Case Studies

Event Solutions 2009

This is the fourth Event Solutions Conference I have had the pleasure to be a part of.  For the 2009 Conference, I took on two separate roles.  My first role was as the host/master of ceremonies of the Event Solutions Spotlight and ICA Catie Awards.  I began by producing and hosting an online video showcasing the talent for the show, giving conference attendees a reason to come out and celebrate.  Then, working with the event producers, I provided the voice talent for the video portions of the show (while on-site at the conference).  Finally, I was the host/master of ceremonies of the award show, (including live announcing of presenters from backstage).

For the conference portion of Event Solutions 2009, I was the conference video news magazine producer.  By giving daily video updates of what was happening at the conference, people following the conference virtually could feel like they were part of the action.  These three-minute daily video segments included attendee interviews, general sessions, breakouts, the trade show floor, and the Event Solutions Spotlight and ICA Catie Awards.  The last update closed with a call to action for viewers to attend the 2010 Event Solutions Conference.

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Meeting Professionals International
World Education Congress 2009

I was the host/moderator for the “Ask the Expert” sessions at the MPI World Education Congress.  “Ask the Experts” was a forum for creating new conversations and ideas with the top creative business minds today.  Speakers included:

• Betsy Myers – COO of Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign
• Ken Schmidt – Marketing Visionary and Former Director of Communications for Harley-Davidson during their turnaround
• Mary Boone and Susan Radojevic – Four Elements of Strategic Value (making the case for meetings)

The challenge was to fill the “Ask the Expert” sessions with attendees and to effectively distribute the content.  Advertising for this part of the conference was very small.  Not many attendees knew about this unbelievable opportunity to connect with these industry experts.  Through using Twitter as a primary social network for the conference, I leveraged the speakers and the MPI staff to re-tweet the session content and publish it in the daily conference magazine.  The podcasts and interviews were posted immediately to draw more interest for the next session.  This grew the number of session attendees exponentially.

To add value to the convention, I hosted on-camera interviews with WEC keynote speakers Betsy Myers and Ben Stein (economist, lawyer, actor), so the viewers following the conference at home, could get some of the meeting’s highlights.  I also held podcast interviews with Ken Schmidt, Mary Boone, and Susan Radojevic, keeping the content from the conference alive and relevant, adding additional ROI for attendees and MPI.

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Homeland Defense Symposium

The Homeland Defense Symposium focuses on key topics of the day in homeland security and defense issues.  Speakers and panelists included government officials, anti-terrorism experts, military officers, and defense contractors.

As the host of this conference, I reviewed the program agenda, speaker bios, and presentation summaries, then wrote a script. During the three day event, I summarized each presentation and related it to the speeches that were delivered the previous day, bringing back to life the content of the previous day’s speakers.  This also drew parallels to the overall focus of the symposium; how to protect the U.S. from natural threats and disasters (such as Katrina), terrorism and school shootings.

One word became the “through line” for the conference, “interoperability.”  It was used to explain an ideal of how the municipalities (fire, police and local government), military, and federal government should work together in times of escalating threats.  Less red tape, more action.  I was able to use the information I gained from the panel discussions and speakers to make the case for interoperability in my daily closing summaries.