Find out why return on investment is not just a matter of money-spent versus revenue-generated.

By Mitra Sorrells

According to Meeting Professionals International, about $280 billion dollars is spent annually on meetings and events in the United States. Years ago, it was common for companies to simply see this spending as an operating expense—and the idea of calibrating the return on that investment was not a priority.

But in the past decade, as budgets have gotten tighter and technology has facilitated better data collection, planners are being asked to show the return on their spending, particularly for big-budget events such as incentive travel programs and large-scale sales meetings.

The typical way organizations have evaluated R.O.I. is through simple mathematical calculations—for example, by comparing the amount spent on an incentive travel program to the growth in sales during the incentive period. But that is not adequate, according to Kent Cisewski, president of Fusion Performance Group. Cisewski hosted a small group of executives from companies such as AIG, HD Supply White Cap, and AmeriLife Group at an Executive Thought Leader Summit at the Springs Resort & Spa in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, in late October, where he shared his model for maximizing and measuring R.O.I. for meetings and incentive programs.

“The behavioral process of understanding what motivates and changes behavior—that has to be looked at as you spend these dollars for high investment meetings and incentives,“ Cisewski says. “What are people’s blind spots, what do they need to learn, what do they need to be trained on to be more successful. Then you have facts to work with instead of assumptions.”

He advises that companies start with pre-program metrics, combining interviews with executives to understand what they want to deliver and surveys of attendees to understand what they want to get out of the experience. “Measuring and monetizing attitudes and opinions is the art of R.O.I,” he says.

One of the Costa Rica retreat’s attendees was Monique Rochard-Marine—the manager of meetings, events, and tradeshows for Cardiovascular Systems Inc.—who produces five corporate meetings each year. Marine explained how she used Fusion’s strategy to revamp her company’s largest annual sales meeting, and it delivered the results she was looking for.

“We constructed a survey that allowed us to get into the minds of our attendees to understand what they wanted from the meeting, and then we built a program that catered to them, which in turn allowed them to be more engaged,” she says. “So for me, my R.O.I. was increasing the productivity of my sales team. And it’s way bigger than just a number. It’s about getting our sales team on board with the objectives and messaging of the company and fostering relationships they have with clients.”

Once a company determines the outcomes it wants to deliver through the incentive program or meeting, Cisewski believes there are certain programmatic elements that can help maximize the value of those events. He designed the Costa Rica summit as an example of those key components, which include:

1. A “wow” destination.
   This is particularly important if the goal of the event is to incent attendee behavior, for example to drive sales. It should be held in a location that participants might otherwise not be able to visit on their own.

2. An unconventional format.
   Try to structure the program in interesting and unusual ways. For example, during the summit, participants spent a day at Rancho Margot, an off-the-grid eco-resort and working farm. In addition to touring the property, the executives participated in brainstorming sessions while sitting on the balcony of a cabin in the woods.

3. Opportunities for attendees to face their fears.
   While in Costa Rica, attendees participated in a variety of adventure activities, such as rappelling and jumping from waterfalls, all led by a local destination management company, Desafio Adventures. “When you are talking about corporate meetings and incentives, really trying to get people to think outside the box, they know if they send their teams here to Costa Rica that they’ll go away with a life-changing experience,” says Christine Krishnan, owner of Desafio Adventures. “There is so much that will create the long-lasting confidence that groups need to work effectively when they get back to the office.”

4. Immersing guests in local culture.
   Guests watched a performance from a local dance troupe and visited an elementary school to learn how students are learning math and science by tending to the farm on their property.
5. Lacing content and experiences together.
   Throughout the summit, speaker and business-strategy consultant Amy Hutchens, who goes by the name AmyK, led discussions that helped attendees see the connection between what they were seeing and doing around Costa Rica and how it can relate to success for their companies.

 

 

 

 

FROM THE EVENT LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

We’re considering a high-end museum for our upcoming client event. What do I need to know?

Alternative Venues 101

Museums are a type of alternative venue, which we define as a venue whose main purpose and design is for something other than events. Unlike hotels and conference centers that live and die on event and meeting business, alternative venues want the additional revenue your event brings, but their first priority is always their core business, which can often make them seem, well, less than user-friendly. Understanding that mindset will help you deal with some of the various challenges you might face.

Benefits

• When you host your event in a museum, you’re leveraging its cultural cachet to generate prestige and excitement before, during, and after the event. This “invitation pull” can result in higher attendance than a traditional venue.
• Most museums also have striking architecture and attractive interior features. And of course, the artwork provides built-in decor.
• As an added plus, you can arrange to have docents (expert guides who can discuss the artwork) on hand in galleries or provide tours for guests.

 

What to Watch Out For

• Cost. Museums are not cheap. You’ll probably be hit with a rental fee, and possibly additional fees for security, maintenance, and other ancillary expenses.
• Ironically, food and beverage may not be allowed in the galleries where the art is. If so, arrange for “drop tables” at gallery entrances for guests to deposit their glasses before entering.
• Finding the event contact online can be surprisingly difficult. If there’s no tab for “Space Rental,” look under “Support” or “Membership,” as hosting events at museums is often a benefit of being a corporate member.
• Expect higher insurance requirements, a lengthier contract, and more rules and regulations than at a typical hotel. For example, the bases of lighting or sound poles may need to rest on top of rubber pads so as not to scuff the floors. In addition, you may need to get the museum’s approval any time you use their name or logo in any of your marketing, invitations, collateral, etc.
• Exhibits may change between the time you do your site inspection and your event date, so be sure to ask what’s scheduled for installation when your event comes around.

Tip

Hire firms that have experience working in the venue, a flexible attitude to help navigate the quirky contracts and rules, an ability to work within the narrow time windows for set-up, and the capacity to meet strict venue insurance requirements.

FROM THE EVENT LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

We booked a venue for our gala dinner expecting 300 people, but now it’s looking like we’ll have closer to 150. How can I arrange the room so that it doesn’t look empty?

Perception is everything in these situations. If you had that same 150 people in a venue that maxed out at 150, it would have the buzz of a sold-out event. Attendees make judgments like that based not on your actual number, but how that actual number feels in relation to the physical space they’re in. Regardless of the solution you choose (see below), you’ll want to configure the room in a way that feels intentional and makes people think you were planning on this guest count all along.

Solutions

1. Cluster the tables together to create a feeling of intimacy among guests even though they’re inside a much larger room. Don’t spread out the tables to fill the whole space; a room’s energy comes when people are close together.
2. Use inefficient table shapes and sizes that take up more space. Avoid large round tables (like 60-inch or 72-inch wide tables of eight to 12 people), which are the most space efficient. Instead try square tables, or smaller rounds of 42-inch or 48-inch tables seating six people per table. People love sitting at smaller tables anyway, as it’s much easier to have a conversation. You may get push-back from the venue or caterer, saying that tables of six mess up their servers, but stick to your plan.
3. Taking this a step further, consider bold alternative table configurations like a giant rectangle, X-shape or zigzag. People will be impressed by the dramatic layout and ignore all the empty space.
4. If you’re using theater or classroom seating, widen or add additional aisles and entry points to consume more of the empty space.
5. Use lighting to draw the eye to the seating or guest area you want to focus on, keeping the periphery dark. This helps visually define the event space you want to use.
6. Use existing event furniture like bars, buffets, auction tables, or product displays to demarcate the space you want to use within the room. They can be placed on the borders of that space or clustered in the middle to create a center of gravity. For larger events, consider a four-sided bar in the center of the room to create a conversation hub.
7. If the event involves a pre-function phase, host that in the same space, dividing the two parts of the room with pipe and drape, rented trees, or furniture.

Find out how promotional information about your event can follow your target audience around the Internet.

By Mitra Sorrells – April 11, 2017

If you spend any time browsing products from online retailers, you have likely experienced retargeting. It’s the term for that seemingly magical way that products you looked at—a coat on Amazon for example—suddenly appear in ads in your Facebook feed and on other websites you visit. Advertisers hope that by seeing that coat again and again, you will eventually decide to purchase it. That same strategy can also be used by planners who are trying to grow the audience for their events.

“People who are trying to grow their events should use every tool at their disposable, and retargeting is a particularly effective one that for some reason has been neglected by the event industry. It is great for attendee acquisition,” says Aidan Augustin, co-founder and president of Feathr, which provides digital marketing solutions specifically for events, including C.E.S. and New York Comic Con. “Usually people don’t end up on an event website by accident. They were probably led there by a search, or they were led there by a social post, or they typed it in directly. So if people are visiting an event website, they are signaling interest. Retargeting is just a way of converting those people who already expressed interest … into registering.”

“Breadcrumbs” is the term Augustin uses for bits of traceable data that Web users leave as they visit websites, like pages on Facebook, use hashtags on Twitter, and more. Digital marketing solutions track specific pages you visit, how much time you spend on those pages, your IP address, and more, and then show you ads that are aligned with those interests.

“For example, all that information is tracked when you are on the New York Comic Con website,” he says. “Now Comic Con can say, ‘I want to nudge this person, I want to bring them back to my site because I know they didn’t complete the ticket purchase process.’ And so their ads will start showing up wherever you go.”

Augustin says it is important to track not only what people do on your event website, but also when they are visiting in relation to the event. A person who visits the site several times in the weeks leading up to the event is sending a stronger signal about purchasing probability than someone who visits many months in advance.

The process for ad placement is known as real-time bidding. Digital marketing platforms like Feathr coordinate that bidding through ad exchanges, which are online marketplaces that match advertisers’ criteria—who they want to reach and how much they are willing to spend—with websites that have advertising slots to sell. But unlike traditional advertising, real-time bidding is done just as it sounds—in real time. “In a split second an auction takes place, and whoever wins at auction, that’s what determines what ad loads on the website,” Augustin says. “This is why if you and I go to Facebook right now, we’ll see the exact same number of ads—the number of ad slots is predetermined—but you will see different ads than I will see on Facebook, on NYTimes.com, on any website that’s advertising-driven, which is the majority of websites on the Internet.”

In addition to using retargeting to promote their events, Augustin says planners can also create a revenue stream by charging sponsors and exhibitors a fee to have their ads shown to registered attendees in the weeks leading up to an event. “So it’s time-sensitive exposure to the exact same people they are interested in reaching, because they are paying to have a physical presence in front of that same group of people,” he says.

An example would be a brand such as Samsung that wants to promote a launch event at C.E.S. “For the four weeks leading up to the event, all the attendees would see ads from Samsung following them around the Internet saying, ‘Looking forward to seeing you at our C.E.S. activation. Click here to get your spot in the after-party sponsored by Samsung,’ or whatever the call to action is. That’s the monetization of the digital audience of a live event, which we think has a lot of potential.”

Event producers from across the country discussed what they liked and disliked about the 89th annual Academy Awards.

By Ian Zelaya February 27, 2017

LOS ANGELES The 89th Academy Awards returned to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, presenting a much different show from years’ past—thanks to numerous speeches that reflected the current political climate, a more diverse lineup of winners, and a moment that allowed everyday tourists to experience the ceremony firsthand. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the four-hour telecast included live-tweeting president Donald Trump, parachuting candy, and one of the most awkward Oscar mishaps ever—La La Land mistakenly being announced as the Best Picture winner when, in fact, the award actually went to Moonlight. Event producers from across the country shared their highlights and lowlights from Sunday’s ceremony.

Suzanne L’Erario
“On a night of rain and chill—I can only imagine the stylists freaking out over protecting the shoes, the dress, the hair—the Oscars brought the warmth and glow out to the red carpet. As Jessica Biel phrased it, gold is the color of the night, and it glittered everywhere—woven into many of the dresses, the 3-D step-and-repeat, and the decor sprinkled throughout.

I enjoyed how the show kicked off with a surprise high-energy performance by Justin Timberlake. It was a refreshing way to incorporate entertainment, song, and to introduce the host. In this year of presidential discord, Jimmy Kimmel navigated many political land mines with humor and grace, his jokes witty with a sharp comfort. Although the night flowed fine, the overall production value of the show was not impressive. At times, it seemed a bit flat and predictable. The stage sets, while rich in color and texture, did not seem particularly cohesive. I wish they would have used less of them so I could have focused more on their design.

The additions of the unsuspecting tour bus group and the candy floating down on the crowd were quirky. They added a sense of surprise and delight to the night. And what an ending! It is rare that a show will go off without a hitch, and tonight’s mishap over Best Picture will go down in the Oscar history book. It is the production team, with their calm under pressure and quick thinking skills, that helped remedy an embarrassing mistake.”

Letter grade: B
L’Erario is the director of production at AgencyEA, a Chicago-based brand experience agency. Clients include McDonald’s, Under Armour, and Target.

Amanda Rockwell
“I like to organize my award shows into categories—cool (the Grammys), funny (People’s Choice), and glamorous (the Oscars). I continuously tune into the Oscars for the visual eye candy of decor, dresses, and overall glam effect. While this show stayed pretty ‘on brand,’ there were a few instances where the set elements seemed a better fit for the Grammys. The dripping crystals that formed into Oscar himself was a nice element that drew in a more playful vibe. I do respect the producers for adding a fun spin to the show.

One thing I am always so surprised about is how intimate this show feels, given its status as the shining star of the award show family. The vibe feels inclusive, and seeing the celebrities sitting closely together makes them feel more like traditional colleagues. This serves as a nice reminder that celebs are just like us. Albeit with a much better wardrobe than I’ll ever have.

One of the cool factors that I was really into was, of course, Justin Timberlake opening the show. That man can do no wrong. Pumping up the crowd with a bit of JT dancing through the audience is the best way to start a show. Bravo to the Academy for that selection! The five-year-old sugar addict in me loved the balloon drop of assorted sweets. As a marketer, the lack of logo representation was shocking, but as a viewer I loved the clean look of the all-white balloons dropping from the ceiling. This did seem like a missed opportunity for interesting audience lighting, or at least more glitz and glam. I also enjoyed the tour bus bit—mostly because I’m jealous that things like that never happen to me!

The whole card mishap is not new to those of us who enjoy watching all shows, but I do think the La La Land team handled themselves very well in the chaos. Whenever you see an event producer running around the stage, you know it’s not a good sign!

Overall, I would have loved to see a touch more glam and some more exciting lighting elements throughout the venue, but I was still very much impressed with the show. At the end of the day, the Oscars are a celebration of a beautiful craft, and seeing people take pride in their work is something that should always be celebrated. Especially now.”

Letter grade: B+
Rockwell is a project lead for the experiential marketing team at Cramer, a Boston-based brand experience agency. Clients include Walmart, I.B.M., and Johnson&Johnson. 

Bobby Stern
“I viewed the Academy Awards as an awakening, and by awakening, I refer to the respect the Academy paid to the actors and actresses that paved the way for today’s inspiring artists. While this is a yearly tradition for the award ceremony, it is a reminder that yesterday’s trailblazers have set such a high bar to allow today’s talent to push the limits for the next generation. It is a reminder that the past helps shape the now and it is the now that helps define the future. As a millennial running a company of all millennials, this is an important attribute to me.

I commend the event designers and producers as it proves that even as the trends change, there is a respectful and tasteful way to pay homage to those who have allowed us to be in the creative industry we are in today. I also enjoyed the musical transitions throughout the awards, as it kept the consistency of this respect while playing classical songs that every viewer could relate to.

As a caterer who gets challenged everyday to create the next best food presentation, I applaud the producers who conceptualized the idea to drop the candy, donuts, and cookies from the ceiling. It is these ideas that allow us to push the envelope of ‘experiential.’”

Letter grade: A
Stern is the co-founder of Riviera Caterers, a New York-based event production and catering company.

Mistyka Garcia
“The magic of the stage design captured the show. The use of a variety of 3-D stage sets combined with video projection created a glam background worthy of Hollywood. The larger-than-life Oscars created purely out of crystals was an incredible statement piece, adding the perfect amount of sparkle to the backdrop, that I think also tied nicely to the show’s theme of inspiration.

Another successful and creative way they brought the theme to life was with the playback videos of past winners, which many times have been the current winners’ inspiration. Although traditionally the Oscars are known for the celebrities, fashion, and the winners, the additional elements of surprise throughout this year’s production really added another layer of entertainment value—from the parachute candy drops throughout the evening to the lucky and shocked Starline tourists as they became part of the Oscars show.

A shocking ending to the evening, with a not so welcome surprise, reminds us that so many things can happen during a live production including moments that cannot be undone; however, how mishaps are handled in that moment is what is most important. Both La La Land and Moonlight impressively handled the unfortunate confusion.”

Letter grade: A
Garcia is the owner of Special Occasions Events, a Los Angeles-based event production and design company. Events include the Adobe Max Bash and the Diamond Ball.

Gabrielle Kessler
Derek McLane’s stage design faithfully stuck to this year’s theme, ‘Art Deco and Hollywood Regency,’ a nod to a simpler time in entertainment where the stage was a place for people to escape into a shiny, spectacular fantasy world. As usual, Swarovski and Oscar’s silhouette played a leading role, but in spite of the 1930s-style opulence, the staging felt paired down in comparison to years past, with McLane opting to use six large structures he calls ‘wire towers’ arranged in various formations throughout the evening, instead of multiple complicated set pieces and complex draping. While executed beautifully, the old-school theme seemed an odd choice for an organization desperately trying to justify its place in the ‘new’ Hollywood and an ill-fitting backdrop for featuring new, diverse faces and voices.

Jimmy Kimmel played it relatively safe with his minor political jabs at Trump, but what I think producers hoped to be the tweet-worthy moments, including the bus stunt and tweeting at Donald Trump, fell flat. The Mean Tweets section was also a bit of a letdown, considering how entertaining that sketch is on Kimmel’s show. I did enjoy watching celebrities squeal with delight as candy and donuts fell from the sky. The real winning comedic moments were centered around the long-standing feud between Kimmel and Matt Damon, the best example being when Kimmel was conducting the orchestra to play Damon off as he and Ben Affleck began reading off nominees.

I generally feel like the musical numbers at the Oscars are underwhelming, but Moana and La La Land’s Best Song performances were standouts, partially due to interesting staging, but mainly because of great performances from 16-year-old Auli’i Cravalho (who nailed it in spite of getting beamed in the head with a giant flag mid-song) and the amazing John Legend.

Letter grade: B
Kessler is the creative director of the Visionary Group, a Los Angeles-based experiential marketing agency. Clients include Samsung, Mazda, and Calvin Klein. 

Jennifer Lapeyre
As expected, beyond the star-studded red carpet and the interviews with the heroes of our time, the evening started off with a bang as Justin Timberlake opened up the ceremony with a heartwarming and fun performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”

What especially hit home was seeing our beloved JT sing and dance not only with the audience but also with his wife, Jessica, setting a light and hearty mood from the onset.

Besides the performances and the spectacles, what most Americans were expecting out of the Oscars this year was a politically charged monologue geared towards rectifying Hollywood’s sense of defeat in the recent elections. What was most fresh about this year’s Oscars to me seemed to be the participant’s ability to set aside the customary political diatribes while still focusing, often in a witty and satirical manner, on the issues of equality and our nation’s changing political environment.

The theme of this Oscars is inspiration. Set upon the awe-inspiring oval proscenium, with its homage to the ’70s, where love was becoming free and the nation united, Jimmy Kimmel’s simple remarks at the beginning of the show, though satirical, reflected all of our hopes in a more inspirational and better tomorrow.”

Letter grade: A
Lapeyre is the marketing coordinator for the Brand Collective, a Miami-based experiential event agency. Clients include the Marseilles Hotel, the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, and Baoli Miami.

Debi Lilly
“I loved Justin Timberlake’s instant inclusion of all guests, which created a huge warm welcome for everyone. Jimmy Kimmel knocked the opening monologue out of the park. His humor presented just the right amount of roasting, while toasting to happy movie making.

The Art Deco Great Gatsby set—full of mixed metal pleated arches and amber-hued peacock feather fan lit backdrops—perfectly crowned with the glittering silver and velvety red proscenium, was simply stunning. The musical acts mixed with award presentation was, and always is, my favorite part of the show. Sixteen-year-old Auli’i Cravalho was incredible—that voice, that poise, and that dress—and for a teenager!

The ending was unfortunate to say the least. I can’t even imagine. I mean, the Oscars doesn’t stuff an envelope wrong, until tonight. It was a huge, gigantic fumble. A production issue times infinity. It was a sour way to end a beautiful evening.”

Letter grade: B
Lilly is the chief eventeur for A Perfect Event, a Chicago-based event production company. Clients include Harpo Studios, Dom Perignon, and People magazine.