Event Industry News Podcast

Meera Somji and Andrew Carney launched Clusivity a year – pretty much to the day – before this podcast was recorded, January 2022. A ‘new easy to implement SaaS tool’, the company is a product of the founders’ background and their want to make a difference. Clusivity mantra ‘take a data-driven approach to diversity, equity and inclusion’ is the essence of its new white paper - How diversity, equity and inclusion could radically transform the events industry - the subject of this episode.  After a bit of background from both participants and establishing the reasons for the document, which is a follow-up on research undertaken two years ago, Meera Somji and Andrew Carney do the detail. They highlight, for instance, how the white paper marries data with real-life stories and quotes from senior leaders in events world, what we miss out on if we don’t drive change, who defines progress, the benefits of benchmarks, comparisons with other industries. And how to increase the number of new joiners from minoritised et

Andrew Perrott is managing director of Chorus, a London-based brand experience agency with a worldwide client base. This episode sees Andrew discussing a recent project for luxury Diageo brand Johnnie Walker Blue Label in Singapore and the Chorus capacity for bringing theatrical elements into the immersive experience. He goes on to talk host James Dickson through the agency’s pandemic learnings, house term ‘radical creative’, living and dying by the idea, exploiting sound, provoking long-term experiences and brand advocates. Across some 45 minutes the podcast looks at the ‘blank page brief’, extending the reach of content from a live activation, digital thinking and becoming more integrated with the bigger picture before diving into the Chorus makeup and its evolution. 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.

Joining host James Dickson from the Hague, Jelmer van Ast, founder and CEO at event engagement platform producer Conference Compass, talks through his thoughts on the contemporary industry model, starting with the focus of the company’s January 2022 blog – flexibility and adaptability. A regular on the podcast, Jelmer van Ast goes on to discuss ‘back to normal’, the benefits of on demand, the subscription model, micro events, refining the hybrid handle, on demand, using event tech across the formats and the rebranded Conference Compass platform. More too of course. 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.

‘The world’s only communications cloud for events, public relations, and investor relations’, Notified, released its annual Benchmark Report in September. Customer data highlighting trends in the virtual events market, the document revealed an upsurge in attendance for webinars and virtual events alongside increased engagement before and after thanks to the hooks – the downloads, live chats et al. Host James Dickson jumps straight into this episode, analysing the report with Notified’s appropriately named chief revenue officer, Daniel Lotzof. Starting with some report history, from 2018/19 and the “10 years’ progression” in the last two years, Daniel details the new percentages, the best day to produce an event, the ‘time-length’ to produce different formats. Broadcast environment, evolving definitions, video-use post-pandemic, sponsorship and much more – all drawn from the data. 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

CEO John Martinez, a quantum physicist, founded Shocklogic in 1997. One of the earliest exponents of event technology as we know it today, Shocklogic was developing/providing platforms for virtual events far in advance of the pandemic shift in thinking/delivery.   Thick with life experiences, from interviewee and from interviewer/host James Dickson, this episode delivers a deep examination of the Shocklogic method and the Martinez management mindset.   John Martinez talks rethinking the work/life balance, always delivering for the team, intelligence and discipline, algorithms, taking opportunities, the 10,000-hour rule and the ‘love the one you’re with’ logic.   Prompted by James Dickson he goes on to discuss the company’s cultural shift, its ‘always on’ commitment to simplifying the lives of event organisers, meditation, ‘quieting the chat box’, mindfulness for the Shocklogic masses and a whole lot more.   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podc

Richard Belcher is director of streaming/production company First Sight Media, a key partner in delivering Event Tech Live (ETL) across its in-person, hybrid and virtual incarnations.   Richard starts this episode explaining what First Sight Media does at ETL, front of house and behind the scenes, going on to detail changing audience perspectives post-pandemic, the dividends from community building, pre-event marketing, FOMO, engagement, blended content, sustainability, and the value of livestream With Event Tech Live as the context, Richard Belcher goes on to give host James Dickson a take on the metaverse and ‘always on’, DJ Graffiti, webinars, breaking the barrier between hybrid as a single broadcast and ‘blended’, the Bonus stage and much, 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 submission form.

James C Morris joined full-service event and experiential marketing agency Impact XM, where he is now VP client service, at the beginning of 2018 – bringing nearly 12 years of industry experience at Atlantic Exhibits with him. In this episode, Morris and host James Dickson look at the realities post-the UFI’s Global Recovery Insights 2021 report. Have things bounced back as predicted and what the driving factors are if so. Morris goes on to consider the parameters of ‘experiential’, how virtual is no replacement for face-to-face in event world, the increase in the want for global reach through Covid and out this side and how travel can heighten anticipation and productivity. Much more too, of course.   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.

Chief strategy officer Stephen Pickett joined Live Group in March 2022, from equally self-explanatory Canadian business CleanRiver Recycling Solutions. In this episode Pickett explains what ‘quiet quitting’ is, the causes behind the concept, the impact on employers and, crucially, what they can do about it. Steered by host James Dickson, Pickett discusses motivating a team and the individuals within it. Keeping people engaged and how crucial that is in the events industry. He unwraps ‘how do I need to deliver my message’ and talks post-pandemic mania – balancing the in-person, hybrid, virtual equation.  Pickett goes on to talk ticking the boxes – how many advantages the employees have and the potential benefits, on both sides, of allowing teams to work flexibly. Much more too of course. Surveys show, incidentally, that disengagement at work costs some $70bn in lost productivity. And that 74 per cent of employees are actively looking for jobs within six months of taking on a new role.    To keep up to date wi

Caroline McGuckian founder/CEO at Meshh, a company focused on the ‘metrics of movement’, and Jack Jacob, MD and founder of PNE (Partnership Network Events), join host James Dickson to take a look at the Metaverse.   On the premise that Metaverse is a work in progress, and everyone, everywhere, has a different perspective, this episode is part wish list, part comparison.   All three participants are resolute supporters of in-person events and hope this next iteration of the virtual world can, to an extent at least, be dictated by consumers.   Unconstrained by traditional parameters, the conversation covers everything from the funding question and sating the five senses to gaming, Metaverse gigs and the Queen’s funeral, underscored by the perennial ‘what it could be good for’.

With multiple cross-industry specialties in his locker New York-based Matt Frank is director of technology evangelism & product marketing at Blackthorn – ‘easy event management for Salesforce’. Across some 40 minutes, this episode’s focus is the largest CRM system in the world and how Blackthorn’s apps, which are native to Salesforce, make processing payments and managing events easy. With host James Dickson containing the conversation, Matt Frank talks Blackthorn’s capacity to help customers get the best from Salesforce – understanding its extraordinary reach and capacity - how having data in one place allows you to create the bespoke experience stakeholders have come to expect. Matt discusses creating an event platform, the Salesforce tools, how Blackthorn tech is designed to be absolutely straightforward to operate and much more.

With more than 20 years software development, product management and business development in her back pocket, Wei Li is head of Zoom Events and Webinar.   In this episode, Wei talks host James Dickson through the launch of Zoom Events in July of 2021, discussing pandemic impact., mitigation, and highlighting the system’s extraordinary updates and innovations impetus. Referencing the hybrid user and partner conference Zoomtopia 2022, which takes place later this month, Wei discusses Zoom Webinar’s ‘green room’, called ‘backstage’, where remote presenters can hang out between sessions – talk to each other and watch what’s going on ‘front of house’. Detailing the Zoom roadmap, she highlights Zoom Events’ networking features, the Q&A function, hosting with the proper production tools, engagement, interactivity, the ‘webinar reaction’ feature, which embraces feedback from virtual and physical attendees, getting beyond tech stacks and much, much more.

Introduced by host Adam Parry the second chapter of chats he had during a visit to Cvent CONNECT Europe, at Intercontinental Hotel – The O2, is with Jamie Vaughan, the company’s VP of European sales.   Following Jamie’s potted perspective on some of CONNECT 2022’s content, and the show’s primary takeaways, this short episode focuses on the Cvent culture and what the greater industry can learn from it.   Jamie Vaughan takes another tack on the virtual/hybrid evolution that Patrick Smith discussed in part one, going on to define Cvent as it stands, beyond the ‘software company’ label, and how the team there is developing a structure for anything that comes next.

Adam Parry caught up Cvent senior vice president and chief marketing officer Patrick Smith at the physical element of hybrid Cvent CONNECT Europe, held at Intercontinental Hotel – The O2. A special episode – Event Tech Talks and Walks – this is a focus on marketing; adapting to the new event model post-pandemic. Host Adam Parry introduces the discussion and Patrick Smith talks quickly, covering a lot of ground in these 25 minutes. Having done just one, experimental, virtual event prior to 2020, like so many other companies Cvent has dug deep into hybrid delivery since. Patrick details the benefits to a show like CONNECT Europe, where weight of numbers, physical or virtual, adds to the storytelling, the thought leadership, the best practice and the value in choosing the right event option for you. He goes on to discuss adjusting budgets, the total event programme, how one size won’t fit all, the difference between and a webinar and a virtual event and more.

Jamie Leonard and his wife Lois Holland Leonard founded Recruitment Events determined to do better in an industry Jamie describes as ‘notorious for very bad events’.   They went out to market with a series of small buyer/seller speed meeting shows in 2011 creating the brand and launched RecFest three years later – a festival-style event in a conference room, AstroTurf on the floor, attended by some 100 people.   In this episode, Jamie takes host James Dickson through the subsequent evolution of RecFest – how the founders and their small team turned the idea into an event that saw 4,000 recruiters at this year’s edition.   Held at Knebworth House, RecFest 2022 was the iconic location’s follow-up show to Liam Gallagher.   Jamie Leonard explains how, with its 10 stages of themed content and more than 100 speakers, RecFest combines the key elements of a conference with a trade show – buyers and sellers going there to connect, to seek clients and find out about new tech – wrapped up in a festival feel.   And, cruc

Robin Kemp is head of creative development at Culture Liverpool. In this episode, Robin talks through the city’s celebrated River of Light installation – the event’s seventh edition runs from 21 October to 6 November across Liverpool Waterfront in a 2km loop. Robin details the background – how November 5th fireworks held in parks out of town spawned the inaugural River of Light in 2016, winding its way back into the city and helping to address, to mitigate, the hospitality industry’s traditional autumn challenges – 150,000 people enjoyed the event in 2021. He goes on to discuss the River of Light’s evolution and its geography. How the show has moved from 50/60 smaller works, which didn’t flow for the target audience which wants scale, and the subsequent move to a fraction of that number, altogether bigger and more spectacular.  Robin Kemp tells podcast host James Dickson about working with topical themes, Rhythm of Light last year inspired by Liverpool’s links with music and Unexpected Twist for 2022, in step

The events sector lost huge numbers of fantastic, talented people to other industries as a product of the lockdowns.   In this episode Mike Frost, co-founder of recruitment consultancy Expocast, and Alex Hewitt, CEO and head of strategy at AOK Events, a company that saw its staff numbers cut by 70 per cent across the pandemic pinch point, join host James Dixon to discuss the state of things.   A good balance between want and supply, the podcast looks at whether this is a recruitment crisis – considering the weight of opportunity at the delivery end, where the bulk of the redundancies were, while senior vacancies are outstripped by candidates.   It highlights the importance of culture and environment in a company’s recruitment allure, going on to consider the likes of creative marketing and attracting talent from outside events – how experience doesn’t have to be everything if the training model is good.

Lawrence Coburn, is co-founder & CEO of Twine, an employee connection programme launched in 2020 that operates out of San Francisco.  In this episode, Coburn talks through selling DoubleDutch, another business he launched - an early leader in the mobile event app space, to focus Twine on the networking element or “software that brings people together”. Lawrence Coburn goes on to discuss developing the business, riding the Covid-19 wave and the cost of competing, building a web version and partnering with proven event tech platforms. How working with Zoom – a hard to get alliance launched just two months ago - put the accelerator down for product-led growth. The subsequent trajectory of usage/ the user experience, watching the dashboards, cultivating a viral loop and more besides. A fascinating, fast-paced half an hour.  

Josh Katz is founder and CEO of YellowHeart, which he describes as a made-in-NYC, blockchain live event ticketing platform powered by distributed ledger technology.   A fanatical music fan since childhood, Katz moved from promoting shows to record label world in the mid-1990s. He went on to start his own ‘non-traditional’ label, selling it in 2016 to fund a deep dive into crypto, blockchain and, ultimately, YellowHeart.   In this episode, Katz talks host James Dickson through Web 3, NFTs, cutting out the middlemen to working directly with artists, touts, transparency, security, fragmentation, enhancing the fan experience through recognition/rewards and more besides.

Jenny Morgan founded Pact Three inspired by the 2020 wild fires, which were in her North West America back yard. Pact three partners with teams seeking to be more conscious towards the community, planet, and their employees, working with organisations, assessing their social and environmental impact. In this episode, which, as the title suggests, is about the positives, Jenny digs into the motivations behind her business discussing what it does and how it helps. Passionate and motivated, Jenny goes on to discuss the value for events clients in Pact Three working outside the sector too, understanding sustainability, staffing and the recruitment process, the younger generation and their better grasp of environmentalism and the flaws in pursuing perfection. With host James Dickson putting the questions – ‘do’ the regular prefix – Jenny Morgan goes on to talk measurables, certifications, doing things differently and much, much more. 

With eight years in the sector, Tinique Hay conceived Hay Events, a solution for entrepreneurs and small business management, in 2018. The company launched in lockdown, providing Hay with an opportunity to hone her virtual and hybrid event skills. In this episode, Tinique Hay talks host James Dickson through her background, her inspirations for the new business and why she singled out the entrepreneur niche. Hay highlights the trials of taking a company from theory to practice through the eye of the Covid-19 crisis and finding its physical event form in January this year. She goes on to discuss using social media, building her portfolio via recommendations and word of mouth, budgets, strategy, planning and evolution, sponsorship 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 submission form.