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March 5-7, 2013. The RPA is a self-governed not-for-profit organization comprised of professionals involved in all facets of production and distribution of retail packaging products including boxes, bows, bags, tissue, wrapping paper, tape, and stuff like that. RPA has member companies representing all entities of retail packaging nationwide and abroad. The RPA is a distributor-driven organization offering sales opportunities for manufacturers of packaging products. Exhibitors had to be producers or manufacturers of retail packaging products or providers of services that benefit RPA members. People came for client referrals, discounts on services, scholarship opportunities for students, and other benefits. There was a “Lunch & Learn” opportunity – participants could reserve a box lunch and attend a sales seminar. No-one felt “boxed in”, though there was plenty of “red tape” on view…
Oct. 10-11, 2012. You know those bosses whose recruitment mantra is “never hire anyone smarter than yourself, because they might be trouble”? Well, Staffing World keynoter Liz Wiseman was there to talk about her bestselling book, Multipliers—How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. Multipliers, we heard, are leaders who actually amplify the capabilities of the people around them. “We’ve all had experience with two different types of leaders”, Wiseman observed. “The first type drains intelligence, energy, and capability from the people around them; this type always needs to be the smartest person in the room. On the other side of the spectrum are leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities of the people around them. When these leaders walk into a room, light bulbs turn on over people’s heads; ideas flow, and problems get solved”. There, you’re feeling smarter already, no…?
Aug. 13-15, 2012. ASE stands for the Affiliate Summit East. This three day conference included an exhibit hall with affiliate merchants, vendors, and networks, as well as multiple tracks of educational sessions covering trends and information from affiliate marketing experts. The first Affiliate Summit took place in November 2003 in New York City. The goal was to differentiate ASE from other similar conferences by focusing on content and networking. The first Affiliate Summit introduced Speed Networking, as well as an agenda heavy on the hot issues of the day in affiliate marketing. Delegates at this year’s Affiliate Summit event came from five main categories: agencies, affiliates, merchants, networks, and vendors, with affiliates accounting for about a third of attendees at the show. Affiliate Summit East 2012 in August 2012 marked a new attendance record with 4,279 attendees. Kind of like scaling the Summit…
July 28 – Aug. 1, 2012. NCMA is the National Contract Management Association, which is proudly dedicated to “Business Success Through Contract Management Excellence”. So what kinds of contract, and what kind of management? NCMA defines the field as “A strategic management discipline employed by both buyers and sellers whose objectives are to manage both customer and supplier expectations and relationships, to control risk and cost, and to contribute to organizational profitability and success”. It’s all about using and positioning contracts as tools for managing relationships, predicating desired outcomes, and ensuring that everyone concerned in an enterprise, whether commercial, governmental or other, gets what they are looking for — and importantly, what the contracts say they deserve. So basically it’s about everyone getting their just desserts. Make mine a lemon meringue pie a la mode….
July 7-12, 2012. The Red Diamond Congress (so named for its tip-tilted logo) is the annual event of the Exhibit & Event Marketers Association. Keynotes included one on Transforming the Organization, and another on the New Age of Marketing, looking at the increasing challenges created by the bombardment of messages (upwards of 5,000 per day) thrown at today’s audiences, a clutter-trap that marketers have to compete with to put brand messages across. RDC 2012 attracted more than 200 top corporate exhibitors and event managers with six and seven-figure annual budgets. The draw for these buyers included 45 seminars and general sessions devoted to the urgent issues that drive exhibit marketing today. The show revealed insights into what senior level event managers do to optimize their event production for maximum business value. Sounds like Diamonds were trumps…
June 19-21, 2012. AIBTM is a leading global exhibition for the U.S. meetings and events industry, bringing together the industry in Baltimore for three days of focused business. The newest addition to the Reed Travel Exhibitions’ global portfolio, they deliver qualified Hosted Buyers and eligible Trade Buyers from the U.S. and around the world. They run events for the meetings industry on 5 continents. This year’s AIBTM Americas Meetings Week kicked off with a day of education and more than 2,250 people in attendance, over 50% up on the previous year. The number of exhibiting companies on the show floor also increased, up from 183 to 194 including 55 new to the event this year, and all resulting in a 5% increase in overall growth of the event. Education was a highlight with a variety of speakers, sessions and keynotes. Hey, didn’t I see you ten minutes ago? We can’t go on “Meeting” like this….
June 17-22, 2012. This is the annual anti-fraud conference. ACFE learned early from practical experience that accountants need anti-fraud education to do their jobs. It is now more important than ever, we heard, to provide college graduates with fraud-related education. The Anti-Fraud Education Partnership addresses this unprecedented need at the university level. In pursuit of this objective, the ACFE has pronounced itself committed to providing world-class educational tools and resources to support fraud examination courses. Whether visitors were new to the business of fraud or wanted to expand existing fraud capabilities, the ACFE seemed to be the definitive source for fraud information and support. Okay, so look, I have this scam I’ve been cookin’ up for over a year, and I’m lookin’ for a course on how to make it absolutely impossible to detect…. Oh, wait, NOW I see…
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