Bruno Group Signature Events

Event Tech Brief Launches with a Contest

Michelle Bruno — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:18:52 +0000

Bruno Group Signature Events launched an email newsletter and website this month dedicated to event-industry technology. The biweekly Event Tech Brief was developed with three goals in mind: to assist event producers tasked with purchasing technology, create a neutral, no spin zone where the technology can be dissected and compared side-by-side and deliver the content that the event community wants to move their events into the future. To kick off the new publication, we are issuing a challenge to subscribers to answer a single question in an email: How would you use Google Glass in an event setting? By events, we mean trade shows, meetings, conferences, festivals or public exhibitions. We will send the first 10 respondents who send a legitimate answer of at least 100 words to mbruno@eventtechbrief.com a ten-of-a-kind Event Tech Brief hoodie for their trouble and we’ll post a collection of the responses in an upcoming issue of the newsletter. The only requirement is that you must subscribe to get a hoodie. Let the musings begin.

NFC, Virtual Building Blocks and Digital Disruption Conclude 2012 and Ring in 2013

Michelle Bruno — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:13:01 +0000

Besides the obvious–the end of year holidays–December was a busy month for the Bruno Group Signature Events team preparing for and moderating two panels at IAEE’s Annual Meeting in Orlando. Moderating duties for the first panel discussion, “How to Execute a Virtual Event: Five Key Building Blocks,” were shared by BGSE’s Michelle Bruno and Warwick Davies of The Event Mechanic! The panel featured Amy Hager of the Satellite Communications and Broadcasting Association and Catherine Mills of the American Dental Association. The second panel, “Inside NFC [Near Field Communication],” featured Ivan Lazarev of ITN International and Daniel Preiss of EMC. Both panels addressed what’s ahead for face-to-face meetings and trade shows.

In January, PCMA‘s Convening Leaders Conference also in Orlando was THE place to be for event-industry innovation. Michelle moderated a panel on “Digital Disruption’s Impact on Conventions and Trade Shows,” which included a Who’s Who of association leadership:

Chris Brown (National Association of Broadcasters)

Stephen Lieber (Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society)

Tony Lorenz (bxb Online)

Michael Doyle (Virtual Edge Institute)

Rich Hawkinson (INXPO)

Johnnie White (Center for Education, Cardiovascular Research Foundation)

She was also interviewed by Tahira Endean of Cantrav For The Meetings Podcast (tune in at the 29:33 mark) about digital disruption and how organizations can and should embrace it rather than ignore it. Her review of PCMA’s Convening Leaders Conference is the featured post at ForkintheRoadBlog. Change is accelerating and BGSE is in the eye of the storm.

TSNN’s T-Awards and the November 2012 Newslines Put BGSE at the Center of the Trade Show Universe

Michelle Bruno — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:56:54 +0000

Early in the month, BGSE’s Michelle Bruno led a panel discussion at the 2012 T-Awards in Louisville, Kentucky. The event is produced annually by the Trade Show News Network to honor the top trade shows hitting the mark in various categories. Her presentation on “Driving Attendance with Non-traditional Tools” also featured Chris Dolnack of the National Shooting Sports Federation (owners of the the Shot Show) and Roger Halligan of H + A International, a marketing and public relations firm. Convention News TV interviewed her during the conference for a recap of the presentation.

Also in November, Michelle Bruno contributed a number of articles to IAEE’s quarterly publication, Newslines. Each issue contains four to five articles in a specific vertical. Bruno’s articles covered the trade show metrics used to grow a show and ways to make an event memorable (attendee marketing); labor reform strategies and the risks of social media (executive); social media channels for communicating with exhibitors and using visual content in exhibitor communication (operations) and what virtual event sponsors want (sales & sponsorships). Hint: It may be easier to print or convert the articles to PDFs rather than read them online.

TSNN Webinar October 25, 1 PM EST: What Trade Show Organizers Want: The Forces that Drive Technology Purchases

Michelle Bruno — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:18:21 +0000

Michelle Bruno will moderate a panel of stellar trade show and corporate event organizers on Thursday, October 25, 2012 to drill down into the subject of event-related technology purchasing. Don’t worry if you can’t watch tomorrow, the presentation will be archived on the TSNN.com website. The Webinar will feature Andrea Bahr from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (producers of the ginormous Offshore Technology Conferences around the world), Scott Lum of Microsoft Corporation (enough said) and April Wilson from Hanley Wood Exhibitions (a for-profit organizer of several mega shows including World of Concrete and Surfaces). Panelists will address seven questions and then the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions of their own. Here are the questions and an explanation of what Michelle will be looking for from their responses:

How do you find out about event-specific technology? i.e. what digital publications, print magazines, blogs, thought leaders, social platforms, trade shows, conferences do you read, consult, attend, etc.
What factors drive your purchasing decisions? i.e. What constraints do you have or criteria do you use to make technology/vendor/platform selections?
What internal procedures do you follow to select and purchase technology? i.e. do you use formal RFPs?, when you find something, who do you show it to, who has to approve it, what’s the purchasing path?
What types of technologies are on your radar now? i.e. are you focused on virtual, social, mobile, tablets, database, CRM, what and why?
What reservations do you typically have for any technology purchase? i.e. what are your concerns: integration with existing platforms, whether vendors can support your purchases (in the case of start-ups or new leading/bleeding edge tech), cost, how the technology fits an overall strategy, etc?
What do you love or hate about technology vendors? i.e. do you get calls at home (hope not), do you get newbies that don’t understanding your needs selling sophisticated tech that they don’t really understand, are there folks selling you vaporware, do you have any examples of a great interaction, etc?
What is the best way for vendors to sell to you or your organization? i.e. How do companies with really great ideas and solutions penetrate the “firewalls” of large organizations in a way that allows them to appear professional and respectful?

You can still sign up for the live presentation here:

https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=49993&

After that, visit TSNN.com/webinars for the archive.

IAEE to Co-Market Rogers Worldwide’s Global View Notes

Michelle Bruno — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 02:23:05 +0000

The International Association for Exhibitions and Events has entered into an agreement with Rogers Worldwide to co-market Rogers’ bi-weekly newsletter Global View Notes. Rogers will continue to email the publication offering relevant content for international exhibition organizers and exhibitors to its clients and prospects. IAEE will distribute co-branded content through its newsletters and on its websites. As a result, Global View Notes received a new look incorporating the logos for both organizations. Bruno Group Signature Events has produced Global View Notes on behalf of Rogers Worldwide for more than two years. The agreement with IAEE will extend the reach of the newsletter, which Rogers successfully uses as a client retention and prospecting tool.

More Mobile Apps, Trade Show Tech Trends and Blue Ocean Strategy

Michelle Bruno — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:21:25 +0000

The last few months have been riotously busy. On June 1, Michelle was featured in Meetings and Conventions (online) in Michael Shapiro’s post, “Event Apps: Common Pitfalls to Avoid.” Later on in the month, she delivered another webinar for TSNN on “Tradeshow Technology Trends You Need to Know About.” She covered big data, social discovery and social collaboration (outside the industry) and mobile, social and virtual (inside the industry). In July, Michelle repeated a webinar she presented in March on “Understanding Mobile Apps for Events: From Strategy to Selection.” Then, she rounded out the month with an article in Association, Conventions and Facilities Magazine on “Why bxb Online’s ‘Network’ is a Blue Ocean Strategy for Associations.” We’ve got some great projects lined up for the fall. See you soon.

Virtual/Hybrid Events – What’s Working and What’s Not?

Michelle Bruno — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:59:32 +0000

On March 15, 2012, Michelle Bruno developed and moderated a panel of experts on virtual/hybrid events for the TSNN.com Webinar series. Mary Beth Micucci of HIMSS and Kenji Haroutunian of Neilsen delivered the kind of advice that event planners dream about receiving when it comes to executing a digital conference. At the end of the presentation, Michelle pinned them down (nicely, of course) on some of the tough questions that planners are asking about what’s working and what’s not working.

Response from Webinar on Mobile Apps Shows the Topic is Hotter than Ever

Michelle Bruno — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:28:02 +0000

March was a busy month at BGSE. On March 8, 2012, Michelle Bruno delivered a Webinar for the folks at Pathable. Over two hundred listeners joined her to listen in on the strategy, selection and trends around event-related mobile platforms. In a nutshell, strategy is key and should align with the organization’s/event’s strategy; mobile web vs. native app is still a key element to consider when selecting a mobile platform for an event and floor plans, exhibitor directories and conference agendas still dominate the features of most mobile solutions for events. After the Webinar she received several emails and LinkedIn inquiries about specific apps and functionality demonstrating that it’s still a huge issue for event planners and trade show organizers. We can’t imagine it will die down any time soon.

EastVirtual Marks BGSE Return to Event Production

Michelle Bruno — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:25:55 +0000

So far so good for the EastVirtual Event Workshop planned for March 21, 2012 at the ASAE Conference Center in Washington, DC. Bruno Group Signature Events is co-producing the event with The Event Mechanic!

Early bird registration ends Friday February 3 for the event with an amazing lineup of speakers–experts on virtual events–including Tony Lorenz, Kenji Haroutunian, Stephen Nold, Amy Hager and Brad Williams.

The live (not virtual) workshop will train participants on the basics required to launch a virtual event. Registrants will walk away with a 30-day plan and a printed workbook. Early bird price is $199. Full registration price is $249.

Mike McCallen of the Meetings Podcast interviewed Michelle Bruno prior to EastVirtual. Listen to what they talked about here.

Jenise Fryatt of the Sound ‘n Sight blog interviewed Michelle Bruno about the state of virtual events prior to the workshop. Read that interview.

EIBTM 2011 Presentations in Barcelona

Michelle Bruno — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:05:54 +0000

After serving on the EIBTM Tech Watch committee for the first time, Michelle Bruno was invited to deliver three presentations on technology-related subjects at the event held in late December 2011 in Barcelona. Two of the presentations from the Future Events Experience were recorded and posted online:

Ask the Experts (panel discussion moderated by Samuel J. Smith)

Unconferences, Barcamps and Other Self-Organised Gatherings, Pop-ups

Photo courtesy of Adrian Segar, Conferences that Work