SessionBoard Reference - Diversified

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT | Recorded: 2025-10-29 | Verify against current system state

Abstract¶

SessionBoard vendor reference call with Stephanie from Diversified Communications. They manage 17 internal events throughout the year using SessionBoard. Discusses implementation experience with rolling onboarding, hands-on vendor support exceeding expectations, API integration with WordPress and mobile apps, and lessons learned from a Grip integration bug. Overall very high satisfaction rating with the intuitive, evolving product.

Key Procedures¶

• Evaluate finalists (SessionBoard vs Cadmium)
• Plan rolling implementation across multiple events
• Receive hands-on training from SessionBoard team
• Import speaker and session data via Google sheets
• Integrate with WordPress for session display
• Integrate with mobile app providers (Grip)
• Conduct lessons learned sessions with vendor

Notable Statements¶

• 0:00:31 "One of them a long time ago was C-Vent. But we just didn't feel like it had everything we needed"
• 0:00:43 "We're very specific on our needs for accreditation and being able to review the PowerPoints"
• 0:01:00 "One of our other final candidates is the company that Encore partners with"
• 0:02:48 "Implementation was something I was really concerned about. Just the change management piece"
• 0:03:19 "We've got about 17 internal events that are all on the platform throughout the course of the year"
• 0:03:40 "I was just kind of very pleasantly surprised by how hands-on the Session Board team was with implementation"
• 0:04:45 "Kind of almost like assisted on the project management of getting each event set up"
• 0:05:37 "I know our web designer said their API documentation was fantastic"
• 0:06:13 "They kind of never go away. They're just there. We just meet with Jasmine regularly"
• 0:08:43 "They seemed kind of the most hungry" (vs larger competitors)
• 0:08:57 "If there was functionality that they didn't currently have, they would say things like, that makes a lot of sense. Let's see if we can add this to our backlog"
• 0:09:52 "Within two weeks, they had rolled out a new feature so that we could kind of bulk upload those headshots"
• 0:13:23 "They did training... they did training with us as a group and then gathered from us just milestones"
• 0:14:23 "Implementation... Could be done in less than four weeks"
• 0:17:28 "Really nervous that there would be a ton of pushback... And it went very smoothly"
• 0:18:43 "Session board dollar for dollar is far superior... I can do more, paying less on session board"
• 0:21:15 "There was a bug and it was taking too long for them to resolve it. And we had to do some manual data loads"
• 0:25:49 "Fields not being able to be reported on or filtered on at the same time in a report"
• 0:31:37 "If it feels too good to be true, I think you can trust it this time because it kind of was easy and seamless for us"

Systems & Configurations¶

Systems Mentioned¶

• SessionBoard (speaker/session management)
• WordPress (event websites)
• Grip (mobile app - had integration bug)
• CDS (Customer Data Services - registration)
• A to Z (trade show management - comparison)
• Salesforce (homemade processes, not integrated)
• Smartsheet (previous process)
• Formstack (previous process)

Evaluation Finalists¶

Implementation Timeline¶

Data Import¶

Credentials/Access Mentioned¶

• Stephanie (Diversified Communications, IT team)
• Jasmine (SessionBoard account manager)
• Chris Carver (SessionBoard, discussed product vision)

Vendor Contacts Mentioned¶

• SessionBoard team (Jasmine, Chris Carver)
• CDS (Client Data Services - registration)

Errors & Troubleshooting¶

• Issue: Grip mobile app integration bug
• Cause: SessionBoard update for another client
• Resolution: Manual data loads as workaround; bug eventually fixed

• Timestamp: 0:21:15

• Issue: Reporting field limitations

• Cause: Some fields can't be filtered/reported together
• Resolution: Custom report created by SessionBoard (2 week lead time)

• Timestamp: 0:25:49

• Issue: Edit icon inconsistency

• Cause: Different behavior across objects
• Resolution: SessionBoard aware, on backlog
• Timestamp: 0:24:11

Transcript Gaps & Quality Notes¶

• Vendor reference call (32 minutes)
• AANP making final vendor selection
• Key differentiator: Product team actively developing features
• No accreditation/CE at Diversified (unlike AANP)
• Speakers adapted well to new system
• High-touch support continues post-implementation
• Recommendation: Keep business analyst on implementation team