Meeting News - January 25, 2010 - (Page 2)

News ROI Quest Unites Planners, Marketers Many meeting planners are working more closely with marketing departments to identify the most appropriate event atmosphere, develop a consistent message and deliver the right experience to generate the highest return on meeting investment. Some planning departments have been converging with their marketing counterparts for years, but heavy scrutiny of marketing strategies and the dollars spent to execute them has prompted others to demonstrate new value or adapt their practices to new marketing environments. The breakdown of the barriers between the two organizations is a fundamental change in the way they manage their meetings. “There is a move from mass marketing to one-to-one customized marketing,” according to Carlson Marketing president of engagement and events for the United States Fay Beauchine, adding the trend drives not only group performance but also individual reaction to an event. “Are they going to sell more because you spent $1 million putting on an event? If they are not, then you probably didn’t put your event on in the right way or you didn’t break through or meet their needs,” said Beauchine . Although new tactics enable marketers to reach people in new and at times more cost-effective ways, meetings still are seen by some marmarketing has improved, so should meetings.” As event marketers use social media and online targeted messaging tools throughout an event’s lifecycle, some planners are adapting their programs accordingly and By Seth Harris sharris@meetingnews.com sistent message and generate the best use of company attendees’ time. Recently, the company’s sales team asked Monroe and her team to help organize local customer relationship-building events of about 10 to 15 people. Monroe aligned the logistical planning with the company’s marketing campaign, which featured a superhero theme, by selecting appropriate venues and incorporating bold color schemes into the meeting’s environment. Her efforts to adapt the overarching marketing strategy into Wolters Kluwer’s events has given the planning department a new dimension. “They can use a coordinator or secretary to call a restaurant and reserve a space for 25 people, but what that other person doesn’t have is access to the registration tools as well as that creative twist of thinking about the ad campaigns,” she said. The meeting planning and marketing convergence also has aided in tracking and measuring meetings performance and identifying which attendees bring the most value to that organization and determining how best to interact with them. With the new measurement tactics, “the sponsor of the event can be certain that the people they are tracking will have greater meaning to their business model long-term,” said George P. Johnson senior vice president of worldwide program strategy David Rich. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion recently implemented radio-frequency identification techcontinued on page 8 “A secretary can reserve space, but they don’t have registration access or the twist of thinking about ad campaigns. —Wolters Kluwer Corp. Legal Services sr. events manager Phyl Monroe ” keters as the paramount platform to reach customers, and they need to adapt as well. “Meetings are the best form of word of mouth and the best form of reaching people on a face-to-face basis,” said Aflac senior vice president and chief marketing officer Jeff Charney.“Those have to be improved. As Contents 34, No. 1 January 25, 2010 Vol. ■ Newsmaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ■ Meetings Spotlight . . . . . . 10 ■ Association Watch . . . . . . 12 ■ Meeting People . . . . . . . . . 13 ■ Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 ■ Dateline: Las Vegas . . . . . . 14 ■ Construction Cites . . . . . . 16 ■ Dateline: Florida . . . . . . . . 17 ■ South Regional . . . . . . . . . 24 ■ Golf Meetings . . . . . . . . . . 32 delivering key metrics on attendees to help guide marketers’ efforts. Wolters Kluwer Corporate Legal Services now is incorporating its event marketing strategies into the earliest stages of planning, said senior events manager Phyl Monroe.“It starts during the creation of the event with the thought process of what the event is going to be, what the layout is, where the staff is going to be, how they are going to interact and what opportunities are given to them so they can get ROI,” said Monroe, who resides within her company’s marketing department. Monroe manages about 25 halfday seminars and oversees several trade shows and their related events, which are tailored to deliver a con- MEETING NEWS (ISSN 0145-630X, USPS No.356-010, January 25, 2010, Vol. 34, No. 1 is published monthly by Nielsen Business Media, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595, tel. 646-654-5000. Subscriptions are offered free of charge to individuals actively engaged in planning meetings or conventions in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of a subscription to non-qualified subscribers is $79 in the U.S. and $95 in Canada (Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031729). The cost of a foreign subscription, payable in U.S. dollars, is $195. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. MeetingNews is a trademark owned exclusively by Nielsen Business Media. Copyright © 2010 by Nielsen Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized by the publisher. For address changes (please include mailing label), single copy sales ($10 per issue including shipping and handling, prepayment required), subscription information, and other customer service inquiries, write to MEETING NEWS, P.O. Box 1189, Skokie, IL 60076-8189 or call 847-7639050. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to MEETING NEWS, P.O. Box 1189, Skokie, IL 60076-8189. 2 MeetingNews January 25, 2010 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - January 25, 2010

Meeting News - January 25, 2010
Contents
Newsmaker
Meetings Spotlight
Association Watch
Meeting People
Ad Index
Dateline: Las Vegas
Construction Cites
Dateline: Florida
South Regional
Golf Meetings

Meeting News - January 25, 2010