Eliminate Five Pain Points of Planning Meetings and Locations

When beginning the planning process of any meeting or event, there are many variables to identify. What is the most advantageous location? How much will it cost? What environmental impact will the event have?

More than ever before meeting planners, travel managers and meeting owners need an easy-to-use, intelligent tool that helps eliminate the guess work from planning meetings and events.

Today, we’re introducing Meeting Locator to help address this pain point. Part of the Active Network | StarCite Strategic Meetings Management solution, Meeting Locator uses a patent-pending algorithm that searches an up-to-the-minute, aggregated travel database from our partner, Carson Wagonlit Travel, combined with StarCite’s sophisticated meeting spend platform.

Here’s how Meeting Locator eliminates five key pain points in the meeting planning process:

1. Research and evaluate meeting locations: By leveraging a patent-pending algorithm, Meeting Locator reviews recommendations based on various criteria including traveler and delegate locations, current airfares and hotel sleeping room rates, telepresence options, and CO2 emissions.
2. Review and evaluate travel data: Eliminate the tedious process of researching, gathering, and sifting through loads of disparate travel data. Everything is available via Meeting Locator, saving you time and money.
3. Expedite the approvals process: Incorporated into the approvals workflow, you can use Meeting Locator to evaluate, forecast and make decisions about meetings and events, quickly and easily.
4. Communicate the value of your meetings: Use Meeting Locator to leverage historical travel and cost data and provide more accurate information about the true cost of your future meetings.
5. Reduce carbon footprint: Using Meeting Locator, you can select your meeting location based on its carbon emissions count or available telepresence options. Meeting locator is a great tool to help promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) as part of your meeting or event program.

What are your pain points in the meeting planning process? Share with us below.

Meeting Locator Resources:

• Meeting Locator data sheet
• Meeting Locator information
• Meeting Locator press release

Betty McNulty is a General Manager for Active Network | StarCite, part of  Active Network, Business Solutions. With significant experience in the meeting and event planning industry, she is also a strong advocate for the globalization and adoption of Strategic Meetings Management programs for Active Network| StarCite clients worldwide.

Written By: Betty McNulty

Get More out of Your Event Technology – Join us at PCMA Educon

From June 10-13, PCMA will be holding its annual Education Conference. This year’s education is centered around how to get the best bottom line out of your events from attendance buiding, saving money on your events (both face-to-face and virtual) to leadership and business acumen.

Event Technology Tours

As a partner of PCMA, our Active Network, Business Solutions team will be in San Antonio. We will once again bring our popular event technology tour to PCMA Educon. The tour will highlight how PCMA is leveraging event technology from registration and session scanning to real-time data and mobile applications to deliver an engaging event experience. Sign up today for one of two tours at http://bit.ly/Educon or even suggest a time to meet one-on-one:

• Monday, June 11, 9:30 – 9:50 am
• Wednesday, June 13, 9:30 – 9:50 am

Supplier Tours

In addition to our event tech tours, we’re expanding our tours to include suppliers – how you can leverage technology to expand busines revenue, win more business and drive efficiencies for your properties. To participate in these tours, join one of the two groups at http://bit.ly/PCMASupplier or suggest a time to meet one-on-one:

• Tuesday, June 12, 9:00 – 9:20 am
• Tuesday, June 12, 2:15 – 2:35 pm

The Battle Between SMMP and Event Marketing: Myth vs. Reality

On June 11, 2012 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm, Kevin Iwamoto, an expert on Strategic Meetings Management and Vice President with Active Network, Business Solutions, will be particpating on a panel to bridge the gap between SMMP and event marketing. Kevin will provide the SMMP perspective with Elizabeth Lathan, Event Marketing Director, Dell | Global Event Marketing providing insight from event marketing.

Learn how SMMP can complement and integrate with you event marketing strategy.

We look forward to seeing you at PCMA, either in person at our kiosk located behind the registration area or on Twitter at @ActiveBusiness.

Written By: Cece Salomon-Lee

Mobile Suite Launch: Adding Mobile Event Apps to Your Meetings and Events

According to the International Telecommunication Union (2011), 87% of the world now has mobile technology. What does this mean for marketers, event professionals and sales organizations? That mobile is an essential component of our business and a necessity for creating engagement with our key audiences – customers, partners and employees.

Today, I’m pleased to announce the introduction of our mobile suite that provides a portfolio of mobile event apps to address the marketing needs of an organization and for any type, size or complexity meeting and event.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written By: Cece Salomon-Lee

The Value of Technology on Experiential – the Ex Awards

By: Cece Salomon-Lee, Director of Marketing
Active Network
Business Solutions

On April 30, 2012, the Ex Awards honored the best in innovations related to pop-up retail, digital and physical convergence and integrated event-based B2B marketing at the Event Marketing Summit in Chicago. It was only a few years ago (I believe in 2009 or 2010) that the Hybrid or Live+Digital category was added to these awards.

Then, the discussion was around the impact that virtual or hybrid events would have on physical events. As we’ve discovered since, technology – whether social, mobile or virtual – can greatly enhance the experiential component of an event when incorporated as part of the strategy of that event.

Cisco has been one of the innovators in leveraging technology to enhance audience experience. And once again, Cisco was recognized with a Gold Ex Award in the Live+Digital category of its Global Sales Experience event. The event brought together over 20,000 sales members worldwide.

We are proud to be part of the team that brought this event to fruition. Congratulations to Cisco GSX on a well-deserved award, as well as (in alpha):

• The great team at Active Network (yes, I’m playing favorites) – attendee management and scheduling tools
• George P. Johnson- strategy and experience design
• INXPO – virtual platform
• JUXT Interactive – creative and interactive design

 Read the press release or learn more about how Active Network powered Cisco Live!

Written By: Cece Salomon-Lee

Meet the Active Network Team at ACCED-i in Denver, March 25-28

Active Network’s RegOnline team will be at the ACCED-i 32^nd Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado, March 25^th-28^th. Stop by the Active Network booth #19 if you’re attending or click here to make an appointment with the RegOnline team, who will be happy to offer information and advice on all the latest in event technology.

Active Network’s very own social media guru, Justin Ramers will also be presenting an educational session on ‘Making Sense of Social Media’ during the conference. This is a session not to be missed as Justin goes beyond the basics of social media to provide real insight into how to leverage social media to create buzz, drive website traffic, build lasting relationships, and create a measurable increase in attendance at live events.

Join Justin at ACCED-i on Tuesday March 27th 10:45 – 12:00 at the Grand Hyatt Tower, Room Mt Evans for this insightful and engaging session.

Don’t forget to book your appointment with the Active Network team at ACCED-i today.

About ACCED-i:

The Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International consists of over 1,500 campus professionals who design, market, coordinate and plan conferences and special events on the campuses of colleges and universities around the world. The mission of the Association is to improve, promote and recognize excellence in the collegiate conference and events profession.

Written By: Irene Coghlan

Active Network is Going Down Under!

Guest Post By:
Sam Renouf, Regional Director
Active Network
Asia Pacific

Active Network is heading down under next week for AIME 2012, The Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne, Australia, February 21-22. This is an exciting time for Active Network in the Asia-Pacific region as we announce the official opening of a new Active Network office in Sydney, Australia. The addition of the Sydney office is to support the growing number of Active Network customers in the APAC region and we’re delighted to be able to expand our services through the establishment of a local office.

If you’re attending AIME be sure to stop by and say hello to us at Stand 4018 . I’ll be joined by Eric Olson, GM of Active Network | Business Solutions, SMB, and Kevin Iwamoto, VP of Enterprise for StarCite, our newly acquired company. We’ll be on-hand to answer any questions you have about how our continued global expansion and recent acquisitions will positively impact you. We’ll also answer questions about our full suite of event management solutions for SMB, Enterprise and large conferences, SMMP and supplier marketplace.

Written By: Kyle Rose

An update from PCMA 2012: Press Conferences, Pedicabs, Blue Shirts…Oh My!

An Active Network sponsored pedicab waits to pick up some participants at PCMA Convening Leaders 2012.

We are halfway through the 2012 PCMA (Professional Convention Management Associations) Convening Leaders Conference in San Diego. What an experience it has been so far!

As the communication partner of PCMA, Active Network has a large presence at this event. Here are some highlights so far:

• The launch of Active Network | Business Solutions division, acquisition of Starcite, and formal  press conference led by SVP JR Sherman
• “The Journey Starts Here,” Active Network Educational Pod for participants to engage and learn
• Speaking sessions led by General Managers, Anthony Miller and Eric Olson
• Behind the scenes technology tours of Active Network technology supporting PCMA
• Active Network sponsored pedicabs transporting participants throughout the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego

Check out our Flickr stream of photos from the first half of the conference! You’ll see our blue, Active Network shirts worn by our staff and the pedicab drivers. We certainly are getting noticed!

Are you at the conference or wish you were here?  Follow us on Twitter and on the blog for more updates as PCMA Convening Leaders 2012 continues. Or better yet, leave a comment below!

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

More Active Network| Business Solutions News!

What an exciting time to be Active!

Last week we  announced the launch of Active Network | Business Solutions. This new division was further augmented by the acquisition of StarCite®, a SMMP company, to supplement existing  RegOnline and Enterprise level solutions. With StarCite as the newest member of the Active family, we now fully provide the leading technology powering a comprehensive suite of solutions for the events industry.

This pivotal news is being highlighted today at the PCMA Convening Leaders conference in San Diego. Active Network is the Technology provider to this annual  conference, and will hold a formal press conference this afternoon,  regarding the launch for industry reporters and analysts.

The unparalleled technology offering of Active Network | Business Solutions is truly unique in the events industry! Read what Aberdeen’s Christopher Dwyer had to say about the news:

“The acquisition of StarCite® by Active Network marks a major milestone that will surely shake up the meetings industry,” said Christopher Dwyer, Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen Group. “This comprehensive technology offering will help bridge the divide between marketing meeting spend and procurement / sourcing for both small and large meetings and conferences and I am excited to see where the evolved event lifecycle will go in the coming months. From an industry analyst’s perspective, this partnership could be the catalyst for the evolution of modern strategic meetings management.”

So, what does all this mean?

The infographic explains the powerful solution that is Active Network | Business Solutions.

Look forward to more communication in the future, but we want to hear from you. Tell us what you think, by posting a comment below!

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky