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Creative Offsite Events

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Do you feel like Phil in the movie 'Groundhog Day? Here's what I mean: ... You are starting to feel like Phil in 'Groundhog Day!' HOW. Logistical elements ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Creative Offsite Events


1
Creative Offsite Events
  • Using Unique Venues and Locations
  • Society of Government Meeting Professionals
  • North Carolina Chapter
  • May 14, 2008

2
  • Do you feel like Phil in the movie Groundhog
    Day?
  • Heres what I mean
  • http//www.youtube.com/watch?vT_yDWQsrajA

3
UNIQUE MEETINGS AND EVENTS 101
  • MPIs The Meeting Professional says that 22
    percent of North American meeting and event
    professionals are turning to non traditional
    venues to make their events distinctive, engaging
    and different OR to complement the core program
    we host in our traditional hotels and convention
    centers
  • How do we know why we should, when the time is
    right, and how?

4
WhyFive Reasons to Make Your Meeting Unique
  • Ambiance and Atmosphere no need to spend money
    creating a theme, its already built right in
  • Memorable that which is different and unique is
    inherently memorable
  • Flexible one day meetings, one hour meetings,
    evening events/ parties, overnight conferences. .
    . many and most are welcome at unique venues
  • Technology frequently is built in for the
    venues core business, available to your group at
    lower costs than traditional venues (not always,
    but often!)
  • Affordable most venues maximize space during
    the downtimes, and their prices reflect that fact

5
WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT
  • The time is right when you recognize one of the
    following
  • Attendance by your targeted participants has
    peaked and maybe even started to drop off from
    years past
  • You have trouble getting volunteers to assist you
    because they are losing enthusiasm to do the
    same old, same old
  • You are starting to feel like Phil in Groundhog
    Day!

6
HOW
  • Logistical elements
  • The location must fit your dates and budget
  • Does the location leverage the topic and goal of
    your program? In other words, does the locale
    fit your program or event objectives?
  • How will the attendees reach the location? Is it
    easy access to reach from major highways,
    interstates or in the case of being an
    ancillary program for your primary convention
    held at another primary host venue, is it easy
    access from that location?
  • Is the location attractive enough to make
    attendees want to attend?
  • Does the location have the necessary AV
    capabilities needed to ensure the success of your
    program?
  • If youre taking your whole program there, do you
    need any sleeping rooms for the attendees,
    speakers and staff . . . and does the facility
    have them or are they close by?

7
Environment
  • Your attendees are like you and have high
    standards just like you have!
  • Focus on the comfort of your attendees
  • All the basics
  • ADA compliant
  • Remember always that you are creating an
    experience
  • Review what has worked and what hasnt from past
    years, and make sure that those items stay on
    your radar as you start to research unique venue

8
Finding unique sites
  • Ideas include
  • Attractions and Cultural Sites (aquariums, zoos,
    museums, deconsecrated cathedrals and churches,
    concert halls)
  • Entertainment Venues, Performance Spaces
    (arcades, virtual reality centers, theatres,
    actual performance spaces and/ or related
    rehearsal spaces)
  • Historic Facilities (houses, mansions,
    plantations)
  • Hospitality/ Meeting Venues (BBs, bars or
    lounges, breweries, pubs, Clubs (comedy,
    nightclub or private dining), Conference Centers,
    Convention Centers, Executive Training Centers,
    Mediation Retreats, and Healing Centers, Spas
  • Retail Spaces (art galleries, auction houses,
    malls, vineyards, wineries)
  • Outdoor Spaces (botanical gardens, game
    preserves, parks, outdoor centers)
  • Public Space (airports, public libraries)
  • Schools (dance class venues, universities,
    cooking schools, tasting venues)
  • Sports Venues (arenas and ballparks are standards
    now, but do not forget bowling alleys, game
    complexes, golf courses and clubs, pool and
    billiard halls, practice areas)
  • Other (cruising ships, docked ships,
    decommissioned bases/ boats/ ships, factories and
    corporations, railroads, religious spaces)

9
How to find what will work for you and where
  • Contact your convention and visitors bureaus, OF
    COURSE! Its one of the many meeting planning
    services CVBS offer. All or most are
    complimentary . . .and a great example is
    http//www.visitraleigh.com/meeting_planners/meeti
    ng_hotel_search
  • Unique Venues a great resource featuring
    approximately 14,000 facilities in North America
    http//uniquevenues.com
  • PCMA - http//www.pcma.org/ (wonderful check
    lists for all types of meeting and event
    planning)
  • ISES International Special Events Society -
    http//www.ises.com/
  • NACE National Association of Catering
    Executives- http//www.nace.net/ (will soon
    have an ideas guidebook online)
  • And your colleagues in similar membership
    organizations like SGMP, MPI, RCMA and ASAE

10
How to achieve your goals and save money
  • Sponsorship
  • Sponsors often find unique venues as one of the
    most appealing opportunities for their potential
    sponsorship dollars. Why?
  • Attendees respond to the excitement of a unique
    venue
  • More attendees
  • Better engaged attendees
  • More potential buyers of the sponsors products
    and services

11
  • Find a unique venue that is connected to your
    organization
  • Who in your organization has direct connections
    to a unique venue? (Ex I am member of this or
    that, my spouse or significant other has an in
    there, works there, etc)
  • What other organizations might have similar
    values, purposes or missions without conflicting
    in terms of competition and may offer space?

12
  • Partner with a vendor member of another
    professional organization you belong to
  • Use your professional memberships often offer a
    wide variety of vendors that may consider
    sponsorship
  • It can be someone who is of our meeting and
    events world - a caterer, venue, DMC, event
    planner, AV company, etc.
  • Think outside the box
  • What about other professional contacts who might
    have a vested interest in the business that your
    group is about, and might see sponsorship of your
    events with your attendees as a great marketing
    opportunity?

13
And when you cant get offsite
  • When you must stay in a primary traditional host
    venue, ask their staff to assist in creating a
    unique venue from within
  • Catering staff, chefs, CSMs, all are often very
    creative people and welcome the opportunity to be
    creative onsite ask their input and advice
  • Does your traditional venue have a pool, putting
    green, a clubhouse, an atrium, a club level
    lounge area, plaza area outside. . .all may be
    used and often are not used this way simply
    because no one asked!
  • Does the traditional venue have a partnership
    with another venue that allows trading of
    groups and events?
  • Maybe and maybe NOT, but it cannot hurt to ask .
    . .

14
  • Remember
  • If you do things the same old way, you get the
    same old results!
  • Do something different
  • Get different results and invigorate your
    attendees, your staff and even YOU!

15
Test your NC Unique Events IQ
  • Racin or meetin?
  • Woolly or clean shaven?
  • That home is way bigger than mine!
  • Heres where you get a good paddling!
  • Rich yesterday and rich today.
  • Butterflies are wonderful here!
  • Did you say youre a movie star?
  • You may not be a king or queen but youll like it
    here.
  • When Im not furniture, Im a state of the art
    meeting and convention venue!
  • Im in ship- shape!
  • Give yourself 5 points for every correct answer,
    and give yourself a bonus of 10 points if you
    have used a unique venue in the past year.

16
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