruptions in consumer/marketer relationships that already were looming will come faster and more decisively. How do we define brand value? How should companies talk to customers? How do people function in an emerging gig economy where every encounter might be fatal? How do we redefine what it means to go to work or to socialize?

The virus poked the bear, and now marketers need to respond to life in The New Normal.

The changes that started well before the Pandemic reflect the transition in our society from a modernist to a postmodern culture. Postmodern consumers don’t always follow the rules that marketers decree. That’s because we don’t buy products because of what they do… we buy them because of what they mean. Today’s consumers define themselves by the brands they choose. Their idiosyncratic choices create a pastiche of meaning that gets updated 24/7. Marketers no longer drive the train, even though they can still ride it.

This means that the firm categories we love to use to understand our world – and our customers – are no longer valid. In particular, the traditional labels we use to segment consumers have stopped working. Today’s consumers are like chameleons, who change color constantly. They no longer sit passively in the tidy cages we put them in. The convenient dichotomies we rely upon, such as Male vs. Female, Young vs. Old, I vs. We, Consumer vs. Producer, Offline vs. Online, and many others, no longer mean very much.

In the New Normal, we’ll see these cages open even faster as people are exposed both to new possibilities and to new constraints on their daily lives. Many of us for example will rediscover the value of community, and others will rethink the value of commuting to work everyday. In this presentation, we’ll explore some of these comfortable cages, and show why marketers need to ignore them in order to prosper.

Presented by Scott Frankel

More is more confusion now then ever over the format of your events. In-person, virtual and hybrid event choices are all on the table. This session will take a look into what the options are, best practices for producing virtual and hybrid events as well as some creative ways to achieve the goals for both show management and the attendees.

Included in this session you will be shown:

• Terminology
• Assessing your needs and the correct platform
• Creatively combining technology to achieve your goal
• Handling Q&A and Polling
• Real world examples and case studies

Presented by Tianna Tye

Building an organizational culture of inclusivity requires building individual awareness of bias. In this virtual workshop, Industrial-Organizational Psychologist Tianna Tye is going share how you can become more aware of your own biases and introduce tools to minimize the negative effect it has both personally and professionally.

During this session, you will:

• Learn the science behind unconscious bias and how the brain operates outside of conscious intention.
• Recognize real examples of how bias impacts organizations at a systemic level.
• Discover why bias is the enemy of innovation and a healthy company culture.
• Reflect on personal commitments to help shift towards a culture of inclusivity in your sphere of influence.

Presented by the Adonica Shaw

It goes without saying that the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak has a dramatic impact on millions of people, institutions and the global economy.

On one end of the spectrum, some well-established businesses have filed bankruptcy and others are hanging on by a thread, at the same time that some start-ups, businesses and corporations are turning a profit and are churning out profits at record speed.

So what’s the difference?

Social Media Marketing.

In this session corporate digital marketing strategist, Adonica Shaw will walk you through 5 social media marketing and branding strategies to help your company survive the economic downturn and attract new customers.

Presented by Daniel Mason-Jones

Learn to harness the power of social and digital media. Humanize you’re brand and grow your audience, turning hashtags into dollars and connecting in a new and powerful way.

Presented by Rick Debruhl

Communicating face to face is tough enough, with so many people working remotely, it's even tougher. There's research to show that before our current world hit, remote workers felt isolated and left out of the loop. If companies an organizations haven't altered their strategies, that's going to be a big problem.

One of my key takeaways is "Communicating the strategy". These days the strategies are shifting daily, so how often should it be communicated? Do they send out something half-baked, or wait for it to be set in stone?

Finally, the bad by-product of poor communication is anxiety. We've gone through a period when people were anxious about a lot of very real dangers. Were manager's adding to that with poor communication?

And for those who have done it right, how do we take the lessons learned and use them in the post COVID world?

Presented by Michael Dominguez, David Manzella and Megan Archambeault

Description coming soon!

Sponsored Education Presented by CORT Events

CORT Events is sharing tips and best practices to ensure your upcoming hybrid meetings keep all attendees excited, engaged and, most importantly, safe

Panel led by Andrew Roby With Panelists Kate Patay and Latoya Lewis

Description coming soon!

Sponsored Education Presented by Bob Russo

Description coming soon!

Presented by Dr. Jonathan Spero

The Covid-19 crisis is due to one thing…health insecurity, and the key to a successful event is Health Security. In this webinar you will learn proven, practical steps to consider when designing an effective and safe meeting in the wake of Covid-19.

Presented by Samantha Nolan

Description coming soon.

Presented by Mark Galvin

Program is the solution for you to win that next job! Mark Galvin, founder of ePresence (www.ePresence.me) and LinkedIn expert, will spend an hour sharing the 5 KEY ELEMENTS of a LinkedIn profile and HOW TO IMPROVE THEM so that your profile #ROCKS. After this session and implementing the suggested improvements, you will see a 400% increase in profile views.

Presented by Samantha Nolan

Description coming soon.

Presented by Mark Galvin

Interested how to make your profile stand out from your competition? Want to grow your connections? Want to know the tricks for Recommendations and Security Settings? Mark Galvin, founder of ePresence (www.ePresence.me) and LinkedIn expert, will share more on LinkedIn profile improvements. This session will focus on making your profile stand out from your competition. This session will feature an open mic for Q&A. Ask any question about any topic. After this session, you will not only will you get more job opportunities, you will also learn how LinkedIn can help you close more deals.

Presented by the Cheryl Payne

As we adapt to the changes that are currently taking place in our industry, this session will arm you with real-time tactical strategies that will help you to negotiate and defend your organization. We will review what is happening in today's environment, explore new ideas to elevate your contract to current times, as well as, learn about what other Meeting Planners are doing to minimize their risk with hotels for 2021 and beyond.

We will review key contract clauses, including force majeure and cancellation clauses, and explore negotiations tips and proven strategies on how to get to “YES” while reviewing variables that help influence a hotel's decision to accept your business.

Learning Outcomes include:

• Understand our current marketplace and how it affects a planners' strategy during negotiations.
• Review key contract clauses and how to defend them to benefit your organization’s bottomline
• Discuss variables that the hotels consider when reviewing your overall business value.

Presented by Terri Woodin

Meeting demand is up, way up and new hotel room supply is low, especially in the four and five star brands. In 2018, hotel occupancy, average daily rate and RevPar (revenue per available room) was an all-time high. In this high impact workshop, attendees will learn specific methods to utilize a strategic RFP process and assess their leverage based on multiple hotel revenue management criteria. The ultimate focus is on value based negotiations, cast savings, hotel contract risk reduction / cost containment and improving hotelier communications and partnerships.

Presented by Claire Gould

What is banqueting/catered food look like as the events industry is starting to come back? Good question. In this session our Connect Culinary Expert Claire Gould will give an update on what she sees as well as give tips on menu planning, negotiation, and execution as we start our new normal. Do bring your questions as she will be happy to answer!

Presented by Daniel Mason Jones

Learn to harness the power of social and digital media. Humanize you’re brand and grow your audience, turning hashtags into dollars and connecting in a new and powerful way.

Presented by Scott Frankel

This session presented by Scott Frankel, President of Animatic Media & Conference-On-Demand +LIVE will get you up to speed with AV technology, terminology and make you more comfortable working with both your AV vendor and clients/speakers. Also learn ideas and procedures to implement as "in-person" meetings return.

In this session, you will:

• Learn tips for AV hygiene as well as physical distancing in room drawings and new technologies to embrace to assure a safe event environment.
• Learn they keys to specifying the correct AV equipment and labor without spending too much. Find out what you should be asking for and what not to fall for in terms of equipment and labor.
• Hear best practices for AV Hygiene including checklists and procedures for equipment sanitization, physical distancing and keep your staff, show management and attendees safe while participating and your next in-person event.

Presented by the Michael Solomon

The Pandemic will change our world for years after the virus disappears. We’ll have to rethink and modify our purchase decisions, large and small. Some disruptions in consumer/marketer relationships that already were looming will come faster and more decisively. How do we define brand value? How should companies talk to customers? How do people function in an emerging gig economy where every encounter might be fatal? How do we redefine what it means to go to work or to socialize?

The virus poked the bear, and now marketers need to respond to life in The New Normal.

The changes that started well before the Pandemic reflect the transition in our society from a modernist to a postmodern culture. Postmodern consumers don’t always follow the rules that marketers decree. That’s because we don’t buy products because of what they do… we buy them because of what they mean. Today’s consumers define themselves by the brands they choose. Their idiosyncratic choices create a pastiche of meaning that gets updated 24/7. Marketers no longer drive the train, even though they can still ride it.

This means that the firm categories we love to use to understand our world – and our customers – are no longer valid. In particular, the traditional labels we use to segment consumers have stopped working. Today’s consumers are like chameleons, who change color constantly. They no longer sit passively in the tidy cages we put them in. The convenient dichotomies we rely upon, such as Male vs. Female, Young vs. Old, I vs. We, Consumer vs. Producer, Offline vs. Online, and many others, no longer mean very much.

In the New Normal, we’ll see these cages open even faster as people are exposed both to new possibilities and to new constraints on their daily lives. Many of us for example will rediscover the value of community, and others will rethink the value of commuting to work everyday. In this presentation, we’ll explore some of these comfortable cages, and show why marketers need to ignore them in order to prosper.

Presented by Adronica Shaw

It goes without saying that the unprecedented Covid-19 outbreak has a dramatic impact on millions of people, institutions and the global economy.

On one end of the spectrum, some well-established businesses have filed bankruptcy and others are hanging on by a thread, at the same time that some start-ups, businesses and corporations are turning a profit and are churning out profits at record speed.

So what’s the difference?

Social Media Marketing.

In this session corporate digital marketing strategist, Adonica Shaw will walk you through 5 social media marketing and branding strategies to help your company survive the economic downturn and attract new customers.

Presented by Terri Woodin

The combination of the great recession and the Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) initiative has increased senior management's expectations for improved planner productivity, meeting value and ROI. Although SMM delivers an umbrella of measurable benefits, cost savings remains a high priority for corporate and association planning teams. We will review specific methods to generate real cost savings, including metrics to define and measure results.

Learner Outcomes

• Review current industry trends and how they affect your meeting budget
• Share planner's feedback on managing the pandemic landscape
• Learn how hotels value your meetings so you can leverage your meeting value to increase cost savings
• Identify & prepare for social distancing & risk management budget busters
• Learn F&B, AV, production and other cost saving tips & how to prepare a cost savings report
• Review hotel contract clauses that affect risk reduction & cost containment

Presented by Stephen Hahn and Panelists

Description coming soon!

Presented by Gary Hernbroth

As we slowly start to come back and reawaken our industry from COVID-19, how has our RFP process changed and what will we be doing differently in order to do business together again?

Learning objectives:

• Share peer-to-peer experiences of changes already evident in the RFP process from both buyers and sellers, in order to gain perspectives on the industry trends/
• Learn what new expectations both sides will have on the other in terms of being viable in the RFP stage of the sales cycle in our "new normal".
• Develop an individual plan for filling a toolkit (for both buying and selling) of new areas of knowledge, tools and competencies that will be needed in order to adapt to the changes in the RFP process.

Presented by Tianna Tye

Building an organizational culture of inclusivity requires building individual awareness of bias. In this virtual workshop, Industrial-Organizational Psychologist Tianna Tye is going share how you can become more aware of your own biases and introduce tools to minimize the negative effect it has both personally and professionally.

During this session, you will:

• Learn the science behind unconscious bias and how the brain operates outside of conscious intention.
• Recognize real examples of how bias impacts organizations at a systemic level.
• Discover why bias is the enemy of innovation and a healthy company culture.
• Reflect on personal commitments to help shift towards a culture of inclusivity in your sphere of influence.

Presented by Michael Dominguez, David Manzella and Megan Archambeault

Description coming soon!

Presented by Dr. Jonathan Spero

The Covid-19 crisis is due to one thing…health insecurity, and the key to a successful event is Health Security. In this webinar you will learn proven, practical steps to consider when designing an effective and safe meeting in the wake of COVID-19.

Sponsored Education Presented by CORT Events

CORT Events is sharing tips and best practices to ensure your upcoming hybrid meetings keep all attendees excited, engaged and, most importantly, safe

Sponsored Education Presented by Simon Miller

Description coming soon!

Panel led by Andrew Roby With Panelists Kate Patay and Latoya Lewis

Description coming soon!