Collaborate Marketplace Recap by Kim Corcoran, CMP

Meetings Michigan recently participated in Collinson Media’s Collaborate Marketplace.  It is a fairly new event that concentrates on corporate meeting planners.  It is only in its second year and the attendance doubled from last year!  There were 300 planners and 550 suppliers at the event, so you know they must be doing something right.  They are committed to having only qualified meeting planners at the event and your appointments are pre-set with these planners.  Meetings Michigan had 27 appointments with almost all of them a great fit for our state.  In addition to the opportunity to introduce planners to the idea of meeting in Michigan, Collinson also did a great job with education and speakers.  The lineup included Lisa Ling, Steve Forbes, Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter) and Jane Gentry.  Although the others have bigger names, my favorite was Jane Gentry.  I was really able to relate to her content and took home some new strategies to use in both my work and personal life.

Jane’s message was about the “whole brain” approach to communication.  We’ve all taken different learning and communication style assessments and we know where we fall.  This session talked about how we all use the four quadrants of our brain, but some of us are more dominant in one area.  For instance, I am a “yellow” (upper right) quadrant thinker.   I want to see the big picture, recognize new possibilities, integrate new ideas and concepts, invent new solutions and problem solve in intuitive ways.  If I am working with a colleague or a planner who is more of a “green” (lower left) quadrant thinker, I must adjust the way I communicate with them.  They approach problems practically, maintain a standard of consistency, read the fine print in documents, develop detailed plans and procedures, articulate plans in an orderly way and keep financial records straight.  I will have to take my “big idea” and think it through to the details before I share it with a “green” quadrant thinker.  I found this fascinating to say the least!

If you want to find out more about Jane Gentry please go to www.janegentry.com

2012 HSMAI's MEET Mid America Recap

Earlier this month, Meetings Michigan headed to Chicago's Navy Pier to attend HSMAI's MEET Mid America conference. We exhibited with two partners: BOYNE Resorts and the Westin at the Detroit Metro Airport. As in years past, our booth was located in "Michigan Row" along with our friends from Visit Ann Arbor, Discover Kalamazoo and the Detroit Metro CVB.

New for 2012, the show received a complete format overhaul.  In addition to the usual trade show exhibition, planners and suppliers alike were invited to set up pre-scheduled face-to-face appointments.  We met with several planners during the conference who expressed interest in placing their next meeting in Michigan.  Time and time again we meet planners who are just hours away from Michigan but have never considered bringing their conferences or meetings to our great state.

Overall, it was a great show and we hope to exhibit again in 2013!

8th Annual Pharmaceutical Meeting Management Forum

 
Meetings Michigan recently traveled to Orlando for the 8th Annual Pharmaceutical Meeting Management Forum.  The event took place at the Marriott World Center March 25th - 28th. We were joined by 2 of our partners:  Discover Kalamazoo and the Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

With the ever changing rules and guidelines of the pharmaceutical meetings industry, the educational opportunities available at this conference are always second to none.  Over 30 breakouts were available as well as panel forums (pictured above), general session speakers and more.

The Physician Payment Sunshine Act was a primary discussion point throughout the 4 day conference. As described by Elizabeth J. Cappiello, "The Physicial Payment Sunshine Act requires pharmaceutical, medical device, biological, and medical supply manufacturers to report to Health and Human Services (HHS) any "payment or other transfer of value" to physicians and teaching hospitals. The first reports will be due March 31, 2013 for the calendar year 2012 reporting period. The report must include information about the amount of the payment, the date on which the payment was made, the form of payment, and the nature of the payment (e.g., gift, consulting fees, entertainment). The PPSA specifically excludes certain transfers of value from this disclosure requirement."

What does this mean to the hospitality industry? Hotels and other vendors will soon be required to provide a full summary of any goods or services a doctor uses while attending an event hosted by a pharmaceutical company.  From shuttle service to the airport to flip charts to a cup of coffee, every penny spent will need to be submitted. Suppliers from all over the country were eager to share their thoughts and concerns with industry experts.  At the end of the conference, we left with many hard-pressing questions answered even though there are likely many more to come in 2012.

Event Promotion "Tricks of the Trade"

Bethany Curtis, Director of Sales, Bavarian Inn Lodge - Frankenmuth, Michigan

Event Promotion "Tricks of the Trade"
by Bethany Curtis, Director of Sales, Bavarian Inn Lodge and Geri Root, President Root Management & Consulting, LLC

Bethany Curtis, Director of Sales for the Bavarian Inn Lodge, recently sat down with meeting professional, Geri Root, President of Root Management & Consulting LLC to talk about event promotion. It seemed fitting since Bethany was attending the Michigan Chapter of MPI's Annual Education Conference planned by Geri herself. Here are a few "Tricks of the Trade" that Geri shared:

Bethany: Most of us know that event promotion depends on the size of the event and the area of reach you are marketing to. For a state association like MMPI how much time is really needed in advance to start your event promotion?

Geri: Ideally for small events 60 – 90 days before the conference, for larger events a save the date should be sent at least 6 months prior and the full program sent 3 months prior. Meeting professionals are taught a full year in advance but that is sometimes difficult to pull off.

Bethany: What is the first promotion that you like send to your potential attendees? (email, Face Book, mailed postcard).

Geri: An email or postcard because it is a quick and inexpensive way to get the word out. It is always a good idea to get the event on your organizations social media site but that does not reach the entire audience.

Bethany: Do you feel that your promotional plan needs to be comprehensive to include all forms of media?

Geri: Yes, definitely.

Bethany: How have you used Social Media to increase attendance?

Geri: We have used social media to get the word out not only to those on our mailing list, but those that keep in touch with the association through social media. Also, we use it to build excitement for the event, for quick promotions, to give out teaser info on session and exciting new details about the conference.

Let the event promotion beginning!

MPI Mid-America 2012 by Kim Corcoran, CMP

Meetings Michigan recently attended MPI Mid- America in Sandusky, Ohio.  We attended with 8 partners, including Boyne Resorts, The Henry Ford, Ann Arbor Area CVB, Traverse City CVB, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Great Lakes Bay Region CVB, DoubleTree by Hilton Bay City and Bavarian Inn Lodge.   It was a great conference with two themes emerging for me:  Collaboration and Leadership. 

Angela Rampin from The Henry Ford is posing in front of their latest and greatest exhibit: Driving America!

Those that know me know I have always been a big fan of collaboration.  I truly believe you can accomplish more by partnering with other individuals and other organizations.  It certainly rang true for the MPI Mid-America Conference with the partnering chapters of Ohio and Kentucky.  They pooled their resources, had an outstanding committee of volunteers and worked together in every aspect of the event.  They put on an impressive regional conference with national caliber speakers.  The host hotel, Kalahari Waterpark and Resort, did a phenomenal job as well.  The food and beverage was out of this world!  Even “foodies” were impressed by the culinary prowess of these folks!

I was hard leaving the shores of beautiful Grand Traverse Bay on an 80-degree March day, but Sarah Barnard packed up to join Meetings Michigan at the recent MPI Mid-America Conference.

Leadership was another key theme I took away from this conference.  Several speakers honed in on our need to be leaders within our organizations and within our industry.  My favorite was Dr. Todd Dewett.  He is a professor, a scholar, a leader… but he is also a real person.  He boasts about his tattoos and his Harley.  While I’m not a huge fan of tattoos, he helped me break through the typical stereotype one might acquaint with those who choose to don their body with tattoos.  He opened my eyes to many different aspects of leadership through his unique stories and engaging rapport.  I would highly recommend him if you are ever in need of a speaker on leadership!  For your reference, www.drdewett.com

Patti Ingleson & Kristy Poore from Visit Ann Arbor joined Meetings Michigan at the recent MPI Mid-America Concerence. Above is Patti at Zingerman’s Deli. One of their biggest fans is Oprah Winfrey, who bit into one of their sandwiches and remarked: “On a scale of 1 to 5....11!”

The conference concluded with our closing luncheon hosted by Meetings Michigan.  Everyone loved our Meetings Michigan t-shirt promotion.  Attendees will be taking their t-shirts home to find a creative and fun place to take their photo of themselves.  We look forward to seeing all of their photos on our Meetings Michigan facebook page and notifying our winners in each of the unique categories!

-Kim Corcoran, CMP

MPI-CAC TechCon Chicago 2012

Earlier this month, Meetings Michigan traveled to Chicago to sponsor the 2nd Annual MPI-CAC TechCon 2012 Conference held at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza on February 8th, 2012. We were joined by 6 of our partners: Marina Grand Resort, Discover Kalamazoo, Great Lakes Bay Region CVB, Westin at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the Traverse City CVB.

During the General Session, all 7 of us went on stage in front of the 200 attendees to do a "Michigan Trivia" presentation.  Similar to what we've done in years past at the CMP Boot Camp and MPI Mid-America, we did a PowerPoint Michigan Trivia presentation with Michigan Fun Facts. Numerous folks came up to us after the presentation to say how much they enjoyed seeing such a large, unified team promoting Michigan.  They also enjoyed hearing unique fun facts instead of a traditional promotional presentation on hotel rooms, square footage, meeting space, etc.

Throughout the conference, we met with Chicago area meeting planners from various companies including Sara Lee, Avon Products and Abbott Nutritional Products. We also had the opportunity to listen to a very informative and engaging presentaion given by Richard Saul Wurman, Founder of TED Conferences.

Overall, it was a great show and we enjoyed the opportunity to support our friends at MPI-CAC!

Boosting Event Attendance by Rick Elamin

BOYNE Resorts, located in picturesque Northern Michigan, recently sat down with Rick Elamin, owner and event promoter of SinglesDetroit.net. Rick Elamin offers 3 ways to boost event attendance:

1. Use Social Media to promote and brand your Event - Social Media is the new way of communication for events. This promotion type is essential for a successful event. People must be aware of your event in order to attend. Besides traditional event promotion, social media offers new and effective ways to market your event. Especially the most famous networks like Facebook and Twitter can be a key to boost attendance. Social media is also critical in post-event recap. This includes photos, attendee feedback and testimonials.

2. Word-of-mouth marketing has been the single most effective tool for increasing attendance that I have seen. Instead of just sending out blast e-mails about an event (which you should still do) build a group of people that are responsible to invite people during the course of regular conversations. So, if you send an e-mail to a friend that might benefit from attending ask if they are going to be at the event and let them know that you are going to be there. Creating incentive for people to spread the word to others can prove beneficial.

3. There is no doubt that the right venue can compliment an event, but it can also play a big part in making the event a success. The right venue will portray your company in the right light and making the event even more appealing.  For my larger events at BOYNE Resorts my guests will find a wide choice of accommodations, from hotel room's to three bedroom condominiums. And the wide array of recreation choices is ideal for the annual MLK Ski Weekend sponsored by SinglesDetroit.net.

With my newest endeavor, owner of the renown Marylyn's on Monroe in Greektownbit closer to home.  Come check us out!  419 Monroe St, Downtown Detroit