Meetings Innovator: Kathryn Frankson

Skift Take
Kathryn Frankson is the Global Director of Marketing at Money20/20, the leader in fintech events. With a deep background selling exhibition space and bespoke sponsorships, and with a 15-year tenure as Director of Event Marketing at event juggernauts, UBM and Informa, Kathryn now leads the global marketing efforts for Money20/20 with a focus on best-in-class brand campaigns and experiential storytelling.
Meetings Innovators is a new series dedicated to spotlighting the trailblazers defining the future of the meetings industry. Each month, we feature visionary professionals breaking the mold with innovative strategies, fresh perspectives, and bold ideas. Beyond planning events, these pioneers are crafting experiences that resonate, inspire, and lead the way forward. Join us as we celebrate the creative minds taking the future into their own hands and shaping what’s next in the world of meetings and events.
Meetings Innovators is sponsored by Stova.
What does innovation mean to you?
Innovation is a powerful word; much like creativity, it can have some real meaning behind it. It’s easy to attach a weightiness to it and assume innovators overhaul, redefine and game-change in the most dramatic ways. So, I had to grow into the idea and realize that I was capable of innovation.
And to me, innovation is curiosity. Because those with a curious mind question, adapt and love the process, not just the result. And that ability to see something and question it, react to it and allow it to spark something in you - that’s what leads to innovation.
When I reflect on my career from the lens of - have I always been curious - yes, I have.
- How are things put together?
- Why is it done that way?
- Will that really capture their attention?
- Can we do it simply enough?
- Will this matter?
- Those questions always nag at me.
Also, perhaps the most important thing I can say about innovation is that it almost never happens alone.
A few will ship it, post about it or get a happy spotlight put on it - but behind that output is a treasure trove of smart inputs, healthy constraints or yes’and supporters who made the path to something new possible and supported your curiosity.
Why is innovation important in the meetings industry?
We’ve never seen such dramatic consumer change. Expectations have evolved.
The digital landscape has shifted. What we need out of connection has shifted. How we measure the return on our time has shifted.
Meetings need to support this new system of measurement for consumers to validate them as beneficial.
Anything that touches your customer should be open to innovative thinking.
- How we design experiences
- How we market experiences
- How we allow them to opt into them
- How they arrive at them
- How they walk through them
- How they manage their energy during them
- How they get supported through technology pre-, during and post
If you remain connected to your customer and don’t tie yourself to an existing playbook, there are loads of areas across the whole of meetings that can become a new competitive advantage for brands and, therefore, innovate in a way, whether big or small, that provides incredible value.
How do you get leadership buy-in for your ideas?
The traditional answer for how to get leadership buy-in for your ideas is to root it in data, make a business case, talk to customers and show the value along with how you’ll measure success.
There’s certainly truth in that.
But what about a campaign that tests the boundaries of excitement like “Who in the F Knows” or a Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll stage or a MoneyBot robot, just to throw in a few Money20/20 examples.
How do you sell that?
Through the credibility you’ve built, through your leadership style, through your relationships and through having a clear position on how ideas spread, how attention moves people to action and how innovation is a catalyst for growth in micro and macro ways.
Soft skills were rebranded as power skills and in addition to anchoring decisions in customer insights, there’s a real opportunity to effectively tell the stories of your innovative ideas that will have a meaningful impact on customer experience.
What has inspired you most on your journey?
When I reflect on my work in sales and marketing, virtual events and live events, pre-cons and post-cons, events for 500 or 15,000, discussions on drayage all the way to digital campaigns - every point of contact, every person has impacted me.
One of my favorite sources of inspiration is reading. Words open up endless possibilities, and as I’ve recently gone on a biography spree, it reminds me that truth is stranger than fiction. Anything is possible. An openness to discovering new things is what keeps our work so interesting.
Is it important to look outside the industry when we innovate?
Curiosity is at the root of effective innovation. And because we are all inherently consumers of technology, travel, food, experience, content - you name it - we live a large portion of our lives outside any given industry. It’s just that we choose to tap into it, maintain an openness to change, and stay curious.
Inspiration lives around every corner - whether in our industry or not.
Do we have the white space built in downtime and drive to see it and weave it into what we are doing? That becomes the real difference.
What do you want your legacy to be?
I said goodbye to my Dad this year. He was an artist and foundationally innovative thinker.
When you lose someone, you think about their legacy and then, perhaps naturally, yours.
What I learned is this.
In the end, you look back and celebrate the big moments in your life. The trips, the awards, the big swings.
Those around you look back and celebrate the everyday moments of your life. The way you laughed, the way you showed up, the silly thing you did that made you you.
To me, the most important thing is to be good, kind and helpful each and every day.
What advice would you give to aspiring innovators?
Do it your way. Innovation can be loud or quiet, big or small. It just matters that you feel empowered to follow your voice.