Meeting News - January 5, 2009 - (Page 1)

Perspectives The New Brand: You Well, here we are again—on the other side of the holidays, and into a new year. As the financial, real estate, and automotive markets receive their transfusions of billions of dollars to stay afloat, some of us are taking stock in what we’ll need to do to weather the coming months. We saw in last issue’s MeetingNews Exclusive Research (Dec. 15) that many meeting planners use the new year as a starting point for makeovers—lose weight, work smarter, and perhaps brush off the resume and look for a new job. But to help provide an accurate snapshot of what a planner does—in this issue, MeetingNews partnered with sister publication Successful Meetings to provide the most comprehensive poll yet of planners. Thanks to Martin Akel & Associates and Wilson Research Group, more than 1,300 planners answered dozens of questions regarding their years on the job and how they spend their time. Although there were a few surprises, the depth of information was estimable. If you ever wondered where you stood in terms of knowledge and experience, you will now be able to benchmark yourself against your peers. Use this information to demonstrate your value to your organization—or to a potential employer. Meanwhile, even before a meeting attendee was able to lob his size-10 shoes at the outgoing Leader of the Free World not once but twice, correspondent Gretchen Kelly was speculating about security concerns in the wake of the Mumbai Terri Hardin, terrorist attacks (cover story), and what presiEditor-In-Chief dent-elect Barack Obama’s administration would mean for the U.S. transportation (p. 20) infrastructure. Executive editor Rayna Katz was canvassing international planners about their India meetings (p. 21), and on the home front, managing editor William Ng was breathing in the ever-contentious air that surrounds convention center hotels (p. 17). And, I can’t wait to tell you about all the crap Seattle’s Washington State Convention & Trade Center has been giving people—literally. Read about the Great Compost Giveaway on page 22. What do you do when someone gives you seeding pots made out of cow manure? Well, if you’re me, you re-gift. H Editorial J a n u a r y 5 , 2 0 0 9 Vo l u m e 3 3 , N u m b e r 1 Corporate/Sales Nella Veldran, Vice President Travel Group Phone: (646) 654-7325 Editor-In-Chief, Terri Hardin (646) 654-7364; terri.hardin@nielsen.com Executive Editor, Rayna Katz (646) 654-4421; rayna.katz@nielsen.com Managing Editor, William Ng (646) 654-4451; william.ng@nielsen.com Research Director, Nancy Lazarus (646) 654-7272; nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com Editorial Fax: (646) 654-4428 Editorial Address: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595 Southeast/Mid-Atlantic/Ohio Larry Mischik, Ad Director/Account Manager 3054 Four Oaks Drive, Atlanta, GA 30360 Phone: (770) 604-9641 NY/NJ/New England/Bermuda/Caribbean Diane DiMaggio, International Advertising Director 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003; Phone: (646) 654-7332 Contributing Editors Gretchen Kelly, Ted Utoft, Robert Carey Amy Cates, Brad Crawford, Irene Korn Michael Goldstein, Robert Curley Matt Alderton, Rowland Stiteler Edward Schmidt, Jr., Kinley Levack Florida/Cruise Arthur Hyman, Associate Publisher/Account Manager 1267 Via Fiume, Boynton Beach, FL 33436 Phone: (561) 736-5374 Art Art Director, Richard Prestia (646) 654-4424; richard.prestia@nielsen.com Midwest/Texas/Louisiana Patrice Carman, Account Manager 200 West Jackson Blvd., 27th floor, Chicago, IL 60606 Phone: (312) 583-5522 Marketing Sr. Marketing Manager, Jennifer Pepper Stam (646) 654-7263; jennifer.pepperstam@nielsen.com CA/HI/Colorado/Arizona/Nevada/NM Sharon Freeark, Account Manager 2950 31st Street, Suite 100, Santa Monica, CA 904053037; Phone: (626) 578-0700; Fax: (626) 578-0720 Production Production Manager, Adam Schaffer (646) 654-7295; Fax (646) 654-7318 adam.schaffer@nielsen.com Subscription Information: (847) 763-9050 Subscription Fax: (847) 763-9037 Single Copy Sales: (847) 763-9050 Asia/Pacific/Southwest/Colorado Edie Garfinkle, International Advertising Director 2510 G Las Posas Road, #505, Camarillo, CA 93010 Phone: (805) 383-1326; Fax: (646) 654-4456 Digital Sales Jared Smith, National Account Manager 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003; Phone: (646) 654-5520 Custom Media Editorial Director, Marilyn Moore (305) 884-0295 Executive Editor, Alison Golub Executive Editor (Performance), Karen Gines Associate Editor, Sarah Veit Creative Director, Denniston Brown Art Director, Michelle Tropiano Associate Art Director, Jonathan Chan Associate Art Director, Tessa Sestina International CANADA: Publicitas APR; Rosalind Genge Executive Director; Publicitas APR 1281 West Georgia Street, 502, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 3J7 Phone: +1 604-688-5914; Fax: +1 604-689-0703 MEXICO & LATIN AMERICA: Veronica Castro; CASS Media; Phone: 52-55/5605-1757 EUROPE/AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Diane DiMaggio, International Advertising Director, Successful Meetings/MeetingNews; Phone: 646-654-7332; Fax: 646-328-0218; Cell 914-299-4394; Spain Luis Andrade, Luis Andrade Publicidad Internacional; Phone: 34-91-441-6266; Fax: 34-91-441-6549; Portugal Paulo Andrade, Ilimitada Media International; Phone: 351-21-385-3598/45; Fax: 351-21-388-3283 ASIA/PACIFIC: Singapore Lavendar Tan, Al Media, 733 Bukit timah Road #03-05, Singapore 269748; Phone: (65) 469-9321; Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines Annie Blanchard & Associates, Phone: (632) 532-6827; Fax: (632) 584-2110; Korea Mr. Jung-Won Suh, President, Sinsegi Media Inc., Phone: +82 2 3275 5969; Japan Etsuko Ichinohe, Pacific Business, Inc.; Phone 81-3-3661-6138; Fax: 81-3-3661-6139; Macau, Hong Kong, China Stephen Hutton, Hutton Media Limited, International Media Representatives, Suite 2102 Fook Lee Commercial Centre, 33 Lockhart Road, Wanchai Hong Kong; Phone: 852 2528 9135; Fax: 852 2528 9281 Information Marketing Associate Director, Audience Marketing, Tracey Dwyer (646) 654-5879; tracey.dwyer@nielsen.com Reprints The YGS Group Barb Karmilowicz (800) 290-5460 x106 MN@theYGSgroup.com List Rentals For postal mailings: Julius Single, (845) 731-2731 For emailings: Nicole Guarascio, (845) 731-3828 Group President Sabrina Crow Business Manager Leslie Musick President, Greg Farrar Senior Vice President, Human Resources: Michael Alicea Senior Vice President, Marketing: Mark Hosbein Senior Vice President, Finance: Derek Irwin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Senior Vice President, Entertainment: Gerry Byrne Senior Vice President, Marketing, Media & Visual Arts: Sabrina Crow Senior Vice President, Retail: David Loechner Senior Vice President, Online: Linda McCutcheon Senior Vice President, Building & Design: Joe Randall Senior Vice President, Central Services: Mary Kay Sustek Vice President, Licensing: Howard Appelbaum Vice President, Manufacturing & Distribution: Jennifer Grego Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley DEPARTMENTS IN THIS ISSUE ® ® ® ® ® ® ® What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Inside the Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 People Making News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 MN Webcast Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Live from the Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 www.meetingnews.com January 5, 2009 MeetingNews 1 http://www.MeetingNews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - January 5, 2009

Meeting News - January 5, 2009
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Industry
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
CVBs
Convention Centers
Transportation
Destination Insider
Incentive Report
Insider Report
MN Webcast Report
Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - January 5, 2009