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WHEN WE MEET WE CHANGE THE WORLD
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July 2009 • Volume 2 • Number 7
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
Time Flies When
You’re Having Fun!
OH, HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED IN JUST ONE SHORT YEAR!
Just a year ago, One+ was still a secret about to be unveiled as MPI’s new
flagship publication, and I had just been announced as MPI’s new editor in chief.
So much has happened in the world, with MPI and with One+ in the past
year. This column is too short to hit on everything, so I’ll focus on what I know
best—One+.
We have successfully published 12 issues, and although there was some initial distress about the change from The Meeting Professional to One+, we have
since been inundated with rave reviews from MPI members and from our peers
in the publishing world (including, most recently, six American Society of Business Publication Editors’ Azbee Awards).
Ahead of most other publications, we introduced a digital component in
the form of the One+ digital flipbook and have more interactive digital options
on the way later this year that will increase the amount of content accessible
worldwide, 24/7.
We have ignited new conversations through our One+ editors’ PlusPoint
blog, my personal Twitter feed and a “Fans of MPI’s One+ magazine” Facebook page…and the list goes on.
Wee successfully lau
launched the One+EMEA edition, another
W
branded
digital publication in the One+ family directb
br
anded print and di
relevant content to our MPI members and other
ing focused, relevan
specifically in the Europe, Middle East and
industry leaders sp
Africa regions.
I’ve enjoyed this past year at MPI. I’ve connected with many
of you face to face and many others online. Together we have
made One+
One the premier magazine in the global meeting and event industry.
In the
t past year, the One+ team has constantly
evolved
evolv our content to fit the changing times—to
fit what
is important to you and your success,
w
and we have worked hard to provide the best
content
in the industry. Our success is based
con
on comments and suggestions made by you,
so please continue to tell us what you think.
Together
we can change the world!
T
COVER DESIGN Jeff Daigle, jdaigle@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
Chairwoman of the Board
Ann Godi, CMP, Benchmarc360 Inc.
Chairman-elect
Eric Rozenberg, CMP, CMM, Swantegy
Vice Chairman of Finance
Craig Ardis, CMM, Zimmer Inc.
Vice Chairman
Kevin Kirby, Hard Rock International
Vice Chairman
Sebastien Tondeur, MCI Group Holding SA
Immediate Past Chairman
Larry Luteran, Hilton Hotels Corp.
BOARD MEMBERS
Chuck Bowling, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
Matt Brody, CHSP, JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa
Paul Cunningham, IIMC International Information Management Corporation
Cindy D’Aoust, Maritz Travel Company
Luca Favetta, SAP SA
Chris Gasbarro, C3 llc
Caroline Hill, Eventful Solutions
Kevin Hinton, hinton+grusich
Issa Jouaneh, PENG MBA, American Express
Patty Reger, CMM, Johnson & Johnson Sales and Logistics Company LLC
David Scypinski, ConferenceDirect
Carl Winston, San Diego State University
Margaret Moynihan, CMP (MPI Foundation Board Representative), Deloitte
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.
MPI VISION: Build a rich global meeting industry community
GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS:
Dallas, TX
REGIONAL OFFICES:
Doha, Qatar
Ontario, Canada
Luxembourg
Singapore
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.
DAVID BASLER is editor in chief of One+. He
can be reached at dbasler@mpiweb.org. Follow
him at www.twitter.com/onepluseditor.
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One+ is a proud member of
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ISSUE
07
09
Design for the Future +72
The global meeting and event
industry is a constantly evolving
entity; it’s high time we collaborate
to direct the evolution of meeting
planners.
+72
The Language of Leadership +76
Ann Godi, CMP, embraces her new
role as MPI chairwoman at a crucial
stage in the timeline of the meeting
industry.
+78
Grow Your Recovery
Strategy +78
Preparing for the Inevitable
Economic Upswing
Tiger Ready to Leap Again +82
82
Challenging times are revealing
opportunities for Asian MICE
businesses to shine.
+82
Ambassador of the
New Breed +86
86
A perpetually inquisitive leader,
Creative Commons’ Joi Ito
looks beyond consensus reality
for business, communications
and cultural and technological
innovations.
Bridging the Gulf of
Perceptions +90
How the Gulf meeting industry is
coping in the wake of the current
economic crisis.
+76
+60
+56
+86
Powering Dreams +56
Instead of focusing merely on business,
attendees of the 2009 Cable Show chose
to donate some of their time and effort
toward leaving Washington, D.C., in better
shape than before they arrived.
National Treasures +60
In spite of the glitz and glamour,
planners, attendees and community
members had no trouble remembering
that valor and courage took center
stage at the 2008 Congressional
Medal of Honor Conference in Denver.
+90
Time to Deliver +64
How the XVI International AIDS
Conference got a human
face in Toronto.
+64
mpiweb.org
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ISSUE
07
09
CONVERSATION
In It Together +2
Editor’s note
The Energy of Many +12
IGNITION
Strong Growth in Asia
Pacific +46
Michael Tay
Global View
Global update from MPI
Impressions +14
Letters to One+
Overheard +16
Rumblings from the industry
Irrelevant +44
TP Tubes
INNOVATION
Agenda +19
Meetings in a Different
League +48
Jon Bradshaw
Reboot Your Brain
Unleash Your Creativity +52
Tim Sanders
Transform the World
+42
+24
Where to go, in person and online
Art of Travel +36
The latest in transportable
technology
RECOGNITION
Top Spots +22
New venues + re-openings
Focus On +24
Remembering Tony Carey
Spotlight +26
Industry leaders announce job
advancements
Your Community +38
Philadelphia leadership retreat,
CMM, IMEX-MPI Foundation Youth
Award, Chapter Leaders Forum,
sustainability in Canada
Meet Where? +112
Wow us with your knowledge
CO-CREATION
Hot Buzz +30
Train2Meet, Fairmont Scottsdale
explorers camp, MaXvantage,
Fair Trade tourism, top locations
for association meetings,
Thoughts+Leaders, carbon neutral
in Dublin, IMEX wrap-up, new
Disney attractions, Plus/Minus
+22
Making a Difference +40
Meet MPI Foundation Chairwoman
Margaret A. Moynihan, CMP
Connections +42
Planner + Magazine
mpiweb.org
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www.mpioneplus.org
online
+
+
Remembering Tony Carey
For the Love
of the Food
One+ honors the life of industry consultant, educator
and award-winning writer Tony Carey--who passed
away June 1--with exclusive online content including
personal accounts from his friends and a selection of
his award-winning columns.
Madrid offers a fun
array of uniquely Spanish
restaurants for dinearounds and group events.
Reaching Your Members
By Allan Lynch
Join a conversation about the
meeting and event industry with the
editors of One+ on their blog,
PlusPoint—consistently updated,
always relevant, sporadically funny.
The MPI San Diego Chapter launches a series of 24/7 educational podcasts and chapter news channels at www.sdmpi.org.
Complete issues of One+ are available
in digital flipbook and PDF formats!
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Contributors
KELVIN KING is a journalist and magazine
editor specializing in the Asia-Pacific region,
through which he travels frequently from his
base in Auckland, New Zealand. He has been
writing on MICE topics for more than 25
years, along with business travel, hospitality
industry development and management,
aviation and logistics. For several years, he ran
a consultancy that helped open four- and fivestar hotels throughout the region and worked
with national and regional tourist offices
on marketing strategies and new product
development.
ROB NICHOLAS
has worked in the
Gulf meeting and
event industry for
nine years, having
assisted in the development of the first
specialist publications
for regional meeting
and event planners.
These include the
bi-monthly meetme (Meet Middle East) magazine and annual
destination guides meetdubai, meetabudhabi, meetoman,
meetjordan, meetegypt, meetqatar, meetbahrain, meetmorocco and meetsaudiarabia, accessible online at www.
meetmiddleeast.com. Nicholas Publishing International (NPI)
also produces Concierge magazine and a number of titles
spanning leisure, tourism and real estate.
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QUINN NORTON embarked on a
life of gainful unemployment as a
freelance journalist and photographer three years ago. Before that,
she tried her hand as a systems
administrator, a waitress, a standup comic, a school teacher, a Web
designer, a technical writer and a
few other things best forgotten. So
far, writing has lasted the longest.
These days, Norton writes about
copyright, computer security, killer
robots, body modification and other
things that strike her fancy. She
is interested in the field of human
enhancement and regularly speaks
on the subject of body hacking,
the practice of employing medicine
and technology to augment natural
abilities.
Norton’s work has appeared in
Wired News and Make; she has
been featured on U.S. National
Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and in The Guardian.
ELAINE
POFELDT is a
journalist with
20 years of
experience. As
a senior editor
at FORTUNE
Small Business, where
she worked for eight years, she founded and ran
the magazine’s annual business plan completion and was twice nominated for the National
Magazine Award for her features. Now an independent journalist, she writes a column on small
business for Crain’s New York Business. Her
work has appeared in Inc., Good Housekeeping,
Marie Claire, Registered Rep, Working Mother
and other publications. She lives in Jersey City,
N.J., with her family.
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The Energy of Many
Shift Happens…Even to Us
One of the most over-used terms in our industry in
2009 has been “crisis.”
There is no doubt that we experienced a crisis—
suffering the effects of poor storytelling on our side
and political opportunism from government and media
pulpits. That crisis has left personal and professional
casualties that we are endeavoring as an industry to
heal and will continue to do so for some time.
But increasingly, what I believe our industry is now
struggling to come to grips with is not crisis but shift—
a shift in the natural business life cycle of our industry,
the likes of which we have never had to deal with.
For the last three to five years our industry has
increase, the result of
thrived with annual double-digit incr
from emerging econounprecedented economic growth fro
billions of dollars in
mies. This includes hundreds of billi
Universities began
new meeting/event infrastructure. U
management curriculum.
carrying meeting and event manage
20 percent. We were
Our membership grew more than 2
busy climbing our own stairway to heaven.
But all that glitters is not always gold. There was
shift going on around us, and the change
inside our
c
industry did not keep
pace with
k
about to happen in
what was abo
the world because
the rest of th
was so good.
business w
As recent as a year ago,
Business Baromour Bus
reported that the
eterr re
majority of members
maj
expected increasing
exp
business growth.
bu
Shift happened for all
Sh
the reasons we know,
th
and now we have an
an
opportunity to create
opp
new beginning for
a ne
next growth cycle.
the n
So what does shift
look like in the meeting and event industry?
We will become focused on driving business performance. In fact, one of the biggest shifts will be professionally aligning ourselves with learning professionals
and communication designers. Our value proposition
will increase as a result. Our own MPI Foundation
EventView study has been saying for years that meetings and events drive results. Opportunity knocks.
Sustainability is here to stay. Even in dire economic
conditions, businesses and governments are unwavering in their commitment to green because it’s good for
business. Organizations such as the U.S. Green Building
Council are experiencing record attendance (live and
virtual) at their events. Organizations and destinations that do not meet expectations and standards for
sustainability will not be successful. And the meeting
professional will play the pivotal role in translating
policy into business and destination activation.
Communities will look beyond commercial revenues
to measure their meeting and event industry success.
They will also look to profit from the intellectual
capital created and left behind from the gatherings of
researchers, scientists, financiers and teachers that come
together in a destination to make it better. This is how
and where meetings and events change worlds.
Technology is part of our shift, and the fusion of
social networking technology with meetings will only
enhance the value propositions of both platforms.
Richard Florida, writing in Who’s Your City?, offers the
value of how shift in our industry will make a difference: “Ideas flow more freely, are honed more sharply
and can be put into practice more quickly when innovators, implementers and financial backers are in constant
contact with one another in and outside of work.”
Shift is not to be feared. Now is our greatest opportunity to align our focus, our skills and story at the very
beginning of the next great business cycle of our world.
BRUCE MACMILLAN, CA, is president and CEO of MPI.
He can be reached at bmacmillan@mpiweb.org. Follow
him at www.twitter.com/BMACMPI.
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Impressions
Human Connections
[Re: “Be Excited,” June 2009] Hattie Hill’s leadership and
ability to think outside the box once again shines as the
chairwoman of the task force for the RISE Awards through
the selection of the Obama for Presidency Campaign. The
task force did an outstanding job. Without question, the
selection represents an excellent example of maximizing the
methods of communication and leveraging the power of
human connection. These are goals we should all hope to
reach with all of our meetings and events. They accomplished
their goal successfully on a much bigger stage.”
—Bob Kelley
Meetings Consultants Inc.
MPI Georgia Chapter
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
In the current economic
downturn, is the War for Talent
still a legitimate concern?
Why? Send us an e-mail at
editor@mpiweb.org.
More than Doom
and Gloom
May’s One+ issue was so refreshing. I read, scan and highlight the
publications that come into the
office and distribute them to my
managers. I try to find relevant
and interesting articles for my
managers to read; however,
with the economy in such a
downturn, all of the publications kept reporting on the
same depressing issue and I
started throwing out publications. But your May issue was
a pleasure to read and I look forward to many more.
—Elizabeth Allen
The Rimrock Resort Hotel
“The energy was high at this
year’s conference, and we will be
the leaders of tomorrow.”
—Lawrence Greene
Greene Classic Limousine
MPI Georgia Chapter
“The CLC presents great opportunities to collaborate on best
practices.”
—Beth Whitman Chitnis
Meeting Expectations
MPI Chicago Area Chapter
“After the social networking session, I went to my room and created a video for our chapter.”
—Melissa Benowitz, CMP
Let’s Meet Inc.
MPI Potomac Chapter
CLC Back Talk
MPI recently held its annual
Chapter Leaders Forum in Fort
Worth, and Associate Editor
Jason Hensel was on site at the
closing night reception. Here’s
what he overheard.
“The social media session was
scintillating. We’re all ready to
go back and change how we do
business.”
—Chrissy Ward, CAE
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists
MPI Chicago Area Chapter
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“This is my first CLC, and it’s an
amazing experience, especially
the lots of contacts.”
—Mary Ann Linder, CMP
The Soap and Detergent Association
MPI Potomac Chapter
“I truly loved the social networking session. What we learned in
it can apply to our personal and
professional lives.”
—Karen Hoch
People to People International
MPI Kansas City Chapter
“This is my fourth CLC, and it’s
the best one ever. The education has improved; there are
specific sessions and good
interactions. MPI has grown and
is more global. Europeans feel
comfortable.
—Roel Frissen
Parthen
MPI Netherlands Chapter
“CLC is a gift in this bad economy. I’m glad to be involved with
MPI, which has given me the
tools I need to do well in business. I’m especially excited about
MPI teaching us the language of
business.”
—PJ Hummel
PJ Hummel
MPI Washington State Chapter
“If personal feedback from
attendees is any indicator,
LeadNow was hugely successful on a number of levels. Most
remarkable for me were the
levels of cooperation and openness to enhanced partnerships
with headquarters from chapter
leaders.”
—Michael Owen
EventGenuity LLC
MPI Tennessee Chapter
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Overheard
Taking a Stand
“While I appreciate the offer, I am not interested in a handshake and a hello from President Obama. I am interested in
an apology and plan to undo the damage the president did.
The president should retract his reckless statement about
Las Vegas and make a public statement supporting business and tourist travel to Las Vegas.”
—Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons on his rejection of an offer to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in
May. The president was quoted earlier this year as discouraging business travel to Las Vegas.
A New View
Plan Ahead
Eco-Luxurious
“What is impossible to count
are the friendships that were
formed, the perspectives that
were broadened or the discoveries that were made about
a new culture and country [by
international visitors to the
U.S.]. But these, also, are the
benefits of a vibrant travel and
tourism industry.
—U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke at the U.S.
Travel Association’s International Pow Wow 2009
“The figures show that the
magnitude of a [tourism]
downturn could be 25-30
percent as a result of a
pandemic. We’re not talking
about H1N1 as it is now, but
if it mutates and a more violent wave hits causing a real
pandemic, it could cost 50-60
million jobs worldwide.”
—John Walker, chairman
of Oxford Economics, at the
Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Florianópolis, Brazil
“Becoming an LECS ecocertified hotel will be challenging and will require serious
commitment. In return, LECS
will help hoteliers operate
their facilities more efficiently
and sustainably, which will
likely reduce their long-term
operating costs and create
customer good will.”
—Peter D. Krahenbuhl, vice
president and cofounder
of Sustainable Travel
International on its new luxury
eco standard
Friendly Service
“London’s taxi drivers must
dedicate three years to completing the knowledge training to qualify as a London
taxi driver, and that commitment is vital to offering the
very best customer service.
This is what makes London’s
taxi service stand out from
New York, Paris and every
other major city.”
—John Thomas, chairman of the
Licensed Taxi Drivers Association,
on London’s receipt of the
Hotels.com Best Taxi award
Best of the Blogs
Contingency Plans
Posted by Brad A. Goldberg
Tampa Bay Area Chapter
I cannot read about an event crisis without
putting on my contingency planning instructor
cap. So when my local newspaper wrote up a
grand-opening-charity-event-gone-bad last week
for a national chain store, I mentally began
creating the contingency plan that they should
have had in place. Contingency planning failures and crisis management woes should
not be the subject of news reports or horror
stories told at association meetings.
Let Go & Clean Up
Posted by Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP
Arizona Sunbelt Chapter
A good friend of mine spoke at a meeting last
week. She was amazing. Except her materials
had a copyright on them from 2003. Buyers
depend on you to be here and now. Be smart
and get better. Go through your closet and
your files. Get rid of everything that worked
yesterday and transform it to meet the demands of today, or trash it. Using yesterday’s
ideas won’t work tomorrow. Which closet will
you start cleaning?
First Lady Encounters
Posted by David Basler
One+ Editor and Chief
I recently had a great opportunity to meet
former first lady Laura Bush at an awards
ceremony for the Maura Women Helping
Women Awards in Dallas. It was a great
opportunity—a great event helping a great
organization. And it was held at a truly
breathtaking venue…the Dallas Women’s
Museum at Fair Park.
▲
Find out what the editors of One+ think about the industry’s
hot trends and late-breaking news on the One+ blog,
PlusPoint. Share your thoughts at www.mpioneplus.org.
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Agenda
SEPT. 9-11 La Cumbre
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
The 20th annual La Cumbre debuts its hosted buyer program this year, offering registration refunds to buyers who meet a select set of criteria while
at the show. La Cumbre offers an intimate atmosphere of just 300 Americas
exhibitors and 500 international buyers. As an invitation-only event, Reed Exhibitions closely monitors the buyer-to-exhibitor ratio. Visit www.lacumbre.com.
SEPT. 17-20 FITE 2009
GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR
The International Tourism Fair in Ecuador is the country’s largest tourism
event with delegates from across the globe. Establish contact with a variety
of businesses, destinations and services, representing the four regions of
Ecuador. Visit www.fite.info.
SEPT. 22-25
PATA Travel Mart
HANGZHOU, CHINA
Find a range of destination marketers, hotel chains, travel organizations and
independent resorts at the annual Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart.
The event, which last year attracted more than 1,000 attendees, provides
buyers and sellers with 40 one-on-one appointment slots over six-and-a-halfday business sessions. Visit www.pata.com.
SEPT. 22-25
Top Resa
PARIS
Meet your contacts and build your network at the International French Travel
Market – Top Resa. The event is actually several exhibitions rolled into one,
catering to the leisure and business tourism sector, travel agents, producers,
tour and coach operators, the French MICE sector, the business travel industry,
meeting planners, incentives and events organizers and more. Visit www.iftm.fr.
Connected
REVERSE AUCTION
REVEAL YOUR PLANS
ASK ME?
Provide Conferencebids.com with a
city, and let the vendors go to work.
The Web site sets up reverse auctions, where sellers compete for the
business of a buyer (you). The site collects up to five bids from venues that
match your criteria. Then it shares the
pricing information with you, and you
decide if you want the bids released. If
yes, the site releases the detailed bids
and venue contact info to you for just
US$299.
Share personal and business travel
plans privately and exchange tips on
places to stay, eat and explore at
Dopplr.com. The Web site reminds you
of friends and colleagues who live in
the cities you’re planning to visit—and
those who, coincidentally, will be there
at the same time you will. Also, find
city-specific travel advice and tips from
seasoned travelers, or share your own
on the social atlas.
In Icelandic, urtak means “sample.”
At Urtak.com, you create any number
of questions and wait for people to
answer or search the database for
past questions. We’re not sure how
scientifically accurate the results will
be, but if you want to know what people think for free, this is probably the
easiest way to find out. Over 200,000
questions and counting…
mpiweb.org
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Top Spots
N E W VEN U ES + RE-O P ENING S
1.
1. Melbourne Convention
and Exhibition Centre
Built adjacent to the existing
Melbourne Exhibition Centre—and
creating Australia’s largest and most
advanced convention and exhibition
district—the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre opened
for business at the end of June.
The center’s environmental design
features a displacement ventilation
system and vast amounts of natural
light. It is the only convention
center in the world to hold a sixstar Green Star environmental
rating (awarded by the Green Building Council of Australia), and also
offers a state-of-the-art, 5,000-seat
plenary hall that can be divided into
three, self-contained, acoustically
separate theaters and an entrylevel foyer capable of playing host to
8,400 guests.
2. Pelham/Split Rock
Golf Course
New York City Events, the catering
sales arm of American Golf Corp.,
has completed its US$7 million renovation of the historic buildings at the
century-old Pelham/Split Rock Golf
Course. The Pelham golf course
was one of the first U.S. public
courses when it opened in 1901.
Today, its historic clubhouse has
been restored to original condition
and enhanced with state-of-the-art
amenities. Located in Pelham Bay
Park in the Bronx—between Manhattan and Westchester County, N.Y.—
Pelham/Split Rock offers a grand
banquet hall that can accommodate
up to 200, smaller rooms for more
intimate gatherings and a spacious
patio suitable for outdoor events.
22
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3. W Barcelona
The 473-room W Barcelona will
open in October. Located on the
Nova Bocana (the “new entrance”)
of the Port of Barcelona, the hotel
will be near the boardwalk La Barceloneta, the restaurants of Port Vell,
the beaches of Puerto Olimpico and
a short stroll from the cafes, shops
and nightlife options of Barcelona’s
Old Town and Las Ramblas. The
hotel’s offerings will include 10
meeting rooms, a rooftop bar, a
restaurant and a spa. Architect
Ricardo Bofill’s design of the W
Barcelona was inspired by the
sail of a ship, which has led to a
local reference of the building as “La
Vela” or “The Sail.”
2.
2.
3.
4. The Shangri-La’s Villingili
Resort and Spa, Maldives
The Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort
and Spa, Maldives opens this
month on Addu Atoll. All 142
standalone villas—from private
ocean retreats to tropical luxury
tree house villas with panoramic
views—feature indoor and outdoor
showers, private terraces leading
to the beach and either waterfront
or lush garden views. In the heart
of the natural island is the Village
Centre, which houses an eco-center
and a water sports facility featuring
surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling and
a variety of non-motorized water
activities. The Village Centre also
includes a freeform pool, two tennis
courts, dedicated indoor and outdoor spaces for children, boutiques
and an entertainment center.
2
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5
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4.
5.
4.
5. PGA National Resort
& Spa
6.
The PGA National Resort & Spa in
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., recently
completed a resort-wide restoration of all its 39,000 square feet
of meeting space plus the creation
of two new ballrooms: Bella Vista
and Bella Lago. The project began
with a transformation of the hotel’s
public spaces including a contemporary new lobby and a freeform
pool. The renovations included
a new, outdoor 5,000-squarefoot Honda Pavilion featuring
lake views. Each of PGA National’s
23 meeting rooms, including the
10,000-square-foot PGA Ballroom,
have been transformed from floor to
ceiling with new decor and state-ofthe-art technology.
6. The Ritz-Carlton,
Dove Mountain
Located in Marana, Ariz., The RitzCarlton, Dove Mountain will open
this fall with 250 guest rooms,
a full-service spa and five dining
options, as well as The Ritz-Carlton
Golf Club featuring a Jack Nicklaus
Signature course and venues for
meetings and events—including
ballrooms of 9,000, 5,000 and
2,100 square feet and five individual
function rooms. For groups desiring views of Dove Mountain and
its towering Saguaro cacti, the
pre-function space has windows
with a view of the nearby landscape. In addition, three outdoor
lawn areas offer 360-degree views
of the Tortolita Mountains.
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4
1
p022-023 Top Spots 0709.indd 23
mpiweb.org
23
6/16/09 9:44:09 AM
Focus On...
Tony Carey, meeting
industry consultant,
educator and writer,
passed away June 1.
Tony Carey
1939 - 2009
Charismatic, witty and always willing to help a friend, Carey served
in the British Army for 20 years
before embracing the conference
industry and opening his own
company, Campaign Management
Associates—which he sold in 2000
to embark on a third career as a
writer and teacher.
Carey wrote for many industry
magazines across the globe and
won several awards for his work
in MPI publications The Meeting
Professional and One+. A former
MPI board member, Carey trav-
“I inherited Tony as a
regular columnist for
M&IT when I joined
as editor in 1998.
The instinct of any
new editor is to get
rid of the old guard.
I soon realized that
dropping Tony would
be a very foolish mistake. What a writer:
witty, opinionated,
infuriating—never
boring. The secret
of Tony’s success lay
in unfailing curiosity,
undimmed enthusiasm and a genuine
passion for the
industry.”
“Over the years,
I’ve been fortunate
to share many encounters with Tony.
And every time I
would leave feeling
better than when I’d
arrived. After conference hours, we’d
wind up in the hotel
bar for a few laughs
and a nightcap. I
realized a couple
of years ago that
somehow Tony was
never around when
the tab came due.
I teased him about
that every time I
saw him.”
“Tony was always
present at the most
important events—
giving advice, regaling us with hilarious
stories and generally providing great
company. When I
first started to attend MPI events,
Tony often seemed
to be at my side—in
my first year on the
MPI Multicultural
Committee as ‘the’
fellow European, at
my first Leadership
Dinner and during
conferences around
the world.
—John Keenan of
M&IT magazine
—Michael Owen of
EventGenuity
—Carina Bauer of
IMEX
eled frequently, though he always
looked forward to touching down
on his home of Guernsey, where he
was considered a local celebrity.
Carey glowed with enthusiasm,
curiosity about the world and a
catchy, youthful manner and will
be well remembered as a dear
friend, colleague and industry
humorist. To honor his memory,
find below some memories from
his dearest friends, many of whom
also considered him a mentor and
advisor.
“Tony helped me find
new passion in my
life—the meeting
industry. Under his
mentorship, nothing
seemed impossible.
By setting high standards for himself,
Tony was a person
to look up to. His
whole life, he unselfishly shared his
knowledge and experience with others,
and I’ll do my best to
follow his example.”
—Darja Kalan
Milinovic, CMP, of
Lek a Sandoz
company
“I want to add to
the many accolades
about Tony or
‘Scarey,’ as he was
affectionately known
by many. Presenter,
writer, facilitator,
teacher with a zest
for networking,
Tony will be sorely
missed. His work
with young professionals and his very
personal writing
style are among his
most notable
legacies.”
—Paul Kennedy of
Reed Travel
Exhibitions
Read more memories of Tony Carey from his global colleagues as part of
a One+ Online Exclusive tribute at www.mpioneplus.org.
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Spotlight
The Hawai‘i Convention
Center welcomes back
Jim LaBadie, CASE, as
Midwest regional accounts
director, a position he held
from 2005 to 2006. Prior
to his re-appointment,
LaBadie was LA Inc.’s
Midwest region convention
sales director. He has
nearly 30 years
of experience in sales
and marketing.
The Dorchester hotel in London
has appointed four top-flight hospitality pros to its management
team: Ann Costelloe as manager of the new Dorchester Spa,
Rosanna Crawley (pictured)
as head of communications,
Renaud Gregoire as director
of food and beverage and Brian
Hughson as head chef of The
Grill.
The Philadelphia CVB has
named Nicole Bertrand, CMP
(pictured), as Northeast sales
manager and Kevin Richards
as national trade shows
director. Previously, Bertrand
worked as a senior sales
manager for the Philadelphia
Marriott Downtown, and, in
2008, she was named to
the Marriott International
Chairman’s Circle for sales
achievement. Richards formerly
worked at Reed Travel
Exhibitions, most recently
as group vice president for
international brand development
in Norwalk, Conn.
Sandie Dawe has accepted the
position of CEO for VisitBritain, the
national tourist office for England,
Scotland and Wales. In 2008,
Dawe was honored by Queen
Elizabeth II with The Most Excellent
Order of the British Empire for her
service to tourism. She previously
served as deputy chief executive
for VisitBritain.
The Shreveport-Bossier (La.) Convention and
Tourist Bureau has named Dianna Douglas as
regional convention sales manager. Douglas’
primary responsibility will be booking citywide
convention and meeting business of 450 or
more room nights. Prior to joining the CVB,
Douglas worked as the regional convention
sales manager for the Ford Park Event Center
in Beaumont, Texas.
Visit the careers blog at www.mpiweb.org by
selecting “community” and then “blogs”
to tell MPI about your recent job change.
26
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07.09
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HOT BUZZ
+
Continuing Education
Eli Gorin, CMP, of gMeetings Inc. has launched
an education and coaching cooperative featuring
some of the most experienced names in the
meeting industry as lead trainers in their respective industry segments.
A first-of-its-kind collaboration of experts,
Train2Meet provides instruction in risk management (Brad A. Goldberg), international meetings
(Carol Krugman, CMP, CMM), technology
(James Hogg), content delivery and ethics (Joan
Eisenstodt), contracts and legal (Tyra Hilliard,
CMP), special events (Gloria Nelson, CSEP) and
strategic meetings management (Michele Wierzgac, CMM) as well as an introduction to meetings (Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, CMM). Individual
training programs are tailored to client needs,
and future programs will include face-to-face and
virtual seminars featuring a variety of topics
that affect the way business is done in the industry.
Top Locations
For Association Meetings
CITIES
1.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Paris and Vienna
Barcelona
Singapore
Berlin
Budapest
Amsterdam
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Stockholm
Seoul
Lisbon
Copenhagen
Sao Paulo
Prague
14. Beijing
15. Athens, Buenos
Aires and Istanbul
18. Bangkok
19. London and Tokyo
COUNTRIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
U.S.
Germany
Spain
France
U.K.
Italy
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Brazil
Japan
Canada
Netherlands
China
Austria
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Portugal
Republic of Korea
Sweden
Finland
Greece
Belgium
—International Congress and Convention Association
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Equitable
Results
Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa
is developing draft trade standards
for monitoring the flow of money and
other fair trade issues within the
international tourism value chain,
with an initial focus on the German
and Swiss markets. Draft trade
standards will be developed collaboratively with partner organizations
in the two countries, including tourism development organizations, tour
operators, fair trade experts and national fair trade licensing initiatives.
Travel packages incorporating
these standards will then be developed by tour operators, independently audited and marketed to consumers to test demand for fairly traded
travel and identify target market
segments. Depending on results,
the pilot will then be extended to
additional source markets such as
the Netherlands and the U.K. The
program will specifically address
standards for transparent pricing,
timely payment, equitable management of allotments and cancellation
fees, carbon off-sets, risk sharing
and anti-corruption policies.
+
Summer Adventure
Children will navigate a GPS to discover desert
creatures, take photo safaris and meet real-life
explorers this summer as the Fairmont Scottsdale
launches its National Geographic Explorers Camp
for overnight guests. Ongoing through Sept. 7, the
camp offers discovery-based activities for children
ages 5 to 12 with half- and full-day sessions.
Campers trek on a Desert Discovery GPS treasure hunt, go on a Photo Safari, have fun at a
Geo Bowl geography bee and play on gigantic,
highly detailed maps of the continents. Best of all,
eight world-renowned National Geographic explorers—including Mireya Mayor (pictured)—will share
stories of their adventures on select Saturdays.
New Treasury Rules Don’t Harm Meeting Marketplace
In mid June, the U.S. Treasury
Department issued its long-awaited
new rules for companies that received
taxpayer assistance, and despite
early criticism of corporate events
and incentives, the regulations do not
further harm the meeting marketplace.
A new pay czar will enforce this and
other policies that regulate executive
compensation. The favorable measure
comes after months of discussions
between the U.S. Travel Association and
President Barack Obama’s administration
and the industry’s full-court press on the
value of meetings, events and incentives.
In December, a group of the industry’s
flagship organizations (including MPI)
appointed U.S. Travel to lead efforts in
Washington, D.C. The group also agreed
to fund a 12-to 18-month study of the
country’s meeting industry. Two months
later, at MeetDifferent in Atlanta, the
coalition unveiled a set of proposed
guidelines for meetings and events at
companies that received government
dollars.
As for the rules issued by the
Treasury Department last month,
there will be a 90-day period for
public comment. Visit www.meetings
meanbusiness.org and MPI’s www.
meetingindustrycrisiscenter.org for
sample letters to your customers about
the importance of meetings as well
as letters to your government officials
endorsing the new policy.
Complete Oversight
Two leading industry organizations have announced a new alliance called MaXvantage,
which will provide strategic meetings management services for the entire travel portfolios of client companies. In the face of heightened scrutiny into spending on corporate
meetings and events, the alliance will leverage the combined strengths of American
Express Business Travel and Maritz Travel by
providing an enhanced level of transparency,
control and insight.
“Executives know that meetings, events
and incentive travel are critical components
to executing their business strategies, but
these activities have been under tremendous
scrutiny since last fall,” said Christine Duffy,
president and CEO of Maritz Travel. “MaXvantage is designed to enable corporations to
feel confident continuing their investment in
these highly valued programs.”
mpiweb.org
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6/24/09 2:27:36 PM
HOT BUZZ
Thoughts+Leaders
What past success do you
think will make a comeback
in the next 12 months?
Nick Romano
President
SignUp4
With the economic downturn affecting the
meeting industry so harshly, we’ve seen the
value of having excellent customer service
more than ever. It takes more than just having great strategic meetings management
software. The bottom line is that you have to
be easy to work with if you’re going to keep
your clients. We’ve accomplished this by
Ezzat Coutry
Southeast
Regional Vice
President
The Ritz-Carlton Co.
Flexibility is a business success
that is making a huge comeback and will continue to do so
in the coming year. In this
business environment, it is
more important than ever that
we listen to planners and work
to come up with solutions that
accommodate their sometimeslimited resources.
For example, The Ritz-Carlton recently rolled out per-person pricing, which allows planners, whether they are
experienced or occasionally
organize meetings, to stay
within their budgets while still
holding their meetings at The
Ritz-Carlton hotels or resorts
of their choice. In addition, The
Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort,
Rose Hall, Jamaica has introduced a group all-inclusive package, a business success that we also implemented following
Sept. 11, 2001. We are continually innovating to exceed our
customers’ expectations and meet their changing needs.
32
one+
+
giving our clients unlimited access to experts
who use our software every day. Our client
services team is extremely knowledgeable on
our systems. They work with development,
test each product and even teach best practices classes at SignUp4 University.
This strategy has really paid off for SignUp4. Our renewal rate has been more than
93 percent for years, and our clients tell us
it’s because of our outstanding customer
service.
Mike Mason
Senior Vice President of Sales
Gaylord Hotels
The overall trend we’re seeing is
a back-to-basics approach to
meetings and group gatherings at our hotels, including a
re-kindled emphasis on networking as a key aspect of meeting attendee expectations. Groups are working harder to
keep people together by planning events around conversation and interaction, such as longer breaks, receptions that
start and end earlier and less elaborate entertainment in
lieu of background music for conversational purposes.
Another example is a renewed interest in health; the
stress of the economy has more people looking to eat
healthier and work out more, probably because they feel
it’s something they can control. The gyms at our hotels
have never been busier, and events are ending early so
attendees can get more sleep.
Presentations are changing too, having turned from
high-tech power points with embedded multi-media elements
into town-hall style gatherings with a few bar stools, key
executive dialogue and flip charts. Bells and whistles have
been deemed unnecessary and ineffective as today’s leadership strives to be more approachable to their constituencies.
And last but not least, meetings themselves are making
a much-deserved comeback as a critical strategy to ensure
readiness for the predicted economic ramp-up in early
2010. Several companies that cancelled all of their meetings in 2009 are now re-scheduling them for the second
half of the year.
07.09
p030-034 Hot Buzz 0709.indd 32
6/24/09 2:32:11 PM
IMEX Bleeds Green
IMEX continued to assert its
environmental leadership in the
global meeting industry with a
number of new green initiatives
at its 2009 event May 26-28
in Frankfurt. Spurred by the
completion of its first independent environmental audit,
IMEX introduced plant silk
lanyards, biodiesel courtesy buses, food reuse
programs and sustainably
sourced bags and printed
material. The trade show
also presented green
workshops twice daily in
its Corporate Responsibility Centre. According to
the audit by The Carbon Consultancy, IMEX reduced its
per-delegate carbon emissions
output by 6.3 percent last
year, in addition to cuts in
travel emissions and waste.
Meanwhile, IMEX 2009
saw a record number of represented countries (157), more
than 3,700 hosted buyers and
more than 5,100 unique visitors for a total of nearly 9,000
attendees in three days. The
meetings and incentive travel
show also welcomed 23 politicians and 60 industry leaders
from all over Europe to its
seventh annual Politicians’ Forum, designed to improve communication and understanding
between the meeting industry
and governments.
To increase the corporate
reach of the industry, IMEX
and the Joint Meetings Industry Council launched Meetings
for Success, which aims to
consolidate and intensify the
sector’s approach to lobbying
senior business directors about
the positive impact of meetings, incentive travel and live
events on the corporate bottom line.
Of course, onsite professional education continued to
grow at this year’s show with a
total 70 seminars, workshops
and forums taking place in
both English and German.
Speakers included a representative from live events agency
Vok Dams, medal-winning cyclist Joey Kelly, international
analyst and researcher Elliott
Masie and meeting industry
trends expert Rohit Talwar.
Carbon Neutral Center
The Convention Centre, Dublin has announced plans to
be the first carbon-neutral international convention center. The net impact of the building’s construction on the
environment has been calculated at zero. Still under
construction, the center consists of low-carbon cement,
and officials offset all unavoidable carbon emissions by
investing in carbon credits. The venue has also committed to long-term environmental sustainability in accordance with ISO 14001 and will seek accreditation as
soon as the building becomes operational on Sept. 1,
2010.
The ISO 14001 standard helps organizations minimize negative environmental affects. To meet the criteria, the Dublin centre will provide recycling, use a sustainable energy supplier and integrate sustainable
Group Disney
The Disneyland Resort in
Anaheim, Calif., will unveil
several major attractions
and enhancements in the
coming months. Disney’s
World of Color (pictured) at
the California Adventure
theme park will debut in
June 2010 with spectacular water effects, colorful
lighting and dramatic music.
The nightly 25-minute show
will feature high-resolution
images projected on a
40-foot-tall curtain of water
that is wider than a football
field, 1,200 fountains and
pyrotechnic and laser effects. The viewing area will
accommodate up to 9,000,
and private group viewing
locations and show buyouts
will be available. Other new
entertainment options include a Little Mermaid
attraction (2011) and a
12-acre Cars Land (2012).
A 2.5-acre expansion of
Disney’s Grand Californian
Hotel & Spa, scheduled for
completion late this year,
+
will add more than 200
hotel rooms and 50 vacation villas to the property.
Disney’s California Adventure Park also offers the
new, 2,500-square-foot
Vineyard Room for groups.
It is surrounded by vineyards that invoke the lush
landscape of California’s
wine country and is suitable
for events of up to 125.
Re-imagined rooms at
the Disneyland Hotel will
debut in early 2010 with
contemporary décor and
business-friendly amenities.
Upgraded accommodations
will be introduced in phases, with all 969 guest
rooms scheduled for completion by 2012. The hotel’s
1,600-square-foot Mickey
Mouse Penthouse is now
available for meeting VIPs
and hospitality functions.
The suite incorporates a
stylish and sophisticated
Mickey Mouse décor and
offers impressive park
views.
systems—such as a thermal wheel heat recovery system and an ice storage thermal unit (which will air condition the entire building). In addition, international visitors will have an opportunity to offset their carbon
emissions from air travel with a carbon calculator on
the center’s Web site.
mpiweb.org
p030-034 Hot Buzz 0709.indd 33
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6/24/09 2:33:39 PM
HOT BUZZ
Green Sheets
European Trends
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has launched Green
Sheets, providing quick access to green information
for every hotel and resort in its collection. For example, at The Fairmont San Francisco, the Green Sheet
informs planners that not only does the culinary
team purchase ingredients from within a 150-mile
radius of the hotel, meeting planners can select
hemp linens and sustainable centerpieces for their
events. The Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda
notes that collection of rainwater from the rooftop
for potable use is stored below ground in a 1 million
gallon storage tank.
Business travel will continue to be the hardest-hit travel
sector, according to predictions by the European Travel
Commission. Corporate profits will remain weak into
2010, but in addition to the need to cut costs, corporations are increasingly sensitive to public criticism of companies that have been bailed out. The pressures on business travel are expected to have a growing impact
on airline and hotel premium rate business.
Digital Reads
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Inc. now provides guests with access to
a branded newsstand, offering digital
magazines powered by digital publishing
firm Zinio. The newsstands will feature
select single issues for guests to enjoy
during their stays at all Element and
aloft hotels and participating Four
Points by Sheraton properties.
Available titles will be based on
location.
Air Vegetarian
Sta
Starting
this spring, passengers on SWISS flights in
all th
three classes can enjoy meatless dishes thanks to
ap
partnership
ar
between the airline and the renowned
Hiltl vegetarian restaurant. Restaur
Hilt
Restaurateur Rolf Hiltl
delicacies including
has
s created a menu of veggie delica
spinach tagliatelle
tagliatell with artichoke
and saffron
saffro feta sauce and
vegetable
vegeta
paella with
eggplant
eggp
and red
paprika.
pa
The Hiltl
brand
b
launched in
Zurich
Z
in 1898,
when
w
the company
opened
the first
o
vegetarian
v
restaurant
ta
in Europe.
Now known beyond
Switzerland’s
Switze
borders
as a gourmet
gour
temple, the
family-owned Hiltl
is run by a
H
fourth generation of ffamily members.
34
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Economic Woes
A new study released today by ASAE & The Center for
Association Leadership shows that association CEOs are
pessimistic about the impact of the economy on their
organizations. According to the research, two-thirds of
executives report that both revenue from membership
and overall revenue will decline in the coming year. This
suggests that associations don’t believe non-dues revenue will make up expected declining membership.
Decreasing Attendance
According to a recent study by
VirtualEdge.org, 67 percent of
professionals responsible
for events report a
drop in overall attendance. The study
also found that 83
percent see the
need to add virtual
elements to their
meetings and events.
While the major focus
is on travel and other
cost reductions placed
on attendees, another major driver is the reductions that event and meeting producers are
seeing on their event and overall budgets.
07.09
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0709_035.indd 35
6/5/09 9:13:21 AM
ART
of Travel
Only you can open
this bag. The new
BioCase from
Hayes USA features
fingerp
fingerprint technology
th
that unlocks only
wh
when memorized
finge
fingerprints
access
the case. Made of
polycarbonate,
the cases
are nearly
indestructible,
and the lock
mechanism
features a
brushed satin
metallic finish.
The cases will
be available
this summer
from several
o
online retailers.
(US$1,199,
HeysUSA.com)
New Earphones
Offer Superior
Sound Quality
The new Ultimate
Ears 7
700 noiseisolating e
earphones
offer super
superior sound
without cramping
your style
style. And unlike ot
other in-ear
earphones Ultimate
earphones,
Ears 700 u
use a custom-tuned dual-artom-tuned,
mature mic
micro-design
that deliv
delivers highly
accura
accurate sound
rep
reproduction
in a compact
fram
frame—each
earphone
is smaller
tha
than a dime.
Choose from an
assortment of ear
cushion sizes or use
foam cushions (all
included) for optimum
comfort, fit and seal.
(US$229.99,
UltimateEar.com)
Fingerprint
Lock Secures
Your Case
Travel With
Your Blue-ray
Disc Player
Don’t leave quality
entertainment at
home. Panasonic
has introduced the
world’s first portable
Blu-ray disc player.
The DMP-B15
provides the ultimate,
high-definition Blu-ray
experience on an
8.9-inch LCD screen.
The player offers
Internet accessibility,
a three-hour
rechargeable battery
and an SD memory
card slot that allows
you to view and share
digital photos and HD
video. (US$799.95,
Panasonic.com)
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07.09
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Your Community
CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT
Global Partners
The MPI Philadelphia Area Chapter opted to
turn its annual leadership retreat into a truly
remarkable team- and community-building
experience this year, installing toilets and
cisterns, a 275-gallon rainwater collection
tank and stainless-steel sinks at a two-room
schoolhouse outside Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic.
In addition to chapter business and goal
setting, retreat attendees ensured a better
education experience for 65 children ages 5
to 11 in a school with no running water or
electricity. The experience began with a tour
of Maria’s House, a typical Dominican home
in the country, where attendees gained insight into the country’s standard of living and
also tasted a range of garden-grown fruits
and homemade coffee. Then, attendees
visited the Escuela Camilo Castillo school
and got down and dirty, excavating rocks
and removing rubbish from the schoolyard
in preparation for the installation of the new
toilets and water collection system.
Attendees also presented the children
with a variety of school supplies—including
markers, construction paper, notebooks and
paint—and were rewarded with songs from
the countryside and warm smiles.
A Bid at Success
Miguel Neves has earned the inaugural IMEX-MPI
Foundation Youth Award after winning an International University Challenge for which students
at the IMEX Future Leaders Forum created a bid
for a gala dinner at the MPI event of their choice.
Bids were judged for creativity, detail, sustainability,
marketability and presentation, and contenders
presented their bids in front of live juries—first at
their regional MPI events and subsequently at the
IMEX exhibition in Frankfurt (held May 26-28).
Neves proposed a gala at the MPI European
Meetings and Events Conference for 2014 in
his hometown at the Estoril (Portugal) Congress
Centre (which received the 2009 IMEX Green
Exhibitor Award).
The gala dinner featured beachfront canapés
and a sailing excursion on 16th century caravela
replicas. Guests would then feast at Portugal’s
most prestigious monastery, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, while jesters, musicians and artists provided
entertainment. A guest speaker would tell attendees of historic
meetings that changed the world and detail how meetings today
will change the future. World-renowned music star Mariza would
end the evening with a traditional fado.
The youth award marks the newly consummated global
partnership between IMEX and the MPI Foundation, a reflection
of their commitments to young talent and to providing opportunities for personal and professional development for future industry
leaders. Neves works for the London office of SYNAXIS Meetings
& Events.
Visit the One+ magazine blog, PlusPoint, at
www.mpioneplus.org to see a list of meeting professionals
who received their CMM certifications this spring.
38
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Got a Minute?
MPIWeb.org now processes transactions in the
Canadian dollar and euro in addition to the U.S. dollar. Conveniently and easily renew your membership
online. And remember, MPI members can realize
exclusive discounts on more than 100 books and the
other items at the MPI Store (www.mpiweb.org/
Store.aspx). Search by word or product category and
find literature on meeting planning, networking, social
media, leadership, industry certifications and more.
Also purchase five- to 30-year MPI anniversary lapel
pins for just US$12.
CMM
Career Advancement
Earn your Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) this fall
to enhance your strategic decision-making abilities and deliver
meetings and events that drive organizational success. The next
CMM program will be held Oct. 24-29 in Dallas. Applications
will be accepted through Sept. 12, and registration will be
available through Sept. 18. The five-day program is designed for
management-level meeting professionals with a minimum 10 years
experience in the industry. Only 56 applicants will be accepted, so
apply today at www.mpiweb.org.
07.09
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6/23/09 10:09:32 AM
Chapter Leaders Converge
tured) delivered a winning morning
keynote Saturday, sharing her
vast knowledge of social media
platforms and integrating practical
tools for engaging with members
and clients online. Later, Jeff Hurt
and Sterling Raphael led two social
JOWDY PHOTOGRAPHY
More than 300 chapter leaders descended on the Omni Fort
Worth Hotel in mid June intent
on learning new ways to energize
volunteers, employ social media,
apply for grants, gain new partnerships and plan for the future.
Speaker and author Bryan
Dodge played keynote for the
chapter leader conference on Friday, June 12, advocating bravery
among leadership and encouraging
chapter officials to “take bullets”
for their membership. Believe in
yourself, he urged, the reason you
are here is because others already
believe in you.
The conference wasn’t all
cerebral, of course. Social media
expert Amber MacArthur (pic-
networking panels for the practical application of MacArthur’s
concepts. Other breakout sessions
offered information on leadership
succession training, marketing and
research, conflict resolution, communications, finance and the MPI
Global Strategy.
Meanwhile, Fort Worth proved
itself an able host. The Omni fêted
chapter leaders with a Westernthemed soiree featuring saddle
seats, human statues and a
lobster-and-cocktails feast. Chapter
leaders posed in front of a green
screen and received faux covers
of One+ with their photos on the
front. On Saturday evening, the
Fort Worth CVB bused attendees
to the Stockyards National Historic
District for a lavish Country &
Western barbeque featuring music
act 3 Fools on 3 Stools. Later,
chapter leaders witnessed live bull
riding at iconic Billy Bob’s Texas, a
former stockyard now considered
the world’s largest honky tonk.
Many closed the evening with a
late-night trip to Sundance Square
in Fort Worth’s historic downtown.
Content and networking at the
annual event awed attendees. “My
head is spinning, because I learned
so much,” said Meredith Martini
of the MPI Georgia Chapter. Gijs
Verbeek of the MPI Netherlands
Chapter added that “lives will
never be the same.” “The Chapter
Leaders Conference is expanding
our global horizons,” extolled Alisa
Peters, CMP, CMM, of the MPI
Chicago Area Chapter. And Carlos
Pelham, CMP, of the MPI Potomac
Chapter said it was the best forum
he has attended. “MPI really listened to what leaders needed and
delivered quality programs that we
can immediately implement.”
The event culminated Sunday
SPONSORS
Title Sponsors
Irving CVB
MPI Foundation
Mexico Tourism Board
Event Sponsors
CVent
Executive Coach
Fort Worth CVB
Fusion Productions
Freeman
Jowdy Photography
Omni Hotels
pc/nametag
PSAV
Rentsys
morning as leaders broke into
groups by chapter to envision
strategic plans for the future. Led
by Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP;
Carol Norfleet, CMP, DMCP; and
Michael Owen, groups shared their
findings with each other and discovered new and improved ways
to reach, teach and elevate their
members. Presentations from the
LEADNOW summit are available
on the new MPI Chapter Leaders
Community site at http://mpi.
memberfuse.com/mpi. The
conference was sponsored by the
MPI Foundation.
Leading the Way
MPI has launched its ECOS blueprint in Canada to support sustainability
in local communities. The pilot project will build connections to local and
global marketplaces and recognize that sustainable communities lead to
sustainable organizations. ECOS derives from the Greek ekos, meaning
home or earth (think economy and ecology), evoking the triple bottom line
of people, planet and profit.
The new program will focus on food, water, shelter and education, and
it supports MPI’s commitment to the U.N. Global Compact, an initiative
for businesses to align operations and strategies with 10 universally
accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and
anti-corruption.
And, according to Elizabeth Henderson, CMM, CMP, director of CSR
for MPI, ensuring the sustainability of communities ensures the longevity
of business and creating positive community profiles facilitates acceptance
and recognition of the meeting industry. Upon successful completion of
the pilot project in Canada, it will be rolled out to other chapters globally.
mpiweb.org
p038-040 Community Foundation 0709.indd 39
39
6/24/09 3:20:57 PM
Making a Difference
25 Years: Same Goals,
New Strategies
As the MPI Foundation celebrates its 25th
anniversary, incoming Chairwoman Margaret A.
Moynihan, CMP, notes that while the nonprofit
has grown exponentially since its beginning in
1984, its mission to bring success to the community through innovative knowledge and rich
relationships has never wavered.
“We give our membership what it wants and
needs through chapter and individual scholarships, industry research such as EventView and
education programs such as the CMP Online
Study Guide,” Moynihan said. “The MPI Foundation has raised more than US$13 million and
re-invests it every day into relevant programming, projects and services that benefit the
entire meeting industry.”
Moynihan’s return to MPI leadership marks
an evolution in her career path and speaks to
her faith in the role the MPI Foundation holds in
the future of the community and the industry.
About seven years ago, Moynihan planned to
slow down her volunteer work within MPI—after
some 25 years of service. But Charlotte St.
Martin and countless other members urged
her to reconnect through the MPI Foundation.
Moynihan says her calling and purpose within
the organization have changed. “My message
is personal now,” she said. “It’s a message of
involvement. It’s really simple: unless you get
involved and donate your time and your resources, you’re not going to get back what you
are looking for. If you do give, it will come back
to you again and again.”
Now, the new chairwoman has made it
her mission to garner support for the MPI
Foundation through the MPI community and its
chapters. During the 2008-2009 fiscal year,
the foundation awarded more than $173,000
in chapter grants. And she encourages members to contact her directly to discuss how their
chapters can help at mmoynihan@deloitte.com.
Did You Know?
The MPI Foundation launched its
celebrated Small Business Leadership
Program in May 2008 and has already
benefited from more than $150,000 in
donations. In return for their contributions, small business owners receive free
conference registrations, mailing lists,
MPIWeb.org marketing opportunities
and more.
To contribute to the
MPI Foundation, visit
www.mpifoundation.org.
FOCUS ON FOUNDATION
May 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
Omni Hotels
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
The Venetian
Wyndham Hotels
Gold Donors
American Express
AV Concepts
Bloomington CVB
HelmsBriscoe
Maritz
MGM Mirage
ProActive
San Antonio CVB
Freeman
Silver Donors
Aimbridge Hospitality
Anaheim CVB
Aramark
Atlanta CVB
The Broadmoor
Encore Productions
Fort Worth CVB
The Greenbrier
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
hinton+grusich
LA Inc.
LXR
Meet Minneapolis
40
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Millennium Hotels
Park Place Entertainment
Pier 94
PRA
PSAV
Puerto Rico CVB
St. Louis CVB
Weil & Associates
Bronze Donors
Associated Luxury Hotels
Benchmark Hospitality
Destination Hotels & Resorts
Dolce
Experient
Gaylord Opryland
Global Events Partners
Hard Rock International
Harrah’s Entertainment
HelmsBriscoe
Accor Hospitality
PC Nametag
Philadelphia CVB
SearchWide
Seattle CVB
Walt Disney World Resorts
Walt Disney Swan and
Dolphin
Wynn
Small Business Donors
4th Wall Events
Best Meetings
Concepts Worldwide
Creative Meetings and Events
Dianne B. Devitt
Kinsley & Associates
Landry & Kling & Seasite
Meetingjobs
Meeting Revolution
Meeting Site Resource
One Smooth Stone
Song Division
Swantegy
SYNAXIS Meetings & Events
Inc.
Special Donors
Blumberg Marketing
Boca Resorts
Carol Krugman, CMP, CMM
CVent
Dave Scypinski
David DuBois, CMP, CAE
David Gabri
Folio Fine Wine Partners
George P. Johnson
Jonathan T. Howe, Esq.
Katie Callahan-Giobbi
Ken Sanders
Kevin Olsen
Little Rock CVB
Mark Sirangelo
Pasadena CVB
Production Plus Inc.
SAS Institute
Visit Raleigh
Friends of MPI
7th Wave Communication
Balance Design
Beverly W. Kinkade, CMP,
CHME
C. James Trombino, CAE
Didier Scaillet
Gaylord Palms
Gaylord Texan
Hattiel Hill, CMM
Hattie Hill Enterprises
Helen Van Dongen, CMP,
CMM
Hello Florida! / Hello USA!
Jerry Wayne
Joe Nishi
Interactive Visuals
Ivan Carlson
Leadership Synergies
Linda Swago
Marianne Demko Lange,
CMP, CMM
Melvin Tennant, CAE
Michael Beardsley
Mitchell Beer, CMM
National Speakers Bureau
Vito Curalli
William Gilchrist
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 Donor
The Conference Publisher
D.E. Systems Ltd.
Destination Halifax
Direct Energy Centre
IncentiveWorks
Tourisme Montreal
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 CORPORATE
Heritage Club
EIBTM
IMEX
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Gold Key Donors
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Malaga CVB
The Rezidor Hotel Group
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
VisitDenmark
EIBTM
Silver Partner Donors
ExpoForce
RefTech
Bronze Friend Donors
Amsterdam RAI
Hotels van Oranje
Ince&Tive
Visit London
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Three Star
David Avis
Paul Cody
Fellow
Susan Fox
Gavin Houston
Gloria Landow
Chris Meyer
Helene Moberg
Bryan Quinan
Elizabeth Wada
Diamond Club
MCI
Platinum Key Donors
BTC International
07.09
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WHO:
Connections
Lise Backby Moberg,
TUR
Planner + Magazine
Roger Kellerman,
Meetings International
“This is not a hope. It’s what I’m
going to do,” Roger Kellerman
fires into the phone from his office
in Ystad, less than an hour’s drive
southeast of Malmö, Sweden.
Determination and confidence saturate
his tone, and no doubt he will change the
world—or, at the very least, the meeting industry world. Kellerman is among a handful
of visionaries who have fervently urged Swedish tourism officials for years to recognize
the economic value of meetings and events.
And, in response, the industry has begun to
flourish.
But Kellerman’s vision is not complete. He
speaks passionately of his new project: Meeting Industry Week. Three years ago, he partnered with tourism trade show TUR to create
one of the country’s largest meetings marketplaces. The event started as a one-day affair,
but has already blossomed into a three-day
trade and education event running alongside
TUR, which has been an established and wellrespected trade event for 25 years and attracts
more than 50,000 annual visitors.
Kellerman’s Meetings@TUR project has
only just begun, though, as the well-known
magazine publisher blueprints his expansion
of the program to eventually dominate a fiveday week. And TUR Marketing Manager Lise
Backby Moberg says she’s ready for whatever
Kellerman throws her way. “Roger told us we
had to invest in the meetings market, and so
we did,” she laughed, knowing that nothing
about her industry colleague is as simple as it
seems—including Meetings@TUR.
When trade show officials approached
him to help them expand into the meeting sec-
42
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EVENT:
TUR, a Scandinavian travel,
tourism and meetings fair
Swedish Exhibition Centre
March 19-22
tor, Kellerman didn’t take long to enlist in the
project. “Immediately I said to myself, ‘Yes,
this is a good thing,’” he said. And he says the
show seamlessly executed its new meetings
focus.
In its infancy, the program was simple: a
day reserved for seminars, guest speakers and
awards. But attendees wanted more. “We
received lots of positive feedback, and interest just kept growing—as did the number of
07.09
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6/16/09 11:17:29 AM
participating partners. So we felt that 2009
would be ideal for a full-scale drive,” Backby
Moberg said.
This year, she created a new exhibit concept for the fledgling event, eschewing pipes
and drape for couches and settees. “The meeting industry has been longing for something
new, and we wanted to encourage networking,
allow people to relax and speak with their
colleagues about new business opportunities,”
Backby Moberg said. And, of course, there
was the cost-savings for the 70-odd suppliers
who didn’t have to create elaborate exhibits to
attract new buyers.
“It was a creative and stimulating meetings environment,” Backby Moberg said.
“We made it easier and cheaper to take part.
It doesn’t have to cost so much to exhibit—a
simple high table will suffice.”
Meanwhile, the two recruited a who’s
who list of speakers, keynotes and presenters,
representing a bevy of international industry
leaders including leadership guru Paul Bridle,
Elling Håmsö of the European ROI Institute
and Johan Johansson of locally based Fivestarday. In fact, Wednesday’s dedicated Association Meetings and Corporate Meetings days
attracted nearly 200 attendees eager to learn
about the future of the industry in Sweden and
across the globe.
And to honor that burgeoning industry,
Kellerman’s magazine, Meetings International,
presented its annual meeting planner of the
year award, which includes a cash prize and
a free trip to IMEX or EIBTM. He also offered an award for the most inspiring meeting venue and the first-ever Swedish Meeting
Measurement Award. The honors encourage
innovation and strategic thinking among the
country’s industry professionals.
But Kellerman is far from finished with his
Meetings@TUR concept. In 2010, the publisher says he plans to expand the event to four
days with a Tuesday lunch session and seek
involvement from the political sector as well
as international ally MPI. After all, Kellerman
says, the industry in Sweden still desperately
needs to develop its association and corporate
markets.
Not that the meetings sector isn’t evolving quickly. A decade ago, Stockholm and
Göteberg were the only cities with CVBs. In
the past three years, Kellerman says, eight new
organizations have cropped up, and nearly as
many sit on the horizon.
“We’ve come a long way, but there is still
more to come,” he said. “We will bring this
industry to a higher level.”
—JESSIE STATES
mpiweb.org
p042-043 Connections 0709.indd 43
43
6/16/09 11:17:39 AM
IRRELEVANT
Larger than Life
Whether you’re hiding your loo roll or you’re
after an über-funky toilet paper distributor,
these Tube Tissue Dispensers are bizarrely stylish and absurd at the same time.
Simply un-Velcro the tube’s end and
slip in a toilet paper roll (small ones
fit best), poke tissue through the
p, and—hey presto!—you have
cap,
a highly ori
original and somewhat
practical dispenser. Suitable
for ages 5 years+. (Iwant
oneoft
oneofthose.com, £12.99)
44
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07.09
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6/19/09 4:19:38 PM
0709_045.indd 45
6/16/09 8:39:03 AM
Michael
Tay
Global View
Strong Growth
in Asia Pacific
“ON THE SAME DAY AS THE NEW A380
TOOK OFF INTO THE SKY to change the
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BIO
world of aviation, MPI landed in Singapore
to make a difference for meeting and event
professionals throughout Asia Pacific,” said
Bruce MacMillan, MPI president and CEO,
in his October 2007 opening address at the
MPI Asia Pacific office in Singapore.
The meeting industry is rapidly expanding worldwide. Economic and social developments in the Asia-Pacific region—which
holds more than half of the world’s population—are fueling demand for meetings and
events and the growth of infrastructure on
the supply side. MPI recognizes that its community members will increasingly do business in this part of the world as globalization
continues.
The Seoul Tourism Organization (STO)
and the Korea Convention Association partnered with MPI in recruiting members and
establishing our first Asia-Pacific Chapter in
Korea. Today, the chapter has nearly 100
members.
China also holds huge potential. In partnership with the Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA), MPI plans to accelerate its
membership growth there, with the ultimate
goal of establishing a chapter or chapters.
Recognizing training as an essential key to
the development of Beijing as a MICE destination, MPI has partnered with CIBTM
to introduce a Global Certificate in Meeting
Operations (GCMO) training course there
in September.
Japan, with an established club under the
leadership of Shin Asai, has added 13 new
members in recent months. Several seminars
were conducted across the country during
the year, with strong support from CVBs
and participants. The club is well on its way
to becoming a chapter.
Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong
(MEHK) recently signed on to become
the first Asian MPI Global Partner. In all,
MPI Asia Pacific is supported by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, MCI,
InterContinental Hotels Group, STO, The
Venetian Macao Hotel & Resort, The
Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Meetings and
Exhibitions Hong Kong, the Beijing Tourism
Administration, Business Events Sydney and
CIBTM.
Asia will have a strong presence at this
year’s World Education Congress in Salt
Lake City, with two tracks featuring a panel
discussion on the current state and future
of the Asia-Pacific meeting industry and
planning meetings in Asia Pacific. An evening reception will give WEC attendees the
opportunity to network with Asian members, and a partnership celebration will be
held with BTA and MEHK.
In all, MPI Asia Pacific is growing
steadily. With the support from its partners,
MPI works closely to develop the market
and create opportunities for its community
members to extend business to a region that
holds much promise.
MICHAEL TAY is MPI’s director of Asia Pacific operations. He may be
contacted at mtay@mpiweb.org.
6/24/09 10:18:23 AM
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Jon
Bradshaw
Reboot Your Brain
Meetings in a
Different League
PICTURE THE SCENE. IT’S A BALMY
SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN MID MAY
1983, and from a glorious azure North
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BIO
London sky, an early summer sun blazes
down creating a shimmering heat haze on
the soft, lush, hallowed turf of Wembley
Stadium—the iconic home of football (U.S.
soccer).
With just a few minutes left, underdogs
Brighton & Hove Albion are drawing 2-2
with the mighty Manchester United in front
of more than 90,000 fans in the final of
world football’s premier domestic cup competition, the FA Cup.
What happened next is etched in the
memory of every Brighton fan. The crowd,
as well as countless millions worldwide,
watched transfixed as Brighton swept up
field and midfielder Gordon Smith found
himself in front of the goal with just Manchester goalkeeper Gary Bailey to beat.
“Smith must score” boomed the TV commentator, and in doing so, uttered a sound
bite that has since entered footballing folklore. Smith didn’t, and defeat was snatched
from the jaws of victory via a rematch five
days later.
I’ve often wondered how Gordon Smith
dealt with the inevitable psychological
issues that come from missing such a glorious chance. Fast forward almost 26 years,
however, and I knew exactly how the 2009
Brighton team were dealing with a different
kind of problem—possible relegation to the
third tier of English football—as, with a
month of the season left, I had been invited
to work with them on their mental performance. With only one scenario certain of
keeping them in the division—at least two
wins and a draw from the remaining three
matches—the great escape was on.
By sharing the five core elements of the
mental performance model I used, you may
be interested to find that mind tools for
enhanced performance in the world of professional sports are not as far removed from
that of meeting and event professionals as
you may think.
1) Objective. Know what you want to
achieve. Whether in the sporting or business worlds, teams work best when a clear
shared objective is worked toward, one that
can be chunked down into smaller bite-sized
goals if necessary. With three games to go,
the fact that ours was crystal clear helped
create vision and focus. Regularly clarify
personal and team goals, and ask team
members to collectively commit to them.
2) Motivation. Know what you want to
achieve. Understanding how to push each
team member’s motivational button is fundamental. Some players were purely motivated by money, others by media attention
or team spirit, yet only when I knew what
stimulated each individual could I help them
bring the best out of themselves, and this
will apply to you, too. Have you ever considered why you do what you do and what
actually leads you and your team to perform
at its very best?
3) Responsibility. A blame culture can
easily form in underperforming teams and
JON BRADSHAW presents and trains internationally on a variety of subjects in the field of human behavior and performance. He is also director
of business development for IMEX, the European Meetings and Events Exhibition and can be can be contacted via www.equinoxmotivation.com.
6/24/09 8:05:11 AM
You may be interested to find that mind tools
for enhanced performance in the world of
professional sports are not as far removed from
that of meeting and event professionals as you
may think.
was evident at the football club. Criticisms
starting with “he,” “she” or “they” can be
unhelpful; replacing them with “I” is a powerful exercise. A team is simply a collection
of individuals, and only when each member
takes ownership of their responsibilities can
it fully perform. Take responsibility for your
actions and encourage team members to follow suit.
4) Influence vs. Outcome. Having
encouraged responsibility, understanding
that certain events fall outside of your sphere
of influence is crucial. “Control the controllables” was a much-repeated mantra, and
acting on it helped us deal with a 2-2 draw
in the penultimate game. If you are in the
middle of planning a meeting you may not
like to hear this, but in reality, there are few
situations of which you have total control,
and you certainly can’t go back in time and
change things that didn’t go as planned. In
the short term, it’s better to proactively deal
with a negative situation rather than concern
yourself with how it occurred.
5) Attitude. A few days before the last
game after they listened to my final session, I asked team members to stand if
they believed they would avoid relegation.
Slowly, each rose and looked at each other
as applause and high fives broke out. I know
that the belief the team had was an essential
ingredient in what followed. Consider how
crucial your attitude and the attitudes within
your team are in delivering the event your
client required.
On May 2, Brighton & Hove Albion
won their last home game 1-0 and avoided
relegation amid tumultuous and emotional
scenes. While I can only give you an overview, I wonder if some of the techniques
outlined above could prove useful. Getting
curious about you and your team’s mental
performance may just take your next event
into a totally different league.
mpiweb.org
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6/24/09 8:05:20 AM
0709_050-051.indd 50
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0709_050-051.indd 51
6/5/09 9:22:48 AM
Tim
Sanders
Transform the World
Unleash Your
Creativity
THERE’S ONE THING THAT ALL MEETING PROFESSIONALS HAVE IN COMMON THESE DAYS: the need for creative
52
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BIO
solutions. We have to solve problems with
scant budgets and slim schedules. We have
to reinvent meetings, venues and events.
In the past, we needed perseverance, but
today we need to be as creative as possible.
Where will this creativity come from?
According to professor, comedian
and all-around philosopher John Cleese,
creativity is a matter of practice and technique. I spent a day with him in early June
in the United Kingdom. We were both
keynote speakers at the Yorkshire International Business Convention. He explained
to me that creativity was something that
we unleashed and that it wasn’t as random
or mystical as one would think.
Currently, he’s a visiting professor of
psychology at Cornell University. Many
of us think of him as the hilarious lead in
Faulty Towers, a classic British comedy
show on BBC. He told me that the TV
show came from a video he produced for
a hotel chain. He was showing them how
not to run a hotel with this training video,
and it was so funny that it eventually
made its way to the airwaves and into our
homes.
During the day, he revealed several
creative techniques to me (and about 1,500
audience members). Each one can dramatically increase your ability to harness what
Cleese calls “the intelligent mind.”
First, schedule your creative solution/
creativity time and wall out any distractions. He explained that creativity requires
intense focus, and you likely need to
schedule a few hours to harness one good
60-minute streak. Each interruption,
be it an e-mail or a phone call, will cost
you dearly. In the beginning of a session,
your mind will likely clutter with random
thoughts. Let them pass, and if some
urgent to-do pops up, write it on a sticky
note and tell your mind to relax and focus
on the problem.
Second, slow down your thinking process. Here’s an exercise he offered: Close
your eyes for 60 seconds and just contemplate your thoughts. Go ahead, put down
this magazine and do it. Cleese points out
that you likely had a variety of thoughts,
but if one of them was, “Let’s get on with
it, I don’t have time to waste,” you are
going to have a hard time being creative.
He advocates leveraging what author Guy
Claxton calls “the tortoise mind.” This is
the deliberate, plodding mind that takes
time to assimilate data and make associations. Spend time creating, and don’t focus
on saving time and being efficient.
Typically, we use the hare-brain
and motor quickly from point A to
point B. According to Cleese, you
aren’t giving yourself time to stretch
your imagination. In our culture, we
often associate someone sitting back
thinking with someone goofing off.
“If Albert Einstein had his feet
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.
6/16/09 11:24:54 AM
on his desk,” Cleese points out, “no one
would accuse him of loafing!”
Third, delay making creative decisions.
Play around with the problem with the
patience of a child trying to solve a word
puzzle. Have fun with the problem, and
don’t rush the creative process. Don’t
speed to a final decision, and you’ll get
extra data and an expanded perspective as
a result. He revealed a U.S. study of architects that found that the most creative ones
all had one thing in common: they were
playful about work and deferred on final
design decisions as long as possible.
Fourth, work all day on a problem,
then sleep on it to arrive at a breakthrough. Now that you are putting off
your decisions, it is easy to let a creative
session bleed through from one day to
the next. Cleese pointed out that in his
experience working on comedy sketches or
corporate training projects, sleep provided
another window of working opportunity.
His mind worked on the problem while the
body rested. The mind chipped away at the
issue and associated unrelated objects all
night.
When he woke up the next day and
returned to the problem, in many cases
he found that there was no problem at
all—he just needed the break room to
get the right take on it. It’s not enough to
give your mind an assignment and hit the
hay, though. You have to put in the work
during the day to load your head with the
facts, figures, issues and ideas that can all
come together into an aha moment. If you
need same-day creative solutions, then go
to lunch and come back later to review
John Cleese explained to me
that creativity was something
that we unleashed and that it
wasn’t as random or mystical
as one would think.
your work. When working on Monty
Python sketches, he found that this was the
litmus test for great comedy—was it still
funny after lunch?
Finally, limit collaborative writing to
three people. In fact, according to Cleese,
the best writing team consists of only two
people. Each additional person adds complexity to the writing and eventually it is a
compromised document that is much more
political than creative. You can gather
input from many people, but a small team
of two or three will best put it into words.
This is true for a speech, brochure copy or
any document you produce in your meeting life.
One of the best perks of being in the
meetings business is meeting brilliant
people, many of them speakers. John
Cleese is a gift to the creative community,
and after trying his advice out for a week,
I’m already seeing a huge jump in my creative powers. Try them out too, and let me
know how it goes!
Have you witnessed
something that will
transform the world?
Tell us about it at
www.mpiweb.org.
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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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NCTA
+
Powering Dreams
Instead of focusing merely on business, attendees of the 2009 Cable Show chose
to donate some of their time and effort toward leaving Washington, D.C., in better
shape than before they arrived.
BY KEVIN WOO
WHEN IT COMES TO CHANGE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THERE ARE MANY TYPES.
There’s the change that comes with a new
presidential administration, the change that is
made by the U.S. Mint and change that happens from hands that care.
In today’s roller coaster business world, it
can be nearly impossible to recognize those in
need. We’re consumed by our own thoughts
as we trek from the airport to our hotels,
often overlooking local schools that might be
in disrepair, a homeless shelter that is closed
due to lack of funding or a neighborhood
that lacks the vibrancy of children playing,
because it is too dangerous for them to be
outside.
The 12,200 attendees at The Cable Show
opted for a different approach when they
arrived in April. Instead of focusing merely
on business, 225 of the meeting’s attendees
chose to donate some of their time and effort
toward leaving the city in better shape than
before they arrived.
In 2008, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)—which
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plays host to the annual meeting—founded
CableCares, a community service initiative
designed to give back and assist New Orleans,
an eight-time host of the NCTA event.
“New Orleans had seen such devastation,
and the city was clearly still recovering [from
Hurricane Katrina], we felt that we couldn’t
just go to New Orleans, have our show and
leave without giving back,” said Joy Sims,
director of media relations for the NCTA.
“With CableCares being so successful at the
2008 Cable Show, we decided to continue
this idea at the 2009 Cable Show in Washington. While Washington doesn’t have quite the
obvious need New Orleans did, there are still
people here in need.”
At the outset of planning The Cable Show,
the NCTA developed a list of programs and
metrics it wanted to achieve with its CableCares initiative in Washington. Once the ideas
were fleshed out, the NCTA asked member
companies and local organizations to participate and donate money, goods, time, services
and human resources.
The CableCares initiative raised more
+
Fun Facts
The original name for Washington, D.C., was Federal City.
You may notice when walking
or driving through the city that
there is no “J” street. Urban
legend has it that Pierre L’Enfant,
designer of Washington, D.C.,
held a grudge against John Jay,
the first Chief Justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court, because Jay
allegedly disapproved of L’Enfant’s
city design. His retribution? To
strike Mr. James’ double initial
from the city’s otherwise alphabetized grid.
The White House doesn’t actually
have a “red phone” connecting
the president with the Kremlin—
it’s actually located at the Pentagon in Virginia.
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+
Transportation
Tip
Two airports serve Washington,
D.C.—Reagan National (located
in Arlington, Va., approximately
three miles from the center
of Washington) and Dulles
International Airport (located in
Chantilly, Va., about 26 miles from
downtown Washington).
+
What’s
New in
Washington,
D.C.
The Dupont Hotel
opened in March and
offers several meeting
space options including a
ballroom that can accommodate up to 350.
The 317-room W Washington D.C. will open
next month and feature
five meeting spaces.
The Hilton Washington
is undergoing a complete
restoration involving
guest rooms and public
spaces in the hotel to be
completed in 2010.
than US$150,000 in cash, equipment,
books and in-kind donations that benefited
Washington area schools and libraries, the
Central Union Mission, Metro TeenAIDS
and the Capital Area Food Bank.
Support for Public Schools
For decades, Washington’s public education
system has faced some daunting challenges,
including decaying schools and lack of investment in books and technology. To help address
these challenges, CableCares undertook three
essential programs: corporate sponsors, volunteers and local nonprofit agencies to benefit
local schools.
About 85 volunteers from Comcast Cable,
TV One, Retirement Living TV and City Year
Washington (a local nonprofit that brings
together young adults for a year of full-time
community service) spent a day building a
new media center at the Truesdell Education Campus, a pre-K-through-seventh-grade
public school. New televisions, DVD and CD
players and teleconferencing equipment were
installed at the school. Educational books,
videos and new furniture were also donated
to the new media center.
In addition to building the media center,
volunteers also built and installed baseball
field benches and a new sign for the school
front and painted walls and murals throughout the three-story building.
“The middle schoolers were recently
moved to the Truesdell School, which was
designed for educating children [under the
age of 7],” said Charisse R. Lillie, vice president of community investment and executive
vice president for the Comcast Foundation.
“At the closing ceremony, one of the sixth
graders thanked us profusely for building the
media center and giving them a library and
study space of their own. We made a small
but tangible and meaningful difference in the
educational lives of the middle schoolers at
Truesdell.”
Finding the funding necessary to fill
library bookshelves is among Washington’s
most consistent challenges. CableCares and
Books-A-Million organized a K-12 book and
educational video drive. Conference attendees were provided a “suggested donations”
book list in advance of the conference with
the goal of collecting thousands of books for
local schools.
Books-A-Million set up a store in the
lobby of the Washington Convention Center and sold books at a 25 percent discount
to attendees who chose to buy and donate
books while at the conference. The results
were outstanding, as more than 1,300 books
and educational videos were collected and
donated to local schools and libraries during
the conference.
“Both years we’ve done CableCares, we
wanted education and schools to be the center of our projects,” Sims said. “Cable has
a history of working on behalf of educating
students. Cable in the Classroom and our
programming members—such as the Discovery Channel, A&E and Nickelodeon—all
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NCTA (2)
have educational programs as part of their
ongoing social programs.”
In addition to study materials, ESPN
donated sports equipment that was distributed to 15 local schools.
Feeding the Needy
Sims says that some companies suggested
their own initiatives to add to NCTA’s list
of projects. Sportsman Channel’s Hunt.Fish.
Feed. project, an eight-city outreach program,
teaches those who have been hit by economic
hardship how to tap alternate food sources
such as venison, which is sourced by local
hunters and donated to feed the homeless as
well as others who find themselves in need of
sustenance.
The Sportsman Channel donated more
than 80 pounds of food to the Capitol Area
Food Bank (CAFB) and through cash contributions an additional 7,500 meals. Volunteers also served lunch to approximately 200
at the Central Union Mission.
The Gospel Music Channel and Feed
the Children brought in a trailer filled with
enough food to last 800 families of four for a
week, school supplies for Charles Hart Middle School and musical instruments for three
local elementaries.
“Gospel Angels is our community outreach program created to bring inspiration
and hope through gospel music to those in
need,” said Jim Weiss, vice president of public relations for the Gospel Music Channel.
“Feed the Children and Comcast Cable of
Washington were our partners and together
we presented school supplies, musical instruments and food to the students and families
of Hart Middle School.”
Prior to the contributions of the Gospel
Music Channel, Feed the Children and Comcast, the schools were without full sets of
musical instruments for their music programs, and the donations are expected to
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dramatically improve the quality of the
schools’ performing arts education programs.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band—
a funk, jam and soul band—also performed
live at Hart Middle School.
“Robert and his band performed a set
for the students in the school’s auditorium,”
Weiss said. “He called up several student
drummers to play with his band—it was
amazing. After his show, we handed out the
food and supplies in the schoolyard. We emptied a tractor-trailer of supplies that day.”
Battle of the Bands officially closed the
Cable Show 2009. Corporate bands from
Juniper Networks, Cisco Systems, Arris and
Cox Communications joined an ensemble
group called the TV Rejects, made up of
employees from C-Span, Cable Fax, Broadband Gear Report and Retirement Living.
Each sang a four-song set that rocked the
convention center.
Cox Communications’ Xpanded Bandwidth won the contest for the second year
in a row, and hometown favorite TV Rejects
came in second. More than 700 people
attended the event, and more than 1,200 text
message votes were cast during the concert.
The proceeds from the Battle of the Bands
were donated to City Year, a nonprofit youth
services organization where young people
serve as tutors, mentors and role models in
area schools and neighborhoods.
and cable issues—donated $1 for every room
that carried the Cable Channel.
Sims says that the most important impact
of CableCares was that local D.C. citizens got
to see a whole industry do something positive for the community, and not just come to
town to eat, drink and shop around the convention center.
“It was a chance to see an industry at
work, helping local people and not just flying in and out of town,” Sims said. “It breeds
goodwill and a more positive image of an
industry.”
While not all meeting planners have the
infrastructure to implement large-scale community outreach projects such as CableCares,
Sims says that local representatives of specific
industries are likely to have done some charity work in the area and will have recommendations for high-impact programs.
Local Comcast management provided
valuable input to the CableCares organizing
team and provided insight into the types of
programs that had been implemented locally.
Outbound marketing efforts such as e-mails
targeting attendees were sure to mention the
CableCares efforts. Press releases mentioned
CableCares and the many projects that were
involved with the goal to enlist volunteers.
“Working with the community to make
a difference has always been a priority,” Lillie said. “We wanted to give back again, this
time in an area where we do business, alongside our peers. We care about our communities. It’s where our customers and employees
live and work. Our hope is that we power
dreams in the communities we serve by providing access to innovative technology, volunteering our time, giving financial support
and partnering with great organizations.”
Room to Care
Five local hotels—the Renaissance Washington DC, the Grand Hyatt Washington, The
Capital Hilton, the Hotel Monaco Washington DC and the Comfort Inn Downtown
DC/Convention Center—served as the primary venues for Cable Show attendees. The
Washington hotel community and the Cable
Channel—an in-room video news magazine
KEVIN WOO is a San Francisco-based freeservice that focuses on convention coverage lance writer.
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+
What’s
New in
Denver
National Treasures
In spite of the glitz and glamour, planners, attendees and
community members had no trouble remembering that valor
and courage took center stage at the 2008 Congressional
Medal of Honor Conference in Denver.
BY KIMBERLY KING
IN THE 1986 FILM HEARTBREAK RIDGE,
The Colorado Historical
Society will be relocating
the Colorado History
Museum, with construction on the new site starting this year. Construction
of the new museum
building is estimated to
cost approximately $113
million and will be located
just south of the current
building at 12th and
Broadway/Lincoln.
The Denver Performing
Arts Complex is planning
a new symphony center
to be constructed on
the Boettcher Concert
Hall site. The new hall
will create a new look for
the complex as a whole,
adding 35,000 square
feet of public space to the
Speer Boulevard side of
the concert hall. This will
include more dining and
event space, an expanded
lobby, education and
lecture space, additional
restrooms, new beverage
stations and retail space.
CMH SOCIETY
Clint Eastwood starred as Gunnery Sergeant
Tom Highway, a career marine and combat veteran who receives the U.S. military’s
highest accolade: the Congressional Medal
of Honor. In 2006, Eastwood’s companion
films Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our
Fathers told the story behind the iconic flagraising photograph at the legendary World
War II battle site; 27 men at Iwo Jima received
Congressional Medals of Honor.
Last September, at the 2008 Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH) Conference in
Denver, life imitated art as Eastwood himself received a prestigious accolade from the
Honor Society: the Bob Hope Award for
Excellence in Entertainment. This award is
reserved for Americans who have favorably
portrayed the U.S. military and who have
distinguished themselves in the entertainment
world. Eastwood was a natural choice—
the award-winning actor/director/producer’s
career spans 60 years and dozens of films,
many of them patriotic in nature.
The CMH conference is no shoestringbudget affair. Because of the prestigious
nature and high caliber of attendees at the
awards ceremony, organizing a successful
conference requires a budget of approximately US$1 million for the patriot gala
dinner, entertainment, transportation, event
security and staff.
This proved to be no easy feat in a slumping economy; intensive planning and fundraising on the part of the CMH Denver Host
Committee and Visit Denver began more
than 18 months in advance.
“The efforts we put forth with the volunteer host committees, the heavy coordination,
constant communication and ability to make
The Denver Zoo (already
the fourth-most-popular
zoo in America) is planning a US$50 million
Asian Tropics exhibit that
will open late this year.
The 2.6-acre exhibit will
have five habitats for
Asian elephants, Indian
rhinos and Malayan tapirs
and will include environments such as streams,
sand pits and mud wallows.
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+
Fun Facts
About the Congressional
Medal of Honor
3,466 Medals of Honor have been
awarded for acts of heroism.
42 percent of living recipients earned their
medals more than 50 years ago while
serving in World War II or the Korean War.
There were no awards of the Medal of
Honor during the Desert Storm, Grenada,
Lebanon or Panama conflicts.
CMH SOCIETY (3)
adjustments on the fly ultimately provided
for a successful event,” said Jennifer Elving,
Visit Denver’s senior PR and communications manager.
Fundraising in a Recession
In early 2006, two Denver locals, Tom Allee
and Nick Delcalzo, first approached Visit
Denver with the idea of hosting the CMH
Conference.
“Tom was with Frontier Airlines [before
his retirement] and Nick had recently put
together a book of photographs called
Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond
the Call of Duty, which featured 116 of our
nation’s most honored heroes—recipients
of the Congressional Medal of Honor,”
Elving said. “Visit Denver was happy to be
on board, but, since the local hosts cover all
expenses for the convention, we needed to
wait for a sponsor to commit.”
Allee and Delcalzo, along with Medal
of Honor recipient Drew Dix (a native of
Pueblo, Colo.—the city with the highest concentration of Medal of Honor recipients in
the U.S.) constructed a host committee comprised of entertainment, hospitality, media
and PR, volunteer, education, health safety
and security and transportation factions and
selected prominent members of the Denver
community to represent them.
According to Delcalzo, raising funds
proved to be the biggest obstacle, but “a
well connected host committee and the gracious and generous support of the business
and foundation community made all the
difference.”
Allee agrees, saying that timing is
everything.
“We were fortunate enough to find out at
the Boston CMH conference (in September
2006) that Denver had been awarded the
convention,” Allee said. “It was particularly
important that we started our fundraising
before it was announced that the Democratic
National Convention would be held in Denver. Once that happened, some of our corporate opportunities dried up pretty fast.”
With funding in place, Visit Denver and
the host committee joined forces to begin
planning the event. Even smaller scale finance
proved trying, Elving says.
“Soliciting donations for the welcome
baskets was difficult at first; however, once
Visit Denver was able to educate the community on the Medal of Honor event and audience, the donations were secured very easily,”
she said.
+
Transportation Tips
Denver International Airport
(DIA), located approximately 20 miles
northeast of downtown, serves as the
primary airport for the area. DIA is the
10th-busiest airport in the world and
the largest (53 square miles) in the U.S.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan
Airport, Centennial Airport and
Front Range Airport are all close to
the Denver area.
Amtrak provides service in both directions to Chicago and Emeryville, Calif.
Mass transportation in the city is coordinated by the Regional Transportation District, which currently operates
more than 1,000 buses.
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Arrangements were made regarding hotel
accommodations at the Sheraton Denver
Downtown.
A schedule of events was also put in order
and included, in addition to a black-tie gala
and celebrity appearances, a charity golf
tournament, school visits and a flag-raising
ceremony at City Hall.
“Visit Denver’s ideas to foster community
support and hospitality aligned well with the
goal of welcoming our nation’s heroes to the
Mile High City,” Elving said.
that consisted of FBI personnel who have
worked at other Medal of Honor conferences
to provide the expertise needed to guide local
police and security personnel,” Allee said.
In spite of the conference’s glitz and glamour, planners, attendees and community members had no trouble remembering that valor
and courage took center stage. During the
closing remarks of the final evening’s events, a
representative from the Congressional Medal
of Honor Society stated that, “No amount
of money, power or influence can buy one’s
rite of passage to this exclusive circle, and
unlike almost any other organization, this
group’s members hope that there will be no
more inductees.”
KIMBERLY KING writes from her home in
New York.
Star Power Fuels Tumultuous Times
“The convention itself is a meeting of the surviving Medal of Honor recipients and, while
many of their events are private, there were
several opportunities for the public to join
us in honoring these men during this historic
event,” Elving said.
The public schedule started with singer
Carrie Underwood, who gave a tribute concert, and with a private VIP reception and an
appearance from country and western star
Randy Travis. Prior to the concert, Medal
of Honor recipients mounted the stage and
a video featuring them was played. The following day, Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies played a game in the recipients’
honor. The third evening featured the world
premiere of Boeing’s “Medal of Honor” tribute movie. The conference concluded with the
Patriot Awards Gala at the Denver Sheraton,
where Clint Eastwood, Ben Stein and former
First Lady Laura Bush were honored.
Because of the high-profile nature of those
in attendance, security was of the utmost
importance.
“Medal of Honor recipients are considered national treasures, so they are protected
by the Secret Service,” Elving said. “In addition, special arrangements for transportation
were arranged for Clint Eastwood—Medal
of Honor recipient Drew Dix met him at the
airport with a car for transport to the hotel.
The Medal of Honor convention was unique
for us in that the conference required police
motorcades to every event.”
The Denver Police Department provided
24/7 security, and an FBI presence is standard
at all Congressional Medal of Honor Society
conventions.
“We were very fortunate to have a team
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Time to
Deliver
+
How the XVI International
AIDS Conference got a
human face.
What’s New
in Toronto
BY ILONA KAUREMSZKY
IN SUMMER 2006, THE WORLD WITNESSED THE WATER BOTTLE SECURITY
SCARE at Heathrow International Airport
that caused international mayhem and a
stream of delays and flight cancellations. For
Pam Graham, president of Congress Canada,
the professional conference organizer for the
XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS
2006), it nearly spelled disaster.
Two days after the security threat, Toronto
was set to play host to the world’s largest
AIDS conference, which was to attract more
than 26,000 participants from more than
170 countries August 13-18, 2006.
A biennial event, the conference was created by the International AIDS Society (IAS),
which is the world’s leading independent
association of HIV professionals with 10,000
members from 153 countries. Since it started
in 1988, the IAS has pulled together professionals, advocates and people living with
HIV/AIDS under one roof to share knowledge and exchange scientific research on this
growing global epidemic. In one week, more
than 4,500 scientific abstracts on new discoveries and trends were selected to be presented
from more than 12,000 submissions—a
record number.
The city was set to play host to a superhero forum of tight security proportions, to
boot. The two Bills were coming—former
U.S. President Bill Clinton and Microsoft
founder Bill Gates, along with wife Melinda.
U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa
Stephen Lewis and actor/activist Richard
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Gere were also scheduled to show. The Gates,
co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, were going to conclude the opening
session with the keynote address to a packed
house at the Rogers Centre.
“So I got on the phone and sent out an
e-mail to all the hotel general managers indicating that they needed to hold these rooms,”
Graham said. “That these [attendees], many
of them unfamiliar with hotel bookings let
alone flying on a plane, were coming—the
chances of them missing their connecting
flights was high.”
She dodged the bullet. Not only did the
delegates, many from third-world countries,
arrive with their accommodations still in
check, but Graham says the downtown Metro
Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC)—the
primary site of AIDS 2006—transformed
into a global village with a diverse group of
people in the medical, public administration,
educational and grass roots fields.
Canada is no stranger to playing host to
the AIDS conference. The event was first held
in 1989 in Montréal, then in 1996 in Vancouver—where the epic breakthrough of the
HIV/AIDS treatment known as “highly active
antiretroviral therapy” was announced. And
10 years later it was Toronto’s turn.
“In Toronto, we examined the progress
made over the past decade and focused on the
steps we must take now to reach the vision of
‘One World, One Hope’ that was embraced
at the 1996 meeting,” noted Montréal
researcher Dr. Mark Wainberg, co-chairman
Architect Frank Gehry has
transformed Toronto’s
Art Gallery of Ontario,
which re-opened in
November and offers
event space.
Located in the heart of
the entertainment district,
the 394-room Hyatt
Regency Toronto opened
in January and offers
25,000 square feet of
meeting space.
Hilton Suites Toronto/
Markham Conference
Centre & Spa has completed a renovation on its
guest suites and meeting
space.
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+
Transportation Tips
Avoid traffic and opt for public transit.
The Toronto Transit Commission offers a
CDN$9 day pass called a Metropass for
unlimited use on 153 routes and lines. A
single ticket costs CDN$2.75 and requires
exact change for streetcars and buses.
Airport Express is an express bus connecting Toronto Pearson International
Airport with major downtown hotels. Bus
departures are every half hour from
05.00 to 01.00.
of AIDS 2006.
Toronto’s conference theme was “Time to
Deliver,” and its agenda was fierce: 400 sessions, meetings and workshops, along with
staged activities and plenty of surprises.
“This conference not only anticipates protests, it encourages them. Many protests are
actually scheduled,” Graham said about the
protest planning that occurred to ensure safety
and maximum media exposure. “These [protests] took place at city hall, public squares,
outside the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and in the MTCC hallways, exhibit
halls and sessions. The AIDS community
protestors’ messages are important and need
to be heard worldwide. They attract media
attention and make headlines. They are one
of the ways that this community reaches the
public and research ears.”
Toronto—Graham notes—was considering security issues, too.
“Apart from the security that precedes
Bill Clinton and Bill Gates wherever they go,
the local police were very involved, and an
additional 500 security staff members were
hired. Upon entering the convention centre,
everyone was searched,” she said.
Michel Genier, MTCC operations manager, says ushering the Bills in and out of the
venue for their morning panel session went
quite smoothly.
“We used our tunnel to escort them
A waterfront city, Toronto has an island
airport for smaller vessels and for Porter
Airlines, which is easily accessible for business travel. Porter passengers can board
the Porter shuttle, a complimentary service
that runs approximately every 15 minutes
to the ferry. Then, take the world’s shortest
ferry ride (120 metres) to the Toronto City
Centre Airport and wait in comfort inside a
newly designed terminal and lounge.
Fun Facts
+
Toronto has North America’s largest public
transportation system after New York.
Torontonians beat the cold with North
America’s largest continuous underground
pedestrian system, called the PATH. It
connects 1,200 stores and restaurants, 50
office towers, five subway stations and six
major hotels in Toronto’s downtown core.
Toronto was first known as York in 1793,
but in 1834 it officially incorporated and has
been called Toronto ever since. This year,
Canada’s largest city celebrates its 175th
anniversary.
mpiweb.org
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from the south to north building. Mr. Gates
doesn’t like a large entourage of security,” he
said. “For Mr. Clinton, it was mostly Secret
Service agents and a few Royal Canadian
Mounted Police personnel.”
According to Duncan Ross, then executive director for tourism for the city, Toronto
started working on the conference in 1998.
“It entrusted an interest-free repayable
loan of US$1 million to the IAS as working
capital to get started on the event,” he said.
From the beginning, Graham describes
the event planning in Herculean proportions.
Think of it as the Olympics of AIDS.
“We did a pre-conference call six weeks
before the conference,” Graham said. “We
talked about what happens at the time the
person first arrived, what the exhibitor would
be doing and 2,000 scholarships [these are
people in the IAS culture who are deemed
to be doing interesting work in their communities and they come representing that
voice and are prepared to speak about it]. We
p064-069 Dest Toronto 0709.indd 66
had 62 people in that three-hour conference
call. It was global—Germany, Geneva and
Toronto—and without suppliers. In Toronto,
35 people all gathered into one room. A lot of
issues were discussed, from the inexperienced
travellers to people arriving from remote
countries.”
Unlike other medical conferences, this
medically-driven-but-with-a-culturally-sensitive-bent conference dealt with unconventional topics such as sex trade workers and
medical marijuana. Creative solutions were
used in addressing them.
In the Global Village, exhibitors were
identified as entities, and these entities ranged
from musical performances to sex trade
workers to outreach programs to Stephen
Lewis’ African grannies meeting their Canadian granny counterparts.
“From a meeting planner perspective,
think of an IT Flea Markets show when you
say Global Village,” Graham said. “We managed the event as if it were a trade show, with
floor demarcations, move in and move out
schedules and instructions. However, most of
the entities had never exhibited before. They
were not familiar with the language of trade
shows. We prepared a manual unlike any
other trade show manual. The vocabulary
was in plain language, concise and free of
legalese. The end result was the most exciting
trade show I have ever seen. With four stages
and nonstop presentations, along with 100
other entities, the hall rocked for 11 hours a
day for six days. The public came from all
walks of life, and the conference attendees
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freely engaged with the entities.”
For onsite traffic flows, Congress Canada
worked closely with MTCC to map out the
heavily trafficked areas. Sessions, meetings
and exhibits were scheduled at different times
as not to have a rush all at the same time,
Genier says. And there was a large security
force in order to keep control of the crowds
and access into the facility.
“One of the toughest organizational challenges was sourcing out and securing space
at city-owned facilities in order to make
them available to various working groups
and organizations participating in the conference,” said Nina Gesa, city of Toronto
project manager for the conference. “Many
local organizations took part in hosting miniconferences, seminars, dinners and social
gatherings, wherein city facilities were used
and offered at no cost. Permitting the spaces
required authorization from the general manager of parks and recreation and then liaising
individually with each community and recreation facility to advise of availability and then
feeding it back to the various organizers.”
From a food and beverage perspective,
Richard Willett, vice president of MTCC’s
food and beverage, who oversees a staff of
more than 150 employees, notes how weekly
internal meetings—started in fall 2005 leading up to the conference and then daily meetings as they neared the one-month mark—
were always in motion. For him, it was all
about water bottle storage.
“It was the quantity of donated water
and the logistics of storing and distributing
for a conference this large,” he said. “We met
with all of the internal stakeholders, worked
with donators to establish offsite holding
areas and created daily distribution function
arrangements just for water.”
Partnering with the competition is
unheard of. But in this case, Graham says it
was welcome.
“The IAS was changing offices, physically
moving from Stockholm to Geneva,” Graham said. “German company K.I.T. knew
the IAS so we pooled our resources together
and came up with a balance sheet on which
company would do what. It was a good solution from the start.”
ILONA KAUREMSZKY is former editor of
Corporate Meetings & Events magazine and a
weekly travel columnist.
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6/8/09 8:03:06 AM
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0709_070-071.indd 71
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design
FOR THE FUTURE
BY
DA
LI
A
FA
HM
Y
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The global meeting and event industry is a constantly
evolving entity; it’s high time we collaborate to direct
the evolution of meeting planners.
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Dutch mayors are a headstrong lot. Nobody
knows this better than executives at the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, who
spent years trying to coax some cooperation
out of their members at the group’s annual
conference. But the event often descended
into chaos, with attendees making phone
calls during the keynote address and fleeing
the plenary session to socialize in the exhibit
hall. Instead of bonding mayors and strengthening the association’s mandate, the conference was becoming a laughable waste of
money. So several years ago, the association’s
chairman turned to an expert for help: Eric
de Groot, one of Europe’s most innovative
meeting planners.
De Groot, a managing partner at MindMeeting in the small Dutch city of Leeuwarden, prefers to call himself a meeting
architect. A pioneer in this field—whose
practitioners are sometimes also known as
meeting designers—he doesn’t concern himself with logistical details such as hotel rates
or audiovisual rentals. Instead, he works with
clients to define desired business results and
carefully choreograph attendee experiences
to achieve desired outcomes.
In this case, he started by visiting six of
the country’s most influential mayors and
asking them what they wanted to discuss at
the annual conference. When he mentioned
the meeting’s “green” theme, to reflect city
parks, several mayors laughed him off. What
they really wanted to discuss, he found out,
was how cities could pay for parks by making smart deals with real estate developers.
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 9 6
Road Map
FOR THE FUTURE
The MPI Future of Meetings Task Force
design must be made available. These
for the coming years, is to elevate meet-
has been challenged with developing a
should help empower professionals and
ing design from exception to common
road map of the information and tools
marry hospitality and meeting design
practice. To this end, the quality and
needed to cohesively evolve the future
by further developing industry leaders
quantity of meeting designers will need
of meetings. This was accomplished by
as experts in the field. Meeting design
to be grown—this education should
analyzing industry data and research
education will be available at the WEC
be a priority for meeting planners. The
needs, identifying opportunities to fill
in Salt Lake City and through other MPI
task force recommended that further
these gaps and recommending informa-
outlets in the future.
research into the future of meetings is
Meeting design case studies are
still needed to best prepare meeting
The road map designed by the task
needed to demonstrate how meet-
professionals and they are investigating
force for the future of meetings is rooted
ing design supports the effectiveness
research options.
in the evolution of meeting design.
of meetings (and how poor meeting
The first step in this process is to raise
design can damage this). New education
the awareness of the value of meeting
and tools will be available so meeting
design such that all stakeholders rec-
planners can perform as or with c-level
ognize meeting design as an important
professionals to successfully implement
value driver, acknowledge the lack of
meeting design. The task force’s results
meeting design at the present and spur
and future research will be utilized to
demand for meeting design from meet-
drive a globally accepted industry body
tion and tools needed.
of knowledge, transform the Certifica-
ing owners.
To advance this, think tank sessions
tion in Meeting Management (CMM)
were held at the Professional Education
program, enhance the Global Certificate
Conference-North America and World
in Meeting Operations (GCMO) III con-
Education Congress (WEC) in 2008.
tent, transform strategic meetings man-
Additionally, the 2009 MeetDifferent
agement (SMM) education and enhance
Opening General Session focused on the
education at live events and online,
future of meetings, as did a session at
especially regarding executive leader-
the conference.
ship development, SMM and meeting
To
keep
meeting
design
grow-
ing, content and tools about meeting
74
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design.
The next stage, an ongoing process
FUTURE OF MEETINGS
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Chairwoman: Cindy D’Aoust, Maritz Travel
Company
Allen W. Krom, Accor Hospitality
Amanda Cecil, CMP, Indiana University
Angela Duncan, CMP, CMM, VMS
Banz Ledin, Spotme Inc.
Cara Tracy, CMP, CMM, National Speakers
Association
Carol Norfleet, CMP, DMCP, Destination
Nashville
Diane Walton, U.S. Department of Labor
Eric de Groot, MindMeeting
Gregory T. Deininger, Marriott Global
Sales
Jessica Lynn Schanbaum, FedEx Kinko’s
Pat Hill, National Information Solutions
Cooperative
07.09
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The Language of
LEADERSH
Ann Godi, CMP, embraces
embrace her new role as
MPI chairwoman at a cru
crucial stage in the
timeline of the meeting ind
industry.
FOR THE LENGTH OF HER CAREER, AN
ANN GODI, CMP, HAS URGED
INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS TO “SPEAK THE LANGUAGE
roughshod economy and media scrutiny
OF BUSINESS.” And now that the roughsho
have
courtroom, Godi sees her longstanding
h
ha
ve ferried meetings to the public courtro
clarity. In fact, the 2009-2010 MPI
mission with ever-increasing clar
promised to educate the meetings and
chairwoman has promi
on how to communicate the value
events community o
their business leaders.
of meetings to thei
“Today we set out to create a new world where
boondoggle and junket are replaced by
the words boond
the language of business,” she says emphatically.
business value of meetings is under“Where the b
stood and vvalued by the media, government
and all levels of organizations—
leaders an
including the c-suite.”
There is sincerity, leadership and fluid
passion in her voice. Godi is one of those
women you instantly trust. Her large,
wome
brown eyes smile as she speaks, and
brow
her welcoming smile speaks volumes.
When she lays out her ideas that
W
will lead the MPI community into
w
a future focused on the language
of business, you believe she will
succeed. Godi’s business acumen
su
speaks for itself.
sp
She held upper-level event and
marketing positions at several mulmar
tinational, Fortune 500 organizations
tinatio
before eestablishing Atlanta-based Benchmarc360° in 1991. Under her direction,
marc360
company has become a leader in conferthe compa
ence,
meeting, incentive and event manageence
c , meeti
corporations across the globe. With
ment for co
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SHIP
this distinct knowledge of strategic business
management, marketing and strategy, Godi
wants to shape MPI’s place in the global
meeting and event industry.
“One of the reasons I got involved in
the meeting industry was because it needed
to expand its message,” she recalls. “Corporate executives felt we were insular with
no proven value and we were not trained
to communicate that value to our senior
leaders. The current business environment
has placed us in the driver’s seat, and I have
long wanted an opportunity like this for our
industry. Now is our time to shine and show
our importance to the world. We must work
together to do a better job of communicating that message.”
In fact, Benchmarc360° formed from
that very idea—that meetings must contribute to overall marketing strategies and work
toward deliverable objectives.
“Once the international business community understands and recognizes the
power of meetings and events, we as meeting professionals will have the ability to
transform our value proposition.”
As part of this goal, Godi has determined to define Level 8 of the MPI Global
Knowledge Plan—executive leadership education—because as the industry matures,
more and more meeting professionals will
hold executive roles within their respective
corporations.
“We will create an enhanced value proposition for meeting executives and establish
a leadership program for those who are setting strategy and managing meeting practitioners,” Godi iterates. “We also need to
look at the net of careers that our industry
“I know first hand
what can happen at
a chapter when we
deliver education
that is relevant and
gives someone the
tools to do a better or different job.
When a chapter sets
course on a path,
it can change the
world.”
represents and look at adjacent spaces in
travel, content design and event marketing.
Our members have these responsibilities,
too. We need to make sure we represent the
way this industry is evolving and expanding
around the globe.”
To meet these goals, Godi has established three volunteer groups to discuss, create and implement several core components
of her plan: the Body of Knowledge Task
Force, the Strategic Meetings Management
(SMM) Work Group and the Faculty Task
Force. These groups all have specific assignments and deadlines for proposing changes
to MPI’s knowledge plan and student and
faculty outreach.
Meanwhile, Godi plans to utilize one
of MPI’s greatest assets—its chapters—to
communicate her messaging to the organization’s 24,000 members. As a former
Georgia Chapter board member, Godi has
fervent faith in the ability of chapters to
reach the MPI community and touch individual lives.
“I know first hand what can happen at
a chapter when we deliver education that is
relevant and gives someone the tools to do
a better or different job,” she says. “When a
chapter sets course on a path, it can change
the world.”
As for the global meeting and event
industry, Godi knows the path the MPI
community must take to ensure a successful future and will work to connect industry
professionals together to make it happen.
JESSIE STATES is assistant editor of One+.
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GROW YOUR
RECOVERY
STRATEGY
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W
Preparing
for the
Inevitable
Economic
Upswing
BY
ELAINE
POFELDT
While many meeting professionals struggle with declining
corporate budgets, Tami Forero has been busier than ever.
Her company, Forte Events in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
which specializes in corporate and nonprofit meetings,
saw its best year in 2008 and projects close to US$1 million in sales for 2009, its fourth year in business. She has
built her company from a one-woman show to a six-person operation at a time when many players in the industry
are struggling to stay afloat.
“I almost feel guilty, because so many people are hurting right now,” Forero said. “We’re the most expensive
people around as far as our services, but we know how to
explain to clients why our services are worth it.”
Having spent most of her 17 years in the industry
as an internal meeting planner for corporations such as
BankAtlantic in Florida, the veteran knows how to make
her company invaluable in uncertain times. Her growth
strategy centers around helping clients get more out of
their events at lower costs, without cutting into her profits. Rather than discounting her rates, Forero has instead
invested heavily in site surveys to find towns and properties around the U.S. where she can offer clients luxurious events at lower prices than they would pay in glitzier
destinations.
Sometimes, she has encouraged clients to hold events
in her home base of Colorado Springs, where her relationships with local vendors help her to negotiate better prices
than she can get elsewhere. Often, she says, clients are so
happy with these less-sought-after venues and destinations that they request the same one the following year.
“We shock them and that’s why we get so much
work,” she said.
But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. While big corporations may ask their internal meetings teams to handle
more events in house, Forero realizes from her own experience in planning about 90 events a year that there is only
so much a corporate team can tackle effectively.
“It’s really hard to come up with two events a week,”
she said.
So she has made the Forte Events team available to help
corporations with meetings and events that have fallen
through the cracks, supporting their teams with hourly
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consulting work, such as troubleshooting
planned events. On top of this, her company
has branched out into “idea brokering,” providing overextended corporate planners with
creative concepts for events they are too busy
to dream up.
“That’s been a huge niche for us in this
economy—working with big corporations
that can’t rely on the services from their internal planners,” Forero said.
Like many seasoned meeting professionals who have weathered earlier recessions,
Forero realizes that there’s no time like the
present to poise her company for growth.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Fed-
L
terrified travelers, low-cost carriers ramped
up their capacities. They enticed travelers
back into the skies with great deals, making
sure to keep flights full so they remained profitable. Today, more passengers are using these
carriers than before the tragedy, according to
the U.S. Bureau of Transportation.
Whether you are looking for a job, working around the clock in a corporate gig or
hustling to grow your own business, the first
step to position yourself for a recovery is to
step back and take an honest look at what
you bring to the table professionally.
“A recession is when you take stock
of how you’re doing business,” said Joan
And with technology-driven trends such
as virtual meetings reshaping the industry,
keeping up can mean the difference between
sitting on the sidelines and thriving.
Other veterans are positioning their teams
for recovery by attracting new talent now,
when job seekers are plentiful. After working
with her staff to create a recession-survival
strategy that included reducing daily office
expenses and negotiating better prices with
vendors, Joyce Landry, CEO and co-founder
of the cruise event specialist Landry & Kling,
recently expanded her team.
“We now have several employees who
work remotely and are utilizing long-term
ike many seasoned meeting professionals who have
weathered earlier recessions, Forero realizes that there’s
no time like the present to poise her company for growth.
eral Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have
recently pointed to the first signs that the
recession may be slowing. And Forero and
many other veterans are realizing they’ll be
in a stronger position if they find realistic
and creative solutions to challenges that are
likely to linger for some time—such as tight
corporate budgets, increased media scrutiny
and new trends, including the move to lowerpriced virtual meetings. Indeed, senior-level
planners project a 6 percent dip in business
in 2009, compared to last year, according
to the February 2009 MPI Business Barometer, sponsored by the MPI Foundation and
American Express.
So how do you come up with your own
recovery strategy when you’re coping with
the fallout from the worst downturn since
the Great Depression? If history is any guide,
professionals in every industry who take the
time to find creative ways to help others cope
with tough economic challenges often emerge
in the strongest positions when a rebound
finally comes. Consider what happened in
the airline industry during the grim days that
followed Sept. 11, 2001. With major airlines
reeling from a sudden drop in business from
80
one+
Eisenstodt, a 40-year-veteran of the field and
founder of Eisenstodt Associates, a hospitality and meetings consultancy from Washington, D.C. “But people in the industry are so
busy figuring out how to survive that they’re
not thinking about what the future brings.”
BUILD YOUR
PROFESSIONAL CAPITAL
Sharpen your professional skills. Although
Eisenstodt has trained many in the industry
during her long career, she makes time to keep
attending educational conferences so she can
bring her clients cutting-edge knowledge and
new planning techniques. Recently, she traveled to the International Association of Facilitators conference, certain that building her
own professional capital was worthwhile.
“That’s one of the things that people get
nervous about in a recession: Can I spend the
money to improve my own skills?” Eisenstodt said.
Doing so is always a good investment, she
says.
“It’s showing employers or clients that
you have new skills to bring to the table that
others might not have,” she said.
outside contractors for more projects—to
expand our staff while keeping our expenses
to a minimum,” Landry said.
Forte Events’ Forero hired a wedding
planner in January as part of her growth plan
for the recovery and is already seeing ROI.
“She’s doing really well,” said Forero,
who is now ramping up for another new pursuit: funeral planning.
YOUR NEW RECESSION
MANTRA: DIVERSIFY
It’s not lost on longtime meeting professionals that a recession can be a good time to add
to the mix of services you offer—a goal that
often gets put off during economic booms.
“A lot of companies get into a specific
niche, where they are very successful,” said
Roy Podell, who has worked in the industry
for 30 years and now serves as creative director of Atlas Travel International’s Meetings +
Motivation division, based in Milford, Mass.
“The problem is when things go south and
that niche gets heavily impacted.”
So, although Podell’s division gets about
half of its business from Atlas’ corporate
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 0 2
07.09
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Tiger
Ready to
Leap Again
82
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B Y K E LV I N K I N G
CHALLENGING TIMES ARE REVEALING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
ASIAN MICE BUSINESSES TO SHINE.
M
ICE business is subdued, with
real difficulties in some areas,
yet there remains a strong feeling of cautious optimism. This
is based partly on a willingness
to support customers by adding value, introducing innovative marketing and operational strategies and, within reason, adjusting costs to
meet changed circumstances.
There is also a widespread understanding that internal structures need to be improved, efficiencies identified and both services and resources (especially human
resources) enhanced.
Best practice has become essential, rather than a
catchphrase.
Asia, the region of tiger economies, has dealt with
a lot of problems in the past 10 to 15 years. A sharp
economic downturn is nothing new and avian flu is still
vivid in collective memories.
The tiger is somnolent, perhaps, but still on the
prowl. Gathering strength despite the jungle’s dark
shadows and lingering dangers, he is ready to leap
again.
IMPACT ON MICE
Opinions and first-hand experiences are varied on
the extent to which the current economic climate has
affected MICE operations throughout Asia.
“There is no big impact on incentive events,”
said Jerry Liao, director of the Taiwan MICE Project
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Office. “Associations are hosting meetings
according to schedule. However, the number of participants has decreased.”
Liao concedes that international corporate meetings have been downsized and
small corporate meetings may be cancelled
or replaced by online gatherings.
Still, many MICE operations have been
cancelled or postponed, some delayed for
more than six months.
The Suntec Singapore International Con-
in incentive service increase more than any
others.”
The Seoul tourism and convention
business has weathered the economic
storm reasonably well, reports Maureen
O’Crowley, Seoul Tourism Organization’s
senior director, international marketing and
conventions.
“While some individual exhibitors have
either pulled out or downsized their participation level, there has been no outright can-
New Life for the AACVB
The Asian Association of Convention and
Visitor Bureaus, a
quiet performer in
recent years, has been
revitalized.
Its fresh strategy
includes an emphasis
on training, bids for
regional conferences
(especially those that
can be rotated among
member countries), a
joint databank and the
sharing of best practice strategies. Joint
branding, advertising
and marketing is also
planned.
“We aim to enhance
standards in the convention industry by
developing and promoting sound professional practices,” said
Suprabha Moleeratanond, the AACVB’s
chairperson, who is
vention & Exhibition Centre has received
some corporate meeting postponements,
according to Anjna Nihalani, Suntec director marketing and communications.
“We are seeing some of our corporate clients take a prudent approach to their shortterm bookings,” Nihalani said. “They are
more thoughtful and cautious in their decision-making, with an increasing emphasis
on value for money product offerings, flexibility, creativity and personalized services.”
Despite Vietnam’s inbound tourism numbers declining by some 30 percent, MICE
traffic is increasing constantly, Hanoi-based
Luxury Travel Co. sales and marketing
executive Nguyen Dinh Lap says.
“Upscale organizations, groups of businessmen and luxury travelers are not stopping their MICE activities,” Nguyen said.
“In particular, we have seen our sales volume
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from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition
Bureau.
A successful MICE
sector doesn’t just happen, she points out.
“Sought-after MICE
destinations work
hard to offer value,
service, accessibility,
cultural variety, safety
and a highly rewarding experience for all
participants.”
cellation of events,” O’Crowley said. “In
fact, there has been increased interest in convening conferences to discuss the reasons for
the economic downturn and ones on how to
improve future business growth.”
The Seoul Convention Bureau, a division of the Seoul Tourism Organization, bid
successfully between January and May this
year for 10 key events.
WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN’T
Alicia Yao Hong, deputy general manager
of the meeting and incentive division of
China International Travel Service’s (CITS)
creative destination management department and vice president of the SITE China
chapter, agrees that the MICE industry in
China has been hard-hit.
“Many incentive programs have been
cancelled,” she said. “Some companies may
still go on with their planned incentive programs but keep to a limited budget or low
profile.”
There are, anyway, fewer pure incentive
programs than in the past, she points out,
with many companies keeping the same
budget for marketing and sales but cutting
funds for internal events.
The financial crisis has not, however,
negatively affected international association
meetings the same way, as such events are
viewed as even more important now to get
members together and help find solutions
for a successful future in the industry.
“The need for meetings has become
more crucial in the current economic environment—in times of crisis, people want
to meet and connect with their colleagues
even more,” said Peter Brokenshire, general
manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention
Centre (KLCC).
“[KLCC is] experiencing a greater volume of regional business and a shorter lead
time for bookings in the conventions segment,” he said.
In the first four months of 2009, the center successfully clinched 17 conferences.
Jimé Essink, president and chief executive of trade show organizer UBM Asia, says
that the group’s major events in the first three
months of the year weathered the economic
storm very well, with good attendance and
rebookings.
“China is expected to play a crucial role
in the economic recovery because of the size
of the domestic market and also the detailed
recovery measures being implemented by
the government.”
And the economic crisis has impacted
companies deeper than their surface business. For instance, Mirtha Sari Nugroho of
the Jakarta Convention Center says their
budget has been negatively affected.
“When we established the budget for
2009, we predicted the number of events
would decrease and revenue would be down
by approximately 15 percent, compared to
2008.”
Event size and expenditure is also down.
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Ambassador
KAZUYA MINAMI – CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/2.0
OF THE
NEW
BY QUINN NORTON
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LOIC LE MEUR – CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/
LICENSES/BY/2.0
A perpetually inquisitive leader, Creative
Commons’ Joi Ito looks beyond
consensus reality for business, communications
and cultural and technological innovations.
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V
Venture capitalist and CEO of nonprofit Creative Commons, Joichi Ito (alias Jonkichi) has
just offered me a ride on his magical motorcycle. It’s a colorful and curvy Terry Prachettesque chopper, equal parts baroque fantasy
and Hell’s Angels. It rumbles like a Harley,
but higher-pitched, shallower and algorithmically repetitive. He tells me to click the little
arrow button on the bike, and when I do, an
equally bizarre and fun sidecar appears—I
jump in. Ito and I are physically thousands of
miles apart. We’re meeting in World of Warcraft, a massive multiplayer Internet game set
in a fantasy world. Here, where Ito spends
much of his time, he is a magic-wielding
gnome, short, colorfully dressed and glowing
with unearthly light. His eyes are hidden by a
wide-brimmed blue hat, leaving just an enigmatic avatar smile.
Ito came to fame as a venture activist and
Internet visionary, with titles such as “CEO”
and “chairman,” but he likes to talk about
his guild in this virtual world of elves and
dragons more than most other topics.
“I have started lots of different communities. This guild is great because it’s really
diverse,” Ito says. “We’ve got soldiers, we’ve
got a real-life priest, we’ve got moms, we’ve
got kids...the game dynamics make it so you
really can’t do anything on your own, and
we have a policy against buying gold so you
can’t bring in any of your real-life privilege.
In fact, the MBAs that have tried to lead in
my guild have almost consistently all failed at
leading, whereas [the raid leaders] are always
the people who have working-class listening
jobs. Our best leaders, I’ve found, are bartenders, nurses.”
What the game has in common with Ito’s
day job is the creation of mutual interest
communities on the Internet.
Real Creative
In “real” life, Ito meets me at the headquarters of Creative Commons (CC), a nonprofit
that creates licenses that allow people to
forgo some of their rights as content creators.
It’s also part of a greater copyright reform
movement. In 2001, Stanford University law
professor Lawrence Lessig started CC to provide a legal, technical and social framework
for the sharing of copyrighted material. In the
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midst of debates about peer-to-peer file sharing and music industry lawsuits, CC looked
to create a middle ground—a body of work
that creators could explicitly share and anyone could openly take.
Being able to express this desire to share
technically and legally has, perhaps counterintuitively, impacted much of technology and
the Internet itself. Computers are by their
nature copying machines—everything you
look at on a computer has to be copied repeatedly to be seen. To look at something on your
screen from a Web site is to make a copy of
it, to download it is to make another copy
after that. The law has no way to acknowledge this strange way of dealing with copyrighted material—which accounts for most
content. Our copyright laws are designed to
This article is licensed by noncommercial-share-alike. You can
do things with it you’ve never
had the right to do with another
article in One+. You are welcome to re-write parts, include it
on your personal blog, anthologize it or make an audio version
without asking—but you’re not
allowed to sell it, must give the
author and One+ credit for the
original and have to let other
people do the same things to
your version.
deal with the kind of copying that was possible from 1790 to the 1980s, which was slow
and expensive by comparison. Controversial
services such as file sharing are an outgrowth
of this technological architecture. Computers
created a structural conflict between law and
physics.
Lessig wanted CC to be a way to let people out of this conflict without waiting for a
legislative remedy. CC allows you to communicate, through a legal license, permitting
others to use a work freely with some conditions. As a consumer of copyrighted material,
CC allows reuse with at a minimum attribution, and works carry their authorship and
these rights as they move from computer to
computer. (See sidebar.)
On April 1, 2008, Ito took over the leadership of the nonprofit after two years on
its board. He represented a new and needed
direction for the organization. Lessig had
birthed an idea, and created passion for it,
but that was a long way from running a successful organization, and CC was feeling it.
“The whole history of CC is a big learning
curve,” says Mike Linksvayer, vice president
of CC, referring to the conflicts and confusions that arose in those first few years.
Employee turnover was high, and most
of the board members were academics—
brilliant people, but not used to running
corporations.
“CC was moving from a legal idea to
something that was slightly more entrepreneurial, more technical, and the board was
mostly law school professors. I fit the role
of the person we were looking for,” Ito says.
“It was the organization that needed me the
most.”
Ito spends most of his time managing or
acting as staff liaison to the board, according
to Linksvayer. He leaves daily operations to
management in San Francisco. The other part
of Ito’s job is getting the message of CC out
without interfering with those operations.
“Joi’s really good at telling the CC story
rather than telling the Joi Ito story,” Linksvayer says. “It’s a cliche to say he has a finger
on the pulse...but he knows enough about the
relevant technical and social dimensions that
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Bridging the
GULF
of Perceptions
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How the Gulf meeting industry is
coping in the wake of the current
economic crisis.
T
BY ROB NICHOLAS
The Gulf States have long shared the same
mission statement (borrowed from a popular Hollywood movie): “If you build it,
they will come,” but given the global meltdown of the last seven months, confidence
in the statement has waned in some quarters. “Will they come?” is the question reverberating throughout the region, whether asked out in the open or from behind
closed doors.
Take a look at the reality for the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The GCC consists of six states (Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates), each with its
own dynamics and market fundamentals.
Even beyond this, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consists of seven sheikhdoms,
each again with its own policies and directions.
Many commentators have made the
mistake of lumping the countries together
in a single basket, but this creates an overly
simplistic and skewed view of a complex
region.
There are many similarities between
the Gulf States. Each started out as desert with indigenous Bedouin inhabitants,
where trade, fishing and pearling provided
income before oil or gas reserves. Each has
developed into established business and
tourism hubs, albeit with different degrees
of success. And most importantly, each has
achieved its development in a single lifetime, while competing with destinations
that rose over a great many generations.
However, the Gulf region as a whole
has been hit by the non-discriminating economic crisis, as has the meeting industry
worldwide.
“International companies seem to have
issued blanket instructions that have reduced both meetings and incentive travel
irrespective of how well local businesses
are performing,” explained David Hackett,
chairman of BI Worldwide Group. “Incentives have been particularly hard hit, while
meetings business is now taking place closer to home and, in some instances, is being
reduced in timescale so that any elements
of leisure are minimized. Budgets have certainly been reduced.”
Desert of Dreams
With twice the number of hotel rooms as
its closest competing Gulf neighbor (Abu
Dhabi), Dubai has long been the pioneer
in terms of development and tourism infrastructure and seems to have an innate ability to create wonder, interest and enthusiasm (not necessarily in that order) from
visitors and potential investors.
The raison d’être of most realized projects has been quality tourism, and at the
beginning of its tourism curve in the late
1990s, mass tourism was merely balked at.
Meetings, incentives and business tourism
were the buzzwords and the foci. It was
five-star or no-star, concepts had to be different or tourism leaders were indifferent.
And the only groups welcomed were those
of the business variety.
State-of-the-art meeting facilities were
the staple of all new hotels, and independent
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venues were introduced to accommodate
large-scale meetings, events and exhibitions.
Fast-forward 10 years, and the tourism
landscape has transformed along with the
city’s skyline.
Over the last few years, Dubai became
captive to its own success as it played catchup to a supply and demand in-equation and
became the “it” destination for the leisure
market.
The independent travel segment was
booming and soaked up available hotel
guest room stock leaving little in the way of
additional capacity for meetings and incentives. When rooms were available, they also
came at a price. For the last five years, the
destination has ranked among the world’s
top locales for hotel occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR) in Smith
Travel Research’s Hotel Benchmark Survey,
and that does not make for good bedfellows
with the meeting industry.
However, there has been a sea change
over the last six months.
“While initially the UAE thought it could
escape the credit crunch, it soon became obvious that, as part of a global economy, this
region would also be impacted,” Hackett
explained. “Since Dubai is the most dependent on foreign investment and is the primary regional headquarters for international
businesses, it has suffered the most.
“As a consequence we have noted a turndown in both international client activity
and to a lesser degree among local businesses
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and government departments.”
Prime source markets for both leisure
and business tourism have been the U.K.,
Germany and other European countries. But
currency fluctuations have made the destination 19 percent more expensive than just
six months ago for the Euro-zone and 27
percent more expensive for British travelers.
Combine this with a global recession,
rapidly increasing room stock as new hotels
come on stream and more competition from
Gulf neighbors, and it is not too surprising
that things have changed.
However, few hotels have dropped rates
below 35 percent (as of April) and beach
properties and some key city hotels are
still recording high occupancy levels. Prime
beachfront hotels are even at full capacity.
“The situation is not as bad as some
people think,” explained
Yigit Sezgin, regional director of sales and marketing for Rezidor Hotel Group. “Yes, there
is an adjustment in the
market, but that is due
to changing conditions
internationally as well as
regionally. Global hotel
groups are faring well as
they have leverage in all
key markets and are able
to adjust their strategies
and bring in assistance
from other destinations.
The local operators are
struggling to a greater extent.”
Rezidor properties in Dubai are now
targeting more regional business from the
meetings sector, Sezgin says.
“There has been a decline in the more
traditional European source markets, but
this is being replaced by greater interest
from businesses within the region that are
perhaps looking at holding meetings closer
to home, keen to meet with their counterparts in other Gulf countries and learn how
they are coping with the new economic
landscape.”
The Gulf States are all growing commercial hubs that have seen a huge amount of
growth over the last five to 10 years. Dubai
has been particularly active with the set-up
of specialist economic zones dedicated to
particular industries.
This development has created a burgeoning domestic and outbound meeting industry that was once fully reliant on inbound
international business.
One sector that is very much international, but still at a fledgling stage of development, in Dubai is convention business—the
holy grail of the meeting industry.
“As we are currently bidding for congresses four to five years in advance, this
market has not yet been impacted by the crisis,” said Natasha Tomé of the Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB). “We are still proactively bidding for—and winning—large
association congresses. We recently won the
HUGO annual conference for 2011.”
And there are some positive repercussions of the crisis when it comes to pricing.
“Clients who previously thought
Dubai was too expensive are now taking a
second look and asking for new quotes to
hold their events here,” Tomé said.
The DCB is also stepping up a gear to assist the generation of future business.
“We’re very busy with a lot of inquiries
from new and previous clients and have
a new head of sales who started in early
March, which helps us provide the level of
service required for international planners.”
Far from being worried about the new
market conditions, the DCB also sees this as
an opportunity.
“The increase in room availability
and decrease of rates, which are more attractive to association congresses, have helped
Dubai’s position as a meetings destination,”
Tomé said.
One of the Gulf’s leading DMCs and congress organizers, Net Tours, has observed a
marked decline in business so far this year.
“We have been impacted by the economic crisis with business on all levels being
reduced by an average of 25 percent to 35
percent since January. As a matter of fact,
we have also revised our yearly budget and
continue to do so,” said Ali Abu Monassar,
executive chairman of Net Group.
Echoing comments made by Rezidor’s
Sezgin, Net Group has also identified some
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changing market dynamics.
“As many incentive and business travel
events have been cancelled or postponed, we
have had to find new trends that can somehow compensate the gap. We have done this
by giving attractive packages to the GCC
and new emerging markets that never would
have been able to come to the UAE before.
We are also concentrating on association
business for the future and doing a lot of research on this.”
Along with changes in focus for the industry, competition has become more cutthroat and the value of key relationships
is being recognized to a greater extent than
ever before.
“Naturally everybody is trying to get
business at any cost,” Monassar explained.
“But suppliers are more helpful and flexible
regarding prices and adding value. Clients
are also very demanding and use the crisis as
an opportunity to extract as much benefit as
possible for themselves.”
A slowdown in the booming tourism industry has also presented an opportunity for
cooperative and understand the overall market situation. We now have time to think before doing things. Before, there was no time
and everyone was in rush.”
Pole Position
As the richest of the United Arab Emirates
and tourism champion in-waiting with the
advent of its first Formula One Grand Prix
race in November this year, Abu Dhabi is
the Gulf destination capturing the spotlight.
No stranger to business visitors as this
has always formed the core of the destination’s tourism offering, Abu Dhabi has fared
better than most during the current crisis,
even posting a rise in RevPAR for the first
quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year (US$280 to $315).
Occupancy rates have been affected,
but a 6 percent drop from 87 percent to 81
percent isn’t prompting any panic reactions
from hoteliers.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority’s
(ADTA) five-year plan anticipates 2.7 million visitors by 2012, double the existing
Regional Round-up
The meeting industry
in other member states
of the Gulf Cooperation
Council is in various stages
of development and
health.
Saudi Arabia has the
greatest potential in terms
of intra-regional business
owing to its sizeable population base and industry
strength—not only in the
fields of oil and gas but
also in terms of banking, finance and medical. The Saudi Supreme
Commission for Tourism
and Antiquities claims that
the effect of the current
crisis has been minimal on
domestic meetings, but is
looking at the current situation as an opportunity to
bring more regional meetings to the destination.
Meanwhile, Bahrain
does not intend to be left
behind in the quest for
conventions business and
claims that the meeting
industry is holding up well
in the current crisis.
reflection.
“It is important that sometimes you
stop and evaluate your actions,” Monassar
said. “We always draw benefits from any
situation, and the best of this crisis is that
it has brought the industry back to a point
where it can challenge and find ways to be
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“We have had two
postponements but still
within the same year,
2009, and have had no
outright cancellations at
all,” said Debbie StanfordKristiansen, acting CEO of
the Bahrain Exhibition and
Convention Authority. “We
are also very fortunate
to still be receiving daily
enquiries for events in
2009, 2010, 2011.”
number, and with current demand outstripping supply as hotel rooms number less than
15,000, there is no reason to doubt its ability to deliver on these objectives. By 2013,
room stock will have doubled to more than
30,000.
“Business is at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s
development plans, and it is no coincidence
that the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition
Centre (ADNEC) was one of the first major
projects to be introduced in the emirate,”
explained Paul Vincent, marketing director
for the ADNEC. “This facility is an economic driver, bringing in business people
from a variety of industries—visitors from
across the world that will return with their
families at a later date.”
The next phase of development for the
facility includes a dedicated convention center to accommodate major meetings and
supplement its already extensive product
offering for large-scale exhibitions and conferences.
With a dedicated MICE division and a
presence at most specialist international
meeting industry shows, the ADTA has a
concerted strategy to court this tourism segment.
“Business tourism, whether from the
MICE sector or from people coming to the
emirate to conduct business, currently accounts for 80 percent of our hotel guests,”
said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, international
promotions manager for the ADTA. “The
importance of this segment cannot be
underestimated.”
Alexander John, director of business
development for MCI, which represents
several associations in the Middle East and
organizes meetings throughout the UAE and
the wider-Gulf region, commented that his
company has seen an increased demand for
Abu Dhabi as a potential destination for
meetings of all sizes.
“We recognized the potential for Abu
Dhabi three years ago and set up an office
there. This is clearly an emerging destination and we are receiving a constant stream
of requests for events, especially around the
Formula One Grand Prix. Associations are
also showing more interest in the destination. In the last week of April, we hosted
16 U.S.-based associations that are looking
at the UAE as a destination for their future
congresses.
“Business from within the region is looking positive and we are just about to signoff on a regional medical congress for Abu
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Dhabi in 2010,” John said. “The regional
corporate market is also now looking at other destinations within the Gulf where there
are greater business opportunities, especially
as alternatives to Dubai.”
But John says clients are overall less willing to commit to projects because they have
longer internal processes due to the global
economic crisis.
“The need for ROI has become greater
with lesser funds, and clients are choosing
the most profitable channel to communicate
to their community,” he said. “There also
seems to be more central control over events,
with tighter budgets and a lesser number of
executions.”
On the supply side, cooperation is of
paramount importance and many suppliers
are experiencing the same fallout, with a decrease in market activity.
“Hotels are more accommodating, and
summer rates have kicked in earlier,” John
said. “Other suppliers are cutting costs to
accommodate lower budgets. However,
quality is not compromised as this remains
a perquisite of all clients when executing
events.”
Rising Star of the Gulf
Qatar emerged in the late 1990s as a latecomer to the regional tourism scene, owing
to the discovery of vast natural gas reserves
in the mid-1980s that enabled vision to become reality.
Since this time, the Gulf state has focused
its attentions on business tourism, building
a world-class infrastructure to rival that of
any major city and dwarfing the facilities of
competitors from within the region.
Qatar is looking to distinguish itself from
other regional centers as a meeting destination with a difference, by focusing on developing key sectors of its economy including
energy, healthcare, education, science and
sport, with a specific focus on targeting
high-profile government and association
meetings involved with these sectors.
“Qatar is not trying to be all things to
all people. Where it has aligned its focus is
in being progressive in its outlook and developing a knowledge-based economy,”
explained Ferry Lee, corporate marketing
manager for the Qatar MICE Development
Institute, an initiative established by the
Qatar Foundation specifically to drive the
events industry in Qatar. “Qatar is working
to develop certain industry sectors, through
events and knowledge transfer, bringing the
leaders of these industries to Qatar to help
conducted by The Gulf Incentive, Business
Travel & Meetings Exhibition revealed that
the associations market was placed way out
behind the corporate and public sectors for
regional suppliers when it came to pitching
for meetings business, but Qatar is bucking
this trend by heavily targeting this sector.
“We have done a lot of research into the
MPI in the Gulf Region
MPI recently established
an office in Doha, and has
launched successful programs in the Gulf region.
The association recently
played host to parts one
and two of the Global
Certificate in Meeting
Operations (GCMO) course,
as well as the content-rich
develop these sectors.
“You could say that while Dubai delivers the ‘Vegas experience,’ Qatar looks at its
importance in the global, political arena. It
plays host to a lot of United Nations events,
UNESCO events and events such as the
Arab League and the Doha debates. So the
content tends to be of a much more serious
nature, and the delegates who attend those
events are there for a meeting of minds.”
Qatar currently boasts just one convention center: the Doha Exhibition Centre,
run by the Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions
Authority (QTEA), which opened in February 2008. In its first year, the 50,000-squarefoot facility welcomed 500,000 visitors and
played host to more than 20 international
exhibitions.
Two larger facilities are in the pipeline
for 2011. QTEA will move into the Doha
Exhibition Centre and Tower, featuring a
112-story iconic tower and adjacent exhibition center, with 147,000 square feet of
showcase space; while the Qatar National
Convention Centre (QNCC) will feature
131,000 square feet of exhibition space, a
2,500-seat auditorium, a 500-seat theatre
and a multi-purpose hall for conferences.
While the extra capacity won’t come on
stream for at least two years, the time lag
fits into Qatar’s game plan perfectly—when
it comes to the meetings business, Qatar is
playing a long game. A recent industry survey
Gulf Meetings and Events
Conference. To learn more
about upcoming opportunities in the region, visit www.
mpiweb.org.
association market. This business is really
ripe for the picking to come to the Middle
East. The majority of associations haven’t
been to the Middle East, so this is a unique
opportunity to bring that business here,”
said Sue Hocking, director of sales for
QNCC.
Lee agrees that this strategy to target
association business will pay dividends for
Qatar in the long run.
“Even if we had a big congress to run
tomorrow, Qatar isn’t quite ready yet, but
in the next two to three years, which is the
bidding cycle for these large-scale events, it
will have everything in place. That’s why
it’s very focused on convention activity—
understanding what associations need, what
an industry sector would want to get from
a congress and what the destination can offer.”
ROB NICHOLAS heads up Nicholas Publishing International, producer of publications
such as the bi-monthly meetme (Meet Middle
East) magazine and annual destination guides
meetdubai, meetabudhabi, meetoman, meetjordan, meetegypt, meetqatar, meetbahrain,
meetmorocco and meetsaudiarabia, all
accessible online at www.meetmiddleeast.
com.
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C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 7 4
In essence, the mayors wanted to talk about
money. So de Groot’s first step was to revamp
the agenda.
Next, he hired sumo wrestlers painted
red and green—to reflect the battle between
“green” spaces and “red” real estate—to
open the plenary session. De Groot says he
wanted to shock attendees out of their comfort zones and open their minds to new ways
of thinking.
Perhaps most importantly, he completely
changed the structure of the plenary session.
Instead of letting the mayors sit back in a
large forum-style discussion, which rarely
produced much participation, he forced them
to sit in small groups, discuss controversial
talking points and come up with a single
opinion on how best to resolve the conflict
“The meeting industry comes from the
tourism and hotel sphere, where you facilitate stays for guests, but you don’t go into the
hotel room and say, ‘Hi guys, what are you
doing in here?’ Meeting planners have it in
their genes not to go into the meeting room,”
de Groot said. “Now the revolution is that
the industry has to go into the meeting room,
because that’s where the value is created.”
De Groot is one of a handful of meeting
industry players who are leading the way into
a new age. These designers and architects are
leaving the logistical tasks of old-school planners behind—which hotel to book, how to
register attendees—and are focusing on strategy: helping their clients create content for
meetings in a way that will produce tangible
business results.
“We carefully design for spontaneity,”
said Dan Rose, president of Toronto-based
Omakase Group, a consulting firm that
delves into event content. “We guide participants in meetings through a process that will
surface some insight that typically doesn’t
occur on its own.”
This new approach is without a doubt the
biggest change happening in the global meeting and event industry, and it’s a change that
is redefining what it means to be a meeting
will survive.
“We need to relate meetings to solutions instead of relating meetings to fun and
trips abroad,” de Groot said. “Meetings are
about solutions, about new ideas, about the
future.”
Designing for Value
The desire to create meetings that produce
results isn’t new. Over the past decade, companies have been tweaking the format, content and marketing of meetings in order to
increase ROI. In fact, 64 percent of top-level
executives at the largest companies in the U.S.
are now measuring meeting ROI, according
to a recent survey co-sponsored by MPI. Of
course, the hunt for ROI has become more
urgent in the past year as cash-strapped companies try to justify every penny they spend to
shareholders and an angry public.
“Years ago, events were about hype, getting people excited and treating them well,”
said Tony Castrigno, CEO of New Yorkbased Design Contact. “Now the business
objective is being moved to the forefront of
the meeting. People are serious about getting real value and making sure that every
aspect of a meeting has a meaningful business
outcome.”
Forced to show this kind of evidence,
meeting planners are increasingly recognizing
that traditional meeting formats are not producing real results.
One of the problems is that long speeches
by single individuals no longer capture the
attention of a society hooked on a fast-paced,
high-tech flow of information.
“Because of technology and because of
the way our culture is structured, attention
spans are much shorter and we need to figure out what the impact of that is going to
be in meetings,” said Gail Bower, a meeting and event industry consultant and planner. “Sessions have to be shorter and more
impactful, and delivery has to be fast-paced
planner. But there are other changes too— and interesting.”
fueled by new virtual meetings technology
At the same time, psychologists are finding
and social media—that will require meeting that herding audiences into large crowds displanners to change the way they do business. courages involvement and creativity. That’s
In fact, the meeting industry has reached its why “unconferences” and “open spaces” are
greatest crossroad, and planners who are able becoming wildly popular. For such events,
to adjust to this new future are those who attendees suggest agenda items during the
“Because of technology and because of the
way our culture is structured, attention spans
are much shorter and we need to figure out
what the impact of that is going to be in meetings. Sessions have to be shorter and more
impactful, and delivery has to be fast-paced
and interesting.”
between the desire for green spaces and the
need for financing. The result was stunning:
The association managed to get a vote from
the mayors on their preferred approach, and
the vote was then presented to the federal
government as a unified message from the
association.
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“Sometimes attendees have needs and wants at an event that are
not going to be satisfied by the organizer,” Smith said. “If you can
give them another way to communicate with fellow attendees who
can answer their questions, that becomes an incredible tool for the
event organizer.”
planning process and contribute content—
in the form of moderation, discussion or
feedback—to the actual sessions. Experts say
open spaces and unconferences work well
because they tailor content to the needs of an
audience and keep attendees involved because
they feel responsible for the outcome.
In addition to revamping formats, new
meeting architects and designers are also
carefully planning how attendees participate. Omakase Group’s Rose is turning that
concept into a science. His job is to control
the uncontrollable, guiding people’s experiences in a way that produces “spontaneous
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creativity.” This means that instead of setting
up an interaction that allows attendees to
exchange information and then walk away
“caught up with each other,” he creates interactions that help attendees come up with new
ideas.
Rose’s tools sound simple enough. He
breaks up large groups into smaller ones,
and gives each group a problem to solve. If
the goal of the meeting is to produce a global
financial model, for example, he gives each
group a geographic region to tackle. After 45
minutes, he mixes up the groups, and gives
them new assignments, such as asking them to
address a certain quirk in the financial model.
To get their creative juices flowing, he supplies
attendees with large whiteboards that allow
them to sketch out ideas and communicate
clearly with each other. Conference organizers take notes, photograph whiteboards and
distribute updates in real time, so participants
aren’t slowed down by the laborious task of
note taking. At the same time, Rose micromanages the whole event to make sure that
ideas flow in the right direction.
“Brainstorming is good, but we work out
with the client in advance where that brainstorming needs to go,” he said. “We figure
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out what kind of business deliverable needs
to be created, and we get the participants to
create that output so the client can walk out
of the room with the financial model or the
creative brief that needs to be done.”
To be sure, this level of involvement by
a meeting planner seems daunting. After all,
how can a planner help a roomful of neuroscientists come up with a solution to a vexing
problem one day, and do the same for a conference of cellists the next?
But Rose says his approach relies on a
set of skills that has little to do with specific
industries and can be used in a variety of situations. One of his main tricks to help attendees think creatively, for example, is teaching
them how to express themselves visually:
sketching out concepts in their industry using
pictures instead of words. He points to studies showing that drawings coax out perspectives and insights that might remain hidden
by words. He also teaches attendees to think
outside the box by asking them to apply lessons from other industries to their own. In
a meeting of neuroscientists, for example, he
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distributes an article about Starbucks’ business strategy and then asks them to draw a
lesson that might be useful to them.
Different architects have different ways
of helping attendees think outside the box.
MindMeeting’s de Groot says he was able to
shake people up by confronting them with
the sumo wrestling match and chopping up
the plenary session into small groups. Others rely on props; to help salespeople perfect
their pitches at a medical conference, Design
Contact’s Castrigno set up mock doctor’s
offices with real doctors.
Virtually There
In some ways, this change in the role of the
meeting designer was inevitable considering
how much of a meeting planner’s traditional
job has been made obsolete by technology.
It’s not just that clients can now book their
own venues and flights with a few clicks of a
button. But many ordinary meetings that previously required some degree of planning are
now being held virtually. Lately, demand for
virtual events has been fueled by the recession,
as corporate meeting budgets are slashed and
decision-makers realize they have to cancel
expensive physical events. But experts believe
that once the recession is over, companies will
continue to hold a mix of physical and virtual
meetings.
“Going forward, virtual events are going
to become a strategic part of a company’s
communication strategy,” said Kerry Smith,
founder and CEO of Event Marketing Institute. “Planners need to figure out how virtual
can complement face-to-face meetings, and
go beyond ‘virtual is the enemy.’”
IBM, known for its innovative meetings
and events, has been experimenting with virtual events for several years. In 2008, it held
a meeting for IBM engineers in Second Life,
behind an IBM firewall that ensured privacy
and data security.
The conference—for the Academy of
Technology, a community that helps develop
new technologies—was a good replica of a
“real” conference, says Karen Keeter, an IBM
marketing executive in charge of organizing
the conference. Speakers took questions from
6/24/09 8:18:23 AM
Turning meeting professionals into contributors of strategy as
opposed to logistical planners makes them more valuable and less
dispensable. Forcing them to figure out ways to add value means
that they will always be able to prove that value when asked.
the audience, and attendees bumped into
each other in the hallways. The conference
was so realistic that one attendee sitting in the
front row of his boss’ presentation forgot he
had scheduled a conflicting conference call,
and when his cell phone rang in the middle
of the talk his avatar had to conspicuously
leave the room.
“If you can’t be there in person, this is a
great alternative,” said Keeter, adding that
the feedback to the conference was overwhelmingly positive. After all, 21 percent of
attendees said the conference was as effective
as a physical meeting, and 41 percent said
it was even better. “You don’t get the facial
expressions, but you can see lips moving.
You can have private conversations, and the
closer you move to a crowd the louder their
voices get.”
However, experts agree that virtual meetings have a long way to go before going mainstream. Several companies, including Second
Life, Unisfair and Qwaq, are competing in
this space and regularly updating their offerings, but the lack of an industry-wide standard makes it cumbersome for clients to hold
large conferences or to combine platforms.
Virtual meetings are just one aspect of
how technology is changing the event industry: Social media Web sites such as Facebook
and Twitter are sparking a revolution of their
own. Attendees use Twitter to connect with
each other at an event or “tweet” about it for
the benefit of those not attending. Using these
kinds of informal channels to communicate
about formal events is beginning to blur the
once rigid line between business and social
events, encouraging attendees to connect on
a more personal level than ever before.
Bobbie Carlton, a board member at the
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, Mass., says social media
helped her pull the little-known museum out
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of shadows earlier this year. Tucked away in
a converted mill that’s used mainly for artist
studios and condos, the museum never managed to gain much attention from the local
community. Part of the problem was that
its events always had an old-school feel that
didn’t attract Waltham’s hip technology elite.
So Carlton decided to tap into lessons she
had learned during her years as a marketing
representative for high-tech companies and
started a series of free parties that receive
publicity by word-of-mouth on social media
platforms. Dubbed Mass Innovation Nights,
the parties highlight local innovators while
bringing the museum into the community
fold.
“I had been attending a lot of tweet-ups,
and I thought, ‘I can do this,’” said Carlton,
who publicized the event almost exclusively
on Twitter and within weeks had attracted a
huge following.
But the social media aspect didn’t stop
there. Carlton asked attendees to pick one of
the featured products they liked, and write
about it on their Facebook pages, Twitter
feeds or blogs.
The first party (April 18), on which she
spent a grand total of $28.95 (domain name,
name tags and three water bottles) drew
almost 200 attendees and 10 exhibitors.
“I didn’t want this to be a very polished
event, I wanted this to be something that
everybody helps out with,” said Carlton,
pointing out that getting the local community involved generated more excitement and
goodwill for the museum.
Twitter is also increasingly being used to
help attendees communicate with each other.
At a recent conference of the Event Marketing Institute, a group of Twitter aficionados
tweeted so extensively with each other that
they ended up—through a tweet—asking
organizers to set up a tweet-up for them at
one of the conference’s scheduled mixers.
“Sometimes attendees have needs and
wants at an event that are not going to be
satisfied by the organizer,” Smith said. “If
you can give them another way to communicate with fellow attendees who can answer
their questions, that becomes an incredible
tool for the event organizer.”
Adjusting for the Future
Like other experts, Smith firmly believes that
new technologies both philosophical and
physical will actually work to the advantage
of planners.
Turning meeting professionals into contributors of strategy as opposed to logistical
planners makes them more valuable and less
dispensable. Forcing them to figure out ways
to add value means that they will always be
able to prove that value when asked. Of
course, to compete effectively meeting planners will also have to learn a whole new
set of skills, ranging from basic psychology
(Omakase’s Rose recommends reading Scientific American and taking improvisational
acting classes) to figuring out the latest social
media tool.
They will also have to set their sights
beyond the meeting, and try to find ways
to insert themselves into the corporate process. Smith argues that planners might have
to begin taking more ownership of the sales
leads their events generate, for example,
by setting up systems that shepherd leads
through the sales channel.
“If the event professionals of today take a
proactive approach,” Smith said, “they will
move from people who are still perceived in
many cases as tactics and logistics people to
strategic business people.”
DALIA FAHMY is a worldly business
freelancer based in New York.
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clients, he doesn’t want to depend too heavily on that revenue stream. To diversify, he
has expanded his team’s offerings from conventional, full-service meeting planning to à
lá carte work on tasks such as site selection.
His employees handle both group and individual incentive programs, instead of specializing in just one. And they have branched out
into registrations for both user groups and
meetings.
“The diversification came about as a result
of listening to our clients’ needs and adapting
to the marketplace,” he said.
To make sure his eight-person team can
handle its broad responsibilities, he has
always hired employees with an eye for those
who like to tackle the unfamiliar. Not only
does his approach bring his team challenging
opportunities for professional growth, but it
has paid off financially.
“It’s not going to be a banner year, but
we’re weathering the storm because of our
diversification,” he said.
And once the economy turns around, he
believes his division will be in a stronger position than before.
STRENGTHEN BUSINESS
RELATIONSHIPS
Finding new ways to bring more value to clients is also a good way to position yourself
for a recovery, and Forero’s approach to site
selection isn’t the only way to do it.
After starting her career working with
technology firms in the late 1990s, Sharona
Meushar, president of Tel Aviv-based Sharona
Marketing Media Events, learned to help her
corporate clients run high-quality events on
tight budgets during the technology market
collapse. To that end, she arranges partnerships to share the cost of meetings with other
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noncompeting firms, so her clients don’t have
to reduce quality to save money. In February,
for instance, she helped her long-time client,
Access Partners, a banking solutions provider,
to reduce its overhead at a conference in Bahrain, by arranging a partnership in which it
shared expenses with two other firms. Result:
Access Partners maintained a high-end presence without the usual price tag.
“If you’re going to play host to an event,
I advise my clients to not go cheap on the
drinks and foods,” Meushar said. “It doesn’t
serve the purpose. It’s better to partner up.
You’ll make the company and its solutions
look better.”
Meushar has also generated repeat business by helping clients on very tight budgets
to come up with high-impact ideas that cost
little to implement. For instance, when a telecommunications client hired Meushar to help
with its presence at an electronic communications convention held near Amsterdam in
2006, Meushar arranged a field trip to its
server farm that turned out to be a big hit
with company guests.
“People were thrilled about it, and the
only cost was the bus ride,” she said.
Even meetings with more traditional formats can be an opportunity to bring more
value to clients without higher costs. For
instance, when Warren Levy, president of
Compelling Meetings in the Philadelphia area,
planned a law firm’s annual partners meeting two years ago, he persuaded his client to
opt out of the traditional approach to panel
discussions. Instead, he enlisted a moderator
to pepper the speakers with tough questions
on new developments in the industry and
to encourage them to elaborate on points
of disagreement. The firm got such positive
feedback from its partners that it hired him to
plan the following year’s meeting. Running a
meeting this way takes an extra effort to get
panelists to buy into the idea in advance, he
acknowledges.
“The challenge is you have to pick speakers who are willing to do that,” he said.
“There are some panelists I describe as inert.
They want to make their point of view known
and go.”
Giving attendees more opportunities to
interact with speakers informally can also
add value to client meetings without a higher
price tag, Levy says. At a recent healthcarerelated meeting for a global consulting firm,
he arranged in advance for the speakers to sit
at tables among the senior executives who
attended when they weren’t at the podium,
to foster more offline discussions.
“It would have been interesting to have
them there just to speak, but it’s much more
revealing and original to have them interact
with everyone,” he said.
Levy believes such measures are necessary
at a time when many executives are questioning whether they should bother attending certain meetings at all.
“CEOs have made the decision that their
time is too valuable to attend meetings, unless
they are going to be interacting with people
who are critical to them,” he said.
REAP THE REWARDS OF
EASING CLIENTS’ PAIN
Responding to clients’ challenges with flexible solutions can also build loyalty that will
serve you well when times are better, say
longtime meeting professionals. Kevin Priger,
who began working in hotels 22 years ago
and became senior sales manager at Macon
(Ga.) Marriott City Center in March, recalls
a recent situation when a corporate client
approached his previous employer to see if it
could cancel the contract for a big event. The
vice president of the client’s company came in
to explain that while he wanted to go ahead
with the gathering, large meetings in its budget were coming under intense scrutiny as the
economic situation deteriorated.
“It blared on the radar,” Priger said.
The VP said he would prefer to have several smaller meetings that would have the
same outcome.
Realizing that the company was in a tight
spot, the hotel came up with a replacement
contract that allowed the client to pay the
cancellation fee but apply it to several smaller
meetings. Ultimately the tab came out to be
about the same. While the hotel could have
taken a tougher position with the contract,
Priger believes that would have driven the client elsewhere in the long run.
“I believe this is a relationship business,”
he said. “If we don’t have a long-term view
when we face these downturns, we’re going
to be abandoned by these customers.”
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While few industry veterans recommend
across-the-board price cuts in a recession,
some say that an occasional discount for a
struggling client that you want to work with
long term can pay off.
Eisenstodt describes a group that wanted
training at the end of the month.
“They said they had only so much to
pay. It was one-third of what I normally
charge,” she said. “We talked it through.
I had the dates open, I was willing to do
it and it was a subject I liked. They paid
a few of the expenses I would normally
include in the fee, and I came down on my
price.”
When making decisions like this, it is
essential to consider the financial impact on
your company carefully, Eisenstodt says. To
avoid future misunderstandings, she made
it clear during the negotiations that the discount was a one-time thing.
“If they had not said they would pay the
additional expenses, I couldn’t have done it,”
she said. “It would have been much too great
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a loss for me.”
You should also think through the effect
your decision to cut prices will have on your
clients’ willingness to pay full fees in the
future, she adds.
“I’m getting e-mails from all kinds of
organizations saying, ‘Register now for our
conference. We’ve reduced our registration fee,’” she said. “What if I registered six
months ago, and now you’re offering it at
half price? Where’s the fairness? You have
to look at the implications of what you do.
It’s about saying, ‘What can I do to get shortterm business and keep long-term business
and relationships?’”
Although it may be tempting to play
hardball to get better rates from desperate
vendors and suppliers during a recession,
taking a more moderate approach now
may be a wiser approach for the long term,
Eisenstodt says. If they go under because
they can’t turn a profit, you’re likely to suffer from lack of the services you need during
periods of higher demand.
“The hotel can’t lose money on everything,” she said.
With her phone ringing all day with cold
calls from suppliers hoping to drum up business, Eisenstodt takes a few minutes to talk
with them, even if she has no immediate need
for their help.
“They may know another vendor where I
can get a better rate for something,” she said.
Being helpful to others in the industry even
when there’s no immediate payoff is a timetested way to position yourself for a recovery,
Eisenstodt adds.
“Look at every single contact as someone
who can help you, and make your meetings—
and your long-term prospects—different,”
she said.
As many professionals are learning, the
more people you have on your side in an
unpredictable economy, the better.
ELAINE POFELDT is a freelance business
writer.
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C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 8 4
DOING THINGS
DIFFERENTLY?
In the current climate, most MICE operators
throughout Asia—from PCOs and incentive
houses to DMCs and facilities—are doing
things differently to drive new business and
deliver on services.
Suntec Singapore is working to add value
wherever possible.
“Both client and venue will need to be
creative with fewer resources,” Nihalani
said. “And we pride ourselves on being flexible, creative and listening to all of our clients, internal and external. We continue to
deliver a value-added product and service,
while recognizing possible financial constraints that our clients might be facing.”
Added value has also cropped up as one
of Essink’s tactics, with a significant investment in services such as advertising and
matchmaking programs. Additionally, the
company is communicating more frequently
with exhibitors to understand their needs,
boosting its sales network, encouraging
exhibitors to become more active in preshow promotion and recently introduced
VIP buyer initiatives.
Brokenshire says the KLCC is highlighting added value by focusing on the client
experience, with product offerings that
incorporate customized value propositions
tailored to clients’ needs.
An example of this is a promotional
campaign which offers clients a choice of
incentives, including a loyalty and rewards
program and free or discounted event
amenities.
Furthermore, companies are attempting
to attract business with discount rates, free
set-up and breakdown and charging only
for exhibition space actually used. This represents some of the more standard promotions on offer.
The
Seoul
Convention
Bureau’s
O’Crowley reports seeing a paradigm shift
this year with the need to increase promotional efforts to provide services and support for all manner of meeting and event.
In response to this shift, companies are
also expanding their sales efforts to garner
more business and valuable attention in the
industry.
The Bureau of Foreign Trade launched
the Taiwan MICE Advancement Program
in January to boost industry development. According to Jerry Liao, the bureau
has invested more than US$20 million to
upgrade Taiwan’s global competitiveness.
Likewise, in November, the Hong Kong
Tourism Board saw structured growth with
SHINING STARS: What’s New in Asia’s Growing MICE Industry
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts is constructing no fewer than 60 hotels in
China, scheduled to open within the
next five years, a trend seen across the
spectrum with international hotel chains
operating there.
• The Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel,
located on the city’s north third ring
road, close to the 2008 Olympic Stadium and Tiananmen Square, opens in
December 2010 with 470 guest rooms
and more than 35,000 square feet of
event space.
• Last year, 33 world-class Beijing
museums began offering free admission, including the Great Wall Museum
of China and the Cao Xueqin Memorial, located within the Beijing Botanical
Gardens.
• The China Incentive, Business Travel
& Meetings Exhibition, the leading
international MICE industry event
in China, is taking place Sept. 8-10 at
the China National Convention Centre in
Beijing, a venue built specifically for the
2008 Summer Olympic Games.
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• Earlier this year, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre completed a US$180 million expansion,
bringing the center’s available event
space to nearly 1 million square feet.
• The St. Regis brand is seeing impressive growth in the region. The St.
Regis Jakarta (Indonesia) opens in
2011 with more than 55,000 square
feet of meeting space. And the St.
Regis Kuala Lumpur will come online in
the city’s Sentral Precinct, minutes from
the National Museum, in 2014 with
25,000 square feet of meeting space.
• The Grand Hyatt Seoul recently completed a US$50 million renovation on its
guest rooms, The Terrace café and J.J.
Mahoney’s, a multifaceted entertainment venue. Marc Handl, the hotel’s
executive assistant manager of marketing, is confident that such an impressive investment in the midst of the
global economic downturn will result
in a competitive advantage, according to the JoongAng Daily. He says with
locals traveling shorter distances for
business and vacation, the hotel has
realized a 10 percent growth in occupancy over last year.
• The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in conjunction
with the Korea Tourism Organization, is
establishing an extensive walking tour in
the Demilitarized Zone. This is part of a
larger plan to develop the area’s tourism
offerings and includes a proposed name
change to the more pleasant-sounding
“Peace and Life Zone.” Tours will include
museum visits, an underground exploration of the invasion tunnels dug by
North Korea and an ecological tour of
the areas mountain’s and valleys. A pilot
tour took place last month—there’s no
word yet on when all components will be
open to the public.
• The Singapore Tourism Board revealed
designs for its planned cruise terminal in
March. The terminal, capable of accommodating the world’s largest ships, will
be a significant step in developing
Singapore as a major cruise hub and
will be completed by the end of 2011.
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the launch of the Meetings Exhibition Hong
Kong division, a significant expansion in
MICE teams in the Hong Kong office and in
a number of important and emerging MICE
markers.
With much of the region ramping up sales
efforts and visibility while offering standard
client incentives, some Asian industry professionals are expanding the scope of services and products they provide.
Sarawak is focusing on the increasingly
popular corporate social responsibility field,
leveraging its unique CSR content to help
companies justify planned expenditures
on travel and meetings, according to Jill
Henry of the Sarawak Convention Bureau
in Malaysia. She suggests transforming a
gala night into a charity-linked event to
help counter negative perspectives on event
spending.
Others, such as Agility Fairs & Events,
which has pan-Asian interests, are taking
a multi-faceted approach to staying fiscally
sound.
“On the one hand, we’re streamlining
areas of excess,” said Nat Wong, Agility president. “On the other hand, we’ve
expanded into new sectors like events and
fine arts logistics.”
IDENTIFY AND OVERCOME
Outside the economic climate, Asia’s MICE
industry professionals have a wide-ranging
perception of what may be the biggest challenges in the next 12 months.
“Global trade and businesses are currently evolving and many centers of gravity
are going to shift,” Wong said.
For example, he cites the cloning of trade
shows and events by some event owners
who want to create a bigger footprint for
their intellectual properties.
“This brings about dilution in some
areas and new competition in others,”
Wong said.
Throughout Asia, health concerns immediately follow the economy as the greatest
modern threats.
Seoul’s O’Crowley says the swine flu
is causing businesses and governments to
consider the best ways to handle widespread
illnesses and how to be better prepared for
and manage future health issues as they
relate to travel.
Of more direct concern, as the economy
stabilizes and rebounds, businesses will need
to be aware of and recognize the changes
(if any) to their operations and the way in
which organizations utilize meetings and
incentives.
Sweat equity or human capital has been
clearly recognized as a powerful asset for
recovery in Asia—a driver to push the market past the current challenges.
“[That is] one of the key opportunities to
develop, we believe,” Nihalani said. “We are
in the people business. As such, we believe
that people are our greatest assets and we
need to continuously invest in our employees via training and other methods to continually improve our service standards and
add value to our customers.”
Other companies are specifically taking advantage of the slowdown to focus on
internal training within the company, suppliers and business partners.
Helping meeting organizers identify
opportunities for new events in areas where
governments are spending to support the
economy also has a lot of potential, Jimé
Essink says. So does looking for a good partner for strategic alliances, especially in the
emerging powerhouses of China and India.
“The most important thing is to be prepared for the up-turn,” Essink said.
Alicia Yao Hong says her organization
believes meeting professionals should work
more closely than ever before with industry
associations, to gain support of governments, tourism bureaus and CVBs.
“We need to unite and speak as one
voice, to interact with other industry associations, because our business supports other
industries in their incentive and corporate
events,” Hong said.
Strengthening business right now will go
far to prepare companies as coming out of
the recovery there will be an even greater
focus on the educational and ROI value of
business tourism.
KELVIN KING is a business and MICE
journalist based in Auckland, New Zealand.
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you can have an informed conversation.”
“I was genuinely always surprised by
how interesting just random people were,”
he says.
Here, he realized there was a kind of
smart beyond just the academic and business
worlds in which he’d been raised.
“These kids weren’t smart, but they were
so much more socially smart than the kids I
was going to school with,” he says.
People responded to him with warmth as
well.
“During his nightclub phase there was a
‘touch Joi’ club,” says Mimi, laughing. “He
has tended to have fans.”
Eventually, Ito’s mother told him it was
time to get a real job, and Ito returned to
Tokyo and complied, but the lessons stayed
with him and have formed him ever since. Ito
The New Breed
Ito was born in Japan, but by the time he
went to school he and his sister, Mimi, were
growing up as the only Japanese kids in a
Detroit neighborhood.
“I always had this kind of insecurity, chip
on my shoulder thing,” Ito says. “Part of it
was that I was really looking for a group to
identify with. I didn’t have a community in
elementary school.”
The Ito children dealt with being unlike
their peers in different ways. Mimi became a
bookworm; Joi sought out constant company
to defeat the isolation. He learned by talking to others, and his own alienation meant
everyone was equally fair game—strangers,
grownups, whoever had anything interesting
to talk about. And he tried to draw his sister
out of her shell.
“He was always the one who wanted to
play games ‘let’s play, stop reading!’” she
says.
They returned to Japan as teenagers, and
Ito found kids like himself, ending the isolation. But his character had formed. Outgoing, lonely and curious, he learned from
conversation, not books, and never excelled
in school. Traveling between Japan and the
U.S., he became an accidental cultural bridge
between nations, understanding both, but not
being entirely of either. He found the Internet, and fell in love with the placeless place
that was nothing but people with whom to
communicate.
At age 23, Ito found himself in Chicago, a
physics student dropout, turning to the thing
that had been more interesting than school—
nightclub life. He became a DJ and occasional
bartender. For the young and hyper-social Ito,
the nightclub was a rich and real community,
his college life barren by comparison.
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pauses and looks into the middle distance.
“I would be just as happy being a DJ, or
being a bartender, and that’s a totally respectable thing,” he says.
The first thing Ito did in Japan was start
a nightclub called XY Relax. At the same
time Ito was helping introduce the Internet
to Japan, he also brought rave culture and
the clubbing scene that he loved so much in
Chicago.
One night he met counterculture icon
and former Harvard lecturer Dr. Timothy
Leary over dinner in Tokyo, and the two hit
it off. Ito took Leary on a whirlwind tour of
Japanese nightlife. There’s no record of their
conversation, but it was transformative. They
talked late into the night, moving from club
to club, about Japanese youth, ravers and
cyberpunks, having a kind of neoteny (the
retention of child-like attributes in adulthood). Japanese youth culture excited Leary,
and he deemed its members “the new breed.”
The conversation continued for years and left
its mark on both men. Leary started a book
and TV show called The New Breed, and
Ito’s venture capital firm is called Neoteny.
The special connection between the two men
remained until Leary’s death in 1996, with
Ito at his bedside the day before he died.
As the Internet gained popularity in Japan,
Ito became the man that said what other people were thinking.
“Most Japanese can’t say what’s on their
minds because they’re in companies, so even
though I wasn’t the world’s expert or even the
expert in Japan, I would talk about cybercash,
or security, anything I wanted. I was a really
easy interview, because I would say what was
on my mind,” he says.
His strength as a communicator made him
useful to journalists, who called him more
and more, his prominence feeding on itself.
“I became, in Japan at least, relatively visible in the media,” he says. “They called me
the prince of the Internet, said all these nice
things about me when I was young, like 18 or
19 years old. Then you get big headed, then
you get all these people writing terrible things
about you, and it’s a roller coaster.”
He developed a kind of social Aikido in
response—no one would expose the life of
Joi Ito more than Joi Ito.
“I realized the best way to manage your
privacy was to control your identity by
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disclosing everything to a certain extent. I
had done a lot of embarrassing things. I had
enough to make a good story but not so
much that I was really that worried about
it, so I thought it would be easier just to say
everything,” he says. “I’m pretty comfortable
being open to most people about just about
everything.”
Being able to speak clearly to two cultures
paid off in a series of successful companies he
founded in the 1990s in Japan and the U.S.,
leading to political and social work around
the idea of the Internet and new media. Neoteny invested in well-known Internet companies such as Flickr and Twitter.
Ito began to divert more of his attention
away from businesses and into giving back
to the Internet community that had made
him. He started joining boards and advising
various nonprofits that addressed problems
around the Internet, or that used the Internet
to address the world’s problems.
In addition to devoting time to CC, he
served as part of the Internet governing board
ICANN and joined boards for the Mozilla
Foundation, WITNESS.org and recently
Global Voices, which promotes journalistic
blogging by writers in the developing world.
CC is the only place outside of founding
his own companies where he’s taken a “real
job.”
“CC is one of the core issues for people
that take the Internet seriously,” says Global
Voices Founder Ethan Zuckerman.
When Ito joined the board of Global
Voices he knew few of the other people
involved with it beyond Zuckerman. In 2008,
Ito arrived at his first Global Voices meeting
in Budapest, late. He could only catch the last
two days of the event.
“A lot of people in that circumstance
would sit back quietly or try to assert their
importance,” Zuckerman says. “He did
something different. He took photographs.”
Ito took dozens of high-quality photos
and recruited Zuckerman to help him caption them for upload on Flickr. In the course
of going over the photos, Zuckerman found
himself naming everyone and explaining who
they were, telling stories that Ito eventually
used to strike up conversations in the new
group.
“It was a lovely solution to the problem,”
Zuckerman says. “How do you get people to
care about something they don’t care about?
Joi calls this ‘The caring problem.’ You solve
it by making personal relationships.”
Unexplored Landscapes
At the beginning of this year, Ito uprooted
himself from his Tokyo life and moved to
Dubai, in part because the Middle East is the
next big outreach for CC. The CC message
had little traction in much of the Middle East,
but Ito also based his decision to move on the
fact that he had no traction there either. At
the same time that the famous and respected
man was beginning to feel like every day was
the same as the last in his usual haunts, his
trips to the Middle East were jarring. He
found himself an outsider there.
“When I visited the Middle East a couple
of times I realized how stupid I was, how
much of an idiot I was about all this stuff,
how much was unknown, unpredictable,”
he says. “I forgot what it was like for people
to just come up and say ‘What do you do?
What’s Creative Commons?’ When it’s the
Middle East it’s even more like that: ‘What’s
the Internet?’ and to have to answer is to be
bumped into being irrelevant.”
The harder it was, the more he wanted to
be there.
“You become lazy and complacent if
you sit in the same situation all the time...
It’s really important to go somewhere where
they don’t respect you at all,” he says. “Then
being able to become happy there.”
Ito’s cultural omnipresence follows me on
the plane home. I find him on the in-flight
entertainment system on BoingBoing TV getting a tour of Akihabara in Tokyo (the otaku
anime home base) from a man with a British
accent dressed as a Star Wars stormtrooper.
They tour electronics shops and see people
dressed in outfits from anime and Web sites.
It is Internet culture spilling back into the
physical world, put back on the Internet
and downloaded by Virgin to amuse passengers. The video is, of course, CC licensed.
QUINN NORTON is a journalist best
known for her work covering intellectual property, science and technology. She is currently
a columnist for Maximum PC.
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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 August 1, and find out the
answer and winner online at www.mpioneplus.org.
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