Boldpush

It has happened to all of us. A networking night with impossible, loud music. Of course. I am getting old. But we shouldn’t lose our voice to connect with attendees. I’ve seen it in Vegas hundreds of times. It all starts on the opening night of a large event: Loud music Screaming to talk Desert dryness attacks your throat Voice is gone the next day If you aim to connect attendees, music helps a lot. The music level is incredibly important. The issue is often a DJ who hasn’t been briefed and whose music levels are out of control. In the age of moment planning, every moment counts. The inability to talk to someone because the music is too loud matters. I am not even touching on introverts. Pure torture for them. The WHO recommends no more than 100db. Many point at 85db. This highly depends on the room size and the number of people. TEST! A general approach is to start low and, as conversations progress, increase volume and transition more into a party. Thoughts? P.S. My newsletter breaks down the switch to moment planning. From content to engagement, I update 20K eventprofs on modern event planning. Link at the top of my profile.

What makes a top event professional? Obsession and progression. What shocks and amazes most of us does not surprise the average event professional. They’ve seen it all. While at IMEX, they witnessed the Tropicana implosion. The following day, many were like ‘meh’. Exposure to famous people, the fanciest cities, decadent food and experiences raises the bar. What changed recently is that we have all attended many events. And we expect more. Top event professionals (and I’ve met them all) obsess over details and try to improve the next event. That backdrop didn’t work? We’ll make it better. The drone show was boring? We’ll make it better. Did the CEO arrive late? We’ll make it better. This type of attitude is unstoppable. BTW 20K world’s top event professionals read my newsletter every week to get better. Join us. It’s free. Link at the top of my profile.

I am tired of free macarons and double-decker booths. Planners want something else. How do I know? Thousands of comments on LinkedIn. Research. Clients. I tried to sum up all the feedback I hear from planners and the value proposition work I do with my supplier clients. Most of it is common sense. Yet, it is the most ignored feedback on the business. Meaningless conversations and marketing junk instead of focusing on what could secure long-lasting business. Am I off? P.S. I share advice for both planners and suppliers in my newsletter. We are 21K event professionals. If you feel like joining, the link is at the top of my profile.

Are we entering a bubble in the event industry? Another business is sold. This time GES. $535M. GES is a 2600-employee business that powers many exhibitions and features a software arm. The business was acquired by private equity TrueLink. Incredible few months. A few weeks ago, Informa acquired Ascential (Money 20/20 and Canne Lions, among others) and Vidcon. Hyve acquired Possible. It’s safe to say there has never been such an active time for M&A for in-person event businesses. Tech is not watching. The news comes a day after consumer-events company Events . com was listed on the NYSE via SPAC. Cvent acquired Splash in an unprecedented move to access marketing events. One reflection is necessary: Tech has already experienced a severe correction from the pandemic. It has not been the case for in-person businesses. Many elements could signal a bubble. A complete analysis tomorrow in my newsletter. Link at the top of my profile. What do you think about the GES acquisition?

The pain is too real. We've all had horror stories. I am lucky to work with clients who have realistic expectations. But in the past, I’ve had crazy requests. From freeloaders:  I’d like to pick your brain.  Let’s jump on a call.  I need your advice on this or that. To dreamers: I’ll give you exposure I’ll pay you 0.05 per word 50 hours pw at $750 a month I don’t think it is always about ill intentions. But I’ve had a ton of these in the past 20 years. You? P.S. If you don’t want to plan a Fyre Festival sandwich type of experience, join my newsletter. 20K event professionals have. Link at the top of my profile.

If you work in events, here is the strongest business case to sell your services: We are at a pivotal moment in humanity's history. AI is accelerating fast and creating a dystopian world. Deepfakes Digital twins AI-generated content Fake influencers Everything around us is increasingly more fake. Algorithms divide people on social media. Searches for ‘I feel alone’ and ‘meet new people’ are at all times high. I said it here on LinkedIn for the first time last year. You can’t fake events. Meeting in person is the most trusted form of doing business today. Events are having record years for three years in a row. Younger generations who graduated over Zoom and more seasoned professionals who can’t relate to what they see online feel the need to connect with other human beings. The growth of events is correlated with the development of AI: the more AI, the more events. YOU, reading this post, have a pivotal role in facilitating one of the most crucial forms of connection humans crave desperately. So go out and do more events.

🚨 this is an event you don't want to miss. Calling all event professionals who want to elevate the next phase of their career. We will go deep and share the adivce you need to change your career for good.

The way you show up at trade shows matters. Do you prefer success or failure? I thought so. I’ve been advising several brands and CEOs on how to show up at tradeshows, from pre-event comms to activations. I was also at IMEX last week and observed a lot. Here is what I noticed: - Having an activation matters. - Picking the right spot for your booth means 20% to 30% more business - Great brands brief their team very well I tried summarizing most of the tactical advice I share with my clients in this framework. Of course, there is more than this. P.S. I just shared a PDF version of this map in my newsletter. That’s where I go deeper. Join us, we are 20K eventprofs. Link at the top of my profile

What are the top destinations in North America? There are dozens of rankings. Let me give you mine. What is it based on? - Attending dozens of events in many of them - Attending 12 years of IMEX, IBTM, and destination shows - What eventprofs tell me and wouldn’t dare share out loud - A meta-analysis of all those rankings. My objective is to grow this list through reviews. If you work at a destination and are hosting cool events, get in touch. What destination would you add? In which category? P.S. I share what matters in venue and destination selection in my newsletter. It’s free and 20K event professionals subscribed. Link at the top of my profile.

Events are not work/life balance friendly. The pain is real. I am concerned about the recent coverage of GenZ in the workplace. 60% of companies let go of Gen-Z employees they hired this year (Intelligent). Among the top reasons why they are let go: poor organizational skills. Staying away from generalizations, I can report on what I hear. Several event industry CEOs shared how finding talent is becoming very difficult. But I see a lot of green badges on LinkedIn. Some of the issues: / Long hours and "always on" mentality are prevalent / Some thrive in this environment, while others struggle / There's a need for better boundaries and flexible work arrangements / Budgetary constraints are pushing workers to the limit I spoke to a few leaders who experienced the impact of events. Broken relationships, lost time with kids, severe mental health problems. Boundaries are not easy to set and are not always respected by leadership. Many seasoned planners go solo or take jobs with less responsibility because they don’t want to deal with the stress. Or worse, they can’t find a job because ageism and profit maximization penalizes them. Is work/life balance impossible in events? P.S. On Thursday, we are hosting a free LinkedIn event on going solo. Ask for a link in the comments if you want to join.