This summer, Successful Meetings reached out to
our readers at the top of the corporate hierarchy - the C-suite
executives, presidents, and vice presidents who run or approve
meetings and events - and asked them for their opinions on key
issues affecting the meetings industry.
Among the findings of the "2012 Meetings Industry Pulse
Indicator" is that nearly two thirds (63.9 percent) of
executives predict that business conditions will be the same at
the end of the year as they are now. Of the remainder,
optimists outnumber pessimists substantially, with 23 percent
of respondents predicting better conditions and 13 percent
predicting worse conditions.
That said, rising operating costs have been a drag on corporate
meetings and events, with 59 percent of the respondents saying
they have scaled back their meeting activities moderately, and
29.5 percent cutting back significantly. Only 11.5 percent said
they have not cut back at all.
C.B. Wismar, vice president of events at the American
Association for Retired Persons (AARP), says that business
conditions improved between the fourth quarters of 2011 and
2012, yet his organization has scaled its events back
"moderately." AARP's focus, however, is on scaling back costs
for the people who attend its conferences and events.
The biggest factor impeding his organization's ability to
execute its large national conferences and events is the
"travel required for attendees and high hotel costs in event
cities. As a result, we are going to two regional events per
year, providing the opportunity for attendees to drive into the
event for one day or take hotel rooms for only one night,"
Wismar says. "Reducing overall attendee cost is the single
largest factor in keeping our events healthy."
Survey respondents as a whole pointed to economic uncertainty
rather than just tight budgets as the biggest factor holding
back their meetings strategies. Asked to rank which external
factors were having the greatest impact on their company's
ability to effectively execute meetings, the respondents cited,
in descending order:
• U.S. economic uncertainty
• Low budgets
• Global economic uncertainty
• Loss of confidence in political leadership
• Uncertainty due to the upcoming
Presidential Election
When asked, "What is the most important thing you can do
between now and the end of the fourth quarter of 2012 to
advance your company's meetings objectives?" the answers varied
widely, but there were some common themes.
These ranged from the obvious, such as finding new clients and
cutting costs, to prioritizing ("Look at our short-term and
long-term strategies and be very clear about most important
objectives first"), to proving the worth of those meetings
("Sell the value of our meetings program, stressing the ROI").
SAY Media, a San Francisco-based digital content firm with a
consumer lifestyle focus, is both investing in its meetings and
cutting back by turning to virtual meetings technology, says
Daniel Phelps, senior manager of people (international).
"This year's challenge is around internationalization and
ensuring a global viewpoint," Phelps says, adding that the
firm's biggest obstacle as it looks to plan its meetings and events is working out "how to include everyone
seamlessly, including remote workers. This is certainly
impacted by budget - not being able to fly everyone to
headquarters - and is somewhat aided by technology and
thoughtful consideration around how to make people feel part of
meetings occurring remotely in differing time zones."
Saying that business conditions in the fourth quarter will be
better than they were at the end of 2011, Phelps adds that his
company has "made some key hires this past year that will help
us determine how to make our meetings more meaningful … [and]
ensure we set clear, powerful communication to focus the
meetings."