Beyond the BEO

It's so important for corporate planners to show value of their events, long after tear down. In this week's episode, I'm chatting with Randy Long of The Pix Squad on how to use photography to engage attendees after the event and turn them into your marketing squad.

About Randy Long

Networking events can feel overwhelming but they can also be a great way to meet like-minded people who can help you grow your business or find your next opportunity. In this week's episode, I'm sharing 5 tips to crush your next networking event, as I get ready for 3 of them this week!

Support the show

In this episode, I chat with Shannon Talbot, the author of Breaking Free. A former corporate executive-turned-keynote-speaker-and-author, Shannon helps readers realize their true potential and live their desired life across all aspects. We chat about how you can stop holding yourself back and have the events career you really want.

About Shannon Talbot

This week I'm chatting with Naomi Tucker of Planners on Purpose about taking care of yourself as an events professional, before, during, and after an event. We all know we have stressful jobs, what can we do to make sure we're looking after ourselves as well as setting our teams up for success.

About Naomi Tucker

LinkedIn is a powerful tool, for both in-house planners and business owners. On today's episode, I'm chatting with Shaun Bernstein about using LinkedIn authentically to build your personal brand to help you get a new job, new clients, and extend your network.

Welcome back to season four! I know we're all surprised that it's 2024 already - but I think we're all ready to take on this year.

When I reflected on what I was most excited about for this upcoming year in the events industry, I found the 3 Cs - creativity, commitment, and community. In this solo episode, I chat about how creativity, commitment, and community will help event planners drive amazing experiences through this new year.

Staying on top of trends can be so difficult. How do you ensure that you're on trend while staying true to your event and attendees? In this episode, I'm chatting with Annie and Marissa of 15|40 Productions, two women who have worked on some of the trendiest events and activations of the year (um, Barbie, hello!). They share their insights in making an impact, while staying on trend and even their tips for staying ahead of the game.

About the Guests:

Social media can feel overwhelming. It can be hard to keep up with the changing platforms, appeasing the algorithms and creating content. On this week’s episode, I’m chatting with Tom McMahon of MCM. He shares his best practices for executing an effective social media strategy as it relates to your events.

Learn more about Tom McMahon:

Tom has worked both agency and client side across many international brands including FT Live, Xeim, NBC Universal Studios and Sky. These roles have allowed for global exposure working across local territories as well as EMEA and the US. Tom is well versed on the latest and most effective platforms and channels, and is passionate about showing his event sector clients how they can utilize them to stay ahead of the competition.

The future of events is in the experience, and the why behind it. In this week's episode, Luke Whalin from HopSkip and I discuss the future of events as meaningful experiences that drives the goals of an organization.

Luke Whalin is a Co-Founder of HopSkip, a hotel sourcing platform for event creators, along with his brother Sean, and is based in Philadelphia, PA. His background is in tech sales in the Startup and Fortune 100 worlds. Luke works closely with onboarding hoteliers and DMOs onto the platform and implementing their feedback.

About Luke Whalin and HopSkip

Live events have the power to motivate, inspire and persuade. The way planners use music, decor, video, content, lighting (and more) can impact your attendees and help you reach your event goals. This week, my guest is Thomas Serrano, the President of Exclamation Group, a luxury boutique agency comprised of designers, makers, and doers who are passionate about meaningful and memorable events. We chat about creating unique experiences that use emotions to host impactful events.

About Thomas Serrano:

Exclamation’s Founder and CEO, Thomas Serrano, was raised, educated and began his professional career in product promotion and events production in the heart of the French centers of culture, style and luxury. Graduating from EDHEC Business School in Nice in 1998, he honed his talents at several experiential agencies in Paris working with leading brands from Chanel and Cartier to Citroën, Nespresso, and Microsoft.

In 2008, Thomas relocated to New York and launched Havas Luxe within Havas Worldwide. In 2017, Thomas created a new Havas offering: Havas Events North America. Focusing on corporate events, the agency produced innovative experiences for major brands including the Wall Street Journal, KPMG, Lazard, ExxonMobil and L’Oréal.

Looking to create a one-stop shop for corporate and luxury events, cultural and sports partnerships, Thomas launched Exclamation – "Events That Make A Point" – in January 2020. Thomas has been a guest lecturer at NYU, Columbia Business School, Parsons School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, as well as ESSEC Business School in Paris. He is often invited to speak in conferences, such as South by Southwest (SXSW). 

After years of serving and working with nonprofit organizations, including LuxuryEducation Foundation (LEF), Thomas created his own foundation I.N.E.S (Initiatives for New Education and Socialization), an organization encouraging underprivileged teenagers in France to achieve their dreams.

I’ve often said events are a team sport. No one can manage and execute an event entirely alone and that’s why community is so important. As event planners, we rely on our community for insight, conversation and to bounce ideas around. That’s why Will Curran created the #EventProfs Community. He saw an opportunity to create a robust online community where event professionals can connect and learn. He’s back on the podcast to share what planners can find in the community, how it differs from associations and social media, and how planners can get involved.

Event planning is all about working together as a team. This episode, I’m chatting with Lauren Smith from Modern Collective, a travel and event planning agency. We talk about how an agency can help support your events, why it’s important to find the right vendors, and why the customer might not always be right….

So many people “fall into event planning”. Many people don’t realize there’s a career path in event planning outside wedding planning. That’s where Sara Gorlick’s new book Lucky Boxcutter comes in. In her book, she shares her experiences getting started in the industry and guides readers through building a career in events. In this episode, we chat about lessons learned, what we wish we knew when we got started, and how the industry can do a better job of bringing top talent into the industry.

Event planning is a team sport, so it's so important to have the right people and partners on your team. Evan Babins is back and we're talking about vendor management in 2023 (and beyond!). Tune in to learn how to find the right vendors for your programs to ensure your attendees have a great experience on-site.

Evan Babins is a trendsetting event producer with over a decade of corporate and private event experience working on events around the world.He works on events for cutting edge global brands. Evan has worked in both agency and client side roles making him an incredibly well-rounded event professional. When Evan isn't producing events, you can find him DJing or spending time with his wife and 2.5 year old son. He loves hockey, The Bachelor, and watering his lawn to keep it looking *extra* fresh.

Video is more than having a moment. TikTok has captured the attention of millions, Instagram is favouring reels, so it's a no-brainer to incorporate video into your programs but it can feel overwhelming. That’s why I’m excited for this week’s episode. This week, I’m chatting with Michael Hoffman from Gather Voices. We chat about how to enhance your events using video, before, during, and after programs.

About Michael Hoffman:

Michael Hoffman is the co-founder and CEO of Gather Voices, a technology company that automates the creation, management and publishing of video content. He is also the founder of See3 Communications, a digital marketing agency in Chicago and founder of the DoGooder Video Awards which honors the best social cause video on YouTube each year. Hoffman teaches marketing at the University of Chicago and is an internationally sought-after speaker and trainer who is a trusted advisor to business leaders on engagement strategy.

We all know event planning can be stressful and in our busiest seasons, sometimes it feels like we can’t stop for a breath. But that is why our mental health is so important. In order to do our best work, we have to be sure we are taking care of ourselves.

This week’s episode, I’m chatting with Anika Ved, a freelance events consultant and mental health advocate. We discuss mental health in the events industry including why it’s important to take care of our mental health as much as our physical health, how we can find ways to take care of our mental health and industry-specific resources.

About Anika Ved:
Anika is a passionate events professional and a mental health advocate. She has a passion for creating experiences with a purpose and for improving the lives of others. She has experience managing events in the commercial and not for profit sectors from various industries including sporting, aerospace and tech, specializing in conferences. She currently freelances for several companies providing event consultancy, project management and event tech consultancy. She has worked both in house and in agencies and has a full service holistic view of the events industry. Mental health is an incredibly important topic to Anika and she seeks to educate her peers on looking after their mental health to create a good work / life balance.

It’s been nearly three years since the events industry got flipped on its head and had to move virtual, what seemed like overnight. We’ve come a long way from makeshift set ups and two-dimensional virtual events. Although we are excited to be back in-person, virtual and hybrid still serve a purpose in the events landscape.

This week, I’m chatting with Stephen Handisides from V-Unite. V-Unite empowers businesses with the virtual tools to enhance engagement, education and outcomes. We talk about the evolution of virtual and hybrid events and how to make the most out of them to engage and connect with your attendees.

We made it, event profs! 2022 was a whirlwind. After a challenging 2 years, we started to see hope in our industry. Although, not without its challenges, many of us were busier than we have ever been. In this week’s solo episode, I’m talking about what I think is coming next for our industry including how health and safety will continue to be a factor, how content and connections will shape events next year and how I believe this is the year event planners will really begin to be seen as a strategic partner within an organization.

Volunteering in the events industry is a great way to build your profile as an events professional. It also allows you to network with other committed industry professionals and try out new skills. This week, I chat with Élodie Lortal of the National Arts Centre about her experience volunteering with Meeting Planners International and how it helped her in her career, including throughout the pandemic.

Please note, this episode is not eligible for CMP clock hours.

Events help our attendees build meaningful relationships to meet their goals, but how do planners and vendors use relationships to create great events? In this episode, I chat with Evan Babins, an experienced events professional who is passionate about developing a strong network of vendors. We chat about the benefits of using your venue’s preferred vendors, how a DMC can help you execute on an event, how associations can help you if you’re planning an event in a new city, and more.

The Future of Hybrid Events

The events industry has undergone a transformation over the last two years. During this time, we’ve seen more and more organizations attempt to turn their once in-person-only events into virtual or hybrid experiences. Will Curran of Endless Events has experience executing meaningful virtual, hybrid, and in-person events and is passionate about what’s next for the industry. In this episode, we talk about things to consider when planning a hybrid event, why you will likely need more budget and time to execute effectively, and when to avoid hybrid or virtual, simply because they aren’t the right fit for the event.

Mentorship can be transformational in your career, but sometimes there are misconceptions about what mentorship is and isn’t. Also, it can be hard to know if you need a mentor, or if you’re ready to take on a mentee. In this episode, I chat with experienced event planner and Fast Forward 15 mentor, Kelly Frew. We discuss common myths about mentorship, how mentorship can benefit mentors and mentees, how to get the most out of a mentor-mentee relationship, and more.

The internet is talking about “The Great Resignation”? Companies are trying to figure out how to attract new employees and retain great talent. Join me as I chat with Cat McGuire of WholeHearted about employee engagement with heart.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to engage remote employees
• How to ensure your event has a real social impact
• Budget considerations for team building events

Digital and hybrid events are here to stay, so how do we engage our attendees, regardless of where they are? Join me as I chat with Malak Sidky, founder and president of Health Care Event Planning. We chat about ways to include attendees that may not be on-site. We also discuss how an event purpose can help shape your contracts going forward, making it easier for planners and suppliers alike.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to engage off-site employees
• How to use dress rehearsals for virtual events
• How to use insurance and escrow companies to de-risk your events