ISSUE
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MARKETING IN THE NEW REALITY
+
GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES
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June 2009 • Volume 2 • Number 6
In It Together
EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR IN CHIEF David R. Basler, dbasler@mpiweb.org
MANAGING EDITOR Blair Potter, bpotter@mpiweb.org
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Michael Pinchera, mpinchera@mpiweb.org
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jason Hensel, jhensel@mpiweb.org
ASSISTANT EDITOR Jessie States, jstates@mpiweb.org
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jeff Daigle, jdaigle@mpiweb.org
DESIGN AND PREPRESS Sherry Gritch, SG2Designs, sherry@sgproductions.net
Finding Success
with New Eyes
FRENCH NOVELIST MARCEL PROUST ONCE REMARKED, “The real magic
of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
I came across this quote in a magazine article the other day (I was reading
it online by the way) and it got me thinking. He was speaking most likely to
the creative journey of the writer, the fine artist, etc., but his theory is timeless—and especially in this new business landscape created by faltering global
economies.
The truth is, the need for marketing hasn’t changed—just its definition.
There are so many new options at our disposal than the traditional print publications, basic cable and press releases that up until just a few months ago were
still the marketing tools of choice.
With online social networks, an eclectic mix of generations is talking to
each other in short phrases or via video 24/7 in groups with similar interests (a marketer’s dream). Depending on age and preference, some of
us read our updates in print, some online, some on mobile devices,
some a mix (that’s me). The point is that there are many new landscapes in which to paint our messages—if only we have the vision to
use them effectively.
Our cover story this issue, “Halfway There” (Page 66),
focuses on giving you this new vision. It’s time to get creative. It’s time to go back to the brainstorm room and
paint your new world landscape. Get on the social
networks, find your niche online and have fun
with it. It’s a chance to tell your message
in your words, and people will
love you for it.
P.S. As I am writing this,
my TweetDeck alarm is sounding in the upper right-hand
corner of my desktop about
every two seconds! Something hot must have just hit
the board. Gotta go!
COVER DESIGN Jason Judy, jjudy@mpiweb.org
MPI ADVERTISING STAFF
Dan Broze, dbroze@mpiweb.org, Phone: (702) 834-6847
(AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, WA)
Yvonne Christensen, ychristensen@mpiweb.org, Phone: (952) 938-5281
(CT, DC, DE, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WI, WV)
Antonio Ducceschi, Director of Sales/Partnership Development-EMEA,
aducceschi@mpiweb.org, Phone: + 352 26 87 66 63
(Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Katri Laurimaa, klaurimaa@mpiweb.org, Phone: (817) 251.9891
(AL, AR, CO, IA, IL, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, OK,
SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WY)
Mary Lynn Novelli, mnovelli@mpiweb.org, Phone: (214) 390-8858
(FL, GA, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, South America)
Carolyn Nyquist, Manager of Client Services,
cnyquist@mpiweb.org, Phone: (972) 702-3002
Kathryn Welzenbach, Publications Coordinator, kwelzenbach@mpiweb.org
MPI EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
Bruce M. MacMillan, C.A., President and CEO
Jeff Busch, Vice President of Strategic Communications
Katie Callahan-Giobbi, Executive Vice President, MPI Foundation;
MPI Chief Business Architect
Meg Fasy, Vice President of Sales and Marketplace Performance
Trey Feiler, Chief Operating Officer
Vicki Hawarden, Vice President of Knowledge and Events
Diane Hawkins, SPHR, Director of People and Performance
Greg Lohrentz, Chief Financial Officer
Sandra Riggins, Director of Governance and Chief of Staff
Didier Scaillet, Vice President of Global Development
Junior Tauvaa, Vice President of Member Care and Chapter Business Management
INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chairman of the Board
Larry Luteran, Hilton Hotels Corp.
Chairwoman-elect
Ann Godi, CMP, Benchmarc360 Inc.
Vice Chairman of Administration
Eric Rozenberg, CMP, CMM, Ince & Tive
Vice Chairman of Finance
Sebastien Tondeur, MCI Group Holding SA
Vice Chairwoman of Member Services
Alexandra Wagner, SunTrust Banks Inc.
Immediate Past Chairwoman
Angie Pfeifer, CMM, Investors Group Financial Services Inc.
BOARD MEMBERS
Marge Anderson, Energy Center of Wisconsin
Matt Brody, JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa
Luca Favetta, SAP SA
Caroline Hill, Eventful Solutions
Kevin Hinton, hinton+grusich
Kevin Kirby, Hard Rock International
Karen Massicotte, CMP, CMM, BA, PRIME Strategies Inc.
Carole McKellar, MA, CMM, MCIPD, HelmsBriscoe
Patty Reger, CMM, Johnson & Johnson Sales and Logistics Company, LLC
David Scypinski, ConferenceDirect
Ole Sorang, The Rezidor Hotel Group
Carl Winston, San Diego State University
Paul Cunningham (Europe Middle East and Africa Advisory Council
Representative), IIMC International Information Management Corporation
Rita Plaskett, CMP, CMM (MPI Foundation Board Representative), agendum
Katherine Overkamp, CMP (ICLC Board Representative), US Airways
Jonathan T. Howe, Esq. (Legal Counsel), Howe & Hutton, Ltd.
POSTMASTER: One+ (Print ISSN: 1943-1864, Digital Edition ISSN: 1947-6930)
is published monthly by Meeting Professionals International (MPI), a professional
association of meeting + event planners and suppliers. Send address changes
to One+, Meeting Professionals International, 3030 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1700,
Dallas, TX, 75234-2759
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Members receive One+ as a membership benefit paid for
by membership dues. Nonmembers may subscribe to the publication for $99
annually. “One+” and the One+ logo are trademarks of MPI. © 2009, Meeting
Professionals International, Printed by RR Donnelley
CONTACT ONE+: Contact us online at www.mpioneplus.org or e-mail us at
editor@mpiweb.org. View our advertising, editorial and reprint policies online
at www.mpioneplus.org.
David Basler
Editor in Chief, One+
Twitter: http://twitter.com/onepluseditor
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/
MPI VISION: Build a rich global meeting industry community
GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS:
Dallas, TX
REGIONAL OFFICES:
Doha, Qatar
Ontario, Canada
Luxembourg
Singapore
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The body of One+ is printed on 30 percent post-consumer-waste
recycled content and is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified.
Please recycle this magazine or pass it along to a co-worker when
you’re finished reading.
One+ is a proud member of
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ISSUE
06
09
Halfway There +66
Attracting companies and people to
your event or destination in a down
economy means working harder
than ever to prove your value and
garner positive attention.
+66
Best Practices from
Around the World +70
Look to industry partners beyond
your borders for the finest spectrum
of export-quality business practices.
Be Excited +74
A momentous political campaign
captured the globe’s attention and
exemplified how meetings and
events change the world.
+70
World Champions +78
Learning from the best: Business
people from former Olympic
host cities share how they were
impacted by the world’s greatest
special event.
One Person, One Country,
One Story +82
Throug compassion
Through
p
and caring,
Helen Zille, premier of South
Africa’s
ca’s Western Cape, is developing
an
n increasingly happier tale for her
province and country.
+82
Expanding Possibilities +54
Expand
The MPI New England Chapter
shows that the best way to
set up an event for
success is constant
communication.
+58
+62
Lift Every Voice +58
+78
+54
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The story of how one organization
mobilize
mobilized youth and increased
voter turnout at its annual
vote
Nationa
National Education Conference
in Jacksonville, Fla.
First Impressions +62
A group’s initial experience in
Dubai pays off for them in
big ways.
mpiweb.org
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ISSUE
06
09
CONVERSATION
In It Together +2
Editor’s note
The Energy of Many +12
IGNITION
Experience of a Young
Green +48
Magdalina Yarichkova
Global View
Global update from MPI
Impressions +14
Letters to One+
Overheard +16
Rumblings from the industry
Irrelevant +46
The Meeting Melting Pot +50
Katja Morgenstern
One Bite at a Time
Take a Break Driver 8 +52
Tim Sanders
Transform the World
Something
INNOVATION
Agenda +19
Where to go, in person and online
Art of Travel +34
The latest in transportable
technology
+40
RECOGNITION
Top Spots +22
New venues + re-openings
Focus On +24
Gallagher has smashing family
event ideas
Spotlight +26
Industry leaders announce job
advancements
Your Community +36
CMM certifications, Starwood
points, online learning,
Philadelphia round tables,
Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food
Donation Act
Meet Where? +96
Wow us with your knowledge
+24
CO-CREATION
Hot Buzz +28
Taleb Rifai, Travel Promotion
Act, rally day, Atlanta water plan,
$$ menus, Dallas convention
hotel, Hot-air ballooning,
Thoughts+Leaders, U.S. travel
restrictions, Techbytes, Arabian
Travel Market, Plus/Minus
Making a Difference +38
+22
Hard Rock Hotel commits to
MPI Foundation partnership, and
receives value in return
Connections +40
Nonprofit + Planner
mpiweb.org
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0609
+
www.mpioneplus.org
online
Follow Us on Twitter…and Facebook
Want to stay on top of the latest developments from One+, MPI
and the global meeting community? Then be sure to follow Editor in
Chief David Basler at Twitter.com/onepluseditor and become a
fan of One+ on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/facebookoneplus).
Reaching
Out
+
The MPI Edmonton Chapter
stepped up its Meetings Industry
Day event by inviting all of the
city’s event professionals; the
result was a jump from 92
attendees in 2008 to more than
270 in 2009.
Talk Ain’t Cheap
Join a conversation about the
meeting and event industry with
the editors of One+ on their blog,
PlusPoint—consistently updated,
always relevant, sporadically funny.
Securing a speaker for your event with as little
fiscal pain as possible.
Complete issues of One+ are available
in digital flipbook and PDF formats!
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Contributors
MIKE BARISH has traveled across the globe,
from Iceland to India to
Australia and places in
between, and he is a regular contributor to travel
Web site Gadling.com.
When he first interviewed
Helen Zille, then-mayor
of Cape Town, South
Africa, he requested to
stay on her couch during a future visit but was
told that he would have
to compete with her sons’
friends for the space. Barish looks forward to that
challenge.
Originally from Bulgaria, MAGDALINA YARICHKOVA is currently anticipating her graduation from Minoan International College with a major
in convention, event and exhibition management. Yarichkova fell in love
with the meeting industry during the six months she volunteered in
Poland, where she was responsible for the management and planning
of various youth activities. Yarichkova is one of MPI’s CSR Platinum
Speakers.
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DALIA FAHMY has been writing
about business for more than a
decade. Currently, she covers
entrepreneurship, investing and
philanthropy for publications such
as The New York Times, Financial
Times and Inc.
Fahmy began her career as
a wire service correspondent in
Frankfurt, where she covered
European economic affairs for
Knight-Ridder Financial News and
has been a freelancer for seven
years.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Fahmy
has also lived in Belgium, Bulgaria
and Spain. She now resides in
Brooklyn, N.Y., with her husband
and two young children.
RICHARD SINE writes white papers
and other thought leadership marketing materials for major law firms and
corporations and is a contributing
editor to Men’s Health magazine,
where he writes about personal
finance. His writing career began as
a reporter at newspapers including
the Philadelphia Inquirer and the
New Orleans Times-Picayune, and he
holds a master’s degree in business
journalism.
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The Energy of Many
The Business of Meetings
Sometimes unexpected blessings result from times of
adversity. This period of economic uncertainty and
change has put most, if not all, business sectors under
the spotlight to deliver improved bottom-line returns to
stakeholders. The meeting and event industry crosses
paths with every business sector and can be the terminal
that helps leaders quantify the everlasting value of faceto-face interaction.
In March, a group of business leaders met with
U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the enormous economic impact of meetings. The resulting
revitalized energy and inspiration within the business community—specifically within the meeting and
event industry—can and should be infectious to all
professionals.
I believe that our confidence stems from
each of us working individually with perseverance, passion and the knowledge of the
value of meetings that translates to business
results.
In this increasingly competitive economy,
the ability to create and deliver strategically
focused events is a competitive business
advantage. Meetings connect us to our
shareholders, our customers
and our employees.
It is time to educate
others about the
value of meetings.
As personnel in
organizations are
asked to expand
their level of
responsibilities into areas
unfamiliar
to them, the
need to search
for ways to
expand their
knowledge and
professional connections will only continue to grow in
importance. Our World Education Congress (WEC)
will show them that meetings and events are an invaluable and irreplaceable form of driving toward strengthening results.
The quest to demonstrate value and find solutions
requires business professionals to expand their body
of knowledge and hone their strategic meeting management skills. The WEC’s Knowledge Plan will offer
more than 120 educational sessions to help attendees
prepare to aggressively improve both the efficiency and
effectiveness of their investment in meetings and events.
At this year’s conference, attendees will receive tangible
go-to-market solutions, share best practices through
inspired conversations and bring back real-world applications to their places of work.
Additionally, the conference will help you gain a
better understanding of the new legal restrictions facing
our industry and discover the latest in digital technology, recent research and best practices that support
business results from well-executed meetings. Most
importantly, you will acquire practical informational
tools to apply to your job and organization today. I’m
excited to experience and witness the collective wisdom,
passion and professionalism of our industry leaders and
peers. I hope you will join me as we dive into speaking
the language of business meetings.
I look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City!
JEFF BUSCH is MPI’s new vice president of strategic
communications. He can be reached at jbusch@mpiweb.org.
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Impressions
Economics of Meetings
[Re: “A Defining Moment,” March 2009] Have you noticed
while attending recent meetings that you may be the only
group utilizing the banquet rooms, or there seems to be a
lower amount of staff on hand compared to the previous
year? With the economy taking a downward spiral these
days, a major area affected is the meeting industry. Once a
striving industry booming with meetings, it has been reported
that in 2008 business has declined by 35 percent. The meeting industry can often be seen as very profitable and lucrative
but it should be known for its importance, job stability and
contribution to stimulating the economy.
—Katie Andrade
PRIME Inc.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We appreciate
the feedback on MPI and your
magazine, One+. Your ideas
and thoughts are important to
us. Let us know what you think.
E-mail the editorial team at
editor@mpiweb.org.
You Tell Us
What green technologies are
you using to optimize the ecofriendliness of your events?
Send us an e-mail at editor@
mpiweb.org.
Correction
It’s true. One+ Assistant
Editor Jessie States was taken
in by a hoax! Apparently, the
Hotelicopter (One+ May issue)
isn’t really a flying hotel, it’s just
a hotel-booking engine. Very
funny, guys.
Low-Cost Travel
Security Tips
The airline industry has undergone a shift in the past few years.
The move has been toward
the near-universal adoption of
the low-cost carrier operating
model, which is marked by lower,
unbundled fares and a reliance
on ancillary revenues. Though
the institution of new fees has
made headlines and created a
negative impression of this fundamental shift, the unbundling
of the standard airfare and the
increase in available options
is actually of great benefit to
meeting planners.
The low fare, obviously, allows
for transportation costs to be
kept in check. But the availability
of ancillary offerings means that
a customizable flight experience
is available for each individual
within a group. What’s more,
because many of the airlines’ new
offerings are centered around
the travel experience (the three
most important ancillary offerings
being car rentals, hotel room
reservations and trip insurance),
airline Web sites are becoming
extremely useful tools for meeting
planners looking for a centralized
booking engine for the entire trip.
[Re: “A Defining Moment,”
March 2009] With the recent
backlash against corporate
meetings, many companies are
cancelling their meetings or taking them under cover. Planners
are concerned with security
and ensuring that the company maintains a low profile.
Because of the public nature
of a hotel, many planners are
looking for alternative venue
options, but it’s completely
unnecessary. If a hotel is capable of supplying adequate meeting space, then security and
privacy are well within grasp.
First, ensure that security
personnel with proper communication will be on-site during
your event—almost every large
hotel has a dedicated security
staff. These personnel are also
responsible for securing your
meeting space after hours and
overnight.
Also, make sure that internal
hotel signage referencing your
group is limited or eliminated, to
reduce the possibility of “crashers” and drop-ins by media looking for their next big corporate
meeting story.
Meeting planners must also
do their homework. Conference
—Raphael Bejar
Airsavings
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pre-screening is invaluable, as
are branded nametags, check-in
and -out at the meeting space
and updated room lists. When
possible, know your attendees
by face. Follow these commonsense hints and have a safe,
secure, productive hotel meeting
for your next event.
—Jean Francois Mourier
RevPar Guru
Vacation Rentals?
The current economic downturn
has presented many difficulties
for meeting planners. But the
quest for value is something
that will most likely continue
long after our economy has
recovered. Where can this value
be found when everyone is just
trying to stay afloat? Vacation
rentals are an excellent value
proposition for meeting planners and can provide accommodation for your group with
the privacy and seclusion that
encourages real productivity.
They also inherently provide
a unique experience for groups,
something that can’t be replicated in other venues. All of
these qualities make vacation
rentals a valuable option for
meetings and group travel.
—By Rob Käll
Bookt
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Overheard
G-20 Means Business
“U.S. President Barack Obama’s actions are a perfect
example showcasing that it is not only important to meet
face-to-face to advance your objectives and to enhance
important relationships, but also illustrate how Meetings
Mean Business. Meetings are critical to keeping businesses
viable, while strengthening our economy.”
—David Gabri, president and CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International,
on U.S. attendance at the G-20 Summit in London
Trash Challenge
Meet for Free
Meet the Need
“It became clear that our
industry was wasteful, and
we had opportunities to
impact that. We were able
to improve our recycling rate
from 8 percent to over 30
percent in two years. We are
committed to joining in on
the trash-action challenge to
increase this percentage.”
—Steve Faulstick, general
manager of the Portland
Doubletree Hotel, on the
Green Meeting Industry
Council’s Trash Challenge
“At a time when organizations have become markedly
more cost-conscious, yet still
demand quality, Hilton Family
has come up with this inspired
solution of ‘spend your nights
with us and your meetings
are free.’ We believe it is the
ideal choice for cost-conscious
business travelers.”
—Andrew Flack, vice president
of sales and marketing for
Hilton Hotels Asia Pacific, on
the region’s Meetings for Free
promotion
“Initial response from planners
has been astounding. Not
only is this good for the community, it is fun and rewarding
for participants and is a great
opportunity for companies to
gain positive recognition.”
—Ben Baez, director of sales
for PGA National Resort & Spa,
on the property’s new “Meeting
the Need” program held in
collaboration with Habitat for
Humanity of Palm Beach County
Baghdad Travel
“We are carrying an increasing number of passengers
who travel from Baghdad to
Heathrow via our existing
intermediate point of Amman
(Jordan). As trade and business ties grow, we envisage
that these numbers will grow.
Subject to the required levels
of operational integrity and
safety, bmi is ready and willing to once again re-establish
air links between Heathrow
and Baghdad.”
—Nigel Turner, chief executive
officer of bmi airlines, on the return
of regular air service to Iraq
Best of the Blogs
Eat Good Chocolate
Posted by Sandra J. Lee
WestField Chapter
Adhering to my “must taste before gifting”
philosophy, I stumbled upon Askinosie Chocolate at the Fancy Food Show in New York City,
and they really impressed me with the quality
of their product. I use it for several reasons:
tastes great, unique and green packaging,
eco-friendly practices and their care to go directly to the cocoa farmers around the world.
At the very least, check out their fun and
rather flip Web site at www.askinosie.com.
Think It Through
Posted by Mitchell Beer
When our daughter, Rachel, was about 2
years old, we began encouraging her to think
her way through to practical solutions when
she was upset. For about six months, our
mantra was: Are we going to panic or do
something about it? Before long she was completing the sentence, and she’s never looked
back. Today, she’s the most resourceful
teenager I’ve ever met (and I say that without
a hint of bias).
Slow Food
Posted by Jessie States
One+ Assistant Editor
We just received a press release from The
Maidstone, The Hamptons citing the hotel’s
new slow food restaurant. Slow food? My first
thought was, “Seriously, why would you advertise that?” But upon further research, I found
that there is indeed a slow food movement
that started in the mid-1980s in Italy as a
response to fast food. The movement basically
preaches eating within your eco-region. The
more you know.
▲
Find out what the editors of One+ think about the industry’s
hot trends and late-breaking news on the new One+ blog,
PlusPoint. Share your thoughts at www.mpioneplus.org.
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Agenda
AUG. 15-18 ASAE & The Center Annual Meeting
TORONTO
More than 6,000 association executives and exhibitors convene at ASAE &
The Center’s annual meeting this fall for powerful networking and evocative
learning. Business thinker Gary Hamel and television host Fareed Zakaria
keynote the event. Also find 120 Learning Labs on every aspect of association
management. Visit www.asaeannualmeeting.org.
AUG. 23-26 NBTA International Convention and Exposition
SAN DIEGO
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton headlines the National Business Travel
Association’s international convention this fall, providing a legislative
perspective on current and future global politics and economics. Other
programs empower attendees to maximize value for their companies. Visit
www.nbtaconvention.org.
AUG. 28-SEPT. 1 SYTA Conference
NORFOLK, VA.
The Student Youth Travel Association serves as an essential marketplace and
networking event for the student travel industry. The conference provides
educational growth and information sharing to help student-travel-related companies improve themselves and the products and services they provide. Visit
www.syta.com.
SEPT. 8-10 China Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition
BEIJING
CIBTM brings together a group of international MICE buyers and suppliers for
networking and professional development. Hosted buyers receive free flights
(subject to departure city), hotel accommodations and transfers, as well as
entrance to a VIP lounge, networking and professional education sessions.
Visit www.cibtm.com.
Connected
TALK TO STRANGERS
PETS ON A PLANE
SEAT 61
Omegle.com offers a quirky way to
meet new people. The site picks a user
at random and lets you have a one-onone chat with each other. Chats are
completely anonymous, although there
is nothing to stop you from revealing personal details if you like. When
you’re done chatting, just click on the
disconnect button, and your stranger
disappears forever.
Book a flight for your pet at Pet
Airways.com. The airline is the first to
allow all pets to travel in the cabin, not
in the hold—where temperatures can
reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Web site even lets owners track
their pet’s travel online. Pawsengers
are never left in the cold or heat and
(depending on transit time) are offered
toilet facilities, food and water as
necessary.
Traveling by train from London to
Europe is really easy, but finding out
about it (and how to book it) can be
frustratingly difficult. Discover the
nuts and bolts of train travel with
Mark Smith, a career railway man
from Buckinghamshire, at Seat61.
com. Smith isn’t a company or a travel
agent; he’s just a guy who knows about
trains. The site offers global train
schedules, seat photos, fares, booking
tips and ticket outlets.
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Meet in Budapest, at the heart of Europe
This world class city now offers top-notch hotels
in renovated palaces with state-of-the art A/V and
convention facilities. It is not only breath-takingly
beautiful, it is also hospitable, hip and exciting.
Budapest and Hungary is the place where
meetings and traditions, serious conferencing and
casual evening entertainment go hand in hand.
• Easy access from US cities by Delta or oneworld
partner carriers
• Abundant deluxe hotel space in historic settings
• State-of-the-art, on-site convention facilities
• EU-member: yes. Euro: not yet. Great value for
the money!
• Professionalism and hospitality
Your one stop information source:
Hungarian National
Tourist Office
Peter Gomori, director
tel:
(212) 695-1221, ex 23
e-mail:
gomori@gotohungary.com
web:
www.gotohungary.com
Hungarian
Convention Bureau
Dora Kiss, director
tel:
(36) 1 488 8643
e-mail:
kissd@itthon.hu
web:
www.hcb.hu
Planning a
meeting in
Europe?
With offices in
the United States,
European
countries are within
easy reach for
A renowned international destination on
the majestic Mediterranean, with extensive
meeting facilities, world-class service and
accommodations, modern infrastructure
and accessibility, the Principality of
Monaco is ideal for corporations seeking
a sophisticated venue.
“One-Stop Shopping”
Its unparalleled amenities and US$
guaranteed packages for corporate
events and meetings, ensure an
affordable, yet unforgettable journey
to the “gem of the Riviera”.
(800) 753-9696
www.visitmonaco.com
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Top Spots
N E W VEN U ES + RE-O P ENING S
1.
1. The World Conference
Center Bonn
The World Conference Center
Bonn in Germany—adjacent to
the United Nations Campus, the
international media broadcaster
Deutsche Welle and the Rhine
River—is adding an extension and
will connect the Waterworks and
the Plenary buildings this summer.
The extension will include a glass
roof spanning the foyer, while a
large hall will offer seating for
up to 3,000. Additionally, four
conference rooms will be provided
that can be sectioned off and will
feature independent foyer areas.
2. Erbil Rotana
Rotana Hotels plans to open a
five-star hotel in the city of Erbil
in the Iraqi Kurdistan region by
the end of this year. The property
will feature 205 guest rooms,
seven restaurants, recreational
areas including a Bodylines health
and fitness club and a swimming
pool, an on-call doctor, three meeting rooms and a ballroom. The
hotel will be located close to the
ministries area and near the Erbil
International Exhibition Fair.
22
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3. The Ritz-Carlton,
Charlotte at Bank of
America Center
2.
When it opens this October, The
Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte (N.C.) at
Bank of America Center will be
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified.
Located in the heart of Uptown at
the corner of College and Trade
Streets, the 147-room hotel will
feature more than 12,000 square
feet of environmentally mindful
function space accommodating up
to 667 attendees or 380 dinner
guests in the 7,035-square-foot
ballroom. Recycled aluminum
meeting room tables and locally
sustainable organic banquet
menus will be offered for group
events.
2.
3.
4. Cheyenne Mountain
Resort
The 316-room Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs,
Colo., has completed Phase 1
of a three-year, US$3 million
renovation. A total of $10 million in renovations is planned in
2009-2010. By the end of 2010,
the resort will have refurbished
every meeting room, guest room
and public space. In addition, the
resort is dedicating more than
$200,000 to being green in
2009. In the first quarter alone,
every non-dimming incandescent
and T-12 florescent on property
will be replaced with compact
fluorescent lights and T-8 fluorescents, and 95 percent efficiency
boilers will be installed to replace
the current 65-percent efficiency
models.
6
4
3
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4.
5. Hyatt Regency
Ekaterinburg
4.
5.
6.
5
1
2
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts recently
debuted its Hyatt Regency brand
in Russia with the opening of
the 296-room Hyatt Regency
Ekaterinburg. Located in Russia’s
fourth-largest city and the capital
of the Ural region, the hotel is
the second Hyatt property in the
country and features approximately 27,000 square feet of
conference and banquet space,
including a 6,500-square-foot ballroom, five meeting rooms and one
boardroom. The Hyatt Regency
Ekaterinburg also offers two restaurants, a lounge, two bars and a
fitness center.
6. Hilton Garden Inn Anchorage
As of March, the 125-room
Hilton Garden Inn - Anchorage
has a fresh new look to present
to visitors. A recently completed
US$2.5 million renovation includes enhancements and amenities to the guest rooms and
common areas. All guest rooms
have been upgraded with Garden
Sleep System beds, 32-inch
flat-panel TVs, new furniture and
carpeting. Just off the lobby, the
new concept restaurant, Amore
La Cucina, serves Italian cuisine.
The hotel is situated in mid-town
Anchorage, three miles from Ted
Stevens International Airport and
the Egan Convention Center.
mpiweb.org
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5/20/09 11:56:17 AM
CELEBRITY EDITION
Focus On...
The saga began with
the watermelon-busting
Sledge-O-Matic and a
splashguarded crowd.
Gallagher
Comedian, entrepreneur
“Every kid that gets splashed at an amusement park
owes me.”
—On being an innovative force in
entertainer-audience interaction
“I am so frustrated with the world…it’s almost like I
live on another planet and the people are aliens.”
—On his disbelief as to why some businesses
claim to be a family but don’t necessarily have
the best interests of families in mind
“I want the world to be a more fun place!”
—On his mission
24
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Now, legendary comedian Gallagher has a bevy of ideas to
enhance your personal and professional lives—beyond his patents for a no-overflow toilet and
a solar-powered soda machine.
“A building is the set for the
scenes of our lives,” he said,
while explaining his plan for a
patented, purpose-built family
reunion event space.
His vision—dreamed up in
a stream of consciousness that
traces its inspiration back to the
film My Big Fat Greek Wedding—is designed for a few dozen
people who want to live together
for the weekend. He reckons that
a 12,000-square-foot venue is a
suitable size for the project.
“I call it 40 Doors and it’s
an open area surrounded by
bedrooms without bathrooms—
because it’s expensive to give
everybody a shower just to wipe
down. And if you’re there to
commune and bond, you can
have [shared restrooms].”
Meeting spaces are not often
tailored specifically to the needs
of the family event business,
Gallagher says, and hotel space
isn’t always affordable for family
gatherings.
Businesses in different parts of
a city cater to different socio-economic groups, and Gallagher sees
a significant absence of affordable
event space for families. One of
the many goals of the 40 Doors
premise is to offer accessible
event space to help bring families
together across the U.S.
“This is the kind of legacy
that I would like to leave, and
not just be the guy who smashed
watermelons,” Gallagher said.
F&B costs are also a fiscal
deterrent for the family reunion
set, he contends. The 40 Doors
concept gives families the option
to save costs, enhance quality
time and cook their own food
together.
Gallagher also sees a socially
responsible scenario in which 40
Doors could benefit nonprofit
organizations.
“I think that charities could
operate this and take money off
of the business to benefit the
charity—in turn, they would also
benefit from the free advertising,”
he said, citing the success of Paul
Newman’s charitable food businesses.
Despite discussions with hotel
executives, Gallagher’s 40 Doors
concept has yet to be realized. But
he’s keeping his eyes open while
on tour.
—MICHAEL PINCHERA
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Spotlight
Deon Senturk has joined
Kairis Planning Network as
director of sales. Senturk formerly worked for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. and
the Peninsula Hotel Group.
Senturk brings global sales
experience to the company,
where she will develop new
business opportunities.
Tourism South East has selected its
new chief executive. Mike Bedingfield
most recently served as marketing
director for VisitBritain, where he has
undertaken various marketing roles
since 2003, responsible for developing
the England brand domestically and the
Britain brand internationally, as well as
implementing a marketing strategy to
increase visitor spend in Britain.
26
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Sports Celebrity Marketing has appointed Elaine Seth to the position
of U.S. sales manager. She will be
responsible for heading up U.S. operations based out of the South Florida
office. A former fitness competitor and
TV commentator and a current radio
show host, Seth has nine years of
marketing experience in trade shows
and conventions.
Karina Lance has been appointed
head of sales and convention
services for the Dubai Convention
Bureau. Most recently, Lance
served as assistant sales director
for the Raffles Dubai. Prior to her
five years in Dubai, Lance lived in
Beijing and worked for the Shangri-La Hotel as a sales and communications executive. She holds
a master’s degree in international
business, specializing in the AsiaPacific region and Asian studies.
Marriott International Inc.
has promoted Amy C.
McPherson—current executive
vice president of global sales
and marketing—to president and
managing director of European
lodging. The newly created
position aligns with Marriott’s
strategic priority of accelerating
worldwide growth and its
ability to compete in the global
economy. McPherson will be
responsible for the performance
and growth of a new division that
combines the U.K., Ireland and
continental Europe.
Visit the careers blog at www.mpiweb.org by clicking
“community” and then “blogs” to tell the meeting
community about your recent job change.
06.09
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HOT BUZZ
+
World Leader
Former Jordan Minister of
Tourism Taleb Rifai has
accepted a nomination to be
secretary-general for the U.N.
World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) for the 20102013 term. The UNWTO
General Assembly will review
its executive council recommendation during a meeting
the first week of October in
Astana, Kazakhstan. Rifai
has served as the organization’s deputy secretarygeneral since February
2006.
Prior to assuming his
current post, he was the
assistant director-general
of the International Labour
Organization, where he
supervised and implemented
International Labour Standards, while advising on
labor markets and
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employment policies,
particularly in the Middle
East. Between 1999 and
2003, Rifai served in
several ministerial portfolios
in Jordan, first, as minister
of planning and international
cooperation, then minister
of information and finally
minister of tourism and
antiquity.
Rifai received his Ph.D.
in urban design and regional
planning from the University
of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1983, his master’s degree in engineering
and architecture from the
Illinois Institute of Technology
in Chicago in 1979 and his
bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from
the University of Cairo in
1973.
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Up, Up and Away!
The Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa in
Stowe, Vt., is offering a complimentary hot-air
balloon tether to groups that book meetings
by July 1. The unique team-building opportunity will take colleagues up for a refreshing tour
of the picturesque surrounding area, offering
a much needed break from the meeting action. Meanwhile, the conference center has
22,000 square feet of meeting space in
addition to an 18-hole golf course, destination
spa and two award-winning restaurants.
Travel Rally Day
In honor of U.S. National Travel
U.S. National
and Tourism Week, the U.S. Travel
Travel & Tourism
Association named May 12 as Travel
Rally Day, and more than 40 cities
across the country united to make a bold
statement about the power of travel.
U.S. Travel, meanwhile, offered a range of
resources to help people stage local rallies in their communities.
WEEK
Travel Promotion Act
U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan
(D-N.D.) and John Ensign (RNev.) have introduced the Travel
Promotion Act of 2009, landmark legislation to stimulate
economic growth, create thousands of new jobs and generate
hundreds of millions of dollars
in tax revenue for communities
across the country.
The legislation is considered
especially necessary given that
the U.S. dollar is strengthening,
the global economy is slowing
and the U.S. continues to welcome fewer overseas visitors
than prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Travel Promotion Act
establishes a public-private partartnership to promote the U.S. as
a premier travel destination and
nd
to communicate U.S. security
and entry policies. The legislation specifies that travel
promotion will be paid for by
private sector contributions and
nd
a US$10 fee on foreign travellers from countries that do not
ot
pay for a visa. Similar legislation
ion
passed the U.S. House of Reppresentatives in 2008, but did
not receive a vote before the
Senate adjourned.
Overseas visitors spend an
average of $4,500 per person,
per trip in the U.S. Oxford Economics estimates that a well-executed promotion program, as
outlined in the Travel Promotion
Act, could attract 1.6 million
new international visitors annually, create $4 billion in spending and drive $321 million in
new federal tax revenue. Meanwhile, an analysis by the U.S.
Travel Association reveals that
this program would create nearly 40,000 new jobs.
Digging Deep
The Georgia World
Congress Center
Authority (GWCCA) in Atlanta
will soon be able
to water its green
space and turn its
fountains on after
a water ban that
went into effect
October 2007.
Water restrictions are still in
place, but the
200-acre campus
will no longer be
as much of a
strain on the local
water supply. The
GWCCA site—
which includes the
Georgia World
Congress Center,
the Georgia Dome
and Centennial Olympic Park—now has
two 660-foot-deep wells. The wells will be
used to water lawns and plants as well as
operate ornamental water features. Since
Atlanta’s Level 4 water ban was implemented, the GWCCA has had to invest more
than US$100,000 in repairing, resealing
and re-caulking water features that have
dried and cracked and has lost $500,000
worth of plant life on its campus. Both
wells will be fully operational this fall.
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5/26/09 8:37:32 AM
HOT BUZZ
Thoughts+Leaders
What will the next global
marketplace be?
Josephine Kling
President
Landry & Kling
Social networking. The social networking trend is just now making its way into
the corporate world and will lead to a more productive way to do business
across all industries, a kind of global network that allows direct access to
information—that builds relationships and interactions with competitors and
partners alike.
The travel industry is learning this lesson just in time. At Landry & Kling,
we anticipated this global networking trend and invented our own new way of
doing business—Seasite.com. On the site, we will share our expertise and
knowledge of cruise events and give buyers and planners access to worldwide
cruise departure information to use as they see fit—either in collaboration with
us or on their own.
Michael Beardsley
Vice president of global
sales
Accor Hospitality
Dave Johnson
President & CEO
Aimbridge Hospitality
Globalization. Our generation has never faced an
economic situation like the
one we experience today,
and we are now at a
crossroads to either collaborate or isolate ourselves
for self-preservation. The good news: The world has
reacted to today’s economy by collaborating to find a
solution, as boundaries diminish and we continue to
become a truly global community.
This collaboration will continue to affect us in the
meeting and travel industries, as companies consolidate their expenditures and economics globally—not
just in North America or Europe or Asia Pacific or any
other isolated area. The crisis has accelerated the
pace of globalization, and we as an industry need to
understand the implications of this movement.
30
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E-marketing. Who could have predicted that the difficulties we faced in the
meeting industry last year would continue to challenge us to be better and
work smarter in 2009? While e-marketing isn’t a new term, it is one that
continues to shape the way we do
business. Since we all have to do more
with less, online channels will continue
to be a good avenue to promote smart
businesses.
To that end, e-marketing offers
measurability—an unparalleled, behindthe-curtains look at the number of eyeballs viewing our messages—which
allows quick adjustments to marketing success, direction and focus. With
proper attention to growing your database through qualified Web site traffic, e-marketing will continue to provide significant ROI.
In a time when Facebook gets 700,000 new users per day and has
185 million users worldwide and LinkedIn receives a million new users every
17 days, it is critical that businesses find ways to leverage online resources
to ensure advantage and success in the marketplace of tomorrow.
+
06.09
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Dallas Hotel Vote
In one of the city’s greatest mud-slinging
contests in recent years, voters elected in
early May to go forward with a publicly
owned Dallas Convention Center hotel.
Winning by a narrow margin of 51 percent to 49 percent, the US$500 million
project will start once the economic climate is more favorable for the purchase
of revenue bonds used to fund hotel construction. While waiting for better bond
rates, city council members plan to push
for new developments related to the hotel,
such as a downtown streetcar system.
Officials hope the new hotel will attract
tier-one conventions to the city as well as
tourism-related businesses. They are currently courting the relocation of the College Football Hall of Fame from South
Bend, Ind., to downtown Dallas.
Drop the $ign
A new study has discovered a
wrinkle in one of the restaurant industry’s longest
running debates—how to
present menu prices to
encourage the best check
averages. Guests spend
more when menu prices
are presented without
dollar signs ($) or the
word “dollar,” according
to Cornell’s Center for
Hospitality Research.
Researchers caution that their findings
may apply only to lunch at one particular
restaurant, but it seems clear that menu-price
formats do influence customer spending, in
terms of total and average check.
“As much as we might like to believe that
we can earn a quick buck by changing the type
and presentation of our menus, it is clear that
operational factors have a much larger impact
on purchase behavior than price typography
does,” the results read.
“Controlling for other factors, however, we
saw a significant spending difference for menus
that presented prices as numerals only.”
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HOT BUZZ
Middle East
Pros
U.S. Travel
Restrictions
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) has officially expressed its
concerns about a recently implemented law that requires citizens
of visa-waiver countries to
receive online authorization
to travel to the U.S. prior to
their flights. The Electronic
System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) was fully introduced on Jan. 12, though it
had been available for voluntary use for several months
before that.
According to NBTA President and CEO Kevin Maguire,
CCTE, GLP, the program
dissuades international travelers from
conducting business in the U.S.—a crucial conduit for economic recovery. He
claims that approximately 15 percent
of visa-waiver travelers fly without a
valid ESTA.
“Until the Department of Homeland
Security ascertains why these travelers are not learning of the ESTA mandate and implements a plan to reach
them, enforcement flexibility is necessary,” he said in a letter to Janet Napolitano, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Barriers
that make the U.S. a less attractive
place to travel will have real impacts
on the economy.”
Travel When It Counts
According to a global survey by CFO Publishing Corp., senior finance executives
cite travel most frequently as an area
in which to reduce spending. However,
these travel reductions are very specific,
and spending for meetings with clients
or for new business will be sustained.
Executives included in the study represented companies with annual revenues
of more than US$500 million.
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The Middle East region will overcome
current global economic conditions and
experience solid growth, according to
projections released May 5-8 at the
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) at the
Dubai International Convention and
Exhibition Centre. With more than
2,100 exhibitors from 69 countries,
including nearly 60 national tourism
bureaus representing six continents,
the ATM was “a watershed moment for
the industry as a whole,” said Mark
Walsh, group exhibition director for
Reed Travel Exhibitions.
“To see such strong exhibitor and
visitor numbers here in the Middle East
is testament to the region’s reputation
as one of the world’s fastest growing
and most dynamic markets,” Walsh
said. “We’re very pleased with the reaction to the 2009 event. We see it as
a very strong platform towards 2010
where we hope to see a complete industry recovery.”
This year, the ATM launched several
programs to enhance the event’s knowledge-sharing capabilities, including an
expanded seminars program, Travel
Agents Day and Consumer & Careers
Day.
Held under the patronage of the
United Arab Emirate’s Ministry of Education, Careers Day saw hundreds of
visitors descend on the show to take
part in face-to-face meetings with potential employers and attend career
workshops and seminars with established industry representatives.
“Careers Day was a great success
and we are continuously looking at
ways to bolster the products on the
show floor, and Careers Day is a major
addition to our offering,” Walsh said.
“It is a way for the industry to give
something back; it’s an initiative to
shape and foster future industry CEOs
and management figures.”
TECHBYTES
Credit on
the Go
Response
Time
With iTouch2Pay, exhibitors can
process credit card transactions in
real time without the need to pay for
Internet services. Anyy
iPhone can now
securely process payments
with access to a
3G network or
Wi-Fi. iTouch2Pay
allows exhibitors to
e-mail receipts to
customers, use their
phone contact list forr
faster entry, refund
partial or full amounts
s
and view transactions
s
over any date range.
Turning Technologies LLC has
unveiled ResponseWare, a
polling application that allows
users to submit responses
to interactive questions using
their iPhones or iPod touches.
The application immediately
transfers responses to a
TurningPoint interactive polling
slide which presents attendees
with a dynamic chart of
aggregate response data and
stores it for later evaluation.
06.09
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Concrete Plans
More than 93 percent of post-show waste at the
World of Concrete conference was diverted from
local landfills and recycled—an increase of 12 percent over the 2008 event—according to show producer Hanley Wood LLC and event services provider
Freeman. Concrete walls and slabs used in demonstrations were also recycled.
Sleep Deprived State
Forty-four percent of U.K. adults suffer sleep deprivation
because they toss and turn at night. According to a study by
Travelodge, the average British sleeper travels 2.23 feet
each night without ever leaving the bed. Reasons for poor
sleep included layoff anxiety and the state of the economy.
Forty-three percent of respondents said restless nights made
them less productive at work.
Diverse Donations
In recognition of Asian American hoteliers and their
contribution to the growth of the U.S. hotel industry,
Carlson Hotels Worldwide presented a US$50,000
donation to the Asian American
Hotel Owners
Association
Own
at the nonprofi
t’s annual
non
convention in April. This
marks the 14th
year Carlson
1
has donated
to the
d
education
fund
ed
that
it helped
t
establish
in 1995,
e
bringing the total
contribution from
Carlson
Hotels to
C
nearly
$600,000.
ne
Double Digit Decline
PhoCusWright projects that the U.S. travel market will
decline 11 percent in 2009, returning the industry to pre2006 levels. According to the company’s Consumer Travel
Report, consumers who spend more than average on travel
are more likely to reduce travel expenditures this year, and
those that spend less than average are more likely to actually increase travel expenditures.
Green Standard
The 2008 European Incentive, Business Travel &
Meetings Exhibition (EIBTM) has been certified as
compliant with global sustainable event standard
BS 8901. The event achieved Phase 1 (planning),
Phase 2 (implementation) and Phase 3 (post-event
review) certification. EIBTM will again be held Dec.
1-3 in Barcelona.
Vacation Check-In
Out of sight doesn’t necessarily mean out of
mind for vacationing executives, a new survey
shows. Sixty-one percent of marketing and
advertising executives polled by The Creative
Group said they check in with work at
least once a day while on break. This
compares to 47 percent of
executives in 2006 and 38
percent in 2001.
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5/26/09 9:05:55 AM
AR
of Travel
Have Your
Espresso On
the Road
Need the caffeine jolt
that only espresso
can provide? Try the
portable mypressi
TWIST, which
combines
quality
espresso and
unparalleled convenience. The TWIST’s
pneumatic engine
also ensures that you
can enjoy great coffee even when there
is no external power
available. All you need
is a little hot water.
(Mypressi.com,
US$129)
Swim Like a
Dolphin With
Lunate Tail
Type On
Projected
Keyboard
The Lunocet is a
biometric swimming
device modelled after
the lunate tail swimmers of whales and
dolphins. It creates
lift-based propulsion
so powerful it can
launch a human out
of the water. High
thrust is created via
precise pivoting of
carbon fiber hydrofoils about a rigid
foot deck. We’re not
sure this is a practical travel tool yet…
but it sure does look
cool. (Lunocet.com,
US$975)
You don’t have to
be a sci-fi fan to
appreciate the awesomeness of this
gadget. The LaserKey projects a fully
functional keyboard
onto your desktop (or
tray table) in half the
space and with tons
more style than a
traditional keyboard.
Use the LaserKey
with pretty much any
computer or smart
phone for responsive
keys, feather-light typing, portability and
Bluetooth functionality everywhere you
go. (China
vasion.com,
US$144.55)
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Your Community
Online Learning x 2
Answering members’ calls for the strategic knowledge necessary to fight the
global economic crisis and the attack on
meetings, MPI has introduced two online
education tracks. The organization launched
its revolutionary, eight-part webinar series,
“Meetings Matter,” in late April, and sessions
will continue through the month of June.
Anyone can listen to past sessions online at
MPIWeb.org.
“In these tough times it is imperative that
the strategic business value of meetings
and events be understood as part of an
organization’s economic recovery plan, and
these programs are a great step in the right
direction,” said Bruce MacMillan, president
and CEO of MPI. “We are arming our industry with the education, skills and tools they
need to transcend the turmoil and lead the
resurgence.”
In April, MPI also began “No Turning
Back: A Revolution in the Meeting Industry,”
a three-part educational series that explores
the four key elements of strategic value for
meetings and events: portfolio management,
meeting design, measurement and advanced
logistics. Recent economic challenges have
created the opportunity for a tipping point
in the industry, and members must improve
both the efficiency and effectiveness of their
investments in meetings and events.
The series began on April 21, featuring
Mary Boone of Boone Associates, Jack Phillips of The ROI Institute and Susan Radojevic
of The Peregrine Agency. The second installment will feature a half-day workshop at
MPI’s World Education Congress in Salt Lake
City this July followed by a wrap-up webinar
on Aug. 26.
Both “No Turning Back” and “Meetings
Matter” are funded by the MPI Foundation
and sponsored by Freeman AV.
ONLINE EDUCATION TRACK
Meetings Matter
Wednesday, June 3
Survival Strategies for Suppliers
Kristi Casey Sanders, editorial director and chief
storyteller for Plan Your Meetings
Wednesday, June 10
Show Me the Money (or Show Me the Value):
Enhancing and Communicating the Value of Your
Meetings
Jamie McDonough, CRP (certified ROI professional),
knowledge architect for Fusion Productions
Wednesday, June 17
Telling Our Story: Economic Impact Data and the
Attack on Meetings
Mitchell Beer, president and CEO of The Conference
Publishers Inc.
CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT
Cooking and Connecting
Julie S. Nack Locke, CMP, couldn’t believe
what she was reading. For years, the manager
of global accounts for HelmsBriscoe had been
told it was impossible to donate prepared food
36
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to charity due to liability and legal issues.
But the industry magazine she was reading
said differently. Turns out, in October 2006,
then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the
Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation
Act, which encourages donations by shielding
donors from lawsuits if items donated in good
faith later cause harm to needy recipients.
Since then, Nack Locke has spread news
of the act to anyone who will listen (and some
people who won’t). In early April, she organized
community service event “Cooking and Connecting” in conjunction with the annual New
England Meetings Industry Conference and
Exhibition. With help from events firm The Ant
& the Grasshopper, 90 attendees made 10
lasagnas, 40 dozen cookies and 250 lunch
bags each with an apple, a juice and a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich during the three-hour
event. The meals were then donated to the
Greater Boston Food Bank—which distributes
about 30 million pounds of food and grocery
products a year to a network of 600 relief
agencies and a total 320,000 people.
Fellow chapter member Liisa Colby of Doble
Engineering was certainly inspired. After
learning of the food donation act from Nack
Locke, she convinced the Westin Copley Place
in Boston to donate filet mignon and black
cod dinners leftover after her annual client
conference.
“For years, I had tried to get hotels to
donate extra food from our events, but I was
always told that it was impossible, that it was
a liability,” Colby said. “It’s so frustrating to hear
that I can’t donate. Julie told me not to take
‘no’ for an answer. And I didn’t.”
Of course, donating food does take some
extra work and initiative. Planners must make
sure they meet all of the law’s requirements,
including the use of proper packaging materials and food handling techniques. For example,
donated food must never be handled by the
general public—so buffets and pre-served
meals are out. Local food banks can help
planners determine how to use the program
successfully.
And Nack Locke says the end results justify
the hassles of program participation.
“In these tough economic times, more
and more people are finding it difficult to feed
their families,” she said. “And food banks are
serving more people than ever before. It’s truly
amazing how much food could be donated if
everyone in the meeting industry knew about
this law and contributed specifically prepared
food and leftovers to nonprofit organizations. I
can’t think of a reason why someone wouldn’t
do it if they could.”
(For more on the New England Meetings
Industry Conference and Exhibition, see “Expanding Possibilities” on Page 54.)
06.09
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CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT
New Ways to Network
Traditionally, MPI Philadelphia Area Chapter events followed a
natural—if predictable—groove: educational session, dinner, keynote,
networking. But Immediate Past President Paul C. Fogarty, CMP, aimed
to change that, particularly in terms of supplier ROI. Fogarty formed a
committee to determine new and innovative ways to not only liven up
Philadelphia Area Chapter events, but to also re-energize supplier-base
interest and connection possibilities.
Chaired by Sandy O. Fergus, the committee discovered that its suppliers weren’t always as engaged as they wanted to be. Members wanted
advanced networking opportunities—smaller exercises geared toward
people who might find themselves intimidated in large groups.
“We wanted networking that provided education as well as access,”
Fergus said. And the committee pulled through, organizing a pre-meeting roundtable discussion for the chapter’s September monthly meeting.
Eight people attended. But the low turnout didn’t check the excitement
of the organizers or their first attendees. Since then, enthusiasm for the
program has blossomed and attendance more than quintupled to 41 at
last count.
According to Chapter President Sandy Sipe, members were asking
for even greater education and networking opportunities, and the roundtables offered an ideal response to both requests. “There is no added
cost for us as an organization to hold these roundtables,” Sipe said. “But
there is added value for our members.”
Higher Education
Starwood
Preferred Planner
Starwood Hotels and Resorts offers MPI gift
certificates through its Starpoints program.
Preferred planners are automatically enrolled
as preferred guests and earn one Starpoint
per every US$3 spent. Members can redeem
points for a $100 MPI gift certificate, valid for
conference registration, membership dues or
book purchases.
Got a Minute?
Visit the One+ blog PlusPoint at www.
mpioneplus.org and find the latest
industry news, commentary, opinions and much, much more. Created
and sourced by the editors of One+
magazine, the blog gives members
an opportunity to share their opinions
on any number of issues facing the
industry today.
This spring, 42 meeting professionals received their Certification in Meeting
Management (CMM) credentials. The program is the industry’s highest professional
designation, which focuses on enhancing
strategic decision-making abilities and meeting management skills that are critical to
driving business results through meetings
and events.
To build greater success for meeting
professionals during this period of economic
uncertainty, MPI made changes to the CMM
program in 2008, focusing additional curricula and case studies on advanced strategic
meeting management practices.
The 42 successful candidates are now
better equipped to manage meetings and
events that deliver elevated organizational
results for their clients and employers.
They are also better positioned within their
respective organizations to deliver added
value and performance, particularly during
CMM
this time of business turmoil.
The CMM certification program is the
strategic value phase of MPI’s Global Knowledge Plan, the educational pathway for the
global meeting community that ensures appropriate career and personal development
at each stage of an individual’s career. The
five-day CMM certification program blends
a traditional educational framework with a
hands-on, interactive setting. Candidates
take part in an intensive four-step process
that includes application and acceptance
into the program, pre-reading assignments,
a five-day onsite educational program and
measurement of success via an examination
and strategic business plan project.
Visit the One+ magazine blog, PlusPoint, at
www.mpioneplus.org to see a list of meeting professionals
who received their CMM certifications this spring.
mpiweb.org
p036-038 Community Foundation 0609.indd 37
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5/26/09 1:18:15 PM
Making a Difference
Between a Hard Rock
and a Not-So-Hard Place
As the global economic outlook worsened
and the meeting industry faced its toughest
media and government critics, Tom Clearwater looked to MPI for a partner. He was not
alone. Thousands of MPI members flocked
to MeetDifferent, attended online webinars
and sought help from their local chapters.
Clearwater, vice president of sales for Hard
Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, found what
he was looking for.
“We are very close to completing our
US$750 million expansion, taking Hard Rock
to a higher ground with new meetings facilities and guest rooms.” Clearwater said. “We
wanted an up-to-date read on the meeting
industry and what better way than to partner with the MPI Foundation?”
As the MPI Foundation eyed plans to
help commission a $1 million study of the
U.S. meeting industry that would definitively
define the value of events in America, Clearwater committed to ensuring the ongoing
success of the foundation itself, contributing thousands of dollars toward one of the
nonprofit’s showcase networking events: the
MPI Foundation Blackjack Tournament at the
2009 MeetDifferent in Atlanta.
“We were happy to support one of our
industry’s great assets, the MPI Foundation, so it may continue the work it is so
respected for,” he said. “The MPI Foundation
has been and will continue to be a ready
source for valuable historical, current and
future empirical data needed for our industry. We want to do whatever we can to help
those efforts, and encourage our peers to
do the same.”
Did You Know?
The MPI Foundation Cares scholarship
program will launch July 1, allowing
chapters to apply for US$1,000 scholarships, which they can then distribute to
any number of individuals to supplement
membership renewals and conference
and monthly event fees. In return, member recipients will donate volunteer time
back to their chapters.
To contribute to the
MPI Foundation, visit
www.mpifoundation.org.
FOCUS ON FOUNDATION
April 2009 Contributors
The MPI Foundation thanks the following organizations and individuals for their generous support.
U.S. CORPORATE
Platinum Donors
AT&T Park
Carlson Hotels
Dallas CVB
Detroit Metro CVB
Fairmont Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hyatt Hotels
IHG
Las Vegas CVA
Loews Hotels
Marriott Hotels & Resorts
Omni Hotels
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
The Venetian
Wyndham Hotels
Bronze Donors
Associated Luxury Hotels
Benchmark Hospitality
Destination Hotels & Resorts
Dolce
Experient
Gaylord Opryland
Global Events Partners
Hard Rock International
HelmsBriscoe
PC Nametag
Philadelphia CVB
SearchWide
Seattle CVB
Walt Disney World Resorts
Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin
Wynn
Gold Donors
American Express
AV Concepts
Bloomington CVB
Freeman
Maritz
MGM Mirage
ProActive
Small Business Donors
4th Wall Events
Attendee Management Incorporated
Best Meetings
Concepts Worldwide
Creative Meetings and Events
Dianne B. Devitt
InnFluent LLC
Kinsley & Associates
Landry & Kling & Seasite
The Laureli Group
Meetingjobs
Meeting Revolution
Meeting Site Resource
One Smooth Stone
OnTrack Communications
Song Division
Spets
SYNAXIS Meetings & Events Inc.
Silver Donors
Aimbridge Hospitality
Anaheim CVB
Aramark
Atlanta CVB
The Broadmoor
Fort Worth CVB
The Greenbrier
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
hinton+grusich
LA Inc.
LXR
Meet Minneapolis
Millennium Hotels
Park Place Entertainment
Pier 94
PRA
PSAV
Puerto Rico CVB
St. Louis CVB
Weil & Associates
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Special Donors
BBJ Linen
Blumberg Marketing
Boca Resorts
Katie Callahan-Giobbi
CVent
David DuBois, CMP, CAE
Folio Fine Wine Partners
David Gabri
Jonathan T. Howe Esq.
George P. Johnson
Carol Krugman, CMP, CMM
Little Rock CVB
Kevin Olsen
Pasadena CVB
Production Plus Inc.
SAS Institute
Ken Sanders
Dave Scypinski
Mark Sirangelo
Visit Raleigh
Friends of MPI
7th Wave Communication
Balance Design
Michael Beardsley
Mitchell Beer, CMM
Jennifer Brown, CMP
Tim Brown
Ivan Carlson
Vito Curalli
Marianne Demko Lange, CMP,
CMM
Gaylord Palms
Gaylord Texan
William Gilchrist
Richard Harper, CMP
Hattiel Hill, CMM
Hattie Hill Enterprises
Interactive Visuals
Dave Johnson
Beverly W. Kinkade, CMP, CHME
Leadership Synergies
Tony Lorenz, CMM
Larry Luteran
Margaret Moynihan, CMP
National Speakers Bureau
Joe Nishi
Didier Scaillet
Linda Swago
Melvin Tennant, CAE
C. James Trombino, CAE
Helen Van Dongen, CMP, CMM
Jerry Wayne
CANADA CORPORATE
Platinum Donors
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Gold Donors
Caesars Windsor
Convention Centres of Canada
Delta Hotels
PSAV
Silver Donors
AV- Canada
AVW-Telav
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
Cascadia Motivation
Coast Hotels & Resorts
Evolution
Hilton Canada
IHG
Marriott Hotels & Resorts
Canada
Ottawa Tourisim
Stronco
Tourism Calgary
Tourism Toronto
Tourisme Quebec
VIA Rail Canada
Bronze Donors
The Conference Publishers
D.E. Systems Ltd.
Destination Halifax
Direct Energy Centre
IncentiveWorks
Tourisme Montréal
Tourism British Columbia
Tourism Vancouver
Special Donors
Accucom Corporate Communications Inc.
ADMAR Promotions
Calgary Exhibition & Stampede
Cantrav dmc
Centre Mont-Royal
Destination Winnipeg
Exposoft Solutions Inc.
Fletcher Wright Associates Inc.
Gelber Conference Centre
Groupe Germain Hotels
The Great West Life Company
Investors Group Financial
Services
Mendelssohn Livingston
Naylor Publishers Inc.
The Planner
EUROPE DONORS
Heritage Club
EIBTM
IMEX
Diamond Club
MCI
Platinum Key Donors
BTC International
EIBTM/RTE
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Gold Key Donors
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Malaga CVB
The Rezidor Hotel Group
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
VisitDenmark
Silver Partner Donors
ExpoForce
RefTech
Bronze Friend Donors
Amsterdam RAI
Hotels van Oranje
Ince&Tive
Visit London
CHAPTER DONORS
Arizona Sunbelt
Atlantic Canada
British Columbia
Carolinas
Chicago Area
Georgia
Greater Edmonton
Greater New York
Gulf States
Heartland
Houston Area
Japan
Kansas City
Kentucky Bluegrass
Indiana
Manitoba
Minnesota
New Jersey
Northern California
Northeast New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Orange County
Oregon
Ottawa
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia Area
Potomac
Rocky Mountain
Southern California
St. Louis Area
Tennessee
Texas Hill Country
Toronto
Virginia
Washington State
WestField
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Five Star
Michael Massari
Carole McKellar, CMM
Four Star
Bill Santistevan
Fellow
Debbie Hawkins, CMP, CAE
Jerry Lane
Meredith Trudell
06.09
p036-038 Community Foundation 0609.indd 38
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WHO:
Beth Houle,
Opportunity
International
Connections
Nonprofit + Planner Success Story
Mark Ledogar,
One Smooth Stone
After planning a conference
in Uganda this spring, Mark
Ledogar trekked to the fertile
Ripon Falls—where the Nile
takes leave of Lake Victoria—in
a boat ferried by an area native.
As it happens, his guide was a beneficiary of
the very organization that had brought him
to Uganda in the first place—Opportunity International, which provides microloans, savings, insurance and training to more than 1
million people who live in chronic poverty in
28 countries worldwide. His guide was a loan
recipient, and it was a revelation for Ledogar
to see the results of his meeting firsthand.
“It was an emotional week. As event
producers, this was not just a culmination of
work, but a dawning reality of the organization and its progress around the globe,” said
Ledogar, vice president of event firm One
Smooth Stone. “When you work for people
who are committed to helping others, your efforts lead you on quite a special journey.”
Opportunity’s annual conference brings
together a portion of the organization’s
10,000 global employees and 5,000 loan officers for leadership training and knowledge
exchange—a vital source of innovation in the
world of microbanking. Formerly, the event
was planned in-house, but as the organization redirected its energy on new and pressing
business issues, officials looked for a way
to outsource the planning of the event. One
Smooth Stone was ready to step in.
In late November, the company helped
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EVENT:
Opportunity International
Global Leadership Conference
Kampala, Uganda
March 17-20
plan Opportunity’s annual fundraising event
in San Diego. Donors met for three days of
exposure to the organization’s cause—which
undoubtedly meant elaborate and glitzy
production took second chair to helping
Opportunity clarify content and strategic
business imperatives. And, as Ledogar says,
a big splash would have been “disingenuous
at best.”
Following the fundraiser’s success, Opportunity engaged One Smooth Stone for its
annual leadership conference at the Speke Resort Munyonyo near Kampala, Uganda (site
selection services were handled by Concepts
Worldwide). Ledogar says his group was en-
06.09
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thused to meet logistical challenges presented
by the event—which has been held in the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, among
other global locales.
“We were very clear about our expectations for service levels, but there was some
disconnect between what we wanted and what
the local operators were used to delivering,”
Ledogar said. “We rehearsed response times
with the audiovisual crew five, six, seven times.
They didn’t have headsets, but we had brought
our own in. We helped them understand how
three or four moves happen together in sync to
tell a story.”
In addition to headsets, Ledogar was
careful to bring any necessities that might be
lacking. There would be no midnight runs to
Wal-Mart for forgotten items.
“There was a 50-pound luggage limit, so
we really had to scale back our processes to
make sure we brought everything we needed,”
he said. “We had to decide what our most
important items were when packing, especially
as far as backup equipment—extension cords,
jacks, printers, gaffer’s tape.”
Still, Uganda proved a much more conducive meeting destination than Ledogar had
42
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anticipated, especially in terms of technological
connectivity.
“I didn’t realize initially the high level of
infrastructure we would find in Uganda,” he
said. “We were, after all, planning this event
at a well-established resort. It was a revelation
that in even less developed parts of the world,
there is infrastructure available. On the flip
side of that, on the day after the event when
we explored the back areas, my eyes were
completely opened to the reality of poverty in
the country.”
In fact, exploring the area and meeting with
locals—specifically microloan recipients—was
an integral part of the event itself, according
to Beth Houle, Opportunity’s chief of staff,
whose team organized Insight Trips for her
attendees, introducing a global audience to
Uganda’s unique microbanking experience.
“In some countries, our CEOs are isolated
from innovations in other countries, and they
are frequently forging a new path,” she said.
“We try to get people out into the field to see
hands-on how different cultures operate. Many
of our Asian leaders had not been to Africa
before, and they were able to see how different
banks operate and note the different challenges
06.09
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5/12/09 3:12:23 PM
Ugandan guide, entrepreneur and
Opportunity International loan recipient.
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they have overcome.”
Attendees also met with one of Opportunity’s area Trust Groups, a set of local entrepreneurs who co-guarantee each other’s loans.
The system creates a sense of community
among recipients, and group members often
push each other to work harder, innovate and
thrive in their chosen vocations.
Meanwhile, Houle communicated her
message to her global audience: Opportunity’s
commitment to expanding its services for the
poor—including savings accounts and insurance—and to continuing conversations about
opportunities and priorities.
“Some of our clients still keep their money
under mattresses or in holes in the ground,”
she said. “All these financial services we take
for granted, we are testing and bringing to the
underserved market.”
She says One Smooth Stone’s mission to
provide “smart, fast and kind” service truly
resonated with her—and with her peers at Opportunity. She says Ledogar and his team felt
more like an extension of the nonprofit than a
separate company.
“As important as their skills were, my
entire team and the people around us were
also struck by the genuine humility and kindness with which they interacted with everyone
around them—from our senior leadership to
the local Ugandan staff (who come with very
different life experiences),” she said.
Following a week of emotionally charged
learning, attendees were treated to a touching close by the Watoto Children’s Choir, an
ensemble composed exclusively of Ugandan
orphans, many of them victims of the AIDS
epidemic. The sweet voices of the children
proved to be a poignant finale.
“It’s moving to be a part of something
that will make people’s lives so much better,”
Ledogar said.
—JESSIE STATES
06.09
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IRRELEVANT
Well, it’s Something…
Here’s the idea: Offer the good people of the World Wide Web
something, but don’t tell them what it is. Let them not know
what it is until they receive it. After all, if anything can be sold on the
Internet, why not something? It just might be something you need.
(Somethingstore.com, US$10)
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06.09
p046 Irrelevant 0609 R1.indd 46
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5/12/09 3:15:13 PM
Magdalina
Yarichkova
Global View
Experience
of a Young
Green
AFTER ONE OF MY REGULAR VISITS TO
THE MPI WEB SITE, I noticed in the sec-
tion “Latest Articles” a post concerning
training for becoming a speaker on the
topic of corporate social responsibility
(CSR). Since I have always been passionate about protecting the environment and
doing volunteer work, I was interested in
applying for the opportunity. I thought
I might not be lucky, since I am only a
student, but I decided to give it a try. A
Change the world by spreading
the word that we can still do good
while doing well in business.
48
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06.09
p048 Global View 0609 R1.indd 48
BIO
couple of weeks later, I got a response
that I was selected to participate during
training sponsored by the MPI Foundation
that took place in Toronto in January. I
had succeeded in passing on my passion
for CSR in my answers to the application’s essay questions and was overjoyed
that MPI is so open to young talents and
willing to give any member a chance to
become an ambassador.
Prior to and during the training—led
by Elizabeth Henderson, MPI’s director of
CSR, and consultant Mariela McIlwraith—
I was amazed at the great organization and
the extra care in minimizing the event’s
footprint. I cannot hide that I was very
interested in the organization process,
since I have been studying conventions and
events for three years already, and I know
MPI is one of the greatest teachers one can
have.
My curiosity was further enhanced by
the fact that I am from Eastern Europe
(Bulgaria), where things are very different
in the industry concerning CSR. From this
event, I learned that once you decide to
achieve something, you can do it, as long
as you keep your aim in front of you at all
times.
I received great training on CSR and on
the practices that MPI and other industry
leaders apply. I was inspired by the people
that made up the group, professionals who
were all deeply passionate in doing good
and educating others, while keeping the
standards of their own businesses high,
even in a year of economic crisis.
As Tim Sanders says, “The only reason
to have a meeting is to change the world,”
and we, the MPI CSR speakers team, are
planning to do exactly that: Change the
world by spreading the word that we can
still do good while doing well in business.
For more about MPI’s
commitment to CSR, visit
www.mpiweb.org.
MAGDALINA YARICHKOVA is from Bulgaria and is currently a senior
student at Minoan International College in Crete, Greece, where she is
specializing in convention, event and exhibition management.
5/26/09 10:09:32 AM
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5/21/09 9:52:17 AM
Katja
Morgenstern
One Bite At A Time
The Meeting
Melting Pot
NOT ONLY IS FOOD A LARGE CHUNK OF
A CONFERENCE BUDGET, but it can also
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p050-051 One Bite at a Time 0609.indd 50
BIO
be an area of great risk. Any time you serve
food to a group, you risk food allergies or
poisoning, complaints about the menu, dissatisfaction with the execution of dishes,
poor presentation, terrible service, running
out or having too much, lack of variety—
and the list goes on.
Food plays several roles in our lives
depending on personal beliefs, geography,
economic status and religious backgrounds.
Food preferences also vary from country
to country, climate to climate and across
cultures. For instance, south of the U.S.
Mason-Dixon Line, ordering “tea” will get
you a glass of sweetened iced tea. If you
order tea in the northern U.S., you get regular, unsweetened iced tea.
Food choices in Northern and Southern
Africa vary in everything from texture,
flavor and cooking temperature to the time
of day and frequency with which meals are
served. If you have ever traveled to Italy and
ordered a pizza, you know how different
an Italian pizza is from an American-made
pizza. In the U.S., the most popular pizza
toppings are pepperoni, mushrooms and
sausage. In Italy, eggs and tomato slices
make the top of the list; in Costa Rica, coconut is the most popular.
Food plays a vital role in every meeting,
and attendees expect their basic food needs
to be met. This requires the planner to
have an idea of each attendee’s needs. The
easiest way to gather this information is
from the registration form. Request (at the
very minimum) to know if attendees prefer
vegetarian, halal or kosher and if they have
allergies. This information, combined with
where your attendees are coming from, will
help you put together an event food profile
for your conference. Once you have your
event food profile and your budget, you
can start to build your menus. I recommend
working with your venue’s chef to create the
most flavorful and substantial menus.
Here are some considerations.
1. Serve meats on different dishes. Many
diets restrict the consumption of food that
has come into contact with other foods, so
it is best to keep chicken, beef, seafood and
pork on separate plates.
2. If you need to eliminate a meat
option, remove a pork product. Pork is
more widely restricted based on cultural and
religious beliefs.
3. Provide non-alcoholic and caffeinefree beverages. Both alcohol and caffeine
are considered harmful or taboo in some
religious cultures.
4. Provide kosher-style reception foods.
For example, use Kobe beef in a puff pastry
or a fish dish (finned, not bottom feeders
and no shellfish). Unless these items come
directly from a kosher kitchen, you cannot
say they are kosher, but instead are kosherstyle.
5. Provide a starch other than ordinary
potatoes or rice such as cassava (yuca),
Israeli couscous, quinoa, glass noodles,
KATJA MORGENSTERN is a senior project manager for Meeting Consultants Inc. She is an active MPI member, industry speaker and industry
veteran. She can be reached at kmorgenstern@meetingconsultants.com.
5/21/09 5:25:30 PM
somen noodles, wasabi mashed potatoes or
papa criolla.
6. Offer a European-style breakfast buffet, which could include boiled eggs, muesli,
smoked salmon and bagels.
7. Provide action stations with enough
ingredients to include a broad spectrum of
nutritional preferences. If you have a pasta
station, include enough vegetables, sauces
and protein choices to appeal to multiple
dietary needs. Offer gluten-free pasta, spinach pasta or wheat pasta.
8. Label each and every food item. This
helps eliminate confusion and the stress to
your attendees that can come from trying to
navigate convention and conference foods.
9. Offer Indian-style coffee, cappuccino,
anise tea or masala chai tea as an alternate
beverage option.
10. Offer non-traditional appetizers to
appeal to various cultures such as hummus,
chick peas and olives, baba ghannouj, adas
bil hamon (lentils with lemon juice), cucumber soup, cucumber salads and yogurt with
eggplant, cucumber or dill.
11. Provide a variety of breads including
pita, ka’kat, English muffins, pumpernickel,
rye or whole wheat (without honey).
12. Offer something other than traditional desserts. Consider kulfi, figs in syrup,
halva (contains almonds), baklava, date and
nut sweets, cookies made with sesame, dates
or pistachios and sorbets.
13. Work with your venue to find out
who they use to provide kosher and halal
foods. Kosher and halal meal preparations
have very specific religious specifications and
cannot be prepared by just any chef.
Food and beverage options vary as much
as your attendee base, and meal planning is
an area that allows for a great deal of creativity with any budget. Attendees are happy
to have their basic food needs met, but are
delighted when they can experience new
foods and take away something more than
the typical conference bag.
Budget limitations, geographic location
and length of program could limit your ability to create an experiential food event, but
if you work with venue chefs and let them
know your budget, they can almost always
create something different and international.
It sometimes helps to remember that to a
chef, food is a form of art. Each artist wants
to create something unique and lasting. Even
if you cannot provide a full cross-cultural
experience at every meal, I always recommend adding in at least one new item for
people to try. Your attendees may surprise
you.
mpiweb.org
p050-051 One Bite at a Time 0609.indd 51
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5/21/09 3:44:50 PM
Tim
Sanders
Transform the World
Take a Break
Driver 8
WHAT A YEAR! MEETING CANCELLATIONS, LAYOFFS, THE SWINE FLU…
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06.09
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BIO
WHAT’S NEXT, LOCUSTS? Many of you
will likely work straight through this summer, putting off vacations for better times.
Rock lyricist Michael Stipe of R.E.M
put it best: “And the train conductor says,
we’ve been on this shift too long…take
a break driver eight, driver eight take a
break. We can reach our destination, but
we’re still a ways away.” This is my message to you this summer: Take some time
off, or you’ll crash the train next fall.
Consider my friend Eric’s story.
Eric was less than one year into a new
career as regional vice president of sales
for a Seattle-based office leasing company.
The dotcom industry was under fire by
Wall Street, and hundreds of startups were
running out of cash. His region was one
of the hardest hit: Seattle, the Bay Area
and Southern California. As layoffs happened at competitors and client companies,
Eric was pummeled with Chicken Little
announcements from his co-workers. That
spring, the mood at work was darker than
the weather—and just as depressing.
Even though he’d been a longstanding
optimist, Eric couldn’t resist the culture at
work, and by late 2001, the scarcity bug
made its way into his head. He became
fearful for his job and his family’s survival.
He questioned his commitment, whether
he had enough talent, whether he had
enough drive. He even felt guilty for having any fun—attributing “having fun” as
the root of the Internet industry’s woes.
He hunkered down, grinding on himself to
squeeze out more production. He stopped
going to the gym every morning, because
he felt guilty when he wasn’t working.
Leaving at 6 p.m. felt morally wrong, as
the ship was presumably sinking—so he
stayed late and missed dinner with his wife
and two toddlers.
He cancelled his summer vacation and
started to work Saturdays. On Sunday, he
replaced church and football with e-mail
marathons.
His productivity plummeted faster than
the stock market. He wasted hours rereading the same set of bad numbers from
a variety of sources. He pored over an endless supply of downward projections for
office space.
Sometime during May 2002, Eric hit
the wall. First, his wife told him that she
was taking the kids and going to her parent’s house for the month of June. Next,
Eric received a less-than-perfect annual
review from his boss. Even with all of his
overtime, he had failed to do his core job—
manage results from his direct reports. His
boss worried that Eric was burning
out and commanded him to take his
full two weeks of vacation over the
summer.
These combined events rattled
Eric into a new way of seeing the
world. He realized that if he didn’t
take a break he would lose the two
TIM SANDERS, a top-rated speaker on the lecture circuit, is the
author of Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to
Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference (Doubleday, September 2008).
Check out his Web site at www.timsanders.com.
5/21/09 7:58:47 AM
things that mattered most to him. He took
the middle of June off and convinced his
wife to re-plan her month too, and they
disconnected from the world in Cabo San
Lucas, Mexico. By the second week of the
retreat, he began to see more clarity about
his role at home and at work. He was a
leader, motivator and hopefully a cultivator of happiness and success. He vowed to
take weekends off, including turning off
e-mail. He went back to working out and
eating dinner at home with his family. At
first it was difficult, but the longer he stuck
with his new time-plan, the more he realized it was giving him an edge over everyone else at work and in his industry.
By fall 2002, he had a healthy outlook,
as well as energy to burn. His productivity
soared, and his salespeople’s performance
beat the market soundly. Even though the
market was still tanking and office space
was hard to sell, his team found a way to
be successful.
When the market bounced back a few
years later and his company merged with a
much larger conglomerate, Eric was poised
for the opportunity. His new bosses saw
him as fresh, well respected and resilient.
He moved up the ladder and became the
vice president of sales. He’s still on top
today, as the office space industry faces
another round of pressure. He’s a rare survivor of scarcity. He caught it in time, took
the right prescription and stuck with the
plan over the years.
He became fearful
for his job and his
family’s survival.
He questioned
his commitment,
whether he had
enough talent,
whether he had
enough drive. He
even felt guilty for
having any fun ...
Here’s my refreshment plan for your
summer.
1. Take at least one week off before
Labor Day (if you have it available). Don’t
sit around the house—go somewhere
where nature will convince you to forget
about the world.
2. Don’t take your laptop with you on
the trip. Carry your cell phone, but give
strict instructions that you are only to be
bothered with an emergency. Only check
your e-mail once every two days.
3. Take a full weekend day off for the
rest of the year. Don’t check e-mail or even
think about work.
4. Devote one hour a day to exercise
and self-education.
I promise you that by the end of 2009,
you’ll be energized and ready for anything.
Have you witnessed
something that will
transform the world?
Tell us about it at
www.mpiweb.org.
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5/21/09 7:58:56 AM
Expanding
Possibilities
The MPI New England Chapter shows that the best way to
set up an event for success is constant communication.
BY ROWLAND STITELER
THE EVENT WAS AT A CROSSROADS.
+
54
That was the view of veteran planners
Karen King, CMP, CMM, and Deborah
Matteson of independent Boston event
planning firm strategic development meeting strategists llc.
The event, the annual New England
Meeting Industry Conference & Exhibition (nem!ce), is not only the largest revenue-generating activity for the MPI New
England Chapter, it’s also the third-largest
trade show and educational conference
in the global MPI community, according to King and Matteson, chapter board
members.
King, Matteson and other chapter
members felt that although nem!ce was a
well-established event with a long track
record, it was on the decline and needed
a jump start.
“Chapter membership expressed that
the event was not meeting their needs for
education, business development and networking,” King said. “We decided it was
Transportation Tip
If you are traveling to Boston,
do not rent a car.
“It is way too easy to get lost
trying to follow the 17th-century
streets of downtown Boston,”
said David Berwick, CMP, CMM,
an independent planner based
in Boston. “And parking will run
you something north of US$20 a
day in the city, so a rental car is
the last thing you need in Boston.
Public transit is great here; so
you should save yourself the
headache of trying to drive.”
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5/23/09 1:30:42 PM
+
Fun Facts
The tabby is the official state
cat of Massachusetts.
Boston is home to the first
U.S. subway system, built in
1897.
Boston Common became
the first U.S. public park in
1634.
time to rethink and redefine the event.”
Under King’s leadership, the decision
was made to reinvent nem!ce and expand
its content, specifically ramping up the
educational and networking opportunities
offered at the event. The 2009 conference
would double from one day to two (plus
some pre-event activities the day before
the conference actually started), and the
educational sessions jumped from six to
24, with six defined tracts.
Boston, which has always been the
+
What’s New
in Boston
The 234-room W
Boston—located in the
city’s theater district—is
scheduled to open in Boston this fall with approximately 5,000 square feet
of meeting space.
The Ames Hotel, a
120-room historic
property in a building
constructed in 1889, is
set to open this fall and
will offer 520 square feet
of meeting space.
The 150-room Fairmont
Battery Wharf, along
Boston’s historic waterfront, opened early this
year and offers 6,000
square feet of meeting
space.
The 53,000-square-foot
House of Blues Boston
opened in February near
the city’s famous Fenway
Park baseball stadium.
location for nem!ce, was the logical choice
for the gathering, even though chapter
membership spreads from Connecticut to
Maine, Matteson says. Boston has the single-largest hospitality industry in New England, and although offsite activities were
not a focus of nem!ce, the city offers the
widest array of locations for offsite activities, many of which have a timely quality—
the activities are free.
So when the initial round of planning
for nem!ce concluded, there was no reason
to think the Boston conference would be
anything but a great new chapter in the
event’s history.
But something unusual happened between the time that King, Matteson and a
group of highly focused and motivated volunteers started planning the event in January and February 2008 and the time the
event was held in April 2009. A once-in-alifetime, nationwide economic breakdown
hit the U.S., and there was the equally
catastrophic event for the meeting industry,
known as the “AIG effect.”
“All of the those things happened between the time we were planning nem!ce
and the time, 18 months later, when the
event was held,” King said. “We had no
idea what a huge impact they would make
on the atmosphere in which we were going
to be holding our event. Everything had
changed.”
What the planners of nem!ce 2009 found
in this new atmosphere was that suddenly
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55
5/21/09 3:46:58 PM
what seemed highly desirable in the relatively stable meeting industry atmosphere
of early 2008 became something of a hard
sell in the difficult economic times of 2009,
especially in March and April, when the
words “AIG effect” seemed to be on everyone’s lips in this country.
“Suddenly, attendees were having a
hard time going to their bosses and say-
and well-qualified volunteers was recruited. Well-known industry authorities
such as Terri Breining, CMP, past MPI
chairwoman, and Grace Andrews of Ignite
were brought in, and Bruce MacMillan,
CA, MPI president and CEO, was keynote
speaker.
The conference’s enhanced educational
component turned out to have an added
ing they needed to attend a two-day conference instead of a one-day conference,
and fees would be higher because of the
expanded programs,” King said.
So King and the core group planning
the event decided to take a courageous,
but prudent, course of action, essentially
sticking to their guns on the expanded
and upgraded conference content, but at
the same time using every cost containment strategy they could to make the event
affordable for attendees and beneficial for
the chapter. And the result of their strategy
makes a worthy template for other planners putting together conferences in these
economically challenging times.
To hold down educational programming costs—and at the same time guarantee
quality content—a small army of motivated
benefit, in that for the first time in nem!ce
history suppliers who were exhibitors in
the trade show attended the educational
sessions.
“They found it to be an excellent networking opportunity,” Matteson said.
“The educational sessions were interactive
in nature, and the time between the sessions made a good time to talk to fellow
attendees.”
Still another networking opportunity
was the community service project the
attendees did for the Boston Food Bank
(see “Cooking and Connecting” on Page
36).
To help drive attendance and to increase
traffic at the trade show, exhibitors were
allowed to distribute free passes to 100
planners. The event’s planners estimated
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that the free passes cut attendance-fee revenue by US$30,000, but revenue savings
were achieved through other strategies.
To mitigate damages from revenue shortfalls due to an anticipated sag in attendance because of the economic climate, the
event’s planners re-negotiated contracts
with the hotel and conference center where
nem!ce was held, along with the decorating and audiovisual contractors, ultimately
saving $75,000 in costs.
The event’s original goal was to attract
700 planners and enough exhibitors to
rent 240 trade show booths. In the end,
305 qualified planners attended, and a
total 500 exhibitors rented 180 trade show
booths.
But the core of the upgraded nem!ce
programming, the educational sessions,
remained relatively unscathed by the tough
economic crisis, with only one of the 24
sessions having to be cancelled. And the
chapter came away with a good template
for an upgraded nem!ce for years going
forward, although, according to King, a
thorough post mortem of nem!ce 2009 is
being done this summer with eyes toward
putting together precisely the right strategy
for the event in 2010.
Ultimately, King says, she came away
with a reinforcement of the lessons from
the days just after Sept. 11, 2001, when
she was a planner for Gillette Inc., which
is headquartered in Boston.
“The biggest takeaway is that as a
planner in this environment, you need to
be communicating with your clients and
keeping your vendors informed of the current situation at all times,” King said. “The
best way to set your event up for success is
a lot of communication among all parties
involved, and that takes a lot of constant
attention.”
ROWLAND STITELER has written extensively about the meeting and event industry
and lives in Florida.
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Lift Every Voice
The story of how one organization mobilized youth and
increased voter turnout at its annual National Education
Conference in Jacksonville, Fla.
BY ILONA KAUREMSZKY
AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANTS LINED
UP HOURS BEFORE DAYLIGHT LAST
AUGUST AT JACKSONVILLE VETERANS
MEMORIAL ARENA, but more than 100
other young people were busy shuffling
into the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront for the first day of the A. Philip
Randolph Institute’s (APRI) 39th National
Education Conference.
Charles F. Spencer, the event’s lead
meeting planner who is also the president of the Florida State APRI and an
APRI national board member, rhymes off
two reasons for what brought these kids
out to an education conference during an
American Idol-seeking summer and how
VISIT JACKSONVILLE
58
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the APRI, a nonprofit association for black
trade unionists, pulled it off.
“This is the hometown of Asa Philip
Randolph. He’s the most honored person
in Jacksonville,” Spencer said. “We have
the A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park and
the A. Philip Randolph School of Technology. We have a new train station, and the
lobby is named after Mr. Randolph. We
have the old train station—which is now
our convention center—that has a room
named after him. Like all our members,
the youth were very curious about his
hometown.”
The second reason cited was the
November U.S. presidential election.
What’s
New in
Jacksonville
Jacksonville International Airport completed
a US$170 million renovation project and has now
opened Concourse C
(home to American, Continental and Southwest
airlines) in November.
Concourse A for Delta
and Northwest opened in
May 2008. Moving walkways, high ceilings, skylights, television screens,
additional seating and
free Wi-Fi access are
available throughout the
terminal and concourses.
Opened in September,
the 85-suite TownePlace
Suites Jacksonville
Butler Boulevard is
operated by Marriott
International near the University of North Florida,
the Mayo Clinic, the
beaches and downtown.
Southside’s newest
shopping and entertainment district welcomes
Northeast Florida’s first
Hotel Indigo. The lavish
Hotel Indigo - Jacksonville/Deerwood Park
has a waterfront cafe
and 2,100 square feet of
meeting space.
APRI
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5/22/09 8:22:54 AM
VISIT JACKSONVILLE (2)
The conference’s “Lift Every Voice!”
theme—attributed to a James Weldon
Johnson song—held strong during the fiveday event, which included a speech from
the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. on the power
of the vote. More than 1,000 participants
from more than 150 chapters in 36 states,
along with other delegates and visitors,
were in attendance.
“With 2008 being a election year, the
theme was to encourage everyone to ‘lift
every voice’ and speak to those who seek
election to the highest office in the U.S.
about the conditions and issues which
affect all Americans, especially the working poor,” said Clayola Brown, APRI
national president.
Yet, the group—whose founder is
touted as the key organizer of the historic
1963 Martin Luther King Jr. march on
Washington, D.C., and a creator of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters labor
union—never held a conference here until
last summer.
“We met with third-party meeting planner INMEX at the Greater Washington
Society of Association Executives’ Springtime Conference,” said Lyndsay Rossman,
director of corporate communications for
Visit Jacksonville. “From the trade show
contact, we acquired the RFP and ultimately brought them to Jacksonville for a
site visit. From the visit, we were able to
secure the meeting.”
And then there was Spencer’s firecracker
determination.
“I went up to our president in California, where our previous meeting was held,
and whispered in her ear how if Jacksonville gets to host our next meeting, I guarantee huge success,” he said.
The participation numbers showed that
success.
“Attendance was much higher than previous years,” Brown said, speculating that
A. Philip Randolph’s hometown added to
it. “More local residents attended several
of the sessions. Florida has a large number
of APRI members, and this afforded an
opportunity for other members and guests
to learn more about the organization and
its founder.”
Once Jacksonville was selected, the next
steps involved site selections and event
planning.
“Janice Dailey [from Crowne Plaza
Jacksonville Riverfront] and Charles Spencer were really responsible for bringing this
meeting to the city,” said Wendy Priesand,
the Omni Jacksonville Hotel’s director
of sales and marketing, whose own hotel
played host to the event. “It was through
their hard work and passion that we all
benefited from hosting such a prestigious
event.”
As Jacksonville’s only union hotel, the
Crowne Plaza was selected as host hotel,
but due to the greater than expected attendance, Spencer acted quickly to find overflow hotels.
Easily accessible to the Crowne Plaza
and the Prime Osborne Convention Center,
+
Fun Facts
Jacksonville is the biggest city by
area in the continental U.S. (840
square miles).
Elvis Presley played his first indoor
concert, complete with chaperone at
the Florida Theatre in 1957. He left
fans when he bee-lined back to his
hotel, which is now the Crowne Plaza
Jacksonville Riverfront.
Dubbed the Winter Film Capital of
the World in the 1910-1920s, Jacksonville was home to companies that
produced movies for big names such
as John Barrymore, Rudolph Valentino
and Oliver Hardy.
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5/21/09 9:02:16 AM
APRI (3)
+
Transportation Tips
Jacksonville International Airport
(JAX) services travel to and from
Northeast Florida with nonstop flights
to nearly 30 cities. Downtown Jacksonville is only a 15-minute drive.
Don’t have a car? The local public
transportation system run by the
Jacksonville Transportation Authority has regular schedules and
routes.
Historic trolleys servicing downtown
offer free trips.
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where the APRI’s gala was held, the boutique-style Omni played host to numerous
attendees and a few breakout meetings in
addition to the Rev. Jackson luncheon.
One of the challenges the Omni faced
was orchestrating a luncheon for 500 with
a high-profile speaker in approximately
one week.
“It took a concerted effort between all
parties involved, but the team did a great
job,” Priesand said. “The Rev. Jackson
was easy to work with, and he travels with
only one staff member, so it was very easy
to ensure his privacy. We had a boardroom
reserved for him, so that he could enjoy
a quiet lunch with a few people prior to
speaking at the event.”
Meanwhile, Dailey put her team to
work immediately.
“In the beginning, the expected attendance was approximately 350 people,” she
said. “We were able to convince the group
to change its meeting setup in a way that
would allow our meeting space to accommodate the group. Their commitment to
bring the event to Jacksonville was strong
so they agreed to be flexible. We had to
work closely together with the group, along
with other local venues, to relocate one of
their events (the final dinner banquet) to
the Prime Osborne Convention Center.
The local union organizations were able to
combine funds and provided transportation to the venue. We utilized one of our
transportation partners to shuttle attendees to and from our property for all events
at no additional cost to them.”
All in all, the five-day conference
included 10 workshops and seminars held
as morning and afternoon sessions covering such topics as the housing crisis, voter
mobilization and healthcare issues. The
conference also presented special honors
to the Hon. Wellington Chibebe, Myrlie Evers-Williams and the Hon. Corrine
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5/21/09 9:02:27 AM
Brown. An offsite evening event at the Ritz
Theatre & LaVilla Museum, a red carpet
dinner at the Prime Osborne Convention
Center and a city tour including the A.
Philip Randolph Heritage Park were also
part of the itinerary.
“The City of Jacksonville Office of
Film & Television and the Ritz Theatre &
LaVilla Museum showed The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington,” Rossman
said. “The venue is significant as it celebrates the rich legacy of the African-American community in Jacksonville. Located
in the LaVilla neighborhood, or the ‘Harlem of the South’ as it was once called, the
museum features traveling shows from
notable institutions and collections depicting the city’s African-American heritage.”
The youth also had a field day. Early
Saturday, the students hopped aboard two
buses and headed to Jessie Street for a community service project: trash clean-up.
“Mr. Randolph grew up on this street,
and we wanted the youth to show some
pride,” Spencer said. “We took them to
the A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park
for a paper bag lunch, then off to the A.
Philip Randolph Academies of Technology
to make them aware that there are career
choices.”
Spencer, when reflecting on lessons
learned from the conference, says starting
to organize the day after the previous event
would be on his wish list.
“We learned to really work with local
partners such as Visit Jacksonville, local
union offices and local venues to create an
entire experience to the conference rather
than just presenting the benefits of only
our hotel,” Dailey said. “Being more creative with amenities such as creative offsite
events, transportation and promoting local
venues are key when creating an experience they will remember.”
ILONA KAUREMSZKY is the former editor of Corporate Meetings & Events magazine and a weekly travel columnist.
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+
What’s New
in Dubai
First
Impressions
A group’s initial experience in Dubai pays off
for them in big ways.
BY SANDI CAIN
AFTER THE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
ACCOUNTANTS
(IMA)
CHOSE
DUBAI FOR ITS FIRST INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE, IT ENDED UP OPENING
AN OFFICE IN THE REGION, promised to
stage its global conference in other member
countries and granted Dubai annual one-day
conferences in years when that city doesn’t
host the larger event—all stemming from that
first experience.
The 60,000-member organization counts
about 12 percent of its membership in the
Middle East. The United Arab Emirates
(UAE) accounts for the biggest block of
those members, with Saudi Arabia and Egypt
close behind—a big plus for Jim Gurowka,
IMA director of international development,
who was able to leverage members’ local
expertise to choose the city and venue for
the global event. Though the group considered destinations in Saudi Arabia and Egypt,
it ended up in Dubai in part because of easy
access and a wealth of tourist attractions to
draw people to the city.
The local chapter helped select the venue—
a vital component of a successful event in
Dubai, Gurowka says.
62
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“Location matters tremendously in
Dubai,” he said. “Which side of Dubai
Creek you’re on and what district you’re in
has a big impact on whether people from the
region come to the event.”
By choosing the Deira district (and the
JW Marriott Dubai), the group had a convenient business location where the 150 attendees could stay on site. That’s a big plus in a
city known for Western-style traffic jams,
Gurowka says.
Because of the large local membership
base, IMA was able to land some royal
patronage for its conference, lending credibility to the new event and providing exposure
for it in a burgeoning city where it’s increasingly difficult to garner attention. Gurowka
says royal patronage is a plus for marketing,
but also brings its share of protocol and security requirements that groups must address.
For other conference arrangements,
IMA employed the services of DMC Congress Solutions, an affiliate of the Emirates
Group.
“We liked their ability to tap into the
[Emirates] marketing potential,” Gurowka
said.
Exhibition City, a meeting
and convention complex,
will open Phase I in 2009
and be completed by
2020. When finished, it
will offer more than 5.34
million square feet of
space, including 19 exhibition halls.
The Dubai Mall in Downtown Burj Dubai opened
at the end of 2008. The
12.1 million-square-foot
mall has 1,200 specialty
stores, more than 150
food and beverage options
and an array of worldclass attractions.
Numerous hotels are
scheduled to open this
year, including the 371room Hilton Jumeirah
Beach, the 301-room
Amwaj Rotana Resort,
the 160-room Armani
Hotel Dubai, Business
Bay Hotel with 300 guest
rooms, the 1,050-room
Dubailand Conference
& Convention Hotel with
17,000 square feet of
meeting space and the
486-room JAL Tower.
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+
Fun Facts
Dubai is the second-largest
of the seven emirates that
make up the United Arab
Emirates.
Dubai Creek is actually a
saltwater inlet that runs
through the city center
and is the only natural port
entrance to the city.
The DMC proved useful for onsite logistics such as multilingual signage, registration
assistance and culturally suitable marketing
materials.
Gurowka says a big plus was the DMC’s
ability to arrange for regional attendees to
pay in local currency. U.S.-based organizations can’t do business with certain countries
and some international banks, yet IMA has
members in those countries. Congress Solutions took care of the currency transfers,
which enabled more people to easily attend.
The DMC also arranged to pick up speakers
at the airport, take them through customs and
bring them to the hotel for a reasonable fee.
For last year’s event, IMA asked the
Marriott to help the group reduce its overall expenses. Hector Mendonca, the hotel’s
director of event management, says the property reviewed the program and recommended
using different and more flexible meeting
space and found ways to reduce audiovisual
costs. In addition, the hotel allowed IMA
to release rooms from its block at 90-day,
60-day and 30-day intervals that helped IMA
meet its guarantees while allowing the hotel
to manage inventory.
“IMA was very organized with the meeting program and knew exactly what it needed
to achieve,” Mendonca said. “That makes it
easier for the hotel.”
The Marriott, Congress Solutions and
local chapter members worked as a team
with IMA leadership to make all attendees
as comfortable and welcome as possible.
The hotel made certain that staff knew the
makeup of the group and details of the event
so they could properly acknowledge the delegates during the conference.
Chapter members provided translation
Oil revenue accounts for
just 10 percent of Dubai
City’s gross domestic
product.
services for the Web page and
printed materials and helped
educate other members about
cultural issues such as the proper
way to greet people of the opposite sex. They helped design the
schedule so that lunch and other
breaks could be built in around
Muslim prayer times.
Even with local help, there
were a few minor glitches.
Gurowka says he learned the first year in
Dubai to start sessions later than he would
in the U.S. When he scheduled the first session to start at 8 a.m., the room was nearly
empty. They quickly moved starting times
to 9 a.m.—more in line with local customs.
And though the group strives to be respectful
of attitudes toward alcohol, even organizers
were surprised on a dinner cruise when one
group that didn’t drink wouldn’t even sit at
the same table with those who did.
“There were no hard feelings, just cultural
differences,” he said.
The teamwork between the organization,
its local members, the hotel and the DMC
helped IMA achieve a successful conference
and led to the decision to launch in other
countries.
The most positive part of the event
aside from the professional development,
Gurowka says, has been the “amazing networking opportunities” and the friendships
that develop.
They’re so confident they can replicate
that experience that the group will stage its
next global event in China.
CONGRESS SOLUTIONS INTL.
+
Transportation Tips
Dubai International Airport
is approximately two miles from
downtown Dubai and is served by
more than 100 airlines with service
to 130 destinations aboard 4,000
weekly international flights. An
expansion expected to be complete
this year will increase its capacity to
70 million passengers annually.
Citizens of the following countries
do not need a visa to enter
Dubai: Andorra, Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark,
France, Finland, Germany, Greece,
Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand,
Norway, Portugal, San Marino,
Singapore, South Korea, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and
Vatican City.
SANDI CAIN is a freelance writer based in
Laguna Beach, Calif.
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Halfway
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There
BY
RICHARD
SINE
Attracting companies
and people to your
event or destination
in a down economy
means working harder
than ever to prove
your value and garner
positive attention.
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I
It may soon seem quaint for a meeting or event
to attract attendees with just an agenda and
some marketing copy.
The Internet provides a remarkable opportunity to give prospects a tantalizing hint
of what is to come and organizations are
using that to build communities that can
be steered to meetings, generating a significant growth in attendance.
The down global economy in conjunction with a meeting industry hit hard by
misperceptions coincides with a technological boom time—that’s a good thing, but it
does complicate marketing matters for the
uninitiated.
With meeting planners under greater
pressure than ever to prove the business
case for meetings, their counterparts need
to help make the business case for events,
according to meetings consultant Allison
Saget. That means marketers have to work
harder than ever to prove their value to
prospective clients—they have to understand their clients’ needs, desires and fears
and position their event or destination to
fulfill those needs.
For example, CVBs or DMCs trying
to attract a meeting should highlight relevant businesses located in their cities and
describe them in a write-up, including revenues and number of employees, then work
to make local industry executives available
to meeting attendees. Alternately, destination marketers can work with major companies in their towns to encourage them to
hold conferences locally.
Saget’s book, The Event Marketing
Handbook, argues that meeting planners
must expand their skills beyond logistics
and planning to understand how meetings
can make a bigger impact on the bottom
line. The recession proved her point.
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Marketers must work harder to prove
that a live meeting can have a greater sales
impact than a conference call, virtual meeting or other alternatives.
“You have to emphasize the strengths
of face-to-face meetings,” said Corbin Ball,
a technology consultant based in Bellingham, Wash. “Brainstorming, networking,
relationship-building, these are all things
that are done best face-to-face.”
In this economy, meeting your prospects halfway means reaching out to them
aggressively in ways that won’t bust your
(shrinking) budget.
FEAR FACTOR
Fear and uncertainty have led to a drastic
change of mindset on the part of meeting
planners and attendees alike. Failure to
perform won’t just lead to a poor performance rating—it could lead to a pink slip.
And appealing to the fearful requires going
back to marketing basics and ensuring that
your focus be on the benefits to the prospective client, rather than the features of
what you’re selling.
“You need to find out what your prospects want,” said Bonnie Wallsh, chief
strategist of Bonnie Wallsh Associates.
Speaking as a planner, she recommends
that marketers ask her as many questions
as possible. “I want to know how you
are going to fulfill my meeting objectives.
What’s in it for me, and how are you going
to make me look good? Because everyone’s
a little afraid for his or her job.”
Focusing on benefits requires traditional marketing skills such as asking
detailed questions about prospect needs.
As elemental as this practice may seem,
it’s come under threat thanks to the
dominance of e-mail. Phone conversations make it much easier to learn more
about your prospect’s needs and opens
up more opportunities for upselling,
Saget says.
In today’s environment, benefitsbased marketing also requires an empathetic perspective. In January, Hyundai
made a PR splash when it promised that
if customers bought new Hyundais and
lost their jobs within a year, they could
give the cars back. (Specifically, Hyundai said it would allow the customer to
return the vehicle and walk away from
most or all of the loan obligations.)
Marketers in other industries can
take a cue from Hyundai, says Liping
Cai, director of the Tourism and Hospitality Research Center at Purdue University. Like car buyers, organizations are
wary of making large, long-term commitments. To help heal this fear, marketers in the meeting industry could offer
similar innovative or helpful options
to their clients. For example, a hotel or
resort could market itself to planners
with the promise to not impose a cancellation penalty should a group go bankrupt, Cai suggests.
“When you make a long-term contract, you have to put yourself in [the client’s] shoes,” he said. “This gives people
trust and confidence in you.”
There are many potential variations
on this approach that will make a venue
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Play Nice With
Your Competition
Cooperative moves like this may
seem counterintuitive when companies are losing business and
hanging on to what they have
for dear life. It is all too tempting to retaliate for lost business
through threats or lawsuits, or
to compete by eating the other
guy’s lunch, but experts say lawsuits and vicious competition are
poisonous in an industry based
on reputation, word of mouth
and long-term relationships.
Meetings consultant Allison
Saget recalls that when the
downturn spurred by Sept. 11,
2001, hit the industry, people
responded by returning deposits
and working together to make up
for lost business.
“[The situation now] is being
treated with vengeance and
nastiness instead of coming
together and working it out,” she
said.
Instead, professional partnering and mutual protection should
be expanded to enhance existing
marketing opportunities and create new avenues for messaging.
For example, at the first sign
that an event might be cancelled,
Saget suggests that all players
involved sit down and negotiate
issues such as pricing. Another
example, involving attrition
charges: Since it is in the mutual
interest of planner and hotel
to fill up rooms, meeting consultant Bonnie Wallsh recently
worked with a hotel to create a
sweepstakes in which winners
would receive a complementary
five-night stay at the hotel. The
catch? The drawing was open
only to attendees who registered
early and chose to stay at the
hotel.
Consider constructive partnering—for example, hoteliers can
work with a nearby restaurant so
that a meal discount accompanies a hotel stay. Even competitors should be looking to work
together to attract business,
says Liping Cai, director of the
Tourism and Hospitality Research
Center at Purdue University’s
hospitality school. Hotels should
work together in their marketing
endeavors to land large events.
“This is the worst time to
compete in the industry,” Cai
said. “You may win an event, but
lose goodwill with your [peers].”
Instead of stealing business
from competitors, look to expand
by acquiring new business in
areas of the economy that have
been less affected by the downturn, Cai suggests. They do exist.
Groups still booking conferences
include medical professionals,
collection agencies, government
agencies and green businesses.
It is all too tempting
to retaliate for lost
business through
threats or lawsuits,
or to compete by
eating the other
guy’s lunch, but
experts say lawsuits
and vicious competition are poisonous
in an industry based
on reputation, word
of mouth and longterm relationships.
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BEST
PRACTICES
FROM AROUND THE
WORLD
Look to industry partners beyond your
borders for the finest spectrum of
export-quality business practices.
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CONSIDER THIS SCENARIO: Competent meeting planner makes perfectly good travel arrangements, airline bungles said travel arrangements,
meeting planner makes late-night calls to off-duty travel agents and attendee
waits patiently, but not happily, at the airport. Does this sound familiar?
a major investment, but says it has been
Carrie Mahoney, CEO of Event Produc- when necessary.
The best practice of “doing it your- worth the cost.
tion Concepts in Southbury, Conn., has
Not only has the software made stafffound a way around this nightmare—she self” extends to all facets of meetings and
ers lives easier, because they no longer have
has her own travel agency. With seven full- events.
At Impact Unlimited in Dayton, N.J., to fiddle with three different systems, but
time, trained and certified travel agents on
staff and access to universal flight booking for example, business is running much it has also helped boost productivity and
system Amadeus, Mahoney’s travel agency, more smoothly since the company designed reduce errors.
In December, for example, one of Impact
Travel Concepts, has full oversight of all its own convention management software.
The program, dubbed ConventionsWith- Unlimited’s clients, a large pharmaceutical
travel arrangements, 24 hours a day.
“I’ve been at meetings where the phone Impact, encompasses front-end functions, company, used the Web site to register 150
rings because someone got stuck at the such as registration, information and pub- sales representatives who were attending a
airport and is being rerouted, and he has licity, as well as back-end functions, such trade show to work the booths. The system
to wait in line behind 10 other people try- as maintaining a database of attendees and allowed attendees to register for the show,
order their badges and pick their housing.
ing to book another flight,” she said. “We their housing choices.
can get him another flight right
away, so he doesn’t have to wait
ePRESENTER ALLOWS CONFERENCE PRESENTERS TO
in line.”
Having your own travel
TURN THEIR POSTER BOARDS INTO ELECTRONIC FORagents on staff comes in handy
MATS AND ENTER THEM INTO A SEARCHABLE DATAmore often than you’d think.
A few months ago, at the
BASE THAT CONFERENCE ATTENDEES CAN BROWSE
end of a conference, Mahoney’s
client and one of the client’s
ON THE EVENT’S COMPUTER SYSTEM.
biggest buyers were waiting to
board a plane home together.
They’d been bumped from the
Sandra Pizzarusso, Impact Unlimited’s The Web site also allowed the client to type
previous flight and the airline overbooked
their replacement flight. The airline wanted director of meetings and events, says in the in guidelines that their sales representatives
to let Mahoney’s client fly, but bump the past, her company was forced to use several were expected to follow—such as travel
buyer to a later flight. Mahoney’s client was off-the-shelf products in order to get the restrictions and rules for accepting gifts—
so they would be easily accessible from
mix of services it needed.
perturbed and called her office for help.
“It was ridiculous,” Pizzarusso said, the road. The client also entered detailed
“We were able to remind the airline
agent of an industry rule that proved they pointing out that Impact organizes a lot instructions on the booth’s location and
would have to accommodate him,” said of large association conventions and that tasks to be performed once there. Finally,
Denise Wallace, Travel Concepts lead agent. it needed a more comprehensive solution. the client could see where attendees were
“These Web sites are great for central reg- staying, and the charges they were racking
“It was a legal requirement.”
In essence, Wallace told the airline to go istration, but when you get to convention up—in real time.
Most importantly, however, because the
management there are so many more steps
mess with someone else’s plans.
system allows Impact Unlimited to offer a
Even when travel plans don’t get bun- involved.”
Finally, Impact took the plunge. It hired higher level of service, it helps with cutting
gled, the system makes clients happy,
because Mahoney can immediately answer an outside software company to design a costs and retaining clients.
any questions about departures and arriv- program with help from Impact’s IT departals, and can also make last-minute changes ment. Pizzarusso concedes the tool was
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 9 0
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Be Exc
A momentous political
campaign captured the
globe’s attention and
exemplified how
meetings and events
change the world.
BY M I C H A E L P I N C H E R A
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The Obama for America campaign set the
bar for modern meetings that change the
world.
“Whether or not you agree with U.S.
President Barack Obama’s politics, the
vision and strategy created transformational
change. That is what we all should do when
we bring people together,” said Hattie Hill,
chairwoman of the MPI Awards and Recognition Task Force and CEO of Hattie Hill
Enterprises.
For its unprecedented ability to utilize
meetings and events to accomplish an awesome goal, the Obama for America campaign has been chosen to receive MPI’s
first-ever RISE Award for Organizational
Achievement, recognizing industry success
and excellence.
Achieving success by maintaining relevancy, simplicity and consistency, the campaign delivered a 21st-century template for
impactful, exceptional events, domestic and
international.
BE RELEVANT
Awareness of the continually evolving communications culture placed the campaign in
a league of its own, resulting in an operation
run true to the times.
Betsy Myers, chief operating officer and
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cited
senior advisor for Obama for America, says
that leveraging the Web’s power and social
media was key to the campaign’s success.
“We used the Internet in a way that no
one had ever done before…to not only
raise money but to include people, get them
involved and organized,” she said. “We
took what [former chairman of the Democratic National Committee] Howard Dean
did in 2004, raising money on the Internet,
to the next level by incorporating social
networking.”
Online donations also enabled the
Obama campaign to accomplish its goals
in real space. In fact, the campaign’s online
fundraising was significant enough that they
were availed of all of the tools for success on
the ground, including dozens of small meetings throughout Iowa in preparation for that
state’s 2008 caucus.
The idea of doing things differently compounded the relevancy of the campaign, with
people feeling that they were being heard and
their voices valued. This multitiered approach
to reach the population, such as going to the
people, exampled some of the respect Obama
demanded be given to the voters.
BE RESPECTFUL
By leveraging the power of human conn-
ections online and during face-to-face meetings, the campaign made it easy for people to
get involved through myriad access points.
“You didn’t have to ask permission to get
involved,” Myers said. “You got involved on
the Internet and via social networking…we
set up some of the infrastructure for you to
participate. It was infectious, and people got
involved because they wanted to be a part of
something bigger than themselves, because
they believed we could make a change.”
Hill recalls the reach of the campaign:
people met at small churches, multiple generations of participants gathering online and
massive global meetings for the masses.
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“It’s about relationships,” Myers said.
“People came together because of this common desire to make the world better.”
Through the campaign’s outreach—
including events large and small—people
began to understand that their actions and
contributions mattered in the challenge to
help affect change. That desire in concert with
a charismatic candidate attracted participants.
They were drawn in because of Obama, but
they thrived within the campaign because of
their dedication to each other.
“He is the example of the new paradigm
of leadership, which is inclusive and a learner:
‘I don’t know everything and I listen to other
voices and we will open up dialogue with people who disagree with us,’” Myers said.
From the push in Iowa in late 2007 (the
campaign had dozens of offices located
throughout the state, with Obama stopping
by with Oprah Winfrey) to a July 2008 event
in Berlin, Myers says Obama kept breaking
down barriers and gaining momentum.
build a campaign that was run like a business,
Myers says, highlighting the fact that a presidential campaign is really a US$200 million
start-up, complete with the need for effective
meetings and events with “customers” and
stakeholders.
She says Obama inspired everyone to run
the campaign with a customer service mentality, to ensure that staff, volunteers, donors
and—most importantly—the American people were all treated with respect. Myers says
this mentality soon became pervasive and
created a calm environment that best enabled
everyone to be heard.
“This is not something you hear every day
in the world of politics,” Myers said. “Campaigns are chaotic by their very nature, yet
this campaign was run like a tight ship. One
of the things that can be said about this campaign is that we were extremely organized
and focused.”
Throughout the campaign, Obama’s leadership skills kept participants inspired and
their eyes on the prize.
“Many times when we see a leader up
BE CONSISTENT
From Day 1, Obama challenged everyone to close, we end up having less respect for
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them,” Myers said. “I can truthfully say
that my respect for Barack has grown. You
really learn about someone when the chips
are down. Barack has always been calm and
steady. He took personal responsibility for
our disappointments and was willing to learn
from our mistakes. He challenged us to support each other and he reminded us why this
campaign is important: We were working for
the American people.”
During the two-year campaign, meetings
and events of all varieties were utilized in a
highly effective manner with the lofty goal of
changing the world—a legacy that will not be
forgotten.
“This campaign will forever be a model…
Going forward, people will have to use the
Internet, raise money online, they’re going to
do social networking, they’re going to have
to include people and organize in a different
way.”
MICHAEL PINCHERA is associate editor of
One+.
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MEET BETSY MYERS
RISE Awards
The RISE Awards represent a new
era for MPI and the global meeting and event industry, just as the
Barack Obama presidency represents
a new era for the U.S. and the world.
“We recognized some critical facts—
our community was evolving and the
present awards and recognition program
was not aligned with the vision and
mission of the organization,” said Hattie
Hill, chairwoman of MPI’s Awards and
Recognition Task Force and CEO of Hattie
Hill Enterprises.
And she says member engagement
and excitement needed to be elevated
while improving the image of and setting
a standard for the industry.
Hill says the awards program had
to impact the global membership base
while being relevant and driving member
growth.
“This is even more relevant today as
our industry and the organization are
standing at the edge of explosive change,”
Hill said. “Our program can be a catalyst
to keep us moving forward.”
Betsy Myers will accept the
MPI RISE Award for Organizational Achievement on behalf
of the Obama for America
campaign. The presentation and
reception set to take place 4 p.m. July
10 at the Grand America hotel, right
before the start of the World Education Congress in Salt Lake City, will also
recognize MPI’s Community of Honorees.
For more information, visit www.mpiweb.
org/events/WEC2009/Events/
Awards.aspx.
2008-2009 MPI AWARDS AND
RECOGNITION TASK FORCE
Chairwoman: Hattie Hill, CMM
Pierre Charmasson, CMP
Patrick Delaney, CITE, CMM
Miranda Ioannou, IAPCO Wolfsberg
Paul Kennedy, MBE
Kehaulani McGregor, CMP
Peggy Marilley
Brian Palmer
Roger Rickard
Tracy Stein
Betsy Myers is currently co-chairwoman
of the Women’s Leadership Forum for the
Democratic National Committee (DNC) and
is helping the White House Women’s Council as an advisor.
Previously, Myers was chief operating
officer and senior advisor for Obama for
America and chairwoman of Women for
Obama, traveling extensively in 2008 to
speak with undecided voters while concentrating on women’s outreach. These efforts
included a working partnership with Women
for Obama and the DNC’s Women’s Leadership Forum.
Immediately prior to her work on the
campaign, Myers was executive director of the Center for Public Leadership at
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
and worked closely with Harvard’s Women’s
Leadership Board.
Myers now brings her wealth of experience to the lecture circuit, speaking on myriad leadership-related topics, and is writing a
book that will take a look at a world in which
people are all seen, heard, understood and
valued properly.
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World
Champions
Learning from the best: Business people from
former Olympicc host
ho
ost cities share how they
were impacted by the
t world’s greatest
special event.
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BE
EIJIN
IJING
G
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ATHE N S
TU RI N
AT L AN TA
SALT L AKE
AK E
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2006
6
BEIJING: SUMMER
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Chris McDaniel, co-owner of Beijing’s popular South African restaurant and wine
bar Pinotage, runs a tight ship. So when he
found himself running out of wine a month
before the 2008 Summer Olympic Games,
he got a little creative.
It’s not that McDaniel didn’t plan for
the games well—on the contrary. The South
African native, who moved to Beijing three
years ago to study Chinese and ended up
opening one of the city’s most popular
hangouts, knew he wanted to capitalize on
the games in a big way. He opened Pinotage
three months ahead of the event to great
fanfare and put all his marketing efforts
Surprisingly, McDaniel’s biggest piece of advice
to other restaurant owners has little to do with
imports, but everything to do with red tape.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re in line with regulations in terms of health and safety,” he said.
into making sure the bar was an established
venue before the games started.
“People in Beijing only try a new place
on someone else’s recommendation, so we
wanted to make sure we established a good
reputation,” said McDaniel, who personally invited foreign diplomats, journalists
and businessmen to visit the bar.
He played host to the South African
hockey team when it came to the city for
training, which boosted the bar’s “street
cred,” as well as the Canadian Olympic
Committee. He installed huge overhead
televisions and asked local magazines to list
Pinotage as a hot spot to watch the action.
Yet, a month before the Olympics, the
unthinkable happened: McDaniel began
running out of wine. He serves only South
African wines, and knew he would go
through thousands of bottles if the Olympics
brought in business as expected. So ahead
of the games, he ordered 13,000 bottles for
arrival in June, which he thought would
give him plenty of time to get through customs. Unfortunately, officials, concerned
about the threat of terrorism, slowed down
custom clearance sharply in June and shut
down most imports through ports in July.
Not only was McDaniel left stranded without his bottles, he was also worried that the
hot summer sun might damage the wine.
“It was a hassle. We had to make do
with what we had, and the selection was
limited,” he recalled. Luckily, he was able
to negotiate with officials and have the
shipment moved into a cooled area of the
harbor.
To make sure he wouldn’t run out of certain kinds of wine, McDaniel began rotating names on the menu three times a week
to ensure he wouldn’t run low on any particular grape. He also began making deals
with other South African wine importers,
buying a case or two of a certain wine when
he found himself running low.
Surprisingly, McDaniel’s biggest piece of
advice to other restaurant owners has little
to do with imports, but everything to do
with red tape.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re in line
with regulations in terms of health and
safety,” he said.
The last thing local officials want is a
food scare or alarming international headlines during the Olympics, so restaurant
owners should expect more than their fair
share of inspectors ahead of the games.
McDaniel also recommends that restaurant owners make themselves popular
with sports fans ahead of time by installing
televisions and making sure they are mentioned in all the right magazines.
“If you want to attract business during the games, don’t plan to open a week
before, because you want to make sure
people get to know you,” he said.
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2006
TURIN: WINTER
Laura Testore, co-owner of the three-star
Lancaster Hotel in downtown Turin, Italy,
is lucky her hotel was fully booked for the
2006 Winter Olympic Games—because she
made little money the rest of the year.
“After the Olympics, there was nothing,” said Testore, who took over the family business with her sister 18 years ago.
She says corporate executives, who make
up Lancaster’s core clientele, seemed to
abandon Turin after the games. “We turned
many of our customers away for the month
of the Olympics, so maybe they were upset
with us and held their conferences in other
towns.”
Testore’s experience echoes that of other
business owners in Olympic towns. Local
companies typically pour all of their efforts
into securing business for the games, but
once the games are over, businesses find
they have to catch up. Plus, travelers tend to
write off Olympic cities for several months
before and after the games, assuming that
they will be too expensive or overcrowded.
Luckily, the income Testore garnered
during the Olympics was enough to see her
through the end of the year. Her biggest client was a U.S. delegation from Budweiser,
which took up 50 of the hotel’s 83 rooms.
Testore says she was surprised by the amount
of planning done by the beer maker.
“Every three months they called me to
make sure everything was OK,” she said,
pointing out that the company also frequently changed its reservations. But everything worked out well. “The CEO was very
happy with us, and they sent us a letter
thanking us.”
For her part, Testore began preparing
for the Olympics several years in advance.
Lancaster Hotel was completely remodeled and repainted ahead of the games, and
modernized to offer in-room Wi-Fi, sophisticated telephone consoles and bigger beds.
During the games, Testore says business
went off without a hitch. Local citizens and
officials were on their best behavior, street
traffic flowed better than usual and deliveries were made in time. Testore didn’t even
have trouble hiring additional employees to
help manage the extra business, since many
Italians were eager to work in Turin that
winter.
If anything, Testore warns hoteliers
against becoming victims of their own success: Make sure to book post-Olympic business ahead of time or you may find yourself
empty-handed.
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 9 3
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BY MIKE BARISH
One Person,
One Country
ONE
STORY
Through compassion and
caring, Helen Zille, premier
of South Africa’s Western Cape,
is developing an increasingly
happier tale for her province
and country.
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had internalized while growing up and
motivated me to get involved,” she says.
“When my first son, Paul, was born I
had even more motivation.”
THE JOURNALIST
It is a common, if not cliché, analogy to
break periods of human history into “chapters.” On a grand scale, surely, we can find
lines of demarcation between periods and
eras. Governments collapse, battles rage,
nations rise and fall. The entire social science textbook industry is based on identifying these periods, giving them names and
memorializing the dates when wide swaths
of land or people shifted from one way of
life to another.
Such is the story of Cape Town, South
Africa.
But apply this analogy on a micro
level. High school valedictorian speeches,
best man toasts and countless milestone
addresses are littered with phrases waxing nostalgic on a chapter of someone’s life
coming to an end or a new one beginning.
Often, this device is trite or contrived. A
simple way of explaining one’s transition
into a new role, title or locale and packaging a story into a neat little compartmentalized category. But life isn’t that tidy. Personal transitions, more often than not, are
seamless. Logical progressions from one
event to the next, defined not by milestone
moments but by where our interests, passions or conscience take us.
Such is the story of Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.
To understand Zille’s ascent to globally
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respected political leader and key figure
in South African history, understand how
her life has been shaped and defined by
South Africa. How her life, while seemingly easily divided into chapters, is actually one continuous narrative. How her
story is South Africa’s story.
Like many of her countrymen of her
generation, Zille is a first-generation South
African. Her parents emigrated separately
from Germany in the 1930s as the political climate there began to change. Politically and socially active, Zille’s parents
would model behavior that she would later
exhibit in her own life.
“My parents were generally very politically engaged while I was growing up,
especially considering that they had been
compelled to leave Germany because of
the political situation there, and political
issues were often discussed in our home,”
she says.
Helen’s mother was a member of the
Black Sash movement, a non-violent white
women’s movement in South Africa that
fought against apartheid. By the 1980s,
Helen herself was at the forefront of the
Black Sash, holding regional and national
executive positions as the fight against
apartheid gained international attention
and support.
“The political injustices of the apartheid
government conflicted with the principles I
During the 1986 state of emergency,
when much of Cape Town was governed by what was essentially martial
law, Zille and her husband, Professor Johan Maree, opened their home
to anti-apartheid political activists
who were sought by the totalitarian
regime. Later, she was forced into
hiding with her then 2-year-old son,
as the government sought to silence
any resistance.
“Raising a child under a state of emergency and an authoritarian government
focused my attention sharply on the future
and where our country was headed,” she
says. “It was impossible for me not to be
involved.”
All the while, Zille was also working
as a journalist at a time when investigative
journalism and truth telling were as difficult as they were dangerous. She worked
as a political correspondent for the Rand
Daily Mail, a now-defunct, Johannesburgbased newspaper with an unabashed antiapartheid slant. If Helen Zille wasn’t yet a
household name in South Africa from her
work with the Black Sash, she was about
to become one because of her work as a
journalist.
In September 1977, noted anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko died in prison
from what the government called a hunger
strike. The Rand Daily Mail assigned Zille
to investigate the story.
“When one of the doctors who examined Biko’s body provided me with information that contradicted the police report,
it was clear that this was going to be [an]
extremely important story,” she says. “The
public and international community needed
to know what had happened.”
Zille’s investigative work shed light on
a government cover-up that attempted to
conceal the truth about Biko’s death. The
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story was the talk of South Africa and the
chief of police threatened to shut down the
newspaper. Zille began to receive death
threats and was forced to appear before
the Press Council to defend her article.
South Africa’s story was in the midst of
a poignant chapter, but Zille’s life was progressing as it always had.
“It was a very harrowing experience.
But…the threats also made me more determined to continue,” she says.
And continue she did. She formed a
political consultancy in 1989 and joined
the University of Cape Town as director of
development and public affairs. Her focus
began to turn to education, and in 1999,
she became a member of the Western Cape
Provincial Legislature and was appointed
to the Executive Council for Education.
In 2004, she became a representative of
the Democratic Alliance (DA) party in
South Africa’s Parliament. Within the DA,
she served as deputy federal chairwoman
as well as national party and education
spokesperson.
By this time, apartheid had been abolished in South Africa. Society, government
and culture integrated, but there were new
problems to face. Tensions still existed,
infrastructure was lacking and issues such
as crime and education needed immediate
attention. A new chapter in the nation’s
story was about to be written. Zille’s story
kept marching on.
job creation in Cape Town.”
Essentially, she and her administration were building the 21st-century Cape
Town.
Shaped by her previous experiences,
Zille is not just a politician or former journalist. She is not simply the former mayor
of Cape Town. She is an amalgamation
of everything she has seen and done, best
exemplified when she speaks about how
her time as a journalist defined her opinion
of and relationship with the media now
that she holds political office.
“Government
transparency
and
accountability via the media is a very basic
principle of constitutional democracy,” she
“It is a society in which people have the
right, the space and the opportunity to be
themselves and pursue their own ends.” As
she outlines her philosophy in great detail,
her audience comes to realize that her
vision for Cape Town, the Western Cape,
her nation and for all of her countrymen
mirrors the life that she has led.
“The recognition of individual rights
and freedoms is meant to create the conditions in which able citizens can become
independent, self-actualizing people capable…of shaping their own destinies
despite the inevitable constraints of the circumstances within which they find themselves,” she says.
says.
It is easy to imagine Zille saying those
words in 1977, not just a few short weeks
ago. Her story flows so freely that the idea
of chapters can no longer be considered.
The periods of her life blur together and
are overshadowed by her overarching personality and character.
As Zille gazes into an ambitious future
for the Western Cape, she is guided by a
political philosophy that is a blend of challenge and determination. Hers is an open
and opportunity-based society. She sums it
up as neatly as she can in a single sentence:
In essence, she wants everyone to have
the opportunities that she was afforded.
She wants her people to have the opportunity to write their own stories. She wants
this chapter in Cape Town’s history to be
an anthology of the countless tales of its
people with a happier ending than many of
the preceding chapters.
Two of the biggest issues facing modern
Cape Town are unemployment and urban
renewal. Zille has made great strides in
these areas. Over the last three years, more
than 3,000 positions have been filled within
the city of Cape Town’s administration.
THE POLITICIAN
In 2006, the DA became the majority party
in Cape Town and Zille was elected mayor
that March. It also brings us to the present for Cape Town: a future unlike any
that its citizens could have envisioned 30
years ago. When asked about her goals in
leading Cape Town forward, Zille delivers
a response that is indicative of both her
ambitiousness and her perspective on this
chapter in the city’s history.
As mayor, her goal was to “establish
a solid platform of infrastructure and services capable of supporting and encouraging economic growth, development and
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She notes that she tries to “remain as
open as possible to different opinions”
and avoid “pulling rank.” Simultaneously,
she has opened up major political meetings to the press as part of her commitment to a transparent government. She is
so confident in her philosophies, agenda
and administration that she has repeatedly
challenged the leader of her party’s chief
rival, the African National Congress, to a
public debate on issues ranging from HIV/
AIDS to unemployment.
In 2008, Zille was recognized by think
tank City Mayors with the World Mayor
Prize, an honor bestowed by mayors to a
municipal leader who displays outstanding
leadership and vision. Zille
was selected for myriad
reasons, but all seemed representative of the common
themes of decency and pasMirroring important social changes
sion. Not one to praise herself or seek accolades, Zille
worldwide, Western Cape Premier
was modest when asked
Helen Zille—an acclaimed internaabout the distinction.
tional politician and winner of the
“I was very surprised to
2008 World Mayor Prize—shares
win the award, and natuimportant news and candid opinrally I was thrilled,” she
ions on her blog and Facebook page.
says. “I believe that I won
because of the great team
Visit HelenZille.co.za to join in the
working with me in my
discussion.
office, in the city of Cape
Town administration, at
home and in Parliament.
These kinds of awards are never solo
out its pitfalls.
“In my role as mayor, the biggest chal- achievements.”
During national elections this year,
lenge was trying to get the right people in the
right places to ensure the city of Cape Town the DA won parliamentary control of the
ran as efficiently as possible,” she says. “This Western Cape of South Africa and, as head
has taken a lot of time and some trial and of the party, Zille became premier of the
error.” She has marveled at “how quickly province. In late April, she stepped down
functional institutions can become dysfunc- as mayor and stepped into provincial govtional under the wrong leadership, and how ernment on May 6. This expands her influlong it takes for them to become functional ence nationally and allows her to continue
her work in Cape Town, the Western Cape
again under the right leadership.”
To combat this, she has immersed her- capital.
self in a skillful administration.
“Generally I try to surround myself
THE FUTURE
with people who have relevant subject
knowledge…skills for their jobs, pro-active There is much left to write in this chapter
dispositions and are trustworthy.”
of Cape Town and South African history.
Unemployment has dropped by 3 percent
during her tenure. She has helped triple the
rate of capital investment in infrastructure
and double the funding for free services for
the underprivileged. Crime has declined
by 90 percent over the last five years and
much of the credit can be given to the collaboration between the Zille-led DA, the
police force and local businesses. As a
result, more than 3,000 people have moved
back into Cape Town’s inner city, an area
that for years was riddled with crime and
avoided by anyone with the means to live
elsewhere.
Zille readily admits that this current
chapter in Cape Town’s history is not with-
HelenZille.com.za
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The 2010 World Cup will mark the first
time that the immense soccer tournament
will be held on the African continent, and
South Africa will play host. Cape Town
is building a new stadium for the event,
as well as improving its infrastructure to
accommodate the influx of people and
international attention. Problems such as
AIDS and drug use still demand attention.
And yet, there is more hope than worry in
Cape Town. The conclusion of the chapter
may be in doubt, but there is confidence in
the author.
As for Zille, her story continues to be
written. There is only one continuous narrative that inspires and excites. Her story is
her country’s story, flowing seamlessly from
era to era and job to job, as a daughter of
immigrants and social activists, a leader of
political dissent, a journalist, a politician,
a wife and a mother. At all times she has
been a seeker of truth and a pursuer of a
better life not only for herself, but for all
those with whom she shares, as she calls
it, a space.
She recognizes that constraints ranging “from poverty to poor education, to
prejudicial attitudes and practices…as
well as the perpetuation of a debilitating
perception of inferiority and race-based
victimhood, actually prevents millions of
people from experiencing the space, and
the opportunity to be themselves and pursue their own ends.” And yet, she is undeterred. She views these not as roadblocks
but as opportunities—opportunities that
continue to shape South Africa and make
up the narrative of her life.
“Changing these conditions is, in a
nutshell, what I have committed myself
to doing,” she says. “Success is obviously
crucial to the sustainable development and
future of our country.”
It is this success that will be the next
chapter of South Africa’s story and will be
the logical—and seamless—progression of
hers.
MIKE BARISH is a well-traveled
freelance writer based in New York.
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C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 6 8
more attractive to planners. For example,
if a planner fails to fill the room block, perhaps attrition fees and penalties could be
waived in exchange for a firm agreement
to book future meetings at the hotel. The
planner isn’t penalized and the hotel establishes future business.
MARKETING
TRANSFORMED
Of course, while you’re trying to reach
out to prospects, they are reaching out to
you, mostly online. And while all the new
platforms may be baffling and sometimes
appear gimmicky, they reflect a transformation in the way sales and marketing
works. In essence, the customer is now in
control.
“The Web allows people to do research
in a different way,” said David Meerman
Scott, author of The New Rules in Marketing and PR and, most recently, World
Wide Rave. “People [no longer go] to
their mailboxes or even e-mail inboxes [to
learn about products]. They go to search
engines. Smart organizations create something really valuable and interesting that
people share through social media, which
then results in high search engine rankings and high pass-along value for their
content.”
A great example of such “value creation” is the “The Best Job in the World”
campaign by Tourism Queensland in
Australia (www.islandreefjob.com). At
the tourism board’s invitation, more than
30,000 people applied for a “job” living
on the Great Barrier Reef for six months
and blogging about the experience—at a
salary of about US$100,000. Promoted
not by expensive advertising but by public
relations and social networking, the campaign resulted in 1,100 TV placements in
the U.S. within two days of launch and a
million Web site hits in two days, according to the PR firm that handled it. That’s
on top of countless videos and blog posts.
“The impact of these global efforts…
was to cut through the increasingly cluttered travel market and capture both consumer and media attention,” said Shana
Pereira, regional director of the Americas
for Tourism Queensland International.
Achieving this level of viral success
requires not only creativity, but also a willingness to give up control of your marketing and messaging.
“It’s an extremely difficult thing for marketers to get their head around,” Scott said.
HEADING INBOUND
Not everyone can get away with something like “The Best Job in the World”
campaign. But with the Internet almost
universally used by prospects, the onus is
on marketers to use it to assertively prove
value and even create community in ways
that drive more real people to their events
or destinations.
Through traditional “outbound” methods such as advertising and direct mail,
marketers push messages out to customers
in large numbers, hoping to catch a few
in the net. “Inbound” marketing methods
such as search engine optimization (SEO),
blogging and social media capture people
who have already ventured out onto the
Web searching for something like your
product. And it’s increasingly vital to catch
prospects on the Web, because they are
making decisions well before you have the
chance to speak to them personally.
“People are now much more able to get
information about different vendors, products and industries themselves without
interacting with your company directly,”
notes online marketing firm HubSpot. “By
the time they reach you, they are much
farther along in the sales process, but you
know much less about them.”
With that in mind, Cris Canning, CMP,
is pushing hard to ensure that her property, the Venues at NTC Promenade in San
Diego, gets a prominent showcase online.
“The goal is to get as much real estate
on the Internet as you can, so that when
someone wants to find you, you can be
found,” Canning said. “Fortunately, there
are plenty of opportunities to get on the
Internet without spending a small fortune.
You don’t need a fancy webmaster or even
expensive SEO services.”
With the help of a high school intern,
Canning has established a presence for the
Venues at NTC Promenade on Facebook,
Digg, Slideshare, Flickr and elsewhere.
A big part of the goal is to make it easy
for prospects to learn as much as possible
about NTC Promenade online.
The next frontier for Canning is to
convince customers to put testimonials on
review sites. Reviews look to be increasingly important to the success of venues
With meeting planners under greater pressure than
ever to prove the business case for meetings, their
counterparts need to help.
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and destinations. While TripAdvisor is
most popular among tourists, several
user-review sites specific to meeting planners have arisen recently, notes Ball. These
sites include MeetingUniverse.com and
Meetingsintel.com. Canning is especially
intrigued by Google Reviews, because
locations with more reviews seem to rank
higher in Google Maps searches.
“‘Word of mouse’ is still the most valuable form of marketing,” Canning said.
“You may not remember the last commercial you saw, but you do remember the last
recommendation you heard. When I am
looking for a service, I’ll depend on a recommendation from someone I know first.
But the second most important factor is a
positive review from someone who used
that service.”
Ball notes that more meeting organizers are asking speakers to provide online
previews by posting blog entries, creating
videos or submitting to interviews that are
converted into podcasts. This content is
then being used to help market events via
the Internet.
And meeting planners are leveraging the
online following of their speakers to boost
attendance as well. Scott, the marketing
guru, has 11,000 followers on Twitter.
Some event organizers have allowed him
to broadcast a special discount code to his
Twitter followers for events at which he is
slated to speak. The tactic attracts people
to the events who may have never learned
about them otherwise.
With the economy in dire straits and
business travel being slashed, the onus is
on marketers to prove the value of their
event or destination. The good news is that
marketers have more ways than ever to
make their case, and can attract business
relatively cheaply using online tools and
creative thinking.
Planners are
increasingly asking
speakers to provide online previews by posting
blogs, videos or
doing interviews
to help market
events on line.
RICHARD SINE is a freelance business
writer.
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program after hearing industry peers at a
neighboring company rave about it.
On the other side of the globe in Melbourne, Australia, a plug-in that works
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 7 2
with Microsoft’s PowerPoint has brought
huge benefits to one of its users.
Karine Bulger, CEO of The Meeting
Planners, says she used a program called
ePresenter at the Transplantation Society’s
International Congress at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre last year,
which attracted more than 4,300 attendees
and 40 exhibitors.
In essence, ePresenter allows conference
“The system allows Impact’s convention
planners to manage attendance and attri- presenters to turn their poster boards into
tion, so we save money for our clients by electronic formats and enter them into a
not having to pay unnecessary cancellation searchable database that conference attendees can browse on the event’s computer
fees,” Pizzarusso said.
system.
“When the delegates came on site, they
PLUG IT IN
Meeting planners often talk about the had access to an ePoster station with 20
logistical challenges of organizing external laptops where they could type in keywords,
events. But at some companies, organizing author or university names and search these
posters instead of walking around a large
internal meetings can be a big headache.
Take JC Penney, for example. More exhibition hall filled with poster boards,”
than 55,000 meetings take place at its 2 said Bulger, whose company has 40 employmillion-square-foot headquarters in Plano, ees and manages events of up to 10,000.
Using an electronic presentation system
Texas, every year, within its 50 meeting
rooms, 8,000-square-foot ballroom, 7,000- helped Bulger save money for her client,
square-foot rotunda and 50,000-square- because there was no need to rent a large
room that would otherwise have been
foot atrium.
Kay Burke, company meetings senior needed to house the thousands of poster
manager at JC Penney, says two staffers boards. More importantly, the system also
were dedicated full-time to scheduling these helped bring in more revenue for the society,
meetings in the past. They spent countless because ePosters were used as launch pads
hours trying to solve the shifting puzzle of for mini-oral presentations. Since many
potential attendees only receive funding to
which rooms were available at what time.
Last year, the retailer found an off-the- attend if they are invited as oral presenters,
shelf solution called Meeting Room Man- there was an increased conversion rate from
ager. Though not cheap (almost US$50,000), submitted abstracts to paid registrations.
“We’re using technology to increase the
it’s a plug-in for Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail
program that adds a function to the calen- quality of the meeting that the delegate is
dar system allowing users to reserve appro- getting, but also on the back end it’s helping us reduce our costs, and it’s helping us
priately sized rooms if they are available.
“It relieves us of being a call center,” increase the number of delegates we’re getBurke said. “Next to the tab that says ting,” Bulger said.
‘Here’s the time of the meeting and here
are the people attending,’ there’s a third REWARD ATTENDEES
tab that allows you to select from available Sandra Lindstrom, senior director of conmeeting rooms in the system.”
ference and travel at VHA, isn’t afraid to
Burke says she found out about the borrow a good idea when she sees it. That’s
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why her company, which offers supplychain management services to hospitals and
other medical facilities, has introduced a
rewards system for its event guests based on
the frequent traveler programs pioneered
by airlines and hotels.
Lindstrom, an 18-year meeting planning veteran, came up with the idea while
sitting on an advisory board meeting for
Omni Hotels. Here’s how it works: Attendees who come to the annual meeting three
years in a row become part of the “VHA
Honors Attendees” program and receive a
choice of perks when they register for the
2009 conference.
The choices are not terribly fancy: Members can receive a $55 discount on registration fees or select two items from a long list,
including free Wi-Fi in their hotel rooms,
books from the conference’s keynote
speaker, guaranteed rooms at the conference headquarters or Starbucks gift cards.
Lindstrom says it’s not the monetary value
that excites recipients, but the gesture.
“They’ve been grateful for the personal touch,” she said, pointing out that
half of the 135 eligible guests registered
shortly after they received their invitations
in December, even though the conference
isn’t slated until May. “It’s nice for them to
see that someone has actually noticed that
they’re coming year after year.”
Rewarding attendees has also worked
wonders for Diane Williams, manager of
meetings and events for the International
Association of Amusement Parks and
Attractions (IAAPA). The association introduced a concierge service two years ago for
VIPs from large companies who sign up by
a certain date. IAAPA designates one staff
member as a liaison for attendees, who can
call her at any time to ask almost any question—the wide selection of services offered
ranges from personalized help with hotel
reservations to arranging supplier meetings
to finding babysitters.
Williams points out that the service
appeals particularly to those attending an
IAAPA show for the first time, since it helps
them navigate foreign waters.
“It’s about how you can give back to
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your membership, and make members feel
that you’re really reaching out to them,”
said Williams, who has been in the business
for 22 years. “You can offer them two trade
shows a year and a couple of things to do in
between, which is fine, or you can take it to
the next level.”
IAAPA also offers special perks to suppliers who have exhibited five, 10 and 15
years in a row, ranging from flexible pricing plans to special floor signage to a virtual
trade show floor with an enhanced exhibitor listing.
Williams points out that neither of these
services costs very much to implement, but
that they offer significant returns in the
form of goodwill.
“At the end of the year, when they’re
looking at three association memberships
and picking one to cut, hopefully they’ll
make the decision that we offer the value
and stick with us,” Williams said.
them, they have all kinds of reasons to say
no.”
The Brazilian culture cultivates personal relationships, Ferreira says, and
often, industry professionals are reluctant
to streamline operations or automate processes that were once handled in more traditional ways.
However, he expects this to change with
time. As meetings become more sophisticated, and therefore more expensive to produce, meeting planners will likely begin facing budget constraints that will force them
to embrace more rigorous best practices.
Ferreira’s favorite imported best practice
is making use of the latest technology. His
company boasts large multinational clients
such as Grupo Santander and Camargo
Correa and is in the process of introducing a program that significantly streamlines
event management.
Currently, the system allows planners
to centrally store back-end data, such as
meeting budgets, supplier reports and client
approvals. It also has a front-end function
that allows Alatur to easily create conference Web sites that allow attendees to register online.
“We had some very senior consultants
talk to us about what the specifications
of the system would be,” Ferreira said
about the preparations it took to launch
the system. “We did a lot of presentations
and training, not about the product itself,
but about the change of paradigm that it
brought.”
Already, Ferreira says, the system is
helping Alatur cut costs for its clients, work
more efficiently and avoid embarrassing
mistakes.
When it comes down to it, Ferreira says
there’s a great deal we can learn from each
other.
DALIA FAHMY is a freelance international business writer.
GO GLOBAL
For meeting planners who do business
around the world, Alex Apthorpe, director
of production at The Bridge meeting company in Dubai, recommends the “Explorer”
series of books. These books include cultural information and basic advice such
as how to rent a car, what taxes might be
owed and where to find a translator when
working outside of your own country.
“It’s like a Lonely Planet, but it’s for
business travelers,” he said.
It’s important for meeting planners to
learn local cultures before organizing events
abroad, but there’s also a growing trend in
the opposite direction: meeting planners
who are sopping up all the advances that
foreign meeting professionals have to offer.
Ricardo Ferreira, co-owner of Sao Paolobased event and travel firm Alatur, says he
has spent the past couple of years vigorously importing best practices to Brazil.
“There are a lot of multinationals in
Brazil, so people know the concepts,” said
Ferreira, explaining that Brazilians working for such companies have a good understanding of best practices from around the
world. “But when it comes to implementing
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2004
ATHENS: SUMMER
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 8 1
Golden
Advice
• Restaurant owners should
expect a higher number of
health inspections as the Olympic Games approach.
• It is advisable for new
venues to invest in popularizing
their business locally ahead of
the games.
• Hotels should book postOlympic business prior to
the games in order to ensure
steady income after the Olympic surge has retreated.
• The best way for small
businesses to compete for
Olympic contracts is as
subcontractors for larger
organizations.
• Make your business shine
throughout the games, even
if you sustain a greater cost,
as the subsequent work from
such exposure can be invaluable and grow your company
exponentially.
• Remember, it’s more
important to keep a good relationship
hip with clients than make
a quickk buck for a one-off
business
ess contract.
Dionisis Agelakis didn’t have an easy job
during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
As business unit manager for food at
Elgeka—the contracted food and beverage
supplier for the Athens Olympic Village—
Agelakis had to make sure that thousands
of meals and snacks made it to athletes on
time.
The biggest challenge he faced was
accommodating special food requests: Several times a week, Elgeka received word
from the Village that some guests couldn’t
eat certain foods because of religious or
dietary reasons. Agelakis and his team
sometimes had to assemble some alternatives within a matter of hours.
“They became quite standard, these ad
hoc requests from the Village,” Agelakis
recalled with a chuckle.
Elgeka doesn’t normally cater such large
events. Its core business as a distributor is
stocking Greek supermarkets and restaurants with international products such as
Melitta coffee filters and Heinz ketchup.
However, as the country’s largest food
distributor—with headquarters less than
a hundred yards from the Village—Elgeka
was well positioned to nab a piece of the
Olympic pie.
“It was obvious that the Olympics
would have a positive effect on certain
corporate sectors, including food service,”
Agelakis said, pointing out that catering giant and Olympic vendor
Aramark won the original
contract to supply meals,
and
an offered Elgeka a
subcontract.
The
deal
helped Elgeka
post a sharp
increase in profits that year, but
Agelakis says the bigger benefit came from
publicity. The Olympics gave Elgeka a platform to advertise itself to consumers, who
generally were only aware of the brands it
represents.
“It was good for our image,” Agelakis
said, adding that Elgeka took advantage of
the event by sending out press releases and
taking out newspaper ads. “Because the
Olympics is the biggest event in the world,
our involvement communicated our capabilities to our trade partners, retailers and
consumers.”
To make sure Elgeka’s performance
lived up to expectations, the company
had to focus all of its efforts on managing
“Because the Olympics is the
biggest event in the world,
our involvement communicated our capabilities to our
trade partners, retailers and
consumers.”
logistics. Elgeka started preparing for the
games several years in advance by planning meals, contacting suppliers and signing contracts. In May, about four months
before the opening ceremony, Elgeka
increased its staff by 25 percent and went
into 24-hour production.
“It was a big project,” Agelakis said.
Elgeka was responsible for assembling
everything from hot meals, sandwiches,
appetizer platters and fresh fruits to beverages, snacks and tableware. “We are
experts in distributing food all over the
country, but with this kind of project, there
is no room for mistakes.”
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2002
SALT LAKE: WINTER
Maxine Turner served almost half a million
meals at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in
Salt Lake City. Well, not Turner alone, but as
co-founder of a company that won catering
bids for 17 major clients, including the U.S.
Olympic Team, AT&T, Nike and American
Express. By the end of the games, Turner
and her partners had fed more than 350,000
guests at buffets, parties, dinners and fundraisers—and supplied 150,000 box lunches.
“You start small, and business grows as
you get closer to the games,” said Turner,
CEO of Cuisine Unlimited Catering & Special Events, pointing out that she gradually
picked up new clients, who then kept adding
events. “When I look back, I’m amazed at
what we accomplished.”
Cuisine Unlimited wasn’t originally big
enough to handle so many clients. When
Turner began bidding for Olympic business
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in 1999, she only had 20 employees who
worked out of a cramped 2,000-square-foot
kitchen.
However, she had subcontracted catering
work at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games
in Atlanta, so she had experience with the
process. When she began bidding for the
games in Salt Lake City, she asked her contractor, New York-based caterer Framboise,
if it wanted to form a joint venture.
“Salt Lake City isn’t known as a culinary
hub, so I knew that adding the panache of a
New York partner would be a feather in our
cap,” she said.
Cuisine Unlimited built a new, 20,000square-foot headquarters, complete with customized kitchens and giant refrigerators. And
Turner marketed her business aggressively.
She printed portfolios, complete with theme
menus, mouthwatering photographs and bios
of company executives and sent them to all
Olympic Committee members. As sponsors
were announced, she sent them her portfolio too, and offered to cater regular business
events for them so they could get to know her
company. She also sent her portfolio to the
Salt Lake CVB, the chamber of commerce
and the economic development office.
“Our goal was to capture as much business during the games and not take on so
much that the quality would be compromised,” she said.
By the time the games began, Turner and
her partners were working around the clock,
managing hundreds of employees and driving
to dozens of events to make sure everything
was running as planned.
The biggest challenge she faced was catering a brunch for American Express, at a Girl
Scout camp nestled in the heart of the Rocky
Mountains. The problem was simple: In the
winter, the log cabins are only accessibly by
snowmobile. To make matters worse, snowmobiles are by law not allowed to run in the
middle of the night, which is when caterers
typically begin preparing breakfasts.
“We went back to American Express
and said, ‘We have a problem here,’” Turner
recalled. “How are we going to get all the
food, the linens and dishes up there?”
Luckily, Turner had more than a year
to plan the event and decided to have staff
transport all the fresh food the day before,
and spend the night in sleeping bags in bunk
beds. Linens, silverware, china and decorative centerpieces, meanwhile, were driven up
by car before the mountain became covered
in snow—the previous fall.
“We had to stock all the dry goods in
October before snow fell, and we couldn’t
pick up our equipment until May the following year,” she said.
Turner’s creativity paid off. Today, Cuisine Unlimited has 110 employees and makes
US$4.5 million in revenue each year. Turner
managed to parlay her Olympic expertise
into more bids and has since catered for the
U.S. Olympic teams in Athens and Turin.
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1996
ATLANTA: SUMMER
Barbara Nolan had been running her
metro Atlanta FASTSIGNS franchise for
12 years when she was invited to supply
signs for the Global Village at the 1996
Summer Olympic Games. With only six
employees at the time, her company was
really too small to be an Olympic vendor.
But years of networking and marketing
paid off, and two large Olympic contractors ended up subcontracting work to her.
In a six-week period she boosted revenue
by US$50,000.
shop stacked with as many letters, boards
and posts as possible.
Despite all her planning, Nolan ran into
trouble on the second day of the Olympics:
All of the signs warped in the hot Atlanta
sun. The games’ architects had insisted on
using thin, sea foam green PVC sheets for
the signs, even though Nolan had warned
them the material wouldn’t withstand the
heat.
“Within one day all the signage at the
Global Village had warped, and we had
Her company was really too small to be an Olympic vendor. But years
of networking and marketing paid off, and two large Olympic contractors ended up subcontracting work to her.
“It’s all about getting your name out
there and building relationships,” Nolan
said. She points out that the Olympic
Committee doesn’t even invite small business owners to bid on projects, and that
only those entrepreneurs with connections
to the big league get a slice of the pie.
That means that small businesses have
to align themselves with big players. And
that’s what Nolan did. For years, she had
been building relationships with the two
largest signage companies in the U.S.
Southeast, offering her services and passing on job leads that were too big for her.
She also made sure to market herself as a
woman-owned business, not because the
Olympic Committee necessarily requires
diverse vendors, but because it helped her
differentiate herself.
“You try to plug yourself in as many
places as you possibly can,” she said.
When the time came, Nolan won the
contract to make all of the signs that went
into the Global Village: hundreds of boards
that told visitors and athletes where to find
bathrooms, exits or dorms. To cope with
the volume, Nolan hired three more staffers and everyone worked around the clock.
To ensure she wouldn’t run out of supplies,
Nolan kept her then 1,400-square-foot
to bring it all back into the store,” said
Nolan, whose staff then recreated the
signs within a day on stiffer material.
But, Nolan didn’t get angry and didn’t
ask for a big surcharge to get the job
done.
“That’s what we’re here for. You never
gouge someone. That’s how you get a
solid reputation,” she said, adding that it’s
more important to keep a good relationship with her clients than make a quick
buck.
Her attitude worked, and after the
Olympics, the company that had subcontracted her gave her plenty more work.
Today she has grown her franchise into a
$1.3 million business.
She was also profiled in a local newspaper, and believes that her participation in
the Olympics helped establish her reputation as a reliable small business.
“When you’re in a city like Salt Lake
or Atlanta, the people in town know that
if you did work for the Olympics, you’re a
big deal, because it’s hard to get your foot
in the door.”
DALIA FAHMY is a freelance international
business writer.
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Meet Where?
S UB HEAD ?
CONTEST!
Correctly identify this venue and its location and you could win a
(PRODUCT) RED Special Edition iPod Shuffle. Global Fund’s (PRODUCT) RED initiative directs up to 50 percent of gross profits toward
African AIDS programs focusing on the health of women and children. One winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries.
Submit entries to jhensel@mpiweb.org by July 1, and find out the
answer and winner online at www.mpioneplus.org.
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