A Global Network of Event Venues

Every corporate event planner eventually faces the same fork in the road. You need a venue in a city you don't know well. You suspect you need some help. And two distinct models — venue booking platforms on one side, full-service event production companies on the other — keep pitching you completely different things. One sells you access. The other sells you control. Neither quite fits.This piece is for the planner who already suspects the binary is false.

The biggest moves at major conferences aren't happening in the keynote hall anymore. They're happening in rooftop bars, private dining rooms, and intimate venues around the corner. Here's why side events are the smartest play in corporate event strategy right now — and how to run one that actually delivers.

Have you heard about the Hook Formula? Not to be confused with Nir Eyal’s Hook Model or the popular ‘Hook Story-Offer’ used by copywriters worldwide, the Hook Formula we’re referring to is a widely used marketing term that every event planner who wants to up their game needs to know. If you haven't heard of it, don't worry. This article will clear up the mystery and help you apply it to your next event.Before we begin, think about why people show up to an event. It's usually not the line-up, the speakers, or the venue that attracts them. Emotion is at the core of why people turn up, i.e., it's about how the event makes them feel. That's where the Hook Formula comes in: a blend of clever social media strategy and neuromarketing principles that tap into the way our brains actually work.It may sound a little technical, so let's break it down the marketing way. Think of the Hook Formula as using a few proven psychological triggers to make your event stand out online. When you apply these triggers in your social media posts before, during, and after your event, you'll have people lining up to register, share, and show up.(Photo Credits: Unsplash)