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BRANDING
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT 101
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H1N1 RESOURCES
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November 2009 • Volume 2 • Number 11
In It Together
EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR IN CHIEF David R. Basler, [email protected]
MANAGING EDITOR Blair Potter, [email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Michael Pinchera, [email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jason Hensel, [email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITOR Jessie States, [email protected]
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jeff Daigle, [email protected]
What Are You
Thankful For?
When I sit down to write this column each month, I always strive to speak on a
global level about a topic that is important to our industry and, ideally, covered in
this month’s issue. This time I thought I would break the mold a bit.
It’s November, and as an American that means the month of Thanksgiving.
For Canadians, Thanksgiving has already passed (October), and for many other
nations numerous “Thanks for the Harvest” traditions take place throughout the
year—United Kingdom in September, India celebrates in January and April and
Israel celebrates with Sukkoth (“Feast of the Tabernacles”) in the late fall as well.
Thanksgiving is my favorite of all the year’s holidays. As a good friend of mine
once reminded me, “Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving is a chance to gather as family
and friends without all the need to bring gifts.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love any holiday that brings family and friends together,
but Thanksgiving has always been my favorite for just this reason. It’s an honest,
simple holiday that focuses on our blessings from the previous year and our hopes
for the next. What better way to look at life?
It’s a way we should all think about life every day—not just on Thanksgiving. So
as the focus of this column I would like to share with you all just a few things I am
thankful for every day of the year.
1. Forgetting the doctor’s phone number—Because it means my family is
heal
he
a thy.
healthy.
2. Picking up the phone for no reason other than to say “hi”—
Because it means I have friends who care and know I care about
them.
muscl and a tired mind—Because it means I have
3. Aching muscles
th my brain has been challenged all day.
worked hard and that
work vacuuming and cleaning windows—Because it
4. Yard work,
ha a house my family can come home to every
means I have
day.
5. A dirty uniform—Because it means those who
wear it have kept my family and me safe and our
freed
freedoms
intact.
What are you thankful for? I have posted an
ent titled “What Are You Thankful For?” on
entry
ou PlusPoint blog and invite you all to log on
our
a contribute to the list and see what your feland
low members have on theirs. Enjoy and make
it a great upcoming year.
DESIGN AND PREPRESS Sherry Gritch, SG2Designs, [email protected]
COVER DESIGN Jason Judy, [email protected]
MPI ADVERTISING STAFF
Dan Broze, [email protected], Phone: (702) 834-6847
(AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, WA)
Sandy Lavery, [email protected], Phone: (301) 254-2423
(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,
[email protected], Phone: + 352 26 87 66 63
(Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Katri Laurimaa, [email protected], 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)
Denise Autorino, [email protected], Phone: (407) 233-7305
(FL, GA, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, South America)
Carolyn Nyquist, Manager of Client Services,
[email protected], Phone: (972) 702-3002
Kathryn Welzenbach, Publications Coordinator, [email protected]
MPI EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
Bruce M. MacMillan, C.A., President and CEO
Jeff Busch, Vice President of Strategic Communications
Meg Fasy, Vice President of Sales and Marketplace Performance
Trey Feiler, Chief Operating Officer
Vicki Hawarden, CMP, Vice President of Knowledge and Events
Diane Hawkins, SPHR, Director of People and Performance
Paula Hughes, MPI Foundation Executive Director
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, Mannatech 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. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and
additional mailing offices.
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
REPRINTS: Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form
without written permission. To order reprints, call Wright’s Reprints toll free at
(877) 652 5295 or visit www.wrightsreprints.com.
CONTACT ONE+: Contact us online at www.mpioneplus.org or e-mail us at
[email protected]. 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
DAVID R. BASLER is editor in chief of One+. He
can be reached at [email protected]. Follow
him at www.twitter.com/onepluseditor.
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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.
One+ is a proud member of
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ISSUE
11
09
Branding Destination +70
In an era when everything from
water to underwear has a dedicated
marketing team, it’s certainly no
surprise that destinations are eager
to slip themselves into sleek,
saleable packages.
In the Maestro’s Shoes +78
An exclusive, behind-the-scenes
journey with the planner of Disney’s
ultimate fan experience.
A Push Toward Better +84
Piers Fawkes doesn’t want you to
just get by in life or in business. He
wants to help you do better. And he
doesn’t expect a thing in return.
The Five Principles of
Project Management +89
...and How They Relate to
Event Planning
+70
Worldwide Standards
in Education +93
The Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events I is the first
of four new professional education
certifications that are part of
MPI Global Training.
+54
+84
+78
+89
Giving Voice +54
+93
Student journalists take part in a
convention’s intense community service
project in Hollywood, Fla.
Midwest Passage +60
Exposing the illusive trade route to the
Orient that runs through Chicago.
Crunch Time in Paradise +64
+56
+60
+64
+60
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A series of challenges arose during
an important two-week event in
Jamaica, forcing the planner and
resort management to quickly
devise a solution.
mpiweb.org
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ISSUE
11
09
CONVERSATION
In It Together +2
Editor’s note
The Energy of Many +12
IGNITION
Standing Out from
the Crowd +46
Lesley Everett
Global View
Global update from MPI
Impressions +14
Letters to One+
Overheard +18
Rumblings from the industry
Irrelevant +44
Coffin Couches
INNOVATION
Agenda +21
Where to go, in person
and online
To Tweet or Not
to Tweet +48
Jon Bradshaw
Reboot Your Brain
How to Interview
Like a CEO +50
Dawn Rasmussen, CMP
Get the Job
Fabulous Holiday
Travel Tips! +52
Steve Kemble
A Dose of Sass
Art of Travel +36
The latest in transportable
technology
+42
RECOGNITION
Top Spots +22
New venues + re-openings
Focus On +24
Jaime Ross cares where you walk
Spotlight +26
Industry leaders announce job
advancements
Your Community +38
Arizona Sunbelt online, global
CMP, RISE award nominations,
MeetDifferent hosted buyer
program, Canadian Economic
Impact Study
Meet Where? +96
Wow us with your knowledge
+24
CO-CREATION
Hot Buzz +30
Mayan Experience, Tasmanian
business travel, IMEX America,
top sustainable hotel chains,
Indochina cooperation, Tech Bytes,
Thoughts+Leaders, business
travel forecast, Plus/Minus,
Strategic Meetings & Events
Conference - Latin America
+22
Making a Difference +40
Meet Paula Hughes
Connections +42
Planner + CVB
mpiweb.org
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11 09
www.mpioneplus.org
online
Increased Efficiency in the Uncertain Economy
CVBs to keep downturn practices in place once the
economy is on better footing.
+
Get the Job
Monthly columnist Dawn
Rasmussen urges readers
to tap into the power of
their networks.
+
Event
Bytes
Women in Leadership
MPI female leaders focused on career development and
leadership skills during the Chicago Area Chapter’s Women’s
Leadership Conference.
Using Twitter correctly can
improve engagement and
communication at your
meetings, says columnist
Robert Swanwick.
Complete issues of
One+ are available in
digital flipbook and
PDF formats! Be
sure to check out the
supplement about
Texas at the back of
this month’s issue.
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Contributors
ANDREA GRIMES is a writer, comedian and
globetrotting Texan. Based in Austin, where
she’s a graduate student of cultural anthropology at the University of Texas, she is working
on a book about women in stand-up comedy.
(Yes, it is exactly as awesome and fun as it
sounds.) A former Dallas Observer staff writer,
Andrea is currently the editor of Heartless Doll,
a Village Voice feminist blog, and she has also
written for Salon and the Austin Chronicle. She
has two cats, Whiskey and Sake, and only just
recently discovered The Sopranos.
BRIAN HARKIN
ROBERT SWANWICK works at the
intersection of business and technology. In 2007, after 20 years as an
IT consultant, he took a position at
the Washington Speakers Bureau
developing multimedia products.
Swanwick is now embracing his inner
entrepreneur. He runs several eventrelated businesses including Speaker
Interactive and twebevent. He lives
in Cabin John, Md., with his wife and
writes the monthly online column
“Event Bytes” for One+, focusing
on meetings technology. Contact
him at http://twitter.com/
spkrinteractive.
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JON BRADSHAW has always been fascinated by
human behavior. As a personal fitness trainer
and semi-professional soccer player he saw firsthand the role the human mind plays in achieving
extraordinary physical goals, and he began to
study how to utilize this incredibly powerful tool.
This ongoing study has led him to complete a
number of extreme physical challenges including climbs on Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro
and most recently a 3,400-mile trans-European
cycle ride. Bradshaw has delivered his humorous
presentations in more than 17 countries and
is creating a service for the meetings industry
called Meetings Mindset which launches in
2010.
Not fond of extreme advanced
planning herself, freelance writer
JENNA SCHNUER enjoyed listening to profile subject Piers Fawkes
think back on the ways his company
grew—and how, over time, the connections between the parts showed
themselves. Schnuer often just sees
where the writing assignments take
her and keeps her eyes open to
other subjects that happen along on
the way. And good stuff happens.
She has written about everything
from dog mushing and truffle farming to golfing with Alice Cooper. She
has written for magazines including
American Way and National Geographic Traveler, and co-writes Flyover America (readflyoveramerica.
com), a site about U.S. travel. Visit
her online at jennaschnuer.com.
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The Energy of Many
Now We’re Talking
I’M THRILLED THAT THIS MONTH’S ISSUE OF
ONE+ IS DEDICATED TO BRANDING, OR STORYTELLING AS I LIKE TO CALL IT. Storytelling for your
business, your destination or your events has never been
more important to differentiate yourself and to establish
a powerful value proposition.
But where storytelling is taking on unprecedented
significance is around our industry and profession. So
what’s our story?
As has been told to me by numerous industry
oracles, the meeting and event industry was born out of
the hospitality industry’s need to mon
monetize space in their
venues and abodes. But a funny thing happened on the
way to the breakout: Meetings and eevents delivered on
vital individual and organizational objectives
such as
o
education, sales and marketing and human performance—increasingly high-value elements
in our growelem
ing knowledge economy. At the macro-level,
meetings
ma
and events became platforms upon which to drive
national economic and social development,
promptdevelo
ing massive infrastructure investment
investmen and touching off
big-money global competition among
amo virtually all
industrialized nations.
nati
What then are we? From a
supply chain value perspective, meetings
meetin and events are
the tourism/travel
part of th
industry or the broader
hospitality industry.
hospit
From the standpoint
of tthe stakeholder,
they are seen as a
the
crucial element of
cru
sales and communisa
cations. If you’re in
cat
the learning or human
performance industry,
perf
meetings are critical
meet
to deli
deliver your results.
Intellectual gymnastics?
Intellect
Perhaps. Increasingly problematic? Absolutely.
Because when we finally started attracting a lot of
attention from governments and media, we could not
tell our story. So they made one up for us, populating
it with words like “boondoggle” and “junket.” Out
of defensive necessity, we got our act together through
the Meetings Mean Business (MMB) campaign lead by
the crew at U.S. Travel. Our MMB storyline contained
words like “jobs” and “GDP impact” as we defined
ourselves in the terms politicians get excited about. And
it worked. The rhetoric stopped.
But we need to write a storyline around the gamechanging performance value that meetings and events
deliver. We’ve got the research, and more of it is coming. We now need the story. And it needs to start with
us. We need to be talking about ourselves in compelling
terms that get the attention of our clients and business
leaders to ensure the focus of the meeting is not on just
how much it costs but on how much value it produces.
Nobody remembers when a meeting comes in under
budget. But when it delivers great performance results,
it’s a game-changer.
The good news is that through the Convention
Industry Council, we are developing compelling
storylines and sound bytes to compliment the MMB
message, so that if your client calls about cancelling that
event because of budget issues or if 60 Minutes shows
up in your reception area with questions, we’ll all be
better equipped to answer.
I was recently asked to speak at the 10th Annual
World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, South Korea, where
business leaders gathered to share insights on the direction of the world economy and innovation. For the first
time, meetings and events were included as an industry.
Increasingly, global leaders such as Korean President
Lee Myung-bak see their role as platforms from which
to re-energize economies and inspire new innovation.
Sounds like the beginnings of a great story to me.
BRUCE MACMILLAN, CA, is president and CEO of MPI.
He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow
him at www.twitter.com/BMACMPI.
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Impressions
Ali Al Saloom
[Re: “Ask Ali,” October 2009] Thanks for sharing your
story, Ali. You’re an inspiration to us all. I’ve been fortunate to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and while both
cities are special, the thing I remember the most is the
giving nature of the people. People are inspired to visit
places because of their history and buildings, but they
return because of their people. I am looking forward to
my next visit.
—Susan Radojevic
The Peregrine Agency
MPI Toronto Chapter
Flying with the Flu
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
[email protected].
You Tell Us
Know about a cool and
inspiring event? Tell us about
it. Send us an e-mail at
[email protected].
[Re: “Traveling Sick,” PlusPoint
blog] Thankfully, I have never had
to make this decision. For me,
sickness + travel was a plane circling Boston with its landing gear
down to burn excess fuel, and
me turning paler and paler...I
think that if I had the flu, I would
not feel well enough to even get
out of bed, let alone on a plane. I
would probably pay the US$150.
Actually, my company would.
—Isabel Brinck
International Political Science
Association
MPI Montréal Chapter
It’s Cold in Here
[Re: “Room Temperature,” PlusPoint Blog] This really is fascinating stuff. We all joke about how,
on meeting/event evaluations,
the bulk of the comments are
about room temperature—
usually that it was too cold. And
we all have learned not to react
to the first person who comes
out begging for the temp to
be raised, but maybe after the
10th person, or if a man complains (although we may in the
interim do the fake radio call to
“engineering”—admit it, I know
I’m not the only one!). But we all
also know how uncomfortable
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it is to be either too hot or too
cold ourselves, and how that
can color your whole experience.
Now, if I could translate Celsius
to Fahrenheit....
—Joyce Paschall
American College of Occupational &
Environmental Medicine
MPI Chicago Area Chapter
[Re: “Room Temperature,” PlusPoint Blog] It would be interesting to know what temperatures
were used and how many
degrees difference there was
between a warm and cool environment. What is the ideal temperature for a meeting room?
—Alexandra Armstrong
Three Tall Women Design Inc.
MPI Greater Edmonton Chapter
Play Works
[Re: “Play Works,” October
2009] I could not agree more
that play works, and that it is
vital to any organization. Some
ideas: Take notes during a
meeting in crayon or markers;
pass around a goofy trophy for
creative ideas and make sure it
moves often; and have a designated “play room” in the office
stocked with coloring books,
puzzles, dress-up clothes and
Play-Doh for people to get out
of their office mentality and into
more creative states.
—Meredith Martini
PlayWorks Group
MPI Georgia Chapter
Where We Stand
[Re: “Meeting the Critical Challenge,” October 2009] Please
e-mail this to every related industry/association. The ‘hard’ facts
as relating to numbers/percentages are extremely important to
the “spin” media...
—Jeffrey Enloe, CMP
Enloe Productions
MPI Southern California Chapter
Our Communication
[Re: “New Clues on How We
Socialize,” PlusPoint blog] I, too,
was intrigued about the size of
our neo-cortex and social group
size. I learned this while reading
The Tipping Point by Malcolm
Gladwell. He uses the Hutterites,
the U.S. military and corporations as examples of how 150
is an optimal size for a group
because of the social advantages. I found the book fascinating and highly recommend it.
—Katalina Absolon
Married 2 Magic LLC
MPI Indiana Chapter
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Overheard
Welcome Mat
“When International Olympic Committee members are
commenting to our president that foreign visitors find travelling to the U.S. a ‘pretty harrowing experience,’ we need
to take seriously the challenge of reforming our entry process to ensure there is a welcome mat to our friends around
the world, even as we ensure a secure system.”
—Roger Dow of the U.S. Travel Association on the failure of Chicago’s bid for the summer 2016
Olympic Games and his support of the U.S. Travel Promotion Act
Good Leaders
Disaster Aid
Market Relief
“As airport business managers, it is our job to diversify
wisely and build up a robust
business model that can
weather tough times. The
entrepreneurial approach of
today’s airports and close
collaboration with commercial
partners underpin a stable
business model that is good
for us and the communities
we serve.”
—Angela Gittens, Airports Council International, at the Airport
Business and Trinity Forum
“It’s vitally important that we
act quickly to raise muchneeded funds to assist in
relief efforts. We’ve offered
our advice and expertise to
the tourism ministries in the
destinations affected by these
natural disasters.”
—Greg Duffell, CEO of the
Pacific Asia Travel Association,
on a disaster relief fund to
help those affected by natural
disasters in Southeast Asia
and the South Pacific
“As the latest economic
data indicate that the world
economy may be starting to
emerge from its most severe
recession of the post-WWII
period, in tourism, too, there
are signs that confidence is
returning and that demand is
improving for both business
and leisure travel.”
—Taleb Rifai, U.N. World
Tourism Organization
secretary-general
Truly Committed
“We are committed to supporting all of our associates,
especially when they are negatively affected by business
decisions made necessary by
the most difficult economic
environment in decades.
Every housekeeping employee who wants a job will have
one. That’s our promise.”
—Phil Stamm, general manager
of the Hyatt Regency Boston and
chairman of a local Hyatt task force
formed to assist displaced workers
Best of the Blogs
Share A Purpose
Posted by Josh Henry
Attendee Management
Because meetings are such an integral part of
business, everyone in the organization should
understand the fundamentals of an effective
meeting and how to achieve their goals each
and every time they meet. Giving employees
access to meeting information helps them understand the effect of unproductive meetings
on their work lives and gives them the power
to improve unproductive meeting situations.
Event Disasters
Posted by Marlene Blas
CA Western School of Law
We all make mistakes—ever had the
wrong date/time/venue printed on 900
invitations?—and we learn from them
(hopefully). What event planning insights
have you picked up from hard-earned
experience? We want to hear your event war
stories—every hilarious, frustrating, exciting
detail—for inclusion in a book used to educate
new planners and provide a reference for
experienced planners.
MPI Should Help
Posted by Brenda Doggett, CMP
MPI Tampa Bay Area Chapter
I have seen and heard that some meeting
planners cannot find the right CSR activity for
their groups. It would be great if MPI chapters
listed outreach opportunities available in their
communities on their Web sites. What a
great way to reach into the community to see
what is really needed, while providing wonderful exposure for MPI and the commitment we
have as a family to CSR.
Find out what the editors of One+ think about the industry’s hot
trends and late-breaking news on the award-winning One+ blog,
PlusPoint. Share your thoughts at www.mpioneplus.org.
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Agenda
DEC. 8-10 USTOA Annual Conference & Marketplace
BANFF, ALBERTA
Gain valuable connections at the U.S. Tour Operators Association annual
conference, a networking event with pre-scheduled marketplace appointments
with member tour operators. The event will include a session on emerging lifestyles and travel trends as well as several networking events and luncheons.
Visit www.ustoa.com.
DEC. 10-13 Travel Turkey Izmir Tourism Fair & Conference
IZMIR, TURKEY
Empower your company in Eurasia with Travel Turkey Izmir, featuring 324
exhibitors and 12,534 visitors from 35 countries. Discuss hot topics in
information-packed sessions and panel discussions held concurrently with the
fair. Visit www.travelturkey-expo.com.
JAN. 12-15 The Special Event
NEW ORLEANS
Seeing, touching and testing is the most reliable way to determine whether a
product will work in your events. Meet more than 300 exhibitors and try out
thousands of new products at The Special Event 2010. Also enjoy more than
100 courses in eight relevant event tracks. Visit http://thespecialevent
show.com.
JAN. 20-24 Fitur, the International Tourism Trade Fair
MADRID
Establish lines of action, strategies and business alliances to energize and
consolidate business and answer the changing demands of the market. The
last edition earlier this year featured 12,312 exhibiting companies from 170
countries/regions, 136,177 industry professionals and 8,470 journalists. Visit
www.ifema.es.
Connected
BUMPTOP
CRUISE CONTROL
SOCIAL REPUTATIONS
Reinvent your desktop with BumpTop.
com, a fun and intuitive 3D desktop
that keeps you organized and makes
you more productive. It’s like a real
desk, but better. Create work piles,
choose from dozens of themes, pin up
important files and sticky notes, create
a frame to watch your friends’ photo
feeds or toss a JPEG into a Twitter or
Facebook widget to share with your
social network.
Cruise events firm Landry & Kling introduces Seasite.com, which demystifies
the process of meetings at sea. Refine
searches by cruise line, ship rating,
size, capacity of largest function room,
cruise style, port or day of departure,
destination, cruise length and more.
Then, submit a unique e-RFP that
saves time and simplifies the planning
process. Or contact a cruise advisor
by chat, phone or e-mail for individual
advice.
Create and control your professional
brand with WorkScore.com, where you
can describe your unique strengths
and achievements, thank outstanding
co-workers, find a great place to work
and much more. Gather confirmation
of your skills from co-workers and
present your potential employer with
an individual social resumé.
mpiweb.org
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Top Spots
N E W VEN U ES + RE-O P ENING S
1. Radisson Blu Hamburg
The 556-room Radisson Blu Hamburg recently reopened following
a renovation that included a new,
23,000-square-foot conference area and ballroom; a new
lobby with two lounges and designer
modern furnishings; two new event
locations; individually designed guest
room themes; two restaurants and
bars; and a state-of-the-art fitness
center. The hotel is located next to
Hamburg’s botanical gardens and
within walking distance of major
cultural attractions.
3. Sofitel Sydney
Wentworth
The 436-room Sofitel Sydney
Wentworth in Australia recently
opened the city’s only hotel
Kosher kitchen. Under the
supervision of Rabbi Aaron Groner
of the Kashurit Authority in Sydney,
the kitchen allows for the observance and creation of kosher cuisine
for events of up to 600. In addition
to its kosher suppliers and kitchen
facilities, the hotel also offers 11
function rooms for events.
1.
2.
2.
4. The Lodge at Primland
2. Rome Cavalieri
The Rome Cavalieri hotel recently
completed a three-month renovation
of its grand ballroom, the Salone dei
Cavalieri. Known for placing its art
and antiques thoughtfully throughout the hotel, the Rome Cavalieri
integrated its tapestries and
paintings into the ballroom, allowing each piece of art to act as a
showpiece for receptions that can
easily be covered to become projection backgrounds for presentations.
The 17,000-square-foot Salone dei
Cavalieri can accommodate up to
2,100 guests in one grand space
or four separate rooms. The Salone
dei Cavalieri is part of the hotel’s
93,000-square-foot convention
center and has a separate entrance
for VIP arrivals.
Primland opened The Lodge in
August. Located in Meadows of
Dan, Va., The Lodge features 26
guest rooms with nine different floor
plans, a fully outfitted boardroom
and meeting facilities for up to
150. Amenities include a spa,
an indoor pool, a fitness center,
a recreation area, a golf shop,
locker rooms, a 17-seat theater and
indoor parking.
3.
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6
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4.
4.
5. Mission Square at the
Paso Robles Event Center
5.
The Mission Square at the Paso
Robles Event Center in California
opened this summer. The entire
meeting space is comprised of an
event hall that includes a commercial kitchen and a demo kitchen.
Outside the event center is a
paved courtyard available for
functions of up to 800. A stage
anchors the square at one end, and
a small viniculture sampling of regional wine/grape varietals growing
in a small vineyard is located to the
side of the courtyard.
6. Trump SoHo
The 391-room Trump SoHo will
open in February in New York.
The hotel will feature more than
12,000 square feet of meeting
space with the whole third floor
dedicated to five meeting and event
rooms. Other hotel features will
include the 11,000-square-foot
Spa at Trump, the Quattro in SoHo
restaurant and the 6,000-squarefoot Pool Deck.
6.
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10/27/09 10:38:46 AM
Focus On...
Jaime Ross has lived in a
carpet world her whole life.
Jaime Ross
Brintons
“It’s become almost
a secret because
she’s so darn busy
with her work and
social life, but Jaime
is an absolutely fabulous painter. About
two years ago, she
did an oil-based portrait of my son when
he was 2 years old
that just blows folks
away when they see
it. It hangs in our
living room and is
a complete show
stopper at dinner
parties.”
—Ty Ross,
big brother
For more than 20 years, her
parents owned and operated a
small carpet outlet outside of
Dalton, Ga., where her mother
kept the books and her dad was in
charge of handshakes.
“Most afternoons, the school
bus would drop me at their warehouse and with few choices to
amuse myself, I took pieces of
paper from the copy machine,
climbed up onto the stock carpet
rolls much like other kids were
climbing up to their tree houses
and proceeded to doodle until my
folks were ready to close shop for
the day,” Ross said. “This was
such the routine, that when I grew
weary, I would simply wedge
“Many people
know Jaime as an
extremely talented
textile designer and
artist, but what
many may not know
is that she is a
wonderful musician!
She plays ukulele,
banjo and has the
voice of a little bird.
She’s busked the
streets of Athens,
Ga., as a solo musician and serenaded
patrons of coffee
shops and honkytonks as a member
the Jumping Jesus
Christers.”
—Emily Wade,
best bud
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“Jaime is that fresh
breath that we
need in the office
when things get too
serious. She plays
the ukulele, wears
cowboy boots with
her dresses, talks in
her country twang
to lighten the mood
and can make a turkey call that is worthy of being on The
Tonight Show !”
—Kim Crowder,
co-worker
myself between two carpet rolls
like a taco and take a nap.”
She never imagined putting the
two together by drawing carpet
patterns. But in 1993, her parents
asked for her help.
“My parents were tossing
around the idea of tapping into
the emerging black-light bowling
scene,” she said. “They asked me
to quickly sketch an image of a
ball knocking pins for them to
use as reference. I did and they
actually had the carpet made. I
was proud. I felt I had contributed
to the family business, however
minuscule my offering.”
Years later, with a bachelor’s
degree in fine arts in hand and
continued ties to the carpet industry, Ross again alchemized the
two worlds.
“I work with a company called
Brintons,” she said. “I design
custom carpets for hotels. Custom
carpet design basically means that
I take the foundational floor plans
of a building and draw directly
on top of the architecture maps
much like a blank canvas. I create
totally original artwork, not rigid,
structured patterns common to
wallpaper or fabrics.”
The most innovative and massive designs in the carpet world
are created for hotel ballrooms
and public space, Ross says.
For her, it’s truly a marriage of
design and fine art.
—Jason Hensel
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Spotlight
Former general
manager for the
Wynfrey Hotel at
Riverchase Galleria
in Hoover, Ala.,
Tynette Lynch
returns to Hospitality
Business Solutions
Inc. as president and
CEO. Lynch founded
Hospitality Business
Solutions in 2003. The
Birmingham native left
the company in 2005
to become the Wynfrey
Hotel’s director of sales
and marketing.
Pete Hayda joins RockResorts
Vail Collection as area director
of sales and marketing while
continuing in his current role as
director of sales and marketing
for Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa. Hayda joins RockResorts with 15 years at Marriott
International Corp., where he
also worked as the director of
sales and marketing for the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel.
This role earned Hayda numerous sales accolades, including
Marriott International 2005
Sales Team of the Year.
The Orlando/Orange County
CVB promotes Tammi Runzler
from vice president to senior
vice president of convention
sales and services. Runzler will
oversee the company’s worldwide meeting, convention and
trade show sales efforts and
participate on the organization’s
senior leadership team.
Mary Beth Baluta accepts the
role of Washington, D.C.-based
sales director for the Cincinnati USA CVB. For the past two
decades, Baluta has honed her
sales skills in a variety of industries including development, music
and catering. She has extensive
experience with third-party meeting management firms, having
most recently served as director
of national accounts with ConferenceDirect. Baluta also has CVB
sales experience in Las Vegas, St.
Louis and Chicago.
Corinthia Hotels welcomes Matthew Dixon
as general manager of the Corinthia Hotel
in London, which is scheduled to open in
late 2010. In his early career, Dixon gained
international experience in various senior
executive roles with Mandarin Oriental in
Hong Kong and Manila. He has also worked
for the Rocco Forte Collection as general
manager of the Hotel de Russie Rome and
the Brown’s Hotel London.
Visit the careers blog at www.mpiweb.org by
selecting “community” and then “blogs”
to tell MPI about your recent job change.
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HOT BUZZ
Mayan
Experience
Meeting delegates at The
Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, can
help a local Mayan community as part of the resort’s volun-teaming experience. During the Mayan
Acquaintance Experience,
meeting attendees travel
to a nearby Mayan town
and help locals with a variety of tasks from painting
and gardening to carpentry and furniture restoration. Hotel staff volunteers
provide information about
local culture and teach
Mayan words.
“The program offers a
unique opportunity for
group guests to become
more involved with the
region and enrich their
visits through a memorable team-building activity,”
said Fritz Mercer, meetings and special events
director. “The Mayan Acquaintance Experience
provides a true insight into
the Mayan culture while
conveying the spirit of
giving and building camaraderie among groups.”
+
Welcome to America
IMEX Group will bring its own brand of
trade show across the pond in 2011,
according to company Chairman
Ray Bloom. IMEX America will take
place Oct. 11-13 in the Sands Expo
Convention Center at the Venetian/
Palazzo, Las Vegas. MPI will provide
educational content for the show as
part of a new strategic partnership
with IMEX, which adds the event to
its list of shows that already includes
the renowned IMEX homestead in
Frankfurt. The North American event
will focus on business, international
hosted buyer programs and industrywide collaboration.
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Tourism Tasmania
The number of business visitors to
Tasmania increased 33 percent in
fiscal year 2008-2009, according
to the latest Tasmanian Visitor
Survey. Denise Bradley, CEO of the
Tasmanian Convention Bureau,
attributes the results to internal
marketing efforts. The bureau de-
signed a Local Host Development
Program, encouraging resident
association members and business
leaders to promote Tasmania as a
viable host country. Bureau staff
work with these local hosts to prepare bids.
‘Three Countries,
One Destination’
Tourism officials in
Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia gathered at
the International Travel
Expo in Ho Chi Minh
City last month as
part of ongoing efforts
to build a single destination among the
three Indochina countries. Tourism minis-
ters from the three
countries inked a joint
declaration on tourism
cooperation in 2007.
At the recent event,
they agreed to discuss
a single visa scheme
for international tourists travelling through
the region.
Managing Sustainability
Accor is the most sustainable of
the world’s large hotel groups, according to the inaugural Tomorrow’s
Value Rating. Not only has Accor
recognized the key sustainability
challenges facing the hotels sector,
says the research, it has also designed a comprehensive approach
to managing them. U.K. sustainability consultant Two Tomorrows assessed the companies on how well
they deal with social and environmental challenges.
TOMORROW’S VALUE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Accor
InterContinental Hotels
Marriott
Global Hyatt
Choice
Carlson
Hilton
Wyndham
Starwood
Best Western
TECH
BYTES
Smart Planning
Transportation association
1-800-GET-LIMO has launched
a mini bus, coach and
limousine locator application
for the iPhone. The GetLimo
app uses GPS coordinates to
display nearby vendors. Users
can zoom in or out to find
luxury transportation providers throughout the country,
or simply choose a different
location from a drop-down
menu of cities. With one click,
the iPhone user can request a
quote or call for a reservation.
ZoomPool
Rideshare service ZoomPool
matches drivers and riders
according to travel needs
and personal preferences.
Premium-level members must
pass a routine background
check, and the service allows
users to score each other
and recommend members
they know.
ZoomPoolers specify ideal
rideshare partner by gender,
chattiness, radio content (music or news), smoker/nonsmoker and more. Awkward
discussions about driving
costs are also avoided. Before
each ride, ZoomPool calculates fair cost sharing and
processes the transaction
between rider and driver as
soon as a trip takes place. No
money needs to be exchanged
at the time of the trip.
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HOT BUZZ
+
Thoughts+Leaders
What big challenges have
you faced when dealing with
renegotiation?
Jennifer Brown, CMP
Partner
Meeting Sites Resource
The turbulent economy and budget
cutbacks have changed the way planners plan and execute meetings and the
way hoteliers sell and provide service.
Most planners are scrambling to salvage existing meetings and dealing with
reduced attendance, attrition, cancellation or other hotel performance issues.
At Meeting Sites Resource, we’ve
had our share of renegotiated contracts, most of which were finalized in
much better economic times. Our goal
is to reduce sleeping room rates to
match current conditions to avoid attendees booking around the room block,
eliminating or greatly reducing allowable
attrition and reductions in food and
beverage guarantees. We work on
negotiating damages on lost profit, not
lost revenue and if there are still performance shortfalls, applying some or all
damages to a future meeting.
No one signs a hotel contract with
the expectation that they will pay performance damages, but in these uncertain
times, it is important to be prepared in
the event “things change.” We have
ongoing, open communications with our
customers and hotel partners to review
all issues and options and to find the
best solution for all stakeholders.
Rachel Benedick
Vice president of convention
sales & service
Visit Denver
We started 2009 knowing that we were going
to be down millions of dollars in budget. Despite that knowledge and though we could have
gotten very tight, we still took the attitude and
business philosophy that this was the year we
were going to say “yes” as often as possible
and be as flexible as possible with our clients.
We also have been encouraging our suppliers
to take the same philosophy, and we believe
that we will have a deeper relationship with our
customers and more business in the end.
We have had great success by having complete knowledge of the entire requirements and
specifications of a meeting. By understanding the many issues
and areas of a meeting, we have been able to find solutions for
planners that may not have been considered. In some situations, the meeting professional wanted cost containment in one
area but was unable to negotiate successfully. We were then
able to find the same cost savings in another area that wasn’t
considered. The net result was success.
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Carvie Gillikin
Director of sales
and marketing
Fourth Wall Events
As we trudge through these times of economic uncertainty,
the one thing that is consistent is change. Along with change
comes renegotiation of proposals and in some cases, contracts. This is where it gets sticky as no one wants to lose
and everyone has to give. It is during the arduous process of
renegotiation that relationships prevail as the driving factor
for success.
In June of this year, we had a three-wave program totaling 1,200 people scheduled in Los Cabos. Four weeks prior
to the first travel day, we were notified the client would be
relocating the program due to the H1N1 Swine Flu Outbreak.
With shipments scheduled, local labor contracted and decor
purchased, we worked with our suppliers to protect our client
from enormous cancellation penalties totaling more than
US$200,000. At the same time, our staff undertook the
process of sourcing and contracting services in the U.S. while
avoiding inflated pricing. We were grateful that our vendors
worked with us to limit the exposure to the client, and equally
grateful that the client respected our need to protect our
vendors.
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Spotlight on Latin Events
Companies throughout Latin America are
relying more on meetings for corporate
success, according to a survey released
during the inaugural Strategic Meetings &
Events Conference - Latin America
(SMEC-LA) held Oct. 1 in São Paulo, Brazil. A survey of 1,000 companies revealed that 86 percent of business executives believe meeting activity in the Latin
American region is growing, and 82 percent trust their companies’ events.
Meanwhile, SMEC-LA presented a
well-structured program of lectures, sessions and showcases that allowed hundreds of national and international professionals to network and learn with their
peers from across the southland. Keynotes included Bruce MacMillan, CA,
president and CEO of MPI, who spoke
about the future of events, and Mary
Boone, president of Boone Associates,
who concentrated on the strategic value
of meetings. Session topics included an
introduction to strategic meetings management programs, managing risk at
p030-035 Hot Buzz 1109.indd 33
events, the elements of strategic value,
virtual meetings and a global perspective
on the future of events.
The Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo played
host to the conference, which was a joint
initiative of four industry associations: the
Brazilian Management Association of
Corporate Travel, MPI, the MPI Brazil
Chapter and the National Business Travel
Association.
—Paulo Cunha, Outra Visão
The International Olympic Committee selected Rio de Janeiro as the 31st
Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games host city. The increase in foreign
tourists to Brazil in 2016 is already projected to be 10 percent to 15
percent greater than the previous year (2015). Rio de Janeiro was one of
four finalist cities—including Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo. In previous years,
investments and works generated in Olympic host cities have boosted
tourism, especially in regards to business travelers. Minister of Tourism
Luiz Barretto, who was one of the Brazilian delegates in Copenhagen (where
the final decision was made), emphasized the potential gains for Brazilian
tourism sectors.
10/30/09 8:36:10 AM
Lost Property Values
ASAE & The Center
Association members are now more optimistic about the
impact of the economy on their involvement in the association community, according to a new survey released by
ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership at its Annual Meeting & Exposition this fall. The results show that
professionals who belong to associations believe their
employment outlook will improve in the coming year.
A recent surge in hotel defaults is consistent
with views by credit market consultant Fitch
Ratings that hotel property values will decline
by as much as 50 percent from peak levels,
according to Susan Merrick, managing director
for Fitch. She says that while budget hotels have
fared best during the downturn, continued pressure on the
luxury, resort and gaming sub-sectors will push lodging
delinquencies to approximately double that of other property
types.
Charge Up and Sleep In
According to Gas2.0.org “most potential plug-in vehicle consumers do not have an adequate place to charge their vehicles.” There simply are not enough charging stations for the
electric cars on the road. The Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center in Florham Park, N.J., is bucking the trend,
having just installed eight electric car charge stations. The
docking grids feature four dual, 120-volt outlets totaling
80 amps, and new signage directs guests to the charging
stations.
Hotel Losses
Marriott International Inc. reports a 57 percent decline in
third-quarter 2009 adjusted income from continuing operations over the same period last year. The number represents a
worldwide decline in revenue per available room felt by nearly
every international hotel chain. However, J.W. Marriott Jr.,
chairman and CEO of Marriott International, says that while
recovery may be slow, the chain’s continued focus on driving
revenue and controlling costs will position it to benefit from an
improving economy.
Safety First?
Social Media Presence
The majority of respondents (91 percent) to a recent
Travel Insights 100 survey recommended using Twitter.
com to find travel information such as deals and tips.
More than 30 percent of respondents
nts used Twitter
10 or more times a day, while
33 percent post less than four
times a day. Pet peeves include
tweets that are too promotional,
too mundane or too corporate.
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Last month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Adminisnistration (FAA) fined two airlines a total of US$9
$9
million for safety violations. The agency proposed
posed
a $5.4 million civil penalty against US Airways
ys Inc.
for allegedly operating eight aircraft on a totall off 1
1,647
647
flights between October 2008 and January 2009 while
not in compliance with federal directives or internal airline maintenance programs. The FAA also proposed a $3.8 million civil
penalty against United Airlines for allegedly operating one of its
Boeing 737 aircraft on more than 200 flights after the carrier
had violated its own maintenance procedures on one of the
plane’s engines.
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HOT BUZZ
Business Travel in 2010
Pent-up trip demand coupled with
supply base changes will cause
rates to increase (albeit slightly) in
most travel categories by the end of
2010, according to the American
Express Global Business Travel Forecast. Business-class airfares in particular will increase in line with reduced capacity and ongoing demand
for international travel.
North America
Overall, business travel growth is
predicted to increase by 1 percent
in the U.S. and 15 percent in Canada next year. Route and capacity
reductions made in the region in an
effort to equalize the decrease in
demand in 2009 are expected to
force prices up in North America in
2010, higher than most other regions.
Hotel rates, however, will remain
on the decline, as hoteliers fight to
attract both business and consumer
travelers back. Car rental rates will
increase slightly as the cost of vehicles rises following decreases in
capacity in 2009 and as car-manufacturing consolidation drives up the
cost of replacing old fleets.
Europe
As companies looked for ways to
curb travel costs, many businesses
in Europe traded down from traditional airlines to low-cost carriers in
2009. Overall, airlines in Europe
saw declines in volume and—while
demand is expected to grow in
2010—fares are expected to decline in the first half of the year as
airlines compete for marketshare.
Hotel rate changes will likely vary
by country, but overall rates will only
increase modestly at best in Europe
next year. Opposite the trend in the
U.S. to unbundle services, however,
European hotels will give travelers
additional amenities as a means to
attract business and loyalty and
retain price levels.
Latin America
In Latin America, there has been
upward pressure on rates as some
carriers proactively reduced the
number and size of aircrafts servicing some routes and consolidated
others. Increases that may have
been possible through these measures were challenged as capacity
at alternative, less expensive airports increased, online travel agencies entered the market and business travelers increased usage of
car rental or bus. Meanwhile, hotel
rates are expected to continue to
decline, similar to North America.
Asia-Pacific
After a 7 percent reduction in business travel in 2009 in the Asia
Pacific region, growth for the major
countries serviced by American
Express in Asia Pacific is expected
to be 6 percent in 2010, as much
of the region escapes the protracted
recession in North American and
Europe.
mpiweb.org
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10/30/09 8:38:49 AM
ART
of Travel
Find out what’s going
on in your hotel
room when you’re
not there with this
motion-activated
security camera that
records audio and
video in real time,
night or day. The
Eye-Witness Security
Camera records to a
removable SD card
for easy viewing.
The camera has a
70-degree scope
and an infrared
night vision lens.
(Brickhousesecurity.
com, US$199.95)
Relax Into
Sleep With
NightWave
Calm your body and
mind by following
the soft blue light
of the NightWave
Sleep Assistant as
it rises and falls.
Your breathing slowly
synchronizes with
the blue wave into a
relaxing sleep rhythm.
The NightWave
alleviates restless
mental activity and
reduces stress,
tension and anxiety.
Give your travelworn body the good
night’s sleep that it
deserves and speed
your jetlag recovery.
(Activeforever.com,
US$69.65)
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Watch Your
Hotel Room
with Camera
Chart Your
Travels With
Custom Map
This personalized
and framed wall map
allows you to chart
your voyages by
marking destinations,
past, present or
future, with 52
color-coded flags
and pins. Choose
red for visited spots,
blue for your next
scheduled trip, yellow
for favorite locations
and green for dream
destinations. The
map is backed by a
foam core so pins
can be placed easily
and held securely.
(Hammacher.com,
US$169.95)
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Your Community
CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT
Ready. Set. Go Live!
The MPI Arizona Sunbelt Chapter faced a
growing concern recently related to monthly
meeting attendance. The actual numbers
were fine, but educational content wasn’t
reaching members in outlying areas.
“We were all too often hearing from
members that driving long distances to
attend meetings has become a financial burden,” said Beth Longnaker, membership vice
president for Arizona Sunbelt. “Our chapter
felt it was important to bring the benefits of
our monthly education programs directly to
our members throughout the state.”
So, leaders applied for and received a
chapter grant from the MPI Foundation
for funds to host a live webcast of monthly
meetings. Now, any members who cannot
physically attend events can receive program
content online. Of course, meeting face-toface is obviously the better option.
“We will always encourage members to
attend the meetings in person, especially
those who live within Maricopa County and
the vicinity of the meeting,” said Kamal
Daraiseh, webinar program chairman.
“This is just a service to those who want
the benefits of MPI, yet geographically are
challenged.”
CMP
Certified and Professional
An investment from MPI will ensure the ongoing global relevance of
the CMP designation, according to officials at the Convention Industry
Council (CIC), which administers the exam. The grant will make the CMP
more globally available and supports CIC’s efforts to enhance the existing
curriculum to reflect heightened business expectations.
With more than 14,000 meeting professionals carrying the
designation in 35 countries and territories, the CMP is the most widely
recognized certification in the meeting industry, and demand for the
standard in markets such as Europe, the Middle East, Africa and AsiaPacific continues to escalate. MPI will offer a CMP test at MeetDifferent
in February. Visit www.mpimeetdifferent.org for more information.
Got a Minute?
Apply for the MeetDifferent hosted buyer program
and maximize your Cancun conference experience by
meeting with 15 suppliers who match your business
needs.
MPI will offer a select number of participants a
complimentary stay at Moon Palace and either complimentary conference registration or up to US$500
in airfare reimbursement.
Additionally, the first 100 planners to register
for the conference using promo code CPLN210 will
receive a Free Cancun Getaway before MeetDifferent.
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Recognize Your Peers
MPI is now accepting nominations for
six RISE Awards.
Nominees should be
individuals and communities that have
made a significant
contribution to the
meeting and event
industry through
influence, innovation
and global reach.
Online nominations
are currently being
accepted, and completed applications
and all documentation must be received by Dec. 15.
Individual awards will be given for young professional achievement, meeting industry leadership and
member of the year. MPI chapters and communities
can be nominated for awards in community achievement in knowledge and ideas and in community
achievement in marketplace excellence. Chapters,
clubs and communities less than two years old are
eligible for the community-emerging excellence award
recognition.
Detailed descriptions, criteria and nomination
application requirements for all of the awards can be
found online at MPIWeb.org/RISE.
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Meeting Industry Drives Canadian Economy
MPI Foundation research proves the importance of meetings and
events on tax revenue and employment rates.
New data shows that business meetings not only burgeon a cross-section
of industries, they provide a steady
contribution to the Canadian tax base and
GDP, according to an exhaustive research
study released by the MPI Foundation
this month. The Canadian Economic
Impact Study Update 2007-2008 builds
on groundbreaking research from last
year and provides an ongoing examination
of how the industry shapes the nation’s
economy and workforce.
To wit, meetings and events generated
more than CAD$14 billion in tax revenue
and supported more than 550,000 jobs
in 2008, and the industry’s direct, indirect
and induced output totaled more than $71
billion. And while 2008 numbers represent
a relatively small decrease from prior
years due to the slumping economy, the
research makes clear the value of meetings to the Canadian economy—a message
crystallized by the industry’s share of national GDP, which reached nearly 1 percent
in 2008.
Meetings really do mean business, says
Joe Nishi, regional director for The Meeting Encore Group Inc. and chairman of the
MPI Foundation Canada. He says that as
the global economy continues its recovery
from recession, the meeting industry will
continue to provide and create jobs and
generate billions in tax revenue.
“With more than double Canada’s population attending meetings annually in Canada to build relationships, develop leads,
advance skills and benefit from a shared
passion for work, the Canadian Economic
Impact Study unequivocally proves that
the meeting industry is paramount to the
face-to-face interactions that drive business
success,” Nishi said.
Meanwhile, Canadian business leaders
have shown their belief that meetings and
events positively impact the bottom line.
The nation held more than 670,000 meetings with 70 million participants within its
borders last year (including more than 2
million international attendees), altogether
spending some $23.8 billion.
“The fact that we see relatively stable
attendance figures over a three-year period
speaks to the continuing importance of
meetings activity, for participants and the
businesses that hold meetings,” said Ken
Ross, senior research associate for Maritz
Research.
The pioneering research is not unusual
for the MPI Foundation, which has long
supported industry studies, including
the annual EventView and FutureWatch
reports as well as bi-monthly Business
Barometers. In fact, since its founding
25 years ago, the foundation has spent
tens of millions of dollars on research that
supports the furtherance of the meeting
and event industry in the eyes of business
executives and government leaders. Maritz
Research and the Canadian Tourism
Research Institute analyzed economic
data, tourism statistics and the benchmark
Canadian Economic Impact Study 2006 to
compile the update.
Meanwhile, members of the industry’s
top associations (including MPI) formed
the Business Events Industry Coalition of
Canada in August to communicate the
economic impact of business events on the
national economy and corporate success.
The coalition relies on numbers from the
MPI studies to promote the industry at all
levels.
For a full copy of the update, visit www.
mpiweb.org/education/research.
The MPI Foundation Canada
will play host to a webinar on
the results of the Canadian
Economic Impact Study Update
at 11 a.m. CST Nov. 30. Visit
www.mpiweb.org/ceis for
more information.
Economic Contribution of Meetings
Activity - Industry Output*
2006
2007
2008
Direct Effects
$32,183
$32,548
$32,077
Indirect Effects
$20,208
$20,545
$20,297
Induced Effects
$18,697
$19,009
$18,779
Total Contribution
$71,088
$72,101
$71,153
Direct GDP Generated by Meetings Activity*
Total Meetings Industries
2006
2007
2008
$2,618
$2,629
$2,529
Total Tourism Industries
$4,952
$5,084
$5,091
Other industries
$3,711
$3,756
$3,710
Total
$11,281
$11,469
$11,330
Direct Effects on Taxes by Meetings Activity*
2006
2007
2008
Federal
$2,918
$2,890
$2,703
Provincial/Territorial
$2,412
$2,452
$2,423
Municipal
$355
$361
$357
Total
$5,685
$5,703
$5,482
*millions in Canadian dollar
mpiweb.org
p038-040 MPI Foundation 1109.indd 39
39
10/30/09 5:38:43 PM
Making a Difference
MPI Foundation Welcomes New Director
Paula Hughes has accepted the role of
executive director for the MPI Foundation. A
public relations and marketing guru, Hughes
previously served as the executive director
and chief professional officer for the Juvenile
Diabetes Research, Arthritis and Cystic
Fibrosis foundations. During her 20-year
career in nonprofits, Hughes has raised more
than US$50 million. Here’s what you need to
know about the MPI Foundation’s executive
director.
Best Weekend: They are all good...getting
out to our friend’s cabin in East Texas is always
fun.
Biggest Challenge: I am looking forward to
my new challenge with the MPI Foundation
to advance the global meetings and events
industry.
Did You Know?
The MPI Foundation funds a bi-monthly Business Barometer that reports what industry
professionals are collectively thinking, doing and
planning based on actual and anticipated economic conditions. The Business Barometer was
created in partnership with American Express to
monitor the meeting industry’s most immediate
needs in relation to economic concerns and
opportunities. For the latest report, visit www.
mpiweb.org/Education/Research.aspx.
Education: I have a bachelor’s degree from
the University of North Texas (formerly North
Texas State University) in journalism and
radio/television/film.
Favorite Food: Chocolate (easy question!).
Dream Vacation: Anywhere with my family.
Pet Peeve: Drivers in Dallas are terrrible.
First Concert: I saw too many when I was 15
and 16: Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Yes,
the Doobie Brothers—I love music!
Favorite Movie: To Kill A Mockingbird.
To contribute to the
MPI Foundation, visit
www.mpifoundation.org.
FOCUS ON FOUNDATION
October 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
Encore Productions
HelmsBriscoe
Maritz
MGM Mirage
ProActive
San Antonio CVB
Swank Audio Visuals
Freeman
Silver Donors
Aimbridge Hospitality
Anaheim CVB
Aramark
Atlanta CVB
The Broadmoor
Fort Worth CVB
Global Hotel Alliance
The Greenbrier
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
hinton + grusich
LA Inc.
LXR
Meet Minneapolis
Millennium Hotels
Park Place Entertainment
Pier 94
PRA
40
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PSAV
Puerto Rico CVB
Salt Lake City CVB
St. Louis CVB
Walt Disney World Resort
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 (replaced
InnFluent)
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
CW Worldwide Meetings Inc.
(Site Solutions)
Dianne B. Devitt
Kinsley & Associates
Landry & Kling & Seasite
Meetingjobs
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
JetBlue
Jonathan T. Howe, Esq.
Katie Callahan-Giobbi
Ken Sanders
Kevin Olsen
Little Rock CVB
Mark Sirangelo
Pasadena CVB
Passkey
Production Plus Inc.
SAS Institute
Visit Raleigh
Friends of MPI
Alan Pini
Brian Stevens
Chris Gabaldon
Gaylord Texan
Hattie Hill Enterprises
Helen Van Dongen, CMP, CMM
Hello Florida! / Hello USA!
Ivan Carlson
Jeff Wagoner
Joe Nishi
Ken Sanders
Kevin Olsen
Margaret Moynihan
Michael Massari
Mike Deitemeyer
Richard Harper
Rick Smith
Rob Scypinski
Vito Curalli
CANADA CORPORATE
Platinum Donor
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Gold Donor
AVW-Telav
Caesars Windsor
Convention Centres of Canada
Delta Hotels
PSAV
Silver Donor
AV- CANADA
AVW TELAV
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
Cascadia Motivation
Coast Hotels & Resorts
Evolution
Hilton Canada
IHG
Marriott Hotels & Resorts
Canada
The STRONCO Group of Companies
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 Donor
Accucom Corporate Communications Inc.
ADMAR Promotions
Anne Hamilton
Calgary Exhibition & Stampede
Cantrav dmc
Catherine McKenna
Centre Mont-Royal
Colleen Rickenbacher
Destination Winnipeg
Exposoft Solutions Inc.
Fletcher Wright Associates Inc.
Gelber Conference Centre
Groupe Germain Hotels
The Great West Life Company
Gus Vonderheide
Investors Group Financial
Services
John Meissner
Mendelssohn Livingston
Naylor Publishers Inc.
Scott White
Stephen Revetria
The Planner
Diamond Club
MCI
Dave Gabri
hinton+grusich
Jeff Wagoner
Ken Sanders
Kevin Olsen
Lawrence Luteran
Margaret Moynihan
Mark Komine
Michael Massari
Mike Deitemeyer
Mike Beardsley
MPI Northern California Chapter
Potomac Chapter
Richard Harper
Rick Smith
Rob Scypinski
Texas Hill Country Chapter
Platinum Key Donors
BTC International
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Four Star
CACBSO
Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter
Gold Key Donors
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Malaga CVB
The Rezidor Hotel Group
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
VisitDenmark
EIBTM
Three Star
Diane Schneiderman
Mariela McIlwraith
MPI Atlantic Canada Chapter
EUROPE CORPORATE
Heritage Club
EIBTM
IMEX
Silver Partner Donors
ExpoForce
RefTech
Bronze Friend Donors
Amsterdam RAI
Hotels van Oranje
Ince&Tive
Visit London
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Diamond
Alan Pini
Arizona Sunbelt Chapter
Brian Stevens
Chris Gabaldon
Christine Duffy
Fellow
Allison Kinsley
Anna Lee Chabot
Bill Boyd
Carl Winston
Cheryl Renzenbrink
Evelyn Laxgang
Jonathan Howe
Joseph Lipman
Kevin Kirby
Matthew Schermerhorn
Melvin Tennant
Ping Liu
Robin Lokerman
Rocky Mountain Chapter
Sebastien Tondeur
Susan Buntjer
Synaxis
Unni Soelberg-Claridge
11.09
p038-040 MPI Foundation 1109.indd 40
10/30/09 5:40:14 PM
1109_041.indd 41
10/8/09 9:31:02 AM
WHO:
Connections
Jack Parsons, senior
staff engineer for
supplier development
at Honda of America
Planner + CVB
As the economy belched black
exhaust and little else this spring,
Jack Parsons worried about
slipping attendance numbers at his
annual Lean Network event for
Honda’s top auto parts suppliers.
The Lean conference specifically targets
the suppliers who source more than 80 percent of parts used to make Honda cars. The
event also provides the educational support,
productivity advice and networking necessary
for the manufacturers to streamline factory
output.
But in January, the auto industry outlook
was bleak, and many suppliers were looking
at immediate, over long-term, survival.
Parsons approached Carla Quercioli at
the Northern Kentucky CVB and voiced his
concerns that attendance might be down
some 150 from his usual 300 people. His
team even traveled from Marysville, Ohiobased Honda of America to Covington, Ky.,
on several occasions to meet with a core group
of hoteliers, center staffers and CVB reps to assess attendance and ensure that all stakeholders were well aware of the situation.
Quercioli has become accustomed to lastminute changes due to economic challenges.
She kept a careful eye on attendance numbers
and even mitigated the situation with the conference hotels.
But, the Lean Network team was determined to rectify slumping numbers. After a
little out-of-box thinking, the group opted
to open the conference invitation to select
companies outside of the Honda supplier
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Carla Quercioli,
convention services
housing manager for the
Northern Kentucky CVB
EVENT:
Lean Network Annual
Conference
Northern Kentucky
Convention Center
May 12-14
family—bringing in appliance manufacturers
and school uniform producers, small momand-pop shops—all of which could benefit
from the education and connectivity he and his
team provided.
It was an opportunity few companies
turned down. Many of the new invitees had
never experienced a trade show, much less an
educational conference. Parsons says they were
eager for the opportunity to gain insight into
how larger companies created cost-savings and
streamlined production.
Internationally renowned management expert James P. Womack proved an even greater
draw when he agreed to keynote the conference. Womack is the founder and chairman
of Lean Enterprise Institute Inc., a nonprofit
11.09
p042-043 Connections 1109.indd 42
10/29/09 4:46:07 PM
training, publishing, conference and management research company chartered in August
1997 to advance a set of ideas known as lean
production and lean thinking (basically a
method allowing for both continuity in process
flow and variety in products offered).
The conference also boasted 37 workshops
(three in Japanese) in everything from operation standards and Yellow Belt Lean Sigma to
eliminating defects and establishing a self-motivated workforce. Providing educational support was former Honda executive Toshikata
Amino, distinguished fellow at the Fisher
College of Business at Ohio State University
and visiting professor at Kansai University of
International Studies in Miki, Japan. His name
means little to the layperson, but to auto industry gurus, Amino is a superstar.
Indeed, Womack, Amino and the Lean
education agenda proved a little too popular.
After months of handwringing and browwiping, Parsons was facing far more attendees
than even he had originally anticipated. Quercioli was more than happy to help arrange
extra rooms—and even an additional hotel—
for the 452 attendees who arrived in Covington on May 12.
She says internal and external communication during the early spring
was vital to the success of the
conference. The Northern
Kentucky CVB holds monthly
meetings with its River Center
team of hotels, venues and
suppliers, which include discussions of upcoming conferences and potential challenges
therein. Quercioli and the
local Lean conference team
thus met on a continuing basis
to discuss the event’s progress
and possible solutions to the
attendance problem.
But, in the end, it was the Lean Network
team that boosted attendance, which Quercioli
says helped the group avoid what could have
been hefty attrition costs. And, despite the hurried nature of the invite, the audience growth
amounted to far more than filled seats and
empty numbers. Attendees from outside the
Honda network stimulated discussion from
outsider viewpoints and asked intriguing questions that in-network delegates might not ask,
making the conference even more valuable for
the manufacturers who had been attending
year in and year out.
And that, says Parsons, made all the hassle
and anxiety worthwhile.
—JESSIE STATES
mpiweb.org
p042-043 Connections 1109.indd 43
43
10/29/09 4:46:50 PM
IRRELEVANT
Dead Alive
Get a feel for
death with a coffin
couch made from
Southern California
funeral home
rejects. Choose from
green lantern, back
draft, purple haze
or any number of
other funky colour
schemes. And feel
good knowing you
are purchasing
recycled (albeit
unused) goods.
(Coffincouch.com,
US$3,500)
44
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11.09
Irrelevant 1109_sg.indd 44
10/29/09 11:44:24 AM
1109_045.indd 45
10/30/09 4:03:33 PM
Lesley
Everett
Global View
Standing Out
from the Crowd
WE ALL HAVE A BRAND IMAGE
WHETHER CONSCIOUSLY CULTIVATED
OR NOT. Your personal brand is what peo-
46
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11.09
p046 Global View 1109.indd 46
BIO
ple say about you behind your back; it’s the
words they use to describe you to others.
Of course, during interviews the way
we present ourselves is vitally important
and reflects our brand in the eyes of others.
However, what are you doing to build your
brand reputation even before you get to the
interview stage?
Personal branding is becoming a significant element to consider when it comes to
managing careers. Here is a seven-point plan
for personal branding.
Stride 1—Who You Really Are. Uncover
your personality and individuality. What is
it that you’re outstandingly good at? What
are your values? How do others see you in
three words?
Stride 2—The First 7 Seconds. It takes
just seven seconds for people to judge us
initially. Don’t leave this thought in your
subconscious—it is never more important
than at an interview.
Stride 3—Dress Like You Mean It. Style
and grooming are the packaging of your
personal brand. Do you present yourself
in a way that invites trust, credibility and
professionalism as an immediate perception
of your brand?
Stride 4—Silent Indicators. Your body
language can speak volumes about you. A
genuine smile, a good handshake and positive eye contact are essential when you meet
people. You will be judged on these things.
Stride 5—Speak Easy. What does your
voice convey about your brand? Listen to
your voice mail message critically.
Stride 6—Be Interested and Visible. Being
genuinely interested in others will make you
a more interesting person and more memo-
Carpe Diem—today’s
the day to take control
of your personal brand
and start managing those
perceptions, which in turn
propels you toward greater
success.
rable. How visible are you? Do people really
know who you are?
Stride 7—Each Time, All the Time. Consistency is crucial. For any brand to be 100
percent successful, it has to be 100 percent
consistent.
Carpe Diem—today’s the day to take
control of your personal brand and start
managing those perceptions, which in turn
propels you toward greater success.
LESLEY EVERETT is a U.K.-based international speaker on personal branding. She is the author of Drop Dead Brilliant - Dazzle in the Workplace with
Confidence and Panache. Vist her Web site at www.lesleyeverett.com.
10/29/09 8:02:08 AM
1109_047.indd 47
10/30/09 4:04:21 PM
Jon
Bradshaw
Reboot Your Brain
To Tweet or
Not to Tweet
I SENSED THAT THE PASSENGER TO MY
RIGHT WAS GROWING INCREASINGLY
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11.09
p048-049 Reboot Your Brain 1109.indd 48
BIO
IRRITATED as the British Airways Boeing
777 taxied toward Heathrow Airport’s
easterly runway. I opened one eye, slightly
annoyed to have been woken from my
usual pre-flight doze, to see exactly what
the issue was. In his right hand, held high
as if a holy relic, was his BlackBerry being
poked and prodded from every direction as
its owner’s frantic voice boomed across the
cabin, “Does anyone know how to turn a
BlackBerry off?!”
Now both eyes were open as I watched
in fascination as a woman seated several
rows behind us was given permission to
unbuckle, run to our row and succeeded
in turning the device off less than a minute
before takeoff, much to the relief of all
concerned.
The subsequent flight gave me ample
chance to chat to the BlackBerry’s amicable
owner, Phil, who shared details of the complicated love/hate relationship he has with
the device, somewhat similar, he acknowledged, to the rapport he shared with his
now ex-wife, a situation he directly attributes to his BlackBerry use, too. Regarding
the incident onboard, he rather sheepishly
admitted that since the delivery of the device
several weeks ago, he hadn’t once turned it
off. He had discovered Facebook and Twitter and with an international social circle,
wanted to keep in touch 24/7.
The episode led me to consider the effectiveness and the emotional cost of utilizing
the plethora of networking tools now at
our disposal and whether social obligation,
touched with an element of narcissism, is
actually the prime motive behind our desire
to stay LinkedIn.
To the astonishment, frustration and ridicule of many of my friends and colleagues,
I have yet to embrace the world of Twitter,
LinkedIn, Facebook and the like. Don’t get
me wrong, I’m no technophobe. I’m proud
to say that I stopped relying on a transAtlantic pigeon to deliver my column to the
editor some months ago. It’s just that I’ve
yet to be convinced that these new tools are
all that time efficient, my limited experience
telling me that the time invested in keeping
them fully updated offers diminishing marginal returns.
“But old school friends get in touch,”
implore my peers. Let me tell you, the idea
of hearing from my childhood sweetheart
Rosa and re-living the time aged 11 when,
in the middle of double science, she showed
the whole class the letter I had written
informing her of my undying love, is avoidable self torture and far better left as the
first entry in the bulging “Disastrous Female
Encounters” file of my memory bank.
With Rosa in mind, I was interested to
read an article recently about a phenomenon called Facebook Suicide. Reportedly
hundreds of people a day actually close
down their Facebook accounts as apparently the unanticipated pressure of connecting with old friends becomes too much,
the quoted psychologist arguing that it
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 contacted via www.equinoxmotivation.com.
10/29/09 8:02:53 AM
countered the natural social ebb and flow of
life that allows people to enter and leave our
world almost without us noticing.
A conference speaker I heard last week
extolled the virtues of using social networking sites for business development. His
estimate that it took roughly three hours of
his day to keep his “walls” updated, upload
photos and post his tweets astounded
me. While he was obviously very proud
of the number of Facebook “friends” he
had recruited, I noted somewhat ironically
that his Twitter followers were far fewer
in number than the potential customers he
chose not to engage with at the final night
gala dinner. He sat at his table, BlackBerry
in hand, tweeting to his followers the news
that proved pivotal in clinching his next customer—yes, his steak was overcooked. Better connected? More business? I think not.
What about the impact on our relationships with those closest to us? I’m not
preaching here, as I’m sure I’m not the only
owner who has changed the settings on his
handheld to prevent the red light flashing
when a message sits unread. Previously,
too many evenings with my girlfriend had
been interrupted as I obeyed the red light’s
I’ve yet to be convinced
that these new tools
are all that time
efficient. The time
invested in keeping
them fully updated
offers diminishing
marginal returns.
hypnotic command to check e-mails only to
discover they were usually from a company
offering help with my performance in the
bedroom rather than the boardroom.
I am, of course, choosing to ignore the
undoubted benefits that using these tools can
bring, but I do wonder where it will all stop.
I know that for some of you my challenge
to disconnect occasionally will be met with
ridicule, but I ask that you at least consider
locating and engaging your own off button
every now and again.
As usual I look forward to comments via
e-mail, phone or, of course, pigeon.
mpiweb.org
p048-049 Reboot Your Brain 1109.indd 49
49
10/29/09 4:49:19 PM
Dawn
Rasmussen
Get the Job
How to
Interview Like
a CEO
DOES THE WORD INTERVIEW SEND A
DECIDEDLY UGLY CHILL DOWN YOUR
SPINE? It doesn’t have to. The secret to
50
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11.09
p050 Get the Job 1109.indd 50
BIO
nailing successful interviews has everything to do with attitude. If you let fear
rule, it will. Can you imagine a successful
CEO going into an interview with sagging confidence or stressing about how
to answer a question? Certainly not! So,
here are a few secrets taken from the
CEO interview rulebook on how to portray yourself as the top job candidate.
1. Engineer a different mindset on
how to approach interviews. Believe it
or not, I absolutely love the interviewing
process. My attitude is: “Hit me with
your best shot.” There is no such thing as
a bad interview experience; it is what you
do with it that determines what matters.
2. Know your value. To get started
in reshaping your interview attitude, you
need to understand and focus on your
value. Decide what it is that you offer
that beats out the competition. Determine
why an employer should hire you over
the next person standing in line.
3. Do research. Doing research about
a company is another way to gain confidence in the interview process. The more
knowledge you have about a company,
the more literate you are in its corporate
culture and background.
4. Tell a story. Being a master storyteller is also part of the magic formula
for a winning interview. Gather potential interview questions and then quiz
yourself on how you would answer each.
Think about a specific story that you can
cite to demonstrate how you solved problems or made a difference in your job.
5. Practice public speaking. Toastmasters International is a phenomenal
proving ground where you can grow
your public speaking skills in a welcoming, supportive environment. Experience
speaking on the fly and talking in front
of groups will improve your abilities to
come across as polished in interviews.
Determine why an
employer should hire
you over the next
person standing
in line.
Overall, CEOs walk into interviews
brimming with confidence, ideas and
optimism, and you can too! The truth is,
you are the CEO of Yourself Inc. You are
a unique sum of your experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, and shifting your
whole mindset about job interviews can
radically change this from a scary, distasteful process to an uplifting, fun
experience.
DAWN RASMUSSEN, CMP, is the president of Portland, Ore.-based
Pathfinder Writing and Careers, which specializes in hospitality/meeting
professional resumés. She has been a meeting planner for more than 15
years and an MPI member since 2001.
10/29/09 4:49:49 PM
1109_051.indd 51
10/30/09 4:04:57 PM
Steve
Kemble
A Dose of Sass
Fabulous Holiday
Travel Tips!
I SPEND MOST OF MY TIME PRODUCING MEETINGS AND EVENTS ACROSS
52
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p052-053 A Dose of Sass 1109.indd 52
BIO
THE GLOBE, and many of you ask how I
survive the airports, hotels, delays, cancellations, airline food and just travel in general.
Many of your questions come as the holidays approach, when you, your family and
loved ones will be traveling. Here are my
top 12 ways to make holiday travel enjoyable. May you be able to pre-board, get
your upgrades and above all remember that
items do shift during flight, so pack your
Louie properly.
1. Book Early. Try to book an early a.m.
flight before the skies get too congested.
2. Check Traffic. Prior to leaving for the
airport, check the road traffic to make sure
you’re taking the best route. Know where
you want to park at the airport. You can
make advance reservations at many of the
offsite parking lots.
3. Arrive Early. Get to the airport two
hours prior to your departure time for
domestic flights and three hours prior to
international flights. (Double-check baggage
cutoff time; most airlines need all luggage at
least 40 minutes prior to scheduled departure time.)
4. Check Flight Status. Check your flight
status and departure gate online prior to
leaving your residence.
5. Check In Online. Check in online, and
print your boarding pass to avoid lines at
the ticket counter.
6. Send Gifts Ahead of Time. Send
wrapped holiday gifts ahead of time, or put
them in your checked baggage. (If you carry
gifts through the security checkpoint, they
may have to be unwrapped, and I have not
found one TSA employee who is good at
gift wrapping!)
7. Once at the Airport.
• Consider curbside check-in or a self
check-in kiosk to avoid lines at the ticket
counter.
• Be prepared for security lines, so take a
dose of patience.
• Remember you cannot bring more
than three ounces of any liquid through
security.
• Have your license or passport and
boarding pass in hand so you don’t
have to look for them at the security
checkpoint.
• Liquids must be in containers that hold
three ounces or less, in a zip-top bag
(you may want to put some extra ones in
your briefcase or purse for another trip).
• Remember to dress for security; you are
going to have to take off big jewelry,
jackets, shoes, belt and anything else that
might set off the magnetometer.
8. Nourishment. Once beyond security
and inside the airport, consider taking something on board to eat and drink. When thinking about what you want to eat, remember
your fellow passengers do not want to smell
what you have selected the entire flight, so
STEVE KEMBLE has been the magic behind countless international events
for more than 20 years, from celebrating NFL players’ accomplishments
to organizing parties for two presidents. Follow him at www.adoseofsass.
com or on Twitter @stevekemblechat.
10/29/09 8:11:33 AM
choose your meal carefully. You are permitted to bring an empty water bottle through
the checkpoint and can then fill it up at a
water fountain.
9. Be Courteous of Fellow Passengers.
Remember to be courteous of your seatmates by keeping your elbows within the
armrests. People who have the middle seats
should be allowed whatever arm room they
need and want.
10. Keep a Low Volume. Keep any cell
phone conversations prior to taking off and
after landing at a low volume. You may
think what you are saying is important, but
most likely no one around you does.
11. Travel Clean. You can help the airlines keep on schedule by traveling clean.
With quick turnarounds, many times the
cleaning personnel do not have time to clean
all the seatback pockets. So be courteous of
the next passenger and do not put leftover
Know where you want to park at
the airport. You can make advance
reservations at many of the offsite
parking lots.
food or gum in the seatback. It is always
appreciated, too, if you wipe down your tray
after eating.
12. Pack Wisely. Create a list for your
packing needs and pack neatly. If you pack
neatly, it will be easier for the security personnel to check your luggage should they
need to. Additionally, check with the airline
in advance to see what the weight allowances are for your baggage.
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CARLOS CALANTE
Giving Voice
Student journalists take part in a convention’s intense
community service project in Hollywood, Fla.
What’s
New in
South Florida
BY KEVIN WOO
WHEN
CRYSTAL
VOGELSANG
MET
SHAWN ANDERSON, SHE KNEW HE
WAS THE ONE.
STEPHANIE COLAIANNI
“I waited my whole life for him, and he’s
the one who God chose,” she said.
“I want to be with her all the rest of my
life,” Anderson said.
In April, the two were married in a public
park in Hollywood, Fla.
She used a small, crowded bathroom to
slip into an emerald green wedding dress that
was purchased from Kmart. He nervously
tried to find a pair of matching dress socks
while waiting in a parking garage for the ceremony to begin. She is HIV positive. He is a
recovering cocaine addict.
This would be no ordinary wedding.
At the time, Vogelsang and Anderson were
homeless.
Most journalists would ignore the story
of two homeless people getting married.
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+
Covering the Anderson wedding, however,
was a coveted assignment for 25 college
journalism students who gave up a Saturday night to spend time at the Coalition of
Service and Charity (COSAC) homeless shelter. The student journalists wrote about the
experience for a special edition of the Homeless Voice, the world’s largest newspaper
dedicated to issues affecting the homeless.
The project, “Will Work For Food,” was
part of the Southeastern Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) convention held in Hollywood, Fla., just outside
Fort Lauderdale. Founded in 1909, the SPJ is
dedicated to encouraging the free practice of
journalism through its advocacy efforts.
Michael Koretzky, chairman of the SPJ
Affairs Committee, says creating the community service component for the convention provided valuable, real-world journalism experience for student attendees and
The Hilton Fort
Lauderdale Marina
recently completed a
US$70 million renovation.
Guest rooms were
redesigned, and the lobby
and meeting rooms were
upgraded.
In April, the W Fort
Lauderdale opened. The
23-story, 486-room hotel
features 19,000 square
feet of meeting space.
The Loews Miami Beach
began a $50 million
renovation in June. The
remodel will be completed
this month.
Crystal and Shawn recently
moved into their own apartment. Both are gainfully
employed selling the Homeless
Voice. They visit Cononine once
a week at his office, continue
to grow and still act like a
newly married couple.
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+
Transportation Tip
Miami International Airport (MIA)
is located 27 miles from Fort Lauderdale/Broward County. Taxi fare
from the airport to downtown Fort
Lauderdale is approximately US$82.
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL)
International Airport also serves
the greater Broward County/MiamiDade County area.
was critical to the overall success of the
conference.
“When we told the attendees about the
project, the professional journalists said,
‘Eeew,’ and declined to participate,” he
said. “The students, however, were enthused
about the opportunity. We approached people at the Homeless Voice and said, ‘We’ll
take over your paper for one issue and write
a special edition from the students’ perspective.’ The people at the paper responded
enthusiastically to our idea.”
Thick, Black, Steel Bars
As the students arrived at COSAC, they
couldn’t help but notice the thick, black,
steel bars that protect the shelter’s 150 clients
from the outside world.
“I started freaking out,”
said Maryann Batlle of
Florida Gulf Coast University, recalling her emotions
as she arrived at COSAC.
“I’ve never been exposed to
poverty before. It was scary
and I wanted to go home.”
Rachael Joyner, a graduate from Florida Atlantic University (FAU), and SIVAN FRASER
Michele Boyet, an FAU student, served as editor in chief and executive
editor, respectively. They visited the shelter
prior to the SPJ chapter conference to plan
logistics.
“COSAC was definitely stranger than
I thought it would be,” Joyner said. “The
inside kind of reminded me of how you’d
picture a psych ward. The rooms were kept
neat, and the place was pretty clean, but
the people definitely looked haggard. It was
strangely quiet on the second floor where the
clients’ rooms were. Of course, there was the
occasional yell, and a good amount of mumbling from some of the homeless people.”
Two days prior to the conference, Joyner
and Boyet learned about the Anderson wedding via an e-mail from COSAC’s director,
Sean Cononine.
“We couldn’t believe our luck,” Joyner
said. “We had a perfect lead story put in our
laps.”
For the students, the introduction to life
at COSAC was hardly subtle. They ate dinner and struck up conversations with the
residents to better understand homelessness. The dining hall itself
was small, dingy and dimly
lit—quite different from
anything the students had
experienced previously.
An editorial meeting
was held after dinner, and
story assignments were
handed out. Some students
jockeyed to cover the wedding and outreach stories as
plum assignments.
Pam Geiser of Florida
Gulf Coast University interviewed the bride
and groom before the wedding and says the
experience helped put her own problems
into perspective.
“I’m not sure what it was that hit me
when I saw them. I think it was when the
pastor said, ‘You guys are poor but you’re
rich in love,’” she said. “I thought about
all the things that stress me out, and I have
nothing on what they’ve gone through.”
Hitting the Streets
Not all of Hollywood’s homeless end up
at COSAC. Many remain on the streets.
Joanna Chau of Florida International University interviewed Nick Davis, a member
of the shelter’s rescue team, as he prepared
for another night driving the streets of Hollywood looking for people who might need
help.
Chau reported that Davis brought his
own perspective to the job. He was homeless
in early 2009 and knows what it’s like to live
on the streets with an empty stomach.
Sivan Fraser of FAU rode along in an
ambulance with Davis and a nurse, a clinical
psychologist and a police escort in search of
those who needed help. She wanted to experience life on the streets firsthand.
“I went back and forth between riding in
the ambulance and riding in the police car.
I amassed so much information about the
homeless way of life in such a short period
of time that I felt like my legs were filled with
lead,” Fraser said. “Writing my stories until
5 a.m. was dreadfully difficult because I was
so overwhelmed. I felt blessed, empowered
and grateful, yet also felt angry, confused and
bothered by the medical outreach. I realized
how lucky I was to have the information and
the resources that I do to be able to live my
life in a financially, scholastically, emotionally and mentally stable environment. On
the other hand, I was so enraged that there
were so many homeless people who seemed
incapable of realizing that they did not have
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SIVAN FRASER
CARLOS CALANTE
to live on the streets.”
The group stopped to inspect a small
area on the corner of Interstate 95 and Hollywood Boulevard that was littered with
empty beer cans, bottles of cheap booze, tattered clothes and a discarded sign that read,
“Vet Please Help.” Fraser learned there are
some in the homeless community who prefer
not to leave the streets, because they want to
preserve their dignity.
“The goal of the outreach program is
to get the homeless off the streets and into
a shelter with the proper mental and health
care, a clean and safe place to stay and eat,”
Fraser wrote in her story. “But on most trips,
[the rescue team] ends up just handing out
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food, water and cigarettes—things that they
hope may one day coax [the homeless] into
coming to the shelter.”
The Chain Smoker
Managing the chaos at COSAC falls on
Cononine’s broad shoulders. The 44 year
old, who smokes five packs of cigarettes a
day, is part funeral director (10 people have
died in his office over the years), pastor (he
performs about five weddings a year) and
law enforcement officer (he and his staff go
on patrol to discourage drug dealers from
selling to clients).
Cal Colgan of Flager College shadowed
Cononine for several hours, watching and
observing. Colgan saw Cononine give US$10
to a resident with a warning not to use the
money to buy crack. Cononine also provided
aid to a woman who went into labor in the
shelter’s second-floor hallway and wrestled
a box cutter from a man trying to commit
suicide.
For Cononine it was just another day at
the office.
“I thought that he was going to be, at best,
a bureaucrat and at worst a crook posing as
a civil servant,” Colgan said. “But after talking with and being around him for the first
five minutes of my assignment, I realized that
Sean could be as down-to-earth as anyone.
He seemed agitated at times, but he seemed
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10/8/09 9:34:29 AM
+
South Florida
Fun Facts
Fort Lauderdale County has 300 miles of
waterways and harbors, which house
40,000 yachts. The area is referred to as
the “Venice of America.”
Suntan cream was invented in South
Florida in 1944. Cocoa butter was cooked
in a coffee pot and was used by sunbathers
who wanted to protect their skin.
The first ATM designed specifically for
rollerbladers was installed in Miami.
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to genuinely care for all of those at the shelter as if they were his family. When I realized
that he sleeps at the shelter at night despite
owning a house that is only a six-minute
drive away, I understood that he had devoted
his entire life to helping these people.”
Colgan lives near St. Augustine, Fla., and
volunteers time to an organization that distributes food and clothing to the homeless
and the working poor. He’s had significant
contact with the homeless but this experience, he says, was different.
“This was the first time I have been inside
a shelter,” he said. “I must admit that at first
I was a little nervous, because I would be in
contact with residents who came from every
imaginable category of homelessness—drug
addicts and those with illness and diseases.
But I soon discovered that my fears were
unfounded.”
Lyn Millner, assistant professor of journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University and
co-advisor of the project, says the project has
had a deep and long-lasting impact.
“Everyone raved about the work that
all of the students did and [the project] led
to two freelance jobs for Pam [Geiser],”
Millner said. “It’s safe to say that the project changed my students’ lives, and mine, in
profound ways.”
For Joyner, the project reinforced her
career choice.
“This project was, by far, the best part of
the conference. So often when you go to conferences you just sit and listen to people talk
about what they’ve done,” she said. “This
project let us go out and get our hands dirty
and put into practice the things we learned.
It reminded me how much fun journalism
can be. This project reinforced that I’m in
the right profession. I love storytelling, tight
deadlines and working with other writers. It
made me want to run my own publication.”
KEVIN WOO is a longtime One+ contributor and lives in San Francisco.
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IHA (5)
+
Midwest Passage
Exposing the illusive trade route to the Orient that runs through Chicago.
BY ROWLAND STITELER
HISTORY BUFFS WILL RECALL THAT THE
ORIGINAL REASON FOR COLUMBUS’
VOYAGE was to find a trade route from
Spain to China. Other explorers pursued a
northwest passage through the Great Lakes
and a southern route around Cape Horn.
Now, it seems several savvy trade groups
have finally found the passage, running
right through Chicago, because the Big
Shoulders city has established a significant
trade relationship with China for March’s
International Home Housewares Show, the
world’s largest event of its kind.
The International Housewares Association (IHA), which has four international offices but none in China, sees the
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country—and Asia in general—as being a
key region for the organization’s continued
growth, as well as ongoing sales growth for
its members, who are the manufacturers of
house wares ranging from frying pans to
microwaves to vacuum cleaners.
“Basically if you can cook with it or
clean with it and it’s within the walls of
the home, it’s in the realm of products our
suppliers manufacture and market,” said
Derek Miller, IHA vice president of international business services. “The mission of
our annual show is to get buyers and sellers together, and it’s become a priority for
our association to increase our presence in
China.”
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+
What’s
New in
Chicago
The Ledge, a new,
completely glass observation platform at the Willis
Tower (formerly the Sears
Tower) opened to the
public in July. The Ledge,
which is 1,353 feet above
street level, is essentially
a glass balcony—with a
glass floor.
theWit - A Doubletree
Hotel, opened on State
Street in downtown
Chicago in May offering
298 guest rooms and
7,000 square feet of
event space.
The 619-room JW
Marriott Hotel Chicago
is under construction with
a scheduled opening date
of June 2010. It will offer
43 meeting rooms.
Fun Facts
+
Historic Route 66 begins in Chicago at Grant
Park on Adams Street in front of the Art
Institute of Chicago.
The first Ferris wheel made its debut in
Chicago at the 1893 World’s Columbian
Exposition (also called the Chicago World’s
Fair). It was 264 feet high and had 36 cars,
each of which could accommodate 60 people.
The Housewares Show—which attracts
more than 60,000 attendees, including
22,000 buyers from worldwide retailers
such as Macy’s, Williams-Sonoma and WalMart—is the premier annual selling opportunity for its manufacturer members, offering them the chance to do everything from
roll out new product lines for the coming
year to forge new relationships with potential buyers for their house wares.
So it’s only fitting that the show itself
offers a key opportunity for the IHA to
reach one of its goals of establishing new
markets in China and attracting suppliers
and retail buyers from the world’s most
populous country.
The world’s first skyscraper, for the Home
Insurance Co., was built in 1885 in Chicago.
Transportation Tip
+
Environmentally oriented convention attendees
might consider GO Airport Express, which
serves both Midway and O’Hare airports and is
using fuel-efficient vehicles. GO Airport Express
says its six-passenger vans use 30 percent as
much fuel as six rental cars and generate 54
percent fewer carbon emissions.
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IHA
p060-063 Dest Chicago 1109.indd 62
But because IHA does not have an office
in China, it had not been able to put together
a well-vetted list of potential new Chinese
supplier members and qualified buyers to
attend the convention, Miller says.
“We needed local expertise, someone
within China who is knowledgeable about
the industry there,” he said.
Enter the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau (CCTB). In part because the
annual Housewares Show is one of the biggest ongoing trade shows in the city, the
CCTB was able deliver what Miller calls “a
wonderful service” to the IHA.
The CCTB, through its partnership
with the Illinois Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)—
which has nine offices around the world,
including one in China—was able to find
and hire a house wares industry consulting group within China to put together a
well-researched list of contacts in China
for the IHA, including about 100 suppliers
and about 30 buyers who would be prime
potential exhibitors and attendees for the
Housewares Show and affiliates with IHA
for years to come.
The icing on the cake, Miller says, is
that the CCTB not only had the expertise
and local contacts in China to complete the
research, but that the CCTB paid for the
study.
The CCTB was able to offer this service
to IHA because of a new strategic partnership it forged recently with DCEO, with the
overall goal of building economic growth
in Illinois, including within the convention
and trade show industry.
And any action that can help IHA members increase trade with their counterparts
in China can benefit the house wares industry in Chicago and around Illinois, since
the Midwest region is home to many major
house wares manufacturers and retailers,
according to Megan Gaus, CCTB client
marketing manager.
10/29/09 4:50:56 PM
Reaching out internationally also makes
sense for CCTB marketing efforts, Gaus
says.
“Associations these days are quite familiar with their domestic markets and membership, so when they are looking for ways
to increase their memberships and markets
vertically, looking internationally has certainly become a key focus for them,” Gaus
said.
Consequently, Gaus says, the CCTB
in recent years has adopted a strategy of
seeking to help associations and trade
show groups that meet in Chicago develop
their international markets and attendance
for Chicago events—as a value added for
booking Chicago.
Gaus says that in addition to helping IHA with China research for its 2009
show it is having Mideast research done
by a Lebanon-based firm with house wares
industry expertise to help support the 2010
Housewares Show.
p060-063 Dest Chicago 1109.indd 63
While Miller felt there was a clear payoff in Chinese participation in the 2009
show because of the CCTB research, he
anticipates that the biggest impact will be
in 2010, because the IHA will be using the
information it gained from the research to
conduct its own Chinese marketing campaign during the coming year.
“One of the biggest values of the research
and contacts we have gained goes to building long-term relationships,” he said.
Perry Reynolds, IHA vice president of
marketing and trade development, says the
location and bricks-and-mortar reality of
Chicago also play an important role in the
success of the Housewares Show year after
year.
“For one thing, because of the physical
size of our show, and the square footage
of exhibit space we require, there are actually only three cities in the U.S. that could
handle us,” he said.
Reynolds says that because of the
recession that was particularly pressing in
March (when the show is held each year),
attendance was slightly off, but within its
usual range.
He says there was certainly a vibrancy
and energy on the trade show floor that
the IHA members found encouraging. That
was in part because of the unusual position
the house wares industry finds itself in.
“When there is a recession, people stay
home more, they cook at home more and,
consequently, there is more demand for our
products,” Reynolds said.
But Reynolds says IHA members were
also encouraged by the growing international nature of the Housewares Show, due
in part to outreach efforts like those of the
CCTB.
ROWLAND STITELER has written extensively about the global meeting and event
industry from his home in Florida.
10/29/09 3:28:18 PM
+
What’s
New in
Jamaica
The Montego Bay
Convention Centre
broke ground in February.
Scheduled for completion
in early 2011, it will
provide 50,000 square
feet of exhibition space,
20,000 square feet of
banquet space and an
additional 11,000 square
feet of meeting space. The
facility will be located near
the Rose Hall corridor,
which has 3,760 of
Montego Bay’s 11,000
guest rooms.
The Palmyra, A Solis
Resort and Spa, is
slated to open in March
in the Rose Hall region
of Montego Bay. It will
provide 13,000 square
feet of indoor meeting
space, 10,000 square
feet outdoors, 299
guest rooms and a
30,000-square-foot spa.
It will be adjacent to three
golf courses.
The twin properties of
Secrets St. James
Montego Bay and
Secrets Wild Orchid
Montego Bay will open
in March. The all-suite,
adult-only facilities will offer
approximately 350 guest
rooms, a full-service spa
and access to nearby golf
courses.
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Crunch Time in
Paradise
A series of challenges arose during an important twoweek event in Jamaica, forcing the planner and resort
management to quickly devise a solution.
BY HUNTER HOLCOMBE
IN TANDEM WITH ITS NATURAL CARIBBEAN-ISLAND BEAUTY, Jamaica has a
reputation for being, well…a relaxing kind
of place. Mellow might be a more apropos term—describing everything from the
music, culture and people to the sultry
warm breeze stirring the palms at sunset.
Bob Marley may have put a face and a
sound to the soul of this laid-back paradise, but it only takes an hour of strolling
along the beaches of Negril or through
downtown Montego Bay before the spell
of the island takes hold, an invisible pair of
hands coaxing stress from your shoulders.
As president of Traverse City, Mich.based VIKTOR Incentives & Meetings,
Mark Bondy well understands this magic.
He has brought several high-end corporate
groups to Jamaica over the years, but he
wasn’t feeling terribly relaxed in January
2008, when a series of challenges arose during an important two-week event, forcing
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GRAND LIDO NEGRIL (2)
+
Transportation Tip
him to meet with the resort management
and devise an impromptu solution.
Bondy was bringing in 800 clients for a
corporate incentive program at the Grand
Lido Negril Resort & Spa in two waves of
400. Each would have the resort to themselves for seven days, the second group
checking in as the first checked out. Shortly
before Bondy arrived, however, the resort’s
water boiler blew up, and it could not be
replaced in time. As the guests trickled in,
it became evident that the housekeeping
team would not be able to launder sheets
and turn over rooms as usual.
“We had guests arriving at the hotel,
and many of them had to wait quite a
while until their rooms were ready,”
Bondy said.
It was not an ideal start to a weeklong incentive trip but, even before the
last members of the group finally checked
in, Bondy was worrying about Group 2.
Jamaica has two international
airports, in Kingston (Norman
Manley International Airport)
and Montego Bay (Sangster
International Airport), as well
as small airports in Ocho Rios and
Negril. On land, there are a variety
of options for getting around.
Licensed tourist taxis are readily
available, and the drivers will be
more than welcoming as you step
out of the airport, though prices
are based on haggling skills. There
are also the much cheaper local
“route” taxis, which drive generally
established routes between towns,
as well as public buses. For group
transportation, the best option is to
hire one of the island’s several tour
bus companies, which are licensed
with the Jamaica Tourist Board.
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10/30/09 8:07:01 AM
Fun Facts
+
Jamaica is home to more than 252 bird species, 27
of which are found exclusively on the island.
MARK BONDY
Jamaica was the first country in the Western world
to construct a railway—even before the U.S., and only
18 years after England.
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Jamaica ranks third for the greatest number of Miss
World titles.
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If it was this difficult to set rooms for the
first group, it would be even more challenging to complete a full turnaround of
every single room at the resort simultaneously. So, while guests settled into a week
of beach-lounging, water recreation and
rum cocktails, Bondy assembled the hotel
management staff for a brainstorming session on how to mitigate the problem from
every possible angle.
Because of quick and attentive action
by staff in the country’s resort hotels, Bondy’s experiences with Jamaica have been
largely positive. But he acknowledges that
some planners and company leaders are
wary of bringing meetings here, mainly
due to misperception.
“Don’t assume service levels are low or
there is a mañana attitude, because that
is not the case, at least at the Grand Lido
Negril and the other hotels we have used,”
he said. “In fact, the Jamaican people
treat you like family, with genuine respect,
courteousness and care.”
Then again, Bondy has the advantage
of knowing the island. He chose Negril for
this specific event because it is more reclusive than other parts of the island, something these particular clients appreciated.
“Negril is much more laid back than
the hustle and bustle of Montego Bay,” he
said. “The shopping is more limited than
Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, but for most
people, the selection is wide enough to
accommodate a day or two of shopping.”
For larger events, however, and for
those seeking more cultural exposure,
the major resort centers of Montego Bay
and Ocho Rios are better options, with
more event space and greater hotel blocks.
Montego Bay, in fact, is halfway through
constructing a new convention center
with more than 80,000 square feet of total
meeting space.
Overall, Jamaica is recognized for its
outdoor recreation, from water-based
activities such as snorkeling, jet skiing and
swimming with dolphins to lush jungle pursuits such as zip-lining, horseback riding
or hiking waterfall-lined trails. The island
is also noted for its significant biodiversity,
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with a large number of endemic flora and
fauna.
“What sets Jamaica apart and makes it
special is the wide variety of resort areas,
accommodations, land and water sports
and attractions to be found on an island
just 144 miles long and 51 miles wide,”
said Donnie Dawson, deputy director of
tourism of the Jamaica Tourist Board.
“And the warm and friendly Jamaican
hospitality.”
Aside from what the physical island
offers, many visitors are also drawn to
the distinct and colorful Jamaican culture,
from tasty jerk-spice barbecues and amateur cricket games to the unique blend of
ethnic influences and its role as the origin
of reggae music.
Jamaica’s motto, “Out of Many, One
People,” describes this multicultural and
ethnic mix of people who make up the
island’s population, Dawson says. Out of
this comes a people with a culture and lifestyle uniquely their own.
Bondy understood that the appeal, coupled with high-level resorts, could result in
the ideal Caribbean meeting experience.
But before he could set his clients free to
enjoy Jamaica, he had to figure out how
to get them into their rooms. Fortunately,
MARK BONDY
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Bondy had worked closely with the
resort’s management before, and knew he
would have creative and flexible partners
on his side. Together, they looked at every
angle that could affect room turnover and
check-in: airport transportation, use of the
airport lounge, luggage delivery, coordination and communication of housekeeping,
tracking and monitoring guest arrivals,
linen count and using external cleaning
resources.
“We jointly identified the need to alter
some procedures,” Bondy said. “It was
this hands-on involvement [by resort staff]
that made it much easier to solve the operational issues we encountered.”
By the time the critical turnover day
arrived, they had put into place the following strategy: The resort placed 100
percent of their bellmen on duty for the
day and borrowed additional housekeeping staff from their sister property in
Montego Bay. If a significant delay was
expected, the airport lounge would be
available for guests to avoid a backup
in the hotel lobby, and they developed a
guest-arrival tracking system that ensured
no individual would wait more than 30
minutes. Most importantly, they mitigated
the water-boiler issue by purchasing and
borrowing additional linens so that they
had a full set already pressed and ready
for room turnover.
Not surprisingly, the day was an overwhelming success.
“It worked like a charm,” Bondy
said. “If anything, this check-in day went
smoother than most.”
Bondy points out that this could have
only happened at the right resort and with
the right management.
“Whether you are operating a program
at a small, service-oriented hotel or even
a well-established, brand-name hotel with
an excellent service reputation, it always
pays off to never make assumptions, conduct a detailed pre-con establishing a true
sense of teamwork and establish contingency plans wherever conceivable,” he
said. “It became readily apparent that the
entire resort staff did indeed follow [the
general manager’s] lead, excelled at customer service, genuinely enjoyed their jobs
and treated all guests warmly like they
were friends or family.”
HUNTER HOLCOMBE writes about the
meeting and event industry from his home
in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Branding
Destination
In an era when everything
from water to underwear has
a dedicated marketing team,
it’s no surprise that destinations
are eager to slip themselves
into sleek, saleable packages.
By Andrea Grimes
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11/2/09 8:11:50 AM
Riding off into the sunset has a
certain romance to it. And many
have been charmed by the prospect of exploring the deep blue
yonder. Even Tom Petty sang
about a place called the great
wide open. The uncertain vagueness and implied vastness of destination unknown is thrilling to
the wayward traveler.
But for the
meeting
professional,
a destination
unknown is
a recipe for
disaster.
So, it’s no wonder cities spend
millions branding themselves by
rebuilding Web sites, reimagining
logos and refocusing marketing
campaigns in hopes of making
the move from destination unknown (or worse: destination
undesirable) to destination ideal.
In an era when everything
from water to underwear has a
dedicated marketing team, making sure that just the right niche
group receives the good word of
its branded gospel, it’s certainly
no surprise that destinations are
eager to slip themselves into sleek,
saleable packages. But a city’s far
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message gets lost.
“People spend a lot of time
playing with the words and a
nebulous idea of what the place
is about,” said Conley, who suggests that what they should be
doing is getting out there and
talking to the people.
more complicated than a tube of
lipstick or a sports drink. Can
branding work for a city the
same way it does for a shoe—
especially when the prevalence of
branding itself means advertising
to a media-overloaded public?
Journalist Lucas Conley
tackles the issue in his book
Obsessive Branding Disorder, a
healthy look at America’s sometimes unhealthy pervasive branding culture. How can cities brand
themselves without contracting
this disorder? By keeping it simple, local and authentic, Conley
says.
“Branding campaigns get
wrapped up in these complex
systems,” he said. “They do a
500-word mission statement and
a 200-word thesis and a 20-word
core idea.”
All that planning, spinning
and speculating can mean the
Authentic and Consistent
The core of a good brand is authenticity, and Conley believes
that comes from listening to
what residents have to say about
their own cities. A flashy brand
may look appealing from the
outside, but if it doesn’t ring true,
it’s practically useless. Branding
works best, Conley says, when
there’s something simple, something common sense, about a
place that’s appealing. And authenticity comes from consistency. An effective brand may be
new, a logo may be redesigned,
but the concepts behind the
brand should feel timeless.
“A lot of places will change
brand names or their branding
appeals from year to year, which
just ends up confusing potential
visitors,” Conley said. “People
won’t remember the place, but
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People spend
a
a nebulous ide lot o
a
f
should be doin of wh tim
g is
and
gett at th e playing
s
d
r
o
w
with the
ing e de
they
stinati
ou
on is about. What e.
t th
ere an
pl
d talking to the peo
they will remember it as changing a lot.”
Preferable, then, is finding the
“Just Do It” for a particular destination. There’s a reason why the
Nike slogan sticks, and the same
can go for destinations if they
keep their message consistent.
“You want to be able to
plant a flag with your audience,”
Conley said. “Make a statement
about what your city will always
offer.”
But worst of all is when a
destination attempts to cover up
negative publicity with new packaging. People see right through
it, Conley says, citing recent
re-branding efforts by a postKatrina New Orleans as a prime
example of inauthentic branding.
“The cover-up element is a
bullhorn through which a city
shouts ever louder that it has
something to hide,” Conley said.
“Don’t try to glaze over something negative that’s happened.”
Being disingenuous is always
a branding red flag. But what
happens when a city doesn’t
even have a bad reputation—
when a city doesn’t have a reputation at all?
“Not every city has a wellknown history with a touchstone
to relate to if you’re from outside
the region,” Conley said.
In that case, cities can be
tempted to stretch too far to
create an authentic brand, for
instance, digging up a destination’s history for something real
but potentially unmemorable.
“That’s a problem cities run
into when they’re trying to find
something unique to the area,”
Conley said. “It might stand up,
but it doesn’t stick in people’s
minds.”
The best destination brands
stay local and focused. Sneakers,
for example, are easy to sell, because they mainly do one thing:
go on your feet. But cities are far
more complicated than shoes—
or are they?
More Than One Side
Say “Amsterdam” and many
people start giggling—whether
it’s the city’s notorious sex trade
or their lax drug laws, Amsterdam has been saddled with a
certain reputation. And according to Tessa Wernink, communications manager for Amsterdam
Partners, the firm that rebranded
the Dutch city as “I, Amsterdam,” they’re trying to show
that there’s much more there
than a high time.
“The key elements that have
always been a part of this city’s
history are its tolerance, its international outlook and its feeling
for trade,” Wernink said.
Taking a page from Conley’s
book, the city doesn’t try to ignore its, well, colorful side.
“Over the past decade, Amsterdam’s identity moved toward
one that highlighted sex, drugs
and rock and roll,” Wernink
said.
There’s no denying it, she
says, but there’s also much more
to highlight. Just as Conley suggested, Amsterdam didn’t try to
hide its sexy reputation, they’ve
just chosen to add more to it.
“Amsterdam does not deny
the presence of its open attitude,”
Wernink said. “What we say is,
there’s so much more.”
That’s where their new “I,
Amsterdam” campaign comes
in.
“It is the people that make
Amsterdam,” Wernink said.
“Because of its openness, Amsterdam attracts a wide variety
of people who are free thinkers,
open-minded and creative.”
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10/29/09 3:48:41 PM
Dig into
branding
even
deeper
with
journalist
Lucas
Conley’s
book
Obsessive
Branding
Disorder.
The campaign came out of
Amsterdam Partners, a unique
collaboration between the city
government, businesses and the
convention and tourism bureau.
Wernink describes “I, Amsterdam” as “our personal endorsement for our city,” putting
a human aspect on a bustling
international city. Along with the
new campaign, Amsterdam is focusing on a new city aspect as a
theme every year. For 2009, it’s
“Amsterdam Art City,” where
special events and deals focus on
Amsterdam’s artistic background
through institutions such as the
Van Gogh Museum and the
Dutch Opera. Next year’s theme
is “Amsterdam Water Sensations,” which highlights Amsterdam as a city of waterways and
canals. This way, Amsterdam becomes much more than a famous
red light district—though there is
that, certainly—and a more wellrounded destination for families,
tourists and conventions.
Back to Basics
Simplicity is vital. Conley advises cities not to get wrapped
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up in the psychology of a theme
or aura, and instead to get one
message out to the audience.
A simplified message can come
out of good audience targeting.
Branders should ask themselves,
“What seems relevant to our audience?” Whether it’s a low crime
rate, excellent meeting facilities
or amenities for families, destinations should determine what an
audience needs most and make
them acutely aware of what the
city specifically has to offer. Conley also advises taking advantage
of new technologies and strategies
to convey that targeted message—
after all, he noted, viral marketing
is very much the future.
In Northern Kentucky, the
CVB streamlined not only its image but its entire operation. With
a logo redesign and internal restructuring that allowed the CVB
to concentrate entirely on meetings and conventions, the area
known as the “Southern Side of
Cincinnati” is a great example of
Conley’s advice on focused, targeted branding.
CVB CEO Tom Caradonio
knew Northern Kentucky worked
well marketing itself in relation to
Cincinnati, but he still wanted to
maintain the Kentucky image. So
for the CVB’s redesigned logo to
go with its “Rethink” campaign,
staff made sure a capitalized “N”
and “K” came together in the
middle of the words “Northern
Kentucky,” all beneath a blue
“swoosh” meant to represent
the Ohio River that separates
Northern Kentucky from Cincinnati. Since Northern Kentucky is
comprised of 43 cities over three
counties, the logo becomes a visual representation of the area’s
actual geography.
“We use [the logo] as a locator,” Caradonio said, noting that
since the CVB deals with an area
without a proper name, it’s hard
to easily pinpoint on a map. The
logo itself has a businesslike, corporate feel, and that’s intentional. Two years ago, the Northern
Kentucky CVB decided to focus
almost exclusively on attracting
meetings and conventions to the
area, letting Cincinnati’s CVB—
and a co-funded “regional tourism network” that Northern
Kentucky contributes to—concentrate on tourism.
“We fill up the big blocks in
hotels and convention spaces,
and the tourism branch fills in
the holes around them,” Caradonio said.
The Northern Kentucky rebranding, then, was about much
more than aesthetics. It’s not just
rebranding in terms of design;
it reflects the needs of meeting
planners.
Word of Mouth
Conley says people use word
of mouth more than any other
source for information, and getting a clear brand message to an
audience works especially well
when people are simply talking
about a city.
“People tell each other where
they’ve been and where they’d
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It’s more than brochures,
Web sites and advertisements
that sell a city—it’s personto-person endorsements.
like to go,” Conley said. “That
has a big place in [destination]
branding.”
Caradonio takes advantage
of Internet video technology to
send personalized video pitches
and follow-ups to convention
planners. Once a proposal has
been submitted, Northern Kentucky can reply with a video message: “You see my smiling face,”
Caradonio said. “I’m talking to
you saying, ‘We’re delighted to
have you.’”
The new Northern Kentucky
Web site also features electronic
RFPs and information specifically geared toward meeting professionals right on the front page,
with virtual planning guides and
details about the riverfront convention center space and nearby
dining and entertainment options for post-meeting activities.
The CVB is also going paperless
with its meeting schedules, offering convention planners the
option to do “mobi-marketing”
with meeting attendees. Venue
and schedule changes can be sent
directly to participants’ PDAs,
eliminating the paper, reprinting
and confusion.
It’s more than brochures,
Web sites and advertisements,
though, that sell a city—it’s
person-to-person endorsements.
Conley says people commonly
ask themselves, “Are these facts
coming from word of mouth or
from a branding campaign?”
A personal recommendation
always packs more punch.
The take-home lesson, then,
is to keep destination branding
simple, honest and authentic.
Overdoing it with flashy campaigns and needless extras can
bury the true essence of a destination. Honesty and ingenuity—
that’s not just good branding.
That’s good business.
ANDREA GRIMES is an
Austin, Texas-based freelance
writer. She has written for the
Dallas Observer, the Austin
Chronicle, Salon and One+.
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10/30/09 3:33:49 PM
H1N1:
Be Prepared,
Not Panicked
BY DIAN BARBER
In preparation for the
Penny Arcade Expo
(PAX) 2009, alcoholbased sanitizer stations
were set up throughout
Seattle’s Washington
State Convention & Trade
Center. The festival was
the best attended to date
(60,750), and it seemed
to have escaped further
H1N1 complications.
Yet, the day
after the event
ended, organizers
learned that some
attendees had
confirmed cases
of swine flu. In total,
only around 100 people
had become sick—a
mere 0.165 percent of
attendees.
“We knew there was
a potential for some
attendees to become
sick,” said Robert Khoo,
business manager and
show director for PAX.
“Any time you have a
connector event where
people from other
geographical areas are
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converging on a hub and
will be in close proximity,
there is always that possibility.”
Once organizers knew
that some attendees
had swine flu, they took
to the Web to get their
late-breaking message
out, primarily leveraging
Twitter and the event’s
own Web site.
A list of outgoing
flights and trains of
attendees with confirmed
cases of H1N1 was posted
online and updated as
often as necessary.
Because the general
age range of tech-savvy
PAX attendees (23-32)
was not a group at serious risk, the concern
shifted to focus on whom
the ill attendees could
come in contact with.
“The idea to list plane
and train travel data just
seemed to make sense,”
Khoo said. “Why would
you not want to get that
information out?”
PAX organizers are
cururrently
ently
in
n the
early
arly stages
off researching
new
ew methods and
technology
echnology to mitigate
similar
milar problems at PAX
East next March in
Boston.
DIAN BARBER is a
data wrangler and freelance contributor.
11.09
pg76-77 H1N1 Feature.indd 76
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2009 H1N1 INFLUENZA A VIRUS
RESOURCE LINKS
Swine Flu Update and Toolkit
www.mpiweb.org/Media/News/SwineFluUpdate
AndToolKit.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2009 H1N1 Home
www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/
AH&LA H1N1 Influenza Management
in Hotels Fall 2009 Manual
www.ahla.com/flu
U.S. Travel Swine Flu Resources
www.ustravel.org/pressmedia/swine_flu.html
Latest News and Regional Pandemic Info from the
World Health Organization
www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
Travel Industry Pandemic Flu Checklist
http://fl
http
http:
ttp: u.gov/professional/business/travelchecklist.html
H1N1
Updates and Resources from the International
H
Association of Exhibits and Events
http://www.iaee.com/iaee_membership/
center_for_exhibition_safety_and_security
H1N1 Toolkit for the Restaurant Industry
http://www.restaurant.org/fluinfo/toolkit.cfm
H1N1 Self-assessment Tool
https://h1n1.cloudapp.net/Default.aspx
E.P.A. Report: Transmission of Viruses
in Indoor Air
www.epa.gov/iaq/ciaq/influenza_presentation.pdf
H1N1 SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
Swine Flu Tracker on Google Maps
www.google.org/flutrends/
iPhone H1N1 Tracker App
www.healthmap.org/iphone/
Android OS H1N1 Tracker Apps
www.cyrket.com/search?q=swine+flu
H1N1 WEBINARS
November 10
Be Prepared, Not Panicked
(Or Complacent):
A Swine Flu Update
Luke Jerram’s
spherical swine
flu sculpture, part
of his Virology
exhibition at
London’s Smithfield
Gallery earlier this
year.
November 17
Getting Your H1N1
Preparedness Plan to the C-level
Sign Up Now!
www.mpiweb.org/education
/webinarseries.aspx
TIPS AND ADVICE
FOR MEETING PROFESSIONALS
By now, we all know about the importance of regular
hand washing and the appropriate use of alcoholbased gels. But what else can meeting professionals
do to help ensure their own health and the health of
event attendees?
> CLEAN COMMON > CLEAR AIR
AREAS
The H1N1 “swine flu” virus
can survive on surfaces
for up to eight hours,
according to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention. So it makes
sense to pay extra
attention to the cleaning
of commonly handled
objects (door handles,
keyboards, cell phones,
pens, etc.) to help reduce
the spread of not only
H1N1 but also other
viruses and bacteria.
“It is well established that
influenza viruses can live
on fomites and hands,”
said John Swartzberg,
MD, FACP, clinical professor of medicine at the
University of California,
Berkeley. “The controversy is whether it can
transmit any way other
than being aerosolized.”
> STERILIZING
LIGHTS
Many hospitals use ultraviolet lighting for sterilization purposes, why
shouldn’t meeting professionals? A high-output,
handheld ultra-violet light
unit can help decontaminate surfaces and commonly handled objects,
according to Steven
Welty, CAFS, CIE, LEED
AP, an airborne infectious
disease consultant who
designs systems that
sterilize, capture and/or
kill airborne particles.
Both Welty and Swartzberg stress their belief
that viruses are transmitter primarily through
aerosolization, so don’t
forget about the air when
considering the sanitation of common areas.
Welty advises meeting
planners check the MERV
ratings of air filters at
venues for a rating of at
least 13.
> HIGHER
HUMIDITY
Enhancing indoor humidity may be able to reduce
the transmission distance
for viruses. But don’t
expect a miracle; Swartzberg says the use of
humidifiers won’t prevent
the spread of H1N1.
> CLEAN SINUSES
“Although there is no
direct evidence that
nasal irrigation is effective prevention against
H1N1 specifically, there is
some evidence … that it
helps prevent viral upper
respiratory infections
generally,” said David
Rabago, M.D., assistant
professor of family
medicine, University
of Wisconsin School
of Medicine and Public
Health. “Theoretically,
nasal irrigation could help
prevent infection by H1N1
through direct action and
by improved mucociliary
action i.e. general health
of the nasal mucosa.”
THE SMITHFIELD GALLERYLUKE JERRAM-VIROLOGY
EXHIBITION
mpiweb.org
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10/30/09 5:40:59 PM
IN THE
SHOES
AN
EXCLUSIVE,
BEHINDTHE-SCENES
JOURNEY
WITH THE
PLANNER
OF DISNEY’S
ULTIMATE
FAN
EXPERIENCE.
By Michael Pinchera
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11/2/09 11:11:03 AM
BYRON COHEN
B
etween sips of club soda,
Barry Jacobson reveals the
latest surprises for the D23
Expo: actors Robin Williams, Johnny Depp and
maybe a Golden Girl.
As general manager for
the Expo, Jacobson wears many
hats, from helping attendees during
registration to guiding VIPs through
busy areas. And then there’s everything in between, which creates a
unique challenge when one must
split precious onsite time between
so many duties.
“I see my role like an orchestra
conductor leading a symphony. But instead of talented musicians, I get to work
with the best cast members
from across Disney. I give
them the sheet music. We
plan, practice and rehearse.
And the end result is—
hopefully—a perfect performance,” Jacobson says.
“Working on this company
initiative is like a 16-month
CMP crash course.”
His excitement building exponentially with each
sentence, the 30-year Disney cast member has slept
few hours this past week,
due to the rolling energy of
seeing the biggest event he’s
ever been involved in come
together and alive.
“This week is about putting all
the facets of Disney on display—
theme parks, film and television,
consumer products, Internet, new
technology and more,” Jacobson
says. “The Disney brand means different things to different people, but
my team’s job is to ensure that we
create an event that reinforces the
best of what the company represents—quality, innovation, creativity, great content, legendary service
and lots of fun. The only people
more Disney-passionate than our
fans are our cast members, so we’re
trying to exceed some exceptionally
high expectations of both groups.”
“It seems to me that we have
a lot of story yet to tell.”– Walt Disney
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11/2/09 11:11:10 AM
THE DAY BEFORE THE
EXPO OPENS
A world is waking up before my eyes. In one day,
Disney will be here…the
entire universe.
5:30 a.m. Jacobson started
a walkthrough and saw,
near registration, that 30
motorized scooters available for disabled guests
were adorned with logos
for non-Disney amusement/theme parks in the
region. A unique problem
first thing in the morning,
the day before the show
opens, this was easily corrected to ensure brand
continuity thanks to a keen
attention to detail.
9:35 a.m. “Thank you,
rock star,” Jacobson says to
a helpful voice on the other
end of the walkie talkie
that is now rushing to take
care of some shouldn’t-belocked doors.
Jacobson’s face is al-
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one+
ready beaming—his voice
is getting louder and increasingly enthusiastic as
he speaks. This change has
developed in the past 35
minutes and appears to be
contagious—you can see
a happy glow in the eyes
of other cast members as
they speak with Jacobson. Discussions of a time
for a photo shoot with
Mickey begin in earnest as
we walk toward the Treasures of the Walt Disney
Archives museum to survey
how it’s coming together.
10 a.m. Immediately upon
stepping out of the museum, Jacobson removes the
tarp from Herbie the Love
Bug—and curator Becky
Cline invites him to take
a seat behind the wheel.
Jacobson remarks that sitting in a piece of company,
brand and pop history is
making him break out in a
sweat. Someone posits this
is simply because it’s an old
VW.
Now off to take photos
with Mickey.
Jacobson’s key event
manager, Matthew Karimi-Pouiis, appears as we
somehow enter the exhibit
room again—we’ve been
walking around so much
already, through elliptical
hallways and taking short
cuts, that I surely have
no clear idea as to our location at any given time.
We were just here, yet it’s
already morphed…more
open boxes…more atten-
tion to detail and design.
A group of photographers is taking pictures
with Mickey, who is pointing out people in the crowd
as if to say, “I want you.”
Plans for photos of Jacobson and Mickey Mouse
over the Expo floor in a
cherrypicker are dashed
with the realization that
they’d both need harnesses.
Of course, we still get the
shots with Jacobson and
“Trade Show Willie” just
not in as precarious a setting.
The flowing collection
of people surveying the site
splits up, and everything
seems to be getting more
hectic as the empire awakens. We step outside, the
hot sun beats down.
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People are in disbelief
as to how this will all magically come together. “Will
this come together?” “It
always does!” Nervous,
yet confident laughter. “Is
the mayor coming?”
10:30 a.m. Jacobson leads
the way to a Starbucks in
the Anaheim Convention
Center complex. As we
walk, he mentions that
cameras will not be permitted at the keynote session
led by Disney president
and CEO Bob Iger and this
means checking all cameras and cell phones from
attendees as they enter the
arena.
“The event team from
the Walt Disney Studios
will be managing this for
us,” Jacobson says reassuringly, “they do it all the time
for movie prescreens.”
Even though they do it
all the time, this last-minute adjustment is highly
contingent on the content
of sessions and for an event
with tens of thousands of
In between sips of coffee,
the importance of maintaining the Disney brand at the
Anaheim Convention Center
during the Expo is explained.
attendees. The reason for
the “no photography” policy in this instance is that
Iger’s session will contain
a great deal of proprietary
first-looks at some highly
anticipated upcoming Disney projects—sneak peaks
that you can only get by attending D23.
“Would you like a sample of banana vanilla iced
coffee?” a wandering Starbucks employee asks.
“No thanks,” Jacobson
responds after asking if I’d
like anything.
We sit down, Jacobson
takes a breath. The first
real breath I’ve seen him
take today…just relaxed.
In between sips of coffee, he is casually explaining how important it is to
maintain the Disney brand
at the Anaheim Convention
Center during the Expo.
“Our fans will expect
nothing less than a Disney-
quality experience, especially since we are in the backyard of where it all started,”
Jacobson says. “The Disneyland team is providing
specialty food items like
Mickey-shaped soft pretzels, ice cream novelties,
as well as Disney-branded
apple slices and carrots as
healthy alternatives. Turkey legs won’t make the
trip over, though.”
Jacobson cites the Shaggy Dog as one of his favorite films—I press further.
Jiminy Cricket is his favorite character and Mary
Poppins is his all-time favorite movie.
“That’s suitable,” I say,
“Since so many people expect event planners to do
things as magically and
immediately as Mary Poppins.”
Jacobson laughs.
“Magical pixie dust will
make this beautiful,” he
says to a graphic designer
as we head back to the
convention center and the
transformation to the wonderful world of Disney.
Entering by the registration area, Jacobson
points out the 60 registration spots and says there
will be 30 cast members
available to assist people
when registration opens.
Here, Jacobson discusses
plans for the upcoming
pre-con meeting with Steven Clark, head of D23
and Disney’s vice president of corporate communications. Clark suggests
bringing the hot-off-thepress guide books—there
should only be about 30
people at the meeting. Jacobson smiles at me, “He’s
always thinking!”
Moving along to the
Expo floor, Jacobson introduces his primary contact with Freeman, Kelly
Roberts.
“Kelly has been a big
part of this event’s success.
She’s held this all together,”
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Post-Con Talk
What were your biggest
challenges on site?
one signing, we actually went to see if
What did this event
mean to you?
What was your sleep
schedule like?
We had to make adjustments on the fly
stars from ABC’s LOST needed help with
I’ve had the good fortune to be a corpo-
My sleep time was maybe four to five
to accommodate sessions that were very
guest control.
rate planner for the opening of five of our
hours per night throughout the event.
theme parks, the launch of Disney Cruise
But the energy from the fans and our
popular, including the use of satellite
graph sessions—we knew that after
This was a learning curve for a
broadcasts to open up sessions to larger
new event. I think the capacities were
Line and numerous corporate-driven
cast members provided the boost to
groups. For instance, [Pixar and Disney
an issue, not knowing some seminars
events, but this was by far the largest.
keep me going. We heard from cast
Animation Studio’s chief creative officer]
and presentations were going to be as
It was the quintessential event for me
members that participated in the show
John Lasseter’s presentation on the final
popular as they were.
because you saw it through the fans’
how much they enjoyed being a part of
eyes. Our company delivers an emotional
this, in touch with the fans and seeing
land as our official voice for announce-
connection to our fans and here we had
their reactions.
Immediately at show close, exhibi-
ments on the Expo floor. We realized
our most ardent fans who gave us the
tors wanted to sign up for the next D23
we needed an emcee to move guests
opportunity to create something very
Expo. So, we’ll need more space for
throughout the show floor, but we also
special.
exhibitors, popular seminars and auto-
needed a voice.
day had to be moved from a 750-seat
venue to the 4,000-capacity arena.
Jacobson says proudly while
reading and writing e-mails on
his BlackBerry and excitedly
tells me and subsequently everyone he crossed paths with in the
next hour, “We just sold another
1,000 tickets!”
A group of event professionals develops around Jacobson as
they discuss handling an exceptional exhibitor situation—an
exhibitor showed up with her
young child (something not permitted on the show floor). The
child was crying, the exhibitor
worried. After a brief discussion,
Jacobson admits, “We did a Disney thing,” allowing the child to
be with the exhibitor as long as
they stayed together on the show
floor. “‘Safe D’ first is a priority
for us.”
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We also added the voice of Disney-
Jacobson excuses himself and
steps aside to help several misdirected people entering the underconstruction show floor and then
politely walks them through the
restricted area to make sure that
they get properly credentialed.
He’s being human and helpful. I
suspect this, too, is an example
of the Disney spirit and how that
spirit brings the brand to life.
11:30 a.m. Thirty people were
expected at the pre-con meeting,
but according to Jacobson, that
number is growing—he says as
we wait for essential attendees to
show up.
He’s beaming.
“I’m trying my best to not get
emotional about this,” Jacobson
shares with a whisper, followed
by laughter. “Seeing this team of
people who have worked tirelessly over the past 16 months
poised to deliver the biggest
thing I’ve ever been involved in
is somewhat overwhelming.”
Indeed, he’s come a long way
from his entrance into the meeting and event world at age 8
operating charity extravaganzas
in his backyard thanks to mailorder fundraising event kits. Yes,
a meeting industry play set for
children that gave back to those
in need.
He takes a seat at the head of
the U-shape arrangement of tables as attendees speak with one
another and nibble on brunch.
Chatter throughout the room
is positive, jovial. “This is history in the making—the first time
in more than 85 years that we’ve
had so much of Disney all under
one roof!” D23’s Clark says.
Each person sitting in this
room represents scores of workers onsite.
“I’m with crowd control,” a
gentleman says to laughter in the
room.
With each person introduced,
smiles build.
The man responsible for the
air conditioning is introduced to
applause.
I’m the only journalist in the
room.
Discussions about this event
bubbled to the surface almost
two years ago following a fan
question that Iger received during the company’s shareholders
meeting. Thanks to the hard
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work put forth by fans (Disney
cast members and civilians alike)
the Expo feels very much like a
grassroots effort.
After noon, I break away
from Jacobson to view some
photos taken by a staff photographer.
Overheard in the Core Team
Production Office:
“Carmen wants to make
it clear that if Debbie is doing
something with Nick Cage…”
“I’ll call her and give the phone to
you and you can hug it out…”
EXPO DAY ONE
The palpable feel of surprise,
adding to the growing excitement, was very real. In fact, yesterday Jacobson was still getting
notifications of major Disneyfamily celebrities that would be
appearing at the show.
Yet, it’s no surprise to see Jacobson’s genuine excitement—
less important that big-name
stars are being added, of great
p78-83 Disney Planner Day.indd 83
importance is that the event is
actually coming together. Soon
we’d see if the pixie dust worked
and how much was applied.
7:30 a.m. Following a few hours
of sleep, Jacobson is at the convention center and has been
working for three hours. All the
while, fans have been waiting in
line to get a first glimpse of the
Expo and secure great seats for
the opening session—when Jacobson arrived, there were eight
people in line; a half-hour later,
almost 200.
Registration opens and now
there are already more than
1,000 people queued up to get
into the arena for Iger’s 10 a.m.
session.
Jacobson just ran off to announce that everyone must be
show-ready in 10 minutes. I see
him up in a window overlooking the Expo floor and watching
Iger being interviewed by CNBC
below.
9:40 a.m. The arena is filling up
for Iger’s session, but Jacobson
ponders the need to make another announcement and ensure
that no one misses the event.
Just then, Jacobson runs into
a group of Marvel executives
in jeans and casual shirts and
guides them past security and
the camera-checking lines into
the arena.
Next, Jacobson gets a call
that a guest at registration has
a letter with his name on it and
is requesting admission. We’re
about to get on an elevator as
Jacobson responds, “Yes, please
let Stacia Martin in.” Laughter.
Martin is a well-respected Disney historian, character artist
and, of course, an unparalleled
Disney fan.
“Come see our war room,”
Jacobson invites. He’s speedwalking faster than anyone
I’ve ever seen in business shoes.
“Rockports,” he says confidently before revealing his back-up
pair of presentable and comfortable black ECCO shoes. I look
down at my own black ECCOs
and smile.
In a small room with several
empty tables and chairs and a
Lilliputian window that looks
out onto the Expo floor, Jacobson leans into a microphone and
deftly speaks to the masses—his
voice filling the Anaheim Convention Center like a call from
the heavens, showering knowledge and enlightenment upon
the faithful below.
Following Iger’s successful
opening session and the Disney
Legends Ceremony, the day’s
pace falls back to its regular caffeinated speed. I leave Jacobson
as he heads to his hotel for a
quick shower and fresh clothes—
swapping his suit for D23 Expo
staff shirt and comfortable black
dress ECCOs.
MICHAEL PINCHERA is associate editor of One+.
11/2/09 11:44:33 AM
SURE,
WE’RE
ALL
PRETTY
GOOD.
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BY JENNA SCHNUER
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL SCOTT BERMAN
Piers Fawkes is a connector. He
melds ideas. He brings people together. He sends ideas out into the
world—often for free—and hopes
they’ll inspire people to, if we may
crib an ad slogan of the past from
one of his clients, think different.
The N.Y.-based Englishman is
a businessman, a trends guy. Four
years ago he co-founded PSFK,
“a trends research, innovation
and activation company,” with
London-based business partner
Simon King. But this is no ordinary trends company. It has a dogooder (or should we say do-better) mission: inspire readers, clients
and guests to make things better—
better products, better services,
better lives or a better world.
PIERS
FAWKES
WANTS
US
TO BE
BETTER.
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10/29/09 10:14:54 AM
PIERS
FAWKES
WANTS
US
TO BE
BETTER.
“THE WORD
BETTER
is nice because it’s broad,”
Fawkes says. “Sometimes better
is eco. Sometimes better is social.
Sometimes better is just something that makes people smile.
[Better is] about progress.”
And the push for better guarantees that Fawkes’ company
can’t get pigeonholed as being
just one thing: “I don’t want to be
a trends company being a trends
company.”
So, to help people and
businesses get better, PSFK
gives away a whole lot of
information for free. That content model strays far from the
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[on PSFK.com]. You know, which
is the whole point. We invite people who we write about, who we
think are really interesting and
inspirational.”
traditional business plan of
trends companies in which
you’ll have to plunk down
some serious bucks to see the
research and information.
Not so at PSFK.
“If people respond to things
we are writing about, hopefully
a good percentage of that will be
helping better things that they
will be creating,” Fawkes says. It
also helps keep PSFK top of mind
as a source and, sometimes, readers turn into clients for the company’s consulting arm.
While Fawkes’ greatest talent
is connection, the true driving
force behind PSFK is his passion
for research. No matter the business segment, it always comes
back to the research and the info
collected along the way. One
piece of PSFK always feeds into
the next.
“The research is the starting
point behind everything that we
do. Sometimes I’m like, ‘Who
the hell should be speaking at
our events?’ Then I realize that I
haven’t really thought and looked
at who we’re writing about
BEFORE
Fawkes took to trends, publishing, event planning and consulting, he worked in advertising
marketing and Web site strategy.
But another Fawkes trademark
is just to move on along and see
what comes next. There are no
hard lines in Fawkes’ career. No
direct path from one thing to the
next. Like the flow of his current
business—where he gives ideas
room to grow—he just moves
organically from one thing to the
next. He does what he’s supposed
to do at the time he’s supposed to
do it because it’s the right thing
for that moment.
So, after the Web world spat
him out, he spent 2002 running a
film production company, where
he created everything from music
videos to short films to ahead-oftheir-time viral-marketing videos.
“The way I look back with
rose-tinted glasses, I’d say it
was this fantastic artistic time,”
Fawkes says.
It certainly wasn’t a lucrative
one—Fawkes didn’t even have an
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apartment. Instead, it was “dayfor-day try to make money.”
And, he adds, “It was fun.”
“But the important thing
about that time is that that’s
when I really learned to love
writing. I did a lot of writing [on]
videos or short film scripts. My
partner would write a script, and
we would kind of work the script
together.”
Eventually, it was time to move
on. Love helped him find his way.
Literally. He met his (now) wife
at a conference in London and,
eventually, followed her to New
York.
But, though his personal life
was shaping up quite nicely,
Fawkes wasn’t quite sure where
his career was headed.
“I got on a bicycle, and I rode
around the city, and I started taking photographs, noting things.
That stuff that I noted I decided
to put on a Web site. I asked Simon King, a friend of mine in
London, if he could write about
some of the things that were happening in London.”
That site? Let’s call it PSFK.
com 1.0.
It featured thoughts on everything from art and music to technology and advertising.
“Simon has more of a fashion
vantage whereas I have more of
an advertising, marketing and
technology vantage,” he says.
“It was a small project. Maybe
if I thought it was going to go
somewhere I would have given it
a more memorable name.”
The site helped Fawkes land
his first U.S. job.
Though he had sent out the
requisite hundreds of resumés,
employment was a no-go until
he mentioned, “Hey, I have this
Web site.” It helped him stand
out from the applying masses.
“Unfortunately, that job as
a brand consultant was short
lived,” he says, as the company
went under shortly after he was
hired.
But PSFK.com was on its
way up. After a friend recommended that he skip the staff
work and go freelance, Fawkes,
still working with King, went
full force on it.
“I was crazed like a mad
man, to be honest,” Fawkes
says. “I’d wake up at 6:30 a.m.,
start work, work until about 3
p.m. scanning, writing, and then
[because it wasn’t pulling in
money yet, would] do some job
hunting.”
Then the duo landed their first
client: Anheuser-Busch, which
asked them to do research about
“young adults in the U.K.”
After that, it was PSFK all the
way. But it took some time for
Fawkes to see that the company
had become a trends research
firm.
“I didn’t set out to be a trends
[expert],” Fawkes says. “It was
something that, you know, I got
hired to do because of the things
“IF PEOPLE
RESPOND TO
THINGS WE
ARE WRITING
ABOUT, HOPEFULLY A GOOD
PERCENTAGE OF
THAT WILL BE
HELPING BETTER
THINGS THAT
THEY WILL BE
CREATING.”
MEET
THE
PURPLE
PEOPLE
Over the years, Piers Fawkes has
worked with experts on topics ranging
from advertising to the environment
in the Americas, Africa and beyond.
And, via The Purple List, PSFK gives
you a free and easy inroad to connecting with and putting the experts
to work for your own push for better
in your business.
From brand strategists to speakers for
your next meeting, here are 10 Purple
Listers who caught our eye.
1
2
3
4
5
JENKA GURFINKEL, a Boston-based brand
and social media strategist (and blogger:
social-creature.com) who used to manage
a vaudeville circus troupe, now whirls through
brands at multiple levels from ethnographic
and cultural research to community development and management.
purplelist.com/members/jenka
DANIEL MARKHAM, a N.Y.-based
experience designer with a film and video
background. Markham focuses on “creating
environments that tell a story, a story that
ideally continues beyond the environment.”
purplelist.com/members/dqmarkham
AKI SPICER, Minneapolis-based strategic
planning director for Fallon Worldwide,
provides updates on branding (and much
more) at www.fallon.com/fallon-blog.
purplelist.com/members/akispicer
SHAYNA KULIK, a N.Y.-based art director
and trend strategist with, intriguingly,
“a penchant for patterns.” Visit her blog,
Patternpulp.com, which is “devoted to
tracking ideas and emerging trends that
expose, celebrate, share and connect pattern design across all creative platforms.”
purplelist.com/members/shayna121
ANDY POWELL, a London-based creative
consultant, lets his Purple List avatar say
it all—instead of a headshot, this space
announces, in big bold yellow letters, “your
brand here.”
purplelist.com/members/logicalcreative
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MEET
THE
PURPLE
PEOPLE
6
CHRIS BERTHELSEN, a Tokyo-based researcher
and consultant who seeks out “ways to think and act
around creativity and innovation.” For a creativity
boost right now, read about Berthelsen’s Tokyo
Graffiti Project, which explores the “relationship
of creative uses of public space and spatial
configuration.”
purplelist.com/members/chrisberthelsen
WERNER PAULO IUCKSCH is your brand strategist
if you want to know how your brand will play in
Brazil (and beyond)—especially if it’s in the technology, finance, media or retail sectors.
purplelist.com/members/werner
7
EDLYNNE LARYEA is a Toronto-based expert
in marketing and strategic product management
experience. Just getting started with social media?
Consider Laryea as a potential go-to speaker; one
of her key presentations is a Social Media 101
Crash Course.
purplelist.com/members/edlynne
8
9
MAY GROPPO, a Buenos Aires-based content
producer for cultural events, helps bring artists and
creatives together through events like Pecha Kucha
Night, where local designers get a chance to shine.
purplelist.com/members/maygroppo
NOELLE WEAVER is the N.Y.-based head of business development for Indaba Music, which gives
musicians from around the globe the chance to
connect and, well, make beautiful music together.
purplelist.com/members/noelleweaver
10
I was writing about and talking
about, rather than just deciding
oh, trends is a fun business. You
know, it took a long while. From
that date, it was kind of a roller
coaster of different activity.”
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ALONG
with his team of 10 staffers and a
slew of freelance writers, Fawkes
posts daily reports on PSFK.com
about pretty much everything.
Technology. Fashion. Pop culture. It’s all in there. Take a swirl
through some of September’s
posts: The month started with
a house built of oversized Lego
bricks, continued with an overview of trends in mobile food
trucks and, as it came to a close,
explored Agent Provocateur’s scifi-meets-fashion fall line.
The company also plays host
to The Purple List, a free-for-youto-see list of experts, designers,
sources, consultants and more
with whom PSFK has crossed
paths on projects past and present or has somehow met along
the way.
“At some stage, it was very
hard to keep track of them all,”
Fawkes says. “We had no system
because [PSFK] was a very small
company. We had no idea who
we’d spoken to, who we’d talked
to on previous projects and stuff
like that.”
Once the contacts were all
in one place, Fawkes realized he
could push forward the mission
of helping others do better by releasing the list to the public.
“Maybe I should try to help
them as they’ve helped me,” he
says.
The Purple List was born.
“It’s still evolving,” Fawkes
says. “We need to evolve it, so if
you’re searching for somebody,
you can see who PSFK knows and
who they don’t know. I think the
success relies on a couple of great
things. One is quality for the people who are members and quality
for the people who are searching.
The members have to feel that
they’re going to get hired through
this thing. Then, the quality for
the clients is they can understand
who PSFK trusted.”
Why purple? Well, PSFK
started life as a luxury company,
and purple is the unofficial official
color of luxe life. Since PSFK’s
collateral materials were already
painted bright, Fawkes decided to
carry the color through. (See sidebar for some Purple Listers that
caught our eye.)
But, don’t worry, Fawkes is no
fool. He’s not giving it all away.
Along with the free content, PSFK
also works on custom publishing projects for clients; runs conferences and Good Ideas Salons
around the world; and consults
for companies including Apple,
BMW and Target. Recent projects
include research to give Apple insight into what people are doing in
certain countries so the company
can create a better online experience and better ways to support.
Fawkes knows that his lookingto-do-better-beyond-the-bottomline approach won’t be a good
fit for every company that comes
along.
“[We] wear our hearts on our
sleeves, and we talk about things
that we think are important,” he
says. “Only companies that seem
to get what we’re talking about
hire us.”
And for Fawkes, that’s more
than fine. It’s better.
JENNA SCHNUER is a N.Y.based freelance writer and a
regular contributor to One+.
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nt
pla
nni
ng)
ENT
PROJECT
MANAGEM
they
w
o
h
d
n
(a
ve
e
to
e
t
rela
By Steve Mauk,
PMP
Feature - Project Management.indd 89
mpiweb.org
mp
mp
mpi
piw
web
we
eb
eb.o
eb.o
org
89
89
11/2/09 2:43:36 PM
E
arly in my genesis to becoming a project manager, I was exposed to event
planning and noticed the distinct similarities
and differences between the two. With project
management, the process is well defined and
flows from one step to the next in an ordered
manner. Event management on the other
hand is a whirlwind of ever-evolving planning
and execution.
While at a previous company, I was
beginning to learn the project management
ropes when I volunteered as part of a group
to plan our department’s quarterly team
meeting, all the while identifying, prioritizing
and addressing causes of the department’s
poor morale.
Since the group had no event planners but
multiple project management professionals,
we undertook the task with the tools and techniques our training and experience offered
and implemented the classic project management processes: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling and closing.
Project Management:
12
“The Initiating Process Group
consists of those processes
performed to define a new
project or a phase of an
existing project by obtaining
authorization to start the
project or phase.”
Initiation usually involves
defining a project and gaining
approval to begin working;
in our case some of this had
already occurred. We approached the issue carefully
and had already determined it
was best to hold our meeting
in a central location with easy
access.
The site had to seat our
entire group, and we wanted
a format that would keep the
meeting fun while keeping the
task of communicating business information to the team
paramount. So, the group
researched available, suitable venues and elements to
improve the meeting.
The application of knowledge, skills, tools
and techniques upon project activities to meet the project requirements, as defined by
the Project Management Institute. This system involves the use and integration of the
project management processes that make up the five Process Groups: 1) initiating, 2)
planning, 3) executing, 4) monitoring and controlling and 5) closing.
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“The Planning Process Group
consists of those processes
required to establish the
scope of the project, refine
the objectives and define the
course of action required to
attain the objectives that the
project was undertaken to
achieve.”
Planning an event is a series
of seemingly never-ending tasks
that most people never think
about.
Our team met, reviewed the
parameters and began brainstorming venue options while
qualifying them against our list
of requirements. We detailed
the reasons to meet—team
building, unity of message and
gains in efficiency—and made
recommendations that we meet
off site as an entire team where
everyone could hear all the
questions and the responses.
After some research we decided
that a local movie house fit the
bill—it served food and had
comfortable rolling chairs. This
was the type of environment
that would help people relax,
talk to their peers and make
some new friends.
We learned from the group
studying meeting effectiveness
to make the meeting fun to
keep people attentive and engaged. We offered raffle prizes
and broke up the presentations with company trivia. At
the same time, we endeavored
to come up with a theme for
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the meeting and worked with
the video production team to
develop a short video to open
the meeting.
As we developed the
schedule of events, we quickly
learned that this would mean
more than just telling everyone to show up at a particular
time. This was going to require
significant coordination. Our
CIO had a tight schedule and
needed to know exactly when
he was to speak so he could
maintain his schedule. The
venue wanted to know how
long we’d require the space.
Every piece had to be coordinated down to the minute,
which meant viewing the
speaker scripts and presentations to suitably time them.
We didn’t have the money to
provide meals for the staff, but
we knew food would enhance
participants’ experiences. We
scheduled the meeting around
lunchtime, since with the venue
and nearby eateries everyone
could easily find something they
liked. Instead of lunch during the meeting we established
a candy station to match the
theater setting.
One thing was critical to our
success: We had to develop our
communications plan to share
progress with key stakeholders
and meeting details with the attendees. I was not entirely sure
the leadership team trusted us
to do the job well, so keeping
them informed regularly helped
grow their trust in us—we
were on pace to deliver the
meeting on time and on
budget. Communicating the
meeting details to the staff
helped build the excitement
that this event would be not
just another boring meeting.
Next, we verified that our
tech needs would be met, arranged for microphones and
made sure our PowerPoint
presentations could be played
on the big screen.
3
“The Executing Process Group
consists of those processes
performed to complete the
work defined in the project
management plan to satisfy
the project specifications.”
event planning. The execution process in most projects is a series of predictable steps that you move
through until you complete
each deliverable. With
event planning, the execution phase is your event,
The big day arrived and most you are live and there is no
of us showed up early at the of- time for standard project
fice to go over our checklists one methodologies.
more time. We were eager, won“Language between the
dering if our vision for improving morale through improved
project management
communications would pay off. model designation PMP
We had assignments and all the and the event planning
props necessary to pull off the
model designation CMP
event as planned, so we headed
are different, but the conto the site to get ready.
cept and process is similar,
This is where project manespecially how to plan,
agement really diverges from
monitor, execute and close
the project.”
Yuichi Tanaka, CEM, CMP, PMP
Lead Event Marketing Manager
Microsoft Corp.
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4 5
“The Monitoring and
Controlling Process Group
consists of those processess
required to track, review
and regulate the progress
and performance of the
project; identify any areas
in which changes to the
plan are required; and
initiate the corresponding
changes.”
In project management, as
we work through the execution process we are constantly
monitoring and controlling
processes to ensure results
match stakeholders’ expectations. This allows a project
Feature - Project Management.indd 92
manager to really impact the
results and achieve success.
Event planners don’t have
this same luxury—when it’s
time to execute, your event is
in full swing and you better
be prepared, because all you
have time for is handling new
and/or unexpected issues that
arise. However, you can take
the opportunity to learn from
each event and make the next
one better. We used a survey
tool to assess our effectiveness
and examined what worked
and what didn’t.
“
“The
Closing Process
Group consists of those
G
processes performed to
p
finalize all activities across
all the Process Groups to
a
formally close the project
or phase.”
Lastly, we took all our preparatory notes, status reports,
schedules of events, video
and especially our post-event
lessons learned and closed
out the project. We met with
the leadership team to make
sure our delivery met their
expectations; we discussed
the value to the organization
“I believe meeting
professionals would
and do benefit from
employing the phases
of project management
as defined by the Project
Management Institute,
providing them greater
focus and understanding
of their event portfolio
and enabling much
greater clarity in defining
program deliverables.”
Deanna Griffith, CME, PMP, CMP
Senior Marketing Manager
Exact Software
that this meeting provided and
compared it to what was spent
to make sure that the value exceeded the expense.
STEVE MAUK, PMP, is MPI’s
project manager.
10/29/09 10:41:08 AM
Last month, we
gave you the big-picture
of MPI’s Knowledge Plan, a comprehensive
plan to strengthen and advance individuals as
well as the meeting industry. A significant component
of the Knowledge Plan is MPI Global Training, a multi-tiered map for
educational growth that touches on and standard operating procedures of said. “Meeting planning wasn’t even
every career level and incorporates our profession,” said Carol Krugman, considered a profession in those days,
the four levels of the Global Certifi- CMP, CMM, industry consultant and much less something that could actucate in Meetings and Business Events educator with Denver-based Krugman ally be taught. Like others of my gen(GCMBE), the Certified Meeting Pro- Maller LLC and member of the MPI eration, I learned how to plan meetings the hard way: no formal
fessional (CMP) and Certificatraining, no ‘best practices,’ no
tion in Meetings Management
mentors, no guidance. Just a lot
(CMM) designations and an
of common sense, chutzpah and
Executive Leadership Program.
“For students, novice planners
learning from doing—especially
The GCMBE I is the first
learning from all the mistakes I
step in industry education
and those just entering the field,
made (so I learned a lot!).”
for this new certification and
GCMBE I provides a basic knowlIn 1995, Krugman joined
focuses on the fundamentals
MPI
and quickly began sharof meeting planning. As with
edge of the vocabulary, business
ing her knowledge (specifithe entire GCMBE line, this
protocols and standard operating
cally her decade of internalevel-one offering is tied to
tional meetings experience,
MPI’s ever-growing body of
procedures of our profession.”
“still exotic in those pre-gloknowledge, ensuring that par— Carol Krugman, CMP, CMM
balization days”) by speakticipants the world over gain a
ing at MPI conferences and
comprehensive education and
teaching at Institutes. So
skill set for a successful future.
even though professional edThe standardized education,
ucation was virtually non-existent
after all, means the same profession- Body of Knowledge Task Force.
Almost 28 years ago, when she first when she started in the industry,
ally for a student in Hong Kong,
got involved with meetings, there was she’s participating in the developSpain or the U.S.
“For students, novice planners very little formal, dedicated industry ment of the education road map
being implemented for future genand those just entering the field, education.
“Professional education avenues? erations of meeting professionals.
GCMBE I provides a basic knowledge
Krugman says that the GCMBE,
of the vocabulary, business protocols Ha! Not even a side street!” Krugman
mpiweb.org
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sion and the value of the training it
requires,” she said. “There are legions
of people wanting to be meeting planners, calling themselves meeting planners or functioning as de facto meeting
planners within their companies with
no training and no support. Providing
them, and their employers, with the
means to acquire the knowledge, skills
and confidence to coordinate successful meetings increases recognition and
respect for the industry.”
The overdue cooperation between
academia and the meeting industry is
moving forward—a supremely important move for the development of a rec-
as a global program with standardized content based on the body of
knowledge, will be a useful, universally recognized benchmark for
people who obtain the certificate,
but also for employers worldwide.
“Participants in GCMBE I programs in North America, Europe,
the Middle East and Asia will all
study the same material and take the
same qualifying exams. The value of
the certificate will be consistent, no
matter where it is obtained.”
In fact, international standardization based on the body of knowledge
is a quantum leap in credibility for the
industry.
“To provide this at increasing
levels of proficiency—especially at
the entry level—elevates our profes-
n
a
l
P
I
P dge
M le
e w
h
T no
K
Tr
ai
n
ni
g
a
nd
Ca
r
r
ee
D
te
ia
d
e
m
er
t
In
ev
o
el
pm
en
tM
ile
s
n
to
ognized body of knowledge—through
partnerships with CERAM Business
School in Nice-Paris-Lille, France;
Hong Kong Polytechnic University;
the Qatar MICE Development Institute; Ryerson University in Toronto;
and San Diego State University.
“GCMBE I is an excellent example of professional education content
that is also applicable to undergraduate academic curricula,” Krugman
said. “Contributing to the practical
education of succeeding generations
of planners when they first begin their
studies can only benefit the entire
industry.”
e
tiv
u
ec
Ex
es
c
gi
te
a
r
St
Executive
Leadership Program
Certification
in Meetings
Management (CMM)
ed
nc
a
v
Ad
Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events IV
Global Certificate in Meetings
and Business Events III
g
in
in
a
r
l T sit
a
i
b
lo e, v
Global Certificate in Meetings
s
G
c
s
si
and Business Events II
PI ur
o
Ba
M
c
t
ou ing
b
a om
n
Global Certificate in Meetings
on pc
io
i
t
t
a nu
and Business Events I
uc
rm r a
od
r
o
t
f
fo
In
in
e ter
r
o
s
m egi
Introduction to the Meeting
r
r
o
& Event Industry
F
to
or
CMP Exam Preparation
& Study Materials
w
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w
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A Deeper Look at the Global Certificate in
Meetings and Business Events I (GCMBE I)
The GCMBE I
educates students
and early career
professionals on
terminology and
basics through
modules of study
spanning the
meeting industry.
The Business of
Meetings & Events
The certification starts with a basic
understanding of the global meeting
and event industry. In this initial course,
participants are introduced to the
various areas of the industry and the
initiatives involved in successful planning
and management.
Budgeting Basics
Meetings and events cannot be held
without money to finance them, so
understanding where the money comes
from and where it goes is essential to
the practice and profession of meeting
management. Meeting professionals
must understand whether a meeting’s
financial philosophy is breakeven, profit
or deficit in order to identify categories
of appropriate income and expense
items that form the building blocks of
a meeting budget. Breakeven analysis
helps guide decision-makers in understanding the budget. In this hands-on
session, participants will build a basic
budget appropriate for each type of
financial objective.
Property Operations
Knowledge of the various types of meeting properties and how they operate is
an essential component of the planning
process. The location and venue must
not only support the objectives of the
program but also provide maximum ROI
to the various stakeholders. Meeting
professionals will learn to be familiar
with the environment within which they
will be organizing the program and
the various facility staff members with
whom they will be working during the
planning, implementation and postmeeting closeout phases.
Site Selection
Effective site selection takes into account the objectives of the meeting, the
attendee profile, the program’s space
requirements, food and beverage needs,
audiovisual and technology requirements
and a host of other criteria, including accessibility, infrastructure and
cost. Beginning with a comprehensive
understanding of the event’s specifications and a well-written RFP, meeting
professionals must be able to evaluate
the responses, benefits and drawbacks
of each available property according to
a variety of criteria.
Contracting Basics
Meeting contracts serve two main
purposes—confirm the understanding
between two parties and allocate risk
among the parties. For these reasons,
negotiating favorable contract terms is
one of a meeting professional’s most
critical responsibilities. Although the
law varies by location, basic contract
principles are largely universal. In this
session, participants will review and
suggest revisions to key terms in a
sample facility contract.
Registration
and Housing
The first impression of a meeting is
often made during the registration
process, and the attendee’s impression
of this process can affect his/her response to the rest of the meeting. This
session will explore how a professionally
designed and managed registration
and housing system is both important
for attendee comfort and critical for
attendee safety—and how obtaining
accurate information from attendees is
not just a hospitality issue, it’s an issue
of safety, security and liability protection for the planning organization.
Food and Beverage
also stimulate networking and conversation among the attendees, providing
an additional and equally important
environment for learning. Participants
will learn about how the amount of food
and beverage ordered and type of service
requested is as important as knowing
what to order for a particular group at a
particular function.
Risk Assessment
Before any crisis and contingency
planning can begin for your meeting, a
risk assessment must be conducted.
Otherwise, how will meeting professionals know where to allocate your alreadyscarce time and resources? In this
session, meeting professionals will walk
through the steps of risk assessment,
using a sample meeting or convention as
an illustrative example. Participants will
brainstorm risks, engage in a probabilityconsequences analysis and assess the
strengths and weaknesses of their
organizations’ preparedness.
Meeting and Event
Marketing
Meeting professionals are often involved
in marketing to ensure that efforts are
consistent and branded. They must also
remain focused on the objectives of the
stakeholders to ensure an acceptable
ROI. This baseline marketing session will
provide participants with an overview of
marketing strategies that can be used
to increase the visibility of a meeting or
event. It will also provide tips and secrets
used around the world to reach targeted
audiences.
Coming Up Next…
Next month, the GCMBE II gets our
attention. This certificate focuses on
the execution and application of meeting
and event core logistics including project
management, destination and venue management, event logistics, project budget
and contract evaluation and negotiation.
There are already more than a half-dozen
GCMBE II courses scheduled for the first
part of 2010.
Well-planned food and beverage functions that please the eye and palate
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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 [email protected] by December 1, and find out
the answer and winner online at www.mpiweb.org/pluspoint.
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