The Case for Meetings and Events: Four Elements of Strategic Value

A Briefing Paper

Prepared by Mary E. Boone, President, Boone Associates 

The old adage “Any press is good press” is a bit hard to embrace when the news isn’t good. A global financial crisis set the stage for a rash of October 2008 headlines that constituted bad press for the meetings industry, including heated reports about the AIG meeting in Phoenix. A few months later there was more bad news. In February 2009, a Northern Trust event received similar press; US Treasury Department regulations related to events were announced for recipients of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP); and Senator John Kerry announced proposed legislation related to TARP recipient celebrations. In the same month, the New York Times published an article on decreased meeting attendance and meeting cancellations.

A perfect storm has ensued. Meetings industry leaders swiftly took action to make legislators and regulators aware of the considerable impacts of meetings and events on the economy. They quite rightly voiced concerns about the prospect of more canceled meetings, more lost jobs, and more lost opportunities. Education about the value of meetings has taken center stage for the entire industry.

Despite these clearly warranted concerns, it is important not to overlook the possibilities this crisis affords. By bringing this debate to the Board and senior executive level, it has created an unprecedented opportunity for truly strategic discussions between the people who plan meetings and the senior executives of public and private organizations that sponsor them. Now, more than ever, the topic of meetings and events has great relevance in the eyes of powerful stakeholders.

One of the challenges in the meetings industry up to this point is the considerable confusion around the path to strategic value. The meeting planner is faced with an array of choices: “Do I start with SMMP? Do I need to learn ROI? What is Meeting Design? How do I get people to see the strategic value of logistics?” Meeting professionals need to present a clear, comprehensive business case to key stakeholders about how to achieve strategic value. If they do this presentation well, they will get the resources they need to transform their organizations through the effective use of meetings. This paper is aimed at reducing confusion and providing a foundation for efforts to deliver strategic value.

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Brought to you by MPI, via a generous donation by Boone Associates