Event Brew

Navigating event attendee data requires the right balance between collecting valuable information and respecting event attendee privacy. But with rapid advancements in technology and law that struggles to keep up, finding that balance can be tricky, especially as tech becomes cheaper and easier to access. Catalyzed by a recent Tech Crunch headline about a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) violation at Mobile World Congress (MWC), Will, Nick, and Dustin tackle attendee data in today’s episode. But before diving into this pressing issue, Nick provides some background information on MWC’s fine.

The events industry is a melting pot of talent and diverse backgrounds, with event professionals bringing rich experiences and unique perspectives to the field. It’s not uncommon to find professionals holding degrees in business, communications, or marketing, complementing others with a foundation in hospitality or years of experience in related industries. But this diversity of education and experience begs the question, do you need event planning certifications to stand out? In this episode of the Event Brew, Thuy, Dustin, and Will, explore the events industry’s low barrier to entry, the relevance of event planning certifications, and ultimately, whether you need one as a true event professional. Tune in to see where they land. But first, let’s start with the Brew Crew’s own certifications.

A recently published Freeman report highlights a significant shift in the demographics of B2B event attendees. With this new generation of younger, more diverse, and more educated attendees emerging, the event industry must adapt to meet their evolving needs and expectations. In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Xander, Will Curran, Arianna, and Nick dive into this shift; from understanding the motivations behind younger attendees, and rethinking exhibit halls, to embracing new technology, the Brew Crew explores how event professionals can harness this shift in demographics to create events that cater to the next generation of event-goers. Tune in and find out what they have to say!

As event professionals, we’re constantly striving to create meaningful experiences for attendees and stakeholders while working within limited resources and a budget. In-kind sponsorships are relationships where a business sponsors an event by providing free goods or services rather than a financial contribution. So can in-kind sponsorships for events help you meet your event goals? In this episode of the Event Brew, Nick, Will, Deanna, and Xander share their reactions to the term “in-kind sponsorship,” tips on navigating them, and what they think is the ideal scenario for this kind of sponsorship. Let’s dive in!

Amid industry-wide event budget cuts, global inflation, and nationwide layoffs, teams across the events industry are forced to decide which things to keep, remove, or reduce in the budget. So in this episode of the Event Brew podcast, the crew shares their thoughts on what they’d keep, cut, and remove. But before we dive into budgets, let’s introduce our special co-host, Xander Castro. Our history with Xander started years ago when he worked for Endless as a freelance ghostwriter. Since then, he’s worked as an event planner and is now the Events Director at Tiny Seed. He was also featured on an earlier episode of #EventIcons. There, you’ll be able to hear more about his background. Thanks to Xander’s input in today’s episode, the Brew Crew is taking a gamified approach to the heavy topic of budgets. Given the ability to choose the episode topic, he says this: “I dropped in a random idea that just popped into my mind, the PG version of kiss, marry, kill.” The idea is, “If you look at budgets being cut and your clients are looking at stripping away some of the numbers you have for specific budget items, what are the things you need to keep? What are the things that you have an opportunity to cut? And, what are some of the things that you can completely do away with?” So without further ado, let’s see what the Brew Crew would do.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated events across the globe. Almost three years later, the United States is finally making a widespread comeback, events included. Still, it’s not enough for President Biden to declare the pandemic over. As the Brew Crew shares today, many event professionals are still battling low attendance, learning about and designing for increased accessibility and figuring out how to implement the lessons they’ve learned throughout the pandemic. In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Arianna, Will, Nick, and Dustin discuss where the events industry started, what the industry needs today, and how to move forward. Let's get right to it!

As event professionals, we often reflect on our past experiences and wonder what we could have done differently. Hindsight is 20/20, and it's natural to have moments of regret or wish we'd known then what we know now. The Brew Crew isn't immune to this phenomenon. As experienced professionals, they would have lots of knowledge to share with their younger selves, but because they cannot, Arianna, Deanna, and Will share their advice with you. With the caveat that they speak to their former selves in the third person and the benefit of hindsight, the Brew Crew brings valuable advice for event professionals. Tune in to today's Event Brew episode to find out what they have to share.

In recent years, “cannabis” and “marijuana” have been hot topics of interest for event professionals. And with the increasing legalization of the psychoactive drug, conversations around cannabis for events are at an all-time high. As the industry comes to terms with this new reality, many event professionals aren’t sure what to do next. ‘Bud’ if one thing is clear, cannabis is here to stay. From CBD wellness retreats to cannabis at HR conferences, events are experiences that can benefit from intentional design with cannabis in mind. And today, the Brew Crew wonders how long it will be until you can find cannabis at an event near you. In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Nick, Will, and Deanna make a joint effort to discuss the similarities and differences between cannabis and alcohol, what event professionals should prepare for, and how to make an excellent cannabis introduction at your event.

Event goals are what you aim to achieve before, during, and after your event, and they impact almost everything event professionals do. So what happens when you crush your goals? Well, Ana A. reached out and asked precisely this. She says, “Say an event was successful, reached all goals and objectives, and made the host more money. What would you say the next step for the event is? Would it be making the event bigger year after year?” That’s a great question, and in this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Deanna, Arianna, and Will share their thoughts on how to proceed. Tune in to find out what the Brew Crew thinks of event goals, how they handle ongoing progress, and what they think your next steps could be. Let’s dive in!

As an event professional, you likely rely on some degree of creativity and inspiration to design events, drive innovation, and make your mark on the attendee experience. But when the creativity wheels aren’t turning, and the inspiration isn’t flowing, it can feel hard to come up with fun or even new ideas and make meaningful progress at work. That’s why in this episode of the Event Brew, the Brew Crew is talking about event inspiration, creativity, and innovation. Together, they’ll share where they draw inspiration from. Spoiler alert, for some, it’s a shoe, and for others, it’s an old idea made new. How exactly do they build up their creativity muscles? Tune in to find out.

Event gamification kind of sucks right now, but it doesn’t have to. Event organizers turn to gamification to try and drive engagement and rally excitement around an event. But more often than not, it’s just a thinly disguised tool to get attendees to do what organizers and sponsors want them to do. That’s why our guest co-host Arianna Black is struggling to find value in event gamification. In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Will and Arianna discuss why gamification in events misses the mark. Spoiler alert–it’s because of misaligned priorities between attendees and organizers. Together, they’ll brainstorm how to implement in-person and virtual event gamification to benefit attendees and organizers authentically. This episode is full of insightful insights and actionable advice.

Event professionals can start their career paths in almost any job or industry. This is something the Brew Crew knows well, as today’s hosts share a combined 82 years of industry experience with a wide range of event jobs that led them to where they are today. In this episode of the Event Brew podcast, Deanna Nwosu, Will Curran, Nick Borelli, and Arianna Black share their career journeys, the event jobs they’ve held, and advice they wish they’d known when first starting their careers. A big shout out to our listener, Kelsey D. Today’s episode directly responds to her question, “How did you get started in the events industry?”

Our conversation today comes from a question sent in by one of our listeners named Genesis. She asked, “Why do event marketers receive more credit and respect than event planners?” Event marketers and event planners do, in fact, often receive credit, financial support, and recognition differently, which makes this an excellent question. As the Brew Crew will discuss, the reasons for this difference in treatment are complicated and can vary from person to person and company to company. In this episode of the Event Brew, Deanna, Will, and Nick will share how they define these roles, the tasks they associate with each, the risks involved, and how you can work to ensure you’re given the credit and respect you deserve. Let’s dive right in!

Events are not exclusive to any industry, business, or group of people. Every year, from sports and weddings to big banks and marketing agencies, all kinds of people have events. As event professionals, they employ specific skills to plan and engage that audience. Should HR core competencies be a part of those skills? On today’s episode of the Event Brew, the Brew Crew shares their thoughts on HR competencies and the event professional’s skillset. What does it look like for an event professional to employ HR core competencies in the events industry? What impact could these competencies have on your career and the planned events? Let’s find out.

The world is in transition, and event industry professionals are asking questions. Does event size matter? Many events are seeing the fall of pandemic safety regulations. Does this mean large events are back? In today’s episode, Thuy leads the Brew Crew in a conversation about event size. While Nick, Will, and Thuy mostly agree that their preference that small events are better, they also explore the benefits of going big. Tune in and find out what the Brew Crew has to say about event size in 2022 and beyond.

n 2019, the events industry had a $1,135.4 Billion valuation, making the events industry well positioned to make an economic impact should planners support social movements like boycotts. But should they? In this episode of Event Brew, the entire Brew Crew shares their thoughts on planners and organizations boycotting venues, hotels, destinations, and more. Should planners have a say in event boycotts? Do boycotts even have an impact? Let’s find out.

Marketing has changed significantly over the last 10 to 15 years. Content marketing has seen a boom in activity. Twenty years ago, content marketing was what people wanted to be doing. Today, everyone’s doing it. And according to Will, it might be the bare minimum for brand awareness. What’s next? In today’s episode, Will Curran and Nick Borrelli talk about what’s in the future for event marketing. With Web 3.0 on the horizon, the internet is changing, and marketing for events must keep up. They see a future built on community, collective movement, and mission-driven behavior as community members determine the direction of content rather than marketers themselves. What do you see as the future of marketing for events? Email us! Tag us on LinkedIn with #EventBrew. Or visit our website and leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

The great resignation has made waves across corporate America as people leave their jobs at unprecedented rates. Low pay, lack of opportunity for advancement, disrespect, and lack of flexibility are just a few reasons why employees leave, according to Pew Research. The events industry isn’t immune to the ripples of the great resignation. That’s why, in today’s episode, the Brew Crew flips the script on the topic. With the great resignation shifting the jobs landscape, Deanna, Will, and Nick review what impact the events industry can have on the great resignation. How can events contribute to workplace culture? How can companies attract and retain talent? Tune in and find out!

In April, we talked about a recession on the horizon. As the horizon approaches, Will and Nick find that many event professionals are running on fumes. Today, the discussion is all about executing events on a reduced team. Teams are expected to do more with less as layoffs, downsizing, and budget cuts make waves across the economy. Whether people on your team are sick or no longer working with you, Nick and Will have several ideas on how to avoid downsizing and how to execute events on a reduced team. The Brew Crew invites you to share your experience as the episode wraps up. How do you effectively manage your events and make them even better when you're short-staffed? Let them know by reaching out.

The Event Brew squad is tackling a complex topic today; a topic most event planners have contemplated in the last two years. It's time to talk about audience engagement on event platforms! The topic was inspired by Encore's article, titled 'Keep Attendees Engaged with an Interactive Event Platform'. The Event Tech Podcast has tackled this topic from multiple angles, but today, we can get an inside scoop from Dustin, Nick, and Thuy, as well. Event professionals are divided when it comes to implementing event technology to boost audience engagement. Some swear by it, some believe that technology alone is enough to get the crowd going (spoiler alert: it's not), and some avoid it at all costs and refuse to adapt to the breakneck speed of change. The Brew Crew, too, has many differentiating opinions about this topic. Some have confessed to mostly preferring Zoom calls over any other platforms, while others think event platforms can revolutionize events as we know them. Press play and enjoy! See the episode show notes here.