After watching this short video about what the iPod package would look like if Microsoft had designed it, and after a discussion at yesterday’s editorial meeting about the brochure for our upcoming Pharmaceutical Meeting Planners Forum, I’m trying to understand when less is more, and when more is actually better.

Our brochure is busy, very, very busy. Text-heavy, long, and detailed. The speaker bios go on and on. And yet, as one of my colleagues noted, it works. Compared to other brochures for meeting planner events, it’s meaty. It’s serious. It shows the depth and breadth of what we’re doing and, even though we don’t particularly like the aesthetics of it, a slimmed down, attractive, graphics-oriented brochure wouldn’t do the trick. (I had nothing to do with its creation, so I’m fairly objective about this.)

I’ve seen all kinds of meeting brochures and programs: We used to actually run contests to find ones that work best. Like everything else, it comes down to the type of attendee (or customer) you’re trying to attract. The whole concept of iPod is that less is more, and it delivers on that, even in the packaging. But for something as nuanced, detailed, and intense as being a pharma meeting planner these days, I have to conclude that more is better. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.

Mike May over at E-Venting has a couple of interesting projects in the works that other event managers might want to take heed of: An interactive speaker site (where speakers/agencies/PR people can update speaker information) and an interactive industry event calendar, where people can update information about their events themselves. I think both ideas are terrific, and once the initital set-up work is done, it’s self-perpetuating nature should make life easier for everyone. Assuming, of course, that people use it. I’ve found that to be the rub with the Wiki sites I’ve set up.

Here’s some good advice on keeping a board meeting on track, from Guy Kawasaki.