Andrea Doyle Pulls Back the Curtain on Event Journalism

1
00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,040
Welcome to the Event Pro show, your ultimate guide to the world of corporate

2
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,640
events. Whether you're a corporate event planner, experiential marketing

3
00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,360
pro, producer, technician, or anyone involved in creating exceptional

4
00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,880
events, this podcast is your go to resource for valuable insights,

5
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,560
expert tips and inspiring stories from the industry's leading professionals.

6
00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,840
Well, thank you for joining us on the Event Pro show. I'm your host, Seth

7
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,560
Macchi. I'm the CEO of lemg. We're an event production company based

8
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,340
in Charlotte, North Carolina. And I'm super happy about

9
00:00:31,340 --> 00:00:35,020
our guest today, Andrea Doyle. And Andrea, I'm going to do your

10
00:00:35,020 --> 00:00:38,780
bio here because it's a, it's an awesome bio. My guest

11
00:00:38,780 --> 00:00:42,420
today is Andrea Doyle, an award winning journalist with more than 30 years of

12
00:00:42,420 --> 00:00:46,260
experience covering the meetings, events and trade show world. She's the

13
00:00:46,260 --> 00:00:49,980
executive editor at Skiff Meetings where she brings a deep industry

14
00:00:50,060 --> 00:00:53,780
knowledge mix and great storytelling to what she writes.

15
00:00:53,780 --> 00:00:57,460
And over her career, she's earned multiple honors and profiled some of the most influential

16
00:00:57,460 --> 00:01:01,140
voices and in our industry. Andrea, welcome to the show.

17
00:01:01,300 --> 00:01:04,940
Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yes. And

18
00:01:04,940 --> 00:01:08,500
you are so gracious to be on the show. We met at

19
00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:12,100
WEC St. Louis 25 this year

20
00:01:12,740 --> 00:01:16,500
just for a minute and you were open to doing the show. So

21
00:01:16,500 --> 00:01:20,180
thank you so much. I mean, isn't that's what live events are all about,

22
00:01:20,180 --> 00:01:23,900
right? Meeting in real life and getting to meet lots of

23
00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:27,600
new people and that's how we met. So if you haven't learned that

24
00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,280
yet, it is definitely a people business still there. There are some

25
00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,880
businesses that are not. But man, events are, are all about people.

26
00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,360
And I, I always like icebreaker question

27
00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,040
at the beginning for everybody because it's kind of a level

28
00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,240
playing ground question for anyone. You don't even have to be an events person,

29
00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:50,720
but what's the first event that you can remember attending?

30
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,370
You know, back when you were a kid, the farthest memory you have of,

31
00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,240
of going to an event, I mean. It wasn't a business event, it was an

32
00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,080
event for pleasure. But I remember packing into the station wagon with

33
00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,800
my parents to go to Radio City Music hall to see

34
00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,400
Mary Poppins. But they were not only showing the movie

35
00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,160
there, it was like a little bit of a show in conjunction with the

36
00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,880
movie. Oh, that's so cool. You know, a Jersey girl through and through.

37
00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,100
So to be able to go into New York City was so exciting

38
00:02:22,180 --> 00:02:25,860
and you know, just the energy. And I

39
00:02:25,860 --> 00:02:29,660
was blessed that my parents frequently took my brother and I into

40
00:02:29,660 --> 00:02:33,460
New York City to explore all different parts of it. And I think

41
00:02:33,540 --> 00:02:37,100
that has led to my love of travel and exploring new

42
00:02:37,100 --> 00:02:40,700
cultures, because once you see the world as a big place, there's no

43
00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:44,220
turning back. Yeah. Yes, I. I

44
00:02:44,220 --> 00:02:47,940
definitely agree with you. My parents were the same. We. We

45
00:02:47,940 --> 00:02:51,500
had. We traveled a lot as little kids, and I. I remember growing up, it

46
00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:55,160
changed my. Who of what. What my friends had dealt

47
00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:59,000
with. You know, we just had the opportunity, and it was

48
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,760
a really cool experience. And so it does change the way that you see

49
00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,440
things, and, you know that the world's not just all right here, so it

50
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,160
does affect you. So thank God for great parents. Yeah. And I have

51
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,800
two daughters, and as a travel journalist, whenever I could bring them

52
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,040
along, I did. And I truly believe they've learned more

53
00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,920
from their travels than they really have in a classroom. Oh,

54
00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,440
yeah, absolutely. It becomes real. Yeah. It's so

55
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,200
different just reading about something than going and doing it, seeing how other people

56
00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,840
live. And that's awesome. That's cool you're able to do that, by the

57
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,080
way. Yeah, absolutely. That's been a highlight.

58
00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,440
So you're a writer. And on that

59
00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,960
note, what were some of your first jobs in? Journalism.

60
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,120
So, you know, I always was interested in writing.

61
00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,920
I think part of the reason is my dad was a police officer, and I

62
00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,540
always looked forward to him coming home to share with us

63
00:03:55,540 --> 00:03:59,380
his latest arrest. Oh, yeah. And I

64
00:03:59,380 --> 00:04:02,900
love storytellers, and, you know, I believe I'm a

65
00:04:02,900 --> 00:04:06,700
storyteller, so it all goes hand in hand. And

66
00:04:07,180 --> 00:04:09,900
I went to nyu. That's where I studied journalism.

67
00:04:10,860 --> 00:04:14,180
And I was fortunate enough to get a New Jersey Press

68
00:04:14,180 --> 00:04:17,980
association scholarship for a story I wrote for a local newspaper.

69
00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:22,140
And that story was about an accident at a church carnival. But

70
00:04:22,140 --> 00:04:25,960
why that was of interest. It was a few months after that, that horrific

71
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,520
accident that happened at Great Adventure in which a bunch of people were

72
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,160
killed in a fire at the. I believe it was a

73
00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,880
haunted house. And, you know, I went down

74
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,680
to the carnival and I covered the story. And I. I didn't

75
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,360
work for the local paper. I thought maybe they would run it as a freelancer,

76
00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,160
which they did, which led to me getting a scholarship. So then I got a

77
00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,860
job at that local newspaper and just realize, you know what? This

78
00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:56,660
is what I'm passionate about. So I'm blessed, in which, you know,

79
00:04:56,660 --> 00:04:59,700
I'm able to make a living doing something I love to do. I love to

80
00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:03,500
write. And even if I wasn't doing it as a career, I would do it

81
00:05:03,580 --> 00:05:07,380
as a hobby. So that was One of

82
00:05:07,380 --> 00:05:11,220
my first jobs from there, I went to

83
00:05:11,220 --> 00:05:14,940
a daily newspaper in New Jersey called the Record, that was a daily newspaper

84
00:05:14,940 --> 00:05:18,710
based in Hackensack. And my aha

85
00:05:18,710 --> 00:05:22,430
moment so far in my journey has been the

86
00:05:22,430 --> 00:05:26,270
night the Berlin Wall came down. So, you know, my parents were

87
00:05:26,270 --> 00:05:29,990
great, they took us into the city. But our biggest trip really was going

88
00:05:29,990 --> 00:05:33,390
to the Jersey Shore every year. So I didn't have a

89
00:05:33,390 --> 00:05:37,030
passport. I, I never went out of the country besides

90
00:05:37,030 --> 00:05:40,830
Canada. So to watch these people celebrate the

91
00:05:40,830 --> 00:05:44,230
fact that they had freedom and they're dancing on the Berlin Wall,

92
00:05:44,630 --> 00:05:47,310
I know something clicked in my head and I said, I have to go to

93
00:05:47,310 --> 00:05:50,910
Europe. So I went in the next day to see my

94
00:05:50,910 --> 00:05:54,030
editor. I don't waste time. And I said, you know what? I'm going to be

95
00:05:54,030 --> 00:05:57,510
leaving in about a month's time. I need to get a passport, but I need

96
00:05:57,510 --> 00:06:01,350
to travel. And, you know, I don't want it to be condensed to a

97
00:06:01,350 --> 00:06:05,190
two week window. Right. So that's what I

98
00:06:05,190 --> 00:06:08,950
did. I. I went to Europe for about two months. I

99
00:06:08,950 --> 00:06:12,450
backpacked throughout many different

100
00:06:12,450 --> 00:06:16,250
countries. And one of my prized possessions is when I got to Berlin,

101
00:06:16,810 --> 00:06:20,450
there were still pieces of the wall up, and I was able to

102
00:06:20,450 --> 00:06:23,970
rent a hammer and chisel from a little boy and chisel off my own piece

103
00:06:23,970 --> 00:06:27,610
of the wall. No way. It's definitely a prized possession.

104
00:06:27,850 --> 00:06:31,650
But then, you know what? Then the love of travel got in me. And when

105
00:06:31,650 --> 00:06:35,490
I got back home, I stayed until my money ran out and

106
00:06:35,490 --> 00:06:39,290
I came back home and I went through the New York Times and you

107
00:06:39,290 --> 00:06:42,970
know, I was looking for a job and there was an ad for

108
00:06:43,210 --> 00:06:46,890
an associate editor position at corporate meetings and incentives.

109
00:06:46,970 --> 00:06:50,690
I didn't even know what an incentive was. I applied for the

110
00:06:50,690 --> 00:06:54,490
job. I was lucky enough to get the job. And two weeks in, my editor,

111
00:06:54,490 --> 00:06:58,250
who was Connie Goldstein at the time, she asked me if I would

112
00:06:58,250 --> 00:07:01,770
go to Kenya on safari and write about it. And I've been hooked since.

113
00:07:02,810 --> 00:07:06,470
Heck yeah, I'll go to Kenya. That's awesome. That's

114
00:07:06,470 --> 00:07:09,470
my journey into, you know, into this realm of writing.

115
00:07:10,350 --> 00:07:13,790
Did you. Do you think you have always been a curious person?

116
00:07:14,190 --> 00:07:17,070
Like you just absolutely always trying to. Figure out family

117
00:07:17,630 --> 00:07:21,310
crazy by. Because I always ask why. Right? That's why.

118
00:07:21,310 --> 00:07:25,110
Now you know what? AI is like the best invention for me because I

119
00:07:25,110 --> 00:07:28,590
don't have to ask my friends and family why. I just ask. Chat. Gbt,

120
00:07:28,750 --> 00:07:32,310
right? You've got a friend that doesn't get tired of you asking

121
00:07:32,310 --> 00:07:35,830
why. So

122
00:07:37,190 --> 00:07:40,470
you currently focus on meetings and events as an Industry.

123
00:07:41,350 --> 00:07:45,190
And my question here, I have a few pre

124
00:07:45,270 --> 00:07:48,750
written questions, but you might have just answered it. But when did you decide this

125
00:07:48,750 --> 00:07:52,390
was the path for you and your journalism? I guess that was the point that

126
00:07:52,390 --> 00:07:56,190
you were just talking about. Right. So definitely, you know, going to Kenya, that

127
00:07:56,190 --> 00:07:59,390
was amazing. And then, you know, to be able to travel the world and write

128
00:07:59,390 --> 00:08:02,950
stories about my travels, that was amazing. Now I'm more

129
00:08:02,950 --> 00:08:06,390
business focused. SKIFT doesn't accept press

130
00:08:06,390 --> 00:08:09,670
trips, so I don't do that, which is okay. But what

131
00:08:09,990 --> 00:08:13,830
jazzes me up the most is when most people graduate college, that's it.

132
00:08:13,830 --> 00:08:17,109
Their education is over. Yeah. But through the events industry,

133
00:08:17,590 --> 00:08:21,390
it's your education continues. So it's probably one

134
00:08:21,390 --> 00:08:25,091
of the only places people you know in their late 40s, 50s,

135
00:08:25,182 --> 00:08:28,820
60s continue their education. Yes. So what I love

136
00:08:28,820 --> 00:08:31,940
is I'm writing different stories every day about different industries.

137
00:08:32,900 --> 00:08:36,500
You know, it doesn't get boring at all because every day it's completely

138
00:08:36,500 --> 00:08:39,860
different. For example, today I wrote a story about

139
00:08:40,580 --> 00:08:44,060
scams. Like with AI becoming so

140
00:08:44,060 --> 00:08:47,300
popular, more and more scams are taking place.

141
00:08:47,700 --> 00:08:51,420
And a meeting professional had reached out to me who was scammed

142
00:08:51,420 --> 00:08:55,160
out of $20,000. And she's a 30 year

143
00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,920
veteran, you know. Yes. She dots her eyes, she crosses her

144
00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,640
T's, but these scams are so, so sophisticated and

145
00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,480
they know what they're doing. And she's out 20,000. Yes. And then

146
00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,959
that's it. Yeah, it's, it's constant too, isn't it? It's just a

147
00:09:09,959 --> 00:09:13,800
constant. And there's another case in which they created a,

148
00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,720
it was an exact replica of the cfo and during a

149
00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,530
video conference they had an employee transfer money, which

150
00:09:22,530 --> 00:09:25,610
he did because it was a CFO telling him to do that. And it was

151
00:09:25,610 --> 00:09:29,290
all a fraud. Yep. So it's really scary out there. So

152
00:09:29,610 --> 00:09:33,250
I covered two scams. One was an event

153
00:09:33,250 --> 00:09:36,410
professional based in Atlanta who was scammed out of 20,000.

154
00:09:37,049 --> 00:09:40,730
One was, everyone knows Liz Lathan, she has Kobeachi.

155
00:09:41,050 --> 00:09:44,610
She was scammed out of 40,000 a few days

156
00:09:44,610 --> 00:09:48,010
before she had that secret trip to Florence, Italy.

157
00:09:48,330 --> 00:09:51,930
She 80 event professionals about to gather at the airport.

158
00:09:52,410 --> 00:09:55,690
And the difference in the email address was a period

159
00:09:56,170 --> 00:09:59,890
after the dot com. Yep, 40,000 got transferred.

160
00:09:59,890 --> 00:10:02,410
She never got it back. Oh my goodness,

161
00:10:03,530 --> 00:10:07,330
that's scary. So that you're leading on where I'm

162
00:10:07,330 --> 00:10:11,090
going here because there's, you talk about at

163
00:10:11,090 --> 00:10:14,650
this point at different people's journey. You know, you, you,

164
00:10:14,650 --> 00:10:18,430
you post college, you're kind of just doing your job. And some people

165
00:10:18,430 --> 00:10:21,910
that doesn't change, but events are constantly changing. So on that

166
00:10:21,910 --> 00:10:25,630
note, what's the most surprising challenge

167
00:10:25,630 --> 00:10:28,830
currently facing event professionals right now? And you mentioned

168
00:10:28,910 --> 00:10:32,270
scams. That's one thing. But our industry

169
00:10:32,590 --> 00:10:36,270
is. The velocity of change is shocking

170
00:10:36,350 --> 00:10:40,110
right now. Thinking, you know, I'm probably 25

171
00:10:40,110 --> 00:10:43,630
years into my events journey right now, and it has been.

172
00:10:43,940 --> 00:10:46,900
There's been a lot of change, but I would say the last five years,

173
00:10:47,860 --> 00:10:51,580
that speed of change has just continued to

174
00:10:51,580 --> 00:10:54,980
accelerate. Right, Right. So

175
00:10:55,220 --> 00:10:58,900
to me, the biggest challenge is uncertainty.

176
00:10:59,300 --> 00:11:03,140
It's like things change on a dime. You know, there's

177
00:11:03,140 --> 00:11:06,940
tariffs. There's not tariffs. There's visa fees. There's not

178
00:11:06,940 --> 00:11:10,740
visa fees. And, you know, a lot of the event professionals I've

179
00:11:10,740 --> 00:11:14,440
been interviewing, you know, international attendees

180
00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,920
are not really jazzed about coming to the US Right now. It's as if the

181
00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,360
welcome mat has been rolled up. Yes. Even worse. You know,

182
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,520
so, you know, right now, the numbers are not

183
00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,360
that bad for this year. It's going to be interesting to see

184
00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,800
what the numbers are like for 26 and 27, because, as you know,

185
00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,000
events are planned a few years out. Yep.

186
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,040
So, yeah, things right now, they're really bumpy.

187
00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,880
And, you know, that's what I'm hearing from all the event planners I

188
00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,640
interview. Yeah. And I think that's pretty consistent for

189
00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,240
everybody. Suppliers on. On the supplier side, too, of just

190
00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,960
the uncertainty. You know, we are a lot of our end clients. I

191
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,680
think, you know, the thought of planning an event 18 months out or two

192
00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:01,960
years out, like it was done in the old days,

193
00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,920
I just don't think people can trust the. The current environment. And

194
00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:09,680
so they're just holding off. And. And that's the backdrop of that,

195
00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:13,320
is everybody's PTSD from COVID You know, like,

196
00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,200
what did contracts look like when everything has to shut down and you have to

197
00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,920
change things and cancel things? And so I agree. I. I

198
00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,560
think that uncertainty is definitely a big piece of that.

199
00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,600
And considering economic uncertainties. And. And then, like

200
00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:31,200
I mentioned even before that, the recovery from

201
00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,760
COVID you guys at SKIFT are doing a lot of really cool things.

202
00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,220
So gifts, support. How do you support event

203
00:12:38,220 --> 00:12:42,020
professionals in this environment of uncertainty? And you already mentioned,

204
00:12:42,020 --> 00:12:45,860
like, articles like you're writing right now, but what are other things that you're

205
00:12:45,860 --> 00:12:49,500
doing that you're trying to keep event professionals in the loop? I mean,

206
00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:52,860
I think the most important thing is keeping event professionals

207
00:12:52,860 --> 00:12:56,620
informed. Like, getting back to the scam story. So the first

208
00:12:56,620 --> 00:13:00,340
story I wrote was based on this event professional in

209
00:13:00,340 --> 00:13:03,850
Atlanta, and she was someone by the name of

210
00:13:03,850 --> 00:13:07,370
Gregory Mount reached out to her. He was from Glyde and Paints.

211
00:13:07,530 --> 00:13:11,250
He said he was opening a new office in Atlanta. He wanted to do an

212
00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:15,050
office opening party in conjunction with a team building event.

213
00:13:15,850 --> 00:13:19,530
So the only thing was, he said, I have three

214
00:13:19,930 --> 00:13:23,770
vendors that I work with regularly, so I want to have

215
00:13:23,770 --> 00:13:27,610
them as part of this. So he wanted

216
00:13:27,610 --> 00:13:30,970
her to pay these vendors. So I guess that should have been a red flag,

217
00:13:30,970 --> 00:13:34,620
but this was all really fast because

218
00:13:34,700 --> 00:13:38,540
the party was going to be in a few weeks. So then he's. She

219
00:13:38,540 --> 00:13:42,140
sends him the wire transfer info. He said he wasn't able to do it.

220
00:13:42,780 --> 00:13:46,380
So then he said, I'm going to send you a credit card payment of

221
00:13:46,620 --> 00:13:50,180
90,000 and I need you to pay these three vendors. So

222
00:13:50,180 --> 00:13:53,900
supposedly the credit card went through. She pays the vendors, but

223
00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:57,420
not until she speaks to each vendor, gets

224
00:13:58,390 --> 00:14:01,990
tax papers from each vendor and gets invoices from each vendor.

225
00:14:02,390 --> 00:14:06,070
So pays them. Then she's going to meet him at the event space

226
00:14:06,150 --> 00:14:09,430
in this office building in Atlanta to,

227
00:14:09,910 --> 00:14:13,230
you know, she wants to see the kitchen, she wants to see backup house, she

228
00:14:13,230 --> 00:14:16,790
wants to see the loading docks because she's doing this party. Yeah. He

229
00:14:16,790 --> 00:14:20,630
cancels the day before and then said, we'll meet tomorrow.

230
00:14:20,950 --> 00:14:24,670
So now she drives 45 minutes, she's 10 minutes out. And

231
00:14:24,670 --> 00:14:28,310
he calls and says, my flight was delayed, but she goes to the building anyway.

232
00:14:28,830 --> 00:14:32,350
And just by serendipity, who's in the parking lot. But another

233
00:14:32,590 --> 00:14:36,030
event planner he had also reached out to about

234
00:14:36,030 --> 00:14:39,230
planning. Planning an event. But a month later. So

235
00:14:39,950 --> 00:14:43,790
go to security in the office building, and security says, no, we don't

236
00:14:43,790 --> 00:14:47,510
have glyde and paints. They don't have an office opening. So then

237
00:14:47,510 --> 00:14:51,270
they knew, you know, something's up. So she reported it

238
00:14:51,270 --> 00:14:55,070
to the Atlanta police and then reached

239
00:14:55,070 --> 00:14:58,550
out to me. I wrote a story about it, but. So you asked me what

240
00:14:58,550 --> 00:15:02,390
makes gift so important. What really made me feel

241
00:15:02,390 --> 00:15:05,950
fulfilled is by writing the story. I can't tell you how many event

242
00:15:05,950 --> 00:15:09,310
planners reached out to me to say, I was contacted by Gregory

243
00:15:09,310 --> 00:15:13,110
Mount. Thank you so much for your article. I just, you know,

244
00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:16,950
kind of let that request go away because I know

245
00:15:16,950 --> 00:15:20,670
it's fraud. You mean there was the same name too? Just

246
00:15:20,670 --> 00:15:24,280
being used this. Whoever it is, they use

247
00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:28,040
Gregory Mount all over Atlanta. From Atlanta, they moved to Miami

248
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,040
and Miami planners. So if you're an event planner and you get

249
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,400
reached out by someone by the name of Gregory Mount, beware.

250
00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,560
Yeah. Wow, that's amazing. And

251
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,880
listening to it, it's. It's that, yes,

252
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,480
you can see red flags. But there's also, all of us have

253
00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,400
also worked on last minute events where you could

254
00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,840
say maybe there were some red flags, but it ended up being a good event

255
00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,600
and they just were behind the curve on their planning. So it's really difficult.

256
00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,400
And, and you're also managing your business. So like other things, there's other

257
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:06,120
moving parts happening all the time. Oh, and then what happened was

258
00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,720
that credit card was stolen. So the original 90,000.

259
00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,440
The credit card company disputed that and she, like I said, she's at

260
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,600
20,000. Because then he also created a fraudulent invoice

261
00:16:19,510 --> 00:16:22,230
for another 10 and put it through her system.

262
00:16:23,430 --> 00:16:26,990
Oh man, I just feel for them. That's rough. So that's what.

263
00:16:26,990 --> 00:16:30,710
Skip meetings. This is what we, you know, we have great news stories

264
00:16:30,790 --> 00:16:34,550
that we cover. You know, we've covered a lot of stories

265
00:16:34,550 --> 00:16:38,230
about what the current administration means to the event planning world. We

266
00:16:38,230 --> 00:16:41,870
also have a great toolbox in which, you know,

267
00:16:41,870 --> 00:16:45,660
it's event ideas for your next holiday party. It's CSR

268
00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:49,260
activities. So our website is a wealth of information

269
00:16:49,340 --> 00:16:53,140
and if you haven't checked it out, please do so we also

270
00:16:53,140 --> 00:16:56,780
have a newsletter that's free to event planners. It goes out twice a

271
00:16:56,780 --> 00:17:00,620
week. And we also have live events, Gift Meetings Forum, September

272
00:17:00,620 --> 00:17:04,020
15th in New York City. We'll also be at

273
00:17:04,020 --> 00:17:07,740
IMAX on Monday. We'll be doing an innovation lab

274
00:17:07,820 --> 00:17:11,520
specializing in AI for event professionals. So

275
00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,120
do check out our website. We, and we have webinars all the time.

276
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,400
My next webinar is going to be about sustainability. So we're

277
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,000
a wealth of information for the event planning world.

278
00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:27,359
That's awesome. And I would, I would highly suggest people check that out.

279
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,200
I do have a question. Are you tired of hearing

280
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,800
about AI yet? No. No, I'm not.

281
00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,460
Because the more I use it, the more I am

282
00:17:39,460 --> 00:17:43,220
blown away by how useful it can be. Yes. I mean, and you

283
00:17:43,220 --> 00:17:46,300
know, people are like, oh my gosh, it's going to replace your job. It will

284
00:17:46,300 --> 00:17:50,060
never. Because it makes so many mistakes. And you

285
00:17:50,060 --> 00:17:53,180
know, it's. Sometimes if I'm stumped on a headline,

286
00:17:53,500 --> 00:17:57,220
I'll, I'll put my story into AI and say, do you have any

287
00:17:57,220 --> 00:18:00,940
better headline suggestions? Right. And pretty often it does

288
00:18:00,940 --> 00:18:04,610
come up with pretty great ideas. So. No, you know what, I think we're

289
00:18:04,610 --> 00:18:08,330
just at the tip of the iceberg too. Yeah. Yeah, I do

290
00:18:08,330 --> 00:18:11,970
too. Yeah, we, there's, there's some cool ways to use it right now. I think

291
00:18:11,970 --> 00:18:15,490
it does best though, you know, with that, with a Creative input. So you're

292
00:18:15,490 --> 00:18:19,330
obviously writing something and just asking it for some help as opposed

293
00:18:19,330 --> 00:18:22,650
to, you know, it's not like you're saying, create something original for me.

294
00:18:23,050 --> 00:18:26,890
So I covered a story last year at PCMA's annual meeting. It

295
00:18:26,890 --> 00:18:30,530
did make me a little happy. They did a contest and they had one group

296
00:18:30,530 --> 00:18:34,290
of event professionals, they were able to use AI, and the

297
00:18:34,290 --> 00:18:37,890
other group they were not. And it was truly, it was a

298
00:18:37,890 --> 00:18:41,410
conference. I was going to Miami for people in the

299
00:18:41,410 --> 00:18:44,650
hearing world, like doctors and of

300
00:18:44,650 --> 00:18:48,129
audiology. So they had to create a

301
00:18:48,129 --> 00:18:51,450
marketing theme for this particular conference that was meeting in

302
00:18:51,450 --> 00:18:55,050
Miami. While the group that used AI, they had more

303
00:18:55,130 --> 00:18:58,730
ideas, but the group that didn't use AI had less

304
00:18:58,730 --> 00:19:02,490
ideas, but they were really, really dug deep into

305
00:19:02,490 --> 00:19:06,330
the world, into Miami as a destination. So they came up with

306
00:19:06,330 --> 00:19:10,130
a theme of making waves in Miami, which also is sound

307
00:19:10,130 --> 00:19:13,650
waves and the waves of the ocean. And they were the winners.

308
00:19:14,049 --> 00:19:17,810
So the group using not using AI beat the group

309
00:19:17,810 --> 00:19:21,090
using AI and interesting human. It made me a little happy.

310
00:19:21,410 --> 00:19:24,980
Super satisfying. Yeah, we're still beating the

311
00:19:24,980 --> 00:19:28,460
machine. Then you know what, too? I,

312
00:19:28,460 --> 00:19:31,820
I, you know, there's that horrific case about that boy

313
00:19:32,460 --> 00:19:36,020
who committed suicide and AI helped him. And I'm

314
00:19:36,020 --> 00:19:39,779
reading that with interest and with a heavy heart and, you know,

315
00:19:39,779 --> 00:19:43,500
with so much empathy for his, his friends and family. But I think this

316
00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:47,260
is a case to watch because, you know, it's,

317
00:19:47,900 --> 00:19:51,740
AI is getting really, really into culture. But there has to be some

318
00:19:51,740 --> 00:19:54,780
guard rails. Yes, agree. When he started,

319
00:19:55,420 --> 00:19:59,260
you know, typing in about suicide and he tried and

320
00:19:59,260 --> 00:20:02,980
the noose wasn't tight enough, there should have been some sort

321
00:20:02,980 --> 00:20:06,380
of mental health organization that was alerted.

322
00:20:06,860 --> 00:20:10,420
Yes, we're right now it's a slippery, we're on a slippery

323
00:20:10,420 --> 00:20:13,940
slope. So it's a bit of a wild west with not enough

324
00:20:13,940 --> 00:20:17,500
regulation. And regulation has been successful in other

325
00:20:17,500 --> 00:20:21,340
industries and other technologies. So we have a track record for that. But

326
00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:25,000
I, but if that was there, there are

327
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,680
some amazing possibilities for sure in what AI could do do

328
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,200
for our industry. But I know it just, it comes up in

329
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,600
every, every event you go to. There's sessions on it,

330
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,240
and everybody's very curious right now. And, and speaking of

331
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:44,040
curious, where, where do you get inspiration

332
00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,560
for stories? I mean, how, how is, what's your process

333
00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,920
for that? So, you know, I go to all the industry conferences, which

334
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,840
usually have a wealth of story ideas. And also I like people

335
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,640
watching this. Please, my door is always open. I, you know,

336
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,120
I get my best story ideas from event professionals because

337
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,800
I want to hear, you know, what is important to you right now? What are

338
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,480
your roadblocks? What is challenging you from doing your

339
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:14,200
job the way you think you should be doing it? Yeah, you know, my

340
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,480
best story ideas come from people out there doing it.

341
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,120
I love it because that's the same as a company creating a product. Like they

342
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:25,280
have to be very connected to their end user. You know, that's where the best

343
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,080
ideas come from. So that, that makes sense to me and I,

344
00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,840
I, you know, I have one last question for you. You, you hear.

345
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:36,840
So you're obviously plugged into your reader and who you're trying

346
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,560
to serve. What do you think corporate events will look like in

347
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,640
10 years? You know, we've talked about AI, we've talked about technology, we've talked about

348
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,200
the acceleration of change. This is a very difficult question to

349
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,660
answ, you know, take a stab at it. What do you think it'll look like?

350
00:21:50,820 --> 00:21:53,860
Right, so it's 2035, so

351
00:21:54,180 --> 00:21:57,940
definitely AI is going to be a bigger part of events. I think

352
00:21:57,940 --> 00:22:01,140
there'll be more personalization as a result of AI.

353
00:22:03,140 --> 00:22:06,660
I think we'll be walking the walk as far as

354
00:22:06,660 --> 00:22:10,340
sustainability is concerned, not just talking the talk. Yeah, I

355
00:22:10,340 --> 00:22:14,180
think, you know, in 10 years your event has to be carbon neutral

356
00:22:15,150 --> 00:22:18,350
also. I think events are going to be more communities

357
00:22:18,590 --> 00:22:22,390
versus a one off. So you know, they'll be at

358
00:22:22,390 --> 00:22:25,870
events but there'll be a community around that event in which you're

359
00:22:26,030 --> 00:22:29,470
in contact with throughout the entire year.

360
00:22:30,590 --> 00:22:33,950
I love that. I, I think you hit the, hit the nail on the head

361
00:22:33,950 --> 00:22:37,790
there and what people want. With so much content

362
00:22:38,110 --> 00:22:41,790
in the world, something has to kind of narrow it

363
00:22:41,790 --> 00:22:45,560
down to find your people and then having that steady touch points

364
00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,280
throughout the year instead of a one time and. Again that's going to be AI.

365
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,240
So when you do go to an event you're going to find your tribe thanks

366
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:56,000
to personalization, thanks to AI. So

367
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,720
you know, because in this day and age I feel many event professionals

368
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,160
talk about the importance of networking but they don't actually implement

369
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,320
networking the way it needs to be implemented. And there's

370
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:11,010
nothing more isolating them.

371
00:23:11,010 --> 00:23:14,810
Walking into a 300 person cocktail reception in which you

372
00:23:14,810 --> 00:23:17,890
know no one and that's your networking time.

373
00:23:18,850 --> 00:23:22,530
You know, you kind of want to hide behind the crudite

374
00:23:22,530 --> 00:23:26,330
and call it a night. Yeah. And you've probably effectively

375
00:23:26,330 --> 00:23:29,330
eliminated about half the room right out the gate because

376
00:23:30,130 --> 00:23:32,770
introverts just don't function well in that environment.

377
00:23:33,890 --> 00:23:37,730
Extroverts can thrive in that environment. And so yeah, you're

378
00:23:37,730 --> 00:23:41,000
right. You set this environment that's unfair

379
00:23:41,550 --> 00:23:45,390
for about half the room. So with AI, we could

380
00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:50,110
create matches and people could find the people they

381
00:23:50,110 --> 00:23:53,950
match with. So then they have buddies to go to that reception with.

382
00:23:54,430 --> 00:23:57,950
That would change the game. I do think, I think event

383
00:23:57,950 --> 00:24:01,750
professionals can do a better job when it comes to networking. And it's ironic

384
00:24:01,750 --> 00:24:05,590
because study after study, like Freeman just had a study, and

385
00:24:05,590 --> 00:24:09,200
networking is one of the most. That's why most

386
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,920
people go to events, is to network. Right. And

387
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,720
then, you know, we kind of fall short when it comes to that. And

388
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,440
you could look at it another way. People need networking so much, they'll

389
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,080
even go to a painful experience. How much better? If you create an

390
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,920
environment where it's. It, it works a lot better. It's more effective.

391
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,680
You walk away with meaningful connections and people's careers and

392
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,520
move forward. I, I think that's pet peeve. I, I'm not a big fan

393
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,920
of force fun. So force networking are two different

394
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,840
things. Like, I love fun, don't get me wrong,

395
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,680
but right. I like it organic. Are you talking, like when they're

396
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,480
like, everybody get out of your seat and we're going to do a dance together

397
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,240
kind of a thing, or are you like, what, what would be

398
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,440
an example of force fun? I don't know, like,

399
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,680
like a scavenger hunter, like some of that stuff.

400
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,450
That's not. I don't. That's not your jam. Not my jam.

401
00:25:04,530 --> 00:25:07,650
Yeah. And if it's not yours, it's probably. I'm all in.

402
00:25:08,050 --> 00:25:11,650
Yeah. Okay. See, this is why we need specialization.

403
00:25:11,730 --> 00:25:15,530
We need like, customization for people. What are your exact wants and

404
00:25:15,530 --> 00:25:19,250
needs? Well, I, I really appreciate you joining

405
00:25:19,250 --> 00:25:22,250
us on the Event Pro Show. If people want to find out more about you

406
00:25:22,250 --> 00:25:26,050
or Skip, where should they go? Oh, Andrea Doyle on LinkedIn

407
00:25:26,530 --> 00:25:30,300
Skiff Meetings website site. And yeah, please join the conversation.

408
00:25:30,460 --> 00:25:34,180
Join us on Skiff Meetings and, you know, reach out to

409
00:25:34,180 --> 00:25:37,740
me. My email is amd skip.com

410
00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:40,620
I love story tips. I love story ideas.

411
00:25:41,580 --> 00:25:45,060
So, yeah, okay, wonderful. And we'll link that in the description of the

412
00:25:45,060 --> 00:25:48,580
podcast so people can get a hold of you quickly. And I would

413
00:25:48,580 --> 00:25:51,980
recommend if you got ideas, you know who to send it to. Absolutely.

414
00:25:52,460 --> 00:25:56,100
And thank you for joining us on this episode of the Event

415
00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,540
Pro Show. Be sure to follow us on your preferred podcast

416
00:25:59,540 --> 00:26:02,700
platform. We put content out weekly

417
00:26:03,260 --> 00:26:07,060
or you could go to the eventproshow.com and see our backlog of

418
00:26:07,060 --> 00:26:10,860
content right now. Thank you for taking time with us and we'll see you

419
00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:14,380
on the next one. The Event Pro show is a production of

420
00:26:14,380 --> 00:26:18,220
LEMG video by Nick Barrett, audio

421
00:26:18,220 --> 00:26:22,060
and post production by Prince Thompson. You can learn more about us at

422
00:26:22,060 --> 00:26:23,820
LEMG Live.