DeDe Mulligan

How Tablet PCs and iPads can help meetings go green

Why rent Tablet PCs or iPads for your next meeting or event? There are many reasons, but one of the most compelling reasons to consider this slate technology because it is environmentally friendly, cuts costs, and saves resources. Today's blog will foc... Read >

5 Top Uses for Computer Kiosks in the Meeting Industry

Kiosks can improve efficiency and productivity at events and probably more importantly, they can save you money. Kiosk rentals can have a printer, card reader, and other peripheral devices attached to them. In addition, they can handle many functions with... Read >

3 Gotta Haves When Renting Audio Visual Equipment

Even with a rebounding economy, meeting and event planners are still looking for ways to reduce their event budgets. There are ways to possibly cut some corners within the budget, but AV shouldn't be one of them because so much is dependent on those inter... Read >

Your 6-Step Plan to a Better Meeting

We have all heard the news that 2011 is going to be a great year for meetings and events. The economy is rebounding, the stock market it is up, and people are getting back to work. Now is the time to make certain that we, as event meeting services profess... Read >

7 Lighting Trends for 2011

Lighting has had many improvements over the last few years and will continue to make progress throughout 2011 and beyond. The right lighting can enhance your next event by creating memorable brand experiences for your attendees. Below are 7 trends you sho... Read >

Value of Face-to-Face Meetings, Part 2

In Part 1, the findings of the study, The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy, were highlighted. Today, we take a closer look at the interesting discussion taking place on the value of face-to-face (F2F)meetings. Below are the opini... Read >

Value of Face-to-Face Meetings, Part 1

This week a landmark study was released, The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy. This study was commissioned by Pwc and made possible through the help of 14 Convention Industry Council members. This blog is dedicated to the findings of ... Read >

The Death of the Boring Meeting: 6 Ways to Bring it Back to Life

The structure of most meetings today is the way it has been for decades; a presenter gets up and lectures, audience members take notes (or not), and the session ends with a standard 15 minute Q&A session with limited to no questions from the audience. C'm... Read >

Using MASS Communication with your AV Company

Contrary to what you may be thinking, this is not a blog about using TV, Radio, or Social Media to communicate better with your AV Team. As an experienced meeting planner, I used to schedule and talk to my event audio visual rental company early in the... Read >

Top 9 Event Meeting Services Trends for 2011

Benchmark Hospitality International, which operate 30 hotels, resorts, and conference centers throughout the world, announced their trending list for 2011 based on the observations and feedback of their staff. Here is what they predict: Trend #1: Busin... Read >

An iPad Success Story: Hilton Gives Attendees the Treatment

When 2,500 owners came together for the 2010 Hilton Worldwide Global Partnership Conference in October, event meeting services organizers wanted to make a statement. This would be the first time that every brand from every location would be at the same pl... Read >

6 Ways to Negotiate a "Win-Win" Contract with Your Audio Visual Company

When you are negotiating a contract with your AV supplier, it is best to keep the "win-win" mentality and attitude right from the start. Both the event meeting planning company and the audio visual firm want to achieve the best deal for their respective o... Read >

4 Cutting-Edge Event Audio Visual Rental Items

According to BizBash magazine, below are 4 cutting-edge ideas for interactive technology tool rentals at your next special event or meeting. plasma screen rental#1: Large Video Displays and Motion Graphics Graphics can be shot in 4K resolution (which ... Read >

6 Key Questions to Ask Before Considering a Virtual Event

You have decided that 2011 is the year to hold your first virtual event. You have read all the articles about these type of meetings and think your audience is ready to participate in the virtual world. Before you start down the yellow brick road, you ... Read >

Pros and Cons of In-House vs. Outsourced Audio Visual Rental Company

So you have an event coming up at a new venue that has their own in-house audio visual company and you are wondering "Should I use the in-house company or search for my own event audio visual rental firm? Many meeting and event planners wrestle with this ... Read >