VDC MKE’s Post

You may have had enough ice, but how about some fire? Better yet, how about both? They go great together, as we will prove once again this Saturday in Valley Junction. I am referring to our Fire & Ice event, an interactive, hockey-themed pub crawl at six different venues in the Valley Junction area from 1-4 p.m. on Jan. 20. It is one of several events that we own and operate under our CITYVIEW magazine division, and this is one of my favorites. Maybe it is because I was cooped up in the house this past weekend, and I am looking forward to getting out. Maybe it is because the folks who participate in this event are fun-loving, energetic and appreciative. Maybe it is because the weather forecast now predicts a balmy 5 degrees on Saturday. More than likely, it is all of the above — and several more positives, too. Events like Fire & Ice are a lot of work for our staff, and I appreciate their efforts in helping to put this together. We don’t make a lot of money on our events like Fire & Ice, as the ticket revenue sales go to the liquor license holders, which are the participating bars. So why do we do them? First and foremost, we want our advertisers to see that promoting events in CITIVEW is effective and can bring a crowd. They will hopefully then spend more of their advertising dollars with us. Second, we want our advertisers to succeed, and we take great pride in seeing them swamped with customers. Third, they help to promote our CITYVIEW brand in yet another positive way. And fourth, any maybe most importantly, they are simply a lot of fun. I hope you are able to join us. See details at https://lnkd.in/g9969Nbw where you can buy discounted tickets now. Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading. Shane Goodman President and Publisher Big Green Umbrella Media shane@dmcityview.com 515-953-4822, ext. 305 www.thedailyumbrella.com

Registration is now open

Wednesdays and Whiteboards N Whiskey, are you attending our next event? If you are looking for a high end networking with some Top Shelf Whiskey, this could be for you. Join us at 6pm on Wednesday July 10th if you are ready to push your business to 7 figures. Register here! https://lnkd.in/g2B2FcSJ #WhiteboardsNWhiskey #Mastermind #BusinessCoaching

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗨𝗩’𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 Want to RSVP to that one club meeting? Looking for a local coffee shop event? Just looking to find something to do? The Explore Page simplifies the planning process. Browse by category, and RSVP to the event(s) of your choice in seconds. Life made easier with MUV.

This year we’ve been able to ensure 80%+ turnout on average for our events. This is much higher than your typical sales or marketing event. How do we do it? Invitees are always thinking about a few things: 1. What am I getting out of attending? 2. Is this worth my time?  3. What are they going to sell me? 4. Do I need what they're selling me? Oftentimes attendance rate goes down because invitees are bombarded with the same types of events from multiple vendors. There's nothing novel in another sporting event or restaurant outing. Aside from engaging attendees in a unique experience, they need to know what exactly they’re signing up for. That’s where RSVP pages come in. We’ve been able to drive attendance by simply just telling people what’s in store for the evening. Once they see it’s a unique event, the agenda for the night and the custom garment they'll be receiving, it boosts attendance. Instead of sending a calendar invite and a generic email we’ve found RSVP pages really effective. You can check out our sample RSVP page below!

Want an example of how to capture content at events? Look no further than Shawn P. Walchef visit to the Pizza Expo 2024. While there, Shawn caught up with industry leaders, like Matt Plapp 🎥 🎤 🍴 📚, 🍔🍟🍕🎙 David "Rev" Ciancio, and Felix Bazgan as well as gave us a behind the scenes view of the events with local phenoms, like Guiliano Raso. Watch our behind the scenes look at this amazing event and be sure to listen to the replay of our Rising Tide LinkedIn Live Room for tips on how to navigate industry events. How do you plan on telling your event story?

Reposting to my network. Hoping to see a lot of my local connections this evening. Too hot to go out? Nonsense! Beat the heat with a refreshing beverage and air conditioning provided by Duke Energy Corporation and the Harris Nuclear plant which has been safely and reliably splitting atoms since January 1987. No brownouts or blackouts in this crushing heat wave! Thank you Duke Energy. At the three outstanding energy events I’ve been to in the last couple of months (the University of Idaho’s Energy Executive Summit, the State Energy Conference of NC at North Carolina State University, and the 10th annual UNC Cleantech Summit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), AI-driven electrification (what Diane Leopold from Dominion Energy referred to as “datafication”) has been one of the topics that dominated the conversation among the utility executives that I heard speak. The people I heard and spoke to at these three events are Thought Leaders for sure…but much more importantly they are Do Leaders. They are responsible for meeting customer demand, keeping the lights on and the air conditioners humming, and providing affordable energy to all those customers who are living paycheck to paycheck and are forced to choose what bills don’t get paid each month. A big tip of the cap to: (1) the three universities mentioned in this post for the vital role they play in the Industry/Academia/Government triple helix for energy and cleantech, and (2) the RTCC for being such an excellent convener and a facilitator of collaboration and discussion. Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster Energy Executive Course Greg Gangi Yvonne Sertich Dishonna Arnett Mark Ogden Linxon Jacob Grove PowerSecure, Inc. Joe Stevens Ndustrial Jack Jirak Eric Grant Lon Huber John Szoka Fortnight Brewing #energy #ai #electrification #datacenters #datafication #energytransition #energypoverty #utilities #cleantech #doleadership #nuclearenergy

Daily Dollop of Wallop #56 So, I am currently on the big long thing that slides along rails, heading to the London Wine Fair. Now, this is a big event on the calendar for the UK wine trade as well as, the rest of the world. Not nearly as big, illustrious, inventive or inviting as it was when I first came way back in 2008 (anyone remember the Excel days?), but it is still a collection of dates in the calendar that attracts the world’s most influential people in our trade. The whole idea of a trade show is for a company or individual to showcase its assets to an audience specifically attending in search of the following: Something new and exciting Something older but an opportunity for us to become reacquainted with Someone to engage with where we feel an opportunity to change the world may arise The opportunity to learn For me, this is what a trade show is all about. It doesn’t matter what the products or services are, these things are exactly why we attend trade shows of all types. This year, there is a really good set of masterclasses, seminars, workshops and state of the nation style summits happening across the 3 days. I would say, the best roster of topics and people I have seen in many, many years. The one thing lacking here though is the importance of training education or learning and development however, but I will leave that for another post I think! If anyone is attending today and wants to meet up for a coffee, chat about wine and make a connection or for any other reason where an opportunity may arise. Please do get in touch. In a room full of likeminded people with ideas on how to change the shape of the wine world, it seems absolutely bananas to me why we wouldn’t meet up with people we don’t know for the sheer sake of it. Knowing that something magical could become of it. I’m here all day. Are you?

Why It Matters:

Why It Matters