by Stacey Ruth
Stacey Ruth
Even extremely well planned meetings can go horribly wrong. All it takes is one disgruntled attendee with a cell-phone video camera taping a teambuilding exercise out of context. Before you know it, that segment may be broadcast in prime time on Nancy Grace as an illustration of the wasteful extravagances of meetings. That’s exactly what happened at one recent meeting. And cleaning up the damage caused after the fact can be difficult.
Whether it’s the media’s lust for a juicy exposé on corporate event spending, attendees’ need to vent, or Mother Nature stirring up hurricanes in the Gulf and volcanoes in Europe, meeting planners everywhere must expect the unexpected and be prepared to control the message being relayed in the media.
Unfortunately, CMP exams don’t coach planners on handling adversarial environments. Force majeure is one thing; bad PR is another, and it takes more than a “Keep America Meeting” campaign to overcome it.
Whether it’s the media’s lust for a juicy exposé on corporate event spending, attendees’ need to vent, or Mother Nature stirring up hurricanes in the Gulf and volcanoes in Europe, meeting planners everywhere must expect the unexpected and be prepared to control the message being relayed in the media.
Unfortunately, CMP exams don’t coach planners on handling adversarial environments. Force majeure is one thing; bad PR is another, and it takes more than a “Keep America Meeting” campaign to overcome it.
Here are several quick concepts every planner should have to combat the unexpected attack, no matter where it comes from.
1. Have a prudent reserve of emergency funds.
When weather or similar crises delay or prevent travel and activities, you need to communicate quickly, frequently and proactively with your attendees - and this may require some expenses not already in the budget. Whether this means sending travel advisories to attendees’ cell phones or slipping notes under attendees’ room doors, effective outreach quickly turns an anxiety-producing situation into one that generates a tremendous amount of goodwill and confidence.
2. Educate everyone about the meeting’s message - proactively and often.
It is sometimes surprising and mystifying how meeting stakeholders tend to assume attendees understand the purpose and the benefits of their meetings when, in fact, they often are only vaguely aware. A sense of resigned acceptance is more the norm than the exception. We will never know whether that was the case with the anonymous attendee who fed Nancy Grace her scoop, but had that meeting’s stakeholders been more articulate about the benefits, purpose and plan for both the meeting and the exercise, such behavior would have been less likely to happen - or be tolerated by attendees who witnessed the taping. Delivering this message begins as a necessary part of pre-event communications, which currently happens only a fraction of the time, and then as a footnote.
3. Know your value.
While ROI analysis has been talked to death in the industry, only a handful of meeting stakeholders can rattle off the facts and figures that prove the business impact their meeting generates. Saying it is an investment in employee morale sounds pleasantly positive, but telling the media and the attendees that an 80% employee retention rate (that translates to $200,000 per month in increased revenues) is directly attributable to a particular meeting is a lot more precise - and 100% more believable.
4. Think like a social network.
There are no secrets today, and social media makes that doubly true. While many planners are ramping up their Facebook and Twitter use specifically for events, they sometimes overlook the double-edged sword of social media. Frequently, when I’ve Googled a particular event, unflattering shots of over-indulgent attendees acting distinctly unprofessional show up on sites like Flickr and YouTube. These are distortions of the overall experience, but planners would be wise to see their event in “snapshots” – and, just as though the event itself was a Facebook page, limit the unwanted exposure. A savvy planner should scan the internet post-event and make sure inappropriate material is removed.
5. Have a platform.
Like any business initiative, it’s important to have a case for your meeting. Whether this message is delivered only to attendees or needs to be addressed with the media, filling in the following blanks will help you face whatever gets thrown at your meeting:
Stacey Ruth is a marketing consultant with Actio Marketing, a full-service agency specializing in event marketing. With over 20 years of event industry expertise, Stacey and the Actio team have built a product line, EnterAction, specifically designed to help planners build attendance, engage their audiences, and increase the bottom line value of events for their organizations. In 2006, Stacey became a certified event ROI professional, one of only a handful of professionals nationwide who focus exclusively on ROI meetings.
This article originally appeared in Plan Your Meetings, a free educational and social resource for meeting and event planners. For more industry news, best practices, planning tips and destination information, claim your free subscription at PlanYourMeetings.com.
1. Have a prudent reserve of emergency funds.
When weather or similar crises delay or prevent travel and activities, you need to communicate quickly, frequently and proactively with your attendees - and this may require some expenses not already in the budget. Whether this means sending travel advisories to attendees’ cell phones or slipping notes under attendees’ room doors, effective outreach quickly turns an anxiety-producing situation into one that generates a tremendous amount of goodwill and confidence.
2. Educate everyone about the meeting’s message - proactively and often.
It is sometimes surprising and mystifying how meeting stakeholders tend to assume attendees understand the purpose and the benefits of their meetings when, in fact, they often are only vaguely aware. A sense of resigned acceptance is more the norm than the exception. We will never know whether that was the case with the anonymous attendee who fed Nancy Grace her scoop, but had that meeting’s stakeholders been more articulate about the benefits, purpose and plan for both the meeting and the exercise, such behavior would have been less likely to happen - or be tolerated by attendees who witnessed the taping. Delivering this message begins as a necessary part of pre-event communications, which currently happens only a fraction of the time, and then as a footnote.
3. Know your value.
While ROI analysis has been talked to death in the industry, only a handful of meeting stakeholders can rattle off the facts and figures that prove the business impact their meeting generates. Saying it is an investment in employee morale sounds pleasantly positive, but telling the media and the attendees that an 80% employee retention rate (that translates to $200,000 per month in increased revenues) is directly attributable to a particular meeting is a lot more precise - and 100% more believable.
4. Think like a social network.
There are no secrets today, and social media makes that doubly true. While many planners are ramping up their Facebook and Twitter use specifically for events, they sometimes overlook the double-edged sword of social media. Frequently, when I’ve Googled a particular event, unflattering shots of over-indulgent attendees acting distinctly unprofessional show up on sites like Flickr and YouTube. These are distortions of the overall experience, but planners would be wise to see their event in “snapshots” – and, just as though the event itself was a Facebook page, limit the unwanted exposure. A savvy planner should scan the internet post-event and make sure inappropriate material is removed.
5. Have a platform.
Like any business initiative, it’s important to have a case for your meeting. Whether this message is delivered only to attendees or needs to be addressed with the media, filling in the following blanks will help you face whatever gets thrown at your meeting:
- The benefits of this meeting to the organization are...
- The benefits to the attendees are...
- The key stakeholder for this event is...
- The designated media spokesperson for this event is...
Stacey Ruth is a marketing consultant with Actio Marketing, a full-service agency specializing in event marketing. With over 20 years of event industry expertise, Stacey and the Actio team have built a product line, EnterAction, specifically designed to help planners build attendance, engage their audiences, and increase the bottom line value of events for their organizations. In 2006, Stacey became a certified event ROI professional, one of only a handful of professionals nationwide who focus exclusively on ROI meetings.
This article originally appeared in Plan Your Meetings, a free educational and social resource for meeting and event planners. For more industry news, best practices, planning tips and destination information, claim your free subscription at PlanYourMeetings.com.
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