INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS and CONGRESS MANAGEMENT

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INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONSandCONGRESS MANAGEMENT
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MEETINGS AN OVERVIEW
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LEARNER OUTCOMES

• Know what comprises the meetings industry
• Know the main categories of meeting initiators
• Understand what the different meeting
  professionals do
• Be aware of the purpose of meetings
• Have an insight into the future of the industry

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What Is Meeting Management?

• There have been many attempts over the years to
  define a meeting and none has been universally
  accepted.

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Terminology

• Conference
• Congress
• Convention
• Workshop
• Seminar

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Types of Meetings

• The motive for each of the following types of
  meeting is different, so their aims, objectives
  and modus operandi vary (although there are areas
  of overlap). Planners and suppliers need to be
  quite clear which category of meeting they are
  planning.

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Five Sectors

• 1. Association Meetings Sector
• 2. Corporate Meetings Sector
• 3. Government Meetings Sector
• 4. Speculative Meetings Sector
• 5. Religious Sector

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Meeting Professionals

• Buyers and Suppliers
• In-house meeting planner
• Independent meeting planner

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Suppliers

• Convention bureau executive
• Destination management company manager
• Site or venue executive
• Production company executive
• Speaker agent
• Interpreters
• Other suppliers

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THE ROLES OF THE PCOAND DMC
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The PCO

• Full-time dedicated meeting planner
• Responsible for every aspect of a meetings
  planning and management
• Retained by, reports to, and looks after the
  initiating organization
• Independent PCOs may be located in agencies
  working for one or more clients
• Can do the job more economically

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DMC

• Retained by PCO
• Local expertise with good relationship with local
  suppliers, i.e., hotels, facilities, transport,
  etc.
• Offer free advice on all aspects of the event
• Usually small (often one-person) firms

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THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE MEETING PLANNER
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• Increasingly, planners are shouldering
  responsibility for the outcome of their events
  and this involves a far greater range of skills
  such as
• helping to establish goals and set objectives
• undertaking research to establish the return on
  investment and
• understanding the principles of adult learning
  and successful communication.

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The Future of Meetings

• The meetings industry has never been more
  buoyant, nor seen such growth. Surveys suggest
  its global value to be in excess of EUR800
  billion - and it is still growing. In Europe,
  the figures are just as impressive. So what are
  the reasons for this optimism?

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Globalism

• For reasons of
• Commerce
• Politics
• Social interaction
• Specialization

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Technology

• Although it has been suggested that video
  conferencing is replacing physical meetings in
  the corporate world, there is little evidence
  that this is the case for gatherings of more than
  about ten people. In the future there are likely
  to be more, rather than fewer, meetings, to
  counterbalance the sense of isolation that
  computer-based communication and teleworking can
  engender.

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Demographic Trends

• Indications are that, in the 21st century, the
  number of self-employed and freelance workers
  will increase, many working on a
  project-by-project basis.
• At the same time, the continued demise of the
  traditional nuclear family will probably mean
  that relationships, networks and personal
  contacts become more important. Meetings will be
  one way in which individuals can foster these.

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The Economy

• A Europe united in the EU is expected to be an
  economically vibrant entity. Traditionally, the
  meetings industry has reflected the economic
  state of its parent nation so it is likely that,
  as standards of living improve and the corporate
  sector flourishes, conferences will attract
  larger attendance and will grow in number.

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TYPES OF MEETINGS
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LEARNER OUTCOMES

• How meetings differ
• The different demands of various types of meeting
• How the objectives and decision-making processes
  vary between different types of meetings
• How to project the financial opportunities and
  risks for each type of meeting

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Three Basic Types of Meetings

• Corporate
• Association
• Government

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Key Variables

• Objectives
• Audience
• Decision-making process
• Marketing
• Budgeting and finance

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Corporate Meetings

• Internal - where only employees are involved
• External - clients or suppliers are involved

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Corporate Meetings (continued)

• Internal Meetings
• Training meetings
• Team building events
• Information meetings
• Internal product launches
• Midterm or end-of-year staff meetings
• Briefings
• Motivation sessions

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Corporate Meetings (continued)

• External Meetings
• Shareholders meetings
• Sales meetings
• Sales promotions
• User - group meetings

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Association Meetings

• ASAE research suggests that association
  meetings account for EU 53 billion, or nearly 70
  of the estimated EU 78 billion spent annually on
  events in the U.S.A.

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Types of Association Meetings

• Government Meetings
• Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• Board and Committee Meetings
• Other Meetings
• Congresses and Symposia
• Seminars and Workshops
• Certification Programs Consensus Building

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Government Meetings

• Meetings initiated by government organizations
  make up for a sector of growing importance for
  the events industry. These can be on several
  levels, as depicted in the following examples.

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Government Meetings (continued)

• International meetings
• Regional meetings, including those organized by
  the European Union, Nafta and Asean
• National meetings, sponsored by national
  governments
• Local meetings, sponsored by local or regional
  government

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SETTING MEETING OBJECTIVES
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LEARNER OUTCOMES

• Understand why it is important to set objectives
  for meetings
• See the meeting in an overall business or
  organizational context
• Understand the principles of a situation analysis
• Be able to identify meeting stakeholders

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LEARNER OUTCOMES (continued)

• Know the five principles for setting meeting
  objectives
• Know the five guidelines for setting meeting
  objectives

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The Significance of Objectives for Meetings

• Without clearly stated goals and objectives,
  no organization can fulfill its potential and
  make best use of its resources.
• So it is with meetings.

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• The meeting itself should have its own clear
  objectives which, in turn, will contribute to
  strategic success. These can be difficult to
  identify, as events will have a number of
  stakeholders to who the success of the venture is
  important. Each stakeholder may have their own
  objectives and it is important that the meeting
  planner is aware of these.

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Meetings Have A Primary Purpose

• Every meeting will be held for a primary purpose
  decided by the initiator. This might be
  familiarization (with new products or plans), the
  motivation of a sales force, professional
  education, raising funds, recruitment, or the
  resolution of differences.
• The stated objectives will in every case be
  different, and will stem from the primary purpose
  of the meeting

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Meeting Planners Objective

• The success of a meeting is directly related
  to the amount of time spent on its planning and
  design. Equally, the internal stakeholders want
  to see value for the money and time they have
  invested.

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Meeting Planners Objective(continued)

• A successful meeting planner, who wants to
  achieve personal recognition and be regarded as a
  member of the management team, must demonstrate
  the desire and ability to control the meetings
  end product

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Meeting Planners Objective(continued)

• An empowered planner is a team leader, working
  with internal (and sometimes external) customers,
  who must understand the organizations business
  and how meetings may drive its business plan.
  The meeting professional must be a facilitator
  who, through meetings, moves the organization
  forward.

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Background ResearchSituational
AnalysisMeeting Stakeholders
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Situational Analysis

• A situation analysis forms the basis for
  management goals, objectives and targets.

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Four Phases of Situational Analysis

• 1.Gather information about the current business
  environment. Establish what is wrong, if
  anything and, on the basis of this, decide
  whether or not there is a need for a meeting.
• 2.Determine the desired changes in the business
  environment. Develop goals and objectives to
  address these.

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Four Phases (continued)

• 3.Determine how these goals and objectives may be
  achieved. Is a meeting the right tool, or can
  the goals be achieved more successfully through
  other activities?
• 4.Determine how to evaluate whether or not goals
  and objectives are achieved.

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Meeting Stakeholders

• The changes that a meeting is intended to
  bring about must be achieved through people or
  groups of people who are of importance to the
  initiating organization. For the purposes of a
  meeting, the most important of these stakeholder
  groups consists of the meeting attendees. Even
  so, the first key step is to identify all those
  who have a vested interest in the success of the
  meeting.

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Four Stakeholder Categories

• Internal Customers
• Attendees
• Meeting Planner
• Suppliers

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Setting Goals and Objectives

• The next step is to determine what the
  internal customers want the attendees to know,
  remember and do as a result of this meeting, and
  then to develop measurable objectives for each of
  these elements.

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Setting Goals and Objectives(continued)

• Know - refers to the knowledge that the meeting
  conveys through its agenda and content.
• Remember - refers to what they absorb via the
  means of communication and adult learning
  techniques that are employed.
• Do - refers to their reactions to the meeting.

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Five Principles of Setting Objectives

• The success of the event is measured through
  its objectives. These objectives should describe
  the desired outcomes of the meeting. The acronym
  Smart is often used to identify the five
  characteristics of good objectives.

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Five Principles of Setting Objectives (continued)

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-based

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Five Guidelines For Setting Objectives

• 1.Describe the end (the product), not the means
  (process).
• 2.Write a separate statement for each objective.
• 3.Reflect the different levels of impact.
• 4.Start each statement with an active verb.
• 5.Remember that attitudes cannot be measured.

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MAXIMIZING THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT
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LEARNER OUTCOMES

• Understand the importance of maximizing the
  return on investment
• Be familiar with the principles of ROI
• Know how to measure ROI

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The Importance of ROI

• In todays environment, organizations are looking
  at what provides strategic value.
• Planners must demonstrate their value to an
  organization as well as the value of their
  meetings. It is important to be able to
  communicate with all the key people involved in
  the meeting, as results not only justify the
  meeting, but also your role in making the meeting
  happen.

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STEP 1

• IDENTIFY YOUR STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR NEEDS

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• A stakeholder is any group of people or
  individual with a direct interest in the outcome
  of the meeting. They include
• your organization (the meeting initiator)
• suppliers
• participants and
• you.

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• For corporate conferences, your stakeholders
  might include any combination of the following
• top management
• the sales force
• distributors
• research and development (RD)
• headquarters staff
• company shareholders and
• field operatives.

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• For association conferences, your stakeholders
  might include
• volunteer leadership
• members and non-members
• exhibitors
• function sponsors
• trade media
• invited guests and
• speakers.

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STEP 2

• CREATE MEETING OBJECTIVES

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• Meeting objectives are statements that define
  the outcome of your meeting. They fulfill the
  needs of the stakeholders and support the overall
  goal of the meeting. Objectives are essential in
  the design, implementation and evaluation of any
  successful meeting.

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• Writing good objectives is not easy. The acronym
  Smart is often used to identify characteristics
  of good objectives. To remind you, they are
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-based

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STEP 3

• THE DESIGN AND USE OF MEASUREMENT TOOLS

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• In todays environment, everyone is analyzing
  how they can achieve faster, better and cheaper
  results, and also whether (and if) what they do
  moves them significantly forward in their core
  purpose. Today, marketing programs, training
  programs, market-share growth, and
  customer-member retention programs are all
  measured for success, so why not meetings?

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• When planning a meeting, it is important to
  ask meeting initiators and yourself the question
  Why do we need this meeting? What indications
  do you have that the meeting supports the
  strategic direction of your organization or that
  it makes optimal use of your organizations
  resources?

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Measuring ROI

• Here are some areas that a comprehensive meeting
  measurement would address
• budget variance
• booth traffic at exhibitions
• advertising sales
• increase/decrease in sponsorship
• cost savings comparisons

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Measuring ROI (continued)

• satisfaction/dissatisfaction with venue
• satisfaction/dissatisfaction with format
• effectiveness of sales training
• ability of audience to articulate the vision or
  strategy after the meeting
• identification of trends facing the industry
• sales forces ability to complete new procedures

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Measuring ROI (continued)

• successful/unsuccessful introduction of new
  marketing plans before the competition
• successful/unsuccessful implementation of field
  force automation
• members understanding of new awards and
  nomination process
• how long it took to develop this meeting (cycle
  time)

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Measuring ROI (continued)

• follow-up sales as result of attendance
• level of awareness of new products
• perceived quality of workshops
• perceived quality of entertainment and
• how to extend the value of the meeting past the
  initial conference dates.

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Using The Right Measurement Tool

• The most traditional measurement tools are
• the budget analysis and
• written, post-meeting evaluations which rate the
  meeting.

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Alternative Measurement Tools

• Print or phone survey
• Focus group testing
• Testing audience knowledge
• Tracking results
• Volunteer surveyors/advisory groups

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STEP 4

• DESIGNING AND DELIVERING CONTENT

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Designing and Delivering Content

• There are three key elements
• draw up a business plan
• integrate adult-learning concepts and
• exploit your value chain.

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Drawing Up A Business Plan

• A business plan is a detailed document that
  can be shared with internal stakeholders, such as
  senior management, and used throughout the design
  and development process to keep the team focused
  on the meetings goal and objectives.

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What A Business Plan Should Cover

• Date the business plan was created and/or updated
• Event rationale
• Meeting goals
• Specific meeting objectives
• Proposed meeting name or title
• Budget

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What A Business Plan Should Cover (continued)

• Projected break-even attendance
• Theme ideas (if necessary)
• Proposed meeting dates
• Location
• An objective analysis that includes an
  environmental scan and collected market research
  to support a new meetings launch or an existing
  events growth

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What A Business Plan Should Cover (continued)

• Potential sponsor(s)
• Use of technology
• Proposed measurement tools
• Overall meeting design concept
• Target audience profiles
• Development team (internal customers volunteer
  members)
• Proposed meeting suppliers

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STEP 5

• DEMONSTRATE MEETING RESULTS

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Complete Report

• The final step in the process calls for a
  complete report demonstrating the meetings ROI.
  Before developing the report itself, decide
• who will get the report
• what it will contain, and
• in what form it will be delivered.

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SITE SELECTION 1

• CHOOSING A VENUE

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LEARNER OUTCOMES

• Be familiar with the various types of meeting
  site or venue
• Have a checklist of questions to ask yourself
• Have a clear idea of the pros and cons of using
  each type of facility
• Know how to prepare a request for proposals.

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Selecting A Destination

• Thereafter the PCO would be advised to
  approach the Convention Bureau representing these
  places for their information packs, before
  reaching a provisional decision - which, in most
  cases, will depend on the availability of a
  suitable venue.

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Types of Venue

• Convention Center
• Hotel
• Conference Center
• Unusual Sites or Venues

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Making the Initial Choice

• Four categories of location
• City center or urban area
• Airport
• Resort
• Country

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Creating A Short List of Venues

• Basic Questions
• What is the purpose of the meeting?
• Who is attending it and what are their
  expectations?
• How long is the event?
• How many people are expected to attend?
• Where has the same group of people met in the
  past?

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Creating A Short List of Venues (continued)

• Basic Questions
• Where did it work best and why?
• What didnt work at previous events?
• What budget is available to accomplish the
  mission?
• Where are the attendees coming from and how will
  they travel?
• What is the meeting seeking to accomplish?

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Additional Tips

• If a venue which you have contacted does not
  respond to a request for information within 48
  hours, they probably dont want your business.
• If, when you call a venue, the telephone isnt
  answered immediately or the staff are unhelpful,
  delete that place from your list.

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Additional Tips (continued)

• Ask among your colleagues in the industry for
  recommendations or advice. It is likely that
  they will have used sites in your selected region
  and can offer informed opinion.
• When a venue contacts you, do the conference
  staff ask all the right questions? Are they
  eager and enthusiastic for your business - or are
  they tired and bored?

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Additional Tips (continued)

• Talk to the local convention and visitor bureau
  (CVB). They may not be able to offer a
  recommendation, but should give you the names of
  professional conference organizers (PCOs) and
  DMCs who have used their sites.

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Sources of Venue Advice

• Internet
• Venue directories
• Magazines
• Venue-finding agencies
• Destination management companies (DMCs)
• Industry associations

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Sources of Venue Advice

• Airlines
• Central sales offices of international hotel
  chains
• Trade exhibitions
• Offices of your parent organization

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The Next Steps

• Request For Proposals
• Aim of the Event
• History
• Competition
• The Facts

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SITE SELECTION 2

• INSPECTIONS

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LEARNER OUTCOMES

• Be aware of the importance of detailed site
  inspections
• Understand the need for preparation before a site
  visit
• Be familiar with typical layouts
• Know what to look for in a venue and have a
  checklist
• Know how to approach the task of inspecting

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Preparing For An Inspection

• Site inspection and site selection are
  inseparable. No professional meeting planner
  will select a venue for a meeting without first
  having inspected it for suitability.

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The Site Visit

• Quality of staff and service
• Although you will be looking for a hundred
  things on your inspection visit, perhaps the most
  vital will be the standard of service. The
  facilities may well match the brief, but the
  venue staff can make or break an event.
  Expertise and willingness to cooperate plus
  enthusiasm for your project are key elements to
  look for.

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The Site Visit (continued)

• Assessing general service
• Before the inspection tour begins, spend some
  time - on your own - in the foyer, reception and
  concierge areas, witnessing check-in and
  check-out procedures. Are they speedy and
  efficient?
• Make a few general inquiries at the reception and
  concierge desks, and assess their response. How
  helpful and friendly are the staff?

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The Site Visit (continued)

• Assessing general service
• Give room service a try. This can be a useful
  indicator of service and standards.
• Look at the property from the attendees point of
  view. How would you rate and appreciate - or
  otherwise - service, staff response and amenities
  generally?

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Meeting-Room Layout

• The suitability of any venue may well hinge on
  its meeting-room capacities. If the seating
  layout for sessions has been decided, a close
  look at the meeting-rooms will be vital.

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Most Common Meeting-Room Layouts

• Classroom style
• Theatre (or auditorium) style
• Hollow square or oval-style
• U shape, E-shape or T-shape-style
• Boardroom-style
• Café or cabaret-style

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The Inspection Checklist

• Whos who?
• Reservations and front desk
• Concierge and porters desk
• Accommodation
• Meeting-rooms
• Syndicate/break-out rooms
• Exhibition area

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The Inspection Checklist (continued)

• Banqueting
• Secretariat/administration office
• Provisional booking procedure
• Location of venue
• General