Semra Ergun, 39, is the senior manager of learning and experiences at the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). She's based in Silver Spring, Md.
What I do:
I work on large- and small-scale events, both in person and virtually, helping to develop the best ways to stay engaged and committed to learning. I make sure all programming and guest speakers align with our goal of career growth and building bridges of networks. The best part of my job is helping align firms and organizations to realize their similar interests and needs, no matter what they specialize in. Creating "aha" moments is a true gift that I enjoy doing.
Why I love my job:
I’m a people person, and online counts too. I have true joy in helping people realize that their voice counts and is heard, as well as included in the programming I help implement at our organization. Listening and responding in a productive, useful way benefits all parties involved and maintains the long-lasting relationships we count on.
My career journey:
My background is in broadcast media, which to me translates to all of the positions I’ve taken on in my career including ad agencies, restaurants and tech startups. I landed my current position based on my volunteer work for women working in media and have loved the professional development my team has encouraged me to continue with.
My greatest career accomplishment:
I was able to not only help our entire organization pivot on short notice for an annual conference at the peak of COVID-19 with up to 750 attendees, but also took the initiative to train and help our team skill up in the world of virtual production instead of outsourcing needs, by using technology and webinars (including BizBash) that were provided. This not only helped maintain our attendees who were expecting to be in person, but it actually elevated the experience by including speed networking opportunities that boosted our registration by over 35% closer to the go-live date.
When things began to open up again, I was able to help create bite-size in-person one-day events for members in specific member-driven regions of the U.S. to provide additional networking and professional development programs that everyone had missed due to COVID-19. We did this safely, and in a measurable way that helped build our member’s confidence in our ability to successfully create in-person events together with low-risk outcomes of exposure to the variants.
How I helped my organization during COVID:
Outside of everything mentioned in my previous answer, I became the go-to person to help figure out solutions not only for virtual experiences and making sure there was large engagement for attendees, but also the safety measures and attendee experience that I had learned through new research and personal event experiences. By using all of those tactics, I successfully set up meetings with colleagues and departments to give them what they needed when considering hosting webinars, virtual events or in-person events so that everything was covered.
Listening to my colleagues and reading attendee pre-event surveys helped me implement true concerns and thought processes that could have prevented members from attending. Instead, giving them the confidence in knowing how we were handling planning and transparency in our process of health and safety measures improved our registrations for attendance overall and continues to currently.
The time I averted a complete event disaster:
We were in between needing to go virtual instead of in person for one of our largest events to date, but knew that certain clauses within our hotel contract would be challenging to get out of. Instead, we held several meetings with the hotel management team to share our plan and options to switch to another year and honor the same program.
At first, it took a bit longer to get them to understand where we were coming from and why, but I ended up getting our association out of the contract in full with zero obligations because of these conversations. This helped our finances that year to build a larger program and forecast for a future year at the same hotel and branch. We were able to sign off on a new contract for another year and it enhanced our relationship with this particular hotel branch to know that we can fully work together and hold ourselves accountable to do so.
My most memorable event experience in the past year:
We have implemented a large diversity, equity and inclusion task force and board in the past two years, based on our initiatives that we teach others how to implement in their own firms and organizations. We had some of the largest interest and attendance virtually around the topic overall with up to 500-plus attendees. The program included a variety of dynamic speakers who fully walked through the "why" of the importance [of DEI], into how it can help the industry that we work in.
It was not only impactful, but many personal stories were shared and a level of vulnerability echoed with attendees in a positive supportive way that I have never seen from a group that large. This proved to me that this can be done on a virtual scale that actually has more inclusion since everyone was able to contribute to the conversation, unlike in person when only a select group is able to speak and share with questions.
Best advice I’ve ever received:
Nobody knows the true ripple effect and impact you can make in your organization simply based on creating experiences in person and virtually. You have the power to help your peers keep their career or completely eliminate it. Never take it lightly.
Impressive stats I’m responsible for:
When we switched to virtual, we were able to hit 75% of our expected attendance compared to if it were still in person. We were thrilled with this outcome since so many others lost more than 50% of their attendees due to switching to virtual, but we found ways to help prove the benefit of learning from home or in the office.
Getting our organization fully out of a hotel contract with zero penalty or attrition was astounding, and because of that, our relationship with that hotel branch is still one of our go-to and favorites. We do believe in loyalty when we have a great experience with those who take the time to help us and pay it back in full.
Our online webinar programs have increased by 80% compared to previous years, which has helped support us financially to build excellent in-person experiences for future events.
What’s next?
We’re working on building programs and events that help everyone use all five senses, since we’ve been limited in that department due to going virtual. We want to ensure that when we’re back in person we can build confidence in our health and safety measures, so they can focus on the content and networking experiences, including interactive activities, 360 cameras (for social media), tasting hubs and giant mural walls to contribute ideas to, as well as round tables that help attendees practice pitching in unique environments.
What I do outside of work:
I like to use my hands and create crafts, work in my garden or do drawings with watercolors, as well as painting on canvas. I also volunteer as the sitting president of the Alliance for Women In Media—DC Chapter, since my background was in broadcast media originally and I believe it’s incredibly important to continue to tell truthful stories in the news, since everyone is so easily influenced by what they see these days.
Dream vacation:
Italy, Naples and Capri (the southern edge of Italy). I’d love to take a cooking class and learn how to make some classic simple Italian dishes and simply enjoy the water, views and take short boat trips around that area to fully get a feel of what it might be like to live in that region.
Favorite icebreaker line:
Who is your favorite standup comedian? This question can tell you a lot about a person and what they’re into. A sense of humor is so important to maintain, and I personally believe comedy should be a part of everyone’s life regularly.
Connect with Ergun on LinkedIn and Facebook.
“Connect x BizBash 40 Under 40” is sponsored by VDA, an experiential marketing and event design agency based in Massachusetts that specializes in custom live, virtual and hybrid experiences.
