This year’s Smart Monday, held on the eve of IMEX America in Las Vegas, put experiential, legacy, innovation and technology at its core and left attendees buzzing with energy and ideas.
Smart Monday was powered by Meeting Professionals International (MPI). It also saw a new industry White Paper for legacy released.
The opening keynote, featuring Julius Solaris (pictured), Editor of Event Manager Blog, involved a passionate call to action, asking meeting planners to think of themselves not just as logistics wizards but also legacy creators and change-makers.
Solaris drew on powerful stories from the new free industry White Paper “The Power of Events – 29 Inspiring Examples to increase the Impact of Your Events and Create a Long-lasting Legacy.
Produced by Event MB and commissioned by IMEX in association with ProColombia, the White Paper illustrates legacy building at its best.
Examples include the Soccer Club Recife in Brazil which used game-time videos to move 60,000 fans to become organ donors and the Festival of Transactional Architecture that chose the earthquake-rocked ‘red zone’ in Christchurch New Zealand as their destination to help revitalise the city.
Solaris also stressed that legacy can take many forms, including contributing to positive change within the meetings industry itself like BlizzCon. This popular gaming convention uses technology to create new best practices for engaging those members of its tribe who just can’t be at the live event.
Heather Larson CMP, from Meet Chicago said the keynote: “Reminded me that when people get together for meetings it can be a real force for good, and not to be afraid to go for that”.
Attendees later moved into the full Smart Monday experiential and learning sessions where they were greeted by MPI’s festive Carnival theme.
Complete with balloons, games of skill and cotton candy, the Carnival elements were interlaced with hands-on activities such as a giant colouring book, doggy petting with Paws for a Break and recycled hygiene kit making with Clean the World.
There were workshops on Cybersecurity, Leadership 2.0 and Event Design, as well as Sustainability, Women in the Industry and Wellness.
A new addition this year, The Six Star Innovation and Experience Lab (sponsored by Detroit Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau), followed through on its promise to offer 10 ideas in 10 minutes.
Humanlike robot Sophia was on display and there was an eye-opening VR tour of Detroit. There were also insights to be had on experiential gifting, how to put music into action featuring a live, air guitar session with iconic rock band Journey’s lead singer.
C2 made its IMEX America debut with a session on attendee-centric events and the Executive Meeting Forum (EMF) hosted discussions on different leadership styles and techniques and the challenges around financial management, including how to deliver quality programmes with limited budget.
Kelly Curry, Office Depot, described EMF as “like group therapy!”. “Participating in the Forum reminds you that you’re part of a wider meetings and events industry,” she said. “Our discussions so far have shown how many of us are in the same position, regardless of the specific sector we operate in. We’ve talked through different aspects of leadership and budget– all highly relevant for my job.”
Association Leadership Forum, created by ASAE was another opportunity to hear association leaders to provide vision and role models on topics such as new membership models, diversity and inclusion, embracing technology and more.
“I was really keen to come back,” said Amelia Hodges, North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants about the Association Leadership Forum. “It was so good to meet people from associations all over the world who face similar issues such as volunteer engagement, and good to get perspective on common topics.”
IMEX America 2018 takes place until 18 October at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.www.imexamerica.com
