Coca-Cola is the largest employer in the continent of Africa, making it a major region of interest for the company. But traditionally, when visiting the continent, groups from the company have held most of their events in South Africa thanks to its wealth of meetings-ready properties and venues.
A few years ago, the beverage giant opted to mix things up by holding a major training event in Ghana. For Sarah Hunter, a creative director for Coca-Cola and executive producer for marketing agency Switch, this required going a few steps outside her traditional comfort zone as an event planner.
“I’ve gone around the world a couple times with Coke,” she says. “But this was a first.”
Eschewing massive international conferences, Coke opts for a more localized approach to its gatherings that target specific roles for the company and their respective regions. In Ghana, the company brought together members of the corporate leadership from Atlanta, workers from several Coca-Cola offices throughout Africa, and their bottling factory partners.
Hunter was charged with helping to train the local communications and public affairs teams to create consistency of brand message across the disparate parts of the organization.
Since Ghana offered a destination off the beaten path for many attendees, this created both benefits and challenges for attendees. But with careful planning, and a few moments of quick decision making, Hunter was able to make the event succeed.
Hunter’s experiences and those of a number of other planners and properties point the way to how meetings can strike a balance between setting out for a new destination, while ensuring attendees are not put in a situation too far outside their comfort zones.
Start Early
Though getting an early start on planning a meeting is important for any event, it is especially key for groups or individual attendees going somewhere for the first time. One of the biggest challenges for Hunter and the Ghana group was sorting out the paperwork process. Attendees were expected to get a number of vaccinations that were not standard for other destinations, and the visa process required jumping through plenty of hoops.
As a planner, properly handling all of this is important, not just for the obvious reasons of ensuring that attendees can make it into and out of the destination with minimal difficulties, but also because it reduces any anxiety a traveler might feel about visiting an out-of-the-way place.
When the group arrived at the airport, there was plenty for the visitors to concern themselves with that did not include raising issues with visas or passports.
“Right as we’re leaving the airport, the cab driver pulled over so one guy could exchange cash, but he had no idea if he was getting a fair amount or not,” says Hunter. “There are not ATMs sitting on every street corner.”
Going to a destination for the first time means the planner must take added precautions to ensure they are on the same page as their partners on the ground. Prior to bringing the Coke group to Ghana, Hunter visited the hotel that local planners had suggested as meetings-ready and knew that it was not up to the level that some of the corporate executives would be expecting.
“The rooms were fine for a basic stay, but it didn’t have the top-tier offerings that I knew some of the people I was traveling with were definitely going to want,” says Hunter. “You didn’t want to insult the folks who had chosen it or the hotel owner, but I just had to say, ‘This isn’t going to work.’”
Fortunately, they found a resort nearby that fit the demands perfectly.
Surprises in Familiar Destinations
The destination does not have to be unknown or far away to present concerns about keeping attendees comfortable. Chicago-based convention and meeting planning firm The Hybrid Group recently took an association to Zurich for a gathering of upper-level members and had to take a number of extra steps.
The three-day event included a gala dinner, breakout meetings, and special off-site events.
“The goal is to bring people to a place they have never been and get them to experience the culture and atmosphere of the area,” says Amie Devine, director of operations at The Hybrid Group, who has overseen meetings to cities such as Munich, Rome, and Paris.
While the meeting lasts only three days, attendees are also encouraged to take part in special excursions that offer a deeper understanding of the destination — whether a history walk or monument tour. These may seem like simple outings, but even for these, Devine recommends that planners personally join in the excursion for at least a portion to ensure all participants are enjoying themselves and don’t have any issues.
“Lots of these European countries have cobblestone streets and an attendee might be a little unsteady with walking or might be wearing high heels,” says Devine. “You should do your due diligence beforehand, and answer questions like, ‘What languages do they translate? Is there water if people need it?’”
Utilize Local Resources
Tapping the knowledge of local experts also allows a meeting group to get into exclusive places for off-site events, and ensure that potentially difficult logistical hurdles can be easily surmounted.
“The DMC is your friend,” says Carla Battle, senior manager for SmithBucklin, who has coordinated a number of international events, particularly in Africa. “Something we do, working with the DMC, is that if logistics are too difficult, we bring craft fairs to the event itself, with local artisans setting up in the conference space.”
Because traffic can be difficult for a large number of people to maneuver, Hunter’s local connections were able to set them up with an escort from the government, who got them where they were going.
Local attendees themselves can be valuable resources as well. “There are always local delegates who know the locale well and are very generous about making recommendations on restaurants and sightseeing, or accompanying the others,” says Jobert Abueva, vice president of sales and marketing for The Oxford Princeton Programme.
The organization offers hundreds of training courses focused on the gas and oil industry in 23 energy hubs around the world, from Houston and Calgary, to Singapore and South Africa. Attendees from these destinations often provide inside information about unusual venues or outings for visitors.
At the training, groups take part in a number of activities that often then carry over into less-structured outings. For these, Abueva’s team gives these more adventurous attendees specific information about available activities and suggestions on dining destinations and points of interest tailored to the individuals’ preferences.
Besides the memorable experiences, the convention and visitors bureaus and other local resources can also offer practical tips that will not only make the trip run smoother, but give attendees a sense of confidence when touring a destination. The Hybrid Group’s Devine gives the example of letting attendees know “insider tips” like that they can store their luggage at a airport locker.
“It could mean the difference between waiting at the airport for nine hours or going out for a half-day trip,” she says. “It gives them the sense that they know something, and that they are ahead of the game, even if they haven’t been to that city before.”
Inclusive and Adventurous
The rising interest for group travel to all-inclusive resorts reflects an interest in keeping provisions in attendees’ comfort zones. But these all-inclusives have deepened their more adventurous offerings to guests in recent years. The Sandals brand is one that’s focused on the Caribbean, providing everything a guest could want without them needing to leave the property.
“We need to determine what’s important to the group — whether they are more meetingor more incentive-focused,” says James Bullock, vice president of group sales development for Sandals. “They may be seeking an inspirational destination that can help shape a company vision, or just reward hard-working sales people — groups come to the Caribbean for a variety of reasons.”
That may mean sticking around the property, getting a Caribbean experience through outdoor activities like kayaking, snorkeling, and sailboats, in addition to the endless cultural and culinary provisions on site. The brand’s portfolio includes eight properties (and a ninth opening in Grenada on Dec. 13) under the Sandals Luxury Meetings & Incentives Collection banner, which provide amenities and enhanced meeting space ideal for larger groups.
“We’ve gone to great lengths to enable guests to enjoy the local flavor within the all inclusive context,” says Bullock. But he adds that at the same time, “there are lots of local things that people like to experience outside our gate and we can help them get there.”
In that effort, Sandals offers Island Routes at all its properties, with dedicated planners who can put together off-site itineraries for groups. Whether it’s for a zipline adventure, horseback ride, or a tour of rum distillation process at the Appleton Estate in Jamaica, the group partners with local vendors and guides, all of whom have been vetted. This allows for both an authentic, local experience while ensuring visitors feel comfortable in whatever outings they join.
Bullock gives the example of a farming association that recently visited Sandals. The group of about 60, working with the property’s team, came up with the idea of visiting a Jamaican farm to see how the locals operated compared with their approach.
“It was a way for individuals to experience much more than the beach,” he says.