Farewell, iBE - You Were a Class Act

Yesterday the Co-Publishers of Ignite Magazine announced that there will not be a fifth installment of their annual show, Ignite Business Expo (click here to read the full text).

Some may say "ah, the other guys won," or "see, there's no room for two business events shows in Canada." There may be some truth to that.  But in an industry that is not always known for drastic innovation, I think Rich Elliott and Debbie van der Beek and their team should be congratulated.

Doreen & Meagan at iBE 2012

Praised for pushing us to create more visually-appealing trade show environments, as well as magazine layouts.  Lauded for challenging us to focus on the experience of business events, not just the sale.  Recognized for taking a risk that ultimately may not have paid off for them, but benefitted the entire industry.

Greenfield had participated in iBE since inception in 2011.  I know that it was because of what we experienced there that Greenfield Services' own production team for the Engaging Associations Forum focused such energy on the décor, the design, on the feel of the event. 

Thank you for pushing us to do better.  We need more folks like you in business!  And we can't wait to see what you have in store next.

Marriott Buys Delta Hotels - Initial Thoughts from #Eventprofs

The news hit the meetings industry like a bomb last week: Marriott Hotels and the B.C. Investment Management Corp. made public plans for the American hospitality giant to buy Delta Hotels & Resorts.

Still subject to approval by regulators until April 1st of this year, there was little doubt in anyone's mind at the CSAE Tête-à-Tête Show in Ottawa: the sale, most said, will go through.

Some of the show attendees I spoke with were saddened to see the "last true, pan-Canadian hotel brand" be bought out by a large American concern.  They had wanted Delta succeed on its own, offering an alternative to the big global brands, especially after Delta's hard-fought battle to re-brand and upgrade its facilities and services across its 38 properties.  Others felt that it was inevitable, "hotel management is really all about real estate these days," observed an association planner.

Some of the Delta sales reps I spoke with were quietly welcoming the news, especially those who have sales responsibilities in the US.  "No one knows what a Delta is in the US.  They think we're part of the airline!  This at least will give us credibility," declared one rep, clearly delighted at the opportunities this would also present to her professionally.

A seasoned site selection specialist heartily welcomed the announcement. She said she hopes that Marriott ownership will mean Delta will apply Marriott's rules about paying commission only to planners who have gone through Marriott's training and qualification program.

Officially both Marriott and Delta sales leaders say it's "business as usual" until April. And even then, they say, Marriott likely will keep Delta as a stand-alone brand.

Time will tell how Canadian meeting professionals will be affected by the sale.  What are your thoughts, Eventprofs?

Meetings Industry: Back to a Seller's Market in 2015?

As 2014 draws to a close, many meetings industry suppliers have reported to us here at Greenfield that they believe it definitely will be back in a seller's market.

This prognosis seems to be supported by a number of surveys and forecasts from travel companies and industry associations:

• AMEX 2015 Global Meetings & Events Forecast
• GBTA-CWT Global Travel Price Outlook
• PKF Outlook for the Canadian Lodging Sector 2014-2015
• PKF: A Tale of 13 (Canadian) Cities
• PWC US Lodging Forecast
• MPI's 2015 Meeting Outlook

So suppliers, what are you seeing in your city for 2015?  Planners, what are you doing to mitigate the rising costs for your meetings and events?

Canada's Anti-Spam Law Demystified at CanSPEP Conference

On July 1, 2014, a new Anti-Spam Law takes effect in Canada.  Organizers who market events to Canadians may find themselves at odds with the new rules unless they take steps now to shift their electronic communication to potential attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.

The law says email or text marketing messages can only be sent if the sender has the recipient's consent, or if there is a pre-existing business relationship with the recipient (and the definition of “pre-existing” is a limited one).

Greenfield Services' Chief Strategist, Doreen Ashton Wagner, will address members and sponsors of the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners (CanSPEP) on this very issue at the association's annual conference the Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa on February 21, 2014.

Addressing the do's and don'ts of Canada's new Anti-Spam Legislation, Ashton Wagner will help third-party meeting and special event planners to understand the impact of the new law, provide practical steps to comply with the legislation as well as better market to potential attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.

Questions to be addressed will include:

• How is this law relating to privacy rules?
• What is express vs. implied consent and what does it mean for events? 
• How will marketers publicize their events if consent is not obtained?
• How will data management change to ensure compliance and continued privacy?
• What elements will be required in email marketing messages in order to comply with the law?

For more information on the event please see the CanSPEP 2014 Conference website.

PCMA Convening Leaders: A First Timer's Impressions & Takeaways

At the First Timers' reception
Niagara Falls Tourism took green screen
photos of attendees which were turned
into souvenirs shots, printed on the spot! 

For the first time ever I attended the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Convening Leaders' Conference, which was held in Boston Jan. 12-15. As a career-long MPIer, I had never attended this annual event.  My only PCMA experience had been the Canada East Chapter Conference in Niagara Falls a few months ago.

It had been a long time since I've been a newbie at anything!  Overall my impression was that this conference both pushed the boundaries and invited attendees to engage at a level I had never experienced before. Here are my top 10 takeaways:

• A Mindset of Innovation & Recognizing the Value of Failures: at the first timers' session, we were informed by Kelly Peacy, CAE, CMP, PCMA's Senior Vice President, Education and Meetings, that her team looks to innovate with session formats, room layouts and even food and beverage. She openly admitted that they know some of these innovations will fail. But they consider failures to be valuable lessons. After all, if PCMA can't take risks to show its members how to organize better conferences, who can? This was echoed by Chairman Johnnie White, CMP at the opening session. And there were a few failures, such as the "out of the box" lunch on the Tuesday which ran out of food, and the congestion problems at the Hynes Convention Centre. But somehow I witnessed a willingness to forgive BECAUSE they were trying something new. I found the attitude of the leadership and the staff to be refreshing.

ASAE President & CEO
John Graham joins
the fun at the Montreal lunch and
poses for a #MtlMoment with
fake lips!

• Embracing Social Media: aside from assigning the customary hashtag for the convention, organizers and sponsors truly embraced social media. From an Instagram contest organized by local DMC Advantage Boston, to the Tourisme Montreal's #MtlMoments lunch snapshots, there were plenty opportunities to engage through social media. A highlight for me definitely was the tweet up sponsored by Ottawa Tourism, where I finally met people in person people that I follow on Twitter: the Velvet Chainsaw's Jeff Hurt (@JeffHurt), the Tradeshow Institute's Traci Browne (@tracibrowne), the Grass Shack Events & Media's Mike McCallen (@mmcallen), Lindsey Rosenthal (@eventsforgood) and Plan Your Meetings' Kristi Casey Sanders (@PYMLive).

• Sponsorship That Matters: I loved that key sponsors did more with their dollars than just give us the usual blah-blah-blah about their destination.  There was a concerted effort to tie sponsorship to the values held by the sponsor.  I was proud to be a Canadian and to witness the leadership of so many of our DMO's in sponsoring top-notch education; whether it was Tourism Toronto and the Metro Toronto Convention Center sponsoring the opening keynote with futurist Lisa Bodell, or Meetings & Conventions Calgary sponsoring a number of smaller breakout sessions, it was gratifying to see the Canadian presence and support of thought leadership.

• Canadian Winners: speaking of a Canadian presence, two of our own were also honored with Katie Dolan of Ottawa Tourism as one of 20 in their 20s leader, Freeman AV Canada's Heidi Welker with a Chairman's award for her leadership in growing the PCMA Canada East chapter by 42% in the last year.

• Mobile Meeting Movement: on the theme of innovation and Canadian pride, the JPdL bus from Montreal to Boston was a great experience. Aside from offering a cheaper, quicker mode of transportation (with the bad winter weather the bus got us there much faster than many people who are flying!), it was a great way to network, learn and debate issues along the way!

• A Culture of Dialogue: because PCMA does not have a tradeshow per se, and because so much focus is on education, this convention felt very different from other meetings industry gatherings I've been to in the past. With a reported 50-50 ratio between planners and suppliers, I found most "buyers" to be very approachable and open to discuss their challenges or issues. One planner I met, who was also a first-timer, said that she loved not feeling like a piece of meat in a market! I even had a "very important planner" (someone whose department plans over 200 meetings a year), approach me! Yes, I was wearing a "first timer" ribbon but the whole conference had this feeling of collaboration and no "us versus them" feel.

A participant discussion board
in the Learning Lounge.

• Engaging Formats: room layouts were varied, offering so much more than just the typical theater style or half rounds. I saw theater style combined with hightop tables and stools, small U-shaped groupings of chairs and half rounds, even chevron-style "hub and spoke" set ups. Most seemed to invite more networking and small-group conversations then what we typically experience with traditional setups.

• Excellent, Practical Education: aside from four knockout keynotes, I had the privilege of learning in five excellent breakout sessions. Two qualified as traditional lectures, albeit with very energetic speakers. Two involved highly interactive presenters who engaged their audience with lots of group discussion including input from virtual participants. And one was a panel with four speakers, facilitated by a very able moderator. Except for one of the lectures which was more motivational in nature, all sessions involved highly practical advice with examples of actual meetings. It was clear that the audience craved real-life solutions and not just theory. 

Salman Khan dreamt of "free, world-class education for anyone,
anywhere."  His dream became Khan Academy.

• Emotional Connection: The highlight of the convention for me definitely was Salman Khan's highly inspirational story about Khan Academy (proudly sponsored by Tourism Vancouver!).  A humble and engaging speaker, with a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor, Khan described how he tutored his niece Nadia and progressed to posting math tutorials on YouTube to eventually create what is now the biggest provider of FREE online education, with over 10 million unique users per month.  Khan's story for me was a classic case of the law of attraction and his description of receiving a call from Bill Gates' Foundation reminded everyone that big dreams do come true.

• Technology Trumped by People: At first glance this event was heavily focused on technology. The main hallway was lined up with various app vendors, the Tech Central meeting area and Learning Lounge seemed to be touching on everything technology. But veteran delegates were telling me those areas were a lot less busy than in years previous.  Was it because they were no longer in areas adjacent to the main session?  (a "failure" to learn from?).  All I know is that in the meeting rooms, the people I was conversing with were more focused on human connection. Could it be we've had it with technology and we are now craving good, old-fashioned, human relationships? Regardless, people were talking!

The PCMA Convening Leaders Conference for me was a great way to kick off 2014. It embodied everything I want to focus on this year: authenticity, engagement, learning and innovation.  I'm not 100% sure whether I will attend the Chicago Conference next year, but based on this wonderful experience it's at the top of my list!

Speed Dating in the Meetings Industry

Speed Dating at Le Windsor Ballroom,
Montreal. Photo Courtesy of The Planner

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity of participating in a half-day event organized by The Planner/ Le Planificateur in Montreal.

This was my first ever event with this publication and I really appreciated the innovative format. First I was one of five speakers who took just 20 minutes to speak on a particular area or trend. This TED-style presentations seemed popular with attendees, many of home appeared to be younger planners, Gen X and Millennials.  And as we reported before on this blog, one of the preferences of younger planners and meeting attendees is for shorter, quicker-paced presentation formats.

The pace continued after lunch with a speed dating/timed appointments format. During this time I was able to meet with 16 meeting and event professionals out of a possible 20 timeslots.

Both formats forced me to be so much more specific in my information style. What is clearly the way the marketplace is evolving!

All in all, planners and exhibitors seemed to appreciate the value for their money and time from this event. Well done, The Planner!

Lofty Conversations on the Road to PCMA in Boston

If coming to the annual convention of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is all about learning and innovation, then taking the JPdL bus from Montreal to Boston was the perfect initiation for me.

Never mind that the bus got us from Montreal to Boston faster than flying because of the nasty weather (only a 5 1/2 drive), and had a much lower carbon footprint for the 21 passengers it carried.  With a two-hour conversation about changing practices and trends in our industry led by Mitchell Beer, CMM of The Smarter Shift and Rachel Stephan of Sensov Event Marketing, I truly felt this mode of transportation had been worth my time in the quality of the conversations alone.

One exchange focused on the use of Twitter to promote a city, attraction or venue to incoming convention delegates. I was postulating that tweeting may be a way to get around Canada's  Antispam Law; because tweets are in effect "public" messages, they likely would not be misconstrued as spam in the same way that unsolicited email would be.

I cited the example of the Boston hotel tweeting me when they saw I was coming to the convention; I mentioned this could even be used to extend special offers or even rates.

This generated a rather passionate conversation about the ethics around this kind of practice. One hotel representative pointed out this could unfairly lure away attendees to book outside group blocks, making it difficult for associations to fulfill their room commitments and possibly costing them extra fees.

She rightly pointed out that this cost could make it difficult for associations to invest in programs and education for members. We both agreed that consumers' constant quest for cheaper rates  (the Walmart effect) puts undue pressure on many associations.

While I do believe professionals should support their association, I thought it was naïve to think that people aren't going to think of their own interests first, whether it's to rack up loyalty points or get a cheaper rate. This is especially the case if they are a small business owner, or if their organization cannot afford higher hotel rates.

We both agreed PCMA has it right. The way they structured fees for this conference made it attractive to book within the room block because of a $200 differential; I know I would have been hard-pressed to find another hotel outside the block for $50 less per night (as I'm staying in Boston for four nights).

Unfortunately, in the view of one planner who was on the bus with us, hotels only have themselves to blame for this trend towards booking out of the block. He observed that if attrition causes weren't so punitive, associations probably would not be in such a situation. And privately another hotel sales representative admitted to me that she constantly fights with her hotel revenue manager, advocating for lower rates, so that associations don't encounter these room block pressures.

The final word? There really wasn't one except that conversations at events such as this are vitally important to the health of the meetings industry.  And unless we can slow down a bit, and perhaps take a bus or two, we are not likely to be able to gain a better understanding of each other's points of view.

Canada's Anti-Spam Law: a Serious Threat for Meetings Industry Marketers in 2014

When Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) comes into effect this summer, it could drastically alter the way hotels, DMOs and meetings industry suppliers market to meeting and event planners.

The law was passed in 2010, but the federal government gave businesses three years to get ready. Unfortunately, few are aware of what this is all about.  As of July 1, 2014 penalties will apply if marketers ignore what is now mandated.

New requirements include:

• Obtaining the recipient's consent PRIOR to sending an electronic, commercial message such as an email or text;
• Recording this consent in a dedicated field in your organization's database so it can be verified if there is a complaint;
• Ensuring your opt-out mechanism is easy and automatically removes a recipient no longer receives emails from you.

Failure to comply with the law could entail a $200 fine for each message (one unsolicited communication can count as a violation), and can reach up to $1,000,000 per day for individuals and $10,000,000 for organizations.

Here are three common sales & marketing practices in the meetings industry that marketers won't be able to do after July 1:

• Buy a list and eblast an offer: first of all, if you get an offer to buy lists of meeting planners and someone says you can buy or rent it to eblast, don't do it.  Or if you do it (and we say: buyer beware!), make sure it's before July 1.  After that date you will NOT be able to send an unsolicited email touting your hotel, destination or services, even if you have an "opt-out" link. 
• Eblast a tradeshow list: This one is a little less straight-forward.  If a planner came by your booth and dropped off a card, you will have six months to obtain express consent from the date of your meeting.  With express consent you will be able to continue with email marketing.  But after 6 months, if they haven't given you consent, you must stop. 
• Your hotel recently completed its renovations program and you want to eblast the news:  As of July 1 you'll be OK to email those with whom you have done business in the last two years prior to the date of the deployment.  Anyone else who was just a prospect, you have to have their express consent first.

For more information on the CASL, how it will affect the way you market you meeting venue, service or destination, join us for our webinar on Thursday, January 30, at 12 noon EST, "What the Meetings Industry Needs to Know & Do About Canada's Anti-Spam Law".  This online event is free for qualified hotel, destination and other meetings industry suppliers.

Register at: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/apk4z5xr0oq2&eom

Innovation in the Meetings Industry: Lessons from #PCMACIC13

While meeting professionals instinctively know that bringing people face-to-face creates conversations and sparks innovation, one could argue the meetings industry itself really hasn't evolved all that much since business events became more popular.

Sure, we've had innovations with technology, enabling better audiovisual presentations, and even hybrid meetings. But have meeting professionals truly been able to change the way meetings are conducted, beyond the traditional lecture models and tradeshow formats we have known for the last 40-50 years?

The organizers of the first PCMA Canadian Innovation Conference (#PCMACIC13), held in Niagara Falls November 10-12, tried to explore that very issue.  It was my first time attending any PCMA event. Like many in attendance, I wasn't really sure what form innovation would take at this particular event. 

What I saw at this conference was a lot of what we have all seen in the past. Elegant staging, beautifully decorated rooms, keynote speakers and breakout sessions. What was different about this conference is that the organizers really wanted to push the envelope about how we can innovate in our business. And for this they must be commended.

I've always felt that the true test of a great conference is what stays with you long after the event has passed.  Was this event truly innovative enough to make people think differently and behave differently? 

At this conference, it was the keynote speakers that did it for me.

The opening keynote speaker, Randy Cass, was probably not the favorite speaker of the conference. Many people I spoke to, who aren't entrepreneurs, felt that he wasn't speaking to them.  One association said to me, “he didn't really have anything to say that applies to me because I work for not-for-profit.”  That was odd to me because Cass gave me one of the best “nuggets” I could walk away with…

And that was to be innovative, you have to take risks.  You cannot be afraid of failure, because failure itself can be a huge learning experience.  He quoted Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire, as saying, “Screw it – just DO it!” (with apologies to Nike).  Unfortunately too many meeting professionals are judged only by their latest gig. Few can afford to look at failures as necessary and valuable outcomes to learn from. 

Yours truly with PCMA CIC closing
Keynote Speaker, Amanda Lindhout

Similarly the closing speaker gave me another precious “ah-ha” moment.  There probably wasn’t a dry eye in the room after Amanda Lindhout recounted her story of survival and compassion from her 15-month ordeal as a captive of Somali insurgents. Standing behind a lectern with only a hand-held microphone, she did not use any fancy visuals.  Her words and remarkable poise were enough for the audience to imagine all that they needed to understand her poignant message.

And from this I understood the power of storytelling.  Not to take anything away from the wonderful work that my AV friends do in the business, but human beings sharing stories can be more powerful than any production.   

So how could PCMA organizers kick it up a notch for next year’s conference in Montreal?  Here are a few ideas to start the conversation:

- Allow people to discuss the issues that they care about in a non-structured format. Have an unconference! We have a few experts in this industry that could lead us through a discussion like this such as Adrian Segar, Jeff Hurt or Chris Brogan, to name a few;  

– Enable people to experience peer-to-peer coaching. This involves having individuals share with their problems are and having the group offer potential ideas to remedy the situation. Sometimes the best solutions are not from so called experts but rather our own peers!

- Instead of traditional lecture formats, let’s have learning labs and hands-on workshops where people can design an actual conference program, marketing program, or other components of a conference.

– Bring experts who are not from the meetings industry. I love professional speakers (and clearly the above two keynotes are amongst the best from NSB), but maybe we need to hear from adult learning experts, sociologists or brain scientists so we can learn how face-to-face interaction truly leads to innovation.

This PCMA event helped open my eyes to the need for more innovation and story-telling in the meetings industry. Congratulations to the host venue, the Niagara Falls Scotiabank Convention Centre, co-chairs Chuck Schouwerwou and Heidi Welker, and the entire Organizing Committee!  

P.S.  I look forward to lending a hand next year for the conference which is planned for Montreal in late November. 

Wanted: Professional Speakers and Exhibitors for #MPICEIS

Did you exhibit at a tradeshow or speak at a business event in Canada in 2012?  If so, your contribution to the economy must be counted and Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is looking for you!

Earlier this summer Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation Canada and its partners announced the launch of the third edition of the Canadian Economic Impact Study of the meetings and events industry (CEIS 3.0).

This research will quantify the number and economic impact of business events that took place in Canada in 2012.

Anyone who spoke at or exhibited at a Canadian event in 2012, is invited to participate in a 10-minute online survey.  Respondents need not be a member of MPI.  Meeting planners, exhibitors, delegates and Canadian meeting and event venues are also being surveyed in this exhaustive study. 

The survey link for speakers and exhibitors to participate in this study is

http://survey.researchnow.com/wix/p649031737.aspx?src=95&hsrc=7  

It is recommended that respondents have information on hand for expenses relating to at least one 2012 event. To view a PDF of the questionnaire, click here.  The survey closes October 11.

The MPI Foundation awarded this landmark research project earlier this year to the consortium headed by Maritz Canada, along with The Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council and Greenfield Services Inc.

This is an important endeavour that will enable the Canadian meetings industry to articulate its value to governments, investors and other stakeholders, and help advocate for a favourable business environment.

Should you have any questions regarding this study, please contact Greenfield’s Chief Strategist, Doreen Ashton Wagner.

Greenfield Services Co-Founder Named to M&IT Magazine Hall of Fame

Greenfield Services is proud to announce that its co-founder Doreen Ashton Wagner has been named to the M&IT Magazine’s Hall of Fame in the Industry Innovator category. This award recognizes an individual planner or supplier who has implemented a service or product that has increased productivity and/or modernized our industry.

Below is the text of her nomination:

Doreen Ashton Wagner has been an innovator since she founded her company in 1998.

At first she saw a niche in offering outsourced, project-based, data cleansing and lead generation services to meetings industry suppliers.  One of the firm's earliest clients was Rogers Media, then-owners of M&IT Magazine, after the company purchased the Executive Travel Show series in 2001.  Greenfield was hired by the show producer to update a list of over 22,000 meeting and event professionals across Canada.  The firm then employed just five people, and it took three months for the list to be cleansed according to a strict research protocol, supported by a proprietary database platform.  This approach has since been formalized as The Greenfield Data Cleansing System™.

From those humble beginnings the firm gained more meetings industry clients, especially Hotels and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) looking for online and phone research to help identify new meetings and conventions business.  The Greenfield LEAD Process™ was born of these efforts to produce timely, valuable meetings information on a consistent basis.

In 2008, Ashton Wagner started observing a shift in the nature of the business-to-business sales process.  The recession, the increasing role of the internet in the purchasing cycle, and the commoditization of the site selection process was eroding the traditional relationships that existed between meeting venues and planners.

In 2009 she devised the Greenfield Funnel Activator™, a marketing system that helps meetings industry suppliers initiate and nurture new business relationships through a combination of personal outreach, data management, and permission-based email communication, supported by marketing automation software.  This system has been further enhanced with the integration of social media management and content marketing, which help users attract more inbound leads.

Since 2010 Ashton Wagner has written extensively about these market shifts, starting with this blog and monthly e-newsletter (still published today), and her landmark webinar series in 2012.

Clients who have benefitted from Greenfield Services’ dedicated, proprietary approach include Fairmont, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Cineplex Entertainment, AV Canada, and every major DMO in Canada.

Last but not least, this candidate was a key participant in the team that executed the landmark study of the economic impact of the meetings industry in Canada (CEIS).  Her in-depth knowledge of the venue side of the meetings industry helped the research team navigate the complicated data gathering process which led to the successful completion of the study according to UNWTO guidelines.  This study was the first of its kind in 2007 and it has since been duplicated in Mexico, the USA and the UK. 

According to the then-CEIS Project Manager, Mitchell Beer, “When the project ran into serious difficulties with primary data gathering, Greenfield Services was just about heroic in deploying key expertise and staff hours to solve the problem. To this day, I believe that MPI Canada—and anyone else in the global meetings community who has since conducted a WTO‑based EIS—owes Greenfield a lifetime debt of gratitude for shepherding this first economic impact study to success at a critical point in its execution.”

The third iteration of the study is now taking place in Canada, with the candidate and her company’s involvement once again.

Doreen joins fellow inductees:

- Ralph Strachan, President & CEO, The Stronco Group of Companies (Industry Veteran); 

- Bettyanne Sherrer, CMP, CMM, Principal, ProPlan Conference & Events (Planner); 

- Trevor Lui, Director of Operations and Sustainability, The International Centre (Industry Builder); 

- Sheila Wong, CEM, Partner and Vice-President, Business Development, BBW International Inc. (Industry Volunteer); 

- Judy Healy, Hospitality and Tourism Management Department, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University (Industry Mentor); 

- Danyelle MacCulloch, Base Consulting Inc. (Industry Rising Star)

Congratulations to all we’re so proud of you!

Reducing our Footprint and Doing Good at the MPI Ottawa Golf Tournament

(Left to right) MPI Ottawa's Riccarda Galioto, Co-Director
of Community Outreach & CSR, and Ryan Young, VP Finance,
accept a $640 cheque from Doreen Ashton Wagner
for  the Chapter's  official charity,
the Ottawa School Breakfast Program. 

This past week Greenfield Services sponsored a hole at the 14th Annual Golf Tournament of the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Ottawa Chapter.

The organizing committee had challenged sponsors to come up with creative ways to be kinder to the environment with this event, held at the picturesque Fairmont Chateau Montebello resort, which has an Audubon International-certified golf course.

The Greenfield Team took up the challenge by selling $5 mulligans on the course's difficult 14th-hole.  No disposables were used, making this a simple, low-impact promotion for the environment.  Even the hole signage will be re-used, thanks to innovative work by another sponsor, Miller McConnell Signs.

The company matched donations dollar-for-dollar and all proceeds went to the Chapter's official charity, the Ottawa School Breakfast Program.

For more news and pictures of the event, see the Chapter's Facebook page.

Planners & Venue Managers: the Canadian Meetings Industry NEEDS YOU!

Meeting planners and Canadian event venue managers are asked to show their support for the meetings industry by participating in the third edition of the Canadian Economic Impact Study of the meetings and events industry (CEIS 3.0).

The online questionnaire is now OPEN and may be accessed here.  We are seeking event professionals' help by answering the survey and spreading the word to colleagues.

Supported by the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation, the MPI Foundation Canada and its partners, this survey will quantify the number and economic impact of business events that took place in Canada in 2012.  

Anyone who organized a business event anywhere in Canada in 2012, regardless of their home country is invited to participate. Respondents need not be a member of MPI, nor are they required to be "professional" meeting planners.  

Similarly, all Canadian venue managers -- from hotels, resorts, convention facilities, conference centres, universities and even special event venues like museums and theatres -- who hosted business events, are encouraged to participate.

It is recommended that respondents have their organization's 2012 year-end results on hand for easy reference. To view a PDF of the planner questionnaire, click here.  Venue managers may download a copy of their survey here.

The MPI Foundation awarded this landmark research project earlier this year to the consortium headed by Maritz Canada, along with The Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council and Greenfield Services Inc.

This is an important endeavour that will enable the Canadian meetings industry to articulate its value to governments, investors and other stakeholders, and help advocate for a favourable business environment.

If you are active in the Canadian meetings and events industry, we hope you will respond to the study and help us spread the word to colleagues.

Social media efforts to publicize the project are underway.  Watch for periodic updates in the various LinkedIn Meeting & Event Groups, and tweets with #MPICEIS.

Should you have any questions regarding this study, please contact Doreen Ashton Wagner of Greenfield Services Inc. by email or by calling 1-866-488-4474, ext. 4512.

MPI Foundation Canadian Economic Impact Study Ready to Deploy

A few weeks ago I wrote about how I had "fallen off the saddle" and missed several weeks' worth of posts to this blog.  One of the reasons mentioned is how Greenfield is about to undertake the single biggest project of our 15-year history: the data gathering component of the MPI Foundation Canadian Economic Impact Study (CEIS) of the Meetings Industry!

Ever since we announced the project had been awarded to the research consortium headed by Maritz Canada, along with the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Human Resources Tourism Council and Greenfield, we've been working behind the scenes to help with the research project design, including the formulation of survey questions for meeting planners, meeting venues (hotels, resorts, convention centres, conference centres, etc.).

We have been in touch with the project sponsors, along with other meetings industry organizations under the Business Events Industry Coalition of Canada.

Social media efforts to publicize the project have begun.  Watch for periodic updates in the various LinkedIn Meeting & Event Groups, and tweets with #MPICEIS.

And we are this close to deploying the survey to some 30,000 meeting planners (based here in Canada and abroad), and almost 2,000 meeting and event venues!

As the data collection partner, the Greenfield Services Team is really excited because this landmark research will articulate the meetings industry's value to governments, investors and other stakeholders, and help advocate for a favourable business environment.

With a significant number of respondents, the study also will enable the assessment of the relative market share of key markets versus the overall number of meetings in Canada -- for instance what percentage of meetings that took place in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary or Ottawa.

Eventually it is our hope that this research will power an online tool that will allow planners, tourism bureaus and venues to evaluate the economic impact of a particular meeting in their destination.

If you are a Canadian meeting and event professional, or an international planner who brought a meeting or business event to Canada in 2012, we hope you will respond to the study and help us spread the word to colleagues!

RIP Filipe - Meetings Industry Mourns the Loss of Montreal DMC Operator

The meeting planning community lost a favourite son this past week with the sudden passing of Filipe Nepomuceno, President/Owner of Altima Concept, a Montreal Destination Management Company (DMC).

I came to know Filipe in 2010 when I spoke at the MPI Montreal Chapter Biennial Conference, Convivium, at the Chateau Cartier in Gatineau. (That's Filipe in the argyle sweater in the picture I snapped for this Convivium blog).

Though I did not know him well, Filipe was a likeable fellow and we shared both a love of the meetings industry, and an entrepreneurial obsession. We kept in touch ever since, chatting a few times a year about business and life in general.

I saw Filipe again just five days before his death, at the Ignite Business Expo.  He looked great, and he was his usually friendly, outgoing self.  We hugged and he was telling me he would be re-doing his company website soon.  I offered to help when he was ready.

The sad news of his demise came to me from a mutual friend, Roni Feldman, also a DMC owner in Toronto. I truly believe Filipe personified Abraham Lincoln's words, "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

On behalf of the Canadian meetings community, our deepest condolences to the Nepomuceno family.  Donations may be made to the Quebec Heart & Stroke Foundation.  Rest in peace, Filipe.

As for the rest of us on this Canada Day long weekend, take time to smell the flowers and enjoy life with your loved ones.  Because it may be over before you know it.

Greenfield Named Data Gathering Partner for Meetings Industry Economic Impact Study

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation announced the undertaking of the study of the economic impact of the meetings industry in Canada, having commissioned a team headed by Maritz Research (Canada) and assisted by Greenfield Services, the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council and The Conference Board of Canada.

(L to R) Scott Meis, CTHRC; Allison Simpson, Amanda Chan &
Rachel Cameron, Maritz Research; Hélène Moberg, & Rita
Plaskett, MPI Foundation Canada; Doreen Ashton Wagner,
Greenfield Services Inc. Not pictured, Greg Hermus,
Conference Board of Canada.

Greenfield will be the data gathering partner, focusing on community outreach and communication with Canadian and international meeting professionals as well as meeting facilities across Canada.  

This will be the second time Greenfield collaborates with this research team.  The first time was in 2006 when the original Canadian Economic Impact Study (CEIS) of the meetings industry was commissioned by MPI.   It found that:

• Canada’s meeting sector organized 671,000 meetings in 2006,
• Welcomed 70.2 million participants,
• Created the equivalent of 235,500 full-year jobs,
• And accounted for $32.2 billion in direct spending ($23.3 billion by meeting participants and $8.9 billion by non-participant sponsors and stakeholders).

The study was updated in 2008 and showed a 2.5% spending growth from 2006 to 2007, but a 0.1% decline the following year.  No data is available for subsequent years, so this endeavour will fill a much needed void.

Since the original Canadian study the meetings industry’s economic impact has been assessed in other countries including the USA, Mexico and soon to be released in the U.K.  All other studies benefitted from the survey approach originally developed by the Canadian team, according to UNWTO guidelines.

This study, dubbed “CEIS 3.0” will continue providing key economic benchmarks as well as extend the research to regional and municipal levels. The results will be more actionable at the local level, as well as addressing the share of GDP, employment, salaries/wages, and taxes at local, regional and provincial levels.  Results also will support the development of a meetings-specific, regional economic contribution model, the first in the world.

Caesars Windsor’s Meeting Planner Symposium

Greenfield Services is proud to be working with Caesars Windsor in staging their first Meeting Planner Symposium and Familiarization event, April 10-12, 2013.

Our collaboration began earlier this year as we surveyed over 3,000 Ontario-based meeting and event planners, sampling views on their most critical business needs.  Planners told us they are stretching to do more with less, and in less time. They were interested in learning about client and member retention, promoting events through social media, and fulfilling attendees’ ever-changing expectations.

Survey results were used to formulate the Symposium’s education program, which will be facilitated by Doreen Ashton Wagner, Greenfield’s Chief Strategist. 

The event is free for qualified planners who have organized business events at Ontario hotels in the last year, and who are able to consider Windsor for an upcoming meeting. 

Meals, accommodation and education are courtesy of Caesars Windsor. Transportation to and from Windsor is provided on a complimentary basis by Caesars Windsor, in conjunction with program partners, VIA Rail and Porter Airlines.

An Apology to OG-CSAE Meetings Industry Exhibitors

To my fellow suppliers at the Ottawa-Gatineau CSAE Chapter Tête-à-Tête (TAT) Show: please accept my sincerest apologies.  What I did was misguided and hurtful.

Following the January 31 TAT tradeshow, I posted a blog lamenting the extent to which some of the exhibitors had gone to attract traffic to their booth.   My purpose had been to raise the issue and "elevate the conversation."  Instead my post created an outcry.

I pushed too far by naming names and displaying pictures.  I regret pressing the "publish" button because it unfairly singled out certain suppliers.  The post has since been deleted.

As suppliers I still believe that we need to consider the impact of our promotions and how they may be viewed as too lavish or outlandish, but I know now that posting such an aggressive post was not the way to bring about change.

After reaching out to my colleagues and hearing their forgiveness, I am hopeful that we can move on and focus on creating better value-based and business-focused experiences for both planners and suppliers.

A Winning Tradeshow Booth Idea at #CanadaHBS

After attending tradeshows in the last few months, I have been dismayed at the extent that some exhibitors have gone to attract traffic at a meetings industry tradeshow.

Well, I was at the new Canada Hosted Buyer Show in the last two days, and I saw it again: aesthetic services as a means to attract traffic at a tradeshow booth.

Left to right: Oliver Tabarez, ScribbleLIVE; Dominik Bergeron-Talbot, GES; Véronique Pâquet, Agora and Mélanie Des Ormeaux, DX Design

But this time it was different.  The booth I am describing was the coalition of partners consisting of AVW Telav, ScribbleLive.com, GES, Agora Communications and DX Design.  The booth was an ingenious two-story structure.  Partners were side-by-side, under the canopy.  Attendees collected a card which was stamped by each partner after they had a chance to have a conversation with you.  

With a card stamped by all partners attendees could go to floor #2 to have their photo taken by a professional photographer.  And attendees had the option to have their make-up re-done/touched up!  The photographer took 16 shots of me, and had me select my preferred one.  The attention to detail was commendable.  Both the make-up artist and the photographer were very engaging young professionals. I was told to expect my photo by email the day after the show.

So how is this different from some of the other tradeshow booths I have seen?  

First, the outcome adds value beyond just looking good.  Who today doesn’t need a professional head shot for their social media accounts or website?

Secondly, this booth was employing young people from a professional aesthetics school, Parisax Académie, who hope to go into theatre or special events.  There’s a tie-in there and a bit of CSR by encouraging young, local talent.

Thirdly, this was gender-neutral.  I saw lots of men going up there, who never would stop at a booth to get their nails buffed, but they got their photo taken.


And last but not least, the whole thing got conversations going!  

I had a great exchange with all the partners.  I can’t give them business, but these conversations led me to write this blog.  And hopefully this increases their exposure and drives more business their way! So for those readers who thought I was a humourless purist, there you have it.  

You can do something like this.  Just make sure it ties back to business and that you provide solid business value.

Greenfield Co-Sponsors MPI Ottawa Golf Tournament

Greenfield Services was a proud co-sponsor at yesterday's Annual Golf Tournament for Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Ottawa Chapter.  Our co-sponsor was ZOË Alliance, a provider of high-quality, fair trade promotional products.

Meagan Rockett & Angie Draskovic

The tie-in between Greenfield and its co-sponsor was a natural.  Making a bigger commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility principles, Greenfield has purchased executive gifts from ZOË Alliance for the last two years.  And ZOË Alliance recently became a client of Greenfield's, benefiting from an email and phone lead generation program to help them connect with new clients.

Ryan Watson and Mark Nisbett
of The Brookstreet Hotel

Though the skies were gray, smiles were bright and laughter was heard throughout as golfers stepped up to the 14th tee to meet Meagan Rockett, Director of Client Solutions for Greenfield, and Angie Draskovic, ZOË Alliance Founder & CEO.

Participants were asked to test their skills at Ladder Golf (a.k.a. bolla-ball, though we hear some golfers came up with their own colourful description for the game... click here to read more alternatives names).



Karen Norris, Association of Faculties of Medicine of
Canada; Sarah Pettenuzzo, Canadian Public Heath
Association & Brent Beatty, Edmonton Tourism

 Winners from each foursome walked away with a hand-crafted ZOË Alliance lunchbox.  All participants were entered into a grand prize draw for a gift basket with $350 worth of fair trade executive items, including a leather portfolio and business cardholder, a hand-embroidered silk and cotton throw, and ZOË's signature Haitian board game carved out of Bois de Lance.

The grand prize winner was announced at the dinner; congratulations Peggi Birch, of Peggi Birch Plans.  She told us, "I am pleased to say that I am the "Lucky Winner" of the beautiful basket from Greenfield Services at the MPI golf tournament.  It is truly inspirational - not just a bunch of 'stuff'.  I do love it and applaud you for your support in this initiative.  I particularly love the wooden carved game board.  It is beautiful!"  Glad you like it, peggi!