Event Engine Podcast

At the heart of every successful event is a smooth experience for exhibitors, but as many know, the reality often involves nightmarish complexity. Wrestling with forms only to have progress wiped out. Ordering essentials from seven different suppliers through seven disjointed systems. Hunting through emails for critical information that should be at your fingertips. In this episode, Adam Jones, founder of FFAIR, joins Lee to share his own exhibitor horror stories and reveal how his platform is transforming the exhibition experience, keeping exhibitors coming back, saving operations teams weeks of work, and creating a marketplace where suppliers are now queuing to join. Full show notes: https://eventengine.tv/keep-exhibitors-coming-back/

What can truly tell you how attendees move through your event space? In this episode, Caroline McGuckian, CEO of Meshh, joins Lee to explore how spatial analytics is revolutionising event measurement. Learn how anonymous WiFi tracking provides crucial insights beyond traditional guesswork and observation, revealing attendee journeys, engagement patterns, and ROI metrics that event professionals have traditionally struggled to capture. Full show notes: https://eventengine.tv/the-hidden-layer-of-event-intelligence

How can AI transform event management and improve efficiency? Martin Suttill, founder of 54 Solutions, joins Lee to share practical use cases of AI in events, from automation to data handling, and how event businesses can embrace AI as a tool rather than a threat. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/unlocking-ai-potential-for-events

How do you navigate the complex landscape of event tech solutions? Thomas Schwarzenböck, from Adventics, joins Lee to discuss how event organisers can make better decisions when it comes to selecting platforms and technologies for their events. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/choosing-the-right-event-tech/

How can real-time translation make events more accessible and inclusive? Arkadiy Vershebenyuk, from Palabra AI, joins Lee to discuss how voice-to-voice translation can revolutionise the way we communicate at events, breaking down language barriers for attendees from around the globe. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/real-time-voice-translation/

How can event organisers make better use of the data they collect? Chloe Barnes, an experienced event tech professional, joins Lee to discuss how event organisers can gather, interpret, and act on data to drive event success. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/smarter-data-for-event-success/

What does it take to build meaningful relationships in the events industry, especially when recruitment is your focus? Mike Frost, founder of ExpoCast, joins Lee to share his journey and approach to recruitment for the events sector, emphasizing the importance of relationships, resilience, and community. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/building-relationships-in-recruitment/

How can event organizers and suppliers use creative marketing to stand out in the events industry? Cat, founder of Electric Cat Productions, joins Lee to share how her marketing agency helps event suppliers and organizers create impactful, engaging campaigns that drive results. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/creative-marketing-for-events/

Do you know what to do with all that content after your event ends? Bogdan Maran from Visual Hive shares why event organizers need to rethink how they manage and curate their valuable event footage. Full show notes: https://eventenginecast.com/maximising-your-event-content/

Running events can feel like a risky business at times. Between tight budgets, high partner expectations, and strong competition, the odds often seem stacked against us as event organizers. We're forced to pull off minor miracles at times on a strained budget. My guest in this episode, Mads Kjer, bootstrapped Ticketbutler starting with just an idea and sheer determination. We learn how he went from "moonlighting side-hustler" to leading a thriving event ticketing and badge printing company armed only with hustle, smarts and an unwavering commitment to customer experience. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to turn your idea into profit, you need to hear Mads' story. From leveraging side incomes to laser-focusing on customer pain points with his ticket builder software and portable badge printer hardware, he shares the tactics that allowed Ticketbutler to constantly punch above its weight class despite limited resources, and a lot of competition. So whether you're looking to bootstrap your own event tech startup or simply take your existing event business to the next level without going into debt, don't miss the key lessons from Mads' journey on how he beat the odds through resilience, agility, and customer obsession to turn his passion project into a global reaching operation with just the power of bootstrapping. Full show notes: https://eecast.com/32

Face to face or screen to screen? Which leaves you feeling more connected? In this episode Lisa and I discuss recent research showing that in-person interactions trigger increased neural activity compared to virtual interactions. We explore a study analysing the differences in brain activity and eye contact when people interacted live versus through video chat. The results indicate our minds are wired to be more engaged with physical proximity - but why is that so? Lisa and I unpack the limitations of current virtual platforms, including how camera angles and lack of body language cues play a role. If a picture speaks a thousand words, being in the same room conveys infinitely more. But could webcam capabilities ever replicate the nuances of sharing physical space? With insights from neuroscience and psychology, we get to the heart of what builds bonds between humans. Full show notes: https://eecast.com/30

What if trying to build an engaged, year-round event community was actually detrimental to your event's success? Event organisers are aften advised to create 365 communities around their events, nurturing relationships long after an event wraps. But event strategy expert Dax Callner argues most organisers lack the skills and bandwidth for ongoing community management. In this episode, Dax asserts that overextending resources to force year-round conversations does a disservice to both organizers and attendees. Rather than community, he believes events should prioritise delivering incredible experiences, which lead attendees to naturally return, year after year. Join Dax and host Lee as they challenge enduring community-building advice. You’ll reconsider assumptions about the best ways to invest time and energy to make your events thrive for the long haul. Rethink what matters most. Full show notes: https://eecast.com/28