The Key 2012: Showtime! – luxury real estate conference – took place in Las Vegas from December 11-14, 2012. It included over 70 of the top luxury realtors in the nation and several all-star speakers, and was a smashing success. Here is how we made it happen.
Have a mission. What is the purpose of the conference, and what are the goals for your company, speakers, panelists and attendees? — At our first conference, we knew that we wanted to highlight our 2012 successes and plans for 2013, but more importantly, offer a thank you to our partnering agents over the years. We wanted to provide them with valuable information from a host of luxury real estate speakers and panelists that they could then take back to their brokerages and share with their agents and markets.
Accessibility.Ensure that the conference is as accessible and stress-free as possible. — Along these lines, we wanted to be sure that we could pack as much valuable information and social events into as few days as possible. Knowing that everyone has busy schedules already, we decided on a pre-conference cocktail reception, one full day of presentations, and an evening dinner and show. We also decided to make the conference all-inclusive, booking travels for attendees and arranging their transportation. Now that’s what we call high rollin’!Theme It, and Theme It Well. Now you’re getting to what we in the marketing team like to call “the good stuff”! Your t’s (the purpose of the event) have been crossed, and your i’s (the goals you want to achieve) have been dotted. Now it’s time for the bow that wraps it all together! — We knew that we wanted to make The Key an annual event in a different location each year. Giving a name to the conference and tagline incorporating the specific year’s theme provides consistency and keeps it fresh year, after year, after year. But the bus doesn’t stop there. Once you have the theme, try to incorporate it into as many details as possible. We played off of both the location (Vegas, Baby!) and the tagline (“Showtime!”) in all of the materials — from the Save the Dates, to the e-blasts, itinerary, animated speaker intros, venue locations and events. See all the materials on Facebook.
The Line Up. Keeping your goals in mind, make a list of all potential speakers and panelists, and narrow them down into categories. — Knowing that we wanted someone with celebrity appeal, but also who possessed business and real estate experience, Bill Rancic was apprenticed (pun intended) for the Keynote address. After our Keynote was decided, we went to work on packaging the remainder of the line-up so that the entire luxury real estate market was encompassed — filling the rest of the day with an economist, a news reporter, a marketing guru and two panels — a real estate panel featuring agents from across the globe who each represented a different market and an industry panel with experts in marketing, media and social platforms.Who Says Professional Can’t Be Personal? it’s important to have fun. Try incorporating some social events into the conference schedule and provide attendees with a chance to explore the location you selected. — We held a cocktails mixer at the aptly-named MIX Lounge. It was a great introductory event the night before the speaker day, with extraordinary views to take in the city lights (if you’re ever there, don’t miss the bathroom views!) — followed by down time to explore (err, gamble) on their own or break up into smaller groups for dinner. And then the event finale — dinner at TAO, complete with party bus transportation and bubbles — followed by KA! by Cirque du Soleil. It was Showtime, Baby!
Details, details, details. Consider throwing in a few surprises for attendees and guests leading up to and throughout the conference — and don’t stop there. End with a little “thank you.” — We set up a website for the conference and distributed eblasts as each new piece of information was unveiled (ie: speaker line-up, keynote speaker, venues). Once attendees arrived at the hotel, they were given printed itineraries at check-in, and a welcome gift was delivered to each room. The gift bag included functional items (branded notepads and pens) and fun items like blackberry-flavored fortune cookies with themed slogans (like, “What You’ll Learn in Vegas, Won’t Stay in Vegas”). All of the details and schedules were available on the Bizzabo app (pictured) that allowed attendees to connect with other attendees as well as check the schedule and travel details at the swipe of a finger. On the day of the conference, we offered agents complimentary headshots as a “take-away” gift. Another fun-bie was a surprise red carpet at the TAO dinner complete with pro photographer too. A final touch was uploading all of the photos to Facebook and Flickr, and the speaker and panelist videos onto our YouTube (for re-visiting and sharing any time).For me, the biggest take-aways were that preparation makes perfection, and no detail is too small…points I live by every day as the Director of Marketing at Concierge!
