June 2015
Cover Story/Meetings & Your Brain
How Sleep Affects Attendee Engagement
Your meetings start too early and go too late, and as a result both you and your attendees are sleep-deprived — and paying the price. How? And what can you do to make your events more sleep-friendly?
Cover illustration by Jean Jullien
Features
Introducing the University of Everywhere
Policy analyst and author Kevin Carey suggests that our higher-education system is overdue for a seismic transformation — one fueled by ever-faster and sophisticated technology.
Mel Robbins: Life Lessons From a CNN Commentator
The CNN commentator and author, who will speak at next month's PCMA Education Conference, knows what’s holding you back: you. And she knows how to get you where you want to be. (Hint: FOMO is your friend.)
Inside the Duty Free Show of the Americas
Once you’ve cleared the TSA line, join Convene at the Duty Free Show of the Americas — whose lavish, high-end exhibit floor reflects a big industry that’s only getting bigger.
Sarah Lewis: Turning Failure Into Success
At the PCMA Education Conference next month, Sarah Lewis will talk about surviving failure.
Departments
Inside One of PCMA's Hybrid Meetings
It’s been five years since PCMA entered the Wild West of hybrid meetings. After plenty of trial and error, here are five key strategies that have worked well.
How the Exhibitions Industry Is Using Big Data
A new CEIR study crunches the numbers on how the exhibitions industry is using big data.
What's on the Menu When Chefs Meet?
The American Culinary Federation has one tough audience to feed at its five annual events — its member chefs. Three keys to their success.
3 Things Meeting Planners Can Learn From Groupon
Emotional calls to action can help spike conference registration — especially for fence-sitters and potential first-timers.
Tyrexpo Asia: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Love might make the world go ’round metaphorically, but rubber tires do it literally. Which is why SingEx Exhibitions’ Tyrexpo Series offers shows all over — in India, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the U.K. Tyrexpo Asia was SingEx’s most recent show.
A New Conference Helps Soldiers Reenter the Workforce
The first-ever ATD Values Vets conference aimed to help employers recruit and train soldiers who are reentering the workforce.
Plenary
Donate Your Used Flash Drives
What do to with the countless flash drives (aka USBs, thumb drives, etc.) you’ve accumulated through marketing campaigns and during site visits, RFP processes, and other information-sharing activities.
How the Industry Responded to the Baltimore Riots
The last week of April was a rollercoaster for Baltimore, with 25-year-old resident Freddie Gray’s death in police custody on April 12 casting a long shadow over the city.
TED's Vancouver Encore
After three decades of holding its groundbreaking annual conference in California, TED announced in 2013 that it would move the event, along with most of its staff and infrastructure, to Vancouver the following year.
Istanbul’s Turkish Delights
Istanbul is one of the hottest tickets going. In 2014, it headed the list of the world’s top travel destinations in TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice awards and in 2013, it held the number one spot in the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) rankings of top cities for meetings of more than 500 people.
Water Environment Federation Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) 2015
In September, WEF — whose members work in water-processing technology and safety — will bring nearly 25,000 attendees to the Windy City — where WEFTEC is held every other year.
10 Must-Have Apps for Meeting Planners
Here are handy apps that will turn your phone into a PowerPoint remote, a walkie-talkie, or even a scanner.
A Tour of Detroit
I arrived in Detroit very early, on a damp and cool April morning. But despite my lazy a.m. tendencies, I had to hit the ground running.
A New Approach to Note-Taking
Philip Dobler, managing director of German-based stationery manufacturer Leuchtturm1917, thinks traditional handwritten note-taking is superior — and, as he recently told us, science backs him up.
Laura Jelinek, CAE
Associate Vice President of Meetings and Travel, American Osteopathic Association (AOA), Chicago
The New Guide to Recording Your Event
Garbled voices, malfunctioning sound feeds, murky lighting — there are many ways that recording events can go wrong.
Also In This Issue
A Day and a Win for Us
The inaugural North American Meetings Industry Day was a big hit. What’s next?
Don't Rest Easy
In this issue, we tackle two things that might be less than ideal but that you nonetheless accept as part of your job: your sleep and your salary.