Event Brew

Navigating event attendee data requires the right balance between collecting valuable information and respecting event attendee privacy. But with rapid advancements in technology and law that struggles to keep up, finding that balance can be tricky, especially as tech becomes cheaper and easier to access. 

Catalyzed by a recent Tech Crunch headline about a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) violation at Mobile World Congress (MWC), Will, Nick, and Dustin tackle attendee data in today’s episode. But before diving into this pressing issue, Nick provides some background information on MWC’s fine.

The events industry is a melting pot of talent and diverse backgrounds, with event professionals bringing rich experiences and unique perspectives to the field. It’s not uncommon to find professionals holding degrees in business, communications, or marketing, complementing others with a foundation in hospitality or years of experience in related industries. But this diversity of education and experience begs the question, do you need event planning certifications to stand out?

In this episode of the Event Brew, Thuy, Dustin, and Will, explore the events industry’s low barrier to entry, the relevance of event planning certifications, and ultimately, whether you need one as a true event professional. Tune in to see where they land. But first, let’s start with the Brew Crew’s own certifications.

A recently published Freeman report highlights a significant shift in the demographics of B2B event attendees. With this new generation of younger, more diverse, and more educated attendees emerging, the event industry must adapt to meet their evolving needs and expectations.

In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Xander, Will Curran, Arianna, and Nick dive into this shift; from understanding the motivations behind younger attendees, and rethinking exhibit halls, to embracing new technology, the Brew Crew explores how event professionals can harness this shift in demographics to create events that cater to the next generation of event-goers. Tune in and find out what they have to say!

As event professionals, we’re constantly striving to create meaningful experiences for attendees and stakeholders while working within limited resources and a budget. In-kind sponsorships are relationships where a business sponsors an event by providing free goods or services rather than a financial contribution. So can in-kind sponsorships for events help you meet your event goals? 

Amid industry-wide event budget cuts, global inflation, and nationwide layoffs, teams across the events industry are forced to decide which things to keep, remove, or reduce in the budget. So in this episode of the Event Brew podcast, the crew shares their thoughts on what they’d keep, cut, and remove. 

But before we dive into budgets, let’s introduce our special co-host, Xander Castro. Our history with Xander started years ago when he worked for Endless as a freelance ghostwriter. Since then, he’s worked as an event planner and is now the Events Director at Tiny Seed. He was also featured on an earlier episode of #EventIcons. There, you’ll be able to hear more about his background. 

Thanks to Xander’s input in today’s episode, the Brew Crew is taking a gamified approach to the heavy topic of budgets. Given the ability to choose the episode topic, he says this: “I dropped in a random idea that just popped into my mind, the PG version of kiss, marry, kill.” The idea is, “If you look at budgets being cut and your clients are looking at stripping away some of the numbers you have for specific budget items, what are the things you need to keep? What are the things that you have an opportunity to cut? And, what are some of the things that you can completely do away with?” So without further ado, let’s see what the Brew Crew would do.  

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated events across the globe. Almost three years later, the United States is finally making a widespread comeback, events included. Still, it’s not enough for President Biden to declare the pandemic over. As the Brew Crew shares today, many event professionals are still battling low attendance, learning about and designing for increased accessibility and figuring out how to implement the lessons they’ve learned throughout the pandemic. 

In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Arianna, Will, Nick, and Dustin discuss where the events industry started, what the industry needs today, and how to move forward. Let's get right to it! 

As event professionals, we often reflect on our past experiences and wonder what we could have done differently. Hindsight is 20/20, and it's natural to have moments of regret or wish we'd known then what we know now. The Brew Crew isn't immune to this phenomenon.

In recent years, “cannabis” and “marijuana” have been hot topics of interest for event professionals. And with the increasing legalization of the psychoactive drug, conversations around cannabis for events are at an all-time high. As the industry comes to terms with this new reality, many event professionals aren’t sure what to do next. ‘Bud’ if one thing is clear, cannabis is here to stay. 

Event goals are what you aim to achieve before, during, and after your event, and they impact almost everything event professionals do. So what happens when you crush your goals? Well, Ana A. reached out and asked precisely this. She says, “Say an event was successful, reached all goals and objectives, and made the host more money. What would you say the next step for the event is? Would it be making the event bigger year after year?” 

As an event professional, you likely rely on some degree of creativity and inspiration to design events, drive innovation, and make your mark on the attendee experience. But when the creativity wheels aren’t turning, and the inspiration isn’t flowing, it can feel hard to come up with fun or even new ideas and make meaningful progress at work. That’s why in this episode of the Event Brew, the Brew Crew is talking about event inspiration, creativity, and innovation. 

Together, they’ll share where they draw inspiration from. Spoiler alert, for some, it’s a shoe, and for others, it’s an old idea made new. How exactly do they build up their creativity muscles? Tune in to find out.