The Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida, transformed into a mecca for event professionals during BizBash Live: Florida, which took place February 19 and 20, and featured a series of four educational sessions led by industry pros. The two-day event culminated in a general session with featured speaker President Barack Obama. Here are a few key takeaways from the two-day event.
1. Create inclusive events. Natalie Bui and Veline Mojarro, co-founders of Shift—a company formed to address major cultural shifts in the wake of the #MeToo movement—shed some light on the event organizer's role in diversity and inclusivity within the industry. Together, Bui and Mojarro consult brands, run workshops, and provide training sessions that deepen the conversation around diversity, equity, inclusion, and sexual harassment prevention. Mojarro touched on one of Shift’s most prominent projects with Coachella. To create a more inclusive environment at the multi-day music festival, the Shift team deployed trained Community Care Teams throughout the festival grounds and added an “Every One” tent staffed with licensed therapists, among other strategic measures.
When speaking to how event professionals could bring inclusivity to their own events, Bui and Mojarro suggested a key tip: appeal to the business’ bottom line. “According to Forbes magazine on Gen Z’s values, ‘equality is a non-negotiable’ and they ‘are driving elevated expectations of brands to reflect a more realistic portrayal of life’—especially when it comes to gender, race, sexual orientation, and body image. Gen Z might not be your key demographic now, but they will be your consumers very soon.”
2. Be a collaboration artist, not just an event planner. BizBash founder and chairman David Adler led an educational session on what makes a great event and what it means to be a collaboration artist, in simplest terms—face-to-face contact. Citing Tribes author Seth Godin, Adler shared how the Internet has allowed us to find each other and form tribes leading to the growth of face-to-face interaction. In addition, according to Social Physics author Alex Pentland, Adler explained that based on research about neuroscience and using face-to-face interactions to improve idea flow, we are proving that live human networks are how ideas flow.
"As we get smarter and better at orchestrating events, we are seeing the rise of the true collaboration artist. That person who understands the recipe for success because he or she has learned, observed, and tested the best way to program live experiences for the best outcomes," said Adler. "The goal of BizBash is to turn event organizers and marketers into collaboration artists who understand strategy and creativity and elevate our industry into a force for progress in our companies, communities, and nations."
3. "Make them think it was their idea." Tracy Olenick, executive director and head of conferences and events at UBS, offered up her two cents suggesting when event professionals hit a bump in the road looking to get buy-in from executives to try something new or out-of-the-box. When it comes to keeping up with other industries that continue to expand budgets, she noted that the executives are more likely to give approval if they think it was their idea to begin with. During the same panel discussion alongside Danielle Purfey Wright of KPMG and Barry Rinehart of Genpact, Wright talked about her work with intelligent automation, while Rinehart discussed integrating event technology to create memorable experiences. "I like to say that event professionals are really professional memory makers," said Rinehart.
4. Rise to the occasion. During a packed educational session with former White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer (of Barack Obama's presidency) and former Chief of Protocol Ambassador Capricia Marshall (of Obama's and Bill Clinton's presidencies), the two women touched on the importance of being flexible when in the event industry. The former White House executives discussed instances where event organizers may feel they're being given more responsibility than seems appropriate, then stressed the importance of rising to the occasion when these situations surface. Both Dyer and Ambassador Marshall kicked off the conversational panel with a humorous story from the start of their time in the White House—reinforcing just how far each had come, which is largely attributed to their ability to adapt quickly.
5. "Be kind and be useful." Featured speaker President Barack Obama shared these words of wisdom with the more than 2,000 event and meeting professionals who gathered inside one of the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center’s exhibit hall. Obama participated in a 60-minute Q&A session with BizBash parent company's president and founder, Chris Collinson, during which President Obama spoke about his first date with Michelle, the highs and lows of his presidency, and his stance on selfies. (Take note: He can't stand them! The politician prefers an old-fashioned conversation if you happen to see him out in public.)
If you missed out on BizBash Live: Florida, registration is now open for BizBash's next live event in Los Angeles in September.
