#EventIcons

Today's #EventIcons guests recently launched a conference in 90 days, growing their attendance from 0 to 5,000 people. That event was a fantastic PLX conference focused on partner marketing. 

Partner marketing is a strategic relationship between two entities that aim to accomplish common goals, like increasing event attendance, building brand awareness, or marketing your products. And while you may be familiar with influencer marketing in B2C, a popular approach to partner marketing, partner marketing in B2B spaces is also growing in popularity.

The pandemic put a strain on everyone in the events industry, and it’s pushed some of our longest-serving professionals into other careers or even retirement, leaving a vacuum for other professionals to fill. It’s this need for experienced and knowledgeable event professionals, along with the revitalization of events, that led today’s guest, Bradley Cocks, to transition from doing to educating. 

Ashley Lawson is a big name in the travel meetings and incentives industry. Recently featured on the SITE Global and IMEX Instagram accounts, she’s also been featured closer to home. In a recent Event Brew episode on event inspiration, Deanna named Ashley as someone she goes to for inspiration and to bounce ideas off. Eager to learn more about Ashley, we’ve decided to bring her on for today’s #EventIcon episode!

Throughout 2022, we discussed how event professionals could talk business and engage with the C-suite. We also talked about trends we witnessed and expected to see in 2023. That’s why we’ve brought Jim Kelley on today’s episode of the #EventIcons.

Jim is an experienced leader in the events industry. Currently the Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations at Fern Expo, he has a long history of working in events, tradeshows, and conferences. Jim describes himself as a continuous learner, trusted advisor, innovator, educator, and ukulelist in training. Today, he’ll share his background, how event professionals can take on the business world, how to avoid burnout, and why we’ll see more white space in 2023.

Attendee arrival has changed in recent years. Before the pandemic, attendees would have booked hotels and made transportation arrangements in the days or weeks leading up to the event. With online events, they’ve cut that time down to a few minutes, and no one understands this better than today’s #EventIcons guest, Arianna Black.

Arianna has a long-standing relationship with events. Recently, that relationship has grown to focus on meaningful connections in virtual events. She says, “My current obsession is building spaces for authentic connections into large-scale digital-first engagements.” In this episode, Arianna will share what led her to events, her thoughts about digital arrival, and some of her best tips for creating online experiences.

The events industry is on the cusp of change. As we exit the pandemic era, companies are looking to understand how they can drive event growth and how events can, in turn, drive growth for their business; that’s why we’ve brought on a special guest for this episode of #EventIcons, Mark Kilens. 

Event planners and organizers are always considering how to push the envelope of event design. But with progress comes risk, the risk of failure. C2 Montreal is an event known for pushing the boundaries of events and inspiring industry-wide progress. #EventIcons has invited Anick Beaulieu of C2 International to chat with us.

On the last episode of #EventIcons, Erica Bishaf said, “A lot of organizations put about 60 - 80% of financial risk into one live event.” Unsurprisingly, companies are heavily invested in attendee satisfaction. Often, event planners turn to metrics and engagement as a measure of an event's success. That's why we've brought on an expert on all things attendee engagement, Ryan Costello. 

Community is the hot new buzzword in the events industry, and for a good reason. The ROI of building a community is staggeringly high. A thriving and engaged community can grow your revenue by hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s why this #EventIcons podcast has a very special guest, Erica Bishaf. 

Erica is the founder and CEO of Campfire Social. She brings 20 years of experience with business strategy, market research & insights, and consulting. She’s an expert in building professional networks for member-based and attendee-driven organizations. Erica has helped organizations generate revenue ranging from half a million to over 6 million dollars. Today, she’ll talk about what community is, how to build it, and how to monetize it. Let’s jump in!

Endless Events has recently celebrated its 15th birthday and we’ve decided to mark the occasion by hosting a very special #EventIcons episode in which our listeners could ask us any questions they want about Endless’ past, present, and future.

The 15-year special was hosted by no other than the CEO and Founder of Endless Events, Will Curran. Three members of the Endless team have also kept him company: Keaton Watson, Director of Sales and Operations, Karmen Jericevic, Sales Development Manager, and Sonja Hayden, the Director of Content.

Here’s to many more, Endless Events!