3 Innovative Ways to Find and Book Cool Speakers for Any Event
EVENT INDUSTRY
We re not gonna waste your time, here: no one needs to tell you how to Google how to find speakers for your event . And doing that will turn up all the basics: databases of speaking professionals (Gigmaster!), speakers associations, blah blah blah. But there are plenty of fascinating, confident, articlate people that don t speak for a living and are outside . Here a few unique ideas on how to find and connect with them.
Look up Inventors on Kickstarter
There are a lot of very interesting people in the world who are driven to create very interesting things. And interesting people know that they have a strong chance of funding their good ideas on Kickstarter. We re gonna go out on a limb here and say that every one of those people is a potential event speaker. Since Kickstarter is geared towards helping potential funders find projects that they re inspired to support, the site is segmented by categories dare we say topics? making it easy to narrow down a list of people who might add some spice to your event would, in fact, probably welcome the opportunity to promote whatever they re working on. Plus, many Kickstarter inventors and creatives make videos in which they explain their projects, so you can get a sense of how well they string a few words together.
Search for Speeches on Slideshare
If someone s got a speech on Slideshare, it means they ve already spoken in front of a group of people, and may be willing to do so again. It doesn t necessarily mean they re good at it, but the upshot here is that you can preview their speech before you even contact them, and get a pretty solid idea what the content would be like.
Hire a Consultant or Bureau
Companies like The Speaker Group specialize in having a wide body of speaker resources at their disposal, and they can help you nail someone down. Needless to say, this is a great option if you have a budget, need to find multiple speakers or don t have the time to suss out the right fit.
Event Design Inspiration: Gorgeous Place Settings to Inspire You
EVENT PRODUCTION INSPIRATION
Sometimes you just gotta look at beautiful things to get the ol synapses firing. Here s a selection of some gorgeous settings from Flickr Creative Commons.
East Coast Beach
Umber Earth Tones
High Contrast Ceramics
Presidential
Country Gypsy
Rustic Nautical
Image Sources: East Coast Beachy, Umber Earth Tones, High Contrast Ceramics, Presidentia, Country Gypsy,Rustic Nautical
6 Must-Follow Tips For Selecting an Event Venue
EVENT PRODUCTION INSPIRATION
Finding just the right venue for your event has often been compared to buying a house, given the methodical preparation needed. Hopefully though, finding a venue involves fewer encounters with realtors and solicitors. Here are a few tips to follow that should make the selection process easier.
Specifics, specifics
Check the venue s ability to display advertising and banners. Verify prime advertising spots around local roads. Can venue staff work your event for catering and security or do you need to bring people in? Will the business center stay open a little later to accommodate guests should your event run long? Don t hesitate a second to run these venues ragged with questions, that s what they re there for.
The right hours: putting the space through its paces
Be sure to check out your venue at the same time of day (and ideally, time of year) that your event is scheduled to take place. Little things that go unnoticed during an ill-timed inspection can turn round and bite you during your event. Visiting a venue at 2pm, for example, will not give you an accurate idea of how much outside noise will filter in at rush hour. Visiting in the evening will not tell you how well the curtains will block out daylight. Countless little details that can thoroughly disrupt an otherwise meticulously planned conference can be done away with early on.
Ahead of time
Conference centers are usually fielding inquiries from a dozen companies at a time, all of them looking to book floor space. The closer you are to the date of your event, the less TLC you ll receive from any venues you have chosen to scout. Starting your search a year or more ahead of time is not something that most people do (and not always possible), but it is very effective in securing prime locations at excellent prices.
Bargain
This hardly needs to be said. Venues are not put off by those seeking to drive a fair bargain, especially a long way out from the event as mentioned above. Entire package deals are the best option but negotiation on single pricier elements are more common. And don t forget, play venues off against each other to drive that bill lower.
Layout and supporting spaces
The actual area in which the main event is being held is not the only consideration when it comes to layout and floor plan, and it s likely that you ll need more space than you think. Trade shows, for example, will require one large open space, like an easily converted ballroom, to place tables that s the easy bit. But you ll also need to ensure the venue you select has space for guest registration, a first-aid area, and potentially a press room. Wedding reception venues may need separate changing or storage areas for the bridal party.
To ensure your venue has all the facilities you need, go through your event itinerary from the perspectives of all comers guests, clients, event staff and venue staff. Mentally plot out what each attendee type may need to do during the course of the event.
Graphing out the layout might help ensure you ve got the space you need
Best Way To Get There
Much as a soon-to-be father practices the drive to the hospital to find the best route for his wife, make sure you know the best ways to access your venue by car, bus and subway. This is particularly important for out-of-town participants if you cannot put them up on site.
10by10: New Startup Will Connect Vendors & Venues
VENUES
We re excited about an up-and-coming concept we heard about over on the Event Manager Blog Event Startup Pinterest feed (and if you ve never been over there, check it out, it s invaluable).
In the words of founder Christa Huntley:
I own a business and frequently I attend expo events to reach a broader audience. I ve attended very successful events where I was able to generate significant leads and I ve attended others that have been time wasters. The results vary but really I just want good results, more leads, and increased sales.
I also want to be able to find events, valuable events, without having to Google them, search 15 online calendars, call countless venues, and speak with every friend who has ever attended an event in my local area.
I don t want to miss events. I beat myself up when I didn t know about them, didn t hear about them until too late, or made the decision not to go because the event sounded lame.
And so 10 10, named after the average size of your basic expo booth, was born to solve these problems.
The Skinny
10by10 hasn t fully gotten off the ground yet, and their database isn t rocking a full roster of items at the moment, but they re on the upswing, and adding new events to their listings as we speak. Potential exhibitors will be able to search events by date or category, knowing that those events are actively seeking participants, then book event space directly through the website.
Event listing and browsing is free 10by10 makes their moolah by charging the event host a percentage fee for each vendor registrant.
Keep an eye on this one, folks: it would be a pleasant game changer.
How to Drum Up Good Volunteers for Your Event
TIPS & TRICKS
Need more helping hands than you ve got? Don t have the budget to have your paid staff picking up litter? No matter what your event topic is, there s someone out there who desperately wants to go but can t afford the ticket. Even better, there s someone out there who loves your theme so much, they d be thrilled to have back-stage, hands-on access in exchange for a couple of perks. Here s how to catch and keep these lovely unicorn-people.
The Big Leagues: Call in the Heavy Hitters at the Work-Exchange Team
Running a massive festival or concert? The Work-Exchange Team by Shimon Presents is one of the industry leaders for large-scale event volunteer recruitment (there s also a pool of volunteers with Oxfam America, but they are typically only available to concerts featuring Oxfam-supporting artists). The major draw is WET s vetted database of potential volunteers, many of whom have worked festivals before in exchange for free tickets.
Some crucial deets: Our website has been specially developed for the management of volunteers for events. It is secure, easy-to-use and has over 50,000 registered users. Our online application will go live, and our marketing team will begin sending out branded HTMLs to our lists of over 90,000 past WETs to help you recruit your volunteers. It is very important that your event also provide marketing services to recruit your volunteers, as your volunteers will ultimately come from your group of fans. As applications are submitted, we continue discussions with your event and begin deciding on volunteer hours and placement. The event deposit will then go live, at which point volunteers will lock themselves in with a ticket-price deposit that secures their spot on the team and their services for your event.
DIY Recruitment
Plenty of festivals do their own recruitment, and interested people will check your site for volunteer opportunities. Knowing that, this one s a no-brainer: your call for volunteers should start going out on social media, on your website, and via your newsletters and collateral shortly after the event dates are announced. Putting your volunteer opportunities on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks allow people help to catch that I can t, but my friend might be interested crowd.
Got a Good Cause? Use Allforgood.org
Allforgood is a great platform to hook willing volunteers up with volunteer opportunities. Unlike other volunteering sites which focus more on long-term, repeat organizational volunteering, the Allforgood platform is more conducive to posting short-term opportunities.
No cause? Then perks are everything.
If you aren t giving volunteers the chance to serve the community, what are you offering? Free tickets, naturally, but what else? T-shirts? Goodie-bags? Backstage access? Meal tickets? Unless your event is highly exclusive, very expensive or super-famous, you ll need to entice the best help with the best incentives.
Make work hour expectations clear
To avoid misunderstandings (hah!), it s crucial that you let potential volunteers know exactly what you ll be asking of them. Here s a good example of volunteer pre-wrangling done right: Bonnaroo Volunteers page does an excellent job of outlining the volunteer experience, including how many hours volunteers will be expected to work, who can volunteer and what to bring. You may also notice that quite a few major festivals require volunteers to pay a significant deposit (up to $400 for some) as part of their application, refundable after the volunteer discharges their duties (all too well can we imagine the situations that lead to the need for that rule).
I ve got volunteers: Now what?
This astute post on the When I Work blog notes, Good volunteers are attracted to good organization and bad organization repels almost everyone who might otherwise give you their time. Show them you re organized by explaining your mission, the work description, and time goals in detail and be sure to communicate effectively. We couldn t agree more: nothing drives away present and future volunteers like trying to help someone who doesn t have it together. So, get organized, and make sure you have a management strategy in place for your volunteer team.
If you ve got a large pool of help to oversee, call us: Decibel s pretty darn good at herding those cats.
4 Ideas for Integrating RFID Technology in Your Next Event
EVENT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
So what is RFID, exactly? I could tell you that RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification , but that doesn t clear things up much. Basically, RFID is the technology that makes your touch-and-go credit cards work. RFID sends out a little data signal that can be read at a short distance by RFID readers. Do you have a public transportation card that you touch to a turnstile to gain access to a bus or subway? There s probably an RFID chip in that card. Does your apartment complex have a card lock gate? RFID.
The technology is not particularly new, but it is cheap to use, gaining in popularity, and its applications for event managers are myriad. Here are a few ideas on how you can make your life easier with RFID tools.
Event Access Control
Here s the obvious one: putting RFID chips in attendee badges means you don t need someone at the door checking tickets. Placing multiple points of authentication around your event in front of each distinct zone or area, for example also means you can keep track of who went where, data that might be valuable in terms of sponsorship opportunities down the road.
Event Parking
RFID can go a step further than controlling which cars are authorized to come into and go out of a parking lot. According to an article by RFID journal, RFID sensors can also be used to tell drivers where empty spots are located.
The monitoring system comprises infrared Wireless Sensor Network Modules from National Instruments (NI), mounted at the parking garage s entrances and exits, which are read every time a car drives by. These events are collected in NI s LabVIEW software application. The data is analyzed to determine the number of available parking spots on the monitored floors, based on the total number of spaces on that floor, as well as on the number of cars that each sensor detects entering or exiting.
Neat, huh?
Real-Life Facebook Liking
Ooh, this is a neat find from Event Manager Blog: Coca-Cola used RFID devices to allow attendees to Facebook Like in real life, by printing out like buttons equipped with proximity readers:
Keep people from stealing babies
No, seriously. RFID is also the technology they use at hospitals to keep newborns safe. Baby bracelets are typically equipped with RFID chips that sound an alarm if an infant is moved outside a designated area. If your event is offering childcare and the space and budget allows for it, this
4 Super Creepy Event Venues for your Halloween Party Planning
VENUES
Looking for the perfect location to throw a Halloween chills-and-thrills bash? We ve selected four of America s lesser-known event venues, all of which come complete with real-life ghost stories.
Sloss Furnace, Alabama
Once a functioning blast furnace, Sloss is said to be haunted by the spirits of the laborers who died there. These days, Sloss Furnace is a national landmark and modern metallurgy handicraft center. Its industrial aesthetic make it a perfect location for spooky corporate events and parties.
The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida
According to Wikipedia, the Coral Gables Biltmore is reportedly haunted by the ghost of Thomas Fatty Walsh, a mobster who was murdered there on September 7, 1929 during a gambling dispute. Claims include that his ghost haunts the hotel elevator. Claims also include that of a woman who was said to have jumped out of a window to save her child and a woman in white clothing in their rooms. The Biltmore has dozens of event venue spaces, from 3,744-square foot areas (with capacity for 300-500, depending on space usage) to much smaller areas for more intimate occasions or break-out sessions.
Redstone Castle (Osgood Castle), Colorado
Redstone Castle, a gorgeous Tudor-style mansion built in the late 1800 s, is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of John Osgood, the castle s builder and a famous American coal magnate. The curator of the grounds has spoken of ghostly cigar smoke in the passageways, and manor guests have reported strange incidents. Redstone is currently undergoing renovations, but sign up for their mailing list to be the first in the know when they re-open for events.
Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware, a Civil-War era detention facility for Confederate prisoners and federal detainees, is said to be haunted by imprisoned Confederate soldiers who died there. Managed by Delaware State Parks, the location hosts several yearly outdoor activities and festivals, including paranormal ghost tours.
Fort Delaware photo from Wikipedia. Biltmore photo from the Biltmore website. Sloss Furnace photo from Wikipedia.
Eventception: Events about Events, and Other Conferences Event Planners Should Check Out
EVENT INDUSTRY
Event planners: always the bridesmaid, never the bride. After creating all that fanfare for others, it s nice to be a guest in your own right, chill with industry experts and get inspired. Don t miss these industry-specific events, tailored just for you.
BizBash Live
Site: bizbash.com
The semi-annual BizBash get-togethers are the de-facto conference musts of the year. In their own words (and their words do not lie):
The Expo is the largest one-day gathering for event and meeting professionals in local markets. Held annually in South Florida, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, the shows attract thousands of meeting and event organizers eager to see the latest and greatest trends in the industry. Through education sessions, entertainment, and exhibits, attendees learn, network, collaborate, and most of all are inspired to create incredible events.
The Special Event Show
Site: thespecialeventshow.com
Created by the folks at Special Events Magazine, the Special Event Show is a 3-day conference and exhibitor hall with speakers, workshops, galleries, you name it. Attendees can choose from a variety of tracks to tailor their experience, including a wedding track, design track, management track, and more.
ISES Live
Site: iseslive.com
Billed as the International Conference for the Creative Event Professional , ISES Live is an international conference created to deliver an experience of stimulating ideas and knowledge sharing with other creative professionals from around the world. Uniquely designed, ISES LIVE centers on the role of CREATIVITY, INNOVATION and COLLABORATION in live event experiences. Join us for 2 days of engaged conversation with top creatives in varied fields including event planning and production, film, fashion, music, art and design.
IMEX
Site: imexamerica.com
Specifically tailored for professionals in the meetings industry, IMEX is a three-day event and the largest meetings industry trade show in the U.S. Extremely business-focused, there are learning sessions, dedicated networking areas and events, forums and expert panels, and naturally, an exhibition area.
Academic Event Professional
Site: aep-edu.com
Specialize in throwing soir es for the intelligentsia? Better check out the AEP annual conference. AEP presents educational and networking opportunities for like-minded professionals in the academic event arena. Conference attendees come to exchange ideas, experiences, and information with colleagues who face the same challenges in their day-to-day professional life.
You know you re an event planner when An industry infographic
EVENT INDUSTRY
Fact: Not everyone was cut out to be a shock troop in the never-ending battle against deadlines, wilting flowers and sprinkler systems that explode at exactly the wrong time, but those that make it love every hectic minute. How do you know when you re knees-deep in the industry? Our clever colleagues at Event Manager Blog polled their readers, asking them to pinpoint those little indicators that set event planners apart from the rest.
The best answers were created into a great infographic by Chris Shipton which we know you will love as much as we did:
Throwback Thursday: 6 Incredible Vintage Crowd Shots from Large-Scale Events
EVENT INDUSTRY
Event managers respect a sizable crowd the way survivalists respect a rattlesnake treat it firmly, but don t scare it, and don t get complacent, or it might sink two inches of fang into your leg. In wrangling large-scale events we depend heavily on the help of technology can you imagine dealing with this kind of turnout without the help of mobile phones, walkie-talkies, computerized ticketing?
Staring at these pics, we re faced with bazillions of unanswered logistics questions about historical events. How did advanced ticketing work, and could you get another set of tickets if you d lost yours? Were newspapers and posters the only way to promote your event, and if so, how much did it cost to print and distribute them? And is there such a thing as a turn-of-the-century Porta-potty?
Spectators
This incredible panorama is far too wide to be shown clearly in this narrow space go here to see the full picture. Created in 1919 by Charles F. Allen, this picture shows thousands up thousands of attendees gathered to watch a boxing match.
Soldiers
We don t know very much about this striking image, except that it was estimated to be taken in 1942, near the start of WWII. The source of the picture is telling: it was provided to the Library of Congress by the U.S. Army s Office of War Information, Overseas Picture Division.
Citizens
The multitudes gather outside the White House for the 1921 U.S. presidential inauguration of Warren G. Harding.
More Citizens
Here s another presidential shot from a little further down the line: Herbert Hoover in 1932.
Patriots
In this 1918 picture, Douglas Fairbanks, a popular movie star at the time, speaks on the steps of the U.S. Treasury Building in New York city in support of Liberty Bonds.
Sports Fans
A whole lot of people took themselves out to the ballgame at the 1925 World Series, where the Pittsburgh Pirates beat out the Washington Senators.
