Posts Tagged ‘trends’

Meeting trends speakers care about

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Theme for experts who speak:  be a bargain.  That’s what buyers are looking for now according to Meeting Professional International’s FutureWatch 2010.  Top three concerns:  budget cuts, doing more with less, and not having enough staff.  Basically saying the same thing in three different ways:  no money or time for frills.  Get ready for intense negotiations on speaker fees.  Your antidote:  have no less than five things you are giving away — for free — for every paid speech.

Yes, there is good news:  overall, respondents expect a 2.8 percent increase in meetings this year — especially the corporate market, where planners project a 3.6 percent increase.  Click here for a free summary of FutureWatch 2010.

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Trends of Corporate America

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Interesting findings from CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast survey.  Social media experts will have plenty of work this year, as organizations plan to restore their brands through these campaigns.  Other big opportunities loom for hiring experts, as organizations invest in efforts ranging from recruiting a diverse workforce to finding top performers.

Bad news for meetings, especially in the association market:  Corporate America will continue to cut travel expenses in this year.  Why do we care?  Because convention attendees won’t go unless their employers pay for travel.  Which means attendance challenges will continue to dog these groups, which means less money for speakers.  Their antidote:  virtual meeting attendees for association conventions.  Stay tuned…

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New venues for educational content

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Like incentive meetings, fam trips — those hospitality tours to showcase hotels and locations — are undergoing an extreme makeover.  What’s hot now:  education sessions for meeting planner attendees.  Topics are wide-ranging, with the main criteria being CEU credits.  Including seminars with these credits has boosted attendance for Las Vegas Harrah’s trip, which gets 1200 applications for just 175 slots.

Why do you care?  Let’s stop and think…where do you think they get the speakers for these sessions?  Some will be other meeting planners/industry insiders and some will be local folks with something to share.  In this age of competing venues for attendees, watch this trend steadily grow next year.

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Top draw to trade shows

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Interesting study from Meetings and Conventions magazine:  the biggest draw to trade shows is not the booths.  According to 83 percent of the respondents, the #1 reason for attending is the education seminars.  And 93 percent cite that these events are extremely / somewhat important.

So why are trade shows less attended?  Yep, it’s the economy and lack of time.  And…one-third of respondents report that they are attending just as many shows as last year.

What’s going to happen next year?  Education will continue to be the major draw, but don’t expect the inclusion of the general motivational speaker.  Prediction:  prominent industry folks will reign, along with tactic-driven sessions.

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