Tag Archives: government-events

Why Virtual Events Will See Real Growth

Posted on by

We are hearing that budgets and travel restrictions for government are starting to loosen up a bit and event planners are more optimistic about growing their in-person attendance. But this growth in physical events does not necessarily signal a downturn in virtual events. We believe that online events such as webinars, virtual tradeshows, and streamed hybrid events are here to stay and here's why. [Tweet "Online events -- webinars, virtual tradeshows, hybrid events are here to stay. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

F is for Federal and Fun

Posted on by

When we saw the headline, How to Entertain a Serious Audience, we immediately thought of government events. We know it is an overgeneralization and a misrepresentation that people who serve the government tend to be more serious, bureaucratic, and careful with their words, but there is some truth to this stereotype. With very real mandates around gifts, endorsements, and the reality of austere budgets, events for the federal sector cannot be as flashy as those for commercial-focused attendees. But that does not mean they cannot be fun.

While the day-to day work and missions of government audiences are incredibly important, vital, and sometimes even deadly serious, it does not mean they don't enjoy some levity. Here are a couple ideas to lighten the mood at events and create some fun differentiators in the crowded federal event marketplace. [Tweet "Ideas to lighten the mood at federal events and create some fun differentiators. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Speaking From Experience: Event Attendance Tips

Posted on by

In a new series here on GovEvents, we'd like to share some of the best tips and tricks we've found in navigating the world of events. From attending to exhibiting, we hope our tips (some discovered through missteps) will help you get the most out of events. In today's post, we'll focus on tips for attending events.

  • Go in with a plan - look at the agenda and exhibitor list the week before the event and take some time to plan out your time there. Block sessions you want to attend into your calendar and make notes on the booths you want to see. Make sure you build in time to check emails or grab coffee with people you meet. Doing this a week out also gives you time to confer with colleagues. If others are attending how do you best divide and conquer? If you are going alone, are there sessions or companies they'd like you to see while you are there. Jot down questions you want to make sure you get answered while there.

Continue reading →

Government Meetings Still in Freefall

Posted on by

From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on meetingsnet.com

Corporate meetings have seen steady positive growth over the past year, but the government meetings segment continues to struggle, showing little sign of regaining its footing, at least not in the quarterly Meetings Outlook report published by Meeting Professionals International.

MPI asks planner and supplier respondents, "Compared to one year ago, which client segment of your organization's meeting and event-related business has seen the greatest decrease in activity?" In the Winter 2015 report, whose data was collected in November 2014, almost half of respondents saw government meetings in decline. That's even more than the 43 percent who reported declines in the August 2014 outlook, which itself was a dramatic increase over the 31 percent who saw declines in the May 2014 survey. (And in response to the converse question in the current report--asking which segment showed the greatest uptick--no one said government.) Continue reading →

5 Ways to Engage Millennials in Meetings

Posted on by

From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on cvent.com

Loosely defined as individuals born between the 1980s and early 2000s, the oldest millennials are now in their early to mid 30s. In the largest demographic power shift to hit organizations in decades, over the next 10 years more millennials will be entering the workforce and moving into the executive suite.

Associations are also discovering this. In fact, concerned about dwindling membership in the millennial demographic, American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) released a ground-breaking report entitled Associations, Generation Y, and Millennials: What You Need to Know About Your Next Generation Members. The report had take-aways about the expectations of millennials in the arenas of: Continue reading →