Meeting Professionals International, the premier global association community for meeting and event professionals, believes in the unequalled power of events and human connections to advance organizational objectives.

Be Excited

A momentous political campaign captured the globe’s attention and exemplified how meetings and events change the world.

By Michael Pinchera

 
The Obama for America campaign set the bar for modern meetings that change the world.

“Whether or not you agree with U.S. President Barack Obama’s politics, the vision and strategy created transformational change. That is what we all should do when we bring people together,” said Hattie Hill, chairwoman of the MPI Awards and Recognition Task Force and CEO of Hattie Hill Enterprises.

For its unprecedented ability to utilize meetings and events to accomplish an awesome goal, the Obama for America campaign has been chosen to receive MPI’s first-ever RISE Award for Organizational Achievement, recognizing industry success and excellence.

Achieving success by maintaining relevancy, simplicity and consistency, the campaign delivered a 21st-century template for impactful, exceptional events, domestic and international.

BE RELEVANT
Awareness of the continually evolving communications culture placed the campaign in a league of its own, resulting in an operation run true to the times.

Betsy Myers, chief operating officer and senior advisor for Obama for America, says that leveraging the Web’s power and social media was key to the campaign’s success.

“We used the Internet in a way that no one had ever done before…to not only raise money but to include people, get them involved and organized,” she said. “We took what [former chairman of the Democratic National Committee] Howard Dean did in 2004, raising money on the Internet, to the next level by incorporating social networking.”

Online donations also enabled the Obama campaign to accomplish its goals in real space. In fact, the campaign’s online fundraising was significant enough that they were availed of all of the tools for success on the ground, including dozens of small meetings throughout Iowa in preparation for that state’s 2008 caucus.

The idea of doing things differently compounded the relevancy of the campaign, with people feeling that they were being heard and their voices valued. This multitiered approach to reach the population, such as going to the people, exampled some of the respect Obama demanded be given to the voters.

BE RESPECTFUL
By leveraging the power of human connections online and during face-to-face meetings, the campaign made it easy for people to get involved through myriad access points.

“You didn’t have to ask permission to get involved,” Myers said. “You got involved on the Internet and via social networking…we set up some of the infrastructure for you to participate. It was infectious, and people got involved because they wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves, because they believed we could make a change.”

Hill recalls the reach of the campaign: people met at small churches, multiple generations of participants gathering online and massive global meetings for the masses.

“It’s about relationships,” Myers said. “People came together because of this common desire to make the world better.”

Through the campaign’s outreach—including events large and small—people began to understand that their actions and contributions mattered in the challenge to help affect change. That desire in concert with a charismatic candidate attracted participants. They were drawn in because of Obama, but they thrived within the campaign because of their dedication to each other.

“He is the example of the new paradigm of leadership, which is inclusive and a learner: ‘I don’t know everything and I listen to other voices and we will open up dialogue with people who disagree with us,’” Myers said.

From the push in Iowa in late 2007 (the campaign had dozens of offices located throughout the state, with Obama stopping by with Oprah Winfrey) to a July 2008 event in Berlin, Myers says Obama kept breaking down barriers and gaining momentum.

BE CONSISTENT
From Day 1, Obama challenged everyone to build a campaign that was run like a business, Myers says, highlighting the fact that a presidential campaign is really a US$200 million start-up, complete with the need for effective meetings and events with “customers” and stakeholders.

She says Obama inspired everyone to run the campaign with a customer service mentality, to ensure that staff, volunteers, donors and—most importantly—the American people were all treated with respect. Myers says this mentality soon became pervasive and created a calm environment that best enabled everyone to be heard.

“This is not something you hear every day in the world of politics,” Myers said. “Campaigns are chaotic by their very nature, yet this campaign was run like a tight ship. One of the things that can be said about this campaign is that we were extremely organized and focused.”

Throughout the campaign, Obama’s leadership skills kept participants inspired and their eyes on the prize.

“Many times when we see a leader up close, we end up having less respect for them,” Myers said. “I can truthfully say that my respect for Barack has grown. You really learn about someone when the chips are down. Barack has always been calm and steady. He took personal responsibility for our disappointments and was willing to learn from our mistakes. He challenged us to support each other and he reminded us why this campaign is important: We were working for the American people.”

During the two-year campaign, meetings and events of all varieties were utilized in a highly effective manner with the lofty goal of changing the world—a legacy that will not be forgotten.

“This campaign will forever be a model…Going forward, people will have to use the Internet, raise money online, they’re going to do social networking, they’re going to have to include people and organize in a different way.” One+

MICHAEL PINCHERA is associate editor of One+.

RISE AWARDS
The RISE Award represents a new era for MPI and the global meeting and event industry, just as the Barack Obama presidency represents a new era for the U.S. and the world.

“We recognized some critical facts—our community was evolving and the present awards and recognition program was not aligned with the vision and mission of the organization,” said Hattie Hill, chairwoman of MPI’s Awards and Recognition Task Force and CEO of Hattie Hill Enterprises.

And she says member engagement and excitement needed to be elevated while improving the image of and setting a standard for the industry.

Hill says the awards program had to impact the global membership base while being relevant and driving member growth.

“This is even more relevant today as our industry and the organization are standing at the edge of explosive change,” Hill said. “Our program can be a catalyst to keep us moving forward.”

Betsy Myers will accept the MPI RISE Award for Organizational Achievement on behalf of the Obama for America campaign. The presentation and reception set to take place 4 p.m. July 10 at the Grand America hotel, right before the start of the World Education Congress in Salt Lake City, will also recognize MPI’s Community of Honorees. For more information, visit www.mpiweb.org/events/WEC2009/Events/Awards.aspx.

2008-2009 MPI Awards and Recognition Task Force
Chair: Hattie Hill, CMM
Pierre Charmasson, CMP
Patrick Delaney, CITE, CMM
Miranda Ioannou, IAPCO Wolfsberg
Paul Kennedy, MBE
Kehaulani McGregor, CMP
Peggy Marilley
Brian Palmer
Roger Rickard
Tracy Stein

Meet Betsy Myers
Betsy Myers is currently co-chairwoman of the Women’s Leadership Forum for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and is helping the White House Women’s Council as an advisor.

Previously, Myers was chief operating officer and senior advisor for Obama for America and chairwoman of Women for Obama, traveling extensively in 2008 to speak with undecided voters while concentrating on women’s outreach. These efforts included a working partnership with Women for Obama and the DNC’s Women’s Leadership Forum. After the 2008 Democratic primary, Myers spent significant time working on unity efforts within the party, meeting with Sen. Hillary Clinton supporters across the country to hear their concerns and invite them to join the Obama campaign’s efforts.

Immediately prior to her work on the campaign, Myers was executive director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and worked closely with Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board.
Myers now brings her wealth of experience to the lecture circuit, speaking on myriad leadership-related topics, and is writing a book that will take a look at a world in which people are all seen, heard, understood and valued properly.