Successful Meetings - July 2009 - (Page 6)

EDITOR’S LETTER The Authority on Meetings & Incentives The World of Tomorrow—Today L ast month, I traveled to Anaheim to attend a two-night, one-day meeting planner event at Disneyland for an exclusive preview of “World of Color,” a nighttime entertainment spectacular created with groups in mind. Set to open next year, the outdoor show will offer a variety of private viewing locations that can accommodate small executive groups as well as galas of up to 9,000 attendees. The production will use water effects to create dramatic visuals that include highdefinition images, laser lights, and pyrotechnics projected on a curtain of water that is 40 feet high and stretches longer than a football field. If this event had taken place just two short years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to attend. The day before the event, Successful Meetings’ sister publication Incentive, (of which I am also editor-in-chief) had a one-day trade show where I was scheduled to give a presentation. I also had to spend the day at the show, visiting exhibitor booths. There was no way I could make Disney’s opening night reception at 6:00 pm, Pacific, when my webinar wouldn’t be over until 5:30 pm, Eastern. Factor in airline schedules and the time it takes to get from Manhattan to the airport during rush hour, and the earliest flight I could have taken would have left New York around 8:00 pm and arrived in California at 4:00 am on the morning of the Disney event. Hardly worth the trip. Fortunately, the Incentive show was Virtual Incentive World, an online trade show for incentive planners. My presentation was a webinar and instead of walking a trade show floor, I clicked on icons to enter booths. I even moderated an instant message chat in one booth. And I did it all from my laptop in the privacy of my room at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. I flew out to California the day before Virtual Incentive World. At 8:00 am, Pacific, the next day, I attended the show, finished my webinar at 2:30 pm, and even had time to walk around the theme park before attending the Disney opening reception. This is a great example of how virtual meetings and face-to-face meetings are actually going to work together as we move forward, rather than against each other. In the future, and in the present as well it seems, it’s a small world after all. P U B L I S H E R : NE L L A V E L D R A N vice president and group publisher, travel group (646) 654-7325, nella.veldran@nielsen.com VINCENT ALONZO editor-in-chief, vince.alonzo@nielsen.com KINLEY LEVACK managing editor, kinley.levack@nielsen.com ANDREA DOYLE senior editor, andrea.doyle@nielsen.com LEO JAKOBSON contributing editor, leo.jakobson@nielsen.com WILLIAM NG contributing editor, william.ng@nielsen.com NANCY LAZARUS research director, nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com JENNIFER RUF art director, jennifer.ruf@nielsen.com PRODUCTION (646) 654-7293, Grace Casey, production manager CUSTOM PUBLISHING (305) 884-0295 MARILYN MOORE, editorial director; Alison Golub, executive editor; Karen Gines, executive editor (performance); Sarah Veit, associate editor; Denniston Brown, creative director; Michelle Tropiano, art director; Jonathan Chan, associate art director; Tessa Sestina, associate art director INFORMATION MARKETING (646) 654-7258 Shelly Patton, manager, audience marketing, shelly.patton@nielsen.com SUBSCRIPTIONS (847) 763-9050 MARKETING (646) 654-7263 Catherine Marchese, marketing manager, travel group (646) 654-5131, catherine.marchese@nielsen.com ADVERTISING (646) 654-7327, New York office REPRINTS The YGS Group, Jenny Kintner, (800) 324-2930, successfulmeetings@theYGSgroup.com For one-time use of our content: Dana Parra, (646) 654-4696, dana.parra@nielsen.com LIST RENTAL Nikki Miller, (646) 654-7261 Editorial Offices: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 (646) 654-7361; Fax (646) 654-7365; www.SuccessfulMeetings.com President: Greg Farrar Seni or Vice President, Human Resources: Michael Alicea Sen ior Vice President, Finance: Sloane Googin Sen io r Vice President, Marketi n g: Mark Hosbein Se ni or Vice President, Media & Entertainment: Gerry Byrne S e n i o r Vi c e P r e s i d e n t , B r a n d M e d i a a n d Corporate Development: Andrew Bilbao Se ni or Vice President, Retail: David Loechner Seni or Vice President, Building & Design: Joe Randall S en i or Vice President, Central Ser vices: Mary Kay Sustek V ice President, Licensing: Howard Appelbaum V ice President, M a n u fac t u ring & D is tri b u ti on : Jennifer Grego V ice President, A ud ie nc e M a r k e t i n g : Joanne Wheatley Re e This M cycl a ga Plea se Vincent Alonzo, Editor-in-Chief vince.alonzo@nielsen.com se rts for & Samples Be 6 I SM I July 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com eR ec y cling zin e e In ov Rem http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - July 2009

Successful Meetings - July 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
News Update
Education
Mouth for Sale
Incentive Insights
Meetings Law
Management Matters
Gurus
Path to Success
Cover Story: ROI Guide
Medical & Pharmaceutical Meetings
Safety & Security
Industry Roundtable
Places + Spaces
Alabama
Georgia & the Carolinas
Hong Kong
Melbourne
Golf Meetings
Planning a golf meeting, 101
Formats, games, prizes, and the awards ceremony
The how, what, why, and win of hole-in-one insurance
How the PGA professional can help your meeting plans
A woman’s view of golf
Opinion: The (new) perception of golf resorts
In closing: Boondoggle is not part of the golf vocabulary
Hawaii
Business Unusual
Q&A with Michael Murray
The Latest and Greatest

Successful Meetings - July 2009