Future Forces and Events Industry Trends With Marin Bright

Recent years have seen a significant transformation in the events industry. Since the advent of the hybrid model, event organizers have discovered that virtual and physical events can coexist. It will be easier for them to find the middle ground and leverage the best of both worlds.

To achieve their objectives, event organizers need to find the right balance between in-person and virtual events. Hybrid strategies allow planners to avoid last-minute cancellations, travel restrictions, and budget cuts.

Hybrid events offer the advantage of reaching a wider audience, but you need to combine marketing and promotion effectively to make them successful. Establishing the specific goals and objectives of both in-person and virtual attendees is the best way to develop a hybrid event strategy.

10times asked Marin Bright to share her expert viewpoints about event marketing strategies and the trends shaping the events industry right now.

Additionally, she discussed how young professionals can start building their personal brands.

About Marin Bright

Marin Bright is the Founder and CEO of Smart Meetings. Smart Meetings is a monthly print magazine, digital news service, and elevated events that serve and engage the event professional community. She has extensive experience in publishing meetings and hospitality industries. 

Marin has received numerous awards, including the PCMA Legend Award, the Western Publishing Association Distinction in Leadership Award, and the prestigious Folio Awards where she has twice received the top women in media. She’s been inducted into the Hall of Fame for Women in Events as a woman of influence. 

About Smart Meetings

Smart Meetings is the leading meetings industry publisher and voice of inspiration for meeting professionals. 

Smart Meetings publishes cutting-edge meeting content in print and digital magazines 12 times per year, hosts world-class networking events, produces CEU-accredited webinars, and offers a myriad of digital resources. 

Event organizers have many decisions to make, but choosing the right venue and location is the one that will have the biggest impact on the event. The venue and location you choose will have a significant impact on your event’s date, speaker lineup, catering options, and attendees’ experience.

* Could you please walk us through your professional journey? What attracted you to the events domain in the first place?

I started out in the hotel industry and fell in love with the magic meeting professionals accomplish every day. I wanted to support them in an even bigger way and publishing a resource to help them learn about developments, meet fellow meeting professionals, and feel supported was my way of doing that.

Now, here we are 20 years later and the action kit I started in my living room is an award-winning print magazine, website, live events, webinars, and soon, a new podcast.

* Smart Meetings features blogs on a wide range of topics involving all aspects of events. How do you manage your content marketing?

We have a team of editors all over the country who interview experts looking for news and strategies to share with our engaged community. In addition to the monthly magazine, we publish multiple stories each day online and have the most active social media account in the industry.

* According to you, which event technology trends deserve more spotlight other than the mainstream ones?

The ones that will impact meeting professionals the most. There is so much information out there. Our expert editors go the next step to explain why it matters and what they can do about it.

* What exciting plans do Smart Meetings have for the future?

We just launched the Smart Woman VIP Club at Smart Woman Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a powerful community that grows along with the rest of our readership each year.

* Is there any advice you can give young professionals about developing their personal brand – how should they begin?

Look at your skill set and where you feel the most comfortable committing and then consistently raise your hand to volunteer to contribute in ways no one else is doing.

* Would you like to share any message for the event professionals community? 

Keep inspiring your attendees with all your creative work because events matter.  

For more in the Events Industry Experts series, check out our interview with Janice Cardinale, Courtney Stanley, Helen Moon, Danica Tormohlen, Ashley Brown, Jason Allan Scott, Brandt Krueger, Corbin Ball, Will Curran, and Stephan Murtagh today!

Are you interested in sharing your insights or viewpoints with the events industry? Join the Eva Talk.