East vs West and EventProfs Win
Canadian #eventprofs have been so fortunate this spring to have had two risk-taking, forward-thinking groups produce two very different, very excellent educational opportunities. While it is always hard for any of us to leave the office, it is when we take the time to refresh our ideas, collaborate and innovate that our own events improve. They have to be worthwhile. These two events which are in inaugural stages are important for a few reasons.
- We hear there is a dearth of quality education in our industry, and they proved this wrong.
- We only get better through innovation and they both offered this in different ways.
- We only innovate by taking risks, and they both did this, and both were prepared for criticism, fail points and ultimately, achieved great success.
The first, #GOWEST2018 took place in Edmonton in February. February, Edmonton. I wasn’t entirely sure what they were thinking (being a ‘soft’ Vancouverite) but off I went. The format of being able to arrive on Day One, enjoy the entire day, and depart following lunch on Day 2 made it easy for people to attend. I arrived to crisp sunshine, lunch in an inflatable igloo, and 300 #eventprofs eager to learn in a format that had us all in one room, for a full afternoon of straight-through, dynamic, on-time presentations. Great work by Timewise Events on this!
This highly curated afternoon hit the ground running with David Merrell talking trends, and as he is constantly updating this presentation, it always resonates and it is an hour that flies by. It continued with a series of engaging presentations covering “Pink Poodle” design thinking from Keri Miller, 30 F & B trends with the seriously delightful Shannon Boudreau, engaging entertainment from Janice Cardinale, it flew by. I had the opportunity to talk about intentional design thinking, and I love seeing minds shift throughout this, and also MC the super fun tech showcase.The evening’s social event was thoughtfully designed and offered lots of reasons for conversations to be started, which ultimately is what it is all about.
The next morning brought more great perspectives from Kelly Doody on Marketing, Derek MacDonald on Brand Strategy, Hailey O’Bright on Personal Branding and Creating Experiences and Events With Olivia Philip. This day finished with time in the Experiential room, which was one of the most engaging exhibit spaces I have been in for some time, with every exhibitor embracing the theme and making this a truly activated space where the group wanted to stay, with prizes and some great music to close it out. Wayne Lee did a great job as the MC, even without hypnotizing the audience as we have seen in past events.
We are so used to creating events which offer choice, and they took a risk in having one room and one set of sessions, and overall I would say this worked out really well. The team took the time to ensure every presenter knew the objectives, stayed on time, and delivered a top-notch presentation. Like all events, this was successful because of the deep commitment of planners, participants and sponsors and I can’t wait to see what they bring next year!
The second, #TheEventMPI brought the three Eastern chapters of MPI (Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal) together to create a little bit of magic at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata. They started out building an Event Canvas and determining their approach would be great general sessions to open and close with breakout sessions in between, and a Rendezvous fundraiser for the main evening function.
As you can see in the picture below, they didn’t take a standard approach to the breakouts, but in fact had each room sponsored by a host, who then activated each space as they saw fit. This truly allowed the sponsors to see value and to personalize the experiences. I presented in the Niagara Falls room where we enjoyed local bubbles and ice wine truffles, while Quebec City‘s activation (below) included dance breaks and popcorn, Caesar’s Windsor offered mimosas with education, Red Deer offered relaxation, Edmonton had an Escape room, which proved more challenging than had been expected – but I know from presenting in the room beside them it also generated a TON of laughter.
Tourism Winnipeg and e180 hosted the Braindates, and showed off their seasons and destinations with an Assiniboine Park ‘summer room’ including a wall mural and sunglasses plus a Churchill polar bear experience themed meeting room. The Braindates are something some participants have experienced before, and some have not, and overall these opportunities for one-to-one or small group meetings are deeply successful. I took advantage of a couple of these and found them excellent for the different conversations I participated in.
We talk a lot about the importance of personalizing experiences and offering choice, but it comes with its own challenges. The key of course is if you attend one thing, you will miss another. For example, after my great braindate, I found myself disappointed to have missed our MC Sebastien Sasseville‘s opening as the consistent feedback on this session was phenomenal. He did what we want our keynote presenters to do – be memorable, be relevant, make us gasp and make us smile, and reflect, and share as many did later. Sebastien is one of the rare finds, relaxed and engaging on stage, working to learn the group’s needs throughout to get the messaging and presentation right for the group, and generally exuding happiness. He closed with one of my favourite recent quotes, stating “we are in the business of goosebumps” and indeed we are.
I also had the opportunity to see Shawn Kanungo (at both of these events, and took away different ideas each time). He is truly a joy to listen to and to spend time with – smart and genuinely interested in what is happening in the world and to the people around him and can easily cross sectors and events and customize in smart, fun, thoughtful ways.Thank you to Speakers Spotlight for their thoughtful selections for this group.
Again, a list of great speakers filled this event and this is just a small sample of the thought leaders and disruptors TheEventMPI brought – Amber Mac, Nick Borelli, Aaron Kaufman, Dahlia El Gazzar the supreme braindater, Roger Haskett, Trevor Lui, David Saef, Alissa Hurley – and so many more provided insights and ideas.
There were so many excellent presentations over the two days, and each time I talked to anyone about their experience, their learning, the connections they were making – it was consistently and overwhelmingly positive. I know they will do this for at least two more years, and know it will continue to evolve and adapt by destination, and even more event professionals should participate.
A special shoutout to EventMobi for both mobile apps and to FMAV who supported both of these events with no holds barred. The closing video shown at The Event included footage from the entire event, including what had happened 20 minutes before the closing. Bam!
When I wrote intentional event design, it was all this this in mind – creating people-centric, purpose-driven events that use what we know about learning design for performance, and both of these events have done this. I also write about and believe in the power of intention, and the power of positive surprise and happiness, and these were also in abundance. Truly, kudos to all who dedicated their time to these successes.
ps. Look out for the Disruptors Dinner footage to come courtesy of the FMAV team
ps2 Look out for these events coming again next year – and find a way to get there!
