When it comes to pulling off a successful event, there are 4 components you need to have covered: planning, budgeting, defining your audience, and promoting the event. Presumably, you have a set budget for the year to spend on your events. Let's say it's $100,000. When you're putting together your annual plan - a list of events and conferences you're hosting/attending - you'll want to assign some budget to each one. Be sure to leave at least 15% unused as undoubtedly you will go over budget for several events and we all know that securing budget above and beyond the initial amount al ..read more

Company outings happen throughout the year and for a number of reasons. A new employee joins the team, a colleague gets promoted, your summer interns are heading back to college, your team is celebrating a big win, and a million* (*unverified) other excuses to get the gang together. In today’s world, the perks matter. They are certainly no stand-in for bad culture, but you’re competing with thousands of other companies vying to attract prospective employees so investing a little time and thought in your company event strategy can be valuable. Whether it’s an impromptu gathering or a company sp ..read more

You've planned a stellar event with a program your guests will absolutely grant you at least a 9 for NPS. What could go wrong? Well, the first thing to get right is your guests' arrival (and after that United Air fiasco, hopefully we're all on the same page when it comes to creating a smooth and peaceful check-in process). Registration is where your guests' on-site experience begins. If it goes wrong, it can be a disaster, leaving a bad taste in the attendee's mouth from the start -- and that can be a hard emotion to turn around. To help avoid catastrophe, we've put together a handy check ..read more

The post-event survey is critical for your attendees to provide feedback that can help you understand what worked and what didn't work so well at your event. Combined with anecdotal observations, the survey gets you the answers you need to host better events and convince management the events are worthwhile (so that maybe next quarter you'll get more budget)! Surveys can help you make the decision of whether to continue hosting certain types of events or to shift to something different. They can help you save money or create more value if attendees find some aspects of your event to be mo ..read more

Your event agenda isn't complete without the right mix of speakers. Even the most compelling, awe-inspiring agenda will fail if the presenters aren't... to put it bluntly... any good. Your goal as the event organizer is to wow your attendees, offer them something new, something they didn't already know, something they can walk away with and reflect on or put into action later on. A compelling agenda with the right speakers also helps ensure your attendees register to attend to even get the chance to be inspired in the first place!  Particularly for larger scale and multi-day events ..read more

With everything going on in the news these days, it's hard not to daydream about a permanent vacation. Since that isn't a realistic option, a week long trip to Mexico provided a much needed break. Arriving in Cancun, we rented a car and drove down to Tulum making Prana Boutique Hotel our home base. The hotel is located on the outskirts of the main drag in town and about a 15 minute bike ride to the main beach road. Everything about the stay was perfect - from the service and minimalist ambiance to the amazing food and pool-side bar. While most of the trip was based in Tulum, having a rental ca ..read more

Guys, 2016 was weird. It was drunk and needed to go home hours ago, but it persisted and now seems to be loitering its way into 2017. I hate to get to political, but I wanted to share a few thoughts and some photos from the recent protests that have popped up across the globe. It's no secret I supported Hillary for president, and as many friends can attest to, I'm sure I was quite annoying about it at times. So when the election results came in, like millions of others, I felt disappointed, angry, frustrated, and scared. But like President Obama said in his farewell speech, we have to keep fig ..read more

When an average conference sponsorship could have you spending up to $60,000, you can be sure management will want to see some results. Events can be pricey and knowing where to spend and where to cut back can be difficult if you're not measuring your event ROI. Should you be spending $25K on a small booth on a crowded sponsor floor just to get access to an attendee list and have your name splashed on some signage? Don't look at me, I'm asking you. Are you gaining any value from that? Measuring the success of your event certainly isn't rocket science, but it isn't super clear cut either and it ..read more

Tis the season to show some love and appreciation to the special people in your life. Whether it's a colleague or employee, a customer or a partner, a friend or a relative, the gifts below are bound to bring some joy to their day. And best of all, you'd be supporting some awesome local small businesses. Take a look and shop small this season!  For the cookie lover: Kitchen Millie's Holiday Mix is the perfect way to send a sweet thank you and happy holidays. They'll even customize a label just for you.  ...Or the donut obsessed: Union Square Donuts will deliver wi ..read more

This post was originally featured on LinkedIn. Rachel Perry is a Sr. Event Manager at Nth Degree in Boston. We're very grateful for her insight.  Panels are a mainstay in any conference agenda. They give your audience the opportunity to hear a variety of perspectives in one session. They are also a great way to get influential speakers involved that might not have the bandwidth to prepare a solo presentation. A panel discussion can provide a wealth of information—but if not prepared well, it can become a major waste of time. Follow these six steps to get the most from your next panel: 1 ..read more