Meeting News - March 24, 2008 - (Page 50)

MN Webcast Report Unwrapping the mystery around return on investment E ven the most ardent proponents of ROI admit that proving the value of an event is a big job. The final hot-button panel at Virtual Meeting World tackled the topic and offered “Easy and Effective Meetings ROI Measurement Tips,” with the goal of teaching planners about some of the ROI measurement tools available and how those in the meetings industry can avail themselves of the options. “In today’s business climate of doing more with At its heart, Daytona Beach will always be the world’s most famous gathering place. But today, meeting planners can look to Daytona Beach for state-of-the-art meeting rooms and conference centers plus everything your attendees desire: championship golf courses, contemporary dining, deluxe hotels, even rejuvenating full-service spas. Isn’t it time you rediscovered Daytona Beach? • Convention complex soon to be 190,000 sq. ft. • Full-service hotels with flexible meeting space • 13,000 guest rooms, many on the beach and close to shopping and restaurants Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau 126 East Orange Avenue • Daytona Beach, FL 32114 To plan your meeting or event, call 866.530.3146 meetings.daytonabeach.com 50 MeetingNews March 24, 2008 fewer resources, both in terms of dollars and human capital, no planner can afford to bypass this important aspect of meetings management,” explained Rayna Katz, executive editor of MeetingNews, during her presentation. “Not measuring ROI can leave planners vulnerable to budget reductions or department elimination,” she said. But to prove the value of a meeting is an excellent career move because it puts a value on the planner’s position as well. Ira Kerns, managing director of Meetings Metrics and GuideStar Research, noted that planners should remember that it takes time before ROI can be accurately measured, as some of the effects and impact of the meeting will not be immediate. Jerry McGee, president of Ambassadors LLC, who advocates measuring ROO (return on objective) and using other methods of proving a meeting’s value in addition to ROI, looked at the effort that goes into events as three sections: goals, a strategic layer, and tactical implementation. In describing the tactical implementation portion, McGee listed 11 elements, including destination, event flow, and food and beverage. Assuming that planners have four options per element, there are some 4.2 million possible combinations for each meeting or event, and “anybody who tries to say they decided right all the time is fooling somebody,” said McGee. This is why it’s so important to clearly define the goals of the meeting upfront. He then noted four steps to assessing the effectiveness of a meeting: precisely determining beforehand what “success” will look like, specifically defining how each element of the event will contribute to that success, engaging both sponsors and attendees throughout the process, and measurement following the event. Clearly, ROI is an issue that demands more attention. During the webcast, a poll asking whether participants have solid ROI metrics to measure the success of an event revealed that nearly 42 percent of respondents did not and 19.3 percent chose the response “how can I do that?”Only 16.1 percent said “yes” and 22.5 percent responded “somewhat.” Further, 60 percent of respondents answered that they had not heard of any of the meetings ROI measurement metrics mentioned during the webcast: Phillips Method, Maritz Meetings Effectiveness, and Carlson’s Engagement products. r —Kinley Levack www.meetingnews.com http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/events/webcasts.jsp http://www.virtualmeetingworld.com http://www.virtualmeetingworld.com http://www.meetings.daytonabeach.com http://www.meetings.daytonabeach.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 24, 2008 Contents What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com Chef Talk: Rosen Shingle Creek’s David Ramirez Convention Centers MN Webcast Report Successful Meetings University Advertisers Index Live from the Forum

Meeting News - March 24, 2008

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