#EventIcons

Today's #EventIcons guests recently launched a conference in 90 days, growing their attendance from 0 to 5,000 people. That event was a fantastic PLX conference focused on partner marketing.    Partner marketing is a strategic relationship between two entities that aim to accomplish common goals, like increasing event attendance, building brand awareness, or marketing your products. And while you may be familiar with influencer marketing in B2C, a popular approach to partner marketing, partner marketing in B2B spaces is also growing in popularity. In this #EventIcons episode, Will brings together three people who played critical roles in the PLX conference: Nicole, Jared, and Isaac. Keep reading to learn more about the partner-led event, how they emphasized co-creation in their content and more iconic insights.

The pandemic put a strain on everyone in the events industry, and it’s pushed some of our longest-serving professionals into other careers or even retirement, leaving a vacuum for other professionals to fill. It’s this need for experienced and knowledgeable event professionals, along with the revitalization of events, that led today’s guest, Bradley Cocks, to transition from doing to educating.  Bradley is an experienced event professional with an impressive 20 years of history in the industry. He’s also founded and sold his own events agency and has launched a successful online Masterclass specifically for event professionals. In this #EventIcons episode, Will has many questions for Bradley. Tune in to hear what skills Bradly thinks event professionals need for the future, what prompted his transition from events to event education, and more.  

Ashley Lawson is a big name in the travel meetings and incentives industry. Recently featured on the SITE Global and IMEX Instagram accounts, she’s also been featured closer to home. In a recent Event Brew episode on event inspiration, Deanna named Ashley as someone she goes to for inspiration and to bounce ideas off. Eager to learn more about Ashley, we’ve decided to bring her on for today’s #EventIcon episode! Ashley currently serves as the Vice President of Business Partnerships at Achieve Incentives & Meetings and is the third generation to work for the 70-year-old family business. Since her shift from nonprofit work in Washington, DC, she has become her industry’s “safe travel ambassador” and is on a mission to celebrate culture and usher back safe travel. Tune in to learn more about her life in events as a digital nomad and what she thinks the industry needs more of.

Throughout 2022, we discussed how event professionals could talk business and engage with the C-suite. We also talked about trends we witnessed and expected to see in 2023. That’s why we’ve brought Jim Kelley on today’s episode of the #EventIcons. Jim is an experienced leader in the events industry. Currently the Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations at Fern Expo, he has a long history of working in events, tradeshows, and conferences. Jim describes himself as a continuous learner, trusted advisor, innovator, educator, and ukulelist in training. Today, he’ll share his background, how event professionals can take on the business world, how to avoid burnout, and why we’ll see more white space in 2023.

Attendee arrival has changed in recent years. Before the pandemic, attendees would have booked hotels and made transportation arrangements in the days or weeks leading up to the event. With online events, they’ve cut that time down to a few minutes, and no one understands this better than today’s #EventIcons guest, Arianna Black. Arianna has a long-standing relationship with events. Recently, that relationship has grown to focus on meaningful connections in virtual events. She says, “My current obsession is building spaces for authentic connections into large-scale digital-first engagements.” In this episode, Arianna will share what led her to events, her thoughts about digital arrival, and some of her best tips for creating online experiences.