What’s Your Event Really Worth?
Councils, sponsors and tourism boards all want to know whether an event is worth the investment. Greg shares
how economic impact studies and simple attendee surveys work, how to separate local spending from new visitor
dollars and how to present the results so they help you keep and grow funding.
Reading the Data
Many destinations already have access to Placer.ai, but the reports can be hard to interpret. This session walks through a real event report step by step: estimated attendance, where visitors came from, how long they stayed and where they went next. You’ll learn which numbers matter and how to explain them to leadership.Many destinations already have access to Placer.ai, but the reports can be hard to interpret. This session walks through a real event report step by step: estimated attendance, where visitors came from, how long they stayed and where they went next. You’ll learn which numbers matter and how to explain them to leadership.
Your New Planning Assistant
A hands-on look at how AI tools can save small event teams time. Live demos show how to turn notes into a run of
show, draft sponsor and vendor emails, write social posts and summarize survey feedback, along with simple
guardrails for accuracy and privacy.
The Volunteer Playbook
Volunteers are getting harder to find and keep. Organizers of large festivals, city events and small all-volunteer events share what is working for recruitment, scheduling, training, day-of support and recognition, and how to turn one-time helpers into returning leaders.Volunteers are getting harder to find and keep. Organizers of large festivals, city events and small all-volunteer events share what is working for recruitment, scheduling, training, day-of support and recognition, and how to turn one-time helpers into returning leaders. (panel)
Greg Fuson – Director of Research, ChandlerThinks
Greg has been helping clients understand their market through research for more than 25 years. He has managed studies for a number of national brands including Coca Cola, Starbucks, Walgreens, Lowes, Cisco Systems and the County Music Association just to name a few. His true passion however, is in travel and tourism including festivals and events. Greg has managed studies for over 160+ destinations across the US and Canada, helping them understand and develop their brand along with conducting numerous economic impact studies for festivals and events from Suwanee Fest in Suwanee, GA to the Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Arts Festival in Franklin, TN to the Seven Peaks Music Festival in Colorado.
Greg and the Chandlerthinks team were recently awarded, for the second straight year, the Power of Research Award given by the Southeast Travel and Tourism Research Association. Greg is actively involved in the Southeast Tourism Society and is a past board member and board chairman of the Southeast Festivals and Events Association. When not working with clients, Greg speaks on a regular basis on the topic of place branding, tourism and festival and event economic impact.
Needless to say, Greg understands data collection.