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Learning from Disney,
by Timothy Schneider, Publisher, Association News
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Los
Angeles, CA – September 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Last month, I attended
Disney’s D23 Expo as a guest of The Walt Disney Company. Held at the Anaheim
Convention Center, D23 is a biennial gathering of fervent Disney fans that
provides a sneak peek of Disney’s near future (please
see related story on page 15). In all, more than 65,000 people attended
the three-day event, which included a general session room with seating
for 7,500 and an expo that occupied more than 400,000 square feet of space.
Attending Disney’s D23 Expo provided several insights on creating successful
events from a company whose mastery of entertainment is impossible to dispute:
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 Keep
the lines moving. Whether attendees are waiting at your registration
desk or are in line to be seated or have lunch, keep the line moving. Anticipate
which parts of your event will likely be the most crowded and have plenty
of staff or volunteers on hand to direct traffic. Even if the lines and
wait times are long, attendees appreciate a line that’s moving.
Don’t
scrimp on audiovisual. It’s important to make sure that your audiovisual
budget isn’t still in the overhead-projector era. The latest in AV gear
is expensive but can go a long way toward enhancing the experience for
your attendees, improving the interaction between the audience and the
presenter, and leaving the audience with vivid visual memories long after
the event concludes.
Run
sessions on time. While live events can sometimes be unpredictable,
event organizers should do their best to stick to the published schedule.
If a session starts late, avoid a domino effect by concluding it on time
so that subsequent sessions will still be on schedule.
Do
a rehearsal. Whenever possible, always do a complete run-through of
the event with the technical crew and presenters prior to show time. This
is a critical opportunity to evaluate the flow and timing of your sessions,
assess what works and what doesn’t, and make final adjustments as needed.
Surprise
and delight your audience. Your audience chose to attend your event
for a reason. Give them what they expect but also surprise them with special
appearances or elements not included in your pre-show promotion or published
program. They’ll be pleased that they got more than they expected.
Remember,
it’s a show. It’s important to think of your event—from start to finish—as
a performance. Attendees may not remember every single detail, but they
will walk away with an overall impression of your event. It’s the job of
the event organizer to make sure the attendee’s experience is a positive
one.
In
this same vein, I am pleased to report that nearly 100 percent of the attendees
surveyed following Meetings Quest in Oakland (please
see story on page 18) indicated that they plan to attend future Meetings
Quest shows. That’s a key indication that Meetings Quest is offering a
valuable experience for our attendees. I am also pleased to announce that
Meetings Quest in Bloomington, Minnesota, will be held July 13–14, 2016.
For more information, please see the ad on page 17, visit MeetingsQuest.com
or call 877-577-3700.
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 Timothy
Schneider is the publisher of Association
News and SportsTravel
magazines, which serve group travel planners responsible for generating
106 million hotel room nights annually. Schneider
Publishing also organizes Meetings
Quest, America's longest-running series of trade shows for meeting
planners, and the TEAMS Conference
& Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers.
TEAMS '15 is being held in Las Vegas, November 9–12, 2015. TEAMS ’16 will
be held September 26–29, 2016, in Atlantic City. For further information
on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call toll-free 877-577-3700
or 310-577-3700 if calling from outside the United States.
The
current issue of Association
News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking
here.
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Media
Contact:
Timothy
Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider
Publishing Company, Inc.
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What’s
Ahead at Convention Centers for Meeting and Event Planners?
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Download “Convention
Trends 2015” (PDF
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