Jan 24
maureen-pickellTips for Meeting Planners Hilton, MPI, travel tips
Well, your ConventionPlanit.com traveling blogger ventured out a little closer to home on Thursday to attend the Rocky Mountain Chapter Meeting of MPI.
The luncheon program was hosted by the brand new Embassy Suites Denver – Downtown Convention Center Hotel – the first LEED Certified Embassy Suites hotel.
The quality of the food vied with the program topic for top prize!
Guest speaker John Sileo talked about Identity Theft Prevention and how members of the meetings industry are often the easiest prey because of our travel patterns. We all left clutching our wallets and cell phones a little tighter but also in possession of a targeted action plan to protect our personal and professional identities!
Look for a blog post in the near future with many of John’s valuable tips and advice.
Dec 08
Ashley ChalmersNews charity, MPI
This year, in lieu of purchasing holiday gifts for one another, our staff decided to make donations to the Children’s Inn at NIH…
…a private, nonprofit, family-centered residence established to keep children with their families while the children participate in ground-breaking medical research for serious illnesses at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Children’s Inn at NIH is the Potomac Meeting Professionals International (PMPI) 2010 Charity of the Year.
Since opening in June of 1990, The Inn has hosted more than 10,000 families from all 50 states and 74 countries. The Inn has the capacity to house up to 74 families per night. In fiscal year 2008, 1,400 children and their families called The Inn home.
There is no charge for a family to stay at The Inn.
These young patients range in age from birth to young adulthood. They face medical challenges such as cancer, heart, lung, growth and blood diseases and mental disorders that lack successful treatment and are only researched and treated at NIH.
“Everyone who is in good health has much to be thankful for during this holiday season,” says ConventionPlanit.com Co-Founder and Principal Katherine Markham, CHME.
“We all decided that giving to this worthy cause was the right thing to do this year to help these children and their families. We pray that their treatments will succeed and that they recover.”
What are some of your favorite charities? Does your company or organization contribute to one in particular?
Sep 16
maureen-pickellTips for Meeting Planners meeting industry, MPI, technology, virtual meetings
ConventionPlanit.com’s Maureen Pickell – blogging from her home State for a change!
We’ve all heard the popular cliché “thinking outside the box” – but Bruce MacMillan, President and CEO of MPI has come up with a new one – “thinking outside the room.”
This was the topic of his talk at the Rocky Mountain MPT Chapter meeting Tuesday in Littleton, CO. (BTW – did you know that the Rocky MT. was the very first MPI chapter? That mountain air inspires creativity!)
Thinking past a room full of meeting attendees is the next shift in professional perspective for the global meetings industry. Embracing technology will move our business from Hospitality to Performance…and the greatest opportunity for attendance growth is engaging the virtual audience.
To prove his point about the importance of portable communication devices – there were no instructions to “turn off your phones.” And wouldn’t you know…no phones rang during his talk.
Dec 11
Ashley ChalmersTips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows MACE, meeting ideas, meeting industry, MPI, Tips for Meeting Planners
Yesterday I attended the Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International’s (PMPI) Mid-Atlantic Conference & Exposition (MACE!2009). Instead of a traditional trade show, the event organizers introduced a ‘flipped marketplace’.
The flipped marketplace gave each planner and supplier the opportunity to schedule up to 10 one on one 15 minute-long appointments – with the planners seated at booths and the suppliers moving throughout the room.
Like many attendees, I was skeptical of the marketplace before experiencing it, but found it to be an absolutely brilliant concept.
Why PMPI’s Flipped Marketplace worked:
1. Mutual Interest - suppliers requested appointments with planners (suppliers had access to organization names, planner’s role in the decision making process, location of meetings, budget, average peak room night, and next available planning year…but NOT the planner’s name). The planners could approve or decline the appointment request via email, or propose a new meeting time. Giving both planners and suppliers the ability to choose to meet with one another gave value and meaning to the conversations before they actually even occurred.
example: When I arrived for the morning introduction session, I took my cup of coffee and introduced myself to the colleague seated next to me at the table. The planner turned out to be one of my appointments for the marketplace! This realization that we had selected one another for the appointment gave us a connection for the rest of the day when our paths crossed.
2. Length of Meeting Time - With a solid 15 minutes to converse, planners and suppliers were able to build solid connections and relationships with one another. This was a refreshing change from the traditional exhibit hall, in which booths often become crowded, making it difficult to have an in-depth conversation. The halls, in general, are constantly in a flow of motion; it is rare for a planner to spend 15 minutes of their time in the hall at one booth…and who can blame them. The 15 minute appointments allowed both planner and supplier to walk away with knowledge and understanding of one another that will not be forgotten as easily as tossing a business card into a drawing for a give-away while walking past a booth.
3. Supplier Cost - While suppliers did pay to participate in the Flipped Marketplace, the cost compared to that of booth space, decorations, furniture, internet, electric, carpet, popcorn machine, etc. was very reasonable; especially when the quality of interactions with attendees and ROI is factored in.
4. Scheduling - The time period for the marketplace did not coincide with any educational sessions. This allowed for the largest possible number of participants at the marketplace, and eliminated the possibility of distraction.
5. Spotme Devices -Spotme, a networking and data gathering handheld device company, provided every show attendee with a device for the day. These devices are far more valuable than electronic scanners. Spotme electronically transfers business cards by touching the devices to one another – no paper involved. Attendee’s appointment schedules were preloaded onto the devices, as well as a photo. The search component allowed users to search for individuals by company or name, and see the person’s photo. Setting the scan feature for an individual causes the device to vibrate when the individual enters the room. This is extremely helpful in a large conference area. Electronic surveys for sessions appeared on the devices at the end of each session. Maps of the Flipped Marketplace as well as the corridor of the conference center were also loaded onto the devices. The devices, overall, contributed to the ease and flow of the day.
For its first year, I believe the Flipped Marketplace at MACE was a huge success among both planners and suppliers. There are a few kinks that will most likely be ironed out for 2010, and the show organizers were very eager to hear feedback.
Kudos to PMPI for successfully implementing the Flipped Marketplace. The meetings industry should be experimenting and constantly pushing forth new ideas; I believe this concept has done just that!
Dec 10
Ashley ChalmersNews, Tips, Tips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows meeting education, meeting industry, MPI
We had so much fun at PMPI’s 3rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Conference & Exposition yesterday…
It was great to network with our peers, and the speakers were fantastic! We learned so much.
Our own presentation on “How to Use Search Engines to Your Advantage” could not have been better. Thanks for all who attended, and we hope you found it interesting and helpful. (Be sure to log onto MACE’s website to access the handouts).
We are already looking forward to next year….
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