Meeting News - September 8, 2008 - (Page 119)

MN Webcast Report Designed for Excellence: Pointers for Memorable Events ast year’s event design is, well, so last year. To help planners make their next event more exciting, memorable, and effective, the second panel at July 17’s Virtual Meeting World, co-hosted by MeetingNews and Successful Meetings, addressed “Event Design Strategies: Tips for F&B, Decor Design, and Venue Selection.” I spoke on this panel about food and beverage—specifically incorporating food trucks into your event. When possible, using food trucks can be a great way to drive attendees outside for a few minutes and get them thinking in a fresh way. While the nostalgia factor keeps it fun—you can’t see a food truck without thinking of ice cream trucks—today’s trucks are far more sophisticated, offering fine fare like specialty coffees and teas, home-baked desserts, and waffles with delectable toppings. Panelist Judi Froelich-Pascoe, director of business development at BCD Meetings & Incentives, agreed about the allure of food trucks and L ran through other ideas including new takes on food from the past. She suggested macaroni and cheese, pound cake, and potatoes, as well as a move toward smaller portions, plus inspired serving pieces like carved-ice shot glasses or options created from edible materials. Froelich-Pascoe also encouraged planners to use non-traditional venues (remember the fashion show on the Great Wall of China?), to mix up formats (consider staging the awards ceremony at the beginning of the event), and find new ways to communicate with attendees (perhaps your attendees would enjoy event information downloadable to an iPod). And creative ideas don’t have to be expensive; she also discussed an incentive event that bought out a restaurant on Hong Kong’s harbor that afforded attendees a spectacular view of the Symphony of Lights show held every night. She was able to incorporate the free, public show into their evening. Both Froelich-Pascoe and James Etkin of ME Productions are proponents of water walls for decor and projector screens—particularly in very tight spaces. Logos or other branding information can be projected onto the walls. Etkin noted that branding is bigger than ever, and he has seen clients put their names and logos on everything from hats to pillows to illuminated highboys. Although pillows may seem an odd choice, Etkin said they were a resounding success, as both clients and guests remembered them long after the event. Using your environment is also an excellent way to ensure a memorable event. As Etkin explained, you don’t want to have an event in Florida that you could just as easily have in a ballroom somewhere in the Midwest. And don’t forget the entertainment. “Entertainment, to me, is the most important thing,” said Etkin. He added that while there are all sorts of new ideas for entertainment, he has found that guests are often just as impressed by the standbys of living buffet tables and living sculptures—people never seem to tire of them. Getting Your Meetings Message Across very meeting and event is a marketing function,” according to Vincent Alonzo, editor-in-chief of Successful Meetings, sister publication of MeetingNews. In a recent webcast entitled “Effective Marketing Strategies,” he said the five keys to getting the biggest marketing bang from a meeting are establishing a goal, developing a theme, drafting a story line, preparing your attendees, and following up. He likened a meeting that has too broad of a goal to Miss America selecting world peace as a platform—it has the potential to be completely irrelevant. The theme should work as a tagline to tie together the presentations and experiences of the conference. As for a story line, Alonzo explained that every meeting should have a beginning, middle, and end, and planners should use speakers and sessions to build a memorable story arc. Attendee preparation takes place in advance of the meeting in the form of giving event-goers something to do or think about (e.g., reading “E materials, discussion questions, or surveys that will get them thinking prior to the event). When following up with attendees, don’t just send information that will be useful to you (surveys and the like), but also send materials that will be helpful to the recipients (articles that relate to content from the meeting). “This is crucial,” echoed Harith Wickrema, president of meeting production company Harith Productions, on the importance of the follow-up. He recommended sending a summary, which reinforces the message of the meeting. To guarantee that people will watch or listen to that message, tell them there are three or four questions at the end that they must answer. Wickrema is a proponent of emphasizing the meeting’s message at every possible point. In advance promotion, incorporate the message in e-mail blasts, voicemail blasts (which are more effective when using the voice of the CEO or a keynote speaker), and teaser gifts sent to the attendee’s home (which may get a significant other excited, too). On site, weave the message into welcomes by airport greeters, room key design, registration packaging, gobos, name badges, and menus. But in order for the message to be effective, it needs to be simple, said Shari Westmoreland, managing director of the Eventors LLC, who tests out meetings messages on her eight-yearold son. If he understands, then the message is straightforward enough to be valuable. “Go back to marketing fundamentals,” she said. Think about marketing products and apply those processes to meetings, being careful to think about the demographics. Westmoreland suggested that, for groups heavy into social networking, it may be effective to sponsor a user of LinkedIn or another service, who has a high number of desirable connections. If that person spreads the word online about the value of your event, you could significantly increase attendance. For additional information of successful marketing, Westmoreland recommended MarketingSherpa.com, the Business Marketing Association, and the American Marketing Association. r —Section written by Kinley Levack September 8, 2008 MeetingNews 119 www.meetingnews.com http://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Nielsen/01-08/Registration/FromClient/ http://Sherpa.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - September 8, 2008

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