Event Industry News Podcast

Launched in 2003, IMEX Frankfurt is the heartbeat of the global business events community. And that’s what it says on the show’s homepage. In this episode, IMEX design manager Anna Gyseman and Oli Bailey, interaction designer, detail the considerable process involved in giving a new look to the practised, proven event. In conversation with host James Dickson they discuss 18 months research – not least with 50 external partners - how it’s a refresh not a rebrand, modernising and streamlining the stamp, physically and digitally. They go on to talk diligence in the process – through prototypes in context, animation, sponsorships and timing, ahead of the big reveal. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here.   If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form. This episode of the Event Industry News Podcast is sponsored by Evolution dome, award-winning temporary event structures. Take a look at their structures at evolutiondome.com

Raccoon Media Group, formerly Raccoon Events, launched in a garden shed and delivered the award-winning National Running Show, at Birmingham NEC, less than two years later. In this episode, CEO Mike Seaman talks host James Dickson through Raccoon’s growth, how it currently runs 10 shows, eight of them homegrown, two acquired. Mike discusses rebranding during Covid, delivering for the 500,000 people on the Raccoon database, turning ideas into realities, the resurgence of events post-pandemic, the future of Raccoon as a blended events and digital business, and the vetting process among target communities. The podcast also touches on engagement and galvanising groups of people, similarities between running and equine events, sustainability, and the metrics of taking shows across the Pond.    To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here.   If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form. This episode of the Event Industry News Podcast is sponso

Since 2022, tellingly titled company TURF has been pitching exclusive NFTs and art prints of ‘any place on earth’.   Co-founder Garm Lucassen, who has a history in business infomatics, took his experience of blockchain and NFTs to co-found TURF, which is focused on cartographic/map-based art. Every piece in its global collection is available just once and TURF is working with First Event and Cardano Foundation to deliver a new dimension in event giveaways.   In this episode, Garm is joined by Alex Maaza, outreach development manager at Swiss-based Cardano, a not-for-profit organisation focused on furthering the public digital infrastructure, and Max Collishaw, who is head of digital at corporate event management specialist First Event.   With host James Dickson putting the questions, the participants discuss the TURF collection and its impact on events, the 2022 Cardano Summit by way of example, the concept of NTFs and Blockchain, authenticity, gifting gold NFTs, gamification and much, much more.   To keep up

Having spent the latter part of his 10 years at Clarion Events as EVP of its energy portfolio, Duncan Reid founded Reset Connect, a sustainability show for business, investors and innovators, during lockdown. With so many people knocked out of their employment stride by the pandemic, Reid was able to put together a top team of co-founders and launch, in the shape of a week of webinars against the clock in 2021. Since then, Reset Connect has found its in-person feet and this episode, recorded two weeks out from the 2023 edition, sees Duncan talk host James Dickson through those stages. They discuss the COVID-19-era ‘concentration of minds’, and its products, choosing the UK’s first carbon neutral venue to host the show - one element in the pressure to contain the inevitable uplift in emissions switching from virtual to hybrid in 2022, and the growth in want for sustainability across events-world and beyond. Aimed at business leaders, Reset Connect has a multi-sector reach. To keep up to date with all the news,

Award-winning creative agency EMC3 recently published a white paper, ‘Events as a force for good’, is focused on holistic sustainability in the industry. This episode features the company’s events strategist, Emily Maule, and Saskya Liney, EMC3’s head of sustainability. Host James Dickson does some background, not least finding out about From Now, the environmental services specialist Saskya co-founded during the pandemic, before digging into the document itself. Emily and Saskya discuss the thinking and process behind the white paper, how event organisers need to think about their locations - about leaving these people, these places, these communities better off - the risks we face, timeframes, atmospheric data, human resources and investing in people, fostering interest in the next generation right through to greenwashing and the truth behind tote bags… One key takeaway – do something different!   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here.   If you would like to take part in a podcast, t

With 10 years’ event industry experience in the locker, Ryan Curtis-Johnson is director of communications for Valuable 500, the largest CEO network after the United Nations.   With 15 global chief executives at its core, from the likes of the London Stock Exchange, Apple, the BBC, Sky, Sony and Microsoft, together with 485 equally important others, the Valuable 500 is working to end disability exclusion.   In this episode, Ryan Curtis-Johnson details the group’s makeup and motivation, highlighting the 1.3bn people around the world who have a disability and means to better include them, not least through steps Valuable 500 companies have made.   Ryan tells host James Dickson how inclusion means action, talks advice and guidelines, hidden disabilities, making events open to everybody without waiting for a prompt, budgets, technology, all the time emphasising best practice.   Insightful, practical steps, supported by switched on businesses, to making event world a more inclusive place.

Andrew Morrow is founder/managing director of venues the Belgravia and the Block but he’s here to highlight a new venture, the Events Club. With 25-years’ experience in the industry, primarily venue side, Andrew noted how the teams coming in to put events together under those roofs didn’t have a place to go between jobs/shifts/times. After providing host James Dickson with a weight of background information, this episode sees Andrew discussing his Event Club process, from finding an investor during the pandemic to seeking out founding members to working out what these venues – and there could be as many as six – should provide. Andrew Morrow talks creches, rest pods, commuting, comparisons with other members’ clubs, in terms of facilities and costs, sharing memberships in a company, food and drink quality – how to compete with the Pret/Starbucks models - and much more.   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here.   If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submi

Former Mobile Promotions and Star Live man Robin Carlisle launched RC Consultants in November 2021 to help young people with special needs find a foothold events-world. In this episode, Robin talks host James Dickson through volunteering as a governor at a new local SEN school and the impact that’s had. He discusses sustainability in some of its myriad shapes and the notion of accessibility at events, applauding its growth and questioning its depth. With more than 35 years in events Robin Carlisle is a voice of true experience and these 30 next generation minutes are well worth listening to.   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Since 2011, using content management systems including Drupal and Webflow, Touchdreams has been building websites for ‘e-commerce, product businesses, service businesses, agencies, accounting, law, anything you can think of’ from its offices in Cape Town and London. After giving host James Dickson some background on the company, this episode sees Touchdreams founder Dane Rossenrode talk about bringing his broad experience to bear, specialising in sites for the events industry. Rossenrode discusses complacency – how much people are looking beyond traditional websites – what the practical alternatives are, adjusting mindsets, presentation, engagement, competing with ‘drag and drop’ solutions, budgets and integrating with other platforms.     To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Rob Vass ran his own event agency, 30 staff delivering up to 30 roadshows a month, and spent far too much time with spreadsheets. “Keeping an eye on the budget and exactly what your margin was at any time was a nightmare”. And Founding event planning software Joi is a product of that frustration. Joining the podcast from Sydney, Australia, Rob Vass digs into Joi, a “productivity tool for events”, detailing its capacity for truly joined up thinking. He details how the system makes it easy to put an agenda together, sending a schedule to people via URL so any changes made are visible to all. Move a performer, their programme updates automatically. No more running around giving people update notes. Later on, Joi’s budgeting tool is dissected and discussed; think multipliers and currencies. A revolution then, in quite a technical 45 minutes   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Five and half years with Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the last six months as chief brand officer, Drew Holmgreen knows what’s expected from the association, in theory and in practice. Joining the podcast from Dallas, Texas, Holmgreen talks host James Dickson through MPI’s method behind its live events ahead of the European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC), which comes to Brighton, Sussex later this month. The first ‘live’ iteration since post-pandemic. He looks back at the learnings, how MPI’s North American show, World Education Congress, in November 2020, was the first industry event to take place under the COVID shadow - 600 people gathered together at a venue in North Texas. And how a “dramatic focus” on safety for attendees and staff/crew resulted in zero news cases of the virus. Going on to discuss EMEC 2023, Drew Holmgreen highlights its “primary pillars”, the focus on innovation, taking design risks with the event to lead by example, and the influence of the local environment – ho

Nicola Shaw, head of growth at Tag Digital, has been in/around digital marketing for most of her career. In this episode, having detailed Tag’s mission - how it works exclusively with organisers around the world helping to grow their events - with host James Dickson putting the questions, Nicola looks at new model marketing. Across an energised, educational 40 minutes, they talk data blindness, cookies, AI, the astonishing breadth of data capture, touchpoints, audience extension, digital packages, privacy laws, tracking, the trials of a marketing manager, the value of an integrated approach and Google advertising. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Creative director at IllumiNaughty offshoot Visual Architects, which he founded in 2013, Lefteris Angelidis knows the value in offering audiences original experiences.   To that end he has invested in new machinery, brought in more people and grown the company to what it is today, delivering projects for Kendal Calling and Boomtown Fair through to Cirque du Soleil and Puma in the process. In this episode, Manchester-based Lefteris Angelidis and host James Dickson discuss  how social media has driven/is driving change in events’ visual identity, the likely impact of the Metaverse, creativity and the structure/longevity of set items. The sustainability question spawns conversation about branding solutions for ‘off the shelf’ products, bean bags and recycling polystyrene, transport – vehicle cost and emissions – and electric vans’ reach limitations. They go on to talk LED screen technology, 3D mapping, creativity v budgets, planning, Beyonce and beyond.   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free

Muhammed Younas founded vFairs in 2014 after 12 years in a variety of roles at Bayt.com, ‘the Middle East’s #1 job site’. A remote-first company, none of the now 250 plus employees at vFairs work in a specific office, they’re at home or a location close-by of their choosing. Quite sensibly, that model prioritises right people over right location, amplified by the way Younas talks “regions” in the shape of America and Europe rather than Boston, Massachusetts or Slough, Berkshire. And vFairs has a stronger workforce as a result. In this episode, taking questions from host James Dickson, Muhammed Younas discusses how working, and being productive, from home can facilitate a better return from hybrid and virtual events. He talks online job fairs, rethinking the excitement of ‘onboarding’ for remote environments, technology development – making the most of more sophisticated platforms - capturing the office experience and how companies on the other hill, vehemently against ‘home working’ pre-pandemic, have, or hav

Meera Somji and Andrew Carney launched Clusivity a year – pretty much to the day – before this podcast was recorded, January 2022. A ‘new easy to implement SaaS tool’, the company is a product of the founders’ background and their want to make a difference. Clusivity mantra ‘take a data-driven approach to diversity, equity and inclusion’ is the essence of its new white paper - How diversity, equity and inclusion could radically transform the events industry - the subject of this episode.  After a bit of background from both participants and establishing the reasons for the document, which is a follow-up on research undertaken two years ago, Meera Somji and Andrew Carney do the detail. They highlight, for instance, how the white paper marries data with real-life stories and quotes from senior leaders in events world, what we miss out on if we don’t drive change, who defines progress, the benefits of benchmarks, comparisons with other industries. And how to increase the number of new joiners from minoritised et

Andrew Perrott is managing director of Chorus, a London-based brand experience agency with a worldwide client base. This episode sees Andrew discussing a recent project for luxury Diageo brand Johnnie Walker Blue Label in Singapore and the Chorus capacity for bringing theatrical elements into the immersive experience. He goes on to talk host James Dickson through the agency’s pandemic learnings, house term ‘radical creative’, living and dying by the idea, exploiting sound, provoking long-term experiences and brand advocates. Across some 45 minutes the podcast looks at the ‘blank page brief’, extending the reach of content from a live activation, digital thinking and becoming more integrated with the bigger picture before diving into the Chorus makeup and its evolution. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Joining host James Dickson from the Hague, Jelmer van Ast, founder and CEO at event engagement platform producer Conference Compass, talks through his thoughts on the contemporary industry model, starting with the focus of the company’s January 2022 blog – flexibility and adaptability. A regular on the podcast, Jelmer van Ast goes on to discuss ‘back to normal’, the benefits of on demand, the subscription model, micro events, refining the hybrid handle, on demand, using event tech across the formats and the rebranded Conference Compass platform. More too of course. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

‘The world’s only communications cloud for events, public relations, and investor relations’, Notified, released its annual Benchmark Report in September. Customer data highlighting trends in the virtual events market, the document revealed an upsurge in attendance for webinars and virtual events alongside increased engagement before and after thanks to the hooks – the downloads, live chats et al. Host James Dickson jumps straight into this episode, analysing the report with Notified’s appropriately named chief revenue officer, Daniel Lotzof. Starting with some report history, from 2018/19 and the “10 years’ progression” in the last two years, Daniel details the new percentages, the best day to produce an event, the ‘time-length’ to produce different formats. Broadcast environment, evolving definitions, video-use post-pandemic, sponsorship and much more – all drawn from the data. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete

CEO John Martinez, a quantum physicist, founded Shocklogic in 1997. One of the earliest exponents of event technology as we know it today, Shocklogic was developing/providing platforms for virtual events far in advance of the pandemic shift in thinking/delivery.   Thick with life experiences, from interviewee and from interviewer/host James Dickson, this episode delivers a deep examination of the Shocklogic method and the Martinez management mindset.   John Martinez talks rethinking the work/life balance, always delivering for the team, intelligence and discipline, algorithms, taking opportunities, the 10,000-hour rule and the ‘love the one you’re with’ logic.   Prompted by James Dickson he goes on to discuss the company’s cultural shift, its ‘always on’ commitment to simplifying the lives of event organisers, meditation, ‘quieting the chat box’, mindfulness for the Shocklogic masses and a whole lot more.   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podc

Richard Belcher is director of streaming/production company First Sight Media, a key partner in delivering Event Tech Live (ETL) across its in-person, hybrid and virtual incarnations.   Richard starts this episode explaining what First Sight Media does at ETL, front of house and behind the scenes, going on to detail changing audience perspectives post-pandemic, the dividends from community building, pre-event marketing, FOMO, engagement, blended content, sustainability, and the value of livestream With Event Tech Live as the context, Richard Belcher goes on to give host James Dickson a take on the metaverse and ‘always on’, DJ Graffiti, webinars, breaking the barrier between hybrid as a single broadcast and ‘blended’, the Bonus stage and much, much more…     To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.