Episode Description
Is your event contingency plan a real strategy or just a dusty file? This week on Event About It, host Megan Martin sits down with the ultimate "Trade Show Girly," Carly Heideger, to spill the tea on what happens when the hypothetical becomes a nightmare.
This is the podcast for event led growth & strategy for sales, marketing and event professionals.
Carly takes us inside a high-stakes aviation event in Geneva where active protestors didn't just stand outside—they forced a total event shutdown.
We’re breaking down why every event organizer must read the security plan before the "Super Bowl" of their industry begins.
From $80 million private jets to registration managers jumping over tables with bolt cutters during a flash flood, this episode is a masterclass in crisis management and operational input.
We’re also getting real about the "Gen Alpha" paradox.
Everyone in the events industry is asking what the next generation wants, but nobody is actually inviting them to the room to experience the current iteration.
Are we overthinking innovation while gatekeeping the very people we’re trying to attract?
Key Takeaways:
- The Geneva Shutdown: A play-by-play of the aviation event takeover and why your contingency plan needs to be more than just "if it rains."
- The Gen Alpha Gap: Why we need to stop the future of events panels and start letting the next generation actually attend.
- Operational Reality: Why the registration manager and the A/V team are your best friends when a crisis hits.
- Boardroom vs. Show Floor: Balancing event revenue goals with the reality of sponsorship fatigue.
About the Guest: Carly Heideger is a veteran senior revenue leader and the self-proclaimed "Trade Show Girly" who has spent her career managing the high-pressure intersection of multi-million dollar sponsorship sales and complex event operations.
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