Convene - August 2015

A R T C R E D I T

PCMA.ORG AUGUST 2015 PCMA CONVENE 101

Lanyon

Cloud-based software for cloud-free programs

Lanyon believes that when people get together amazing things can happen. Relationships are built and business gets done. This is why the company has created the industry’s leading cloud-based software for managing corporate meetings, events, and travel programs.

From a one-to-one sales meeting to an employee-training program or a larger flagship customer conference, Lanyon’s unmatched soft ware and the data it provides help thousands of organizations and hotels around the world to better engage their customers, reduce costs, and grow revenues. Offerings range from an affordable self-serve platform to a fully managed service.

PCMA itself uses Lanyon to power its
events — including the Lanyon Smart
Events Cloud to manage all aspects of its
4,000-attendee annual flagship program,
Convening Leaders, and RegOnline by Lan-
yon to make registration simple for 100
events per year, most of them hosted by
PCMA’s 17 chapters. PCMA reports that 88
percent of Convening Leaders 2014 attend-
ees took advantage of remote check-in and
picked up their badges at hotels instead of at
the venue, and that more than 200 attendees
used the technology to make suggestions for
new sessions.

These aren’t unusual results. Lanyon’s meetings, events, and travel-management software lets you automate your planning, simplify your day, and bring your attendees together — all while saving time and money.

Sound Foundry

Three hybrid streaming tips from Mediasite Events

Sooner or later, every meeting or event planner asks the same question: Should I go hybrid? The answer, according to Dream-force, Citrix, VMWare, AutoDesk, PCMA, and at least 700 other corporations and associations, is a resounding yes.

From large tech companies hosting their annual user conferences, to town-hall meetings, product launches, investor meetings, and more, the common thread is that they are all being streamed live and on demand with Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite Events, the leading global provider of live and on-demand webcasting. Here, Mediasite shares how to ensure your next hybrid event is a success:

1. Define your video content strategy.

Capturing conference content with video
can help you provide greater reach for your
event, generate additional interest among
new audiences, and fill your video-marketing
engine for next year’s event.

2. Prepare your speakers. Make sure they understand they’ll be going live in front of two audiences — people on site and online. Consider having an online concierge who can answer questions, help out if someone is having technical issues, or even just tweet back at virtual attendees. If presentations engage the in-room audience (e.g., polls, group/col-laborative activities, games, etc.), think of ways for the online audience to participate as well.

3. Open select sessions to the public. Anecdotal research shows that if you open up a few sessions — a keynote or an interesting plenary — and promote it, you’ll generate more engagement and interest in your conference and your industry.

Results-driven From meeting and event planners to marketers, procurement managers, and CFOs, the entire professional spectrum of the industry benefits from Lanyon’s meetings, events, and travel-management software.