Portland Retro Gaming Expo

As wedding season moves indoors and gets quieter, conference and expo season surges forward! This weekend we’re happy to help Portland Retro Gaming Expo coordinate their hotel logistics as they welcome 10,000 attendees to the Oregon Convention Center to enjoy hundreds of retro arcade and console games. Did you know EJP Events is a member of American Express Global Business Travel’s Meetings Expert program? I love helping groups find the best hotel venue for their needs. We were thrilled to match PRGE up with the Crowne Plaza Portland, Doubletree Portland, Jupiter Hotel and Residence Inn Lloyd Center this year. Let me know if I can help your group!

Portland Retro Gaming Expo - Convention Planning and Venue Sourcing

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10 Tips for Developing ‘Sustainable’ Destinations

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Part of our regular The Daily Reblog series, where we share our favorite content with you from trusted partners.

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Things That Annoy Your Attendees During Online Event Registration

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I just saw a tweet about a really interesting conference coming up on the East Coast. Relevant speakers, education credits, a great registration fee, a compelling location. However, I’m stuck, just stuck, right in the middle of the registration process, trying to find out more. My pain is your gain, however, as I walk you through the things that are completely annoying me about this event registration page.

1. When is it?

The date is in 9-pt type in a light grey, against white background. I’m squinting. Come on guys, your target audience is meeting professionals and many of us are over 40 and starting to lose our eyesight. PLEASE MAKE THE DATE BIG, and put it first so we even know whether or not we can attend.

2. No link to hotel information

The hotel looks really nice! There is a huge embedded Google map showing the location. However there is no reference to a group rate for the conference, nor a link to the hotel, nor a group code. Nothing. I can’t fly across the country to your event and not knowing if I can stay at the convention hotel. PLEASE MAKE THE LINK TO THE HQ HOTEL BIG. And clickable.

3. Sponsors are listed, but no links to their websites

Look at all these sponsors! Some of the top players in my industry. But if I put my finger on the logo (yes, I’m on mobile, just like 73% of the world’s population) nothing happens. What? The logo should take me to more information about this great company, so I can learn about what they do and offer. You’re not giving your sponsors full value, and you’re doing a disservice to attendees, if you don’t link out to their information.

Please, for the love of your attendees, and so you don’t lose us during this process, take care of the basics! (Note: I did not end up registering for the conference. Oh well.)

 

{ Wedding Trend Watch } Interactive Art Walls

Say what you will about corporate event planning, but I am always amazed at how often corporate events stay one step ahead of wedding trends. Often, something I see at a corporate event I know will translate perfectly for a social one; and before long I see that trend start appearing at weddings.

The art wall is one of these trends. The party host puts up a large backdrop containing drawn frames, individual watercolor sheets, or even Lego(TM) baseplates and allows each guest to customize an area of the wall. Each guest installs their art piece in the display which then becomes a grand version of a guest book as well as part of the cocktail hour entertainment and a conversation piece.

Events-art-wallsHere, website design company Virb invited guests to draw what they loved, and to tag their photo on instagram in order to enter a contest. This same multi-frame backdrop could easily be used for individual wedding guest drawings or guest book entries.

Lego-interactive-art-wall

At the Lego Kids' Fest in Portland, individual 5" x 5" base plates/"tiles" were provided with a wide selection of Lego shapes and colors. After each guest completed a tile, they were invited to add their tile to the larger display.

Are you incorporating any interactive components into your guests' experience? Or did you come up with a novel idea for cocktail hour entertainment? Please share in the comments!

Photos: EJP Events