IMEX – 2015 Recap• Jennifer Prusa, Director of Meetings and

Education, attended IMEX October 12-15 in Las Vegas.

• My purpose was to learn from other meeting experts about cutting edge ways to present content for BEMA’s meetings and IBIE’s education program.

• I also looked for new sponsorship ideas, products and met with a number of hotels to whom we have RFP’s out for BEMA’s Annual Meeting, workshops and Board Meeting.

POWERFUL PANELS• Tons of tips for improving the format and

presentations of our speaker panels. • Ways to help our guest panelists AND our

moderators deliver engaging content• Resources for panel moderator training and

for professional moderators.

Speaker: Kristin ArnoldIMEX, MPI – Smart Monday

IT’S NOT JUST TABLES AND CHAIRS• What if?• Our general session looked like this? • Our workshops or committee meetings looked like

this?• The photo below illustrates the way that room set

can affect engagement. A mix of furniture = talking, connecting. Chairs facing front = smart phone zombies. Taken at the same time at the same meeting in two different rooms.

LOCATION, LOCATION• From Nashville to Portland, Dubai to

Cancun – I was able to speak with hoteliers and CVB reps from all of the cities and properties currently under consideration for BEMA’s EIGHT annual events!

• Talking face to face and asking questions is SO much better than online research on the locations.

SPONSOR RECOGNITION• I did some recon work for Deb Blaylock,

sponsorship sales director for BEMA and IBIE, and found some original ideas:

• Festival Chairs (top) – fully imprintable corrugated seating – perfect for an event sponsorship.

• COOLEST DISCOVERY (bottom 2) – 4-D Interactive. Each photo on this banner works like a QR code to unlock video, photos, and more. The bottom photo shows what one of the product photos unlocks – what if these were location stations at IBIE?

GREAT IDEAS!• Catch Box – the tossable, catchable

microphone – makes Q&A time come alive!• Fun Stackable Ribbons – Get them from PC

Nametag to give out at your IBIE booth and create some fun. Considering “Been Here Forever” for our 100th Anniversary Meeting.

• Personalized Printing – Customize each item for the recipient – might be our new speaker gifts.

GREAT IDEAS - continued!• Who knew some airwalls were metal? –

sometimes a simple realization can change the way a session is presented. Every bit of knowledge is a resource.

• Great Speaker – I encountered a number of great speakers and speaker resources. Chris Heeter is also a wilderness guide – BEMA tours anyone?

• Find Your Match – Buttons with fun descriptors on them…select one that describes you. When you find a match, you can both enter a drawing. I picked “I’m a Walking Cookbook.”

SHOW FLOOR EDUCATION• I have the privilege of working with Lynn

Schurman at RBA to co-lead the IBIE Education Task Force along with chairperson, Andrea Henderson.

• With that role in mind, I experienced IMEX’s “Innovation Hub” and the way they presented seminars on the show floor – from small seminar rooms to the “campfire” and “hot topic tables” – the hub was hopping all day!

• BEST TAKE AWAY – Use a headset system tied into the speaker’s mike so that the speaker can be heard above the hum of the show floor.