We’re launching a special edition of The Stand-Up, designed to help you make decisions about your next meeting. At the end of each month, we’ll stop and look back to translate what happened into what you should do differently. It’s The Stand-Up: Monthly Decision Debrief — a rundown of the most important stories with a clear understanding of what to consider changing because of them. |
Here we go. |
THE MONEY MOVES TO MAKE |
— Fix the key contract clauses almost nobody has touched. |
When Barbara Scofidio examined why half of corporate planners have changed their contract language, she also paid close attention to what they haven’t touched: just 12% opted to make adjustments to deposit structures and even fewer (5%) touched their insurance. That’s a potentially costly mistake in the new normal of doing business, according to attorney Joshua Grimes. |
— Walk into budget season knowing what you would be willing to cut. |
What are you willing to skip vs. what is a must-keep piece of your meeting? At Skift Meetings Forum, Betsy Gonzalez, AVP, manager, events and sponsorships, FM, summed up her thinking with a simple rule: “Focus on the 20% of elements that bring you the most return, the ones that give you the 80% guest satisfaction,” she said. Watch the full session here to know how to do more with less. |
THE CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE |
— Ask your international attendees whether they’re still coming, and put a non-U.S. option in your next multi-year RFP. |
If your audience includes a sizable chunk of Canadian attendees but your program takes place in the U.S., it’s time to get serious about your event marketing messaging. Andrea Doyle's reporting shows that INFORMS saw Canadian attendance drop 45% in a year. It’s not all bad news, though: The organization’s Singapore program drew 1,175 attendees, nearly doubling expected turnout. |
— Agree with your leadership on what happens when members protest. |
In June, security removed five researchers from the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions for handing out an editorial. Now about 1,200 physicians and past leaders have pledged to boycott the 2027 meeting in Washington. The people protesting are also the meeting's speakers, exhibitors and committee members. Decide in advance where the line sits between dissent and disruption, and who has the authority to call it. |
THE ATTENDEE UPDATES TO MAKE |
— Ask every venue and registration vendor what attendee data they hold and how fast they'll tell you if it's breached. |
A ransomware group claims it took 250GB of files in a hack of San Francisco’s Moscone Center, including event contracts and deposit records. It’s a reminder that no matter what your organization does to protect the privacy of your audience, you’re at the mercy of venues and vendors, too. Zenus’ Nick Borelli recommends updating your approach to “evaluate venues by their data security as much as physical security.” Write breach-notification deadlines with financial penalties into venue contracts, and share only the attendee data a venue needs to operate. |
— Swap one content session for time AI can’t summarize. |
Sessions attended per person fell from 5.3 to 4.2 in a year, while scheduled one-on-one meetings roughly tripled. With the Apple Watch now able to recap conversations, attendees can get the content without sitting in the room. It’s time to focus less on the stage and more on what can happen away from it with scheduled meetings and wellness-focused programming. |
LOOKING AHEAD |
It’s October, which means it’s time to go to Las Vegas. If you’re coming to IMEX America, be sure to look for our editorial team as we rack up approximately 175,000 steps between sessions, receptions, interviews and press conferences. And if you missed Skift Meetings Forum, check out our webinar with a full recap of the conversations from New York. |
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LOOKING BACK… |
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While we’re all about looking to the future, we also want to say a mighty thank you to all of you who joined us in New York for Skift Meetings Forum. Our team was thrilled to see so many of you at the Javits Center. |
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