News

Jan 03, 2019
More than 3,600 event professionals will gather in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Jan. 6-9 for the 2019 PCMA Convening Leaders conference. [Update: preliminary attendance figures released onsite by PCMA on Jan. 7 up that figure to ~4,800.] While PCMA may officially be an association for professional convention managers, its reach extends further. Content at the annual Convening Leaders event may appeal to any member of the event industry.  And the good news is, even if you can’t make it to Pittsburgh, you can still participate online.   PCMA is offering complimentary access to select livestreamed… more
Dec 31, 2018
The new Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, opened Dec. 18, 2018, adds another option for large-scale meetings in the Denver area.  The Gaylord Rockies, the largest combined resort and convention center in Colorado, is the first Gaylord Hotels property to open in ten years and the fifth addition to the chain, which is owned by Marriott International.  The Gaylord Rockies, located in Aurora, Colo., is just 10 minutes from Denver International Airport and offers shuttle access to the A Line airport rail with service to the airport and downtown Denver. The resort boasts 1,501 guest… more
Dec 21, 2018
Meeting scheduling can be the bane of an event planner’s existence. Anyone who has ever tried to coordinate multiple schedules in order to book meetings or demos at tradeshows or conferences knows how difficult it can be — the phrase “herding cats” springs to mind. It’s equally difficult to show the value of these meetings, and how they influence sales pipeline and revenue generation. Jifflenow aims to solve both of these problems with its meeting automation platform (MAP). “Enterprises are looking beyond lead generation at events and have been asking for solutions to influence revenue… more
Dec 20, 2018
Not all that long ago, all meetings were conducted face-to-face. More recently, technology enabled virtual meetings. Today, a hybrid model allows for more participants spread across a wider geographical area, but the challenge has continued to be around engagement. How do you keep remote participants engaged and how do you keep and share the data generated within the meeting? Park MGM and Cisco have an answer: the new 7,000 square foot Ideation Studio. With the opening of the Studio, Las Vegas’ Park MGM is the world’s first hotel to offer groups Cisco Webex Boards and Cisco Webex Teams… more
Dec 18, 2018
Located 50 miles from Milwaukee and 80 miles from Chicago, the Lake Geneva area of Wisconsin is best known for its historic mansions, or perhaps for being the location of the first Playboy resort. Or — if you’re a gamer — for being the site of the annual Gary Con, a celebration of Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax. But, as I discovered first-hand in October, Lake Geneva is also a great location for corporate events. For an area whose total population is no more than 20,000 residents, Lake Geneva has a surprising number of resorts, activities and amenities. While the area is referred… more
Dec 17, 2018
The Corporate Event News Event Expert Profile series features interviews with some of the many talented corporate event professionals who make this industry thrive. Throughout her 12-year career, Michelle Radlowski has held roles that have spanned a wide variety of marketing responsibilities. She believes in the importance of marketing working closely together with sales, and loves seeing the impact of her work on business growth.  In her current role, she is responsible for leading a team of regional field marketing managers and developing strategically focused marketing activities and… more
Dec 13, 2018
Even planners looking for a Pacific Northwest hotel able to accommodate all their meeting guests might want to take a look at the Hyatt Regency Seattle. The new 45-story downtown property, which is now the largest hotel in the region, opened its doors on Dec. 10. Located just two blocks from the Washington State Convention Center and adjacent to The Summit, the planned convention center expansion building slated to open Spring 2022, Hyatt Regency Seattle offers more than 103,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space. “Progress is all around us,” said Hyatt Regency Seattle general… more
Dec 11, 2018
Merriam-Webster defines snowball effect as a situation in which one action or event causes many other similar actions or events. And that is exactly what event tech startup snöball (with a lowercase “s”) is designed to do for word-of-mouth, or influencer, marketing. Snöball helps event organizers harness the power of influencer marketing and put it to use for their events. With snöball, planners can empower all their constituents, or micro-influencers, to raise awareness of an event in a personal — and therefore more meaningful — manner. The brainchild of industry veteran Rachel Stephan,… more
Dec 11, 2018
Freeman has expanded its offerings to clients even more by acquiring mdg, a full-service event marketing and public relations agency. The acquisition enhances the Freeman spectrum of services from pre-event marketing and on-site user experience to post-show communications based on data-informed insights. “The events business is undergoing a significant transformation - one that requires a sophisticated degree of integration around the convergence of brand strategy, data and content,” said Bob Priest-Heck, president and CEO, Freeman. He added, “Our ability to translate strategy and data… more
Dec 10, 2018
The Corporate Event News Event Expert Profile series features interviews with some of the many talented corporate event professionals who make this industry thrive. Throughout her 12-year career, Michelle Radlowski has held roles that have spanned a wide variety of marketing responsibilities. She believes in the importance of marketing working closely together with sales, and loves seeing the impact of her work on business growth.  I met Radlowski when we both worked at Dell Software, where she was responsible for managing corporate events and the organization’s Customer Advisory Board.… more
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