Author Archives: Kerry Rea President of GovEvents

About Kerry Rea President of GovEvents

Twitter: @Kerry_Rea | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kerryrea/ I am a business and marketing professional with an extensive background in company start-ups. I have 20+ years direct experience in the information technology, government, franchise, and construction industries. Having a passion for business, I love brainstorming, collaborating and strategizing on the best ways to achieve our clients' and partners' business objectives.

Measuring the Success of Your Events

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During the summer months, the rate of government events tends to slow down, presenting a great time for reflection and planning. With this in mind, we wanted to outline some thoughts on how to measure the success of events. Whether it's setting goals for future events or looking back on past events, these tips will help ensure everyone is informed on what success looks like.[Tweet "Slower summer season is a good time to reflect and plan. #GovEventsBlog"]

  • Set Clear, Specific Goals and a Call-to-Action - Events are a piece of an overall marketing strategy and serve as a way to advance the brand and drive business. While setting goals around revenue and attendance are important, each event should also have a post-event call to action tied to it. What do you want attendees to do after they leave? Buy a product? Schedule a meeting? Attend another event? Clearly define this goal and ensure that the event is planned with this desired result in mind.[Tweet "Clearly define the goal of the event to ensure planning is done with this in mind. #GovEventsBlog"]
  • Measure Twice - While overall satisfaction scores gathered through surveys are important, it is also critical to measure satisfaction across different elements of the event. This includes speakers, venue, food, timing/logistics, registration, cost, staff, and more. An overall satisfaction score could be pulled down by just one element or by a combination of multiple elements. Knowing the satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, in each element helps pinpoint the biggest opportunities for improvement.
  • Dig into Social - If you highlighted social interaction as part of your event (or even if you didn't) take a look at what was said over social media. Go beyond the number of shares, likes, and hashtag mentions and look at the sentiment. Were attendees simply saying they were there or were they excited enough about what they were hearing to share soundbites from speakers and thoughts on the event content?
  • Missed Numbers Doesn't Mean Failure - If the event went over budget or did not bring in the expected revenue, it does not mean that it was a failure. These numbers indicate a need for more informed planning and forecasting. Look at what you may have gained beyond the bottom line. How much did you increase the number of opt-in email addresses gathered through the event? Did event content generate social media buzz and/or media coverage?[Tweet "Look at what you may have gained beyond the bottom line. #GovEventsBlog"]

We'd love to hear your thoughts on what signals success for your organization and how you measure it. Let us know in the comments.

We Want You…To Mark your Calendar

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The landscape for battle is shifting quickly. From the emergence of cyber warfare to the physical battlefield moving from fields into cities, our military is undergoing a huge transformation. Additionally, military spending priorities are rapidly changing and military professionals are expected to pursue continuing education and specializations. Luckily there is a wide array of events tailored for the armed forces.[Tweet "View the wide array of events tailored for the armed forces and #DoD #GovEventsBlog"]

We wanted to highlights some of the major events that should be on the calendars of anyone involved with the DoD. Continue reading →

Online or In-Person: It’s Not a Zero Sum Game

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Streaming video and high availability of video collaboration applications have made virtual meetings and events more viable and desirable. This does not mean the demise of in-person events and meetings; on the contrary, it signals a human desire to see and interact with one another.

As we've written in a number of posts here, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors no longer want to be passive participants in an event. Sitting back and just listening and taking notes is not enough. A logo on a sign is not enough. Booth space is not enough. All participants are looking for interaction and engagement with each other and with the event as a whole. While online interactions are convenient, the connection made online translates into a desire for in-person interaction. A study from Digitell found that "up to 30% of people attending a live streamed event have attended the live physical event the following year."[Tweet "It's Not a Zero Sum Game. The balance between online and in-person events. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Update Your Event Through Sponsorship

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Virtual Reality, Streaming Video, Mobile Apps, Fitness/Health sessions - these are all hot trends at events and can make one event stand out among the rest. But how do you integrate them into an event that is working on a tight budget and even tighter resources. The answer? Sponsorship.

We've written about the changing expectations of sponsors. No longer is a logo on a sign enough incentive for companies to support your show. They want interaction with attendees, they want a deeper connection. Creating a whole new sponsor program to accommodate this need can feel like another item on the to-do list, but if you combine these opportunities with your desire to update your event you end up killing two birds with one stone.[Tweet "Combine the updates to your event with updates to your sponsor opportunities. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

The Data Center Takes Center Stage

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The Data Center is at the heart of our information-centric world and as such is key to government IT modernization efforts. Recognizing this, the Federal government introduced the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) in 2016 that requires agencies to meet specific consolidation, energy efficiency, and cost reduction goals by 2019. This initiative is an extension of and supercedes the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI), which focused primarily on reducing the data center real estate footprint. The investigation into data center utilization resulted in the closure of 1,900 data centers and nearly $1 billion in savings. DCOI operates on a similar premise of looking at underperforming data center assets, but extends the examination to energy efficiency and cost impacts. [Tweet "Meeting your #DCOI consolidation, energy efficiency, and cost reduction goals? #GovEventsBlog"]

To stay on track for the 2019 deadline, agencies will have to show they meet the following metrics by September 2018: Continue reading →