Kyrah Howell

Kyrah Howell is the Marketing Coordinator at Events 720, innovative exhibition suppliers in Australia. She is a recent communications graduate navigating the exciting world of events and expos. Alongside full marketing duties, she is also studying a master of marketing communication at the University of Melbourne. You can follow her work on the Events 720 blog and her LinkedIn.

Ravi Chalaka

Ravi Chalaka is the CMO of Jifflenow, and a marketing and business development expert who creates and executes business strategies, generating demand and raising brand/product awareness in competitive markets. As VP of Marketing at both large and small technology companies, Ravi built strong teams and brands and enabled faster revenue growth for a wide range of solutions based on Big Data, SaaS, AI and IoT software, HCI, SAN, NAS. 

Steve Markman

Steve Markman is the Founder and President of Markman Speaker Management, a full-service speaker agency established in 1994 with a Speakers Bureau division used internationally by associations, companies, non-profit organizations and colleges and universities. Steve has more than 30 years of experience in the conference and speaker business. 

Edward Byers

Edward Byers operates the website Meeting Protocol. He has more than 15 years of experience working in corporate and special events, including two Olympic Games, the Special Olympics, incentives and not-for-profits. 

Creating Attendee Personas Part 1

Video Description

This is how to create attendee personas for events. 

We will review:

•    What are personas?

•    Why do you need attendee personas?

•    How do you start creating personas?

•    How do you refine these personas?

•    And where do you utilize attendee personas?

 

What are attendee personas?

 

While other industries focus on buyer personas, the live events industry is focused on those who consume experiences – attendees.

 

Our jobs as event professionals is to design experiences that meet stakeholder goals of changing behaviors of the different types of attendees who will be participating in the event.

 

In order to do that, we have to understand who is attending our events.

 

Personas are avatars that represent a number of different people lumped together based on their behaviors.

 

Now, this is different than what Seth Godin would call Tribes.

 

Tribes have a hierarchy, leadership, and the person themselves self-identifies as a member of this group. For example, association membership.

 

Personas are not that. They are created by an organization, internally.

 

You usually don’t know the persona that an organization has classified you into.

 

The goal is to put people with similar traits together in order to have a deeper understanding of them and how to communicate with them.

 

Freeman to Sell Encore Event Technologies to PSAV

PSAV is known by many planners as the in-house or preferred audio-visual provider at leading venues across the nation. In fact, PSAV has a presence in nearly 1,600 locations within 10 different countries. The production, creative, technology and staging services company was acquired by investment firm Blackstone in August 2018 and will soon become even larger with the acquisition of Encore Event Technologies.

Juhi Purswani

Juhi Purswani is a Digital Marketing Executive at Hubilo. Working in an event-tech company, she is getting accustomed to the technological revolutions that are taking place in the event management industry. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn

Partner Voices
Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact