The Value

OUTpERFORM GuinnessSAPSibos

INSpIRE“The Measurement Debate is Alive”

INsIGHTROI on the RiseWhat Value Really Means

THE MCI MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 - 2010 I NOMINAL CHARGE 10€

N°4

MEETING OF mINDS

of Engagement

Dear Community,Last year’s economic turmoil brought on a number of fundamental changes to our industry. Meeting spend came under increased scrutiny driven by public perception and regulations. Expectations for the meaningful demonstration of value of events reached signifi cant proportions. Oddly enough, it is during these times of slowdown that events can show even greater signifi cance as they provide the right tools for an organization to revitalize its talents, nurture its client relationships and ward off competitors. In this issue, as our attention turns to demonstrating value, I invite you to discover its many faces and forms.

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EDITORIAL Sébastien Tondeur on demonstrating value.

UPDATED IN 60 SECONDSThe most important MCI news at a glance.

INSPIREThe Measurement Debate is Alive by Dev Sharma.

MEETING OF MINDSThe Value of Engagement - Tilman Hengevoss on the value of events.

OUTPERFORMGuinness: 250th Jubilee Celebration

SAP Branding & Engagement Strategy

Sibos: A Financial Community

Brands, People, Markets: Success Stories

GLOBAL LIFECoolhunting: Top Tips Straight from our Global Offi ces.

INSIGHTROI on the Rise – It’s in hot demand by those writing the checks.

What Value Really Means – Ben Goedegebuure tells us all about value.

editorial

Sébastien TondeurChief Executive Offi cer

Dear Community,Last year’s economic turmoil brought on a number of fundamental changes to our industry. Meeting spend came under increased scrutiny driven by public perception and regulations. Expectations for the meaningful demonstration of value of events reached signifi cant proportions. Oddly enough, it is during these times of slowdown that events can show even greater signifi cance as they provide the right tools for an organization to revitalize its talents, nurture its client relationships and ward off competitors. In this issue, as our attention turns to demonstrating value, I invite you to discover its many faces and forms.

23232434368

1416

eeditorialeditoriale

Sébastien TondeurChief Executive Offi cer

updatedin 60 seconds

MCI Sustainability Services Instrumental in

BS8901 Certification of COP15

MCI Dublin

Best Workplace in Ireland

Shoe Aid for Africa Initiative

MCI Dublin Honored By

Leading Irish Charity

Large, complex events often have a heavy environmental impact on the host communities in which they occur. In 2007, MCI created Sustainability Services to innovate practical, measured solutions for creating and delivering sustainable events. An exciting example of the return on this investment came during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) held in Copenhagen in December 2009. MCI Sustainability Services provided tools, structure and communications support to achieve “greener” results. The COP15 event, which accredited more than 47,000 people from all over the world, presented significant challenges for all stakeholders. MCI’s Sustainable Event Management framework helped guide an approach which resulted in COP15 organizers having their event management system recognized as compliant with the BS8901 standard for sustainable event management by Danish Certification.

MCI Dublin has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland according to the Great Place to Work Institute Ireland. It is the only event company in the country to make it onto the list. MCI Dublin is one of fifty companies who, according to the Institute, serve as real-world examples of what can be achieved when organizations are prepared to articulate and live by timeless values.

When MCI team members from around the globe learned that half of all youths in Africa have no shoes, they responded beyond all expectations. As part of MCI’s annual business meeting which transpired in Vienna in December 2009, a social responsibility campaign was organized with a goal to collect 500 pairs of shoes and 800€ for carbon-responsible shipping. Nearly 700 pairs of shoes and over 3000€ were collected to support the Kiwi Shoe Aid for Africa campaign. MCI sees strength in collaboration with corporate partners and is proud to have supported Kiwi and their chosen charity as another exciting example of how MCI is Building Community.

2009 was a good year for MCI expansion. To meet the ever-increasing demandfor services in Latin America, MCI added offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiroto complement our presence in Argentina. Following the successful launch andgrowth of its Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, MCI Beijing opened its doors to provide operational excellence in the Central Business District of Beijing.Building on the success of MCI in Paris and Lyon, we opened additional offices in Montpellier, Marseille and the French Riviera.

Established in 2001 to campaign for the rights and entitlements of people with Autism, Irish Autism Action is MCI Dublin’s charity of choice in Ireland. For the past four years, MCI Dublin has supported the charity in the organization of several annual high profile events, provided event management expertise and onsite event operations free of charge.

CEI Asia, one of the leading corporate events publications in the region, honored MCI Group as ‘Best Event Company’ at its annual CEI Asia Industry Awards 2010. Readers of the magazine were asked to vote and MCI took first place. MCI established its first regional office in Singapore in 2006 and has grown to 8 offices in the region since then.

IN60SECONDS

2009 : A Year of Expansion

MCI Group

Best Event Company in Asia

|3

The recent global economic turmoil seems to have sent the Meeting & Events world into hyper-drive, if not even obsession, about measurement, ROI, ROO and any and all other business value indicators on the important spend levels in this category of marketing and communications.

By Dev SharmaDirector Global Accounts - Meeting & Events

is Alive”

“TheMeasurement

Debate

hat reasons motivate measure-ments today? Is it to gauge the satisfac-tion of the

attendees or is it due to the ever-increas-ing infl uence from procurement? Clearly the results (see fi g 1) are refl ecting times have changed dramatically and after a period of relative freedom of spend-ing over the last twenty years, the last 18 months of economic instability has changed most managements’ attitude to wanting to know what they can expect as a return on the money they invest in events.

Furthermore, in the fi nancial statements of most publicly-traded companies, after Cost of Goods Sold and Talent, usually the “Travel, Meetings and Events” line up shows up quite soon. As companies continue to streamline their overall operations to deliver maximum share-holder value, larger spend areas quickly fall under the microscope.

Measure before you get measuredEven the most basic of measurement programs are better than no measure-ment at all. Measure proactively and enhance your measurement approach step by step. Value generated from measurement is not only fi gures but also learnings and identifi cation of areas of optimization (fi g 2).

Lastly, measure where it matters the most, frequently on the large spend are-as, for example your largest events. The “Event Measurement Today” chart (fi g 3) shows data from a survey conducted in Germany and illustrates that the tenden-cy to use simplistic versus professional or complex tools was most prevalent. With the crescendo of the economic crunch having come late 2008, we feel certain that the use and implementation of more evolved tools was accelerated.

Regardless of the level of measurement methodologies you may have in place, when you measure you are always one step ahead.

Establishing a decisional frameworkGiving all the variables a number helps quantify what success looks like and reduces decisions based on intuition. Furthermore measurement needs a custodian in the company, establishing who owns and is accountable for meas-urements will bring the program to life.If you are in the early stages of a measurement system, getting started can be diffi cult, but you must start somewhere. Like any journey it always starts with a fi rst few steps - below our recommendations:1. Gauging your company culture:

Does the company make data driven decisions or do other criteria come into play?

2. Establishing a clear vision for what successful measurement looks like for the company and the functional de-partments: While “One size” doesn’t fi t all and critical success factors vary between Marketing, Travel, Meeting and Events, an integrated perform-ance measurement approach will accelerate internal alignment.

3. Embedding measurement at the be-ginning of the business planning proc-ess: Measurement should become a way of working. Key performance indi-cators established in the design phase invariably leads to event planning and execution that meets the mark.

4. Keep it simple: Adoption of simple and streamlined measurement sys-tems have the highest likelihood of becoming part of your company DNA.

• Caution: Collecting large amounts of data might look great in the report but it needs to be balanced with infor-mation overload that hinders versus helps decision making.

5. Help is out there: Consider and collabo-rate with event management agencies which understand the business rele-vance and importance of measurement. Alternatively, complement internal plan-ning teams with specialist measure-ment companies or event management companies that can audit, evaluate and optimize your strategy.

Value retention through effective measurementThe value chain can be infl uenced by many steps in the process. Interestingly enough the opportunity of value reten-tion is best illustrated in the chart “Value Loss” (see fi g 2). By establishing clear Key Performance Indicators for each step of the event life cycle, the optimiza-tion potential learnt through a measure-ment management system can signifi -cantly improve the overall performance picture. Done repeatedly and over time, it can prognosticate a success DNA – which evolves the value of measurement from cost justifi cation to mitigating risk and allowing better budget allocation decisions to be made. Rationale being: invest on the activities that bring the most value to the business, whilst reduc-ing or eliminating activities that do not.The example shown is a real case of a global brand – needless to say any event with a 92% bleed rate on value is far from desirable.

Measurement and information add value only if they change our actions in the process If the Wright brothers had known in 1903 that measurement had shown that at high altitudes a plane encounters less air resistance and can fl y faster with less power consumption they may have been inclined to build a different kind of fl ying machine and today’s aeronautics may have looked very different.

Event marketing is about uniting internal and external stakeholders and engaging with them in live experiences. By successfully shaping, managing and measuring those experiences and rela-tionships, value is created for the organi-zations, brands, products and services.

INsPIRE

WFig 3 Event Measurement Today3

0 10 20 30 40 50

16

41

18

44

24

15

8

no measurement

internal basicmeas.

prof. internaltools

surveys

business analysis

prof. externaltools

ROI model

(survey Germany 2008 - n 850)

Fig 2 Value Loss2

Strategy

No clear strategy

From 100% down to 8%

Planning Wrong strategic planning

Budget Lack of budget to achieve impact and sustainability

Target group Low level target group

Business impact No business impact - just a nice event

Sustainability No sustainability link/follow-up activities

Brand impact Bad communication and brand presence

Implementation Implementation problems

100%

8%

220 Corporations Surveyed:

Best in Class: 5% of corporations had a >80% value retention

Average: 54% value retention

Laggard: 12% of corporations had <20% value retention

Measurement Motivation

Question: Why do you measure the impact of event marketing?

Marketing Best Practice

5%To Demonstrate Marketing ROI

37%To Improve Attendee Experience

17%To Protect or Increase Budget

4%To Justify Expenditure

10%Procurement Influence

5%Other

22%

Measurement Motivation

Question: Why do you measure the impact of event marketing?

Marketing Best Practice 5%To Demonstrate Marketing ROI 37%To Improve Attendee Experience 17%To Protect or Increase Budget 4%To Justify Expenditure 10%Procurement Influence 5%Other 22%Procurement Influence

5%

Marketing Best Practice

5%

To Demonstrate Marketing ROI

37%

To Improve Attendee Experience

17%

To Protect or Increase Budget

4%

To Justify Expenditure

10%

Other 22%

Measurement Motivation

Fig 1 Measurement Motivation1

Question: Why do you measure the impact of event marketing?

1 Source: EventView 2009 Global2 Source: Refl ection Marketing3 Source: Refl ection Marketing

|5

Thevalue ofengagement

Keeping an audience’s attention and measuring the results of events are some of the main challenges we face today. Tilman Hengevoss, Chief Marketing Officer at Zurich Financial Services in Switzerland, elaborates on how emotional elements more so than rational ones can foster the desired level of engagement during an event.

Tilman Hengevoss, Chief Marketing Officer, Zurich Schweiz

Photo © 2010 Tamara Ferrari

MCI: Please tell us briefly about your professional career path?Tilman Hengevoss: My career started in the ABB group marketing depart-ment, which was managed as a profit centre within the company. Selling our services internally, I very quickly realized that any marketing activity has to create a value that someone - be it an internal or an end customer - is prepared to pay a price for. I spent some years in the international consumer goods industry with various marketing and sales re-sponsibilities. Brands and products were strategically managed in an increasingly global context from international fran-chise platforms. This reflected changing customer behaviour, with consumers living and acting increasingly in a global market environment under the impact of international media. The globalisation of marketing functions was also driven by the need to get costs and effects organ-ised in a more efficient way. In the two years I spent with an international fair organiser, we transformed the business from renting out square meters to exhibi-tors to creating brand experience events for visitors. For several years I have now been in the insurance industry working for Zurich Financial Services with dual job responsibilities: coordinating product development across countries in Europe and heading the market management function in the Swiss business unit. To the latter belongs strategic planning, managing the product portfolio, all the communication disciplines and the governance of our sales channels.

MCI: What is the particular challenge for a marketing function in the insur-ance industry and how do you see the role of events there?T.H. : We start with the assumption that insurance is an absolute low interest topic and the paradox that a customer has to pay for a product that he hopes never to have to consume. That is a very challenging starting point for customer interaction. In the mix of marketing activities, events are taking over a very crucial role. We tackle the problem from two angles: by dramatizing the customer experience as an accident actually hap-pens, and then Zurich activates a series of services that solves our customers’ problems, restoring order to their life. We also have to be as close as possible to our customer at all times, to consult with him how best to prevent risky situa-tions which could result in accidents and ensure he is covered against all negative consequences. We have to understand

that for most of our customers these conversations are driven much more by emotions and the feeling of being pampered by someone rather than by rational arguments. Our sales and claims agents are basically event managers who have to create and manage these brand experiences. In order to allow this to happen we have to train our people with similar event based concepts. Interaction with an internal or external audience through events has become significantly more important over the last years.

MCI: Can you elaborate on the nature of these internal events and how you would define their value?T.H. : As we are all flooded with informa-tion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it is a real challenge to make ourselves heard and understood by a target audience. Complex communication has to be radically reduced and rational arguments substituted by more emotional mes-sages. When we organise internal events we no longer take our people through endless presentations by senior manag-ers. We use communication techniques such as role play, music, multimedia visualisation and discussions in small groups with voting tools on best ideas developed. Interaction and personal in-volvement is key, the emotional agenda becoming much more important than the rational one. We don’t really expect that our people remember each detail of the business or product strategy presented at the event, but they incorporate the spirit, build up trust and feel reassured. We measure the impact of these activities through engagement surveys based on quantitative KPIs. High engagement values reflect the effective-ness of event communication concepts and translate into higher productivity of our employees.

MCI: How important are customer events in your marketing mix and do you also measure the value of these external events?T.H. : In customer interaction we

significantly shifted our budgets from classical media activities to event plat-forms. These events can be described as infotainment. We engage our custom-ers in discussions about our business propositions or the role of our industry in the economy in an entertaining way. An example is our climate change dialogue platform. We lead our guests through a multimedia presentation on the topic and then engage them in a conversation with experts illustrating the impact on their private and business worlds. They also get the opportunity to

discuss the challenge with well known politicians. We combine the event with the Zurich climate prize contest where customers can win a financial support package for innovation towards a more climate friendly infrastructure or opera-tional model of their business. The event is leveraged through a PR program giving us excellent press coverage. The value of this initiative is measured through questionnaires, media surveys and by tracking the business relation-ship development with the individual customer.

MCI: How do you see meetings and events evolving to provide the best value in the future?T.H. : One-on-one interactions with audi-ences will have a more prominent place in the marketing mix. The challenge will be to get the attention and sustainable buy-in from increasingly critical and well informed employees or customers. Authentic messages, relevant content and the right mix of rational and emo-tional formats are key success factors. In order to make this happen, close cooperation between the industry and event management companies on a true partnership basis is a must. The spirit of this partnership must be as authentic, differentiating and engaged as the expe-rience we intend to create for our guests to these event platforms.

MEETING OF mINDS

engagement

“We measure the impact of activities through engagement surveys based on quantitative KPIs. High engagement values reflect the effectiveness of event communication concepts and translate into higher productivity.”

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OUTpERFORM

250th Jubilee Celebration

Guinness:

he highlight of this once in a lifetime celebration saw consumers and internation-ally renowned music acts, including Tom Jones, Kasabian and Razorlight,

gather with local talent in Dublin. At 17:59 GMT, celebrating the initial year of business of the company, a global toast commemorated the philanthropic achievements of Arthur Guinness and his family, also marking the establishment of the Arthur Guinness Fund.

Diageo’s key objective for the Arthur’s Day Celebration was to recognize and motivate the company’s 2,500 employ-ees. MCI Dublin was privileged to be appointed sole partner for all planned celebrations.

The project challenges faced by MCI Dublin were multiple; one of the most critical was the conceptualization and replication of events in three venues across Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The MCI event concept was centered on the iconic image of a pint of Guinness. The brand’s distinctive black and white colors were used along with customized furniture and linens.

During the ten month planning process, MCI concentrated on creating events going beyond the logistics of event man-agement delivery to implement its fifteen year expertise in full service production

in the context of live communication. Effectively aligning suppliers enabled MCI to leverage quality purchasing power to provide the best value in relation to the client’s budget.

Special emphasis was placed on ensur-ing the guest experience at each location was the same. The Dublin event in the Guinness Storehouse would necessitate rigorous planning to ensure the event set-up would not impact the production at the plant.

The three employee events strengthened MCI Dublin’s relationship with Diageo, building a pioneering event platform that will become the benchmark for future annual celebrations. By creating the best conditions for motivating the Guinness teams, MCI helped ensure employee morale and productivity were boosted and the spirit of Arthur’s Day continues to work its magic in providing a return on Diageo’s business objectives and delivering business results.

“When I first found out about the whole event and what it entailed, I needed to find an event management company that I was confident would understand our building and our business. Through our learning and mutual co-operation we have developed an excellent working relation-ship. I was thrilled with the outcome of the 250 celebrations. MCI delivered a first class event’’.

The ChallengeGuinness’ parent company Diageo needed an inspirational and creative concept to celebrate the signing of the 9,000 year brewery lease in 1759 by Arthur Guinness. It had to engage, inspire, reward and motivate employees of Diageo with event delivery replicated at three locations in Ireland, Northern Ireland & the UK.

The SolutionMCI’s concept was centralized around the iconic image that is a pint of Guinness and the world renowned Guinness brand. MCI’s ability to deliver the concept in 3 unique venues seamlessly was the key to success.

The ResultThe success of the three “Arthur’s Day” events delivered by MCI created a huge talking point among the 2,500 employees of Diageo, resulting in a highly motivated team and exceeding client expectation.

OUTpERFORM

On September 24th 2009, celebrations rang out across the globe to mark the 250th birthday of Guinness, one of the most well known and celebrated beers. The date, specifically, was the anniversary of the signing of a 9,000 year lease on the Arthur Guinness brewery at St. James’s Gate, Dublin.

Paul Carty, Managing Director, GUINNESS Storehouse Contact: mark.egan@mci-group.com

T

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OUTpERFORM

Branding Engagement Strategy

SAP&

s one of the world’s lead-ing providers of business software, SAP delivers products and services that help accelerate business innovation for its custom-

ers. Founded in 1972, SAP has a rich history of innovation and growth as a true industry leader.

Today, SAP delivers business solutions for its customers in 120 countries world-wide - from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and medium enterpris-es to suite offerings for companies with a global footprint. In addition to India and Russia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is proving to be one of the best emerging markets for SAP in terms of strategic growth for the company.

Building on its successful global out-reach initiatives in the region, SAP decided to organize the prestigious SAP Forum in Dubai as part of its World Tour series of such events. Themed See Your Way Clear: Strategies for Success in the New Reality, the event focused on exploring how companies can reach the goal of operational transparency.

MCI took on the challenge and helped SAP conceive, plan and skillfully deploy a strategic regional convergence of its vital regional ecosystem elements and set the grounds for all SAP partners and customers (both existing and potential) to come together to experience first-hand SAP’s cutting-edge business solutions,

innovative technology and its commitment to the region.

Held in the language of the host city and without the need for long-distance travel, attendees explored the entire SAP ecosystem (experts, partners, analysts and more) through unparalleled network-ing opportunities, thought-leadership keynotes, and focused presentations and demonstrations in innovative formats.

The SAP World Tour Forum 2009 in Dubai turned out to be an outstanding business technology event in the Middle East and North Africa region with over 1,400 delegates in attendance for a period of 3 days.

With audience attendance goals met and lead generation targets surpassed, MCI helped SAP successfully raise the level of its brand awareness in the region, reiterate its commitment to the region and dwell in detail upon its cutting-edge business solutions. This prestigious event was extensively covered in the regional media and appreciated as the benchmark business event in this operational space.

“It has been a splendid pleasure working with you and your ‘dream team’ over the past few months, for the premium event of SAP in the Middle East region. We got excellent feedback from SAP Executives, local user group board members, partners and customers regarding the organization quality of the event.”

SAP Forum 09

The Challenge:SAP wanted to reinforce its local presence vis-à-vis the convergence of its strong partner network in the region. The idea was to facilitate the nurturing of the partner and customer ecosystem that they have very care-fully developed over the years.

The Solution:MCI’s concept enabled SAP to show-case its innovative business solutions, applicable to small, medium and large scale enterprises, in virtually every major industry sector, thus raising the level of product and brand awareness at the same time.

The Result:The SAP World Tour Forum brought together over 1,400 delegates over 3 days. Relationships were strength-ened across all audiences and the high engagement level allowed SAP to provide excellent networking opportu-nities and generate new potential customers. With high client satisfac-tion and excellent feedback, SAP’s return on objectives was clearly met.

OUTpERFORM

SAP, a major business software provider, sought to bring its Middle East and North African customers and partners together in a forum to raise brand awareness and to reiterate its commitment to the region.

Contact: alexander.john@mci-group.com

A

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OUTpERFORM

WIFT - the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication provides solutions for over 8,300 banking organiza-

tions, securities institutions and corporate customers in more than 208 countries to exchange millions of standardized financial messages securely and reliably every day.

Once a year, SWIFT organizes the world’s premier financial services event, Sibos, which brings together the financial indus-try to create opportunities for individuals, organizations and the industry community as a whole. Sibos creates the stimulus for learning, collaborating, developing new business, defining future strategies and taking collective action that can shape the future of the industry.

Following the remarkable organization of the event in Vienna the previous year, SWIFT appointed MCI the contract for handling the ground services and all official events for Sibos 2009 in Hong Kong. In response to SWIFT’s call for greater value during the tough economic conditions, MCI’s strategy focused on creating solutions and delivering services to bring maximum convenience to the delegates, while minimizing the amount of waste generated. Over 30 events were organized during a 5 day timeframe.Throughout the entire event, SWIFT and MCI maintained constant and open communication with each other as well as with partners such as the Hong Kong

Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong Tourism Board and governmental service providers to facilitate the smooth delivery of ground and event services.A pool of more than 500 temporary staff was employed in various positions dur-ing Sibos 2009. To ensure the staff met SWIFT’s high standards, all staff were put through a stringent process of inter-view, briefing and training. MCI also man-aged five official Sibos social events and the SWIFT board members’ spouse program at different locations throughout the week.

Hong Kong was struck with a ‘Level 8’ typhoon on the first day of the Sibos conference that lasted until the afternoon of the second day. By having an ‘extreme weather contingency plan’ in place, MCI ensured that staff and suppliers were able to continue to deliver their services for Sibos and the delegates.

A total of 5,782 delegates attended Sibos 2009 in Hong Kong, coming from Europe (40%), the Americas (13%), Asia Pacific (42%) and Middle East & Africa (5%). SWIFT published results post-conference that showed that despite the economic conditions, Sibos continued to deliver exceptional value to its delegates. The final financial statement for SWIFT was positive without jeopardizing the quality of the project. MCI was awarded the organization of Sibos for a further three years including the 2010 event in Amsterdam.

The Challenge:The challenge to deliver seamless transportation services for close to 6000 delegates as well as organize up to 30 events in a 5 day timeframe for various financial industry clients.

The Solution:Working closely with the MCI team in Vienna, MCI Hong Kong established processes to facilitate the preparation of the project. A transparent organization of key staff and their specific areas of competence and responsibilities was established.

The Result:SWIFT was able to demonstrate that Sibos provided exceptional value to its delegates. With an ever-improving level of service, MCI allowed SWIFT to deliver an uncompromised plat-form, while maintaining a positive budget balance through rigorous cost control. Internal as well as external communication with the client and with partners, event locations and governmental service providers over a timeframe of 7 months expedited the implementation. MCI was awarded the organization of Sibos for a further 3 years.

Sibos, the premier event of the financial services industry, was due to take place amidst the worst global recession in decades. The challenge for SWIFT, the organizer of Sibos, was to ensure the conference continued to deliver unique value to its delegates despite the unprecedented economic conditions.

Contact: michael.chiay@mci-group.com

S

A Financial Community

Sibos:

OUTpERFORM

Rewarding your Employees and Affi liates Twice a year, Orange organizes a program rewarding its employees and affi liates for their sales excellence across 10 countries. As Orange aims to increase sales and reach a level of excellence in customer care and support, they selected MCI to run both the communication and the award program. MCI’s knowledge in both fi elds of incentive and performance improvement enabled Orange to reach its goals and gave the event’s fi nancial partner LG Electronics the desired return on investment.

MCI GENEVA | Orange

Infl uencing Choices of Potential Investors Claiming a lead position towards inves-tors in today’s crowded markets is no easy task. When a global asset management company wanted to create a dynamic event that would consolidate and strengthen existing relationships among its stakeholders, it called upon MCI to create a concept and deliver the event fl awlessly. MCI recommended a high profi le political fi gure to lead the meeting and the develop-ment of a luxurious partner program for networking. The event ensured the client was seen as an educator within their sec-tor and as the natural choice for investors.

MCI LONDON | A global asset management company

Building Healthcare Foundation in Asia Pacifi c One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies leveraged its long-term relation-ship with MCI in Europe to better serve its Asia Pacifi c operations. What started as just one event engagement was built further to a four event engagement across six MCI offi ces. MCI organized a sales kick-off meeting, product launches and a symposium, extending to the client the same experience and professional support in all countries and offi ces, thereby exhibiting the commitment to quality and bandwidth of delivery throughout Asia Pacifi c.

MCI BEIJING, DELHI, BENGALURU,MUMBAI, SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE A major pharmaceutical company

Delivering Key Messages to your StakeholdersTo mark their global merger, a leading bank appointed MCI to conduct six separate client and internal events in one day in Hong Kong. MCI rotated the majority of entertainment acts and activities between concur-rent events resulting in substan-tial cost savings for the client and consistency of delivery and experience for the guests.

MCI HONG KONG | A leading European bank

Strengthen Brand Awareness amongst Key Clients and Industry ProfessionalsAccor Hotels wanted to increase knowledge and transform perceptions for its properties within the Asia-Pacifi c region. 54 representatives from different brands of Accor gathered at Hong Kong Novotel Kowloon restaurant space to exhibit their properties to industry professionals and to entertain key clients. MCI transformed the restaurant into a modern, chic and innovating showroom and brought in live entertainment that would inspire, captivate and inform Accor’s target audience. A continuous stream of guests all day and night was testament to the success of the event.

MCI HONG KONG | Accor Hotels

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GLOBAL lIFE

Coolhunters! We have distilled the best insider information from our global offi ces. Get the best tips from real people, in real place, real time.

GLOBALGLOBAL

The City of Tango

Tango Porteño magically recre-

ates the most captivating periods

in the history of tango framed

within the luxuriously restored

Metro Goldwyn Meyer Theater.

Tango Porteño blends the most

refi ned environment and pure

golden days’ decor with great

artists, unbeatable productions,

and fi rst class cuisine paying

homage to the era. It is the

refl ection of Buenos Aires,

the “City of Tango.”

lucio.vaquero@mci-group.com

BUENOS AIRES

lIFElIFEl in real place, real time.in real place, real time.

A Snow Lodgelike no other

SWITZERLAND

This exclusive location is built on ecological principles. Innovation and tradition combine harmoniously, both benefi tting the environment and providing a comfortable and luxurious setting.The panoramic views, cozy fi replace and comfortable bed in the Swiss Alps offer an unforgettable experience.

eric.vivier@mci-group.com

Starring in your own movie

A Celestial Stay with Armani

We all love the Hong Kong action movies starring Bruce Lee, Chow Yun Fat and Jacky Chan. Now you can have your own chance to debut on the silver screen with Movie in Action. This is an educational studio that takes you from building your own storyline, casting your talent and scouting a location to directing and editing the fi nal product. Return home with your own Hong Kong experi-ence on CD – a memory that will last a lifetime!

michael.chiay@mci-group.com

A refl ection of Giorgio Armani’s personal taste, spirit and personality, the Armani Hotel in Dubai embodies his grace and hospitality, bearing his personal signature and beliefs in the sensual, tactile and visual pleasures of life. Adding to the hotel’s uniqueness is its exclusive location within Burj Khalifa, the globe’s tallest building that resides at the centre of one of the planet’s most prestigious square kilometres that features world-class destinations such as The Dubai Mall and The Dubai Fountain.

vishal.dsouza@mci-group.com

HONG KONG

DUBAI

GLOBAL lIFE

We all love the Hong Kong action movies starring Bruce Lee, Chow Yun Fat and Jacky Chan. Now you can have your own chance to debut on the silver screen with

. This is an educational studio that takes you from building your own storyline, casting your talent and scouting a location to directing and editing the fi nal product. Return home with your own Hong Kong experi-

IFE

Bartabas : A prestigious yacht

MARSEILLE

Designer Dublin

DUBLIN

A truly innovative initiative, Designer Dublin, part of a wider Designer Destinations series, seeks to highlight “contemporary” Dublin and to avoid the usual tourist clichés. Combining fashion, music, theatre and design with cool boutique accommodation, Design Dublin targets the culturally-conscious with programmes that are tailored to the specifi c interests and business objectives of the group.

rachael.addley@mci-group.com

The comfort of a motor-yacht, the elegance

of a sail-boat. Moored in the Vieux-Port of

Marseille, this 33 m schooner is a prime

example of refi nement and comfort. The

luxurious and “high-tech” amenities offer

both absolute satisfaction for business and

supreme delight for leisure. 25 guests can

embark for a day-trip. When cruising, the ship

can host 8 guests. At quay, up to 35 guests

can be accommodated for events.

irena.bardinet@mci-group.com

|15

opinions from 300 senior executives at U.S. companies to show that every dollar invested in business travel earned companies $12.50 in revenue. Face-to-face meetings allow companies to convert 40 percent of prospective cus-tomers, as opposed to just 16 percent without such a meeting. The study is particularly strong because it didn’t just collect opinions, but also ran a statistical analysis of data across the economic spectrum provided by governmental agencies to quantify what kind of an impact business travel had on economic productivity. Another convincing survey published by the Harvard Business Review and sponsored by British Airways, Managing Across Distance In Today’s Economic Climate: The Value of Face-to-Face Communication, asked 2,300 HBR subscribers around the world to assess the value of face-to-face communica-tion during the economic downturn. The results were powerful: 79 percent said that face-to-face meetings are the “most effective way to meet new clients to sell business” and another 89 percent agreed that in-person meetings “are essential for sealing the deal.” Perhaps not surprisingly, 93 percent said such meetings are particularly helpful when negotiating with “people from a different language and cultural background.” Another weighty study that measured the impact of face-to-face meetings came from Forbes Insights, a division

of the Forbes publishing group, which surveyed 760 business executives. The Case for Face-to-Face found that the majority of respondents (84 percent) prefer personal meetings to “build stronger, more meaningful business relationships” and “lead to higher quality decision-making.” Unlike other studies of this kind, the Forbes paper also elicited answers about the drawbacks of virtual meet-ings. Among others, 38 percent said that “technology-enabled meetings often result in disruption and delays,” and 49 percent of respondents said face-to-face meetings offer less opportunity for unnecessary distraction. And then there’s Why Face-to-Face Business Meetings Matter, largely an academic review of existing literature on small group and organizational behavior research, published by Dr. Richard Arvey at the University of Singapore. Instead of simply examining one group of respond-ents, the study combed through years of existing psychological research. He found, among other things, that studies show “media rich channels” of commu-nication, such as face-to-face meetings, are more effective when participants express feelings, when tasks must be coordinated or when one is trying to persuade others.

Industry Numbers Industry associations have studies of their own. One of the biggest such

easuring the value of events is a hot topic these days—research proves ROI is increas-ingly demanded by those who spend money

on meetings, from Fortune 500 CEOs to delegates who register for US$49 a day.But rarely is the right data available at the right time, and many meeting profes-sionals end up fudging their way through ROI discussions. If you haven’t collected years’ worth of data already, you probably don’t have the numbers to make your case now. And planners face many differ-ent situations in which they have to prove the value of meetings—and each situation calls for a different set of data. Don’t be discouraged. There is a growing set of data you can rely on, from scientific studies published by universities to informal surveys conducted by professional associations.

Outside Research If you lack the time or know-how to con-duct your own research, scientific studies conducted by academic researchers offer a deep and authoritative well of data. In the past couple of years, a variety of groups have published studies on meet-ings and events, some directly (by meas-uring the impact of face-to-face meetings) and others indirectly (by, say, focusing on the ROI of business travel). An authoritative 2009 study by Oxford Economics used a mix of hard data and

It’s in hot demand by those writing the checks. And now there’s ample data and research available to help prove the value of your events.

INsIGHT

ROI Rise on the

MTaken from MPI one+ January 2010 Issue

By Dalia Fahmy

efforts, the annual EventView survey published by the MPI Foundation, is considered authoritative because its re-spondents consist mainly of top-ranking marketing executives at companies with $250 million to $5 billion in revenue. Late last year, respondents were asked to as-sess, among other things, the ROI they derived from event-based marketing. The bottom-line result: A growing number of top-level executives at America’s largest companies believe that using events to market their prod-ucts is one of the most effective forms of marketing out there. In fact, 26 percent of executives say event marketing provides the highest ROI—up from 22 percent in 2007. Executives say event marketing is so effective because it brings customers and companies face-to-face. And that, in turn, fosters relationships more effec-tively than other forms of interaction. The numbers concur: 53 percent of those surveyed say event marketing is the marketing discipline that best accel-erates and deepens relationships, trailed by a wide margin by public relations, at 19 percent. While these results consist mainly of opinions—which may or may not con-vince your boss or clients to give you a bigger event budget—they do offer a valuable glimpse at what the competition thinks about events.

Remembering ROI While industry research and scientifi c studies doubtless give meeting profes-sionals a signifi cant advantage in prov-ing the value of meetings, they can never replace the real thing: conducting your own studies.

Measuring the impact of the meetings you have organized in the past will not only give you data to present when you’re making your case for a bigger budget or for a more innovative design, it will also help you better analyze your own work so you can continue to grow and deliver consistently higher returns. If you do decide to measure ROI inter-nally—and you should, because that’s where your competitors are headed—it’s good to get some myths out of the way. First, conducting your own studies is not as expensive or time-consuming as it sounds. Jack Phillips, inventor of the Phillips ROI Methodology (which helps companies across industries measure ROI), points out that once the measure-ment process becomes integrated in the event planning strategy, it’s almost second nature. He points to the example of a planner at a medium-sized company who decided to measure ROI for the fi rst time while planning a $1.4 million conference for insurance agents. The planner started by setting concrete objectives with help from executives, and then used those to create a questionnaire to measure whether objectives were met. The total cost of setting the objectives, collecting and analyzing the data and briefi ng management was less than $5,000, Phillips estimates, measured largely in the cost of additional hours worked. In most cases, measuring ROI for events takes one to three weeks. Hiring an outside company to measure ROI can be considerably more expen-sive, although Phillips says the costs pale in comparison to other expenses. He points to a conference call he once had with a maker of mobile devices,

which was planning a $16 million consumer conference. When he pegged his estimate for measuring ROI at $45,000, executives balked. But then they realized that $45,000 comes out to less than 0.25 percent of the total bill.

“One guy spoke up and said ‘we’re going to spend that much on olives,’” Phillips recalled.

Another myth is that you must measure ROI for every event in order to have enough data to make your case. Phillips argues that’s simply not true. Although he recommends measuring participant reactions at all events and participant learning impact at 80 percent of events, he suggests measuring business impact 10 percent of the time and ROI 5 percent of the time. These samples of data are more than enough to give event owners a good gauge of effectiveness. “Finally,” says Phillips, “planners should stop fearing the process itself. It’s not mathematically com-plicated, doesn’t require a lot of tech savvy and inevitably carries more benefi t than costs.” “Planners are always so busy and stressed and they see this as extra work during good times,” he said. “Now they see that measuring results is a good way to keep their jobs.”

INsIGHT

www.mpiweb.org

Reprinted with permission from the January 2010 issue of One+, the offi cial monthly magazine of Meeting Professionals International. All Rights Reserved.

|17

value

INsIGHT

valueWhat

Ben GoedegebuureDirector of Sales SECC

really means...

Value is an often overused and misinter-preted term. When it comes to meetings, value can make the difference between delivering a stunning occasion or just an adequate one.

More recently ‘value’ has been ap-plied readily across all industry sectors. In the service industry, value refers to the relationship between a customer’s expectations of a service’s quality and the actual price paid for it. Delivering great value means exceeding customer expectations.

With any meeting there are opportunities to add value; however, value is not the same as ‘budget’, a great value event is not synonymous with cutting costs. For me, value is about partnerships that work together to create something that money can’t buy.

Creating value through partnershipsI’m a big fan of partnerships within busi-ness; they are one of the most effective ways an event can be made stronger because of the collective strength of the sum of its parts. They make delegates feel welcome and that every detail has been considered on their behalf. They work best in the long term, where each organisation or person is focused on building success year on year and at every event, be they planner, venue, AV, caterer or beyond.

Value and cost savingCost saving has been on everyone’s mind over recent months and event organisers are under ever more pressure to deliver better return on investment (ROI). For me, it is in these circumstanc-es that a partnership approach is most productive; suppliers need to work with organisers within the budgets available, and vice versa. This can be about taking a short term hit for a long term gain, about being more transparent, but also about working harder to make budgets go further.

Adding value through teamworkAnother phrase that finds itself sit-ting comfortable alongside value and partnership is one of teamwork, both internally and among all concerned with an event. Nothing delivers value like it; for an organiser it means trust and con-fidence in the people around them. As a venue I see it as being able to promise and deliver; knowing the limits where expectations can be pushed. It’s when these teams are engaged that we begin to really shine, making an event into an experience.

Destination valueThis essence of teamwork is one very close to my heart and, through our Team Glasgow partnership, is one as a venue and city we do well. We know location remains key to choosing a destination,

we know the ease and access of this destination is paramount. We under-stand this and see it as our responsibility to help organisers convert delegates, be it through tapping into the local popula-tion to making sure they can access the destination quickly and cheaply.

2010 is a big year for our industry and a challenging one; the word ‘value’ will increasingly be used; this is important and correct. But for me, the more I talk about value, the more I talk about partnership, and because this remains of equal importance to our clients I’m looking forward to 2010, with produc-tive relationships, better meetings and another strong business performance from the SECC.

www.secc.co.uk

|19

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