Event 101: What's New in Event Apps

If you’re wondering what's new in event apps and what attendees and event professionals want, we've got the scoop for you. We ranked app features to establish the most important, and ones up and coming. Here’s the top ten:

1. Real Time Video - A big percentage of survey participants see real-time video as the future of event apps. They want to be able to video stream, upload and share.

2. FOMO Pills - Apps that have true integration with social media help immerse you in the experience and create powerful FOMO as well as ease it at the same time.

3. Less is More - Event management companies love simplicity. An app that does fewer things but better is the best kind of events app. It needs to be easy to access, clean, and intuitive. Simplicity removes the barriers and makes adoption easier.

4. Seamless UX - Many event managers have tried multiple apps and are disappointed with the user experience. Event apps that will be successful in 2016/2017 will feature an easy to use interface for both admins and users.

5. Privacy - When corporate clients or agencies approach apps they are often concerned with the privacy and data protection. No attendee wants sensitive information to be shared on Twitter.

6. Event Management - More and more event professionals demand their apps offer event planning and management features on the backend. The best event apps offer convenient tools to manage the event before, during and after.

7. Easy Pricing - Complexity of price packages is a frustration of many event planners. Apps that will win in the long term will have a fixed pricing structure that's easy to understand.

8. True Integration - Integration with registration platforms is what event professionals yearn for. The more apps talk to each other, the more they will win event organizers hearts.

9. Support Excellence - The most wanted apps are those that guarantee one-to-one support for busy event professionals. They'll take any extra help they can get!

10. Connectivity - If I attend events, I want an easy way to be able to connect and communicate with other attendees I meet, whether it's through the app, email, mobile or other.

OUR TOP 3 RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONSIDER:

EVENT FARM

DOUBLE DUTCH

GUIDEBOOK (FREE VERSION!)

Find more information and the full review here.

Speaking 101: Lessons Learned in Public Speaking

"Your mission in any presentation is to inform, educate, and inspire. You can only inspire when you give people a new way of looking at the world in which they live.”

- Robert Ballard, discoverer of Titanic (1985)

---

Hosted by some of the brightest innovators and professionals around the world, today’s TED talks have become the gold standard in public speaking. It’s no surprise then that TED (which stands for technology, entertainment, and design) and TED-style events are exploding everywhere.

Rather than being envious of these individuals’ awesome presentation skills (it’s hard not to be—we know), what can we learn from them to make ourselves better, more engaging public speakers?

We’ve pulled the top three lessons by former news anchor and keynote speaker Carmine Gallo in his article 9 Public Speaking Lessons From The World's Greatest TED Talks. Keep these in mind as you plan your next presentation!

• First, tell a story. The human brain loves the storytelling style. We’ve been telling stories for generations, long before the invention of writing. Many anthropologists say that stories are central to human existence, serving as recognizable patterns in which we find meaning. So instead of bombarding your audience with statistics and figures, make your presentation more personal.

• Second, teach your audience something they didn’t already know. According to research, there is a region of our midbrain, called the substantia nigra/ventral segmental area (SN/VTA), that can only be activated with absolutely novel stimuli. In layman’s terms, we are hardwired to love novelty.

• Third, know your purpose, and tap into the right emotions. One way to grab your audience’s attention is by delivering jaw-dropping moments that trigger certain emotions. As Gallo mentions, speakers should try to elicit joy, fear, shock, or surprise in order to have a stronger effect on the listener - it’ll help them remember your presentation long after it’s over.

When asked what they thought was the most important lesson regarding public speaking, a few team members at cred PR shared their insights:

1. “You never know who is going to be in the audience!” - Caitlin

2. “Even if you’re not confident, pretend that you are. Fake it till you make it!” - Stephanie B.

3. “Push each other. Execs and moderators get nervous when discussing controversial issues and lean on “safe topics.” It’s important to push each other out of their comfort zone.” - Laura

4. “Everyone has a good story to tell. The key is to find the right audience!” - Leah

---

What do you think is the most important thing to know about public speaking? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Need help finding your audience? That’s our specialty! 

Get in touch with us at hello@credpr.com.

Watermark Recap

Last week, we participated in the “Watermark’s Silicon Valley Conference for Women,” a full day event with 6,500 attendees and 100 speakers coming together to discuss equality in the workforce. The conference filled the San Jose Convention Center with passion, inspiration, and gratitude.

What made this conference stand out? The passion, candid and painfully honest discussions:

• Actress, author, director and producer Mindy Kaling shared an early career story of how she sold a TV pilot she’d written based on her life, yet had to audition for the part she created of herself. If that wasn’t infuriating, her agent encouraged her to lose 20 pounds and that she was “just one juice cleanse away” from the part.

• Athlete Abby Wamback shared her regrets and how she wished she did more when it comes to equal pay: “There will come a time in your life where you will turn the chapter and you will be angry that you didn’t rock the boat enough.”

  • This comes off the heels of a complaint that she wasn’t part of, when the Women’s U.S. Soccer Team filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over pay discrepancies.

• From political science undergrad to the Vice President and Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Officer with Cisco, Shari Slate opened up about how she forged her career to achieve her professional renaissance. She encouraged attendees to fill your life tangible moments that matter, recognize your difference, find your strengths (your true strengths, not what other people think you are good at) and round it out with a purpose.

About Watermark

Watermark is a community of executive women in the San Francisco Bay Area, whose mission is to increase the representation of women at executive levels to drive innovation, human development and economic growth. Celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, the Watermark vision is to ensure women are able to make their mark in and for their companies, their careers and their communities by providing programs focused on connection, development and advocacy.

Startup Grind Recap

On March 30, we stopped by Startup Grind Silicon Valley (hosted at Pivotal Labs in Palo Alto) and listened in on a fireside chat between Alex Austin, CEO and Co-founder of Branch Metrics, and Scott Nolan, Partner at Founders Fund and early employee at SpaceX. In this 50 minute-session, Alex shared the growth of Branch Metrics from origin to scaling the company to support 1.3B users.

Here are five things we learned:

• Set a success criteria - know for yourself what success looks like.

• If you’re having to sell your product too hard, it’s not a good sign!

• Hyper customer service with early adopters of your product/service will pay you back in dividends. When scaling your product, invest in customer support.

• Never get in the mode where you feel you can kick back and celebrate; there is always something on fire or broken.

• Always think about macro trends, where you fit within them and the broader platform that you’re on.

Want more? Watch Alex talk about his story here.

About Startup Grind:

Startup Grind is a global startup community with a mission to educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs. Every month, they hosts events featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share lessons they learned on the way to building great companies. Since its founding in 2010, Startup Grind has hosted 2,000 fireside chats and helped millions of entrepreneurs find mentorship, connect to partners and new recruits and pursue funding.

---

To receive cred news, event recaps, and tips regularly, subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter or follow @credPR on Twitter!

Event Spotlight: Design Gurus Summit

Uncharted Minds 1st Annual Design Gurus Summit

225 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA

Tuesday, May 17th, 2016

---

With topics ranging from virtual reality to branding and creativity, the first annual Design Gurus Summit, hosted by Uncharted Minds, is a half-day event of keynotes and panels by some of the top design gurus in Silicon Valley.

The Uncharted Minds Thought Leadership Series' mission is to feature the world's best speakers from Silicon Valley's most innovative companies. Like all of their events, this summit will be limited to 150 participants - so buy your tickets before they run out! (For a 20% discount, use our code: insider. Student and group discounts are also available.)

Speakers include Head of UX and Product Design at Lyft, Senior Visual Designer at Hotwire, and Designer at Pandora. You can view a full list of speakers and their biographies here.

View fullsize

For additional inquiries, contact: weareuncharted@gmail.com.

Speaking 101: Presentation DOs and DON'Ts

“REHEARSE, REHEARSE, REHEARSE. DO NOT JUST THINK YOU CAN WING A PRESENTATION."

- BILL BURNETT, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF POINTDRIVE

---

When it comes to public speaking, there a few factors that can make a presentation go from good to great.

First, DO be organized. Maybe you don’t want to practice your entire speech all the way through (though we recommend doing this at least once). However, assuming you know your material backwards, forwards, and upside down, it is still important to have a mental outline of where you plan on taking your presentation. That way, you don't fumble for words, or zone out and forget to emphasize a certain point.

On the topic of zoning out, DO have a personality for the sake of your audience. As Kevin Daum of Inc. notes, “Not every presenter has to be an actor or comedian, but no one wants to listen to someone drone on in dull monotone.” Another way to showcase your personality is by sharing personal stories or examples. This helps your audience relate to you and better grasp your message.

Still, DON’T try to be funny if you’re not. That sounds harsh. What we mean is humor doesn’t always translate well on-stage and if executed poorly, can even leave someone with a negative impression of you and your brand. If you do happen to tell a poorly timed or convoluted joke that no one understands, don’t fret. Simply move forward with the rest of your awesome presentation.

To ensure your success, DO take advantage of vocal inflections, and DON’T just read from your slides. If you're reading from a screen, no one will want to listen to you. Prevent that by limiting how many words you place on your slides. Changing the pitch or tone of your speech will also spice things up and help you emerge as a more energetic, passionate speaker.

Hungry for more tips? Read more on The Do's and Don'ts of Giving a Killer Presentation here.

---

If you are interested in speaking at events, but don’t know where to start, get in touch with us at hello@credpr.com.

Finding speaking opportunities is our specialty, and we love to share!

Speaking 101: Using Social Media to Leverage Your Brand

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

- Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

---

Building awareness—for your company as well as for your personal brand—is key to any successful marketing strategy.

According to recent research published by the Harvard Business Review (HBR), 64% of people cite shared values as the main reason they choose to have a relationship with a brand. In other words, when it comes to establishing brand loyalty, it isn’t solely about increasing consumer interactions. Part of it stems from a belief in the purpose of a company's product or service.

So how can you make sure your brand’s values are known? 

Sabrina Horn of Entrepreneur.com recommends developing a social media strategy plan, while considering the following:

• Audience - Who do you need to reach? Each social media platform garners a different segment of the population, and a little research beforehand ensures you are sharing your message with the right people at the right time.

• Visual Elements - 95% of marketers say visual content is more effective than text-only content. What can you incorporate to make your content “come to life” and engage your audience?

• Preparation - Are you ready to begin your foray into the world of social media? Do you fully understand how each social channel works? Don’t sweat it if you’re not there yet. “Sometimes a simple profile on LinkedIn will suffice until the timing is right to launch a broader communications program.”

Interested in learning more about The Importance of Entrepreneurs Building Their Personal Brand? Check out Horn’s article here.

--

Do you believe in OUR brand? We’d love to hear how cred PR can help position you and your brand as thought leaders within your space.

Get in touch at hello@credpr.com,

or send us a tweet: @credpr!

RampUp 2016 Recap

One of the 17 panel discussions at #RampUp16.

On Tuesday, February 23, 2016, cred PR helped LiveRamp, an Acxiom company, coordinate their 4th annual RampUp—the Premier Conference for data-driven marketers and AdTech industry leaders.

RampUp 2016 took place at The Fairmont, atop Nob Hill in the beautiful city of San Francisco. The day began bright and early with registration, breakfast on the terrace, and an inspiring morning fireside chat with Legendary Entertainment’s Matthew Marolda. The 1,400+ attendees then split into three tracks for a full day of compelling panels and keynotes.

credPR team in action (left to right: Stephanie B., Stephanie W., Caitlin, Margaret, Leah, and Laura)

Since 2012, RampUp has gathered the top innovative minds in the digital space to discuss today’s data and marketing opportunities and challenges. This year was the largest event yet, both in terms of content and audience, with 17 panels and topics ranging from “What Senior Leaders Are Looking For in 2016” to “Data As An Asset.”

Some dynamic speakers that added to this year’s agenda included: Dean of Global Innovation from Gap, GM of IBM, Head of Programmatic at LiveNation, Founder & CEO at MediaMath, Vice President of MasterCard, CMO of Citi Bank, and GVP, Marketing from Macy's, to name a few. In total, 15 of our clients participated in the event, both as speakers and participants.

Author of Freakonomics Stephen Dubner connected the day’s themes in his closing keynote, entitled "How To Think Like A Freak in Advertising.” An entertaining take on incentivization and human behavior, Dubner incorporated stories of post-bathroom hand hygiene (or lack thereof) and turkey reproduction (I kid you not) to discuss how “circumstances under which data is created impacts the end value of data” and our tendency to choose data that confirms decisions we’ve already made. Just a little insight for us all to ponder...

Stephen Dubner, author of Freakonomics - a true crowd pleaser!

All in all, the event was a success. Couldn’t attend yourself? Find content-related recaps of events below (and mark your calendars for next year!):

• Four Takeaways from #RampUp16 by Rebecca Stone of LiveRamp

• RampUp 2016 Recap: Data As An Asset by Esther Burgeson of TruSignal

• 2016 RampUp: Event Recap by Michael Hans of DataXu

• 5 Takeaways from LiveRamp’s 2016 “RampUp” Event by Tim Abraham of Adbrain

---

Want your #RampUp16 recap added to our list? Send your article to kayla@credpr.com to be featured!

For more credPR news, subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter. Or if you’re interested in having the cred team help with speaker management and speaking opportunities, get in touch at hello@credpr.com.

And don’t forget to follow @LiveRamp on Twitter for news on #RampUp17!