In this episode of Event Experience by Bizzabo, host Rachel Moore sits down with Liz King Caruso, CEO and Chief Event Strategist of Liz King Events, to explore the power of attendee obsession in event planning. 

With more than 13 years of experience in the industry, Liz shares her insights on designing events that allow participants to be themselves and connect authentically. The discussion centers on a recent event Liz organized for a foundation client with the goal of bringing their employees back together in person, fostering face-to-face interactions and sharing the organization's vision for the coming year. 

Through a well-crafted balance of content and experience, the event featured interactive activities, a healthy and delicious family-style lunch, and a unique silent disco that allowed participants to mingle and engage in a relaxing, comfortable setting. 

Here’s what you’ll learn about in this conversation:

• The importance of striking a balance between delivering valuable content and creating meaningful experiences for event attendees

• Why event planners should step outside of their comfort zones and be open to trying new things and considering unconventional ideas that align with attendees' interests and desires

• The value in gathering attendee feedback and creating opportunities for participants to express their thoughts and opinions openly 

• techsytalk Inc.

• Liz King Events

• Smart Women, Smart Hustle

• Black Barn Restaurant in NYC

• Sound Off Experiences silent DJ company 

• Prince George Ballroom in NYC

• Cut the Shit, Cue the Genius podcast 

• Liz King Caruso on LinkedIn

In this episode, Mathias Sondermann talks about SAP’s Sapphire and embracing standardization for scalability, the importance of localization, and the power of continuous learning.

Meet Senior Director of Events Mathias Sondermann, who has been with SAP for more than 15 years. In this episode, he takes us into SAP's largest customer-facing event, Sapphire, and does a bit of cultural globetrotting as he discusses the power of standardization, regional adaptation, and continuous learning — all in the name of promoting innovation and enabling scalability. 

Here is a sneak peek of what you’ll hear about in this conversation:

• How standardizing certain aspects of events gives teams space to innovate at scale 

• The importance of localization and tailoring events to regional and cultural nuances 

• How collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning can improve the quality of events across the industry

• SAP Sapphire 2023

• German Convention Bureau 

• Mathias Sondermann on LinkedIn

In this episode, you’ll hear from Storycraft Lab’s Naomi Clare Crellin about facilitating a popup activation of taking the Google Xi (Experience Institute) community to IMEX Frankfurt. 

Naomi Clare Crellin is the founder and CEO of Storycraft Lab and editor and host of the Futures Forum, an innovation think tank. Her activation’s goal was to explore the Xi Days case study — from the launch of the Neu Project at IMEX 2022 to the recent Xi Days event — and the many industry tools and frameworks being developed around neuro inclusion. The event guided attendees onhow to advocate for the business value of belonging and motivate their communities to foster belonging in the events they create.

Here’s what you’ll hear about in this conversation:

• The Xi community's mission to generate support systems, frameworks, and tools that facilitate universal inclusion in the event industry

• How the team created an activation centered on engaging participants in “googly” design sprints to reimagine radical inclusion

• The launch of the Belonging Index, which is a tool that challenges traditional demographics by focusing on individuals' values and provides insights for designing inclusive experiences

• Storycraft Lab

• Xi at IMEX Frankfurt

• The Neu Project

• Valuegraphics

• Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Geoffrey L. Cohen 

• Naomi Clare Crellin on LinkedIn

• Contact: [email protected]

• Megan Henshall on LinkedIn

In this episode of Event Experience, you’ll learn how Airtable Head of Events Gianna Gaudini planned and executed the brand’s inaugural marquee event, the Airtable Leaders Forum (ALF).

The team at Airtable designed ALF to accomplish multiple goals for different audiences, including driving pipeline, announcing a new category, and showcasing thought leadership from the CEO. Gaudini shares the ins and outs of the event planning process and setting goals for ALF, including the strategic decision-making involved in focusing on specific goals, targeting the right audience, and maximizing the event's impact. 

Here’s what you’ll hear about in this conversation:

• How to create reasonable goals and leverage event data to make incremental improvements

• How to prioritize your event goals and stick to what truly matters

• The significance of post-event feedback, analysis, debrief sessions, NPS scores, press coverage, pipeline goals, and more

• 2022 Airtable Leaders Forum Key Takeaways

• 2023 Airtable Leaders Forum Key Takeaways

• Huberman Lab podcast

• Gianna Gaudini on LinkedIn

• "Gianna's Million Dollar Event Career” Course (Bizzabo15 to get 15% off!)

Ashley Jenkins, Meg Fasy, and Brent Turner discuss fresh strategies and get guidance for attracting new event sponsors and retaining current ones.

Kelly Hoey dismantles everything you thought you knew about event networking in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Julius Solaris, Alon Alroy, and Nicola Kastner sit down for a lively discussion about the event industry’s most pressing issues. 

Monique Ruff-Bell, Tania Capaz, and Paul McAvinchey join Kyana Shamloo to look back at the past six months of in-person events and explore what the future holds.

Devin and Daphne discuss the new role of the Event Experience Leader and the skillset needed to thrive in the evolving events environment.

Candina and Liz discuss building intention into every stage of the attendee journey. You’ll learn digital and event design strategies to grow your audience and enhance the experience from beginning to end.