The Skift Conference Forum concluded in New York on Tuesday. The 250 attendees enjoyed exclusive access to industry VIPs who shared the latest industry trends.
The day started with marketing guru Seth Godin asking the audience to question the status quo and change their meetings.
“Why doesn’t the conference last 365 days and have us together for three of those days?” he asked the audience. He suggested that instead of having a typical meeting by eliminating the three most mediocre speakers, why not use that time to break people into small groups and give them a problem to solve together as a group within an hour. “There’s going to be some chaos, and then it’s going to change who’s in the room.”
Lessons from TED
Afternoon speaker Monique Ruff-Bell, chief project and strategist for the TED Conference, shared her story about working with the iconic brand, as well as some tidbits from the annual TED conference in Vancouver, where attendees listened to more than 80 TED talks. five days.
“Not only will you listen to Ted’s talk, but you will also participate in an event called a Discovery Session. We don’t call our sessions breakout sessions. We want to create an experience where you discover something about yourself—a A new ability, a new way of thinking.
The speaker steps off the stage and joins you in the audience. “We also have speaker gatherings every day where you can ask all your burning questions to the speakers you just heard.”
“So it’s not just about creating content, it’s about creating an immersive experience.”
Global politics on the agenda
Skift Conference Forum With just 47 days to go before the U.S. presidential election, Michael Dominguez, President and CEO of the International Luxury Hotels Association (ALHI), and Senthil Gopinath, CEO of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) attended the timely session to discuss how geopolitics Impact on the conference industry.
Both speakers agreed that regardless of the election outcome, the meetings industry will continue to grow. In fact, Dominguez said his focus is elsewhere. “I’m paying more attention to what’s going on in Congress and the Senate because, frankly, that’s where legislation is really getting passed.”
Gopinath questioned why the industry has been focusing on the economic impact when it is not important to politicians. “We tend to talk about why we’re important and the impact we create as an industry, but they’re not interested in that. They want to identify what you’ve brought to their country or their city, or what difference you can make. So their decision-making process is largely based on that.
Visa wait times for visitors to the U.S. are also part of the discussion. With average wait times approaching 400 days in some countries, this remains a concern for planners who rely on international audiences. “There are groups telling us that they are avoiding the United States entirely now because they are facing a huge international emergency and there is no guarantee they can get them here,” Dominquez said.
Responding to industry challenges
Highlights of the Skift Conference Forum included a panel discussion moderated by Ken Holsinger, Freeman Senior Vice President of Strategy; Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group; and Sherrif Karamat, PCMA President and CEO, focusing on the Freeman Trends Report on Next Generation Values, Preferences and Behavioral findings were studied. Bauer said the group discussed how the conference must evolve, just as IMEX has done. “We have a big event that brings everyone together, and then we create micro-events and micro-opportunities for people to connect with a small group of people. So you get the best of both worlds.
In the “DEI at the Crossroads” session, Dr. Brandi Baldwin, CEO of Millennial Ventures, shared the importance of companies taking a holistic approach. “If we don’t have diversity on our teams, if we don’t have diversity on the stage at events, if we don’t have diversity on the committees that plan events, then all we’re going to do is get the same results all over again. . Her co-host and ESG consultant Bea Boccalandro is very honest about the reverse discrimination she has experienced. “Reverse discrimination does not eliminate discrimination, but actually promotes it,” she said.
in a focused meeting Addressing the challenges facing corporate events, Event Leaders Exchange CEO Nicola Kastner and Bishop-McCann CEO Rob Adams discuss a variety of topics including artificial intelligence, sustainability and engaging the next generation of attendees.
The day’s panel discussion was punctuated by personal interviews with Reggie Aggarwal, CEO and founder of Cvent; Ben Irwin, president and CEO of Encore; Melissa Riley, senior vice president of convention sales and services at Destination DC; and Sheraton Caroline Godden, global brand leader in hotels and resorts.
network first
A question posed to the audience during the opening session revealed that networking is the number one reason people attend the forum, and organizers did not disappoint. During the two compare note sessions, participants broke into small groups to brainstorm specific issues related to the speaker’s presentation. The Glasshouse’s light-filled common areas feature floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan, making it the perfect place to lounge and dine.
A group of attendees enjoyed a private tour of The Shed, an innovative performing arts venue with a removable enclosure located in the nearby Hudson Yards district. Everyone ended the day with an elegant evening reception at The Glasshouse, which overlapped with the opening of the Skift Global Forum on Thursday.
