Elevate D.C., a one-day conference for event and meeting professionals, returns on August 3 for its third edition. Held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the event will feature a lineup of speakers at new workshops and panels addressing topics such as using new event technology tools; improving association events and trade shows; and creating blockbuster fund-raising galas. Other sessions will specifically speak to the needs of the Washington event industry: a workshop on protocol for government events and a special luncheon panel looking ahead to what event planners need to know about the 2017 presidential inauguration.
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Here’s a look at what’s in store at the event.
Getting Scientific: Making Your Event More Captivating
Ben Parr, author and entrepreneur, Captivology
Capturing attention in a world filled with technological distractions and ever-increasing stimuli is a challenge for event organizers, marketers, and business owners alike. Whether it’s drawing sponsors or attendees to an event, prospects to a venue, or new leads to a sales endeavor, rethinking attention-grabbing triggers and framing a message in a different way is an art that can be learned. In this keynote, author and entrepreneur Ben Parr will discuss important new principles and steps that can be implemented to capture and keep an audience’s attention, making the experience one to remember.
Audience First: How to Crush Fund-Raising Goals by Thinking of Your Guests
Christopher Speron, vice president of development, Human Rights Campaign
Putting the audience first is a strategy that the Human Rights Campaign looks to each year as it plans its national dinner, which has been recognized as one of the top events in a city filled with extraordinary galas. In this workshop, the team from the Human Rights Campaign will share strategies they use to maximize fund-raising at their events and leverage the latest technologies, while ensuring attendees have a memorable experience. Uncover new ways to construct an emotional arc for your fund-raising events and put the attendee first, ensuring maximum engagement and maximum giving.
Rethinking the Model: How to Improve Association Events and Trade Shows
Carol McGury, executive vice president for event and education services, SmithBucklin; Johnnie White, senior director for education, meetings, industry relations and global affairs, American Academy of Otolaryngology; Angela Harar, senior director for shows, the Vision Council for International Vision Expo and chairman of MATSO; and Shannon Burch, vice president for events and business development, ASIS International
Association planners and independent show organizers face a number of challenges with annual events as they look for new ways to make each experience stand out and keep attendees and exhibitors engaged. In this session, Carol McGury of SmithBucklin will moderate a panel of association and trade show experts—including Johnnie White from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Shannon Burch from ASIS International, and Angela Harar from the Vision Council for International Vision Expo—as they tell their stories, addressing challenges behind their live experiences. These experts will discuss how to address the emerging needs of customers, including attendees and exhibitors, and how to keep both association events and annual trade shows relevant. The panel will showcase new ways to increase sponsor and exhibitor value, rethinking content and education, and delivering innovative ideas to attract a new and larger audience to each event.
The New Rules of Social Media and Event Marketing
Jason Siegel, founding partner, Bluetext
Social media has become a key component in all aspects of business, especially live experiences. Understanding new, emerging platforms and how social media and event marketing strategies merge is an integral part of the event marketing process. In this session, Jason Siegel, founding partner of Bluetext, will discuss how to develop a three-part campaign-style approach to social media to maximize event reach. Siegel will share new ways to create urgency to register, how to leverage website personalization, insights on interpreting engagement, and how to seamlessly integrate virtual reality to drive interest and registrations for events.
What Every Event Organizer Needs to Know About the 2017 Presidential Inauguration
Ron Bracco, vice president—events, Hargrove; Steve Kerrigan, former president, Presidential Inaugural Committee; Eric Michael, owner and creative director, Occasions Caterers; and BizBash executive editor Beth Kormanik
How do you plan for the most important event in Washington, D.C., without knowing for sure who the guest of honor will be? What experiences surrounding the presidential inauguration—from galas to parades, official balls, nonprofit events, and everything in between—can you get involved in to showcase your brand? Join BizBash executive editor Beth Kormanik for a special discussion with former president of the Presidential Inaugural Committee Steve Kerrigan, Eric Michael of Occasions Caterers, and Ron Bracco of Hargrove to learn how event pros approach the momentous occasion. Learn the ins and outs of working on the inauguration, strategies and tips on planning under pressure, and more.
Are Your Protocol Skills Up to Date?
Philip Dufour, president and C.E.O., Dufour and Company Productions
Protocol is a skill that event professionals must master, especially in a city where a major diplomat, presidential candidate, or even the current president might be at your next event. In this workshop, Philip Dufour, president and C.E.O. of Dufour and Company Productions, will divulge the most important protocol tips to remember while sharing insight and behind-the-scenes stories from his time as social secretary to former Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore. Learn the official procedures to take into account at any diplomatic affair, including the correct forms of address, invitation, and email etiquette when writing to members of Congress or government officials.
Engaging Attendees Through Multi-Sensory Experiences
Barry Ross Rinehart, executive creative director, Multi Image Group
From the moment an attendee first learns about an event, it has begun—and so do the opportunities to activate their brains through multi-sensory stimulation. For an event to be truly memorable, event organizers must design a 360-degree experience that appeals to all five senses. In this workshop, Multi Image Group’s executive creative director Barry Ross Rinehart will uncover the art and science behind crafting multi-sensory experiences. Rinehart will share actionable tips, research, and new ways to make an experience resonate with every sense, creating truly lasting impressions.
Five Ways to Crush Every Event Challenge
Paulina Ramirez Tapia, event manager, Univision
A recent article by Forbes cited event planning as one of the most stressful jobs, as unexpected obstacles and challenges are guaranteed to arise at every event. In this workshop, Paulina Ramirez Tapia, event manager at Univision, will discuss the steps she takes to crush every event challenge regardless of the type of live experience. Discover new ways to appeal to multiple audiences, tips to improve sponsor relationships, and strategies to deal with logistical challenges.
Leveraging Technology to Improve Live Experiences
DJ Saul, C.M.O. and managing director, iStrategyLabs
As new technologies transform the industry on a daily basis, event organizers must stay ahead of the curve and understand how to merge physical with digital to improve live experiences. In this workshop, Peter Corbett, founder and C.E.O. of iStrategyLabs, will take a look at new technologies that are impacting the industry and examine tools event professionals should implement. Corbett will discuss the creative use of live streaming and virtual reality, experimental technology, and connected devices. He will also examine the current event landscape and review the newest activations, products, and campaigns while sharing predictions of what is just around the corner.
BizBash Insider: The Best Ideas, Trends, and New Thinking from Editors Coast to Coast
Beth Kormanik, executive editor, BizBash
BizBash editors evaluate countless events each day to find the most innovative, beautiful, and quirky ideas that are then featured on BizBash.com and in the BizBash magazines. In this anticipated end-of-day visual session, enjoy the ultimate event planner eye candy. Beth Kormanik, executive editor of BizBash, will present incredible ideas and inspiration for your next meeting or event. Whether you’re planning an experiential marketing event, product launch, or conference, or looking for new catering ideas, uncover the beautiful, the practical, and the aspirational from some of the world’s top events—and the strategic decisions behind them.
