Event Industry News Podcast

The ins and outs of global events recovery

James C Morris joined full-service event and experiential marketing agency Impact XM, where he is now VP client service, at the beginning of 2018 – bringing nearly 12 years of industry experience at Atlantic Exhibits with him.

In this episode, Morris and host James Dickson look at the realities post-the UFI’s Global Recovery Insights 2021 report. Have things bounced back as predicted and what the driving factors are if so.

Morris goes on to consider the parameters of ‘experiential’, how virtual is no replacement for face-to-face in event world, the increase in the want for global reach through Covid and out this side and how travel can heighten anticipation and productivity. Much more too, of course.

 

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Why ’Quiet Quitting’ is bad for business

Chief strategy officer Stephen Pickett joined Live Group in March 2022, from equally self-explanatory Canadian business CleanRiver Recycling Solutions.

In this episode Pickett explains what ‘quiet quitting’ is, the causes behind the concept, the impact on employers and, crucially, what they can do about it.

Steered by host James Dickson, Pickett discusses motivating a team and the individuals within it. Keeping people engaged and how crucial that is in the events industry.

He unwraps ‘how do I need to deliver my message’ and talks post-pandemic mania – balancing the in-person, hybrid, virtual equation. 

Pickett goes on to talk ticking the boxes – how many advantages the employees have and the potential benefits, on both sides, of allowing teams to work flexibly. Much more too of course.

Surveys show, incidentally, that disengagement at work costs some $70bn in lost productivity. And that 74 per cent of employees are actively looking for jobs within six months of taking on a new role. 

 

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Composing the Metaverse

Caroline McGuckian founder/CEO at Meshh, a company focused on the ‘metrics of movement’, and Jack Jacob, MD and founder of PNE (Partnership Network Events), join host James Dickson to take a look at the Metaverse.

 

On the premise that Metaverse is a work in progress, and everyone, everywhere, has a different perspective, this episode is part wish list, part comparison.

 

All three participants are resolute supporters of in-person events and hope this next iteration of the virtual world can, to an extent at least, be dictated by consumers.

 

Unconstrained by traditional parameters, the conversation covers everything from the funding question and sating the five senses to gaming, Metaverse gigs and the Queen’s funeral, underscored by the perennial ‘what it could be good for’.

Blackthorn: easy event management for Salesforce

With multiple cross-industry specialties in his locker New York-based Matt Frank is director of technology evangelism & product marketing at Blackthorn – ‘easy event management for Salesforce’.

Across some 40 minutes, this episode’s focus is the largest CRM system in the world and how Blackthorn’s apps, which are native to Salesforce, make processing payments and managing events easy.

With host James Dickson containing the conversation, Matt Frank talks Blackthorn’s capacity to help customers get the best from Salesforce – understanding its extraordinary reach and capacity - how having data in one place allows you to create the bespoke experience stakeholders have come to expect.

Matt discusses creating an event platform, the Salesforce tools, how Blackthorn tech is designed to be absolutely straightforward to operate and much more.

Zoom Events: Developing hybrid event innovation

With more than 20 years software development, product management and business development in her back pocket, Wei Li is head of Zoom Events and Webinar.  

In this episode, Wei talks host James Dickson through the launch of Zoom Events in July of 2021, discussing pandemic impact., mitigation, and highlighting the system’s extraordinary updates and innovations impetus.

Referencing the hybrid user and partner conference Zoomtopia 2022, which takes place later this month, Wei discusses Zoom Webinar’s ‘green room’, called ‘backstage’, where remote presenters can hang out between sessions – talk to each other and watch what’s going on ‘front of house’.

Detailing the Zoom roadmap, she highlights Zoom Events’ networking features, the Q&A function, hosting with the proper production tools, engagement, interactivity, the ‘webinar reaction’ feature, which embraces feedback from virtual and physical attendees, getting beyond tech stacks and much, much more.

Cvent CONNECT Europe 22: Cvent culture with Jamie Vaughan

Introduced by host Adam Parry the second chapter of chats he had during a visit to Cvent CONNECT Europe, at Intercontinental Hotel – The O2, is with Jamie Vaughan, the company’s VP of European sales.

 

Following Jamie’s potted perspective on some of CONNECT 2022’s content, and the show’s primary takeaways, this short episode focuses on the Cvent culture and what the greater industry can learn from it.

 

Jamie Vaughan takes another tack on the virtual/hybrid evolution that Patrick Smith discussed in part one, going on to define Cvent as it stands, beyond the ‘software company’ label, and how the team there is developing a structure for anything that comes next.

Cvent CONNECT Europe 22: Patrick Smith on adapting to the new event model

Adam Parry caught up Cvent senior vice president and chief marketing officer Patrick Smith at the physical element of hybrid Cvent CONNECT Europe, held at Intercontinental Hotel – The O2.

A special episode – Event Tech Talks and Walks – this is a focus on marketing; adapting to the new event model post-pandemic.

Host Adam Parry introduces the discussion and Patrick Smith talks quickly, covering a lot of ground in these 25 minutes.

Having done just one, experimental, virtual event prior to 2020, like so many other companies Cvent has dug deep into hybrid delivery since.

Patrick details the benefits to a show like CONNECT Europe, where weight of numbers, physical or virtual, adds to the storytelling, the thought leadership, the best practice and the value in choosing the right event option for you.

He goes on to discuss adjusting budgets, the total event programme, how one size won’t fit all, the difference between and a webinar and a virtual event and more.

Recfest: A Festival of opportunity

Jamie Leonard and his wife Lois Holland Leonard founded Recruitment Events determined to do better in an industry Jamie describes as ‘notorious for very bad events’.

 

They went out to market with a series of small buyer/seller speed meeting shows in 2011 creating the brand and launched RecFest three years later – a festival-style event in a conference room, AstroTurf on the floor, attended by some 100 people.

 

In this episode, Jamie takes host James Dickson through the subsequent evolution of RecFest – how the founders and their small team turned the idea into an event that saw 4,000 recruiters at this year’s edition.

 

Held at Knebworth House, RecFest 2022 was the iconic location’s follow-up show to Liam Gallagher.

 

Jamie Leonard explains how, with its 10 stages of themed content and more than 100 speakers, RecFest combines the key elements of a conference with a trade show – buyers and sellers going there to connect, to seek clients and find out about new tech – wrapped up in a festival feel.

 

And, crucially, how the escapism, the no judgement of festivals, creates stronger relationships at the largest event in the world for talent acquisition.

River of Light: Interview with Creative Director of Culture Liverpool

Robin Kemp is head of creative development at Culture Liverpool. In this episode, Robin talks through the city’s celebrated River of Light installation – the event’s seventh edition runs from 21 October to 6 November across Liverpool Waterfront in a 2km loop.

Robin details the background – how November 5^th fireworks held in parks out of town spawned the inaugural River of Light in 2016, winding its way back into the city and helping to address, to mitigate, the hospitality industry’s traditional autumn challenges – 150,000 people enjoyed the event in 2021.

He goes on to discuss the River of Light’s evolution and its geography. How the show has moved from 50/60 smaller works, which didn’t flow for the target audience which wants scale, and the subsequent move to a fraction of that number, altogether bigger and more spectacular. 

Robin Kemp tells podcast host James Dickson about working with topical themes, Rhythm of Light last year inspired by Liverpool’s links with music and Unexpected Twist for 2022, in step with the World Gymnastics Championships, which is in town at the same time. And how it’s always embracing more of the city.

Situations Vacant: Is there a recruitment crisis in the events industry?

The events sector lost huge numbers of fantastic, talented people to other industries as a product of the lockdowns.

 

In this episode Mike Frost, co-founder of recruitment consultancy Expocast, and Alex Hewitt, CEO and head of strategy at AOK Events, a company that saw its staff numbers cut by 70 per cent across the pandemic pinch point, join host James Dixon to discuss the state of things.

 

A good balance between want and supply, the podcast looks at whether this is a recruitment crisis – considering the weight of opportunity at the delivery end, where the bulk of the redundancies were, while senior vacancies are outstripped by candidates.

 

It highlights the importance of culture and environment in a company’s recruitment allure, going on to consider the likes of creative marketing and attracting talent from outside events – how experience doesn’t have to be everything if the training model is good.