The OFFICIAL daily publication of MPI’s MeetDifferent 2010
ONSITE
Hall ‘n Quotes
Meetings Mean Business.
How do you mean business?
Sunday, February 21
WELCOME TO CANCUN!
MPI Brings Meetings
to Business
“In everything I do, I look for true partnerships. I try
to help every colleague and client I have succeed.
That’s where business comes full circle.”
Michael Dominguez
VP global sales
Loews Hotels
“If you tell me, I’ll forget. If you show me I might
remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. I’m a big
advocate of partnership. When two organizations
collaborate, business is understood.”
Deborah Gardner
CEO
DeborahGardner.com
“We ask what our customers want, and we give it to
them. You have to get right to the point, make sure
you understand what a client needs and then deliver.”
Jordan Clark & Stacey Purcell
VP of global sales and national sales manager
Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah’s Entertainment
“I take every occasion to meet clients and create
opportunities for them—in the elevator, on the
escalator, during a coffee break. Any chance I can
make a connection with people, I take it.”
Irma Yeo, CMP
Group and incentives sales manager
Palace Resorts
Meetings mean business. And now U.S. of events, citing industry and outside rebusiness executives know it.
search as well as meeting industry gurus
such as Christine Duffy of Maritz Travel
MPI magazine One+ supplied
and Mary Boone of Boone Associates.
meeting industry stories to American
She also discussed event marketing. And
Business Journals, creating a powerTexas Roadhouse CEO G.J. Hart spoke
ful and relevant tool focused on the
to the value of meetings, employee moperformance results of business events.
rale and the difference between business
Published and distributed to 250,000
BizJournal readers
eevents and boondogin 25 major markets
ggles with One+ writer
Elaine Pofeldt.
around the U.S., the
E
Regular columnist
insert features original
Douglas Rushkoff
content from MPI’s
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wrote about hybrid
award-winning magaw
zine, One+, and provess
eevents, and when the
the overall importance
IInternet and social
media run amuck.
of meetings and eventss
m
“In the rush to meet
as vital tools to help
businesses of any size,
tthe net generation, too
many organizations
in any industry meet
m
have incorporated
their business goals.
h
Visit www.mpiweb.org to get your
networking technoloThe powerful conn
copy of Meet Your Business Goals.
gies into their events
tent included a preface
without coming to grips with the way
by MPI President and CEO Bruce
those technologies act and act on us,”
MacMillan, CA, who reminded business executives of the strategic value of Rushkoff said. “In turn, they end up with
predictable or counterproductive results.”
meetings and events.
Amy Cortese discussed the environ“Successful businesses are returning
mental footprint of meetings, and One+
to a growth imperative by recommiteditor Jason Hensel told business executing to those vital human connections
tives about his Top 10 meetings that
that power all of our enterprises,”
changed the world, from the historic
MacMillan wrote. “This supplement
meeting of Marco Polo and Kublai Khan
hopes to demonstrate that meetings
to the first acquaintance of John Lennon
and events are a key element to getting
and Paul McCartney.
American businesses re-energized and
Visit www.mpiweb.org/education/
thriving once again.”
research/bizjournal.aspx to learn more.
One+ contributor Dalia Fahmy explained to business executives the ROI
The Hunt
Begins >>
Ideas Exchange >>
The Ideas Exchange is a wealth of info and
content, all in one spot for your convenience. And it’s free to you on site during
MeetDifferent in Galactic 4-5.
See page 4 for details.
See page 14 for details.
Access
from
Anywhere
You can take MeetDifferent education
home with you with the MPI Virtual
Access Pass, featuring more than 100
classes on tap through video, audio-synchronized PowerPoint and presentation
handouts. Re-watch broadcasts of your
favorite sessions (or catch some of the
content you missed) from the comfort
of your home office with just a click
of your mouse. The pass also includes
access to social networking tools and
One+ OnSite digital dailies. Visit www.
mpimeetdifferent.org for full access.
Your MPI
Connect with other new members
and first-time MeetDifferent attendees
this morning from 7-8:30 a.m./07.0008.30 at Barracuda Restaurant and
Beach. Take this opportunity to learn
how to get the most out of your MPI
membership. MPI’s global community
allows you to create your experience
and map to professional success.
MPI staff members will be on
hand to answer your questions about
MeetDifferent. Be sure to bring your
business cards to this session for an
easy but effective networking exercise
that will increase your connection to
ideas, relationships and marketplace
resources in mere minutes.
Sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission.
General Session >>
Author of Exploiting Chaos and
founder of TrendHunter.com
Jeremy Gutsche will teach you how
to become catalysts for change from
9-10 a.m./09.00-10.00 during today’s
General Session. See Page 4 to learn more.
One+ ONSITE
Session Preview:
E-Learning Environments:
A Grounded Approach
With adequate time and incentives, trainers and subject
matter experts can codify content into readily accessible, electronic text. And with a little help from a
graphic artist, they can also make materials aesthetically appealing. It can be an arduous process, much
like writing a textbook, but it can be done.
Join Dr. Atsusi Hirumi from 3-5 p.m./15.00-17.00
today for his MeetDifferent session, “Designing
Alternative e-Learning Environments: A Grounded
Approach,” as he shares a five-step process for designing alternative e-learning environments and key design
decisions that must be made in order to facilitate successful interaction.
Hirumi says that learning management systems,
such as Saba, Blackboard and Moodle, can make it
easier to generate and put training materials online—
but e-learning still differs from traditional classroom
training, where key interactions that affect learner
performance often occur spontaneously in real-time.
Good instructors interpret verbal and nonverbal
cues, clarify expectations, facilitate activities, promote
discussions, elaborate concepts, render guidance and
provide timely, appropriate feedback as they present
content in a clear and engaging manner. Good instructors also make up for flaws in design by utilizing cha-
risma to gain and sustain learners attention and experience to shed light on complex or confusing content.
During e-learning, communications are predominately asynchronous and mediated by technology.
Opportunities to interact in “real-time” are relatively
confined. Key interactions that occur spontaneously in
traditional classroom environments must be carefully
designed and sequenced as an integral part of e-learning.
Novice Web-based trainers need help to visualize how
emerging telecommunication technologies may be used
to enhance learning and performance.
With insufficient time, tools or training, educators
have little choice but to revert to what they know best
(teacher-directed, instructor-led methods). They post
PowerPoint slides and lecture notes, embed links to
external sites and ask learners to complete assignments
and take an exam to earn course credit. Some add a
bulletin board discussion, use e-mail and schedule a
few chat sessions to make their courses “interactive.”
Others, fortunate enough to have access to additional
resources, may use streaming media and animated
graphics to capture and sustain learner attention.
However, as most experienced distance educators
and students attest, the use of interactive technologies
does not ensure meaningful interactions, which must be
carefully planned and managed to facilitate e-learning.
Hirumi’s session will present a framework for designing and sequencing meaningful e-learning interactions
based on research, theory and practice. The framework
has helped more than a dozen corporations, universities,
community colleges, K-12 school districts and medical
institutions across the United States and Mexico during
the last 12 years. It has also helped the U.S. military
design alternative online learning environments that
integrate the use of serious games for distributed and
blended learning. Session participants should bring a
particular course or training program in mind and will
work through activities to design and sequence e-learning interactions and create their own e-learning
environments.
What’s New
at MPI
>> Edu-WEB-cation
Whether you’re ready to move up the career
ladder, trying to better position your business
or simply looking for strategies to get your
ideas heard, MPI Knowledge Exchange Webinars empower meeting and business event
professionals to take action on their big ideas.
Check out www.mpiweb.org/education.
aspx for cost-effective online programs. Create
your own curriculum and take advantage of
flexible purchasing options that include all sessions in one track, the whole series and even
FREE sessions.
>> CSR Measurement Tool
The MPI Foundation has given a US$200,000
grant to the Triple Bottom Line Alliance to
pursue the development and launch of the industry’s first CSR Measurement Tool to boast
benchmarking and global reporting functions.
The alliance is a joint collaboration among
The Carbon Consultancy LTD, the MCI
Group and Meet Green Inc.
The Triple Bottom Line Alliance has developed sustainable strategies and solutions for
the meeting and travel industries and supports leading global climate change and CSR
initiatives such as the U.N. Global Compact,
COP15, Business Social Responsibility, the
U.S. Green Building Council, the European
Wind Energy Association and the World Business Summit on Climate Change.
>> Cross the Pond
Session Preview:
Hybrid Meetings
Hybrid computers combine analog and digital features.
Hybrid cars offer internal combustion engines and electric motors. Now the meeting industry welcomes
its first hybrid: an event that interweaves the virtual
experience into a live event. Social media integration
enhances interactivity for virtual and live attendees,
says Midori Connolly, who will present “The Hybrid
Meeting Dissected and Demystified” from 3-5 p.m./
15.00-17.00 today.
“Hybrids utilize technology to deliver information,
facilitate communication and unite the two parties
through methods of 3-D or 2-D virtual platforms, social networking platforms and webcasting,” she said.
“Hybrids accommodate attendees who cannot or will
not travel to an event while also serving as a marketing tool to engage these attendees and perhaps spark
enough interest for future attendance.”
With a strong background in event technology and
audiovisual techniques, Connolly sees where technology can be used to extend the reach of existing events.
But, she warns, you must always remember the virtual
audience. Be sure to instruct all speakers and attendees
that the audience extends well beyond the confines of
the room.
Looking for more inspiration after a fulfilling
MeetDifferent? MPI’s European Meetings &
Events Conference will motivate and educate
Feb. 28-March 2 in Málaga, Spain. In addition
to a bevy of pre-conference sessions, five edutracks and a variety of dynamic speakers will
deliver presentations that empower delegates
to make immediate improvements on their
events and in their business strategies. Topics
include eco efforts at COP15, the next generation of meetings and sustainability in practice.
Of course, alongside the education program
will be opportunities to meet face-to-face with
senior meeting professionals at a number of
events, including a traditional Málaga feria
opening reception, a tapas tour, a late-night
party at the Liceo in the old city and a dramatic closing at Málaga’s bullring. Visit www.
mpiweb.org/emec to register.
MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21 ONE+ ONSITE
3
One+ ONSITE
Community Service:
General Session Preview:
Save the
Children
New Rules =
New Roles
Jeremy Gutsche understands viral trends and the methodical generation of creative ideas. Author of Exploiting
Chaos and founder of TrendHunter.com, Gutsche will
teach MeetDifferent delegates how to follow the lead of
companies founded during economic recession and learn
to become catalysts for change from 9-10 a.m./09.0010.00 during today’s General Session. One+ editor Jason
Hensel uncovers the secret to Gutsche’s theories.
JH: How can meeting professionals effectively utilize viral
trends to enhance their businesses?
JG: Many iconic companies were founded during periods
of economic recession: Disney, CNN, MTV, Hyatt, Burger
King, FedEx, Microsoft, Apple, Gillette, AT&T, Texas
Instruments, 20th Century Fox, IBM, Merck, Hershey’s,
IHOP, Eli Lilly, Coors, Bristol-Myers, Sun, Amgen, The
Jim Henson Company, LexisNexis, Autodesk, Adobe,
Symantec, Electronic Arts, Fortune, GE and Hewlett-Packard. Times of chaos and uncertainty create tremendous
opportunity. Consumers still buy things, but their needs
change and they try alternative products and services. It is
during these times that it becomes critical to identify new
trends and try new ventures.
JH: What are some best lessons to be learned from
companies founded during recession?
JG: The world never returns to normal. Don’t become
a boiling frog. Don’t let monkeys inhibit change. Crisis
creates opportunity. (Visit www.trendhunter.com/secret/
meetdifferent for why.)
JH: Can you share some business trends you feel will
impact the meeting and event industry in 2010?
JG: Social Required. It will be important to be a big part
of the social media conversation, not just present with a
Twitter.com account and Facebook.com fan page. The
Session Preview:
Grasping the Metaverse
Dr. Mitzi Montoya, professor of marketing innovation
in the Department of Business Management at North
Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., says the
more “present” users feel in virtual worlds, the greater
the effectiveness of training, collaboration, education or
presentation.
4
ONE+ ONSITE MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21
Sunday General Session
speaker Jeremy Gutsche
year 2009 was turbulent for the meeting world and saw
many organizations trying new options, including virtual
meetings and new conference models. To thrive in 2010,
meeting professionals must accept that the world never
returns to normal, and thriving in these new mediums will
be more important than ever before.
JH: How can meeting professionals excel at their own
trend hunting?
JG: Develop a toolkit to filter ideas—without a methodical
approach, chaos becomes overwhelming and it becomes
too easy to ignore new ideas. Develop a gambling fund to
try new trends. In the late 1990s, the BBC started losing
market share. So the CEO and CFO came up with a lackluster idea to inspire creativity; they forced all new ideas to
go through a rigid approval process. Market share plummeted even further. The only upside when that happens
is that you get a new CEO and CFO. The new characters
made just one change to the system. They put in a gambling fund. They wanted to make sure they were always
trying new ideas. The result? The first failure of an idea
that got gambling money was The Office. It went on to
become the biggest hit in BBC history.
“Perceived Virtual Presence is the whole idea of projecting yourself into the [virtual] environment,” Montoya
said. “We talk about it along three dimensions. We talk
about feeling immersed in the environment or feeling like
you are there. It is also about being absorbed in whatever
task you are supposed to be working on. And then it is
being engaged with the other people so that you have the
sense that the avatar that you are looking at is the other
person that you are working with. Those are the three
dimensions: environment, task and people orientation.”
For Dr. Tom Atkinson, a professor of educational
technology at the University of Central Florida, not
preparing for the shift to virtual-world planning is about
as responsible as not planning for retirement. The digital
age we are entering requires that we prepare ourselves
properly. Virtual worlds allow meeting professionals
to plan, design and demonstrate their environments to
potential clients. And as virtual worlds mature, many
Everyone wants to help. It’s just hard sometimes to find the time to do it. At previous
MPI conferences, delegates paid to participate in various community service projects,
which
generally
occurred
the day
before the
onset of official events.
No more. You can support local organization Save the Children anytime Monday
during the conference, and pay with just
time and effort.
“Come out of your sessions, help stuff a
few backpacks, grab a snack and make your
way to your next session,” says Keri Dool,
meeting manager for MeetDifferent. “There
is no fee to participate in the project, but
you can choose to donate if you desire.”
Save the Children provides a wide range
of programs across the globe including
training new mothers with prenatal care,
supplying life-saving immunizations for
young children, building schools in developing countries and improving literacy and
nutrition. The group launched Rewrite the
Future, a campaign that has given more
than 10 million children in conflict-affected
countries access to improved education and
reunited more than 7,000 children with
their families after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar.
For more information on the organization, visit www.savethechildren.org. And
look for the Save the Children community
service area tomorrow at MeetDifferent.
will merge with other real-world systems to become the
Metaverse that combines an enhanced physical reality
with a physically persistent virtual space.
In his session “Metaverse: Are You Ready for Virtual
Reality?” from 1:30-2:30 p.m./13.30-14.30 today, Atkinson will explain what a Metaverse is, guide attendees in
a virtual world and give links to specific virtual sites and
tools for further training.
Ideas Exchange
If you have questions for our speakers, MPI
leaders or industry gurus that may be more
appropriate for a smaller, more intimate
setting, this is the place. Experts will also be
available for counseling on career direction, resumes and legal issues. The Ideas
Exchange is also the place to meet for
soapbox debates and book clubs.
One+ ONSITE
Chapter & Verse
News from the MPI Community
Network for the Needy
Some students excel at science fairs or spelling and geography bees. But meeting industry learners have fewer ways to
achieve recognition. The MPI U.K. & Ireland Chapter in
collaboration with the Switzerland Convention & Incentive
Bureau hopes to change that. The two organizations are
preparing to launch the MPI Young Achievers Award for
students in the U.K. meeting and business event industry. A
one-day competition is scheduled for June 2010 in London.
The award will be offered through universities that offer
event management pograms. Student groups will create
briefs based on potential challenges and present them to
a judging panel. The winning team will receive a trip to
Switzerland.
The MPI Rocky Mountain Chapter collected more than
1,870 pounds of food and raised $20,000 for an area
food bank late last year. The total donation amounted to
113,000 pounds of food, helping feed the 312,000 people
served annually by the charity organization, of which 45
percent are children.
Chapter members raised the money during the 16th
Annual Network for the Needy Luncheon sponsored by the
Meetings Industry Council of Colorado and supported by
the Rocky Mountain Chapter. The event gathers members
from 12 different hospitality organizations who work
together to end hunger in the community. Everything for
the event is donated—from the venue space down to the
flatware, linens and décor—so, 100 percent of the proceeds
benefit Food Bank of the Rockies and its Denver’s Table
program.
Session Preview:
Book Club Preview:
MPI Young Achievers
Meeting in the C-suite
It’s true that most event planners approach events with
a tactical mindset. That’s not necessarily bad. Clients
will always need experienced professionals to scout
interesting venues, manage suppliers and make sure
guests arrive at the right place at the right time.
But as technology simplifies some of these organizational tasks—just think of how online registration has
streamlined the registration process—the market for logistical expertise is shrinking. At the same time, the rise
of experiential marketing, with its emphasis on giving
audiences an experience that will draw them to a brand,
has raised awareness of how events directly contribute
to the bottom line.
All of these trends are propelling event planners to
a higher echelon of the corporate chain, where smart
strategy is not only rewarded but expected. This spells
good news for both companies and the event industry:
Companies extract more value from their event planning dollars, while the industry grows in a new direction
that will create jobs and income just as some traditional
revenue streams dry up.
To keep up with the changes, however, traditional
event planners focused on logistics will have to trade in
their old mindset: If you want a seat at the C-table, you
have to think and talk like a CEO.
As part of MeetDifferent two-part series “Getting
Your Meetings to the C-levels,” presenters Mark
Hubrich and Kate Lastinger will offer MeetDifferent
attendees the tools and the know-how to approach executives—from formulating the case for strategic meetings
management (SMM) to the executive summary. Attend
Session 1 from 1:30-2:30 p.m./13.30-14.30 and Session
2 from 3-4 p.m./15.00-16.00 today and learn the language you need to present the case for SMM programming to your C-suite.
—DALIA FAHMY
6
ONE+ ONSITE MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21
How We Decide
Jonah Lehrer’s book, How We Decide is a New York
Times best-seller that explores neurological research
and social psychology studies in order to exemplify how
people can become better decision makers. Some may
find the book comparable to Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink,
but Lehrer tightens the screws and successfully takes the
subject to a deeper level, without
pretending that there are easy
answers when it comes to decision making.
Lehrer’s gift for turning hard
scientific studies into entertaining
and interesting stories has seen
him published widely in publications such as the Best American
Science and Nature Writing
2007, the Boston Globe, Nature,
The New Yorker and Wired.
He’s an editor at large for Seed magazine and contributes
regularly to U.S. National Public Radio’s science program Radio Lab and the Science Channel’s TV program
Brink. And at age 27, Lehrer was hailed as “an important new thinker” by the Los Angeles Times.
“Metacognition—thinking about thinking—is a
crucial skill,” he says. “People need to become more
sensitive listeners.”
Being more aware of your thoughts can prepare you
for knowing when to use your rational or emotional
brain in decisions, and good decision making is about
taking advantage of the different tools inside the head,
Lehrer says. People make different situations benefit
from different kinds of decision making, so depending
on what the decision is about—breakfast cereal, cars or
a potential spouse—one should think in different ways.
“I think one of the things I have tried to get away
from is this idea that there is some short, secret recipe for
good decision making—that it should always be rational
or always blink or always trust your gut—that there is
some universal solution we can always rely on,” he says.
“I think those are always over-simplified answers.”
Please join One+ editor Jason Hensel today at 5
p.m./17.00 in the Ideas Exchange as he leads a book
discussion about How We Decide and how you can
use lessons from the book to become a better decision
maker.
Schedule
at-a-Glance
Sunday, February 21
Global Village and Registration
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m./07.30-18.00
Ideas Exchange
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m./07.30-18.00
Your MPI (For new members or
first-time attendees)
7-8:30 a.m./07.00-08.30
General Session Day 1:
New Rules = New Roles
9-10 a.m./09.00-10.00
White Space & Ask the Experts
10-10:30 a.m./10.00-10.30
Knowledge Sessions (computer
labs are an additional fee)
10:30-11:30 a.m./10.30-11.30
Hosted Buyer Program
Appointments
10:30-Noon/10.30-12.00
Loews Hotels Iron Chef Team Challenge
Noon-1:30 p.m/12.00-13.30
Knowledge Sessions (computer
labs are an additional fee)
1:30-2:30 p.m./13.30-14.30
Knowledge Sessions (computer
labs are an additional fee)
3-5 p.m./15.00-17.00
Chapter Connection Receptions
6-8 p.m./18.00-20.00
MPI Foundation
Rendezvous 2010
8-11 p.m./20.00-23.00
8
ONE+ ONSITE MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21
One+ ONSITE
Session Preview:
Ethics and the Meeting Industry
The latest financial crisis proved that the U.S. (among other
countries) has a major business ethics problem. To help
mitigate future financial freefalls due to dubious ethical decisions, business schools are beginning to incorporate ethics
training in their MBA programs.
“At Dartmouth, the Tuck School of Business now has
a mandatory ethics and social responsibility requirement,”
reported David A. Kaplan for FORTUNE. “The New
England College of Business and Finance offers an online
master’s in business ethics and compliance. New York
University’s Stern School of Business added a class on policy
responses to the financial crisis.”
Harvard’s MBA program in January featured moral leadership, debt and real estate courses.
“Curriculum is to learning as an organizational chart
is to a company,” Harvard Dean Jay Light told Kaplan.
10
ONE+ ONSITE MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21
“Learning has to do with what goes on inside the classroom.”
Curriculum at most professional schools, though, is a
matter of pedagogical fashion, as well as student demand,
Kaplan reports.
“After the rise of Michael Milken (Wharton MBA
‘70) and the fall of Enron (Jeffrey Skilling, Harvard MBA
‘79), there were predictable cries for more vigilance in the
academy, as if the professoriate alone could curb hubris,”
Kaplan wrote. “Elective courses in ethics, responsibility and
moderation followed scandal-plagued eras. Maybe some of
the customers paid some attention. Yet Light points out that
in recent years attendance in Risk Management at [Harvard
Business School] was so low the course was canceled.”
For the meeting and event industry, ethics have always
been an issue. And in this economy, budget cuts and complimentary item requests, commission payments, vendor
relationships, meeting points or rewards and other types
of non-monetary gifts or items of value continue to raise
concerns.
For more learning on ethics, read Kaplan’s full article at
money.cnn.com and attend “Professionalism and Ethics in
the Meetings Industry” from 7:30-8:30 a.m./07.30-08.30 today with attorney Kelly Bagnall of Brown McCarroll L.L.P.
Moon Palace
Facts >>
The Moon Palace Golf & Spa
Resort offers 14 restaurants featuring some of Mexico’s best cuisines.
To experience the best in Mexican,
International, American, Italian
and Asian dishes, check out such
restaurants as Arrecifes, Bugambilias, El Mangler, Mo-Mo-NoHa-Ha and Palapa Barracuda.
And your thirst for adult beverages
is quickly quenched at any of the
property’s 12 bars, including six
at the pool. After dinner, the
Andromeda disco offers dancing
late into the night.
One+ ONSITE
Your Life-Long
Professional
Advancement
5:=0/:B@/7<7<5
transferability, employability and increased compensation/
rewards. This personal training and development plan will
fast track the career of MPI members, customers and the
industry as a whole.
To learn more about this program while at MeetDifferent, don’t miss today’s “Advance Your Career Through
Life-Long Learning with MPI Global Training” session
with Eli Gorin, CMP, from 10:30-11:30 a.m./10.30-11.30.
MPI is co-creating the first-ever International Competency
Standards for Meeting and Business Event Management.
Currently in draft form, these standards, together with the
industry knowledge and research that MPI has gathered
over the last 35 years and will continue to generate, will
serve as the basis for the future of the global meeting and
event industry and your professional education.
MPI’s Global Training, driven by these standards,
gives meeting and event professionals access to education
at every level of their careers, from the basics of meeting
operations and logistics up to the executive leadership
level. This includes, but is not limited to, four levels of
Global Certificates in Meetings and Business Events,
the Certification in Meetings Management (CMM) and
further development of the Certified Meeting Professional
(CMP) designation.
This clear career path and comprehensive knowledge
set will ease recruitment and retention and enhance
training as well as deliver a global standard that provides
For more information about MPI Global Training
or to register for an upcoming course, visit
www.mpiglobaltraining.org.
Upcoming Global
Certificates in
Meetings and Business
Events Course Dates
Global Certificates in Meetings
and Business Events II
W Hotel Doha, West Bay
Doha, Qatar
May 9-13
Ryerson University, Toronto
June 14-18
San Diego State University
June 28-July 2
Register for a program at
the Global Training desk in
the Global Village and save up
to US$400!
SKEMA Business School
Sophia Antipolis, France
June 28-July 2
Global Certificates in Meetings
and Business Events III
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K
ini
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a
C
nd
a re
e
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rD
o
nt
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ia
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est
W Hotel Doha, West Bay
Doha, Qatar
May 16-20
e
tiv
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Ex
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Executive
Leadership Program
Certification
in Meetings
Management (CMM)
d
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n
va
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Ryerson University
Toronto
June 14-18
San Diego State University
June 28-July 2
SKEMA Business School
Sophia Antipolis, France
June 28-July 2
Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events IV
Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events III
Stop by the Global Training desk in the
Global Village to learn more about these
essential educational courses!
CMP Exam Preparation
& Study Materials
Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events II
Worth a
Thousand
Words
Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events I
Introduction to the Meeting
& Event Industry
The MeetDifferent
Image Gallery
Chapter Connection Receptions
Please see the conference guide for info about transportation and host hotels.
The Chapter Receptions—hosted by Cancun and hotels in the hotel zone tonight from 6-8 p.m./18.00-20.00
—will provide everyone with the opportunity to network with chapter leaders, members and fellow MeetDifferent
attendees. An added benefit is that you do not even have to plan it. Cancun has taken care of that for you.
Come enjoy the beauty, service, creativity and hospitality that make Cancun unique. A sign matching chapters
with hotels will be in the lobby.
We have invited a graphic illustrator
to attend MeetDifferent and sit in on
select sessions. The resulting creative
sketches will then be placed in the
Image Gallery for general viewing. We also encourage you to use
the Image Gallery as a networking
opportunity—you never know who
you’re going to meet in the hallway
at MeetDifferent!
MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21 ONE+ ONSITE
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One+ ONSITE
Cancun Sizzles at Rendezvous 2010!
Coco Bongo is Cancun on fire. Join us for Rendezvous 2010 tonight from 8-11 p.m./20.00-23.00 at an unforgettable, adrenaline-pumping Latin American club. Here, the sounds of the ’70s, ’80s, hip-hop and rave
shake the rafters, while exhilarating aerial acrobatics take your breath away. At Rendezvous 2010, you’ll
discover the fiery spirit of the city while sealing new business relationships and making critical contacts.
It’s a networking opportunity you won’t want to miss. Brought your friends along with you on your stay?
Invite them too! US$80 advance rate/$95 at the door. Includes beverages and light snacks. Sponsored by
InterContinental Hotels Group.
Get Ahead:
FutureWatch and
Business Barometer
For the latest industry trends and research, don’t
miss “Data You Can Use: FutureWatch 2010
and Business Barometer” on Monday 3:305 p.m./15.30-17.00. These two industry-leading
surveys will shed light on the trends, solutions
and new opportunities for the industry in 2010.
The annual FutureWatch survey is sponsored
by American Express, and the MPI Business
Barometer is sponsored by American Express
and the MPI Foundation. See tomorrow’s One+
OnSite for more about FutureWatch findings.
The Hunt Begins
In a continuous quest for the latest in social media
tactics beneficial for large events, MPI is debuting
a new form of crowdsourcing for this year’s MeetDifferent. In order to consolidate the awe-inspiring
pictures attendees are sure to take with their
mobile phones, we’ve created an MPI Posterous
page (www.mpi.posterous.com).
A prize package is up for grabs for the attendee
who captures some of the following places/people/
things this week:
• A soap box debate
• The Hilton logo
Those preparing for the CMP exam participated
in an open-floor, interactive Boot Camp on Friday,
where they learned test-taking tips, relaxation techniques
and last-minute hints.
Increase Your Reach
It’s easier than ever to bring your message and brand to industry members and future clients. Find out how
you can partner with MPI and showcase your worth to the industry’s largest worldwide community at the
MarketSmart Business Solutions launch at MeetDifferent. Achieve a higher level of involvement, improve ROI
and drive revenue.
Here’s how it works. You custom create your ideal marketing mix. MarketSmart Business Solutions combine sponsorship and advertising (and an option to invest in the MPI Foundation) for as little as US$25,000
in a series of tiered programs. There are more than 100 products to choose from, from webinar and OGS
sponsorships to live event sponsorships and more. Find more information by visiting the MarketSmart booth
in the Global Village.
Sold!
Ready to bid on some exciting luxury escape
packages? Stay and play at the world’s finest
destination hotels, resorts and spas? The MPI
Foundation Silent Auction has you covered.
Bidding starts as low as US$25 on trips, fitness,
golf and gaming packages, as well as dozens of
limited-edition, hand-signed sports photographs
and memorabilia. Visit the auction booths 7:30
a.m.-5 p.m./07.30-17.00 through Monday in the
Global Village.
Sponsored by:
• A keynote speaker
• The blog hub
• Your chapter connection
• The community service project
• A World Classic Rocker
• Networking at sunset
If you have any questions regarding our
Posterous site or the entire scavenger hunt process,
contact kkouk@mpiweb.org. The winner will
be announced on Posterous after the Closing
Reception.
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ONE+ ONSITE MeetDifferent 2010 • Sunday, February 21
Chapter leaders gathered on Saturday for the Chapter Leadership
Forum, an opportunity to discuss important chapter issues such as
financial management, education and succession planning.
Go for the Gold
Vancouver is proudly hosting the 2010 Winter
Olympics, and you can watch the action live with
your Canadian friends in the Lobby Bar located
adjacent to the Front Desk. Open daily from
10 a.m.-1 a.m./10.00-01.00.
Sponsored by:
Players Golf Tournament
Congratulations to the Cancun CVB team (Jesus Aparicio,
Jose Campana, Fernando Cervantes and Jordan Greenspoon) for winning yesterday’s MPI Foundation Players
Golf Tournament, sponsored by FelCor. And kudos to
Carl Palmlund for winning the long-drive competition
(sponsored by Presidente InterContinental Cozumel
Resort and Spa) and Steve Kinsley for winning the closest
to the pin competition (sponsored by Pinehurst). Thanks
to all of the players and sponsors, as your contributions
help the Foundation provide funding for projects, grants
and scholarships.