2013 Convening Leaders
Download:
The What, Why and How
Kelly Peacy, CAE, CMP
Senior Vice President, Education & Meetings
Professional Convention Management Association
Why am I doing this Webinar?
• Share some new concepts of the 2013 PCMA Convening
Leaders program in Orlando from a “behind the scenes”
point of view
• Discuss the “why and the how” behind the concepts
• Share the results and what we would have done differently
• Answer your questions!
The Incubator of New Ideas
Our Innovation Process
Where do these ideas come from?
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Our Convening Leaders attendee evaluations
Trends in business and face to face events
Comments, feedback, more comments and more feedback
Thinking about ways to do a common meeting element in a
different way
– Brainstorming and immersion in an environment
– Often ideas come from a challenge
Our Innovation Process
OK, interesting ideas, now what?!
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Collaboration and lots of it—key stakeholders
What do we think a successful initiative will look like?
Develop some success metrics
Make some strategic budget decisions
Draft concepts, make a million changes, land on a final concept
Talk about the new ideas!
Execute, evaluate, share
General Session /
Learning Lounge / PCMA Epicenter
Open space concept
General Session / Learning Lounge / PCMA
Epicenter
• Orange County Convention Center West Concourse
• Halls A4/B1
• 182,000 sq. ft.; 360’ ft. total width; 40 ft. ceiling
• General session seating for 3,300 theater (Four general
sessions)
• Learning Lounge consisted of 6 learning areas of approx. 40
people each; short 15 minute presentations on a variety of
topics
• PCMA Epicenter—All things PCMA related (products and
services)
• Continental breakfasts; refreshment breaks; post-lunch dessert
Considerations / Learnings
• Designing the space:
– Engaging the attendees; walk through experiences
– General session seating / staging design
• Budget considerations:
– Carpet
– Sound
– Structures
• Program considerations:
– Timing
– Main stage rehearsals
• Behavior considerations:
– Using lighting to move attendees (OCCC advantage)
Lunch Four Ways
Four luncheons—One Program
Lunch Four Ways
• Orange County Convention Center West Concourse
• Halls A1/A2
• 182,000 sq. ft.; 360’ ft. total width; 40 ft. ceiling
• Luncheon seating for 2,600 attendees
• What happens when you divide a large space into separate,
yet common experiences?
• Four different table sets, menus and audio visual
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Family Style Comfort Food
Small Plates
Classic French
Healthy Trends
Considerations / Learnings
• Designing the space:
– Structural columns
• Budget considerations:
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Drape around perimeter of room (lighting critical)
Large screens and drape around column
Image magnification cameras (I-Mag)
Carpet
• Catering:
– Four separate menus and service styles for 650 people in each
area
• Behavior considerations:
– Used rope, stanchion, lighting and flats screen monitors to
separate areas and move traffic around the room
The Show Reimagined
An Experiment in Lunch and Learning
The Show Reimagined
• Orange County Convention Center West Concourse
• Halls A3
• 91,000 sq. ft.
• Buffet station luncheon 2,600 attendees on a flow
• 2 hour luncheon with exhibit and trade show educational
sessions included
• Lunch and learning on a specific topic at the attendees own
pace
• Six 15-minute sessions repeated twice in small “booths”
spread throughout the space
• A Central Theater in the middle of the room with planner case
studies
Considerations and Learnings
• How do we explain what this event is?
– PCMA does not have an exhibit hall, but our members do
– Short video explaining the concept sent in attendee email
– Program flyer with map handed out as attendees entered
• Budget considerations
– Set up of exhibit booths? Created video walls of an actual trade
show at the entrance instead
– Sound in educational booths; need to account for AV
– Sound in open Central Theater—demonstrated use of headsets;
seating for 200 people
• Learned we should have communicated earlier and more
about the goals of the event
• We should have had more food stations!
Questions