Executive Guide to Meetings

Thinking Outside The Room

Written by Susan H. Burnell

Bringing every available resource to the table, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are helping companies plan, produce and extend the reach of meetings. These expert teams, also called convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), understand what makes a meeting work. Today’s DMOs are meeting strategists who provide an array of free services focused on getting the best return on investment for their clients.

Knowing what’s possible is the job of the DMO. Ready to provide local knowledge and experience, a DMO can connect a company with the ideal setting for a product launch, executive board meeting, team-building event, international trade show or conference. What’s more, DMO staff stay on top of trends in effective meetings, supplying fresh insights to make every meeting relevant and memorable.

DMOs are increasingly well versed in helping clients reach audiences beyond their attendee base. “The number-one trend in the meetings industry is ‘thinking outside the room,’” says Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO, Meeting Professionals International (MPI). “With technology and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, executives and businesses now have the opportunity to engage audiences beyond those at the actual event. It’s not about cutting costs—it’s about getting more for their meeting investment. That’s an important distinction.”

Meeting groups are using social media, for example, to bring the voices of customers and other stakeholders into the conversation. With video and virtual meeting technology, they are able to leverage meeting content multiple times for multiple audiences. More groups are including CSR opportunities as part of their meeting schedules. “These volunteer activities are good for the community, for participant team building, and for the company’s brand as well,” MacMillan notes.

ROI: Essential and Measurable

For every dollar invested in business travel, businesses experience an average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits, according to a 2009 study conducted by leading global research firm Oxford Economics. The study was sponsored in part by the Destination & Travel Foundation, a combined effort of the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) and the U.S. Travel Association. According to the study, the average business in the U.S. would forfeit 17% of its profits in the first year of eliminating business travel, and it would take more than three years for profits to recover.

“DMAI’s new online search tool, empowerMINT.com, connects executives and meeting planners with meeting facilities and expert DMOs. EmpowerMINT lets planners tap into valuable local knowledge, search multiple hotels and brands, and get real information without having to submit separate RFPs.”

Michael D. Gehrisch, DMAI’s president and CEO

A separate study released earlier this year by the Convention Industry Council (CIC), a partner of DMAI, surveyed leading executives, business travelers and professional meeting planners. “This study showed that live meetings not only result in a more effective exchange of ideas, but they also create jobs and power the economy,” says Michael D. Gehrisch, DMAI’s president and CEO.

The bottom line is that business is still very much a human connection, says MacMillan. “Meeting face to face is essential if you are developing new product lines, training salespeople and bringing perspective to any business issue.”

Orlando: Meetings with Imagination and Innovation

Orlando’s ability to connect people with unique experiences is legendary. Orlando welcomed 46.6 million visitors in 2009, making it the most visited U.S. destination of the year. It’s the top destination for major conventions, trade shows, conferences and seminars, according to Metropoll, a national survey of decision makers at major corporations and associations. Participants ranked 40 major U.S. destinations on factors including quality of hotel meeting facilities and convention center facilities, overall destination support, overall destination image, value for the money, location and green practices.

Many of these factors played a part in the decision of the Society of the Plastics Industry to move its triennial international plastics exposition, NPE2012, out of Chicago for the first time since 1971. The venue change will yield up to $20 million in savings for the plastics industry, SPI President and CEO William R. Carteaux reports.

“For exhibiting companies and attendees, the attractions of the new venue [Orange County Convention Center] include large reductions in the cost of travel and lodging, easy access by airplane, many nearby hotels and restaurants serving a wide range of budgets, and an obvious commitment by the city of Orlando and the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau to making the trade show experience user-friendly,” adds John Effmann, chairman of NPE2012.

Since 2009, more than $4 billion worth of projects have opened or are under construction in Orlando, including the $265 million Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the $380 million Amway Center, and the Peabody Orlando hotel’s $450 million expansion.

Helping Groups Build Attendance

There’s no magic more powerful than the ability to make barriers to success vanish. The Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc., performs this beautifully. “The economic challenges of the last couple of years have placed a premium on value, accessibility and convenience related to destination planning,” says Gary Sain, the CVB’s president and CEO. “That’s what we are uniquely qualified to deliver.”

Whether it is a customized Web site, telemarketing, research, social media, B-to-B marketing, event marketing or strategies to generate the highest return, the Orlando/Orange County CVB is committed to helping its partners succeed.

To help groups of any size develop marketing strategies, the CVB recently brought a meetings and conventions marketing executive on board. “While logistical support is an important part of what we do, our greatest value to meeting professionals is to be their marketing partner,” Sain says. “Our customers are highly interested in what we can do to help them build attendance at events, domestically and internationally.

“Orlando was built on hospitality and service,” Sain adds. “We maintain our brand reputation every day with innovative, imaginative thinking that anticipates the needs of every group that gathers here.”

Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
www.orlandoinfo.com