CMW Guest Author
Innovate, ideate, execute
Greg O’Dell, President and CEO of the USA’s Events DC, explains why embracing a disruptive leadership mindset is necessary for success. We know that audience demands are always changing. With new developments and emerging technologies, convention leaders know that they must constantly pay attention in order to keep up. As the President and CEO of Events DC, the official Convention and...
You can take a horse to water…
Jonathan Bradshaw highlights the human factor and raises the future possibility of attendee training in this guest blog. It was April 2005 when the thought first hit me. I was in Hall 8 of Messe Frankfurt, walking down one of the aisles of IMEX – the international trade show I was working for at the time. It was 3pm and the noise was incredible; everywhere I looked people were interac...
Rotterdam: the ‘living lab’ producing new conference chemistry
Ramy Salameh reports on how Rotterdam is harnessing its port city zest to reinvent its events proposition. Rotterdam is home to the world’s first floating farm, with 40 cows, a farmer and robots soon to be collecting manure and feeding cattle; while the city’s innovation district garners and aligns start-ups, incubators and accelerators with institutions and businesses. All of this activity...
Why the audience always comes first
Agency guru and author Simon Maier puts the audience at the eye of the creative storm. It was a wet and windy day in London and my umbrella had just turned inside out as I arrived to deliver a keynote address at a conference on mindset change, the subject of my latest book. There was also a session on the mindset of international businesses and their attitude towards events. This focused on...
How facial recognition can benefit your event
Pim Schoonderwoerd (pictured) and Paul Hassink of RAI Amsterdam discuss facial recognition, an emerging piece of technology with exciting applications for events and conferences. As an organiser, you are always looking for ways to improve the visitor experience. Facial recognition is a technique that offers great opportunities to enhance the reception of event visitors. We recently conducte...
Measuring the value of events
What value does an event have? Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director for Reed Travel Exhibition’s Middle East, Arabian Travel Market & IBTM Arabia, looks at the measurement options available and gives examples of how to use them. How do you measure something where the concept of success is difficult to pin down, and there are so many potential outcomes? For some, it’s enough to know huge benefi...
Fever pitch on Brexit
James Heappey MP, chair of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events, tells CMW about the UK event industry’s Brexit concerns. The Brexit debate has reached fever pitch, and I’m not sure that anyone is really enjoying it beyond those few politicians and journalists for whom this defines their politics. My constituents tell me that they’re sick of it. Many of them oppose the deal tha...
Changing perceptions of the Middle East
Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director – Middle East, Arabian Travel Market & IBTM Arabia, explains how the fortunes of the Middle East have changed, and why it’s now one of the hottest destinations in the meetings and events world, ahead of IBTM Arabia 2019 in March. Traditionally, the Middle East has been perceived as the cradle of civilisation, an ancient and holy land, characterised b...
Five tips to find the best venue for your event
By Peter Jack, Founder and Director of Australia-based EMG Events Agency Before getting into the rhythm of planning an event and choosing a venue, it is important to first understand the objectives and expectations. Researching and sourcing venues takes time, patience and a clear brief. Location, location, location To kick-start venue research, you need to ask yourself (or your client) key ...
Sense and sustainability in Copenhagen
Simon George heads to Copenhagen, and finds that the city’s new Tourism for Good strategy is a winning one. Sustainability is a balancing act – we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the future, as the United Nations opined in the World Commission’s Report on Environment and Development back in 1987. Fast forward 30 years and the aspiration is even more pertinent g...
Mythbusting the speaker scene
Steve Markman sifts the myths from the truths when it comes to choosing the right keynote speaker. Today’s marketplace is comprised of thousands of speakers who are potentially available as a keynote or featured speaker for your association or corporate events. But, how do you know if you are making the right choice before you commit to a speaker and perhaps paying a very large fee? Here ar...
Airbnb a hotel help rather than a hindrance?
Helder Pereira, CEO of the UK’s leading independent hotel management company, RBH doubts whether Airbnb really is a threat to hotels. Airbnb has grown substantially in recent years and now commands an estimated 22% of the market – making it larger than any individual global hotel group, and begging the question: what exactly is the impact of Airbnb on the hotel industry? Airbnb is both disr...