Event Industry News Podcast

With more than 12 years’ experience working in the events industry, primarily in tech, Rachel Heller is senior content program manager, events, at Github, the AI-powered developer platform.   Tellingly, Rachel wrote a blog for the Github site, ‘9 tips to go from attendee to speaker at a tech conference’ and that’s what this episode is all about.   Rachel talks about the journey; the call for sessions, inspiring people to apply, networking, crafting talks, writing a good bio and, ultimately, becoming a familiar name to organisers.   Rachel goes on to highlight a couple of tips from her blog – not least helping the review committee to understand how long your content can live beyond the event. She discusses the thin line between a conference keynote and a podcast, taking advantage of the real-time experience, practising content ideas in front of people with no knowledge of your industry, passion projects, preparation, and vocal techniques.   It’s a really to-the-point, insightful 30 minutes that brings the stag

Former head of digital innovation at Reed Exhibitions, Ade Allenby launched his own advisory business in March 2023.   In this episode, Ade talks advances in event tech, the sector’s move from the fringes to the heartbeat of contemporary shows, tools that help people connect, and generating data to help organisers better understand their audience.   Prompted by host James Dickson, Ade goes on to discuss the spoils of cameras in the halls, algorithmic Bluetooth navigation/tracking and measuring success, QR codes, engagement touchpoints, IOS update – airdrop and namedrop – incorporating audience-owned tech, or not, and clients’ common questions.   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

Caroline Cronin took her 16 plus years of industry experience to emap in 2021, as head of conferences then head of events.   In this episode, with a focus on the post-pandemic push for new order, Caroline details the spawn of enforced downtime, changing formulas for awards ceremonies and conferences, and how covid crushed historical data’s validity.   Talking to host James Dickson, Caroline goes on to discuss everything from fostering event relationships after pandemic ground zero, the unity of inexperience, unpredictable schedules to setting new trends and compartmentalisation. 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

Ewelina Dunkley has years of experience in the live events world, working in hospitality, fine dining and private parties before joining Meta, (then Facebook, Inc) in 2016, where she’s events lead. This episode is about Hackathons, a term for a social coding event that brings computer programmers and other interested people together to improve upon, or build, new software. Ewelina talks host James Dickson through the customer journey, dispelling myths and clarifying the makeup of a Hackathon. She goes on to discuss the value in collaboration, the high energy atmosphere of these get-togethers, in-person or remote and who benefits. Ewelina details the duration, building teams, commitments, connectivity, skills diversity, structure, judges, unpolished results, networks, ensuing relationships, and… the Hackers Club.    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

Working at Emirates Old Trafford since 2013, Angela Hobson has been sales director at the home to Lancashire County Cricket club for more than three years. Talking to host James Dickson just after the third Ashes Test had decided the series, Australia retaining the urn, Angela does the detail about the venue’s massive redevelopment – a £45m programme over 15 years. She discusses the planning and delivery behind a Test match and Emirates Old Trafford’s new-look provision for the greater events model, the Point controversy, getting other elements of the portfolio up to standard, the versatility of the Pavilion and the Player & Media Centre. Angela Hobson goes on to detail the ecological terrace and the greater sustainability picture, the Sensory Room and the on-site 150-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn, replete with pitch views and balconies, and providing for everything from 60,000 cap concerts to conferences to board meetings. And beyond those boundaries… To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe

Thomas Serrano launched Exclamation Group in 2020. Driven by its ‘Events That Make A Point’ mantra the company is a ‘one-stop-shop for corporate and luxury events, cultural and sports partnerships’. And the New York/Miami-based business lists Bulgari, Audemars Piguet, Dom Perignon and Swarovski among recent clients. In this episode, the focus is on how music sews, or should sew, events together. Thomas Serrano discusses the experience clients want to create, mapping their collective or independent emotional journey through sound, and how that system can make events memorable as well as meaningful. Talking to host James Dickson, Serrano goes on to explain how music fits the Exclamation Group model, live versus pre-recorded sound, compositions behind the reveal of a new car, the value of researching an audience, the data behind a playlist, drawing/keeping attention and the power of the unexpected.   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here.   If you would like to take part in a podcast, the

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