In our second episode of etouches' Podcast series, John Kearney, etouches Director of Go to Market Strategy interviewed Vince Koehler, the VP of Marketing at Sales Benchmark Index (SBI).

In today's episode, Vince shares why events and meetings should be seen as a strategic part of your marketing mix and why measuring all aspects of your event is crucial for future success...happy attendees & customers and positive ROI for your organization.

Episode 2 | Vince Koehler, Sales Benchmark Index

In our third episode of etouches' Affinity Podcast series, John Kearney, etouches Director of Go to Market Strategy interviewed Julie Lyda, the Senior Director of North American Sales at Wombat Security.

In today's episode, Julie shares how as a sales leader, why both internal and external events and meetings should be seen as a strategic part of your marketing mix and how the help to enhance an organization's position in their market, as well as helps develop a team of high performing sales professionals.

Episode 3 | Julie Lyda, Wombat Security

In our fourth episode of etouches' Affinity Podcast series, John Kearney, etouches Director of Go to Market Strategy interviewed Kyle Krause, the Director, Special Events & Programs for the Office of the Dean, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering at Columbia University...a mouthful!

We're sure many of you listening either attended their own graduation or supported another person at their's, but have you ever even considered what happens behind the scenes to make that experience a reality? In today's episode, Kyle shares what it takes Columbia to put on not only major events like graduations and commencement ceremonies, but the numerous smaller events spread out, in between.

Episode 4 | Columbia University

In our fifth episode of etouches' Affinity Podcast series, John Kearney, etouches Director of Go to Market Strategy interviewed Sandy Upton, the Assistant Director for Development Operations at Villanova University.

Imagine being a student, member of the staff/faculty, alumni or fan of Villanova University...not many get to experience their school winning the Men's Basketball National Championship once, let alone twice in three years. Well, Villanova did. Over the course of 2018's exciting and dramatic tournament, how did Villanova manage to keep everyone engaged and build a community? In this episode, Sandy will take us through the lessons Villanova learned during their 2016 championship run and how Villanova's process and strategy for driving the app's adoption across all parties has evolved and how to keep those fans engaged.

Episode 5 | Sandy Upton, Villanova University

In our 6th episode of etouches' Affinity Podcast series, we are joined by a special guest-host, Sarah Imarata, etouches Director of Marketing and Sales Automation who interviewed Marti Smith, the President & CEO of MS Management, LLC.

Many of you in our audience frequently attend, as well are members of their organization's events' team. Ready to get insights into what it takes to own and operate a successful agency? Marti takes us through her story from what it's like being her own boss, the challenges that come with this and running an event agency, to how her and her team measure and define what success means.

Episode 6 | Marti Smith, MS Management

In our 7th episode of etouches' Affinity Podcast series, we are joined by a special host, Brian Friedman, etouches VP of Digital Innovation who interviewed Brandon Wernli, the Global Event Technology Lead for Cisco Live.

I'm sure most of you have a favorite event or an event that was a complete disaster that comes to mind . Advanced technology such as artificial intelligence can enhance the attendee experience, however at the same time it creates more challenges for deployment. Brandon takes us through his story from the start, and shares how he went from coordinating events in college to implementing the latest and greatest technology for Cisco. Brandon's team introduces bleeding edge technology to the events space, and strives to connect attendees with truly personalized experiences.

Episode 7 | Brandon Wernli, SpiraLinks at Cisco

In our 8th episode of etouches' Affinity Podcast series, we are joined once again with special guest-host, Sarah Imarata, etouches Director of Marketing and Sales Automation who interviewed Beth King, the Executive Director of Campus Relations and Special Events at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.

While you may just think of graduations, student-life events, and seminars as the extent of higher ed event planning, there certainly are a ton more! From alumni events and class reunions, to non-college related seminars and conferences, college campuses are a breeding ground for events.

In this edition, Beth King leans on her 13 years of higher-ed event planning experience and takes us through the challenges of having such a diverse portfolio of events to work with, quantifying and defining the success and challenges of an event, and the components to getting buy in from your team's key stakeholders.

Episode 8 | Beth King, Randolph-Macon College

Affinity is the podcast where you’ll hear from the worlds best experiential marketers, planners and technologists in sports, music and technology. During this series you’ll learn about how they ended up building powerful communities through next-level event experiences. The Affinity podcast is produced every first Tuesday of the month for your enjoyment and show notes can be found at aventri.com/resources. 

Hosts: John Kearney (Director, Go-to-Market Strategy at Aventri) and Brian Friedman (Vice President of Digital Innovation at Aventri)