From the enterprise board retreat to the large annual association gathering, meetings and events have been missing from the domestic landscape for years.

However, this year the tide has turned. With the summer edition of MPI’s Meeting Outlook complete, there continues to be a significant shift toward domestic meetings. Below is an overview of the type of meeting being planned and where it will take place:

Meeting Types	2015	2014	Increase/Decrease
Domestic Corporate	48%	37%	+11%
Domestic Association	22%	14%	+8%
International Corporate	10%	26%	-16%
International Association	9%	14%	-5%
Other Types	6%	4%	+2%
Government	4%	6%	-2%

But this isn’t all that MPI found from their study. It turns out that employees and association members are demanding more from their meetings. Here is a summary of the latest research on the industry along with the many ways technology can help.

What Participants Really Want From Their Meetings

Better Engagement

Attendees desire to feel connected to the presenter and other attendees.

How do you deliver this? Ultimate engagement is delivered by allowing participants, presenters and sponsors to collaborate with each other on a real-time basis. This may be as simple as installing an app on attendees’ iPad rentals such as a mind mapping app for creative brainstorming or conducting live polling to make changes to the meeting midstream.

The key is to get the attendees involved in the conference and avoid any type of lecture format.

Strengthen the Culture

They want to hear from the CEO about next year’s vision. If a recent change has occurred (merger, layoffs, etc.), participants want to know what impact that is going to have on them.

How do you deliver this? If the CEO can attend, be sure to record their presentation and play it for any onboarding that occurs for new employees in the coming year.

If the CEO cannot be at the meeting, live video stream him or her into the meeting and display their message prominently on a large monitor rental. Be sure to work with your audio visual provider to ensure the bandwidth is fast enough to deliver the streaming without buffering.

Different Options and Opportunities

Employees and association members alike want things “shaken up.” They want to learn, network and build morale in new ways.

How do you deliver this? Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Hire a professional chef to cook the meal right in front of the attendees and get them involved in the food prep and delivery process.
• Arrange for local, professional sports players to attend a networking event and sign autographs.
• Rent tablets for meeting participants with a gamification app pre-installed on each one. Gaming has been proven over and over again to help solidify the messages from your meeting by allowing attendees to work alone or in groups to “win” the game.

Social Connections

Just because employees work at the same company or members belong to the same association, it does not mean they are connected to each other. Encourage them to connect via their social channels to learn more about each other and stay in touch.

How do you deliver this? While at the meeting or event, ask participants to do the following:

• Using Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+, ask them to snap a photo or take a video and upload it to social using the event’s hashtag. Display the social feed on a video wall rental.
• Encourage individuals to like, share and make comments during and after the meeting.
• Provide time during your meeting for attendees to connect with each other on social platforms.
• Keep the interests going after your event by continuing to post photos, presentations and videos on your organization’s social channels.

Hartford Technology Rental Serves the Domestic Meeting Market Well

If you need help with your computer and AV rentals for your next U.S. meeting, our technical staff will help you select the right equipment that will meet your attendees’ needs. Give us a call today at 888-520-5667 or request a quote online.