News
May 30, 2019
When Brad Dean, previously president and CEO of Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce for nearly two decades, had the opportunity to take the reins as CEO of the newly formed Discover Puerto Rico in May 2018, it seemed to be the perfect fit. After all, his wife was from the island; he knew the area somewhat well; and he’s never been one to shy away from a challenge — which was important, because he certainly had his work cut out for him.
We caught up with Dean, who just received the 2019 Destinations International Destination Organization Leadership Award, to learn about the progress he’s… more
May 29, 2019
“Hey Alexa, what’s next in new technologies designed to support the exhibition industry?”
That’s the question Freeman poses in its winning submission for the annual UFI Digital Innovation Award. The award, which recognizes new technologies designed to support the exhibition industry, was captured by Freeman for its artificial intelligence-powered chatbot services.
Freeman VP of Innovation, Wilson Tang“Innovation comes from a lot of different places,” says Wilson Tang, who was recently promoted to the role of vice president of innovation for Freeman. The idea for an Amazon Alexa-powered event… more
May 24, 2019
We've all been there — only a few hours into a looong event day, and your feet are already aching. When your feet hurt, it can truly be difficult to think about anything else. Yet aside from kicking off your professional shoes in favor of your old Nikes, what can you do to ensure your feet will be comfortable and presentable for the entire day?
Jacqueline Sutera, DPM, a podiatrist based in New York and spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association, says women don’t have to sacrifice style for comfort. She recommends brands like Vionic, which offers a wide range of colors,… more
May 23, 2019
Industry veteran David Beckett is no stranger to events, having worked with Experient – a Maritz Global Events Company for the better part of the last two decades. Yet the former Clevelander, now Seattleite, this spring joined the team at Eventcore — a company providing enterprise-level event registration technology software — as senior vice president of professional services. His main role is to oversee the quality of service delivery with Eventcore’s clients and partners.
Corporate Event News sat down with Beckett in the midst of his big move out West to get his take on the latest trends… more
May 22, 2019
In the past several years, C-level marketers across all industry segments have been putting more emphasis on — and budget toward — digital and experiential marketing, says Chris Cavanaugh, chief marketing officer at Freeman.
Freeman, once known as Freeman Decorating Services, has long been known for exhibition logistics management, and has grown into an experiential marketing powerhouse. According to the recent Ad Age Annual Agency report, which gives Freeman strong rankings, the experiential marketing category grew 2.1 percent in the U.S. over the past year, outpacing the “all marketing… more
May 21, 2019
Is face-to-face marketing still relevant, and are there plans to use it moving forward? What is the image of the business-to-business exhibition channel today? A new report from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research aims to answer those questions — and more — from the perspective of marketing leaders.
The first in the new “Head of Marketing Insights” series, “Overview of Marketing and Sales Approaches, Most Urgent Objectives, and Brand Image of the B2B Exhibition Channel to Support Needs” examines the perception of B2B exhibitions as a marketing channel.
The report draws from survey… more
May 17, 2019
Technology company Chili Piper has launched a new event scheduling tool designed to improve how B2B event managers and field marketing managers book, manage and track individual and group meetings on-site at events.
Besides delivering a broader feature set that can be deployed in just hours, the platform is also designed to help event managers improve and measure their event ROI.
“The expertise we developed from creating our scheduling platform led us to launching a first-of-kind solution specifically for event managers that meets all their goals,” said Nicolas Vandenberghe, CEO and co-… more
May 16, 2019
Hard on the heels of Uber’s vouchers offering launch, Hilton has announced a new travel and hospitality partnership with rideshare provider Lyft. Now, Hilton Honors members will be able to earn points for riding with Lyft within the United States and Canada.
This partnership may make Hilton even more attractive for planners looking to keep their attendees within the host hotel or room block. Hotel brand loyalty is a powerful tool, as meeting attendees will often choose where to stay based on loyalty status and points earned.
“What makes this partnership unique and different is the… more
May 15, 2019
The 671-room Encore Boston Harbor was scheduled to open its doors on June 23, but that opening may now be delayed until July according to Wynn Resorts CEO Matthew Maddox. The $2.6 billion resort and casino, which is located four miles from downtown Boston in Everett, Mass., is reportedly the country’s most expensive resort development of 2019.
The casino was in question for a time due to the sexual misconduct scandal involving former CEO and chairman Wynn Resorts owner Steve Wynn, but in late April the Massachusetts Gaming Commission ruled that Wynn Resorts could keep its gaming license.… more
May 13, 2019
Colossal events, such as Oracle OpenWorld, Dreamforce and CES, can attract upwards to 200,000 attendees and cost millions to produce.
But….are these events worth all the time, effort and money poured into them?
The goal for most events is to drive new business. But without a forum for holding discussions with attendees about their business challenges and ways you can help them overcome these challenges, it’s often impossible to build quantifiable connections that provide the ROI your event needs.
Many event marketers and CMOs are constantly looking for ways to quantify results. Do any of… more
Partner Voices
Just when it seems like Las Vegas can’t get any bigger, brighter or more exciting for groups, MGM Resorts raises the bar again. The company continues to invest and innovate across its portfolio of Las Vegas resorts, with new attractions and upgraded experiences for attendees of all interests.
Remodeled Guest Rooms
MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with over 5,000 guest rooms and an 850,000-square-foot conference center. It is home to the newly remodeled MGM Grand Studio Tower—700 reimagined guest rooms with a fun mid-century vibe. Nearby, the iconic New York-New York Las more