The Key Roles of Strategy, Content, and Innovation

Mark French, President, Leading Authorities, Inc.

Meetings and events continue to be the most effective marketing channel for influencing behavior and connecting your company to franchisees and the marketplace. But the secret to success, is creating compelling, relevant events that build anticipation, engagement, and ultimately, bottom-line return on investment (ROI). Star speakers and entertainment are critical to this end, but they require an intelligent design, an innovative communications program, and creative execution.

This year’s economy has put enormous pressure on franchise companies to get the most from their meetings. While no one argues that live events maximize the potential for networking, relationship building, education, and business deals, they also are the most expensive form of media in terms of time away from the office, travel costs, and direct expenses. This argues for careful planning to make certain resources are well spent and deliver on your key priorities.

Intelligent design involves first identifying the major strategic objectives of your meeting and then wrapping around them everything that happens before, during, and after the event. The speakers, entertainment, venue, activities, and registration process, must all be aligned with one set of guiding principles. They must deliver results against your objectives and the expectations of your audience.

CEOs, CMOs, and CFO, and CSOs, hear this: "Meetings need you're your personal attention and involvement!"

They are not just the province of your meeting planner. These are your highest-value opportunities to touch franchisees, customers, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders in a way like no other. To garner the best results, you and your leadership team need to be involved in providing real strategic direction.

Gather your major internal and external stakeholders together and spend a day building a program that advances your key objectives and that is response to the different needs of segments within your audience. Set clear goals and create an environment, from the venue and registration process forward, that give you the best chance of success. Ideally, this will be led by an independent facilitator who can triangulate between your needs, the needs of your audience, and best industry practices.

Content remains KING, of course! A great program provides a common platform for connecting the audience. Securing great speakers and entertainment gives your audience a shared experience and way to relate to each other. Making the right choices not only enhances your event and improves outcomes, it demonstrates how you value the time your audience has entrusted to your care.

Today, business people come to meetings motivated by the opportunity to garner knowledge that will have an immediate impact on their organizations. This has given new meaning to the idea of "Celebrity Speaker." In fact, today’s celebrities are former company CEOs like Gordon Bethune who turned around Continental Airlines and vaulted it from worst to first in the airline industry, top business thought leaders like Marshall Goldsmith who helped Alan Mulally achieve breakthrough performance at Boeing, and economists like Diane Swonk who provide solid economic advice and judgment.

Not to be overlooked is the key role of a compelling moderator who actually makes your executives the stars of the show. The famed newscaster and documentary filmmaker Bill Kurtis has a way of helping companies tell their stories and customize their events by being the Master of Ceremonies at major company gatherings. From the opening to closing gavel, he can help a company weave a cohesive message that has impact. I recently saw him moderate a panel featuring former Senator Paul Sarbanes and former Congressman Michael Oxley after dinner, and despite the dour topic (Sarbanes-Oxley), the audience was rapt with attention in a no small part to Kurtis’ ability to incorporate humor and make the attendees feel at ease.

Of course, audiences still like to be motivated and smile. But they are craving for motivation with a purpose from speakers who have actually done something spectacular and who can relate their feat back to business. Take, for example, Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles, the pilot and co-pilot of US Airways Flight #1549, who safely and miraculously landed their Airbus 320 safely on the Hudson. Not only is it the "feel good" story of 2009, the story behind the story of preparation, focus, training, and teamwork is relevant to any company. Similarly, Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to summit Mt. Everest, is offering not just a great motivational talk but solid skills to packed audiences looking for ways to use adversity to fuel competitive advantage.

And don’t forget entertainment. Be certain it is "Entertainment with a Purpose." Benjamin Zander, the world famous author and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, takes audiences on a journey using the metaphor of the orchestra to show executives how to innovate and lead. He infuses solid learning into a great entertainment experience.

There will always be a role for pure entertainment acts featuring top performers like Jay Leno, Sinbad, Vince Gill, The Beach Boys, and a cornucopia of other greats. These acts should fit into the theme and larger purpose of what you are trying to accomplish, create an ecosystem for bringing people together and breaking down barriers, and for generating excitement and buzz about your event.

Be sure to get the most from your investment in talent by involving them in the promotion of your meeting, by maximizing their presence at your live event, and by getting permissions to feature their presentations electronically long after their presentations or appearances are over. For example, Vince Gill recently performed at the American Trucking Associations ("ATA") annual meeting and prepared a special video message ATA hosted on its web site. Blues Traveler performed at the 20,000-person American Wind Energy meeting similarly customized a humorous video inviting potential attendees to "party down in Chicago!" It was a huge hit.

Top speakers should be engaged not only to deliver a message but to headline special VIP events, draw more people on the trade show floor, and help provide special recognition to important customers and guests. Many speakers will participate in blogs and webinars and even write articles for your in-house publication. These efforts can pay large dividends in creating excitement about your event.

Too often, organizations treat an event as a point in time and fail to capture the full value of its power by extending the message pre-and post-event. Speakers can help you do this by agreeing to post-event webinars or webcasts and by giving permission to stream their presentations on your web site for an agreed-upon period of time. These approaches create a lasting connection between you and your audience and can even help you reach individuals who couldn’t come to your live event.

Truly great meetings require a clear strategy, exceptional planning, compelling content, a smart communications strategy, and flawless execution. Star power on the podium may be an ingredient but remember, it takes a lot more than a great speaker to guarantee the success of your event. It takes a major commitment by all of the key people in your organization and recognizing the high stakes meetings play in impacting your key relationships.