Emilie Perkins, CAE, CMP Fellow, CMM, PMP, CED, Vice President of Client & Conference Services at Raybourn Group International, brought her expertise to the CalSAE Seasonal Spectacular on December 5, 2024. Her presentation, titled “Boujee on a Budget – Event Design of the Future,” explored innovative ways to elevate meetings and events without exceeding tight budgets. By blending practical advice, inspiring case studies, and interactive learning, Emilie delivered actionable strategies to help event planners maximize impact while keeping costs low.
This Q&A blog post dives deeper into her insights, offering tips and inspiration for crafting memorable events on a shoestring budget.
What one piece of advice can you share on how to make a meeting memorable on a shoestring?
Engagement isn’t about money, it is about experience. Our attendees show up to our meetings looking to solve problems and connect with their peers. You don’t need a big budget to create intentional opportunities for connections. So, before you jump on the latest meeting trend, take the time to ask how your members/attendees would benefit. If it is more sizzle than substance, it likely isn’t worth the spend.
Do these tips apply to certain types of meetings, or are there cost-saving techniques anyone can use?
No matter what type or size of meeting, you should always start with – Why? When you design to solve problems instead of simply relying on history and habit, your stakeholders will find the value. This applies to everything from internal staff meetings to Annual Conferences. Your association is only as successful as your members, so how are you helping them overcome obstacles through their participation in your meeting? Adding an unlimited open bar or big name keynote speaker isn’t necessarily going to solve a problem, but it will break your budget.
This is the second time you’ve presented on this topic – have you added some new tips since your first presentation at ASAE?
The great thing about the second iteration of a presentation is that you can apply the Lessons Learned from the first event! I was able to use the ASAE session as a case study in this new version of the presentation. At ASAE, I put my money where my mouth was by implementing budget saving ideas in the actual session production. For instance, we had $0 budget but wanted to create an inviting space in the session room. We implemented a mixed seating plan, added pump up music as attendees entered the room and reused décor from the trade show the day prior. The décor was the biggest hit as vendors donated soft finishes like pillows, beautiful floral arrangements and some house plants – one of which then went on from ASAE to thrive at my daughter’s college dorm!
How does a person stay up-to-date on new trends and ideas?
Ideas are everywhere, you just have to be open to look for them! I love seeing new ideas in action at other events as well as looking through daily news digests from the professional associations that I belong to or even when I am scrolling through Instagram. The challenge is to take the cool ideas that you see/experience and translating those into a smaller budget. I am still working on how I can incorporate a friendship bracelet bar from a Taylor Swift Bonvoy Activation I participated in into one of my events.
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