(St. Louis, MO) – December 2011 – Peter J. Stockmann, President of the International Association of Conference Centers The Americas, announced that the global association will present a webinar on December 8 on hybrid meetings, one of the hottest new trends in meetings and events.

The first in the series of webinars from IACC, “Bright Ideas for Conference Centers” will be presented by Samuel J. Smith, co-founder of EventCamp Twin Cities conference and principal of Interactive Meeting Technology, LLC.  According to Smith, the webinar will instruct participants on how to add a virtual element to the unparalleled face-to-face experience. 
 
Jerry White, IACC’s Director of Education and Technology, notes that meeting and event planners might already be looking to hybrids as a means of:

• Drawing wider audiences
• Bringing participants together from multiple cities or regions
• Sidestepping travel restrictions
• Getting hands-on experience with new meeting technologies, and
• Building online communities that keep participants engaged for weeks after they go home.

White commented, “If your clients are not organizing hybrids today, they will be soon, and hybrid meeting designs are a natural for purpose-built conference centers.  By adding a hybrid option, planners and conference center managers can open up a new revenue stream and reinforce their position as a one-stop resource for clients who expect the very best in innovation and customer service.”

Session Description
Face-to-face and virtual meetings both carry benefits and costs, but the real magic is the ability to combine both in one of the emerging hybrid formats. A successful hybrid meeting is partly about technology, but mainly about effective meeting design.

This webinar will look at how to add a virtual component to face-to-face offerings, and how to create hybrid events that bring together clusters of participants in several different locations.

Learning Objectives
After attending the webinar, you will be able to:

• Explain the pros and cons of virtual and hybrid formats
• Attract new audiences by adding virtual attendance to your clients’ meetings, without eroding the face-to-face audience
• Turn a practical hybrid meetings plan into a new revenue stream for your center

The Bright Ideas Series
Meeting planners look to purpose-built conference centers for bright ideas, creative solutions, and compelling onsite experiences. But in a rapidly changing economy, a unique setting with first-rate meeting services is just the start.

IACC and The Conference Publishers developed the Bright Ideas series to help conference centers keep up with the latest trends in meeting and event design—and to help meeting and event planners understand what they can expect when they look to IACC member facilities for The Conference Center Difference.

Coming Up:
On January 19, 2012, Adrian Segar of Conferences That Work explains How Learning Design Techniques for Small Meetings Can Build Your Business

On March 8, 2012, Mariela McIlwraith of MeetingChange discusses Marketing and Messaging for the Conference Center Concept
 
Additional information about the Hybrid meetings webinar is available on the IACC website at:  http://events.iacconline.org/BIwebinars/
 
For information about the webinar and to register for this and other webinars, visit:  https://www.eplyevents.com/Event.aspx?l=1&c=2&evt=80a509b0-57ca-41e1-8cd0-7112696e96fe

Founded in 1981, the International Association of Conference Centres is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and awareness of the conference center industry and to giving member properties the tools necessary to provide an exceptional meeting experience. Active members meet a set of stringent Universal Criteria and agree to a Code of Ethics. Currently, the association includes approximately 400 members from the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, England, The Netherlands, Germany and Japan. For more information, visit the website at www.iacconline.org.  IACC = exceptional meeting experiences.