MEETINGS
DELIVER
A QuickGuide for
Meeting Professionals
Meetings Deliver: A QuickGuide
for Meeting Professionals
The public backlash against meetings affects everyone whose job depends on face-to-face gatherings,
and anyone who really understands the value that
meetings deliver to the organizations that host them.
Meeting professionals are ready to speak up on their
own behalf, and Meeting Professionals International
(MPI) is helping to lead the charge. We have brought
together the data to show that meetings are an
indispensible tool for businesses, associations, and
governments. But that story will resonate further,
faster, and more loudly and effectively if we all tell it
together.
But here’s the problem. As meeting professionals,
we’re generally a pretty polite bunch. We’ll go to the
wall on our clients’ behalf. But when we’re the client,
or the beneficiary, we move away from the limelight.
Meetings Deliver is your chance to step out of that
role.
We have brought
together the data
to show that
meetings are an
indispensible tool
for businesses,
associations, and
governments.
Steps
Read the Meetings
Deliver white paper,
produced for MPI by
The Conference Publishers Inc.
If you want to see the background research that went into
the white paper,
you’ll find it on the
MPI website. The
site includes a set
of PowerPoint
slides that you
can use to present the results of
the study to your
chapter, or to
partners and stakeholders in your
community.
1
Read the action steps
in this QuickGuide, and
decide what you can do
to help spread the Meetings
Deliver message.
2
Keep in touch with your
colleagues—in your own
organization, in your local
MPI chapter, and across MPI’s
global network. MPI has already
created a LinkedIn subgroup.
Bookmark the page and get involved by participating and posting information on the subgroup
page.
3
Is Facebook your preferred social
media channel? We have a presence there too.
Meetings Deliver on
LinkedIn >>
Facebook >>
Send the Message that
Meetings Deliver
Work Through Your MPI Chapter
If you’re a chapter leader, a crisis as a terrible thing
to waste. This is your moment to help raise local
awareness on the value and impact of meetings. If
you’re not actively involved with your chapter, this is
your time to shine: if you’re ready to help out on this
issue, your local MPI chapter board or public relations committee will want to hear about it.
Work with community partners that understand
and gain from the impact that meetings deliver.
You’ll probably come up with a long list of organizations that benefit from a strong local meetings
industry, including:
The local or state/provincial economic development
office.
Mention the Meetings
Deliver package at your next
three chapter functions, and
in your newsletter. Encourage members to visit MPI’s
international website and
download the white paper.
The CVB, tourist board, or
hotel association.
Local colleges and
universities.
Work with a small group
of chapter volunteers to
identify the audiences in
your community that need
to hear the Meetings Deliver
message.
Think big: Look for the
places where your most
important audiences gather
in the largest numbers.
A crisis is a terrible thing to
waste. This is your moment
to help raise local awareness
on the value and impact of
meetings.
Vendors that operate
further back in the meetings supply chain—like the
taxi and shuttle companies
that thrive during a major
conference, the restaurants
located within walking
distance of your conference
district, or the butchers and
bakers that supply them.
Position your chapter,
and your members, as
thought leaders for your
local association and
business community.
Find business leaders at
the local chamber of commerce, policy-makers at city
hall or your state or provincial legislature, association
leadership through your local Society of Association Executives and organizational decision-makers
(procurement, marketing, communications, human
resources, project management specialists, administrative officers) through the local chapters of their
professional associations.
When you see an issue gain traction in your community (whether it’s job creation, social media, sustainability, or any other headline topic), think about
how meetings can be a part of the solution. As soon
as you have a story that genuinely makes sense, start
telling it.
Set your priorities, based on the number of volunteers in your group and the amount of ground you
can realistically cover.
If one of your chapter members has experience
with an emerging issue, recruit them as a speaker.
The chapter will benefit, and the member will, too.
Never, ever forget to celebrate every success! We’re
in this for the long haul, and if you gain two or three
strong, solid contacts in the first three months, that’s
more progress than we would have made if we’d let
the attack on meetings go unchallenged.
Send the Message that
Meetings Deliver
Use Local Media
Make sure your chapter’s media list is up to date.
Does it include local blogs, podcasters, and other
social media that deal with business and association
management issues?
Arrange meetings with key news editors or producers when you don’t have a story to pitch. If you’re
on their radar, they’ll be more likely to take your call
when a local issue comes up. They might even call
you before you have a chance to reach out to them.
Arrange meetings with key
news editors or producers
when you don’t have a story
to pitch.
Remember that any MPI member can discuss
industry issues on his or her own behalf, but only the
chapter president can be your official spokesperson.
Keep an eye out for local news stories that will
help you raise your chapter’s profile. It might be
good news (a convention center expansion, a hotel
opening, a major convention coming to town) or bad
(a new tax, a layoff, or a contrary comment from a
local official). Either way, your comments can fill in
the back story about the value that meetings deliver
to participants, conference hosts, and your local
economy.
Pitch 600- to 700-word opinion articles to your
local newspaper.
Community and neighbourhood newspapers are almost always hungry for stories, and they often have
a longer shelf life than a city-wide daily. Just remember that community papers often need a neighbourhood “hook” or human interest angle for a story.
Leverage Your Own Company or
Organization
If you work in a meetings department, get your
whole team in on the conversation.
Make sure everyone has seen the Meetings Deliver
white paper. (If not, circulate the link, wait three
days, and ask again. Repeat procedure as needed.)
Work together to define the greatest value you
deliver as a department.
Think about how widely that value is recognized.
Who in your organization needs to hear about it,
and how will you reach out to them?
If you work with other departments—with procurement, marketing, communications, or human
resources—set aside some time to talk with them
about the value that meetings bring to the table.
Encourage them to think about the results the organization would achieve by designing and executing
its meetings more deliberately.
Think about what you can do to raise awareness
and then deliver on the promise.
Think about how widely the
value of meetings is recognized. Who in you organization needs to hear about it,
and how will you reach out to
them?
Identify an upcoming meeting that will help you
demonstrate value and impact to your organization’s
key decision-makers.
How do they define success? How can your meeting
deliver, and how will you measure that success?
If you work as an independent planner, identify at
least one or two clients who would welcome your
help making their meetings more effective. Work
with them to define, deliver, and measure that success.
Don’t Forget Other Organizations and Professional Networks
Urge every meeting professional you
know to visit the Meetings Deliver site
and read the white paper.
Bring colleagues together, whether or
not they’re MPI members, to talk about
the value that meetings deliver in their
own organizations.
Set up a buddy system to help colleagues tell their own story on the job.
Encourage colleagues to blog, tweet,
and post entries to LinkedIn and Facebook about the value of the meetings
they organize and supply.
How You Can Make A Difference
Action Options
Target Audiences
Through Your MPI Chapter
Mention Meetings Deliver at chapter functions,
and through chapter newsletter
Chapter members
Platinum speaker on the value of meetings
Chapter members
Identify and approach community audiences
Local business community
Local association community
Local/state/provincial legislators
Business decision-makers
Build community partnerships
Economic development office
CVB/tourist board/hotel association
Colleges and universities
Wider meetings supply chain
Position chapter and members as thought leaders
Members
Local business community
Local association community
Media
Through Local Media
Update your media list/include social media
Chapter public relations committee
Opinion pieces and community news articles
Media
Through Your Own Company or Organization
Involve your whole meetings department
In-house colleagues
Involve other departments
Procurement, marketing, communications,
human resources
Demonstrate value to senior decision-makers
Decision-makers
For independent planners: Work with clients to
increase and demonstrate impact
Clients
Through Members’ Organizations and Networks
Urge members to visit the Meetings Deliver site,
read the white paper
Chapter members
Organize chapter discussions
Chapter members
Help members tell their story on the jobs
Members’ organizations
Encourage members to tell their story through
social media
Members’ professional networks
This User Guide was produced by Mitchell Beer,
CMM, president of The Conference Publishers Inc.
of Ottawa, Canada. The Conference Publishers is
a world leader in capturing and repurposing conference content, and recently launched Meetings
Transition 360, a consulting service that helps
meeting professionals address the issues that are
reshaping their industry.