Lauren Sommers, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Hopin
Lauren Sommers is the Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Hopin, the leading virtual experiences platform that is redefining how people connect around the globe. At Hopin, Sommers is responsible for Experiential Events, Partner Marketing and Customer Marketing. She has spent the majority of her career in the B2B SaaS industry with her tenure at companies like JDA Software, Marketo, App Annie and Gainsight.
Sommers’ passion is building human first connections through scaling large events, customer engagement and curating unique experiences in the field. Her superpower is intuition. Her intuition coupled with deep market insight and obsession with audience experiences have influenced her approach to building incredible brand awareness and engagement through live experiences.
When Sommers is not mastering the brand, she has her hands full spending time with her two sons (Jordan 1yrs old and Josh – 3yrs old) and her husband Jason in the Bay Area.
- How long have you worked in the events industry and what keeps you interested in it?
I have spent the entire 15 years of my professional career in the events industry. The opportunity to constantly reinvent and create unique experiences for attendees has come naturally to me and been one of the biggest drivers in my career. - Best (and worst?) moments working in the events industry?
Best moment: I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to to work with high profile speakers who are “just like us.” My favorite was Will Smith, because he was exactly the same person you see on camera. Warm, funny and friendly.
Worst moment: One of the biggest convention centers has what are called “diapers” in the ceiling -essentially they are large plastic bags collecting water from leaks. One of them exploded all over my booth the day before the show. Needless to say, I cried and it was a nightmare. But we made it work! - What was the last event on which you worked?
Currently working on a Hopin, first-of-its kind event in July! Stay tuned for more! - From your experience, how has tech been best utilised at an event? / What’s the best way to utilise tech at an event?
Technology at events helps us stay connected throughout the experience. - We all learn from our mistakes! What was the biggest lesson you learned from a mistake since being in the industry?
Event professionals are challenged with problem solving on the fly. The key is not to be reactive. Think and come up with a solution or how you would fix it before telling anyone else about the problem. Always come with a recommendation. - What are you most looking forward to at Event Tech Live?
Learning from other peers, especially after this year. - What do events, such as ETL, mean to you?
I think it’s truly valuable to have a dedicated space for event organizers and producers that allow us to learn, network and grow. That we are all in this together. - What can our delegates expect to take away from your session at ETL?
Hybrid events are here to stay. In my session, we’ll dive into this new normal and how technology will play a huge role in scaling events of the future. - Which one piece of tech couldn’t you live without?
Hopin is definitely top of the list
Join Lauren for her session: A New, Hybrid Normal: How Technology Will Power the Future of Live Events & Experiences at ETL US & Canada on June 8th on The Smart Stage – Book your ticket here
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