How Do I Mix The Current Trends With The Traditional To Create A Meeting That Is Engaging And Informative?
Hi! I’m Melissa, an award-winning event producer who travels the globe whipping teams into shape, and transforming struggling events into extraordinary must-attend experiences. Sounds pretty cool, right? It does to me.
You could say that I’m living my dream, but before you go and get all “Single White Female” on me, let me be clear: I’m not sitting front row at New York Fashion Week. I'm the girl behind the scenes, with the messy bun, getting shit done.
How did I get here?
A self-made entrepreneur, I have built a global event business through word-of-mouth referrals, attendee recognition, repeat clientele and an ROI track record that will make your head spin.
I began my professional career in Australia working at Reed Exhibitions producing high profile, business and consumer events like The PGA Golf Show and General Practitioners Conference & Exhibition. I then joined Out There Productions, and after producing some of Australia's largest special events like The World Masters Games Gala Ball and Closing Celebration, I launched my first event management company in 2008 at the age of 26.
I continued working as an event producer for six years delivering events like HSBC Bank’s Chinese New Year Gala Dinner Tour, Asia-Pacific’s Incentives & Meetings Exhibition and more than 20 outdoor festivals before I decided to take a leap and make a splash in the United States in 2014, where I have now made a name for myself in the technology space for my seamlessly executed large-scale conferences, strategic sponsorships, and innovative brand activations.
I am regularly asked about my career, entrepreneurship, personal and professional development and all aspects of event management so I thought I'd create a blog to answer a few of the most common questions that have slid into my inbox.
Today's question:
How do I mix the current trends with the traditional to create a meeting that is engaging and informative?
I look at anything that’s standard or has “been done before” and put a modern twist on it. For example, I planned an event in Dublin, Ireland that needed entertainment to open its keynote. Rather than do a traditional band or performance act to energize attendees, I hired TWO!
I had drummers enter the auditorium from the back and make their way through the audience towards the stage so our attendees could really feel like they were part of the performance. Once they hit the stage, I had a very modern Irish Jig group perform a battle-style dance off. After each had their turn, both groups came together for a high-energy finale.
With this concept, I was still able to celebrate local and traditional Irish entertainment, but deliver it in a way that was engaging and unexpected. In my eyes, this was the perfect balance of traditional meets modern.
What's the coolest thing you've ever seen at an event?
Mel.
P.S. If you've got a question, don't be shy! Pop it in the comments section below and I'll be sure to answer it in an upcoming post.
