Successful Meetings - December 2009 - (Page 8)

EDITOR’S LETTER The Authority on Meetings & Incentives How Do You Turn 50? f you’re me, you have a quiet dinner at a neighborhood restaurant with some family and friends, then you go home and surf the web, measuring yourself against celebrities who reached that milestone in 2009 as well. I must admit, my list of contemporaries is a somewhat motley crew. It’s full of hotheads (Danny Bonaduce), airheads (Fabio), inflated heads (Simon Cowell), and bald heads (Jason Alexander—although I shouldn’t talk, people who dislike me tell me I look like him). But I suppose it’s better than having people like Terry Jones, the founder of Travelocity (whom we profile on page 22), or Julia Roberts, or Nelson Mandela on your list. It’s nice to be able to feel superior, or at least not totally eclipsed by someone else’s accomplishments, when you’re reviewing your own list of triumphs. And, truth be told, Jason Alexander is a great comic actor. Simon Cowell is a star-maker worth hundreds of millions. Fabio has more hair at 50 than I had at 25. And Danny Bonaduce … nah, I totally have Bonaduce beat. Marking a golden jubilee is also the topic of this month’s cover story. Amway, the multi-level marketing company that sells over $8 billion in consumer products annually, pulled out all the stops in an over-the-top 50th anniversary celebration. Tina Bain, Amway’s director of global special events worked for 27 months, along with her team and TBA Global, a Los Angelesheadquartered brand marketing and engagement agency, to create a firstclass sales incentive/meeting for 3,800 of its best sales distributors. The event encompassed two locations—Amway’s headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI, for the meeting and Las Vegas for the incentive. Only 2,600 went to the meeting, but everyone ended up in Las Vegas—3,800 attendees all checked into the MGM Grand over a span of about eight hours. The logistics of that are impressive enough, but the program itself was even more awe-inspiring. Private performances by Wynton Marsalis, LeAnn Rimes, and Elton John were enjoyed in settings that displayed, among other bells and whistles, 30,000 long-stemmed roses and 4,500 fireworks. All topped off by a hologram of late Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel addressing the group. With all that going on, I’m sure no one at Amway had the time to Google other companies turning 50 this year. I’m also sure that if they did, they wouldn’t find one that celebrated the milestone with more gusto. I 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 senior editor, leo.jakobson@nielsen.com WILLIAM NG contributing editor, william.ng@nielsen.com JENNIFER RUF art director, jennifer.ruf@nielsen.com PRODUCTION (646) 654-7293, Grace Casey, production manager CUSTOM PUBLISHING MARILYN MOORE, editorial director, marilyn.moore@nielsen.com 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 CUSTOMER, SUBSCRIBER SERVICES (800) 697-8859; (847) 559-7533 nsm@omeda.com 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, Diana Sholl, (800) 501-9571, diana.sholl@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 Senio r Vice President, Brand Media: Andrew Bilbao Se nior Vi ce President, Media & Entertainment: Gerry Byrne S en ior Vice President, Finance: Sloane Googin Se ni or Vice President, Retail: David Loechner S en ior Vice President, Content: Scott McKenzie S eni or Vice President, Building & Design: Joe Randall S en i or Vice President, Central Ser vices: Mary Kay Sustek Chief Operating Officer, Entertainment: Howard Appelbaum V ice President, M a n u fac t u ri ng & Di st ributi on: Jennifer Grego V ice President, Licensing: Andrew Min V ice President, Client Marketing: Sue Tremblay V ice President, Au di e nc e Ma r k e t i ng : Joanne Wheatley Plea se Re cyc le This M a ga ec y cling zin ns er t Vincent Alonzo, Editor-in-Chief vince.alonzo@nielsen.com s&S amples B r efo I SM I December 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com eR eI ov Re m http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

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

Successful Meetings - December 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
World Travel Market: Short-Term Outlook Still Bleak, Long-Term Still Bright
Food & Beverage
Incentive Insights
Personal Success
Management Matters
Visionaries
Trade Show Report
Sales & Marketing Meetings

Successful Meetings - December 2009