Blogs
Jul 16, 2020
In the early days of March, the world began retreating to their houses and home offices in response to the growing threat of the coronavirus, changing — and testing — business as we knew it. Corporate event planners had to make the difficult decision to postpone, cancel or transition their in-person events into digital experiences. It wasn’t possible to gather, yet the guessing game of when we might resume life as we knew it was too difficult to understand.
Even now, after four months of stay-at-home or safer-at-home orders under our belts, the return of in-person events remains elusive. Yet… more
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Jul 08, 2020
As we’ve watched events be forced to postpone, change location and/or go virtual, it got us at Fixation Marketing thinking: Do these changes affect an event’s brand?
Not if the brand story is strong.
Your brand story is a narrative you create around your event that inspires an emotional response. It goes beyond the standard value proposition of describing event features to convey how the experience helps participants be more productive, make more money and advance their careers. In telling a brand story, you draw people into a narrative they not only want to be a part of, but also feel they… more
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Jul 01, 2020
In the past four months, events have radically shifted from in-person gatherings to virtual events. Speakers play an integral role and can make or break the attendee experience. Understanding the importance presenters play into this dynamic, here are some tips for helping you to create a positive virtual experience for your attendees.
1. Test, Test, Test
To ensure everything runs smoothly, schedule a rehearsal with your speakers. Here is a short checklist of items to practice:
Test microphone and audio to confirm optimum sound.
Test lighting (i.e., not sitting with back to a window).… more
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Jun 26, 2020
The sudden onset of remote work has impacted companies and organizations across the United States and around the world.
It happened almost overnight. The COVID-19 pandemic led business offices to close their doors and employees to find a way to conduct their work from home. We all went from congregating in meeting spaces and around cubicles to interacting “face to face” via our computer screens. For the past few months, we’ve found ourselves catching glimpses of each other’s homes, hearing dogs barks, and listening to children yell and laugh during video conferences. While we’ve never been… more
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Jun 15, 2020
At a trade show, we used to say you have three seconds to capture the attention of someone walking by your booth. But in a virtual event, engagement isn’t just earned once. You have to earn it again and again.
The past few months have reshaped the events industry, but now is the time to accept changes and retool. Virtual events might look a little different, but the goal is the same: to tell your unique story.
While most live events have exclusive access to their venues, virtual spaces are shared with a barrage of distractions. Between email notifications, news and streaming services, it’s… more
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Jun 10, 2020
There's a lot of "shiny object syndrome" driving our decisions as we try to adapt to changing conditions, but our best strategy might be to focus on the fundamentals.
I read an interesting quote about Jeff Bezos. He said that everyone asks him what will change in the future, and really dismissed the question as interesting but irrelevant.
Yeah. Irrelevant.
He said what is important is what won’t change in the next decade. Bezos believes that 10 years from now, people will still want a wide selection of quality products available at the lowest possible price. Hard to argue that Amazon isn… more
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Jun 03, 2020
It seems like every trade show and event is “pivoting” to virtual right now. For those live events that didn’t integrate a virtual component before COVID-19, it’s been a painful lesson as they struggle to adapt – and quickly. Regardless of what’s happening in the world, virtual should now be a natural extension of any live event, one that provides an even greater opportunity for any organization to further its mission.
There are obvious and not-so-obvious benefits to offering a virtual option. Not only are more people able to access your content, but it also provides critical access to… more
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May 26, 2020
It’s safe to say no one knows precisely what the future will hold in the post-COVID-19 world. Things change by the day, from the science surrounding the virus to CDC and state guidelines for safety. As a convention center whose reason for existence is to bring various size groups of people together, we are constantly researching the latest best practices from all sources, so we’ll be ready to keep our attendees safe when our convention center reopens for “The New Business as Usual”.
For event planners, it will also be a challenging time, as you look to make the best decisions for your event… more
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May 19, 2020
We are living in some of the worst economic times in the event industry. We don’t know when we can safely host events again, or even set a date for our next event.
Revenue for events has effectively been reduced to zero, and this ripple effect has been felt throughout the industry. For example, Eventbrite reported a first-quarter 2020 loss of $146 million, and laid off 45 percent of its employees.
As planners pivot to find digital solutions to bring people together, event technology companies must also pivot and meet the needs of their client base. Here are some of the ways that event… more
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May 12, 2020
The annual NFL Draft has become an event that cannot be ignored. The pundits love to talk about how they hate mock drafts. Then they love to point out that grades are pointless. But the public consumption and demand is such that there is no way any credible reporter or publication can avoid participating.
The NFL Draft began as an event conducted over the phone, and then via fax machines, then a single-day newscaster-like TV broadcast before becoming the interactive multimedia behemoth it is today. And as an events planner it has been intriguing to watch the evolution of the draft into a… more
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Partner Voices
Just when it seems like Las Vegas can’t get any bigger, brighter or more exciting for groups, MGM Resorts raises the bar again. The company continues to invest and innovate across its portfolio of Las Vegas resorts, with new attractions and upgraded experiences for attendees of all interests.
Remodeled Guest Rooms
MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with over 5,000 guest rooms and an 850,000-square-foot conference center. It is home to the newly remodeled MGM Grand Studio Tower—700 reimagined guest rooms with a fun mid-century vibe. Nearby, the iconic New York-New York Las more