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

Whether you spend hundreds of dollars of hundreds of thousands of dollars on event entertainment, this is a must listen episode for you. Today, the stakes are higher than ever with technology, big name acts and beyond. On this week’s episode of #EventIcons, we feature Anthony Bollotta of Bollotta Entertainment, Nicole Bernardi of Innovative Entertainment, and Paul Creighton of T. Skorman Productions. These guys are legends in producing iconic event entertainment and you’re going to want to hear about their stories of the best and worst of event entertainment and how you might be able to bring even more life to your next event. Enjoy! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Anthony Bollotta Nicole Bernardi Paul Creighton Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Wham City Lights ILEA BizBash Keep your eyes and ears open! Event inspiration is everywhere. America’s Got Talent The CMAs The Today Show Academy Awards Ellen Drift

This week, we take a look at the new industry event, Ctrl Alt Del, which has risen from the cancellation of a major industry conference. From their website:  [CTRL] + [ALT] + [DEL] will transmit the amazing energy of events world movers & shakers across the globe, hitting a mental reboot to evolve our industry. With some of the strongest voices we will address critical topics that keep us up at night, talking through and finding solutions for New Breeds of Event Planners & Event Strategists, ROI on Networking, Integration Power to Improve Event Performance, Digital Transformation, Community Building, Digital Engagement, and Diversity at Events. This week, we feature the planners behind the conference as well as some of the amazing people who support it through speaking, hosting pop-up events or promoting on social media. If you have not heard about Ctrl Alt Del, it will be hosted worldwide on Tuesday, August 23rd 2016 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET. You can register to attend for free on their event page.

Want to Get Massive Attendee Engagement? Join us this week along with our amazing special guests: Julius Solaris (editor of EventManagerBlog.com), Dan Yaman (CEO of Live Spark), and Jose Gallegos (Content Marketing & Community Manager at TINT). We’re going to tell you how! What are the secrets to getting audiences and attendees to engage? What are some examples of creative ways facilitators integrate audience engagement? What are some popular and effective ways to measure audience engagement? These topics and more will be discussed. Join us, bring your questions, and learn how to get massive attendee engagement at your events! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Julius Solaris Dan Yaman Jose Gallegos Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran

HubSpot Marketing is our topic this week and we will be discussing how they use events to get more customers. We’re very excited about our guest this week! We are featuring Bridget Zingale who is the Senior Marketing Manager and Senior Field Marketing Manager of Christies, The Atlantic, Smithsonian Enterprises, and HubSpot. Bridget is prepared to answer your questions about inbound marketing, sales and marketing strategies for events, and other related topics. This is your chance to get answers to your questions from a true industry leader in marketing. Join us and bring your questions for Bridget! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Bridget Zingale Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran

How can I get more event sponsors? If you have asked yourself this question (and we know you have) this is the episode you have been waiting for! Our industry-leading #EventIcons this week include Meg Fasy of FazeFWD, Jacque Duhame of Duhame Event Group, Courtney Bosch-Tanguy of MarketingProfs, and Peter Poehle of SponsorMyEvent. We’ll be discussing where you can find sponsors, creative ideas to activate sponsors, how small brands can get big name sponsors, and more! Log in and join us! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Meg Fasy Jacque Duhame Courtney Bosch-Tanguy Peter Poehle Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: DropBox Evernote OneNote Wix – Free Website Builder Opus Agency – A Brand Events and Marketing Agency MPI – Meeting Professionals International

Join us this week for our Ask Us Anything & News Edition! #EventIcons Laura Lopez of SocialTables and Sean Holladay of Crowd Mics will be catching you up on the latest industry news and answering your questions – LIVE! In this episode we are tackling topics such as: how new technology will affect event management (RFID, VR, etc), the latest craze – PokemonGo, and much, much more! Log in and ask your questions, and our #EventIcons will do their best to answer them. Follow us on Twitter: Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran

Events Improving Local Economies – At what point does an event truly impact a local economy and tourism? How can event planners help improve a local economy and tourism? How can planners involve the city and community to capture the most out of the event? If these are questions that you have ever considered, this week’s episode is just for you! This week we’re featuring three amazing panelists. Innovative leaders, Sara Hunt (Vice President of San Francisco Giants Enterprises and Director at Large for the International Live Events Association Board of Governors and Leadership San Francisco), Rachel Pearson (Vice President of Community & Government Affairs at the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau), and Andrew Van Luchene (CEO of JackRabbit Systems and Zerista), will be answering these questions and more. Join us and let’s discuss Improving Local Economies Through Events! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Sara Hunt Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Zerista – Ev

How do you measure event ROI? In this week’s episode that is exactly what we’re going to address. Our event icons this week are Josh Dry (Business Development Manager at ShowGizmo) and Alex Patriquin (Creator of EventGeek). On this show, our panelists will lend their knowledge and expertise to address such topics as measuring ROI when you aren’t charging for entry, using technology to measure ROI, and ways to make your event truly memorable. Our industry experts are ready and willing to share all of their tips, tools, and resources with you. You won’t want to miss this! Join us and bring your own questions too! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Josh Dry – ShowGizmo Alex Patriquin – EventGeek Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Utilize the hashtag #EventProfs. Corbin Ball – Meetings Technology Headquarters Event Manager Blog – How To’s, Event Technology & Trends Beacons and iBeacons Periscope – Live Video Streaming

In this week’s episode we will be revealing the Secret to Event Engagement! How do you measure event engagement? What’s the latest exciting trend or technology for event engagement? Our guest panelists will be covering these questions and more! We are featuring Heiner Koppermann, CEO of SwarmWorks and John Federico, Co-Founder of EventHero. You are in for a treat! These Event Engagement Experts will be speaking and answering questions about measuring and increasing event engagement. You don’t want to miss this episode! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Heiner Koppermann John Federico Sean Holladay Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: SwarmWorks – Bringing Excitement and Energy to Your Events SwarmGaming – The Revolutionary Way of Entertaining People EventHero – Real-time Event Management Software That Works With Your Favorite Registration System The Event Tech Podcast Catchbox – The Throwable Microphone for Audience Engagement Boomerang – Email Management for Gmail Sanebox – Email Managem

We have an AWESOME show set up for this week! We are featuring DoubleDutch and focusing on the Perfect Event App! Our panel will include Jan Sysmans (Head of International Marketing), Emily He (Chief Marketing Officer), and Nick Clark (Chief Technology Officer). Some of the questions we will be asking include: What does an event app cost? and What are the biggest trends and cool new features in event apps? This is an amazing opportunity to get a behind the scenes look into event apps and to learn more about DoubleDutch and its services. Join us and let’s check it out! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Jan Sysmans Emily He Nick Clark Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: DoubleDutch – Live Engagement Marketing VentureBeat Article – “Google unveils Android Instant Apps that launch immediately, no installation required” WeChat App YouTube – “7 Big Rocks” (Productivity and Time Management) Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman Spotify – Music for Everyone

This week we are focusing on the future of Event AV and we have some amazing guests joining us! This week’s show will feature Brandt Krueger and Alissa Hurley. Brandt, an expert in AV and event tech, currently teaches many public and private classes through the Event Leadership Institute, and is the owner of Event Technology Consulting. Alissa has over 20 years of experience in corporate events and marketing, and is the National Director (Client Solutions and Emergent Technologies) at FMAV. These event gurus are here to answer all of our questions about Event AV and where we are heading. Want to stay on the cutting edge? Want to know what’s hot and what’s coming up next? This is the place! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Alisssa Hurley Brandt Krueger Laura Lopez Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Small Business Accounting Software BizBash – Your Daily Dose of Event News and Ideas SocialTables – The #1 Software for Event Planners and Properties SocialTables Blog – “Turn of Events” AUKey – Consumer

Event technology seems to be brought up in every conversation we have on #EventIcons, and we can’t have a conversation about technology without talking about one of the biggest technologies in the events industry, RFID (Radio-frequency identification). We decided to bring in the grand father of RFID for events, Anthony Palermo! Anthony is the co-founder and CEO of Connect & Go (RFID for events and stadiums), co-founder and CEO of Retail Connect (RFID for retail), and the Founder and CEO of RFID Academia (education on RFID). We talk about do’s and don’ts of RFID, as well as creative ideas to use RFID for your next event. Enjoy this weeks technology packed #EventIcons! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Anthony Palermo Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Forest School The Tipping Point RFID Journal

There are dozens of associations who bring together event professionals of all kinds, however one you might not know about is the The Association for Women in Events. Founded just 2 years ago, it bring together the top women in events to a place to find resources, mentorship, and career guidance/enhancement. Marie-Claire Andrews: Founder and CEO of ShowGizmo, which is a full-scale event management and promotion solution for events and also Carrie Abernathy CMP, CEM, CSEP: Co-Founder & President at Association for Women in Events, are our amazing guests. We will be discussing what got them into the industry and their biggest challenges in the industry. Learn some tips and tricks for both suppliers and planners to taking your event to the next level! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Marie-Claire Andrews Carrie Abernathy Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: The Beauty Of Being A Better Buyer PCMA Subscriptions Women In Events Event App Bible Corbin Ball #EventIcons with Corbin Ball Mindfulness Da

Social media for events has to be one of the hottest topics of the last few years! When people are at events, they are constantly on social media sharing their experiences so I wanted to bring together the biggest names in digital marketing and social media to talk about the rights and wrongs of social media for events. This week’s guests are Jason Allan Scott, host of The Guestlist Podcast, Author of The Eventrepreneur Series, and founder of VenueMe & NonInvasives, which is all about cyrotechnology, Miguel Neves (NEVS): Senior Online Community Manager of IMEX (15,000 in attendance Frankfurt and 12,000 in attendance in Vegas) and Jay Feitlinger. Chief Executive Officer of StringCan Interactive, Digital Marketing Strategist, Inbound Marketing Consultant, Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Business Consultant. Jason and Miguel and I all met at IMEX last year at the Event Technology of the Year awards. Jason is the master of social media and Miguel manages all online activities for IMEX. Jay and I go WAY back. We ar

Content marketing is all the buzz today and we wanted to get the people who are crushing it in content marketing in the event industry. My guests this week are David Epstein, Content Marketing Manager of Bizzabo, who is a content marketing and brand building expert focused on building a marketing machine to educate event planners about a SaaS solution! I’m also joined by Kristen Carvalho, Senior Content and Social Media Manager at eTouches. Kristen Carvalho joined etouches in November 2013 and is the company’s Senior Content and Social Media Manager. She is charged with setting and executing the social media and content strategies to support the marketing team efforts to increase equity and online brand awareness. Big shout out to Laura Lopez for hosting this week’s episode while I was in the Panama jungle! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Laura Lopez David Epstein Kristen Carvalho Epic resources mentioned: GrooveHQ Forrester Research Bambu Slack Hubspot Hootsuite etouches blog Event App Bluebook

New York Comic Con is the East Coast’s biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. They featured the greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television. New York Comic Con is the largest pop culture convention in America and the only one that takes place in the comic book, publishing, media and licensing capital of the world. ReedPop is the organization behind New York Comicon and many other pop culture events around the world including PAX, Chicago’s C2E2 and Emerald City Comicon. This week we are speaking with three awesome guys from ReedPOP, Senior Global Vice-President, Lance Fensterman; Director of Comic Talent, Jim Demonakos; & Event Director, Mike Armstrong. Endless did the production for Emerald City Comicon, and worked directly with Jim to bring his vision to life and we are honored to have them on the show! Learn about what it is like planning New York Comic Con and the many other events they host every year! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter:

I actually visited the Red Frog office a few weeks back and met with their Co-CEO, Ryan Kunkel. They are huge on culture and producing iconic events. Red Frog Events began in 2007 when founder Joe Reynolds was inspired by the show “The Amazing Race” and decided to create unique, fun events that everyone could enjoy. My guests this week, are Christiane Pheil , the company’s official Tackler of Talent, who plays an intricate role in the Firefly Music Festival and all of their events (she’s a badass), and Caitlyn Kahan, Superstar of Style and handles the entire vendor relations department and has been with the company since working Firefly in the merchandise tent and evolved into back of house operations to vendor relationships (she’s a badass too). Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Christiane Pheil Caitlyn Kahan Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Red Frog Services EventSprout Red Frog Food & Beverage Whine About It Trello Google Drive Google Hangouts BizBash #EventIcons Episode 6 with David A

These days everyone is talking about live streaming as being an alternative to being at the event. Well, far too often, the quality does not even match what it’s like to be there. My guests this week, Dusty Kraatz, Nicholas Roselius, and Jon Burke, created the first ever 4k live stream at SXSW this year and we’re here to talk more about the future of streaming and what it’s like to be on the bleeding edge of streaming tech. Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: Dusty Kraatz Nicholas Roselius Jon Burke Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: Clip from the first 4K live stream Behind the scenes of the world’s first LIVE 4K live stream Seth Godin’s Blog Consequence of Sound La Blogothèque Hypebot Streaming Media

It’s another week and another edition of #EventIcons where we interview and give you a chance to ask your questions to the icons of the event industry. This week, we have legends Mike McAllen & Jon Trask! I met Mike & Jon at the Event Technology of the Year awards at IMEX in Vegas. Mike & Jon are the AV gurus & lover of production and hosts of MeetingsPodcast.com. They both created an awesome platform called AVForPlanners which helps demystify AV for anyone who plans events. Mike is the one who actually introduced me to Blab, so I guess in a way you guys can thank him for inspiring #EventIcons. I was just on MeetingsPodcast, so you’ll have to head over there to listen to that! So let’s jump into the interview! Don’t forget to subscribe so you can watch our interviews and ask questions for yourself live on Blab. Just head over to Blab and subscribe! Follow our iconic guest on Twitter: Jon Trask Mike McAllen Will Curran Legendary resources mentioned: AV tips for your site survey Grass Shack E

It’s time for another edition of #EventIcons! This week, we have guest, David Adler! David is the founder and CEO of BizBash. If you have never heard of BizBash, BizBash has become the largest media property in the B-to-B event industry with nearly 2.2 million annual user sessions. David got his start in media early where at age 21 he started his own magazine, Washington Dossier, a magazine that covered power, society, politics, and entertaining in the nation’s capital. Well regarded as the leading name in event media, BizBash not only has the physical site, but also hosts major events and even now has it’s own podcast, GatherGeeks. Be sure to tune in live so you can ask questions of your icons of the events industry each week. Tune in on Blab at 5pm EST on Wednesdays! Follow our iconic guests on Twitter: David Adler Will Curran Epic resources mentioned: BizBash GatherGeeks Huffington Post Pre-Inaugural Ball Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread-The Lessons from a New Science Captivology: The Science of Ca