“Event specialists need to stay educated, open minded and agile”

In the next edition of the GCB’s interview series with North American event planners, Jennifer shared her experiences with planning meetings and events with the GCB’s Managing Director Matthias Schultze. Very important for her is that “event professionals need to stay abreast of all digital things” and that they “stay educated, open minded and agile” to adapt to different situations.

Matthias Schultze: The latest research of the German Convention Bureau’s innovation network Future Meeting Space shows that the relevance of events for an organization’s overall communications mix will continue to grow in the future. What is it that you need from event suppliers – from locations to tech service providers – to be able to create successful events in the future?

Jennifer Rondinelli: It is important for me to continue being in contact with suppliers overall as I want to know what is happening in their world – whether it is about hotels, DMCs, or tech. I have a large file list that I continue to look at even if I am not planning a meeting. You just never know when you will have that request coming through to start planning the next meeting and needing to tap into your contacts.

In our “New Now”, new tasks require new skills. In your opinion, what skills and competences will be in demand for event professionals in the future? Are you looking to, or are you already furthering your education on any specific topics or skills?

I think that we as event professionals need to stay abreast of all digital things. Understanding social platforms, digital trends, digital marketing, and how to continue producing events in a COVID and a post-COVID world. Within this past year, I have been more involved in the digital landscape, so I completed a certification course in digital marketing and received my certification in January 2021 as a Certified Digital Marketing Specialist. Another area that is important is data and analytics. More reporting, more data is being used to make conscious decisions and overall, we as event specialists just need to stay educated, open minded and agile.

To keep up with the speed of change driven by the digital transformation and global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the business events sector needs to drive innovation. How do you come up with new ideas?   Are you open to collaborate with other event professionals to discuss new solutions and the future of business events?

Yes, I want to collaborate and learn from event professionals as I think that is one of the best ways to get more creative, build your network and advance overall. Staying abreast of industry trends, research and connecting with my peers in New York gives me the opportunity to explore ideas, concepts, and overall options.