Men have choices too! Take a look at the top ten suggestions for men to improve their visual brand. Frankly, some women can probably take a few lessons from this list, too. http://ping.fm/GR7OB
Clarity in marketing of events is always important and its importance has grown in today’s marketplace. More than 1000 marketing and sales professionals were interviewed by telephone with the purpose of bringing clarity to the events component of the marketing mix as it to other elements. The data collected by the Event Marketing Institute, Meeting Professionals International, and George P. Johnson Experience Marketing is a compilation of responses from a variety industries and locations during the time period December 08 thru February 09.
Some of the North America highlights are listed here. For a complete report, visit http://www.mpiweb.org/Archive/250/56.aspx. Note – readers who have heard me rant about the importance of measurement, will hear an echo of my voice in these highlights.
26% of respondents choose event marketing as the marketing discipline that provides the greatest ROI followed by Web marketing 20%
companies that measure are over two times more likely to receive increases in their marketing budget than those that do not measure
64% of respondents state that they do engage in some form of post-event measurement with 43% of them measuring to justify expenditures
53% choose event marketing as the discipline that best accelerates and deepens relationships followed by public relations 19%
29% of respondents say they will transition from event marketing to experience marketing in the next 12 months; 33% already transitioned
A few weeks ago DCTC hosted a panel discussion facilitated by Jessica Bartram on the topic of sustaining green in the hospitality industry. Questions and debate in the classroom about how green is green, coupled with discussion about employer and client motivations to color things green, brought about what we all agree was a fabulous discussion among meeting planners, luxury properties, and restaurants at the Shades of Green Forum.
Results of MPI’s recent event marketing survey http://www.mpiweb.org/Archive/250/56.aspx included a measurement of green implementation by marketing and sales professionals working in industries that host meetings – surprisingly, 65 percent plan on implementing or have already implemented green initiatives within events. Not so surprisingly, this measurement was part of the marketing survey – apparently many people are becoming aware that green is not just an environmental and human initiative – it’s a marketing one as well.
Let’s hear about your green experiences. We’re never too old to learn – especially from each other.
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Modest Increases in Travel Volume, Spending Demonstrate Industry’s Unique Ability to Quickly Create Employment Opportunities |
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WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Travel Association today announced that projected modest 2010 increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel will enable the industry to add nearly 90,000 American jobs. Leisure travel is expected to rise 2.0 percent, business travel is projected to increase by 2.5 percent and international inbound travel will increase by 3.0 percent. These job gains come on the heels of 400,000 combined travel industry job losses in 2008 and 2009. “The travel industry shares President Obama’s goal of putting Americans back to work. Our industry is uniquely capable of adapting to economic upswings and quickly adding tens of thousands of jobs,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “What we announce today is based upon modest increases in travel. Given its immense potential, we call on the Administration and Members of Congress to build a plan for economic recovery that drives significant increases in travel.” A federal economic recovery plan to significantly increase travel and create jobs would include:
The travel industry employs 7.7 million Americans, supporting one out of every eight non-farm jobs in the United States. Domestic leisure travel is expected to increase 2 percent in 2010, with a corresponding increase in leisure travel spending of nearly 5 percent. Domestic business travel volume will grow 2.5 percent next year and business travel spending will increase 4 percent. “Projected growth in leisure travel is an indicator of rising consumer confidence and disposable income,” said Dr. Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association. “Following a difficult 2009, businesses have a heightened focus on the value and bottom-line benefits of travel. We expect to see a slight increase in business travel next year based in part on pent-up demand for face-to-face meetings that drive growth and productivity.” International Inbound Travel International inbound travel will increase nearly 3.0 percent in 2010; however, growth in overseas travel (excluding Canada and Mexico) will remain stable at about 1 percent. Overseas travel visitation in 2010 will remain below 2000 levels (23.5 million versus 26.0 million, respectively). The concern about the lack of substantial growth next year from this market is that overseas travelers contribute significantly more to the U.S. economy, spending an average of $4,500 per person, per trip compared to about $900 per person, per trip for Canadian and Mexican travelers.
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The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $770 billion travel industry. U.S. Travel’s mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. U.S. Travel is proud to be a partner in travel with American Express. For more information, visit www.ustravel.org.
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Did you know that the idea of mentoring began in ancient times? Greek mythology is where the roots of mentoring were planted. This article published by PCMA in June, 2006 has great information on the subject.
Remember that with knowledge comes responsibility. So, you have a mentor and you are grateful. But, who are you mentoring?
This article has the most basic rules for success and I think everyone (myself incuded) needs an occasional reminder. Enjoy! And, remember what the article says about, “Listen to the teacher” and “Be nice . . . “ 
Twitter has opened up a new method of communication. And, just like your conversations at a cocktail party, tweeting can be just for fun or become a serious part of your networking arsenol. Jen Kane is a great local expert on the subject. I follow her on Twitter and recently attended her “Social Networking Bootcamp. She opened my eyes to the Blogosphere, Twitterverse and networking sites such as Ning. And, the world has not looked the same since. Click here for an excellent introduction on Twitter from Jen.
Maintaining ethical standards is sometimes challenging. Read waht Joan Eisenstodt says about the importance of our industry to maintain ethical standards in a down economy.
Using social media is not rocketscience, however, like anything else, it takes some planning and a great deal of thought. Here are some common social media mistakes I found helpful.
