#eventicons - Meet The Icons Of The Events Industry (audio)

The year 2020 has established itself as the year of the pivot in the events industry. Since then, countless #EventIcons guests were brought on the podcast to talk about how they turned their in-person events into virtual ones and the importance of their community in these trying times. And because no two stories are the same, we’re back this week with another one! Host Events is a Boston-based company that focuses on building community through top-notch virtual experiences. Today, Sarah welcomes two guests, Amy O’Neil and Katie Kosa, to talk about what they do and how they got there since March 2020. Before 2020, they worked exclusively in person, but today, they offer virtual happy hours, various fitness and cooking classes, and games. Tune in to hear this awesome story of success and learn more about the power of a tight-knit community!

Before the pandemic hit us, we took genuine human interactions at events for granted. Attendees mingled, networked, formed everlasting bonds, and had a great time while doing all of that. As the industry pivoted to virtual events, virtual audience engagement became one of the most talked-about challenges. How do we replicate genuine interpersonal dynamics in the virtual world? Is it even possible? Today’s #EventIcons guest thinks that it definitely is. The iconic Steve Gottlieb is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. And most importantly for this podcast, he is the founder and CEO of Shindig, a virtual conference, event, and meeting platform that has mastered the art of online engagement. Just like many of our guests on the podcast, he is a huge advocate for the virtual revolution. Join Sarah and Steve in a lively conversation that is bound to inspire, challenge, and encourage you to keep up with the times and embrace all things virtual.

Last year, the virtual revolution completely transformed the events industry. We shifted our focus from venues to online platforms and brainstormed all kinds of ways to keep the audiences glued to the screens. And even though in-person events are making a glorious comeback, virtual events are here to stay. Moreover, they need to keep evolving! That's why on today's episode of #EventIcons, we will talk about reimagining the virtual experience. One size certainly doesn't fit all: when planning a virtual event, you have to talk to your community. Today's iconic guest is Banu Kannu, the co-founder and CEO at Uncommon Conferences. She is a business development professional with over 15 years of international experience. She shares the success story of the award-winning Gas Fest and how they planned virtual workshops that took place in April 2021. Press play and join us for yet another #EventIcons!

Event platforms took the events industry by the storm. So much so that they can be considered as the new venues! There's more of them each year and some of them are even attracting huge investments. We've had countless enthusiastic guests talk about them on #EventIcons before, but today's guest is a little bit different. He says: down with third-party event platforms! Saroosh Gull is the CEO of Eventcombo and he is on a mission to disrupt the entire $1 trillion event industry. He's all about building meaningful relationships and event planners staying in full control of their events. Event platforms unquestionably satisfy event planners' needs, but are they really the only way to go forward? Press play and find out!

We don’t mean to beat a dead horse, yet we’re saying it again: the pandemic has drastically changed the events industry and sped up the evolution of virtual and hybrid events. The process is not over, either. On the contrary: we have just begun! The future of the events industry is uncertain, but today’s #EventIcons guest thinks that it’s going to split into two huge chunks: one belonging to the digital event planner and the other one to the in-person event planner. Jason Koop is a writer, influencer, and the VP of business development at the Canadian Special Events Magazine. Above all, he is a fan of the events industry and is excited to see what the future will hold. Once he tried out VR, his mindset shifted forever. So, press play and get iconic with us!

We’ve all been through a lot in this past year. Health and wellness in the events industry have never mattered more than now, which is why today, Sarah welcomes not one, but three iconic guests to share what they’ve worked on since the pandemic started. Kristin Horstman is a senior director at Salesforce and has been on our show just recently, Johnnie White is the CEO of the American Society of Appraisers, and Rachael Riggs is a WellBeing Leader at Maritz Global Events. And what does this panel have in common? Together, they wrote a guidebook on wellness and health in the events industry and that’s what they’ll be talking about today!

This week’s #EventIcons guest is one of the most respected figures in digital media. He has a 20-year history in thought leadership, experiential events, and technology. Got your attention? Read on! This iconic guest has developed integrated digital video strategies for large media companies, including Viacom and  Discovery. And last but not least, he is the CEO of VidCon, the world’s largest convention for online video creators. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jim Louderback!

#EventIcons podcast is all about talking to the cream of the events industry and getting to know what they do, how they do it, and what the current event trends are. Today’s guest is somebody with years of experience and a lot of charisma. Meet Kristin Horstman, the senior director at Salesforce! Together with the rest of the world, she had to make a quick pivot to virtual events last year. Today, she shares with our audiences what she had learned. As a marketing leader, she focuses on marketing virtual events. And since our host Sarah is the head of marketing of Endless Events, the conversation is all the more worth listening to!

Hybrid events are the perfect synergy between virtual and in-person events, but it can be quite challenging for event planners to put them together. That’s why in this week’s episode of #EventIcons, Sarah welcomes Kelly Knowlen to talk about the most important hybrid event tips and tricks. Kelly Knowlen is the executive director of sales engagement and special events at Hilton where she started building her career 28 years ago. She tells Sarah how Hilton pivoted in March 2020 and shares the resources they created to help their customers. They cover every important aspect of planning the perfect hybrid event: technology, safety measures, and audience engagement.

It's been a while since the industry made a tectonic shift to virtual events, and so far, we have covered the topic from nearly every angle imaginable. From choosing the right platform to delivering the best virtual content, we always first need to think about what kind of an experience we are providing for our virtual attendees. And who better to talk about experiential virtual events than today's event icon, AJ Williams from AJ Events who has been in the industry for over 25 years! Join Sarah and our lovely guest in a delightful conversation about elevating virtual and hybrid events to the next level. They focus on three types of events: fundraising events, weddings, and corporate events. Spoiler alert: the episode includes awesome party in a box ideas and a shoutout to the roaring twenties!

In today’s episode of #EventIcons, we fix our eyes on the future and talk about post-COVID events. But let’s not leap headlong into how things used to be. After all, we’ve all grown, learned, and changed so much in the past year. Now, it’s time to put all that knowledge to use! Virtual, hybrid, or in-person – it doesn’t matter what type of an event we are talking about – the fact of the matter is that the attendees’ priorities have dramatically shifted. Before we even start considering the event tech side of things, for example, we have to go back to basics. The future of events is human-centric! Today’s event icon is the personable Megan Henshall, the global events account manager at Google who got into events because she was “really bad at sales”. She shares how she experienced the pivoting year of 2020 and explains how to adopt a human-centric mindset in events.

This week's #EventIcons episode is particularly special because Sarah welcomes four of her amazing coworkers from Endless Events to the podcast. They are here to talk about virtual fatigue, one of the first and most talked about challenges of going virtual. As the first point of contact for event planners, Syd Griffith, Karmen Jericevic, John Pistotti, and Ambre Wade know how to decipher what their needs are and how to create solutions for better virtual audience engagement. Not only are they event professionals, but they also know about all the ins and outs of working remotely. They've learned to overcome virtual fatigue long before most people even knew what it was! Once the Endless co-workers started bouncing ideas around, there was no stopping them. The result is one of the liveliest and most interactive #EventIcons episodes so far. Without further ado, meet the charming Endless Events team!

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for #EventIcons! For weeks, we have been discussing virtual and hybrid events, engagement strategies, and all kinds of other pandemic-related issues. Today, it's time for something different, but just as relevant: we will talk about diversity in events as of 2021. The conversations around diversity are quickly gaining traction, but it's important we implement the changes rather than disregard them when they're not hot anymore. And we found just the speaker to talk about it! Today's event icon is William S. Matthews, a connector, corporate event planner, and author of three best-selling books, including Everything I Need to Know about Life I Learned from an Event Planner. In his newest book, Corporate America, he writes about the ins and outs of the corporate world as well as race relations and diversity. Our host Sarah talked to him about his work, what diversity in events looks like, and what we should strive for in the future.

Virtual events were all the rage last year, whether we liked it or not. While some adapted fast and organized extraordinary virtual events in 2020, many are still grappling with the new reality. But according to today’s #EventIcons guest, it’s high time we stop reminiscing about the past and start planning for the future! Liz King Caruso is the CEO of Liz King Events and techsytalk. She’s a source of wisdom who has been doing virtual and hybrid events for much longer than the pandemic has been around. As an event strategist, she talked to Sarah about the importance of engagement strategies for virtual events as well as their monetization. As you’ll see, the two aspects of event planning are inextricably intertwined. Press play and join Sarah and Liz as they break down all there is to know about this hot topic.

Many of us would give our right arm just to attend a live concert right now. The energy, the connection, the music – to feel like a part of something bigger than ourselves. Song Division knows all about the science of music. And they have good news for us: music for virtual events can be just as compelling as an arena concert. In today’s #EventIcons, Sarah welcomes Andy Sharpe, Sam McNeill, and John Lombardo from Song Division. As professionals in music and entertainment, they know everything about the power of music for virtual events. Engaging virtual audiences can be challenging, but these guys know how to bring smiles to people’s faces even in these trying times. They definitely charmed our lovely host with a song, written especially for her.

How many times have you heard the expression “content is king”? Probably enough that you roll your eyes every time someone utters it. But that’s the thing about clichés – they exist for a reason. And when it comes to the exciting world of digital experiences, this particular saying still applies. Of course, crafting amazing content for virtual events comes with its own set of challenges. Not only is this particular slice of the experience more important than ever, but it can also get tricky. This is why we’re happy to welcome Phil Mershon to another episode of #EventIcons. As the Director of Events for the Social Media Examiner, Phil was also faced with a brand new set of challenges once the pandemic hit. But he was no stranger to creating virtual events that stood out thanks to their smart use of content. So join Sarah as she picks Phil’s brain on how to craft the best content for virtual events in an engaging and unforgettable fashion!

New year, new trends! That’s right, Endless Events is back at it with the best content to help you navigate the 2021 landscape. And to kick things off, we have a brand new episode of #EventIcons. Now that the new year has rolled in, event profs are eager to know the trends that will shape the months to come. And while there’s a lot to cover, we figured that there’s no best way to start January than by outlining the 2021 event design trends that will define the industry. 2020 was a challenging time for all of us, but now that the dust has somewhat settled, it’s time to up our game. So who better than Nick Borelli, President of Borelli Strategies, Event Brew host, and overall industry icon to get things moving? Join us on this incredible conversation about the 2021 event design trends that are set to become the next big thing!

How does industry advocacy during a pandemic even look like? For as long as it has existed, the events industry has struggled with unity. And it's not because we don't want to come together as one. But rather because we're such a complex mix of professionals that span everything from production to catering, venues, planning, and more. Trying to define the events industry has always been a challenge. And consequently, finding unity during tough times has proven to be particularly exhausting. But we can all agree that never has this topic been more relevant than in 2020. As one of the most affected sectors, learning how to call for industry advocacy during pandemic quickly became a hot topic. And while no one has an exact answer, our amazing guest today, Shawn Cheng of MCI, has a few ideas worth exploring. You know what time it is - it's #EventIcons o'clock!

Just yesterday, we once again tackled the topic of virtual audience engagement. And one of the points we stressed was the importance of entertainment. The world is always starving for entertainment, and remote attendees are not an exception to this rule! On the contrary - one could even argue that keeping audiences amused is even more crucial in a virtual setting. Plus, with hybrid on an almost certain path to become the norm, it becomes crucial to learn the ropes of entertainment in this new world. So today, we're diving straight into it. Our lovely host Sarah welcomes the iconic JC York from Classic Entertainment & Productions. And JC has quite a lot to say about the topic! As a titan of entertainment, there's no one we'd rather have on board to teach us more about entertaining the new age of attendees. So press play and join us for another #EventIcons!

It’s time for another incredible episode of #EventIcons! Over the past few weeks, we’ve been focusing on bringing to the limelight the incredible stories of event profs who fought the pandemic and came out stronger on the other side. And this week, the adventure continues – with a little spin on the approach to virtual and the role of technology. We’re more than happy to introduce the iconic Scott Lockey, Senior Director of Partnerships at Cvent. As someone who is heavily involved in the technology side of the events industry, Scott has a lot to teach us about our approach to virtual and what we should be looking out for when it comes to choosing the right technology. So join our host Sarah Christl and our phenomenal guest in yet another fascinating conversation about the world of virtual events!