“We spend a lot of time talking with planners about why they might want to take their meeting to Canada,” says David Whitaker, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto. Besides the value and curiosity factors, Whitaker and his team have found a number of other reasons why U.S. associations might consider it. “Their mission may no longer have [geographic] borders and may now include a global context,” he says. “If you’re interested in a global agenda and content then why not be interested in a place that’s as comfortable, convenient and appealing as Canada?”

That said, Canada does present the chance to meet someplace truly international but with most of the comforts of home. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, British Columbia, offer attendees a healthy dose of familiarity (in fact, all have repeatedly served as American locations in films and TV) along with a sense of being somewhere quite different. Each comes with built-in and distinctly international cultural, educational and business networks, as witnessed in everything from restaurants and museums to the plethora of ethnic neighborhood and festivals.

The best example of that foreign/familiar combo can be found in the charming provincial capitals of Victoria, British Columbia, and Quebec City, Quebec, where—given those cities’ art, architecture, cuisine and language (in Quebec’s case, it’s Quebecois, a variation of French)—attendees might be forgiven for thinking that they’d landed in either Westminster, London or the Normandy Coast. And yes, even in the most Old World cafes and shops of Quebec, English is commonly heard.

EASY ACCESS, PLENTIFUL SPACE
Attendees also will discover that Canada’s cities are as accessible as many of their American counterparts. Air service between the countries is competitive in terms of price and frequency, with many direct and non-stop flights from major carriers. And depending on the destination, travel times can be quick—Quebec, Toronto and Montreal, for example, lie within a two-hour flight of most Northeast and Midwest cities.

Once in town, attendees should find Canada’s meeting spots decidedly user-friendly. “You can walk from end to end of our downtown in about 20 minutes,” says Erin Lee, business development for meetings and conventions at Meetings and Conventions Calgary. Alberta’s largest city also features a light rail transit system (free in the downtown core) and 10 miles worth of climate-controlled passageways for cooler weather. Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, are equipped with their own systems of enclosed, weather-proofed walkways and passages, in some cases with tie-ins to local mass transit stations.

In Canada, planners also can count on the quality and quantity of meeting and exhibit space that they’ve become accustomed to in the states. From British Columbia to Halifax, the list of major centers runs long and deep, with many of the major Canadian cities also providing additional venues and facilities designed to accommodate industry-specific (e.g., agriculture, technology, automotive) trade shows and exhibitions.

FOUR SEASON FUN
Attendees love to toss around the term “added value” and Canada, fortunately, comes with plenty. For starters, consider Canada’s seemingly endless natural beauty and outdoor recreation, much of which is a short trip from downtown meeting spots. In the west, Vancouver provides an easy jumping-off point for group adventures on Vancouver Island (think sailing, kayaking, hiking and deep sea fishing) and is a two-hour drive or train ride south of Whistler, British Columbia’s premier mountain meetings resort town.

In Alberta, planners can hold meetings in Calgary and Edmonton, then send attendees out for terrific teambuilding and group recreation in the Rocky Mountains around Jasper, Canmore and Banff, a combined resort town and national park where human visitors stroll side-by-side with elk and deer. Summers here bring golf, rafting, horseback riding and mountain biking, while winters are truly a wonderland, with dogsledding, snowshoe hiking, and downhill and cross-country skiing.

The winding, cobblestone streets of Quebec’s walled-in Old City and the nearby historic Plains of Abraham battlefield are ideal for group day trips or free-time exploration. A local and tourist favorite winter sight in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada’s elegant and historic capital city, is the graceful stream of ice skaters gliding along the landmark Rideau Canal. Prince Edward Island is home to spectacular beaches, the world’s best mussels and one of youth literature’s best-known and favorite characters, Anne of Green Gables. Tremblant, just outside of Montreal, is a year-round, all-encompassing resort where indoor activities like shopping and dining hold their own against outside fun on the ski slopes and forest hiking trails.

For a truly memorable teambuilding experience, it’s hard to beat what Canada offers at its former Olympic sites. To wit, groups can visit and experience first-hand gold-medal thrills, revel in memorable moments, and even hold a luncheon or private reception at the country’s former Olympic venues in Vancouver, Whistler, Calgary and Montreal.

Challenged with educating future generations, meeting membership organizations are reevaluating and upgrading course content and certification requirements. Many faith-based meeting planners fell into their roles accidentally, but they’ve realized the importance of career training and advancement. Some make the decision to get into the industry early in their careers. Universities are developing educational material on the intrinsic value of meetings and events in business. There are now advocates for the concept that students majoring in business at institutes of higher learning should be required to take an elective, special course or a minor in event management.

Where does the discipline of meetings and events belong in the contemporary academic curriculum and why? A little more than two decades ago, virtually any courses of study relevant to people in our industry were offered in the newly formed hospitality or tourism departments (the latter of which owed their name, their focus and their existence to the word “tourism” and its supposed ability to pull revenue into a given city)—or within some part of facilities management instruction. For many in the academic world, this is how courses of study on meeting and events are still understood: as footnotes to subjects like facilities management, as elements of other business-driven course offerings such as sports marketing or tourism, or perhaps as community college material in narrowly defined areas such as social and wedding planning.

In recent years, meetings and events have emerged as powerful tools for strategic messaging; public relations, marketing and advertising play a more important role. Clearly, well-planned, well-executed, well-branded events are having an impact on the bottom-line, forcing academic institutions to reassess their course offerings. Considering the glacial speed at which any kind of structural change tends to unfold within long-established academic silos, the shift that has taken place during the past decade has been remarkably fast, and is accelerating. There has been a real reassessment of the business case for meetings and events as an academic discipline in its own right. What follows are some of the most interesting voices and intriguing insights from the emerging academic discussion on how, where and why to teach people to become meetings and events professionals.

Janet Sperstad: Educating clients on the value of meetings is key

Joe Goldblatt: Women will change the dynamics

Elizabeth Rich: We are in the communication industry

Patti Shock: Projections point to strong growth despite setbacks

Tim Brown: We are waiting for academia to catch up

Amanda Cecil: It goes beyond ordering large amounts of cheese Danish

“The Great Shift” is the second article in our Rethinking Meetings series. In future issues, we’ll explore change as it affects the design of convention and conference centers, hotels, seating and setups, production and programs, food and beverage, travel and every other aspect of what we do in connection with events. We invite you to think about how you can use concepts presented in this series, discuss them with your teams and organizations, and share your insights with us. Email editor@collinsonmedia.com or add your comments on our wall.

What simpler way could there be for event organizers who want their conferences to make a difference then to jolt attendees into action with coffee? “Everyone wants the opportunity to help transform lives, and for many of us jumping on an airplane and going on a mission trip is either too scary or just isn’t feasible, but there are simple things we’re doing already in life that we can transform into being missional and help build the kingdom,” says Robert Crow, community and relationship director, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company.

Click here for videos of giveback organizations covered in this story

“One of those things is making sure the coffee you drink is helping people and not exploiting them.”

Thousand Hills sells Community Trade coffee, which is based on the company’s goal to build relationships with farmers in Rwanda, Thailand and Haiti by providing them a fair wage for their coffee and equipping them to become better farmers. Using coffee from Thousand Hills could be a first step in aligning every part of your conference with your organization’s mission.

Common Vision
When developing giveback elements of your conference, the most important decision is choosing which programs best match your group and your conference’s mission. Thousand Hills found connection with the mission of Story Conference, a gathering of practitioners from a variety of creative fields who want to inspire and equip the next generation. “Story believes that the Christian story revolves around everything you do—that every action you have revolves around that story,” says Crow, including the coffee you drink.

The company has worked with Story, as well as Orange Conference and Catalyst, to share its Community Trade philosophy. At conferences, the company brews coffee, sells Rwandan lattes and merchandise, and distributes information about the impact of purchasing its coffee. Bulk orders also can be purchased from Thousand Hills that come with materials and videos to educate attendees. Crow says 135 pounds of coffee supports a farmer for a year. That’s the equivalent of 2,700-4,000 cups of coffee, an amount easily consumed during many conferences. Founder Jonathan Golden speaks at conferences and churches about sustainability as a solution to poverty and using coffee to build Christ-centered relationships in the communities it serves.

Better World Books funds literacy programs and donates a book to organizations around the world for every book purchased from the social enterprise. It is the official bookstore of TED conferences. “Our values align,” says John Ujda, vice president of marketing for Better World Books. “The concept of TED is spreading ideas to change the world. And what Better World Books believes is that books are a good way to spread ideas and we’re trying to improve the world.”

The bookstore, which seeks a social, economic and environmental profit, exhibited more than 300 titles from TED speakers and books recommended by influential TEDsters like Bill Gates at TED2011 in Long Beach, Calif. Other conferences can partner with Better World Books by sponsoring book drives at events or using the online bookstore, betterworldbooks.com, for purchases.

“There’s a halo effect for having Better World Books as your bookstore, rather than any other bookstore that is strictly for profit,” says Ujda, who also urges organization’s working with social enterprises to be willing to compromise on fees and other costs. “Be conscious of the value their brand brings to the game, and be willing to make some tradeoffs because of what comes with that.”

Lights, Camera, Action
Sometimes passive changes that encourage attendees to contribute to causes aren’t enough. Some organizations plan entire events around giving back.

Christ in Youth recognized an opportunity to educate more than 60,000 attendees at more than 100 events a year about social ills around the world by using a medium that was familiar to its participants. “The students we see are really part of that Millennial Generation,” says Chris Jefferson, director of organizational advancement for CIY. “They are 10 to 18 years old. Everything they have seen in education or entertainment has a video screen or a computer. Even at live events, they look up to see a replay on the video screen.”

CIY produced several short films and a feature film that are shown at the organization’s youth events, Know Sweat (now called Engage: Service), Move, SuperStart, Believe and Mix.

After a video presentation, a speaker expands on the topic and at the end of the week-long or weekend events, students can accept a challenge card to come up with a creative idea either individually or as a group to meet the need on their card. The challenge might be related to a global issue in the movie, such as not drinking anything but water for a year to raise money and support for clean water in Africa, or closer to home, like collecting 500 coats for the homeless in their community.

The result? Two middle school girls raised $24,000 in one year for clean water in Zambia, Africa, by selling hand-sewn decorative birds after seeing “Zambia’s Song” at Know Sweat. A couple of teenage boys sold T-shirts at concerts and music festivals to raise money and awareness for victims of sex trafficking in Southeast Asia after watching “Baht,” a movie about the issue, at Move. There are hundreds of stories about students who were challenged at the events to make a tangible difference for others.

Each summer, CIY chooses a single organization to support. “We try go beyond the event in a way that is real and lasting and impacts communities here and around the world…rather than scattering support to four or five different organizations,” Jefferson says. This past summer, the organization focused on persecuted Christians around the world through a full-length feature film, “Love Costs Every Thing.” Representatives from the Central Indian Christian Mission spoke and interacted with students during events. “[Students] immediately know who the money is going to support,” says Jefferson. “These are real people whose lives are being impacted.”

The films and additional resources are available from CIY for other groups to use at their events. “Video clips become a powerful teaching moment as razor-sharp illustrations, than become products of an event,” Jefferson says. “A five-day event with video elements is its own living breathing thing…the video has the opportunity to encourage greater involvement.”

For the past two years, youth ministers at the Worship Center in Lancaster, Pa., have hosted events supporting Sweet Sleep, a faith-based organization that provides beds for orphans in Moldova, Uganda and Haiti, to educate their students about living conditions around the world. In September, almost 80 fifth through eighth graders participated in Under the Stars, a lock-out event during which kids sleep outside in cardboard boxes in order to raise money. “It was a hands-on experience to help others in need,” says Heather Bivins, Worship Center student ministry pastor of Route 56, the fifth- and sixth-grade ministry. “Even if it was just for a night, they could step outside themselves and see the rest of the world.”

Due to rain, the event was moved inside, but the kids listened to speakers, played games like hauling water through an obstacle course and carrying mattresses on their heads, and slept some. They raised enough money for 80 kits for orphans in Northern Uganda that include a sleeping mat, mattress, mosquito net, blanket and Bible in the child’s language.

“[The kids] were excited to know they could help someone they would never meet,” says Bivins. “Eighty kids’ lives were forever changed, plus it was a lot of fun.”

Sweet Sleep provides promotional and educational materials, videos and an event plan for each of its programs. Under the Stars is recommended for high school and college students, but Bivins recommends choosing programs in which the format can be adapted to fit the needs and culture of your group. She combined aspects of Insomnia, a lock-in event that encourages participants to stay up all night to experience an uncomfortable night similar to what others around the world face, and Under the Stars. “Also, I would start promoting earlier,” she says. “In promotions, I’d explain more about who we’re helping and what we’re actually doing at the event.”

Other Sweet Sleep fundraisers include Bed Races, Nickels for Nets and Build-A-Bed. Event organizers can get creative. At Rejuvenate Marketplace this year, Tri-Valley CVB sponsored a station where attendees could make stuffed animals for the orphans who receive a bed from Sweet Sleep. Attendees stuffed 200 “buddies,” which were donated to Sweet Sleep and Next Door, a local women’s shelter, and purchased enough Sweet Sleep T-shirts and jewelry made by women in Uganda to purchase 40 beds for orphans in Uganda.

Increased Demand
Convention and planning executives in various cities say the demand for volunteer activities in conjunction with meetings has led them to create lists of local organizations that need help and welcome volunteers. “It’s becoming more and more common,” says Judi Quesonova, director of convention services for the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I think more companies and organizations are doing it because they want to leave their footprint on a local community.”

That increase is expected to spread, keeping meeting and convention planners on their toes. Quesonova reasons that an organization that does it in one city is likely to do it in each city in which it holds events, prompting a change in how conventions are planned. Community projects, while noble, present their own challenges. Many tourism bureaus assign specific staff members to work with individual companies on giveback activities, but it becomes just another task on the long list of responsibilities for those staffers who often juggle multiple convention clients. If a client requests ideas about a local charity to work with, the staff member must be ready to make suggestions.

“Getting the client with the right group is the biggest challenge,” Quesenova says. “It has to be a good match. These events can be used as part of the convention programming as a teambuilding exercise. You’re going off-site and you’re helping the community, but you’re also working together as a team. So it’s important, if the client wants that, to match them with the right organization that will allow them to do that.”

Houston’s CVB dedicates a service manager to work with each convention client, Quesenova says. Besides serving as the primary liaison with the client on meeting logistics, the person also helps plan a local charity event.

Arvie Murff, director of special events and conferences for Aglow International, says the religious organization, which has locations and ministries in more than 160 countries around the world, partners with local ministry chapters and CVBs in each city in which conferences are held to identify local charities in need of help.

For its worldwide conference in Houston last summer, Aglow worked with the Houston CVB and targeted Redeemed Ministries for outreach. Aglow donated more than $15,000 worth of retail gift cards from Target, Wal-Mart and other local grocery stores. It also donated journals and Bibles. “For us, it’s basically about wrapping our arms around those who are in need to show them that they have the love of the Lord, and that they have not been forgotten—and not just forgotten by people that know them, but by strangers as well. Everyone is important,” Murff said.

The publicity surrounding post-Katrina volunteer projects in New Orleans helped spread the adoption and popularity of community giveback programs as an opportunity for meeting participants. “These types of projects are powerful tools for teambuilding and create unforgettable meeting memories for attendees,” says Jennifer Day from the New Orleans CVB. “This type of work is so positive, and really about the essence of a national and global community. After the storm, the city’s nonprofit organizations exploded with assistance and in turn their capacity and skill set has truly fine-tuned their ability to accommodate groups large and small and to create customized experiences to fit the client’s needs.”

—Andrew Guy Jr. contributed to this article.

We’d like to publicize your good works. Tell us about your meeting or convention giveback program or experience. Contact editor@collinsonmedia.com.

When considering hotel and meeting venues in international destinations, it is important to craft a request for proposal that includes as much attendee demographic and historical information as possible, even if the meeting was not held in that country previously. It is also important to provide an estimated per person budget, keeping in mind that most international properties include breakfast with the room rate. Many countries also package the meeting requirements into a separate rate often referred to as the daily delegate rate (DDR). This rate would include the meeting space, coffee breaks, lunches in the restaurant, writing materials and basic audiovisual such as a projector and screen. If you are looking for a private lunch not in the hotel restaurant, you might incur a surcharge on top of the DDR.

The hotel also will require international groups to pre-pay the cost of the meeting space in full. Transportation and tour companies require 90 to 100 percent pre-payment. Many international properties will charge a fee for payment by credit card. Inquire what the supplier’s policy is and request that the fees be waived.

Contract concessions typical in the United States, such as complimentary meeting space and a 24-hour hold on that space, are not the norm and should not be assumed. It’s important to allow more time for the contract negotiation process when dealing with foreign countries. Ping He, CMP, director, global sourcing and partner relations for Experient Inc., suggests building in more time to account for time zone and language differences as well as forming a relationship with the sales person. “Salespeople are not as incentivized to close the deal as they are in the U.S.,” he says.

When writing the RFP and negotiating the contract, be careful not to use words that would be understood by American suppliers, but unclear to service providers abroad. For example, requesting a “light lunch” might have a different meaning in Latin America and even more so in Asia. It is better to provide the number of courses required and use basic descriptors such as a meat, poultry or fish entree, starch, vegetable and dessert. “Use simple English in your communication with non-English speaking countries,” he says. “We know what ‘How many rooms have been picked up?’ means in the states, but a manager of a small Italian hotel will not understand. Say instead, ‘How many rooms have been used or actualized?’ and you will get a quicker response.”

Paulette Hopkins, president of the Hopkins Alliance, suggests contacting the destination’s tourist board and working with a local destination management company to help navigate cultural disparities. “Research the country’s holidays and bank holidays,” Hopkins says. “Unlike America, other countries honor their holidays and most businesses are closed.” She points to an example where the word “weekend” does not always mean a Saturday and Sunday for Muslim countries. “For most Muslim countries, ‘weekend’ means Friday and Saturday as Friday is a Muslim holy day,” she says.

While planning your budget, be aware that hotel room rates, meals and services will include a value-added tax or VAT, which could be as much as 15 to 20 percent. Because visitors or non-residents of the country do not technically owe the tax, groups can request a refund to reclaim all or part of the charges. It is important to request that the VAT amount be separated so you can keep track of the charges and file for a refund. “I recommend working with a VAT reclaim services company,” she says. “It can be a complex process and take up to a year to reclaim.”

Airport entry fees and visa requirements are also budget considerations. Argentina, for example, charges a $140 entry fee, which is valid for up to 10 years and multiple visits. A passport is required to enter and leave most foreign countries and if your attendees include young adults, it is important to verify that they have this essential travel document. The U.S. State Department strongly advises American citizens to register their travel abroad with the Department of State. Registration makes it possible to contact the traveler in the event of a family emergency back in the U.S. or to alert of a crisis in the visiting country. Note that U.S. medical insurance is generally not accepted outside the country, but short-term policies can be purchased for travel abroad.

When considering a hotel, venue or mode of transportation for your group, remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a North American requirement. Historic hotels, which are often smaller in European destinations, may not contain elevators or be accessible to attendees with special needs. International shipping requirements also vary from country to country. To avoid delay of your shipment in customs, it is best to use a broker based in that country who is familiar with the guidelines and has influence to move your materials if necessary.

Learn more about international travel with these tips.

Here’s a look at a typical pre-con day for one of today’s planners:

• 9:00 a.m.
Check emails—Turner holds himself and his team to a strict 24-hour turnaround on all emails. 

• 9:30 a.m.
Game plan—Turner and his assistant, Jordan Bolte, rely on a white board in their office to keep track of that day’s tasks, the next day’s tasks and key focus items still needed for the conference.  

• 10:00 a.m.
Staff meeting—Turner and Bolte meet with Randy Raus, Life Teen president and CEO, Kevin Hickey, director of parish outreach and the conference emcee, and Erin Kleckner, product sales manager, to nail down details for the event.  

• 11:00 a.m.
Name tags—The team helps check, stuff and organize name tags with schedules-at-a-glance for the 150 attendees, staff and speakers. 

• 11:30 a.m.
Tie up loose ends—The week before a conference means trips to FedEx, adjusting the room block, confirming check-in details with the hotel and last-minute phone calls.  

• Noon
Communicate with team—Turner makes final changes and sends his 14-page master schedule to everyone involved behind the scenes at the event.

• 12:30 p.m.
Group lunch—It’s Bolte’s first week, so the team squeezes in a welcome lunch—and talks more about the conference. 

• 1:30 p.m.
Final site visit—The conference is held about 30 minutes from the Life Teen Atlanta office at St. John Newman in Lilburn, Ga. Turner spends the afternoon there doing a final walk-through with his points of contact, the parish’s youth minister and facility director, and the team completes the bulk of load-in.

• 5:00 p.m.
Wrap-up—Turner checks emails, cleans the office and makes sure things are in order. 

• 8:00 p.m.
Speech writing—Turner writes his presentation at home for the breakout he’s leading at the conference, “The Keys to Leading Retreats.”

> Return to “Great Expectations” feature article.

The primary reason most people attend conferences is the educational content. So why is it so many sessions are disappointing? Why are the most fundamental aspects of content development so hard when the premise is so simple? The answer is easy: Too much focus is placed on the subject matter and basic principles of engagement are forgotten.

You need to create a buzz; the content needs to be in line with the buzz. The delivery needs to be engaging and interactive. The presenter needs to tell a story that connects emotionally. The material needs to be user-friendly and distributed online for various audiences.

Keeping content engaging can be difficult since the demographics of an audience can be so diverse, ranging from Baby Boomers to Gen-Xers to Millennials. Keeping the content delivery conducive to the make-up of the audience is important. Today’s presenter must engage the audience by making the session interactive, either by soliciting participation or by breaking the audience into groups to discuss the content.

The format is crucial as well. Too many presenters still make the mistake of using PowerPoint as the crux of their presentations, reading directly off the slides rather than using them as a guide. Weaving storytelling into the presentation engages the audience on an emotional and personal level. People remember good stories, especially when compelling and thought-provoking.

Conference materials should be accessible in a format that is user-friendly. If the conference content is placed online in different formats and levels of detail, it will appeal to at least three different audiences: Participants who attended the conference; prospective attendees; and sponsors who can associate their brand with a site that reaches a wider audience over a period of several weeks or months.

Since many organizations are cutting back on the number of people sent to a conference, it is crucial to ensure the content is on point. Attendees and their decision makers are demanding a higher, more tangible return on their investment. The goal is for the attendee to bring back information that can be shared with the rest of the team.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

Amita Patel, CHSP, has been a leader in the hospitality industry for more than 25 years. Her experience includes destination and facility management as well as hotel sales and marketing. For the past 10 years, she has championed sales and marketing efforts at the Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau/Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, Calif. 

I was thrilled to hear Bill Buxton of Microsoft talking about ideas and innovation on NPR’s morning show. It reinforced my own experience with ideas, creativity and problem solving. And it reminds me of a phrase I use during my keynote presentations, “Date, but don’t marry your ideas.”

In the interview, Buxton talks about ideas, lots of them—how we tend to get attached to one idea and pursue it even when it might not be the best idea. Part of the creative process is coming up with lots of ideas, turning them over, sharing them, discarding them and coming up with more ideas.

As a professional songwriter, I’m used to trying out new ideas almost every day. I’ve learned that some ideas turn out to be terrific and grow into real things, like hit songs. I’ve also learned some ideas are not so great, and it’s best to get rid of them and move on to the next brainstorming session.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

Billy Kirsch is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated, CMA and ACM award-winning songwriter. His abilities as facilitator, leader and performer are the foundation of his highly successful corporate event programs: Team Building Through Song, Harnessing Your Creative Power and Everyday Team Building. The presentations help people rediscover their creativity encouraging them to be more innovative and engaged in their work.

As director for constituent resources for the Mennonite Church USA, Glen Guyton was especially interested in feedback from Pittsburgh 2011, the biennial convention held this past July, where an alternative format was incorporated as part of the goal to encourage discussion and an increased sense of belonging and ownership for the constituents. Here, he shares some notes on the experience and reactions.

We had more than 6,500 people at Pittsburgh 2011. It balanced out to more adults, fewer youth. We incorporate service projects and had two things going on—adult delegate sessions and a youth gathering. There was joint daily worship and workshops split between adults and youth. Adults also have business sessions; youth just have worship, workshops and service projects.

New this year was a conversation room where we talked about hot topics. We used what they call a Samoan circle. Before the convention we had an outline of topics we would address. We had a schedule posted on the wall and slots where people could come and have discussion. There were mediators present, and we used a variety of discussion techniques. Controversial subjects could be discussed in a safe space.

People said they felt like they were heard. They felt like they had the opportunity to discuss controversial issues in the church but didn’t feel like they were being attacked. There was an openness and safety within the discussion; people enjoyed it and we may do something like that again.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

As director for constituent resources for the Mennonite Church USA, Glen Guyton was especially interested in feedback from Pittsburgh 2011, the biennial convention held this past July, where an alternative format was incorporated as part of the goal to encourage discussion and an increased sense of belonging and ownership for the constituents. Here, he shares some notes on the experience and reactions.

The term “strategic event marketers” is common within the events industry, yet some planners remain hesitant to embrace a strategic event planning process. Acting as a strategist does not require one to understand or recite the corporate go-to-market plans or financial earnings. Rather, it is about understanding the event objectives and developing innovative tactics to create memorable attendee experiences.

If there is one thing I could change within the events industry, I would challenge all planners to become strategists and focus their attention on the attendee engagement versus merely logistics.

As a corporate event manager, it is my responsibility to act as the event strategist when planning events for Symantec Corporation. A successful strategy I use often is one of storytelling. Storytelling is the concept of developing an event around one common message, a storyline, and ensuring every element supporting the event connects the dots back to the main storyline. Whether you are planning a conference, product launch or board of director’s luncheon, the gathering should tell a story. When the attendees can recite the storyline upon the leaving the gathering, you know you have successfully relayed your strategic message. The key to storytelling is being consistent in the delivery. When executed effectively, the storyline should become intuitively obvious and, to double the punch, the attendees should feel inspired by the message.

Storytelling creates a huge opportunity for event strategists to cultivate longevity in the conference objectives and messaging. While the story is unveiled at the event, it can act as the foundation for post-event communications throughout the year.

In addition to storytelling, planners can also act as strategists by leveraging technology throughout their events. The event technology landscape is vast and the options, features and usage can be overwhelming. However, as planners we cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed by the immensity of it, but rather see it as an opportunity to customize our specific events. When evaluating how and what technology to incorporate into an event, the handy storytelling strategy can act as a useful tool. Determine how the technology can help tell your story and connect the dots back to the one common event message.

A story used at Symantec’s annual sales conference was based on the need to motivate the attendees to propel their efforts from a successful 2011 into greater achievements in 2012. In an effort to understand the conference objective, the executive team was surveyed with a few key questions: One, how do you want the attendees to feel pre- and post-conference? And two, what is one message you want the attendees to walk away with? The executive responses helped shape the conference storyline into “Fast. Forward. Move fast and move forward into 2012.”

Vibrant, yet visually and tactically appealing, the storyline was carried through every conference element from the signage, website, messaging, evening events and even the technology.

To amplify the forward motion aspect, we used the hottest and latest technology trend of “gaming” in an effort to engage attendees. Mobile device applications are the direction of the future and a gaming experience was yet another opportunity to create a memorable event and drive home the common message.

A good event strategist is the heartbeat of a memorable event, and every planning decision should be leveraged to inspire the attendees and further the conference story. We need to challenge ourselves daily to act as strategists and implement new conference planning technologies.

> Return to The Challenge of Change

Ashely Muntan, CMP, is an event marketing manager for Symantec Corporation and resides in Atlanta. With more than 11 years in the industry, she project manages large events and takes pride in acting as the team “storytelling champion” and seeing projects come to fruition.

“Six hours is one thing. Six days is another,” Bell says. He’s referring to the six days this August after Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz canceled his speaking appearance at GLS due to pressure from an online petition urging him not to speak. Bell had to find a replacement before GLS opened for a live and simulcast audience of 66,143 people.

The incident and its aftermath highlighted the risks and benefits of high-profile speakers. In those six crucial days, Bell and his team responded to the crisis in a manner that generated news and brought almost universal admiration to GLS.

The conference, of course, went on without Schultz. Twelve other speakers addressed 7,424 attendees during the two-day conference at Willow Creek Community Church’s Barrington, Ill., campus Aug. 11-12. The event was also simulcast at 217 locations across the country. A total of 165,000 attendees are expected to watch custom telecasts of the event at global locations around the world throughout the year.

Here Bell shares the thought process that resulted in WCCC Senior Pastor Bill Hybels’ carefully crafted response to the cancellation and the lessons learned. Watch Pastor Bill Hybels’ response in video here.

When did you first learn Howard Schultz might back out?
The first hint came about six days before, and it put us in scramble mode. There were many conversations back and forth, and it was official Monday before he was to speak on Friday. That’s when I was able to land Patrick Lencioni, who we’d had before.

How were you able to get another prominent speaker so quickly?
I knew [Schultz backing out] could happen and I’ve known Patrick for some time because he had been here before, and I was able to get to him right away. We were very, very fortunate he was not traveling that week. That came out of relationship. We try to build relationships as much as possible. We spend a lot of time trying to get speakers. We spent the last five years trying to nail down Howard Schultz. I spent five years trying to land Colin Powell. I was his assistant’s dripping faucet. The same thing with Pat Summit. Going after speakers is a team effort. I’m accountable for it, but actually Bill Hybels was the connection for Colin Powell. He was at an event where Powell spoke, and was able to land him. It’s as much an art as it is a science as how we get to the speakers. We do as much relationship connecting as we can.

How did you decide on the summit’s now viral response?
For several days, we met as a planning team, sharing ideas about what we would do. Bill Hybels, who is the leader of the movement and founder of the event, as well as the host, was going to interview Howard.Obviously, he’d be the one to address this. Initially, we were not happy. There was an immediate, knee-jerk reaction, and then, thank God, we had time to think, “Well, that wouldn’t be helpful.” It gave us time as a team. Bill began to work on a statement. We went through a few different revisions with multiple persons on our team, people Bill trusts personally, then some of the other church folks. One of the final cycles Bill made was with elders of the church. It concerned the church because people don’t separate Willow Creek Association and Willow Creek Community Church. It was very important to the church. We care about everybody, our doors are open to all, and some of what was said is just not true, but we don’t want to get mean-spirited about it. When someone comes at you with an untruth, a reaction in a spirit of meanness and “get even” isn’t right. A final thing—someone told Bill that he might want to think about the fact that in this world of tweeting and blogging, [the media] can take any sound bite and make it a headline. The headline chosen can make it a statement even if that’s not what was meant. It was quite a process.

A YouTube video of the statement was posted on the WCA blog the same day Hybels addressed the summit, which today has 50,000 views. Did you expect such a strong reaction?  
I can’t even think of a critical thing that we’ve heard. It’s been overwhelmingly positive. It’s been one of the best teaching moments of the whole event. The way it was handled in that moment is a lesson learned by everyone—taking the high road, turning the other cheek. How do we think Christ would respond?

Like Schultz, many of the GLS speakers are well-known leaders. How do you select the lineup?
We have a thorough conviction that all truth is God’s truth, so we can learn from all different segments of society. So at the core of the summit faculty are highly respected leaders who are world-class in what they do, whatever their area of expertise. We have a core group of highly respected pastors around the world so we want to bring in other elements, learning from all kinds of disciplines: business, academics, the sports world— we’ve even had political and military leaders—and there are lots of compassion-type organizations that have been represented. We look for someone doing something remarkable, having significant impact in their fields, someone who can share hands-on lessons. [We balance] people who are actually in the trenches and academic people who study leadership concepts. We never bring non-faith-based speakers to share about faith-based topics. They share about leadership principles.

How does this support the summit’s mission?
A planning research team works on this stuff year-round. We know what we’re getting ourselves into. Sometimes we have to make judgment calls. We’re unapologetically Christian without question, and we don’t want to dumb anything down. We want people to be stretched. Of the number of things we’ve learned over the years, one is that the best learning happens when there’s a level of disequilibrium. Ashish Nanda is a Harvard Law professor and is of an Eastern faith. He talked about the risky business of hiring stars [in 2006]; he was a real value-add that was phenomenal. Henry Cloud isn’t a faith-based speaker; he’s a clinical psychologist. His 30-minute session had great takeaways. He had practical handles and skill development leaders can use everyday.

Are you always looking for celebrity or a buzz-factor?
There’s always a certain level of “Oh, wow, he’s coming!” But it’s very difficult to get people at that caliber to commit. We’ve had former presidents [Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter], Bono, Jack Welch—and there’s a certain buzz factor that comes with that.Typically, we always have a surprise session when we have an experience where people are just blown away. After this many years, the level of confidence of attendees is: “I’m going to trust these guys because they deliver consistently. I might not know this person, but I’m going to come and see.”

Is scheduling high-profile people or speakers outside your ministry area worth the risk or controversy?
It’s worth it because some of the best learning happens with disequilibrium. You look back at a very painful thing and you wouldn’t choose to go through it again, but it’s a biblical principle that good can come out of the ashes. We’re more effective down the road.

There is a lot of disequilibrium when things don’t go as planned, but sometimes those are the most memorable times. They’re the fun stories later on. You look back and see how it landed, the moments of humor. It brings teams closer together. We all have times we wish for a do-over but sometimes it works out and we say, “Wow, God helped us there. God protected us.” [Schultz] not coming may have had a bigger impact in terms of takeaways. We wish he could have come though.

Advice for other planners: I think it’s probably wise to go through exercises just to say, “What if?” To think of what some plan Bs could be. What could be a contingency plan? We all face that [as planners] because there’s always a tension in my mind; someone’s always by me with a radio, [saying] “So-and-so has landed,” but it’s wise to think what if so-and-so doesn’t [arrive], and have a couple answers in your back pocket.

With technology today things can be captured [on video]. If something’s been a smashing success somewhere else, get some rights and have it as a plan B. Hopefully, you don’t have to use it, but it’s there.

Inspiration: I see what I do as a calling, and that’s what motivates me. And what really motivates me is when I see the impact of my small part in it. My purpose statement is: This one thing I do with a cheerful attitude that honors Christ and my family, my personal mission is to create life-changing tools, training experiences and life opportunities that motivate God’s people to become difference makers.

Favorite planning resources: Trusted team members and people who are in it together, who have a shared passion, a shared vision, who care about it as much as you do, who look at it as more than a job. It’s a cause.

Favorite book: The one I’m reading at the moment…that’s like if I had to narrow it down to one Scripture. Some books in the past I think of are “The Blessing” by Gary Smalley and John Trent. This summer I read, “Get Capone.” It was a fascinating read. Typically anything Jim Collins writes, classic books, “The Discoverers,” “The World is Flat.” One I’m into right now is “The Wilderness Warrior.”

Favorite quote: From John Wesley, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”