I’m looking forward to attending the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) Summit, which will be held Aug. 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake. Powered by PCMA, CEMA advances strategic event marketing and marketing communications for senior-level event marketers and industry professionals.

Last week, I spoke with CEMA Vice President, Strategy and Operations Sandra Marcus, who told me the event had nearly 500 total attendees registered as of July 27, compared with 455 attendees in 2022. Of those, 32% are event marketers, she said.

I’ve attended the event before, but it’s been a number of years. Here are 10 things I am looking forward to at #CEMASummit2023:

1. Learning from some of the best and brightest in the industry. Speakers on the program represent some impressive corporate brands, including IBM, Atlassian, Salesforce, VMware, ServiceNow, Lenovo, HP and Okta.
2. Networking with corporate event marketing leaders and suppliers. Traditionally, CEMA Summit has attracted event marketers from tech companies, but this year’s attendee list includes representatives from a broader array of corporate brands, including Sony Playstation, Liberty Mutual, Delta Airlines and Gap. Want to meet up? DM me.
3. Content. Over the course of two full days of education, CEMA Summit is offering 25 sessions, breakout and design labs for attendees to choose from. I’m most looking forward to attending sessions led by leaders such as Vimeo Global Head of Events Devin Cleary, Nvidia Director Corporate Events Jasmin Dave and RSA Conference Senior VP Linda Gray Martin.
4. Interactive networking sessions. On Mon., Aug 7, attendees can select one of the eight options for interactive networking sessions — from Vino & Vinyasa to Unusual Food and Wine Pairings to Sound Bath Experience to The Art of Charcuterie Boxes. “These sessions provide a canvas for more networking to facilitate discussions with attendees who have common interests,” Marcus said.
5. Keynotes. I’m most looking forward to the closing keynote by Sarah Robb O'Hagan, CEO of EXOS, a human performance company. Named among Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and Forbes "Most Powerful Women in Sports," she led the reinvention and turnaround of Gatorade as its global president, the digital transformation of Equinox Fitness Clubs as its president and the transformation of Flywheel Sports to a streaming content business as its CEO. She has held leadership positions at Nike and Virgin.
6. Returning to Salt Lake City. I haven’t visited the city since before COVID, so I’m looking forward to seeing what’s new. If I have any extra time, I would love to hike at a nearby mountain, shop at City Creek Center (.3 miles from the Hyatt) or visit the Utah Modern Museum of Art (it’s free). What do you plan to do in your free time? Here’s a link to the Visit Salt Lake Visitors Guide. 

7. 

   Checking out the new Hyatt Regency Salt Lake. The 25-story Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City opened in October 2022, debuting as the first Hyatt Regency hotel in Utah and the only hotel directly adjoining the Salt Palace Convention Center. The 700-room hotel offers 60,000 square feet of event space and there are four dining venues on property. The hotel boasts the largest indoor hotel ballroom in Salt Lake City and the largest outdoor rooftop space in the city with its Sundance Terrace, which will host the CEMA opening reception on Sun., Aug. 6.
8. Sunrise Wellness Walk. Sponsored by Hilton, the Sunrise Fitness and Wellness Walk promises to offer a glorious view of the Wasatch Mountains and stops at key sites in Salt Lake City.
9. Activations. Located on the 4th floor of the Hyatt, the CEMA Summit Neighborhood will feature a lounge and partner activations and demos. I’m looking forward to checking out partner activations by Impact XM, Visit Seattle, Visit Detroit, Velocity XD and Southwest Business.

10. 

    Running a 5K. There’s so much to see within a two-mile radius of the Hyatt. It’s 1.8 miles from the Gilgal Sculpture Garden, .7 miles from Temple Square and 1.3 miles from the Utah State Capitol. DM me if you are interested in joining me.

What are you most looking forward to at CEMA? Please share!

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