Looking to make your holiday event sparkle? Host your party in Alexandria, Virginia, minutes from Washington, D.C. and one of the Most Charming Christmas Towns in the World according to Oprah Magazine. In addition to festive holiday happenings, the city brims with memorable venues, from historic sites like Union Square, a repurposed 19th-century ballroom, to…
For meetings planners, speaker management is a time-consuming task whether you’re planning an event that boasts five speakers or 50. Wondering how to save time and reduce stress? During a recent Visit Alexandria webinar, industry expert Philip Saims, vice president of sales at Federal Conference, shared solutions for streamlining speaker management with the help of…
Want to revitalize your network and expand your organization’s impact? Retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal developed his “Team of Teams” model while helming the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), from 2003 to 2008. His Alexandria, Virginia-based consulting firm, the McChrystal Group, now offers customized workshops and team-building for businesses of…
Looking to map out a customized promotional plan for your event? During a recent Visit Alexandria webinar, Michael Doane, marketing manager for the event technology firm CadmiumCD, shared seven steps for drafting an event marketing battle plan. Grab your marketing team and answer these key questions to expand your event’s reach. 1. Set a Goal…
Within the marketing industry, event promoters face unique challenges. You sell an experience rather than a product, you ask for physical attendance, you battle to stand out from the crowd, and you fight against the clock as the event date approaches. At the same time, you wrangle the expectations of attendees, exhibitors and speakers. Sound…
Buzz is building around “experiential meetings.” In the spring 2019 edition of Meeting Planner International’s Meetings Outlook report, 78% of event planners said that demand for creating unique attendee experiences had risen, and 37% called it a “substantial increase.” Event attendees share the modern traveler’s desire to create memories and connections in authentic, unexpected ways.…
Michelle Tillis Lederman is a CEO, speaker, author of four books and professional networking expert. But at Visit Alexandria’s recent Breakfast & Blossoms event at the National Press Club, Lederman explained why she’d rather be known as a sky-diving enthusiast, scuba diver and animal-cuddler. These are the identifiers that make her relatable, approachable and connectable,…
As attendees register for your event online, you have 90 seconds to engage them—100 if you’re lucky. How do you draw attendees in from the beginning? Looking out mid-event, the crowd appears to be losing interest. How do you re-inspire a distracted audience? Appeal to your attendees’ competitive streak and gamify your next event or…
Are you measuring, communicating and leveraging the economic impact of your meetings and events? Economic impact offers a complete picture of the total revenue generated by your event, from lodging revenue to food and beverage expenditures to state and local tax revenue. Having comprehensive economic impact data is critical to communicate the value of your…
Meetings and events can be major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions can stem from transportation, energy use, food choices and materials. Fortunately, there are many ways to reduce emissions and shrink your eventʼs carbon footprint. Follow this simple roadmap to get started: Step 1: Identify the likely emissions resulting from your event. The…
