Guild partners with Mash Media to launch ‘Events 365’ community
Mash Media and Guild, the mobile-first, ad-free community platform, have partnered to launch an expert community for eventprofs titled ‘Events 365’
Events 365 aims to provide support to those in the events business who want to create more valuable year-round experiences for attendees, exhibitors, partners and sponsors.
‘Events 365’ will be a re-launched, re-branded Coronavirus Response for Event Organisers (CREO) community and will be led by Jack Newey, Group Portfolio Director - Event Director of International Confex & Portfolio Director of Conference News at Mash Media.
The CREO community was launched by Guild in March 2020 as a peer support group for those in the events industry affected by the pandemic and today has 1,300 members.
The partnership aims to ensure that Mash Media’s readers, subscribers, event attendees and partners, have a private, valuable and ‘always-on’ community of event expertise to engage with.
Commenting on the partnership, Newey said: “Partnering with the Guild mobile app and team brings a unique set of benefits for our events community and a complementary set of skills to ours. Events 365 will support the events, exhibition and conference industry by setting the standard in community.
“As we move away from typical events models to one where there is a clear value proposition for attendees, exhibitors and sponsors 365 days in the year it is the central hub of discussion, debate and best practice in the events industry.”
“Events 365 will be a digital, mobile extension of Mash Media’s in-person event communities. Events professionals also have many of the natural networking skills to not just be great community members, but leaders of their own branded communities,” added Michelle Goodall, CMO, Guild.
Creating a community
“Guild are experts in community and its platform brings people together to do great things.
“Events 365 will mostly house peer-driven discussions and support amongst event professionals. It won’t be a broadcast channel, but it will be integrated with our brands, events and marketing/comms channels,” commented Simon Farnfield, portfolio director, Mash Media.
Ashley Friedlein, founder of Guild, said the partnership was an easy decision for both businesses.
“Media and events businesses have tried ‘community’ in the past, with mixed results. We know and have proven that it works, through Econsultancy with its global community of 600,000 members and Guild, with its 5,000+ expert, active communities.
“The Guild team has many decades of experience spanning publishing, events and virtual community. If Mash Media and Guild together can’t show the events and publishing industry what best practice in community building looks like, then I can’t imagine who could,” he said.
‘Events 365’ can be found on the Guild app and is open to applications to join from events industry professionals around the world.