ConferenceDirect
Turns Ten!

Ten years ago, armed with little more than vision and an innovative idea, Brian Stevens and Brian Richey launched ConferenceDirect. For that first year, the company operated out of Brian Stevens' living room. Today, the company they founded, now with more than 150 Associates, serves more than 1,000 corporate and association customers around the world. (And, we're pleased to say, Brian has his living room back.)

ConferenceDirect's year of founding, 1998, seemed to be a great one for several other innovative ideas, as well. Apple launched the iMac, NASA named Eileen Collins as the first woman commander of a Space Shuttle mission, and the Walt Disney Company's "Animal Kingdom" opened to the public.

Though we're proud to be in that august company, our simple vision is the same as it was a decade ago: Saving our customers time and money. As we observe this 10-year milestone in 2008, ConferenceDirect offers a fond thank you to our customers and industry partners for a decade of partnership and collaboration. Here's to the next ten.

Ways to Survive (and Thrive) Amid Budget Cuts

President's Message

By Brian Stevens

As I write this, the stock market has endured a series of recent drops and, in general, current economic news is mostly negative. Those among us (of a certain age) will experience this as a bit of déjà vu. We're familiar with the effect that a good-sized downturn has on the number of planned corporate meetings, overall meeting attendance, and reductions in association meetings. Especially in the case of associations, meetings are often critical to the overall financial health of the organization. I'm aware of associations for which the annual meeting creates nearly 50% of the organization's annual budget.

Faced with such a dilemma, there are two ways to make your numbers work. You can, one, reduce your expenses or, two, increase your revenue. ConferenceDirect will help you reduce costs by shopping for the best hotel deals in your market. To help boost your revenue, the list below represents some ideas to market your audience to people and companies interested in your attendee demographic.

While a few are slightly non-traditional, here are 16 ideas with a proven history of generating revenue for meeting organizers.

1. For a small price, hotels will let you sell the space on their plastic card room key. You could buy this from the hotel; mark it up and sell it to one of your exhibitors.
2. The in-house TV channel is a great way to sell products to your attendees.
3. Most registration booths can be co-branded with advertisers.
4. The convention program – either electronic or printed – can have ads in it.
5. Sell the covers to the trash cans in the exhibit hall.
6. Record the sessions and, for a nominal fee, sell the sessions online. These too can be a sponsorship opportunity.
7. Many meetings have "daily news" for their meetings. Since you control the content of these publications, they can be as advertising heavy as you choose.
8. Recently, I've noticed exhibitions selling the carpet with featuring exhibitors' brands. Likewise, 'gobo' light projections can accomplish similar logo-placement when the existing flooring can't be altered.
9. Thermal wrappers for coffee cups and printed water cups can showcase a sponsor.
10. Subject to local regulations, street banners can be co-branded with the name of the meeting and a sponsor.
11. Massage stations can be sponsored.
12. Let a sponsor be the host of your cyber café.
13. Meal functions such as luncheons, coffee breaks, and other F & B areas are good sponsorship opportunities, as well as bar areas in the exhibit halls.
14. Each speaker at a meeting can he sponsored. Let the sponsor offer the speaker introduction in return.
15. Airport welcome signs can be co-branded.
16. Some groups sell meeting space inside of their convention center and make money on those.

With the advent of TIVO and consumers' ability to speed through commercials, companies are seeking more effective ways to connect with their possible buyers. Think outside the box. Does that attendee buy things in large quantities and can you find someone who wants to sell more? Do you have a participant who wants to enhance top of mind awareness of their services?

Hopefully, any downturn we're facing will be short-lived. To weather any potential budget challenges during this period, consider bolstering your budget with additional creative selling.

OUR ANNUAL PARTNER MEETING – See you in New Orleans!

ConferenceDirect's 2008 Annual Partner Meeting will take place April 30 - May 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana. ConferenceDirect books more than 5,200 meetings per year, generating more than $340 million in room revenue. More than 180 of our associates – representing more than 900 customers – will attend and collaborate with partner-companies on future business opportunities.

To learn more, visit www.conferencedirect.com for registration and schedule.

Outsourcing Your Meetings: When Does It Make Sense?

By Lynn Golabowski

"There's no money in the budget…they don't know our culture…our employees will feel threatened… it's faster to do it myself… how hard can it be?"

These are all compelling reasons not to outsource the planning component of your next meeting or event.

However, hire the right planning professionals and your management will realize you are a savvy manager concerned with the bottom line. Outsourcing allows organizations the opportunity to place the best people in critical strategic positions while conserving valuable management time in the office. Convincing management is another story, so read on to understand the benefits and drawbacks of hiring a professional meeting planner.

What is a meeting planner… really?

Today the term meeting planner has been replaced with meeting professional. For years, meeting planners have focused on providing support services and handling details, but this has changed. With more companies and organizations taking a closer look at the value and cost of their meetings, meeting professionals are broadening their skills to meet a new need. Now, more planners assist with development of meeting objectives, design and production, special projects and adult learning techniques in addition to stepping into other consultative roles. Their role is more strategic and focused on the return on investment of the meeting as compared to a task-oriented role.

So, what does a meeting professional really do? To answer that, let's go to the source – meetings. Meetings are not static, they start as an idea or objective and evolve – they have a purpose. They even take on a personality which is defined by the program, organizing committee, attendees, venue, location, social activities, travel experiences, food & beverage, entertainment, registration process, cost, etc. All of these components impact meetings and make them complex. What good, qualified meeting professionals do is – manage the complexity.

How do you know if your organization will benefit from outsourcing the meeting management component? This is a challenging question to any meeting stakeholder and one that is frequently asked. Here is how a professional planner can help.

Fresh Perspective

A professional meeting planner from outside your organization brings a different set of expectations and views to the meeting. They add a new dimension to the planning process because they do not know the infrastructure or politics and thus are not timid about suggesting new ideas. Many meetings happen because "we have always done it that way." If you hire the right planner, they help facilitate determining your goals and objectives in addition to calculating the return on investment your meeting brings to the bottom line.

Knowledge of the Meeting Industry

Professional planners have many, many contacts. We would argue that the most important resource they bring to the table is their "rolodex." Knowing who to call for recommendations, advice and feedback is huge. Also, active planners are abreast of industry trends that might impact your meeting, and their hands-on experience is an asset because they do it on a daily basis. They understand the various components for a successful meeting. Even hotel industry professionals will agree that there are advantages of working with a professional meeting planner because of their working knowledge of our industry. Sometimes an organization thinks after blocking space and negotiating a hotel contract the planning is over. The most important factor is working with a planner who understands how the meeting unfolds logistically.

Save Time & Money

A good planner can save you significant time and money. They will review how you spend your meeting budget and make recommendations on how to cut costs and spend your dollars more effectively. Negotiating solid vendor contracts (especially hotels and conference centers) are of critical importance. Reputable planners can alert you to potential legal risks. They use their network to obtain competitive prices on many meeting related costs. On the back-end, they will carefully review your master billings, compare them to contracts and work on your behalf to resolve any disputes. In addition, they save valuable in-house staff time which in the long run saves money.

Educational Content

Not only can professionals take care of the task-oriented details such as food and beverage, rooming lists, speaker selection, transportation, etc., they guide you in planning the educational content and adult learning techniques so critical to the learning process. Many planners help facilitate discussions to make sure the right questions are being asked such as "Who are your stakeholders?" and "What is the takeaway for the attendees?". With so much at stake and so much time and energy spent planning and attending meetings, it is important to ensure meetings provide value and meet their objectives.

Unique and Creative Ideas

Because meeting professionals work on a variety of meetings with numerous clients, they have a unique perspective and help you determine what "works" and what does not. They also have the distinct advantage of a large network of other meeting professionals to share ideas. In addition, they also experience the latest trends by attending industry meetings themselves and keep up with the industry trade publications.

Convenience

One call to your professional planner eliminates the need to contact three or four different vendors to help manage your event. They will not only contact all the vendors you need to help with your event, but manage them from start to finish.

When to Hire

• No time to plan an upcoming meeting or event
• Need advice, expertise, new ideas
• You have other job responsibilities and projects

How to Use a Professional Meeting Planner

• Keep them informed of decisions
• Keep the dialog honest
• Provide chain of command for decisions
• Make decisions in a timely manner
• Clearly explain planner's role to employees
• Understand meeting planning is time consuming
• Use them as a consultant just like a CPA, lawyer, etc.
• Delegate some task oriented details to staff

If you are interested in learning more about outsourcing your meeting, please email Jeffery_devine@conferencedirect.com to receive a free meetings analysis and recommendations on how outsourcing your meetings will help your organization save time and money.

About the Author: Based in Wisconsin, Lynn Golabowski is a Regional Vice President with ConferenceDirect and is co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Meeting & Event Planning.