Runners cross the finish line at last year’s Boston Marathon. Courtesy of Boston Athletic Association

The Boston Marathon remains one of the most prestigious road races worldwide — and it’s Katie Hawkes’ job to make sure the experience is as exciting, memorable and safe as possible for the more than 100,000 attendees enjoying a weekend of marathon-related activities at the Bank of America Boston Marathon Expo. As director of brand and experiential marketing for the Boston Athletic Association, Hawkes is well aware that multiple generations attend the event, which has the eyes of the world on it come race day. And when the last runner crosses the finish line of the world’s oldest annual marathon, plans are already in place for the following year’s event.

“We start planning the Expo and how we want it to look almost immediately after, because of fresh eyes,” Hawkes says. “You want to go into it right after seeing the event through.” The host venue for the event, the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA, is contracted two to three years in advance, as Hawkes always has an eye on the future as she deals with the present. “I already have a ‘next year’ list,” she reveals. “We are a full-year operation.”

Quality Over Quantity

Hawkes says that, in recent years, the Expo has focused on quality over quantity. She’s learned that being selective about vendors gives attendees a more cohesive and immersive experience. “We used to have it be open to anybody that wanted to rent Expo space, but over the last few years, we really tried to make it a more experiential event and focus on our official partners,” she says. Her team started by removing some of their sponsor partners’ competitors so the official sponsors could have larger booths to showcase their brand in extraordinary ways. “It’s less exhibitors, more activation,” Hawkes explains. “We saw the trend in the industry happening, and we got ahead of it.”

For example, sportswear giant Adidas is the official footwear and apparel supplier for the Boston Marathon, and the brand has a dedicated 30,000-sf exhibit hall that not only showcases the latest and greatest in retail products — including exclusive Boston Marathon merchandise — but also educates and engages attendees.

The Expo, which lasts three days, features all-day programming covering topics ranging from race performance — including mental strategies for success and insights from nutrition experts on how to be best prepared for the marathon — to human interest, with presentations such as “50 Years of Wheelchair Racing,” “Post-Olympics Conversations with the U.S. Pros” and “Motherhood and Marathoning.”

“Four to six months out, we are starting to build out our theater programming and making sure we have relatable content that is what our attendees want to see,” Hawkes says.

Hawkes adds that, using insights and experiences from over the years, she and her team are able to mitigate the flow of the massive event by being prepared for peak visitor times and by working hand in hand with the convention center’s operations and security teams. “We know when our influx of people is going to come through our doors based off of many years of data, so we plan with the Hynes on increased security to make sure people get through the doors faster,” Hawkes says. “They have the newest technology at their security screening, so people don’t have to stop that much, and that really helps. But we start talking to them about eight months in advance on pinch points from previous years.”

Innovative, Engaging Programming

Tahira Endean is the head of programming for IMEX, which organizes two of the world’s largest trade shows for the business events sector (IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America). Endean was an IMEX attendee before she joined the organization just a few years ago. “I think I’d been to 18 IMEX events, and from the very first one that I went to in America, I was just like: ‘Why can’t I work here?’” she says. With more than 30 years’ experience in planning and production in a variety of capacities, Endean has applied her diverse skill set to plan innovative, engaging and, in many cases, groundbreaking programming across both trade shows. Endean says that with around 170 sessions when she came on board, there wasn’t a need to grow that number “but to be able to really look at what the industry needs, show to show, and what the industry needs, continent to continent, to really … just continue to evolve the programming and the content.”

Endean says that, as a planner and educator, she works closely with IMEX’s marketing communication and content teams, as they’re both closely connected to the industry. With their insights, Endean is able to align programming that is not just forward-thinking, but also responsive to what attendees want and need. “We have to build a program well ahead of the show, but then also make it feel as if we just built it the minute before the show,” she explains.

To give an idea of the scope and impact of the shows, IMEX Frankfurt, a four-day show that takes place in May, welcomes more than 12,000 total participants, while IMEX America, a three-day show held in Las Vegas every October, is the largest trade show for the business events industry in North America, welcoming more than 15,000 total participants. Endean points out that, despite such numbers, as a company, IMEX is relatively small, and she says her team can use that as a strength when it comes to planning.

“I think a key advantage is that IMEX is not part of a large conglomerate — it is still a family-owned trade show, which means that we can be super nimble,” she says. For example, Endean says, if a popular topic is being covered at other shows and conventions, she’ll pivot and turn her focus to other subjects instead, or she will present the information in a new and innovative way. “We work with a lot of associations and partners. Like Maritz will have education on their booth, and MPI and a lot of booths will have education, so I’ll work with the various partners and our impact team, who works with those associations year-round to identify the key topics that they’re bringing, or key speakers that they’re going to have, so we’re just not duplicating,” Endean explains. A good example, she says, is AI. “We’ll do only one or two sessions on AI, because there will be 14 sessions … by all of the partners who are doing work in that space. We work with them year-round. We talk and keep things fresh.”

Endean adds that she works with professional speakers and others who speak from lived experience, as well as speakers from the meetings industry who can really drill down and share content specific to what’s current. They can address which global conditions are affecting their work and then offer solutions to help bridge that gap. She turns to her team of four to oversee speaker management and logistics, and she relies heavily on technology to enhance the attendee experience.

The app IMEX uses for shows helps attendees navigate their experience seamlessly. “You can really easily search the sessions by [specifying]: Do you need CMP credits or ILEA or ICA skills credits? Are you interested in leadership or well-being? Are you interested in experience design? So you can just pick your tags, and it lays everything out really cleanly for you,” Endean explains. The app also has cutting-edge real-time “blue dot” navigation. “So when you’re actually on the show floor, it will show you how to get from the booth that you’re at to the booth that your next meeting is at.”

IMEX also works with SnapSight, the world’s first AI-based real-time content summarization tool. She says, “Almost as soon as the session is done, like within minutes, the key takeaways for the session are populated, so if you miss something, you can at least see [those], and if you saw something, you can be reminded …”

Make It Original & Engaging

Nick Daddona is an award-winning hospitality industry leader with decades of experience. He is the founder of WineKey and his company has worked with Boston Harbor Hotel to plan and execute the Boston Wine and Food Festival for many years, including planning wine dinners, interactive seminars and grand tastings — nearly 50 events — over the course of two months, welcoming more than 3,000 attendees throughout. Though the festival enjoys a stellar reputation and a 36-year history, there’s always a goal of making it original and engaging. “It’s a year-round job of doing this with the number of guests that we have come through and the number of ticket sales that we do,” Daddona says. Shortly after the last event each March, he gets to work with staff on locking in the next year’s date and starts to develop programming.

The festival takes place at the Boston Harbor Hotel, which recently completed a massive renovation of meeting and event spaces. The festival’s largest event unfolds in the nearly 5,000-sf Wharf Room with its floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides offering sweeping views of Boston Harbor.

“Everything is at the hotel, so everything is onsite, and we really lean in, in order to execute consistently year over year, [with] staff that’s been doing it forever,” Daddona says. “We’re working with industry veterans, the likes of which you never see, which is actually something that the winemakers really love, and also something that gives us a step up over other wine festivals around the country, especially destination wine festivals, for example, like Aspen or TEXSOM [Texas Sommelier Conference] or Nantucket or Pebble Beach, where they’re really leaning a lot on events companies that can have staff that normally run multiple little things. But we have the same exact team that’s running these things year in and year out.”

The venue, Daddona stresses, is a critical component to a successful event, not just in terms of operations, but to create the guest experience. “A very important piece of either booking events or selling tickets for an event — or however you’re kind of stacking your guest count or anything like that — it’s important that the guests can really visualize where they’re going,” he says.

Daddona adds that one of the keys to executing a flawless event is regular communication and transparency with vendors and presenters, so they can arrive prepared, leaving nothing to chance. “It’s very important to be upfront about everything and provide them with all the information that they may need — and to be very, very upfront with the benefits and also the liability,” he explains.

Daddona uses technology to streamline processes, including SquadUP, a mobile-first platform for ticketing, event management and audience engagement. The app also features functionality for social sharing and integration, event-specific content curation from social platforms, real-time messaging and, perhaps most helpful to event attendees, mobile check in and registration.

In order to “stratify” the Boston Wine and Food Festival’s programming, as Daddona describes it, he has diversified offerings to widen the consumer base and attract new attendees year over year. Wine dinners account for nearly half of the festival’s events, but over the past few years, he’s added master classes — classroom-style deep dives. “These are for people that are wine collectors or want to get into wine collecting,” he explains. On the other end of the spectrum, he introduced casual pop-up tastings that are affordable, last about 45 minutes and can attract upward of 30 attendees per event. “Whether you have a wine collection and you’re 50 or 60 years old with a very high net worth, or if you’re just starting out in the industry, you work at an accounting, a business firm or something else in Boston, and you want to spend $75 to come and do a tasting, or bring your office or something like that, so we’re having those [25 to 29-year-olds.]

Lastly, Daddona says, gathering feedback is critical, and it’s not just the glowing reviews that get his attention. On the rare occasion there’s a criticism, he says there’s an opportunity to learn and grow.

“And I’m not talking about just like, automatically sending a refund or inviting them back for something else, but more importantly, taking the time to listen and correct, and then [evaluating] whether or not we can change something in particular to accommodate that in the future,” he says.

Smooth Sailing for Corporate Success: NCL’s “Experiences at Sea”

Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) Experiences at Sea program is redefining corporate events with unforgettable ocean-bound adventures, enabling companies to blend business with the beauty and serenity of the open ocean. Combining state-of-the-art meeting spaces, world-class dining and awe-inspiring destinations, NCL offers an elevated experience for corporate and incentive trips, conferences and team-building retreats.

From private receptions to customizable group excursions, flexible event options make it easy to wow clients and reward top performers, and with modern venues, all-inclusive amenities and stunning itineraries, it’s a unique and engaging option for corporate event planners.

Many who have used the program say it takes the stress out of organizing large-scale functions by providing built-in entertainment that allows for smooth planning while also offering excellent value. Others say that the relaxed, all-in-one setting has helped to foster stronger team connections in a way that traditional venues simply cannot match.

From customizable excursions to private onboard receptions, NCL makes it easy to design memorable events that feel both luxurious and personal. For companies looking to elevate their next gathering, Experiences at Sea offers a compelling mix of professionalism and adventure. The program delivers more than just a meeting — it offers a journey your attendees will talk about long after they’ve disembarked.  C&IT