The popular RainFocus Event Perspectives video series, hosted by Rodney Hart, VP of Events, launched last year to offer advice and lively discussion from innovative event leaders. In each episode, you’ll find expert takes on trending topics, stories from professionals, career paths, and learnings from some of the industry’s brightest minds.
Here are a few of the most interesting findings from some recent episodes:
Exhibitor Engagement Is About Strategy, Not Spend
Adam Parry is the co-founder and director of Event Industry News, where he focuses on the complexities of event engagement. In his Event Perspectives interview, he explains how event success comes from strategically matching the right exhibitors with the right attendees, rather than simply selling out floor space.
“A lot of people think selling event space is purely about filling as many spots on the floor as possible,” he says. “Our view is different. If our exhibitors don’t match the attendees we’ve got, nobody gets value.”
He adds that proving exhibitor ROI is often a long game, particularly in the technology sector, where sales cycles can take years to mature. Re-signing exhibitors is a top priority to continue building relationships with attendees.
Watch the full episode here to learn how to increase the value of your showfloor for both attendees and exhibitors.
Managing a Sold-Out Event Brings Its Own Challenges
Having more registrations than anticipated is a good outcome for an event, right? In her episode, Pam Corcoran, the VP of Global Events at CrowdStrike, explains the pros and cons of having too many attendees and not enough room. Having navigated rapid, massive-scale event growth for several years, Pam shares what to do when your registration exceeds your expectations.
“When you are looking at a sellout situation, you have to find a date that you decide is your cutoff,” she says. “But keep a few passes in your back pocket, because there’s always going to be really important customers that need to come but haven’t registered yet.”
For more useful tips, watch her episode.
Repurpose Your Session Content for Hyper-Personalized Marketing
Instant session summaries are beginning to outperform full-length video replays as a demand generation tool, according to Will Curran, chairman of Endless Events. Summaries are easily digestible, which makes them a great tool for engagement and personalization.
“I think our speakers are probably our best marketing channel that we have available to us as event organizers, because they have audiences, they have the knowledge, and they say really smart stuff,” he says. “You need to capitalize on that and share that.”
Will also discusses how to turn overly programmed events into more engaging experiences, making the case that “thinking outside the box” isn’t enough anymore. Instead, he suggests that planners shouldn’t be afraid to execute wild ideas (i.e., “crush the box”) if it fits their audience.
Watch this episode to learn more.
Stop Burning Out Your Attendees
Finally, Dahlia El-Ghazar is the primary idea ignitor at Dahlia Plus Agency, bringing a vibrant energy to the events she works on. In her episode, Dahlia discussed the concept of “decision calories,” warning organizers against exhausting attendees with too many decisions and a schedule that’s too stressful to be engaging.
“Think about ‘decision calories’ from an attendee perspective,” she recommends during her interview. “When you’re putting together a program, especially for attendees who are already overwhelmed — such as your first-time attendees — don’t offer them the twelve concurrent sessions. That’s too many calories to intake.”
Watch her episode for more advice and unique ideas.
The Event Perspectives series is full of amazing insights. Stay tuned for our next post, which will share more expert advice. In the meantime, watch all episodes on YouTube to discover even more ideas.
