Meeting and event professionals around the world are eager to support the safe reopening of hotels, convention centers and other large-scale venues. Join us as we broadcast live from the Wynn Las Vegas, home of the 2020 Connect Marketplace for the first half of this webinar. Then listen to our interactive panel of meeting planners, all of whom have successfully conducted meetings within the last several weeks. They will discuss how they prepared for a safe meeting, how they managed attendee psychology, and what you can do to prepare for safe meetings and events in all venues.
Hotel in Las Vegas
Contact information
Contact Patrick Higgins for questions about this session: phiggins@connectmeetings.com
Anyone can add projection screens, use a sound system and put up a stage wash. But if you wish to polish your general session and make a notable difference in quality and professionalism, this session will teach you what you need to know. Learn production company tips from one of the best in the industry. You don’t need to be a technical person for this session, but you will definitely learn what to ask for and why it will make a difference. The best part? Many of these secrets won’t cause you to blow your budget.
Learning Objectives
Discover how to play the right walk-in music to set a certain mood or energy.
Explore music licensing, voice-of-god announcements, music beds for transitions between speakers and more.
Learn how to create a “run of show” that includes presenter and speaker information, stage setup, presentation details and timing.
Scott Frankel is president of Animatic Media, a full-service event production company, and a leader and speaker at many industry events. Frankel founded Animatic in 1996 with the idea of offering agency-style service without the agency price tag. Frankel and his team have produced thousands of events for clients of all sizes, from Fortune 500 conferences with thousands of attendees to smaller road shows. Frankel insists on perfection and is an innovator in the event technology business. In 2010 he started Conference-On-Demand, a leading platform for on-demand conference video, and recently launched MeetingLeader.com, a content management, web registration and audience response web platform for corporate event planners.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
Building strong relationships and friendships is crucial to our success. Belonging to a community like the meetings industry gives us a sense of identity, and helps us understand who we are and feel part of something larger than ourselves. Join this session to learn how to make the most of networking opportunities at industry events.
Learning Objectives
Learn how to better prepare for networking events.
Discover keys that will help you overcome the fear of entering a large room and initiating conversation.
Explore fresh tips you can use when following up with new people you meet.
Michael J. Lyons is an author, professional speaker, actor, entrepreneur and former hospitality industry executive. Lyons spent more than 40 years in senior-level management roles in the meetings/travel industry, including stints with CIGNA, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Global Events Partners and EGR International. Before going out on his own in 2014, he was exhibition director of IBTM America, a premier trade show organized by Reed Exhibitions—the world's largest trade show management company—based in London.
As a prolific and experienced professional speaker, Lyons delivers talks in the U.S. and abroad on how to achieve goals, pursue your passion and enhance your personal brand, among other topics. His easygoing style and humorous anecdotes, coupled with fun exercises and interactive group involvement, keep audiences engaged throughout his presentations. In 2017, Lyons released his book "Set Yourself Free: Daydream it... Believe it... Achieve it!" to widespread acclaim.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
Information is power, especially when it comes to consolidating meeting activity and spend data to enhance negotiations and deliver ROI. Meetings are big investments, and stakeholder expectations for measurable, value-based outcomes are at an all-time high.
Additionally, the implementation of Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) standards by corporate and association planners has made it essential to track and access key meeting and spend data at all phases of a meeting’s life cycle.
In this high impact webinar, attendees will examine a variety of topics that drive the process to track and leverage data to ensure strategic negotiations, cost savings, contract risk mitigation, added meeting value and ROI.
Learning Objectives
Understand trends validating the need for a spend data management process.
Examine the umbrella of meeting data categories to track and incorporate into an action plan.
Learn how to utilize data to assure value-based outcomes.
Discover specific metrics to define, measure and report success.
Review methods to break down data in silos and strategies to drive maximum value.
Discuss methods to communicate real meeting value to managers and stakeholders.
Robyn Mietkiewicz, CMP, CMM, is senior director of global meeting services at Meeting Sites Resource. MSR is a global strategic meeting management solutions organization with a 23-year track record of meetings excellence. This includes global hotel sourcing, custom contract negotiations, meeting project management and SMM consulting. Mietkiewicz contributes articles to trade publications and speaks at many industry events. She also presents custom strategic education for planning and procurement teams.
Mietkiewicz has served on many hotel and CVB advisory boards, is a past president of the MPI Orange County Chapter and was recognized as the 2014 MPI RISE Award–Member of the Year.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
Are you struggling to grow your event? Do you need help getting things done? Without volunteers, many highly driven professionals routinely find themselves plagued by projects, missing crucial deadlines and struggling to tackle their never-ending to-do lists. Escape feeling overworked and overwhelmed by building a budget-friendly team of skilled, reliable and loyal volunteers.
Learning Objectives
Learn the seven secrets to building a team of lifelong volunteers.
Identify the costly mistakes planners can make when managing volunteers and learn how to avoid them.
Discover five critical responsibilities every volunteer team leader must know.
Janice Anderson uses her corporate background in communications, marketing and public relations to equip leaders with a strategic approach to organizational growth and expansion. Anderson has supported hundreds of leaders from myriad arenas. Her clients include pastors, ministry leaders, corporate and nonprofit leaders, C-level executives and entrepreneurs. She helps leaders identify and overcome the growth barriers in organizations by implementing strategies that allow them to build, brand and expand their visions.
Anderson and her team have created powerful mentoring, coaching and consulting programs, workshops and products that equip leaders with the tools necessary to increase their influence, impact and income without compromising their message or their mission. Meet Anderson at moruwa.com.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
Social media communities are rich with diversity and inclusion thought leaders. Twitter and LinkedIn are key tools meeting planners can leverage to source events. This workshop will focus on the process of mining social media sites for value-added resources. You will also learn how to create and manage your own social media presence.
Learning Objectives
Learn the key components of an effective social media strategy for both your personal and your event’s brand.
Find tools to minimize the time you spend managing social media presence.
Utilize techniques to find credible diversity experts you can leverage or partner with at your events.
Simone Morris is president and founder of Simone Morris Enterprises LLC. Her company offers employee engagement consulting, leadership training, career management coaching and speaking services. She is an award-winning diversity and inclusion leader who has been recognized by Diversity Best Practices, DiversityMBA and Diageo.
Morris previously spent two decades in corporate America. She has extensive leadership experience and holds an MBA from the University of Connecticut. She also holds the Associate Certified Coach credential from the International Coaching Federation, as well as the certified Project Management Professional distinction from the Project Management Institute. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the American Management Association.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
As global business continues to expand, understanding the cultural dynamics of a country can be helpful in providing insight for why people act the way they do and the appropriate way you should act while in another country or working with individuals from other countries.
Etiquette is all about human social behavior. Each country has a “code of behavior,” which covers right and wrong, improper and respectful ways to act and behave. Passed down by generations, this code is based on basic cultural values and beliefs. Respecting and acknowledging these cultural customs can advance individual business success in working with these cultures.
This session reviews proper behavior in everyday situations from dining to gift giving to basic manners and daily cultural taboos. Resource tools will be available.
Learning Objectives
Understand the importance of learning about other cultures and their “code of behavior.”
Position yourself for greater success in international business meetings by ensuring a proper first impression.
Gain resources for further research and reference tools when working with other cultures.
Larissa J. Schultz, CMP, MHA, is an advocate of continuing to grow through learning and forward momentum. She has been actively involved in the meeting management industry for more than 19 years and is the founder and owner of LJS Meeting Strategies, a meeting management, training and consulting company based in Los Angeles. Her background and experience as a meeting planner includes working with corporations and associations planning both domestic and international conferences and meetings.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
This high-energy, highly visual session follows Hollywood event producer Austin Johnston—owner of AKJOHNSTON Group—who will share tips, advice and case studies of new ideas, advanced technology and flawless executions with cutting-edge design. Learn the simplest of suggestions and ideas for conferences or complex subjects like projection mapping and digital art experiences. This session will be formatted with edited video for a high-energy flow through various ideas and studies and will open up for a live Q&A.
Learning Objectives
Discover actionable and innovative solutions for common technology needs.
Explore design elements and inspirations to build engaging shows for your clients.
Have fun while interacting with case studies and receive world-class advice.
At 17, Austin Johnston started an event lighting company and scaled it into his first business, X Events, which he then left to work for an enormous theme park lighting company. He started design, management and production company AKJohnston Group in 2008, and despite launching during the Great Recession, his company has grown 300 percent every year for the last eight years. Part of that success may be attributed to having technical production and custom fabrication capabilities under one roof. He manages a talented team of designers and engineers who push the envelope when it comes to design and materials, and meld them both with out-there technology. Though based in Orange County, California, Johnston has worked in seven countries and 20 states for the likes of Gucci, Keurig, Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Vitaminwater.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
In our litigious society, anyone can be sued for anything—even good things! In this unique and informative session, participants will consider scenarios highlighting the liability issues associated with integrating social responsibility into the meetings industry. We will discuss the parameters of food donation laws and explore the realities and myths of Good Samaritan laws, including the less well-known “Bad Samaritan” laws. Find out who is really protected under the Volunteer Protection Act. You can and should do good things… but you should also protect yourself and your organization along the way.
Learning Objectives
Develop effective food donation policies and programs.
Communicate the limitations of personal risk to
potential volunteers.
Evaluate the risk and responsibility for rendering aid
(or failing to render aid) to those in need.
Tyra Hilliard is a speaker, writer and coach, as well as a professor of business, hospitality and event management. She has been honored for her professional achievement as an educator and uses her diverse and unique background to reach learners young and old, from college freshmen to seasoned professionals.
Tyra is one of the only people in the world with a law degree, a Ph.D. in hospitality and a CMP. Her industry experience includes working as an attorney, a meeting planner, a catering manager and a CVB sales manager.
Contact information
Please contact Camille Moore for questions about this session.
