Recently, I oversaw a client event that had a theme of 'success through internal collaboration.' The event made me consider how lucky most planners are, since we often bring together a number of stakeholders and suppliers to design the best possible event. What I’m referring to is the success that happens when people with different skills and knowledge come together to create something bigger … Read More about Success Through Real Collaboration
It looks like the meetings and events business in Canada is showing real signs of recovery. But I’m wondering: Did the past 18 months teach us anything? I once had a client who, when told of our agency’s length of experience, asked if we had “10 years experience or one year’s experience 10 times over?” The passage of time does not always translate into learning, and it’s human nature to forget … Read More about Have We Learned Anything?
I believe that one of the advantages of having experience as a corporate, independent, and third party event planner is that I can look at the issues facing the M&E industry from different perspectives. Experience has also taught me that the various sectors of our industry can look at the same concern but see the challenges very differently. Perhaps no issue illustrates this as much as our … Read More about Value in the M&E Marketplace
July is upon us and the economic news is less than encouraging. In June, the U.S. economy slowed as it added 83,000 private sector jobs against a loss of 125,000 positions (in a large part due to the end of the temporary employment of U.S. Census employees). Paul Kasriel, chief economist at financial-services company Northern Trust, warned that “in general, the economy is downshifting, maybe to … Read More about Meet Now, Benefit Later
As all of us read the articles that tell us things are better than we might have expected a year ago but still a long way from where we would like them to be, we look for someone to show us the way to a better future. Amazing how many new books are hitting the market from the business ‘gurus’ and how many old standards are being re-promoted. The demand for useful information is strong: … Read More about Lead and They Will Follow
Determining the value of meetings is a hot topic. In April, there were at least three webinars hosted by industry publications or associations on event ROI (Return on Investment), and in July, MPI is offering a two-day, in-depth ROI workshop at their World Education Conference (WEC), in Vancouver. During WEC, MPI is also promoting an educational track called VOM – “The Value of … Read More about Data’s Critical Role
I hold the opinion that meeting professionals are nice people. Most event professionals take pride in organizing or presenting events that reward and motivate those who attend and help drive stronger corporate culture and business success. We tend to be “people” people. I believe we make our companies or our clients more successful. Having said that, I know our profession must articulate how we … Read More about How Competitive Are We?
It was not surprising that one of the most popular sessions at the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Annual Conference, in January, was, “The Top Industry Leaders on the Future of Meetings”. Their message emphasized that planners need to do a better job explaining the value that their events provide for their companies or clients. It is a pretty consistent mantra right … Read More about Are Events Frivolous?
Here are my 10 predictions for the M&E industry for the next 12 months: 10) MORE EVENTS in 2010, but a slow increase over 2009, due to strong budget restraint, combined with a corporate fear of having the media and investors view expenditures as wasteful. 9) RFPs ARE THE NEW NORM. Procurement, Finance and Third Party Planners will want to demonstrate that they have performed “due diligence,” … Read More about Ten Fearless Industry Predictions for 2010
This fall, The Wall Street Journal published an article called, “The New Face of Face-to-Face Meetings,” in which it was stated that more “companies are putting greater emphasis on making sure their meetings achieve quantifiable results.” The article went on to say that one of the ways companies are looking at increasing the value of meetings is to integrate face-to-face and virtual events to … Read More about Are Your Events Worth Holding?
